After four ugly games, it’s safe to say Oregon’s defense has failed on every level. Oregon has the most talented roster in the Pac-12 on paper, and when you assess each player individually, this is true. However, football is a team sport, and instead of putting a cohesive defense on the field, Oregon has eleven players just running around. A …
Oregon Can Get Defensive Help from an Unlikely Source
Oregon’s biggest problem, as all Duck fans know, lies with the defense. The unit is ranked in the bottom 10 in the country, for a variety of reasons. I have faith that Jim Leavitt can get things fixed, but he is going to need help if the Ducks are going to return to double-digit wins. I believe a strong offense can be a great …
Sacrifice: The Battle Cry of Oregon Football
A vast colosseum lies brooding on the banks of a wide lazy trout-filled river. Surrounded by nothing but forest and thick grass, both barely waving in a gentle breeze under azure cloud-dappled skies. Such is the vision of Autzen Stadium from the top of Skinner’s Butte on game day in the fall. A stadium, a field, soldiers marching to battle …
Best Ducks in the NFL: Defensive Edition
A couple weeks ago, I posted an article that listed the best Ducks to ever grace the NFL on the offensive side of the ball. Now, it’s time to honor the best defensive Ducks in Oregon history. To reiterate, this is a list of the Ducks with the best NFL career, not college. More than anything, this list serves as …
KISS Defense
While many people think the more complicated and multifaceted a defense is the better it is, this is not always the case. Just ask Rob Ryan about this; much like Ryan, Duck Defensive Coordinator Don Pellum is learning that sometimes keeping things simple is better. This is especially true for college football where you only get players for 5 years. With …
Top 10 Hits in Duck History
All the talk recently has been about how the Ducks were too soft to beat Ohio State. We thought we were different this year, tougher, more stout up the middle and we could compete with the big boys. I’d say we competed well, definitely proved to be more physical this season but came up against a well coach team with …
Defense Wins Championships…Kind of
While watching the Indianapolis Colts successfully shut down Peyton Manning and the Broncos dynamic receivers yesterday I had this awful since of Deja Vu all over again. It wasn’t until this morning that, thanks to radio hosts Walton and Johnson of all people, I made the connection. The way Indianapolis shut down the Broncos was the same way that Oregon shut …
Next Man Up: Oregon’s Defensive Loss May Be Key to Rose Bowl Victory
The loss of All-American Ifo Ekpre-Olomu hurts, and it hurts a lot, simply because Oregon fans know he has the potential to be great at the next level. Since the Rose Bowl match-up was announced, most experts considered the Rashad Greene vs Ekpre-Olomu battle a key to who would win the game. Now that Ekpre-Olomu is out, Greene running wild …
Bear Down: Preventing Another “Wildcat Upset” and Prediction
I predicted the scenario that happened in Pullman, on Saturday. Others were insistent that the Ducks would blow out the Cougars. But after turning on the television, the Cougs were up by seven. In my last article I mentioned that the mid-level pass defense wasn’t effective against Michigan State, so it’s only natural to think that in a game against …
A Duckling Profile: Jordan Bell the Bug Zapper
One might believe that dark days lie ahead for the Oregon Men’s basketball team. This off-season has been unlike any other for Coach Dana Altman as several key players have been removed from the team, others are transferring and a few graduate in June. So instead of adding new pieces to the puzzle during this spring, the Ducks keep losing them. …
The FishDuck Pregame Analysis — Can Colorado Corral the Ducks?
en.wikipedia.org A relatively unknown battle is taking place Saturday as the Colorado Buffaloes host Oregon and have a decisive statistic in their favor going into this contest. You see, Colorado has the 10th-best run defense in the country, allowing only 91 yards per game while Oregon, on the other hand, has the best rushing offense in the land, averaging 332.5 …