“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm, and harmony.” – Thomas Merton After attending college for three years now and absorbing as much enlightening knowledge as a naive 21-year-old is capable of, I feel that I can say one thing for sure. Life is about balance. Balance of work and play. Health and vices. Pleasure …
Having a Heisman-hopeful, such as quarterback Marcus Mariota, is always exciting for a team. However, the timeless saying “Defense wins Championships” has been proven correct time and time again. With that being said, the Duck defense — which is arguably the best it has been since the departure of Defensive Coordinator Nick Alliotti — is possibly what could finally land …
There is a reason why defensive line guru Jerry Azzinaro was the one Oregon position coach who joined Chip Kelly on the Philadelphia Eagles’ coaching staff. The 3-4 defensive scheme and two-gap technique are just as important to Kelly as the fast-tempo, zone-blocking, and packaged plays. Azzinaro was Kelly’s right-hand man in installing the 3-4 as the base defense at …
In press conferences, Defensive Coordinator Don Pellum referred to “doing something different” in the Alamo Bowl, while high school coaches that have attended spring and fall Duck football practices whisper about “Oregon’s New Defense.” Hype and puff — or is there some fire under the smoke? This is the last summer analysis before the season starts and you know I …
As a college football season, this is the worst time of the year. We haven’t had football in months, and our patience has run thin in anticipation. Spring games are fun and all, yet they are like giving a sip of water to someone who hasn’t had a drink in days: It’s just not enough. The only news that has …
There are some interesting defensive tactics that appeared in the Alamo Bowl win in addition to the continued emergence of DeForest Buckner on the defensive line. His star has been rising and the trendline of his growth manifested itself again in the Oregon Spring Game. Let’s look at what he is doing so well, and how Defensive Coordinator Don Pellum …
By Charles Fischer and the “Grizzled Ol’ Coach” Mike Morris We have ALL been fooled by Spring Games of the past, as players who starred in these May games would not ever see the light of day on the football field in the fall – or they transferred out. Yet other times they have shown us glimpses of the potential some of …
It was one of the busiest weekends of the year for sports fans – five Game 7s in the NBA Playoffs, and most notably, the Kentucky Derby – but for Ducks fans, there was one event that stood above the rest: the Spring Game. While fervent followers of the Ducks wouldn’t miss the annual spring tilt for anything, trying to keep …
The Oregon Ducks football team is scheduled to play its annual Spring Game on what should be a picturesque Saturday inside Autzen Stadium. And with it, the 2014 season will be officially under way. And, like every season, another batch of seniors have graduated, which leads to a bunch of question marks heading into the Spring Game coming up on Saturday. Some of the …
Peppered with talent, various levels of success, and featuring a new man calling the shots, it’s time for Oregon’s defensive line to draw the proverbial “line in the sand.” We’ve all heard the knocks on Oregon’s teams over the past few seasons, critics talk about their perceived lack of physicality; if you slow the game down, their neon jerseys just …
Gone from the 2013 Duck D-Line are such stalwarts as Wade Keliikipi, Taylor Hart and Ricky Havili-Heimuli. All very good players who will be missed, but the cupboard isn’t bare. Though some fans panicked at Oregon’s inability to close on a couple of highly regarded D-Lineman on LOI day, there remains much to look forward to from the Duck’s DL …
Craig Strobeck We’ll cut to the chase: 1. Gary Campbell is a coaching superhero. Forget all about Thor, Ironman or Tony Robbins, I want running backs coach Campbell as my life coach and mentor. Remember those early season complaints that Byron Marshall didn’t have the vision, patience or explosion to stay ahead of Thomas Tyner on the depth chart? I predicted …