The Spring Game this year was a party for the program. It showed how much progress has been made since the end of last season. A lot of big-picture developments in recruiting, team building and coaching philosophy have been gleaned from it. After reviewing the film a few more times, I wanted to use some Spring Game material for some discussion points about …
There is a massive misunderstanding by many Oregon fans concerning the demise of the Ducks’ defense, and the origins of that decline. While Oregon has well-documented misses in defensive recruiting, there are many who believe that the Ducks are largely deficient in talent on that side of the ball, thus the poor performance with little hope for reversal anytime soon. …
ALERT: The following quotes by Defensive Coordinator Brady Hoke are NOT accurate. He stated a very polite version of what you will read, and I dramatized it to make a point. (I am known for drama … but I always back it up as you will see) Coach Hoke cleared his throat and eyed the 60-70 high school football coaches …
My FishDuck.com friends, We are converting the site gradually over the next six weeks to an “Analysis-Only” format, and there will be some adjustments going forward for everyone. First: I am sorry to announce that most of the interesting articles that the site has been known for … will no longer be published. Sports news reporting, recruiting, opinion-editorials – none of …
Dear Reader, the following was my response to a suggestion that all teams including Florida International, play in a postseason bowl game and a criticism of the ridiculously bloated post season. Florida International University, Bowls for everyone? All 128 schools play a post season game? An interesting idea, but if there were a players’ union or at least player representation in the decision …
My friends … I am excited about what I saw from the Oregon Spring Game. It has become evident to me that we are on a path that will someday take us to a National Championship. Now you know me: I am admittedly an insufferable fool for the Ducks, the classic homer fan. That said, I do have the GOC …
I was 10 years old in 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the first man-made satellite, Sputnik. I can tell you with certainty that Uncle Sammy’s reaction to being eclipsed technologically by the Red Menace was far more tepid than the SEC’s response to college football (CFB) satellite camps. The U.S. turned to NASA to bridge the gap. The SEC …
Oregon’s win over the Arizona Wildcats in the Pac-12 Tournament (95-89) brought together a collection of extremes as examples of the human experience. We saw dazzling heights (offensive explosion before halftime), unknown skills summoned from within (unbelievable defense in the first half), boneheaded thinking and choking (end of regulation) – all during which the fan got verbally slapped around by the insanity that is Bill …
All right….you know I cannot stay away from a keyboard too long, as Mr. FishDuck has to share what is rattling around in his head. This break I’ve been taking has been wonderful due to the absence of frustration that comes with managing a website. Yet I never figured when I started FishDuck.com at age 55 — that I would …
I could not believe my eyes when I got the email announcing an open practice for Oregon football season ticket holders a few weeks ago. No professional cameras allowed? This means that media are not having their usual place in this practice — hmmmm. I was thrilled and simply could not wait for the days to count down until I …
The NFL landscape is littered with quarterbacks who have failed to live up to the hype built off of impressive college careers and first-round draft picks. On April 30, Marcus Mariota will become the first Oregon quarterback to carry such high expectations into the NFL since Joey Harrington was selected with the third overall pick by the Detroit Lions, back …
As the NFL Combine training moves forward each day we see the statistics of top recruits for the 2015 Draft. Of course, as Oregon fans and more so, Marcus Mariota fans, this is a huge year for Oregon attention. Yesterday Mariota ran his 40-yard dash and did very well. He ran an impressive 4.52 second dash and beat out Winston …