The Philadelphia Eagles are increasingly becoming an NFL reflection of the Oregon Ducks. The NFL draft earlier this month saw two Ducks go to the Eagles, wide receiver Josh Huff (3rd round) and defensive lineman Taylor Hart (5th round). The Eagles also signed un-drafted UO defensive lineman Wade Kelikipiki, the three joining five other former Ducks already on the Eagles roster, in Brandon …
The long, slow, dull days of winter are over and Chip Kelly’s Eagles are crackling with activity. He drafted a solid if unflashy group of players (including Ducks Josh Huff and Taylor Hart), added a number of UDFAs (such as a savage-tackling kicker nicknamed “Murderleg”) and wielded some innovative technologies that caused a stir around the league. Better yet, Chip’s …
In my last column, I wrote about Chip Kelly’s long post-season silence, even amid the controversy over releasing star WR DeSean Jackson. The weeks since January 4th have felt like an eternity of baseless speculation, what-ifs and angst over every conceivable draft pick. There have been so many mock drafts that a bunch of writers in Philadelphia have started an #MDMD …
When analyzing Oregon’s offense, it quickly becomes clear they have an uncommon number of explosive plays. According to ESPN’s PAC-12 Blog, an explosive play is defined as any play that gains 20 or more yards. In 2013 the Ducks were able to gain 20+ yards on a single play 106 times. 42 of these were rushing plays; 14 of which …
If a picture is worth a thousand words, I should stop typing right now and just post a pictorial of Josh Huff’s Oregon football career. With nary another word, it might win me a Pulitzer in the sports writing category — if there is such an honor. Put it this way, no Oregon player from 2010 through 2013 graced my …
For the last half-decade, Oregon football has been one of a handful of teams that has been, at some point during each season, a true contender for a national championship. For a variety of reasons they have fallen short of attaining this goal. They have come very close on multiple occasions, but have failed to close the deal. In each …
The NFL off season is completely different than college football’s in one significant way: the NFL team gets to pick its players through the draft, the trade and free agency, and fans get to speculate endlessly over who they should or shouldn’t choose. For a college team, it’s more like being an old-fashioned high school girl at a dance, trying …
Football Recruiting Offers Less than a week into the 2015 recruiting cycle, Oregon extended a slew of offers to preps both near and far in an effort to get out in front amongst the newly-cultivated recruiting landscape. Local phenom and 2013 Oregon 6A state title-winning running back Cameron Scarlett (3-Star/Portland, OR) received his Ducks nod late last week and is drawing …
When the clock hits zero at the Super Bowl, it also serves as the conclusion to the football season each year. Seemingly long after all of the bowl games have been played at the college level, the NFL has a way of temporarily filling the void before dropping fans into the abyss of the long off season. Events like National …
Another football season has come and gone. Overall, it was another successful run for the Ducks, even if they did not meet their ultimate goals. Another 11-win season. Another win in a bowl game. Another top-ten ranking to wrap up the year. Mark Helfrich proved that he can handle the pressure of running a major college program, Marcus Mariota continued …
Leading up to the kickoff against Nicholls State, Duck fans were anxious to see what Oregon would look like under new coach Mark Helfrich. Chip Kelly had led the program to previously unprecedented heights, and had done so using a unique and distinctive approach. His trademark spread option attack put up staggering stats, and routinely churned out over 300 yards …
Steve Francis With the 2013 football season officially behind us, I thought that I would take this time to reflect back over the season at some of the great games. These games could be great as a whole, or it could be one performance that made the game great. The following are my top 5 games of the year: 5. …