… or is it? After weeks of despair and dissension, the 4-7 Philadelphia Eagles rallied to stun the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, 35-28. Chip Kelly outsmarted coaching legend Bill Belichick in their first head-to-head battle. Sam Bradford returned from injury and outdueled uber-QB Tom Brady, playing efficient, error-free football. Best of all, on Monday night the discarded DeSean …
In college football today we often expect our athletes to be involved with a second sport. Lamichael James, Kenjon Barner, De’Anthony Thomas, and Devon Allen all have participated in track and field. There are rare athletes that take this a step further and take on more than just football and track. For example, we have Liz Brenner and her mission to participate in every …
When did it happen? When was it that we stopped hoping to win and started expecting to win? Was it the pick in ’94? Nah, too early. Was it our #2 ranking after 2001? Nope, but we’re getting closer. Expecting wins is a more recent trend, but it’s not unreasonable. Unless you’ve been living in a hole for the past …
All programs have them and they are often overlooked by the fans. They are the people who transform incoming freshmen into future stars. These unsung heroes are the strength and conditioning coaches, and they are just as important to the program as each position coach. Without them, no amount of scouting or play calling would help the team win. Fans of Oregon have …
In his first three months as general manager of the Eagles, Chip Kelly machine-gunned a stunning series of roster changes that left many observers saying he was over his head in player personnel decisions. He traded RB LeSean McCoy for LB Kiko Alonso, refused to match Kansas City’s $11 million offer for WR Jeremy Maclin, signed two CBs (Byron Maxwell …
Preseason games mean nothing — we all know that. And yet … the Philadelphia Eagles stomped on the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, and it was hard not to be excited by the way the team played. Even if you ignore the final score — 36-10, not that it mattered — there were a lot of individual performances that were highly encouraging. …
I recently clicked on a link to Duck running back Thomas Tyner‘s Twitter account. I read the part that went with the article I had been reading, then scrolled down to Valentine’s Day. He’d tweeted about going to Zany Zoo. Nate McClain, owner of the popular Eugene pet store, Zany Zoo, recognizes that most University of Oregon athletes are 18-22 years old. …
When the Ducks landed Taj Griffin, the fourth-ranked RB in this year’s class, my initial reaction was joy. Afterwards, though, I got to thinking. Royce Freeman is a way-too-early candidate for Pac-12 player of the year, Thomas Tyner returns healthier than ever and Byron Marshall is still the most dynamic player the Ducks can hand the ball to. In short, there are …
OK, it’s getting serious now. And Cody Parkey (above) is smiling. The Eagles cut down to 76 players days ahead of the Tuesday deadline and handled it with class. (Their final cut to 75 was an injury waiver for backup center Julian Vandervelde on cut day.) Final cuts to 53 players are due by tomorrow (Saturday). The early releases were …
The Philadelphia Eagles have gone through the entire off-season with no roster changes at all. Then boom! Heading into preseason Game 3, Chip Kelly and GM Howie Roseman moved decisively. First they released Jason Phillips, a special teams ace who never came back from an ACL tear. Then the team traded a conditional 7th-round draft pick for former Oregon star Kenjon Barner, …
The Oregon Ducks’ success in recent years came at such a fast pace, that it hit Duck fans maybe too rapidly and just as hard. Their program went from zero to hero as fast as you can say, “We should have been in every National Championship since 2010 but let it slip in the most painful way to watch.” It …
Over the past decade, Oregon fans have been blessed with stellar running backs carrying the ball for the Ducks. From Jonathan Stewart to LaMichael James to De’Anthony Thomas, Oregon has had success running the ball with different types of backs. This past month’s NFL draft was the third straight draft with an Oregon running back being drafted. This upcoming season …