In the past I’ve frequently criticized peoples’ attaching far too much importance to the defensive front used by a team — and several other schematic suggestions. “It’s not important WHAT you do, but HOW well you do it” has been my standard axiom. Well … that’s not always true. An offense could run nothing but “perfect” QB Sneaks for the …
Remember the announcement recently: I will continue to write as will a few other writers, but we will only be running two or three articles per week. Sign up for the newsletter above so you won’t miss any of my or the GOC’s articles, and to make sure you don’t miss upcoming videos! –Charles Fischer It was fun in yesterday’s …
You have heard the comments in the stands; heck, you may have even said it yourself! “I hate Oregon’s bend-but-don’t-break defense. I hate how we only rush three, and we give up third-and-long way too often!” Many people say that without understanding the reasoning behind utilizing the bend-but-don’t-break defense, and how it complements the Oregon offense. Let’s take a closer look …
When looking at Oregon’s linebacker unit from 2014, a common theme often arises — inconsistency. FishDuck.com discussed it here and here, as others did here. In my experience, inconsistency typically stems from player inexperience and mental overload, both of which seemed to be confounding factors for the Oregon linebacking crew — as they were a bit inexperienced and working under a new …
(Converting from a 3-4 defense to 4-3 front is a topic that Oregon fans were interested in discussing–especially when Coach Mike Morris gave his perspective on it last week. He saw many posts on six different sites and message boards that contained some “points he disagreed with.” The Grizzled Ol’ Coach is not one to debate online with other readers, …
My friends … we are beginning our fourth year of learning together, and it is time to have “the talk” about some fundamental terms, because an understanding of them gives that next step up of learning that you and the thousands of “Next Level” readers who come to this site want. I promise that if you take the 15 seconds to understand the terms below, you will …
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 …
The Oregon ‘hybrid’ 3-4 Defense is a well-designed, precision machine — as any well run defense is. Oregon defenders don’t just chase the football around like a rec league soccer game. Every player on the field has a job to do, and all of those jobs fit together like a choreographed dance that will shut down the opponent’s rushing attack — …
In 2013, the Arizona Wildcats and Head Coach Rich Rodriguez tore through the Ducks and the nearly non-existent Oregon defense that day raised a lot of questions among Ducks faithful. But I’m here to tell you, Duck fans, that the future is bright. The Oregon defense can shut this Arizona offense down in 2014, without any major changes. And that’s good, because …
The “Fire Zone Blitz” is one of the effective blitzes that the Oregon hybrid 3-4 defense uses to pressure a Quarterback. The Ducks do a great job of bringing heavy pressure with 5-man zone blitzes, and then bringing 4 or often, only 3 pass rushers, but there’s another weapon that helps Duck defensive linemen get to the passer. Having success from a …
Early in the Fiesta Bowl, Collin Klein and the Kansas State offense had success with short throws to help put together some lengthy drives. My article last week described how the Duck defense stuffed the K-State option game when it counted in the first half, helping Oregon score three unanswered times to build a comfortable lead. Once the Ducks began piling on points, …
(Please note that this white paper was written and distributed onto a number of Oregon forums in June of 2010, but this article of the White Paper was not published until the origin of FishDuck.com in June of 2011.) What are we doing on defense? I have struggled trying to discern how the defense is different from past years, as …