When you look at the Oregon football team what do you see? You see the uniforms and the high-speed offense; you see the flash. You don’t see what defensive coordinator Don Pellum sees; you probably don’t pay much attention to the defensive side of the ball at all. The Ducks operate a bend-but-don’t-break defensive scheme. If the offense is operating …
My friends–the Grizzled Ol’ Coach, Mike Morris, has some superb information concerning a potential conversion to a 4-3 defense at Oregon. Some of you will need to brace yourselves as you will read some things that you will NOT like or agree with, and in compromise for his shared wisdom, I retained them. They are his views, not mine. -Charles Fischer …
It was March 2013 and new Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly had a problem. The 3-4 defensive scheme he brought from Oregon needed a versatile left outside linebacker. In his search, Kelly found the man who would become the centerpiece of his defense: Connor Barwin. Meanwhile, in Eugene, Ore., a safety-turned-linebacker named Tyson Coleman waited for his moment behind veteran Boseko Lokombo. His patience paid off in 2014, and …
Nationally, all minds have focused on Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota and who will fill his giant, humble shoes. My mind is elsewhere, namely, on the Oregon Ducks defense. The Ducks offense would not be The Duck Offense if it weren’t for the guys on the field the most. Our defense held big, bad Michigan State to 27 points, powerhouse Stanford to 16 points, and flashy Utah to 27 …
Contrary to popular opinion, Oregon is not just an offensive team. The Ducks definitively proved this point Thursday, showing their strength and shaking off the label of being a soft team en route to a 59-20 thrashing of FSU. Yes, they are fast, but speed and toughness are not mutually exclusive. They showed off this toughness and strength by consistently beating …
This year’s Rose Bowl is a momentous occasion for everyone involved. The teams are fighting in the inaugural College Football Playoff, FSU is attempting to keep a 29-game winning streak alive and defend a national title, and the Ducks are fighting for their first national title in school history. Naturally much of the burden and attention is falling onto the …
Oregon’s defensive performance against Arizona in the Pac-12 Championship ranks as one of the best ever at Oregon for a game of such importance. The majority of the credit goes to the Duck defensive line which shut down the inside running game of Arizona using techniques that we have barely covered before at FishDuck.com. Let’s take a look at the …
While final scores do not always indicate as much, most people agree that heading into a bowl game — as in the case of Oregon vs Florida State in the first ever College Football Playoff Semifinal — the initial advantage is to the defense. Why? Because it will be nearly a month since either team will have played a game, …
Time heals all wounds. That and good coaching. Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie’s decision to hire Chip Kelly as his team’s head coach was a blessing for linebacker Casey Matthews, one of Kelly’s former Oregon players who had struggled in limited game day action during his first two NFL seasons. Despite Matthews’s struggles in his early professional career, Kelly had …
Now that the regular season is over and Ducks fans are more than happy with the result, we look back on an incredible season. Heading into the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day, and one of the most anticipated match-ups in modern history, what more can a Ducks fan want? This year’s Heisman-to-be, and last year’s Heisman will battle it …
While injuries are just a part of football, that doesn’t make them any easier to deal with. What does help, however, are bye weeks — and now defensive lineman Arik Armstead is looking forward to getting back on the field to face Colorado. Tyler Robinson of FishDuck.com was at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex to catch up with Armstead after practice today. …
We have seen the Ducks’ defense start to come together as the season progresses and the players get comfortable with the system that Defensive Coordinator Don Pellum has overhauled in the last year. This Saturday the Ducks will face a unique challenge in the Utah Utes who use two different quarterbacks. While this might sound like an inability to pick …