We have all been guilty of playing down a development that has huge implications by making a joke of it, or rationalizing it away. With my beloved Ducks–I’ve rationalized extensively with two out of the three Mark Helfrich recruiting classes, and I’m sure many fans are not giving much thought to the announcement earlier yesterday about moving Brenden Schooler from …
I was highly anticipating this year’s spring game, as it was our first look at both a new offense and defense. Coach Willie Taggart was installing his version of Oregon’s power spread offense, one that is a bit more smash-mouth than what Oregon had been doing. Then there’s Coach Jim Leavitt’s 3-4/3-3-5 hybrid defense. To be honest, I was pretty …
My friends, I have been portrayed as a hopeless and shameless homer for the Oregon Ducks, as my past predictions have resembled cheerleading mantras more than analysis to many. Yet that is how I have honestly felt, and I believe I can call it differently when my head (not my heart!) tells me to. I have never made a prediction …
Remember all the screaming at former defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti about the three-man rush? How it drove fans crazy, and how the message boards would lampoon Nick on a regular basis about this defense? Well my friends, the defense where the Ducks rush three and drop eight defenders into coverage is back under defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt. Let’s take a look at why Oregon …
Sure, the Ducks should be better in 2017. But 10 wins? No way. Yes, Willie Taggart has brought the enthusiasm, the recruiting magic, the superb coaching staff and the Harbaugh moxie (Jim took Michigan from 5-7 to 10-3 in his first season). He may well be the next “it” coach. But it sounds as if the overly optimistic author of …
(The two major players above: who was a great player, and who was a CHAMPION? Charles Fischer) A player can be a great player but not a champion. How can that be? How can a player have record-breaking statistics, yet not be a champion? What is that magic ingredient or special trait that allows a player to wear a champion’s …
What is the “Two-fer” defense? It is simply looking at what everyone else calls a 4-2-5 defensive alignment, and truly following the textbook definition of how to define an alignment. Most coaches would state that the first number indicates how many defensive linemen have a hand-down, and that would mean that the defense that Coach Boles is going to review …
This is too little, too late – but Mark Helfrich is an outstanding coach who paid for Coach Chip Kelly‘s sins. Helfrich’s tenure as a head coach was not perfect – he failed to find an adequate defensive coordinator – but his body of work was excellent. (This post is focused on recruiting.) Should I survive the comments on this …
The beginning of the new year is always a great opportunity for sitting down and setting goals for the year. As a head football coach, I met with every player on the team for 30 to 45 minutes to discuss their goals. This took basically the whole month of January to complete, but it was time well invested. Most young …
In my last article, Oregon’s New Edge on Defense, we went over the importance of setting the edge in run defense. Building on that, I am creating a mini-series on how to improve run defense, to give people a look at the fundamentals necessary to play the run well, and at the same time, examine the fundamentals missing from the …
In an upcoming season that combines equal portions of unknowns, shaken confidence and renewed optimism, it is difficult to come to reasonable expectations for the 2017 Oregon Ducks. There are those – possibly trolls – who claim that six wins would be a success. Then there’s Athlon Sports — possibly the premiere preseason pigskin prognosticator – that ranks the Ducks …
Regardless of what scheme you run, the greatest way to improve your team is in practice. The more productive the practices, the more productive your offense will be. One of the most important jobs a head coach has is to make practices as productive as possible. This doesn’t happen without carefully planning your scheme. When putting together your offense, you …