You would think we are in Seattle with all the Dog-Piling of Oregon fans on the stack of the #Fire Mark Helfrich movement around here. As you all know, I am not in that group, although this site will allow editorials on both sides of this discussion and we have certainly had some juicy articles on that topic lately. Yet, I …
Three Reasons Oregon-ASU Never Became a Rivalry
Amid the chaos following their game, the two coaches ran toward each other for a common ritual of their profession: the post-game handshake. While this interaction is normally brief and emotionally distant, after this particular game one coach, Arizona State’s Todd Graham, chose this moment to voice his contempt for the coach he was facing, Washington State’s Mike Leach. Broadcast …
Cal Frustration: A Colorado Repeat, Not a Step Forward
My friends, below is an editorial by a man (Jerry Thompson) who has quite a publishing history in the Willamette Valley, is an honorable man and someone who is my friend. I disagree with many of his conclusions, but recently I changed our editorial policy to allow “all” opinions to be published so long as they offer examples or proof …
Linebacker Technique: Freshman Keith Simms Attacks the Blocks Correctly
As a fan, there are plenty of moments of dejection and frustration watching the Oregon defense, yet there are examples of hope on the horizon from Oregon’s younger defensive players. Following the new FishDuck.com method of showing what went wrong and how the same action is applied correctly – I am excited watching the play of Keith Simms, the freshman Middle Linebacker …
Despite Poor Defense, Helfrich Is Still the Man
Mike Merrell’s Three-and-Out No doubt about it. Oregon football 2016 is a mess. Whether it’s football or anything else in life, there’s a point where you’re better off to just call it hopeless and start over. Unfortunately, many see Oregon football as being at that point. The good news is that these “many” with their pitchforks and torches aren’t the …
Is Your Coach Helfrich Decision “Good-or-Good?”
Some of our decisions in life are bad-or-bad such as the upcoming Presidential election. Yet some choices are similar to, “Who gives Royce Freeman a rest … is it Tony Brooks-James or Kani Benoit?” Now that is choosing from good-or-good, as both back-up running backs have done well for our beloved Ducks. Could many of you be in that decision mode when contemplating whether …
Coach’s Comments: The Oregon Culture Has Troubling Warning Signs
This was a very difficult article to write, as it runs contrary to my core beliefs about the Mark Helfrich/Oregon coaching situation. But like learning football and sharing it with you over the years, as I come into other opinions that make sense to me, I feel compelled to share them. We don’t know the truth, the inner happenings in …
Right and Wrong: Linebacker Leverage in a 4-3 Defense
Our beloved Oregon Ducks are going through some historic defensive difficulties, yet offer glimmers of hope that they will become better on this side of the ball. Today we look at the leverage of Oregon’s linebackers (courtesy of the Grizzled Ol’ Coach, Mike Morris) and learn how their gap assignments can be solved by looking at both good and bad examples. A …
Firing Mark Helfrich Is Fool’s Gold
Imagine the horror: your team has patiently built itself from its historically-mediocre origins to become one of the nation’s elite, with a succession of conference titles and high NFL draft picks, when one year suddenly everything falls apart. Your genius coach is gone and his successor is suddenly, after years of riding the coattails, struggling just to post a winning …
Party Like It’s 1994!!
Had the streak against Washington ended last year, no one would have batted an eye. It would have been natural conditions for it to end: game in Seattle, the Huskies with a winning record, coming off a big win at ranked USC the week before. For the Ducks, it was the first season in nearly a decade where Oregon didn’t …
Mark Helfrich’s Quarterback MESS at Oregon
We have read the pundits in the media along with the opinions from the “experts” on the Oregon message boards; the quarterback recruiting in the past at Oregon has been a disaster after Marcus Mariota, and the present is a muddled mess due to the emergence of freshman QB Justin Herbert unsettling the usual quarterback rotation. These assertions would sound something …
What Went Wrong: Defensive Tackle Leverage in the 4-3 Defense
It is frustrating as fans to see gashes in the Oregon defense and know that something is going wrong, but not be able to pinpoint what it is. We are fortunate to have the guidance of the Grizzled Ol’ Coach, Mike Morris, to help us understand not only what went wrong in the game against Washington State, but to help …












