For every Marcus Mariota, there is a Dane Ebanez, J.R. Maffie and Axel McQuaw. For every first-round draft pick there are scores of players who come to practice every day, hitting the trenches and working just as hard as the stars. Yet these players pass quietly through the hallowed halls of Oregon with little or no acclaim, sometimes without scholarships …
Who will lead the 2013 Oregon Ducks in tackles?
The huge question on defense is, who will be the leading tackler in the fall? From 2009 thru 2011, the final Oregon defensive statistics listed John Boyett as one of the top two tacklers on the team alongside Casey Matthews and Spencer Paysinger. The next season after the BCS Title game, Michael Clay, DeWitt Stuckey and Kiko Alonso stepped in for Matthews and Paysinger to rack …
The Overreaction to “Big Games”
A week after the Oregon baseball team got eliminated from the College World Series I went on Twitter with a question in mind: Were any Ducks fans angry at coach George Horton for this disappointing end to the season? I typed his name into the search bar and scrolled through the tweets, looking at the pages like I was watching …
The Ten Most Exhilarating Games of the Last Ten Seasons: #5-1
If you missed #10-6, find it here. 5) 2006 vs. Oklahoma Most of the games on this list share the same reason for their exhilaration value: a winning outcome despite all evidence to the contrary that victory was possible; the bleaker the situation prior to winning, the more exhilarating the outcome. Few games looked bleaker than did Oregon’s 2006 …
The Ten Most Exhilarating Games of the Last Ten Seasons: #10-6
How good has the recent history of Oregon football been? It was a challenge to determine what the most exhilarating games of the last ten seasons were. Over the last three seasons, the Oregon Ducks have had four losses, yet only three wins by two touchdowns or less. Close wins have been few and far between. (Not surprisingly, two of …
Recruiting Update: Baker to “Quack?”
Football Recruiting Commitments Oregon has never been the biggest player in the JUCO ranks due to a crop of venerable prep recruiting classes. Recently however, stars such as former offensive lineman Kyle Long seem to have upped the Ducks’ interest in the junior college pipeline. Last week, Oregon received commitments from two highly touted recruits in that of defensive end Tui …
PLAY FAST! How Oregon Wins 4th Down…
No play calls are more scrutinized than those made on 4th down and this subject provides an interesting study for students of the Oregon Offense. The decision to “Go For It” (and what type of play to run in that situation) often faces a head-on battle with conventional offensive wisdom. Often this wisdom is overly conservative, unimaginative, and in direct …
Switching Sides – Who’s Your Pick?
Dion Jordan came to Oregon as a 6′-6″ freshman, standing like a small forward on the hardwood at a lanky 210 or so pounds. Receiving reps at receiver for a short time before moving to tight end, no one could foresee the defensive monster that would be released a few years later. The Ducks are known for recruiting athletes …
Misty Watercolor Memories of the Way We Were
Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind Smiles we gave to one another For the way we were. Can it be that it was all so simple then Or has time rewritten every line If we had a chance to do it all again, tell me would we Could we? Memories, …
FishDuck Classic: Oregon’s Most Important Offensive Play
It may be summer, but that only brings us that much closer to fall, and the return of Duck football. Each Saturday, the FishDuck Classic will help familiarize readers with some our most important analyses. Today: Oregon’s Most Important Offensive Play. This article originally ran on August 28, 2012. Has Oregon’s emphasis on offense shifted for 2012, now that Mariota …
Searching Old Ducks For A New TAZR
Recently, I had a conversation regarding which former Ducks would excel in the current version of the Ducks offensive attack. It surprised me initially at just how quickly we could rattle off a handful of names and began discussing why each would or wouldn’t be a good fit. Deciding to write a few of these down, the list began as an attempt to identify which former Ducks …
Meet Your New Ducks: Have No Fear, Your Backup Cornerback is Here
After introducing Eric Amoako, it is now time to profile his oh-so-talented twin brother Stephen Amoako. You may not have heard of either of these guys; however, being that they were offered scholarships by Chip Kelly and spent a year under his watch warrants them some credibility right off the bat. Stephen specifically was one of the first commits of …