The picture above speaks for itself: Win the Pac-12, go to the Rose Bowl. Dominate enough games and you have a shot at the Natty. In Chip Kelly’s years, this was a foregone conclusion. In Mark Helfrich’s, not as much. Now Mario Cristobal is launching his effort to propel Oregon like a Phoenix from the ashes of the Empire formally known as “Fast Hard Finish.” Last season, …
Often, coaches explain that winning “all three phases” of the game is the key to victory. For the Ducks next year, there is reasonable hype around Justin Herbert’s offense and Troy Dye’s defense. But, what about special teams? For optimistic expectations to be fulfilled in 2019, the Ducks need to win with special teams — an important one of three phases of …
Over the years, several things have intrigued me about sports, but one of the most intriguing aspects is how well they function as a slice of life. We see the whole gamut of emotions and behavior, don’t we? ABC’s Wide World of Sports captured it so iconically years ago with “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” being …
The spring game was billed as maybe the biggest recruiting event in Oregon history. Top prospects from across the country were courted like kings, as Oregon looked to move back into the upper echelon of the recruiting rankings. ScoopDuck predicted that the Ducks would come out of the weekend with as many as nine new commits, more than tripling the …
It’s time to check in on our friends from the South. Surely, the SEC hasn’t been dominating your news feeds or been fawned over by ESPN enough this offseason, right? So, I thought it fitting to put together a little something to give some much needed love and attention to the most underappreciated conference in the land. The following is …
Let’s pause a moment to consider the irrelevant, shall we? Among things that are not in the least bit relevant: the price of pet rocks up for re-sale on eBay, being accepted for admission at USC, the backup QB battle at Oregon State, Steve Spurrier’s coaching record in the AAF (RIP), the doings of the “Kardashian Krew,” “Chip Kelly’s Guide …
In our last article on the new Oregon Duck defense, we discussed the basics of Coach Andy Avalos’ system. Now let’s get into the two positions that make it go, the Stud and the Spur. Avalos refers to the latter simply as the Nickel, so that’s the terminology I will use going forward. However, first on the list is the …
Early returns on 2020 recruiting are promising for Oregon. The Ducks have secured five commits thus far, with three four-stars and two three-stars. Two of the four-star recruits have committed within the past week. Remember that it is still April, and that under previous regimes the Ducks would enter the season with roughly five commitments. Where Chip Kelly and Mark Helfrich filled their …
It is always interesting how something “sits” with you after the immediacy of an event passes and you have a day to let it all sink in. I am referring to the 2019 Oregon Spring Game, and my overall reaction is one of being-surprised-at-being-surprised. I had questions to be answered, but frankly expected “more of the same” of what I …
I’m getting shivers thinking about seeing some new Oregon football; how about you? This is a game thread where we discuss our thoughts before the Spring Game, and also give our reactions to it after the game is over. I will let this set of comments run through Sunday as I did during the football season, so when you get …
Is it a 3-4 front? Or is it a 4-3? There is a lot of discussion among the Duck fan base about the new defensive scheme being installed by recently hired coordinator Andy Avalos. In the interest of greater clarity, today I simply want to dive into the look and personnel of the defense. Once we understand the base alignment and …
This past weekend, the Ducks hosted a bunch of high-ranking recruiting prospects — including an unexpected surprise — in what turned out to be a very eventful couple of days. But this upcoming weekend is even more critical. With loads of premier prospects scheduled to visit, the weekend of the spring game has become one of the largest recruiting events …