Charles Fischer asked me to express my thoughts about the Oregon defense and its new coordinator after spring practice. They’re almost all positive. I’ll admit I was not a Brady Hoke fan when he was hired. I wanted an “intellectual”, and I judged Brady Hoke to be a “tough-talking buffoon.” Wrong. Oh, the tough talking part was right — but …
My friends … I am excited about what I saw from the Oregon Spring Game. It has become evident to me that we are on a path that will someday take us to a National Championship. Now you know me: I am admittedly an insufferable fool for the Ducks, the classic homer fan. That said, I do have the GOC …
I was very surprised, and pleased, by what I saw at Oregon’s open practice on Monday, and my poor Duck-buddy, Gageac (as he is known on the message boards), had to listen to me drone on about it. I wasn’t planning to write about my impressions, as I assumed that other media and message board gurus would be all over what left …
Oregon’s annual Spring Game will kick off the 2016/17 football pre-season for our beloved Ducks. The highly-anticipated action at Autzen Stadium should make for a very intriguing springtime Saturday. After every season another exciting group of players leaves the University to seek illustrious careers in the NFL, thus leaving us with a bunch of questions heading into the spring game. With alumni …
As a retired high school football coach, I had the opportunity on a Thursday night (3-31) to hear Brady Hoke speak at the Oregon Coaches’ Clinic, and the next morning I got to watch my one-and-only practice of the season. I thought I would share what I noted, and what you might want to look for at the Oregon Spring Game. Some …
Oregon’s spring game is just days away, and, in case you missed it, there were some major changes to the coaching staff. The most anticipated change came at the defensive coordinator position with the hiring of Brady Hoke, who has never held the position before. In his early years, Hoke established himself as an excellent defensive line coach, spending six …
It didn’t start with Moneyball, but the book, and movie starring Brad Pitt, about Major League Baseball’s Oakland A’s certainly shined a deserving spotlight on the relationship between statistics, math and winning. Now is a great time of year to find some interesting college football pieces; for example, a recent article listed the college football programs with the most wins …
Head trauma, including Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) damage and player safety, in general, are major areas of concern today in both the NFL and in college football (CFB). With parents and guardians concerned about head injuries, participation in youth football continues to decline. In response, a number of youth leagues have eliminated tackling in both practice and in games. The Ivy League recently eliminated live tackling in …
The recruiting class of 2016 for the Oregon Ducks did not end as well as I would have liked. Expecting to crack the top 15 for the first time under coach Mark Helfrich was initially promising but, like the second half of the Alamo Bowl, slowly got away from the Ducks. Considering the two-quarter fallout and changes in key personnel, …
The title of this article was taken from the subject of a sentence. Yesterday [2-3], at the Oregon Club Recruiting Luncheon, Mark Helfrich, while eloquently praising and thanking many, uttered the simple 5-word sentence, “Don Pellum is a stud.” The audience responded with their loudest, and warmest, applause of the day. We got it. Well it’s time for me to …
Signing day is coming The SEC is getting fat Please put a top 300 dude In Coach Helf’s recruiting hat! If you don’t have a 300 Then a few 400’s will do If you don’t have any 400’s Puddles turns from green to blue! The annual mating ritual between high school football players and college football (‘CFB’) head coaches culminates on Wednesday, February 3, …
So why hasn’t Mark Helfrich already named Matt Lubick the offensive coordinator? Why is Helfrich making Lubick essentially “audition” for the job? BECAUSE HE CAN. I’ve always admired patience. Decisions are more often made correctly if all the necessary information has been accumulated. Rushes to judgment usually don’t work out so well. Mark Helfrich is showing admirable restraint in naming …