Finally some more news to talk about thanks to the PAC-12, ACC, and BIG-12 all stepping up to the plate and holding their media days. We have commissioners telling us cheating is okay, coaches saying it is okay to steal and so much more. It was an eventful week. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby fired off at the NCAA …
Chip Kelly Journal — A Defining Moment: DeSean Jackson’s Release
Conventional wisdom dictates that a Philadelphia Eagles team whose offense earned the second-highest total yards would likely stay the course with its current personnel. Anyone who made that assumption ignored the fact that Chip Kelly does not care about conventional wisdom. The release of DeSean Jackson, the Eagles’ most dangerous receiver, this past March was a defining moment for Kelly. The …
The Past Is the Past: How Chip Kelly Comparisons Are Useless
For Oregon football fans, the past season has been a unique time. For starters, in the last season of the BCS era, Oregon’s incredible four-year streak of playing in BCS bowls was snapped. It was also the first year for new head coach Mark Helfrich. While he had the best debut season ever for an Oregon coach, some fans still …
Teaching Running Backs How to Run the Inside Zone
As pointed out in an earlier post here at FishDuck, the Oregon Ducks have become one of the premier rushing teams in all of college football and we’ll now examine another reason why. I have written other articles discussing some of the factor’s that play a critical role in their success running the football; including a breakdown of the zone blocking scheme …
College Football Nation: Bret Bielema Likes Big Butts and NCAA Decision Awaits
Media days are upon us. Of course, if you look at the news feed you will think that the SEC is the only conference to have one of them. Media day is the chance for coaches and players to answer a few questions and give fans something to look forward to in the fall. Sometimes you might even get a …
Devon Allen Speaks with FishDuck on Recent Success and Future With Ducks
The last few months have been nothing short of spectacular for Oregon track and field freshman-sensation Devon Allen. In 2014, Allen has both made a name for himself and solidified his place in University of Oregon history as a star hurdler for the men’s track and field team. Allen finished second at the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships in both …
Spill It and Kill It! How the Oregon Defense Shuts Down the Run
The Oregon ‘hybrid’ 3-4 Defense is a well-designed, precision machine — as any well run defense is. Oregon defenders don’t just chase the football around like a rec league soccer game. Every player on the field has a job to do, and all of those jobs fit together like a choreographed dance that will shut down the opponent’s rushing attack — …
Chip Kelly, Brad Smith and the Wildcat
It was Dec. 1, 2013. With the score at 7-7 in the second quarter, the Philadelphia Eagles marched to the Arizona Cardinals’ 6-yard line. It was at this moment when Chip Kelly unveiled a surprising wrinkle. If Nick Foles was there, who was lined up as quarterback? Meet Brad Smith. …
A Duckling Profile: Taylor Alie and the Walk-on’s Dream
Three years ago, Taylor Alie was a second-string high school quarterback. Last year he was fifth on the depth chart for the Oregon Ducks. This year he could be number two and heir to Marcus Mariota’s throne. Luck, combined with an infinite amount of drive and persistence, has allowed hometown hero Alie to rise from regular Eugene native to a nationally-ranked football team …
DeForest Buckner: A New All-American Emerging?
There are some interesting defensive tactics that appeared in the Alamo Bowl win in addition to the continued emergence of DeForest Buckner on the defensive line. His star has been rising and the trendline of his growth manifested itself again in the Oregon Spring Game. Let’s look at what he is doing so well, and how Defensive Coordinator Don Pellum …
Oregon Football — What’s the ‘BIG’ Deal?
A great man is always willing to be little. Ralph Waldo Emerson Zach Okun isn’t the future of Oregon football — he’s the now. All 6’4″, 315 pounds of him. The Newbury Park, California, high school junior decided to end his recruitment process almost a year in advance of national signing day for the Class of 2015. In the time …
College Football Nation: Trash in South Carolina and America the Beautiful!!
Thank you to all of the brave service men and women who defend — and have defended — our country and freedom. Without your service we would not have all that we have today. Here’s a Shout Out to America! But, thanks to those freedoms, it seems like a few players and coaches were taking their first amendment rights a little too …