Anyone that has built a puzzle knows that absolutely every piece is needed in order for it to work. Without all of the pieces, a puzzle can never fully be complete. In the same way, Oregon football has been impressive the last several years, but there was always something missing — a kicker. And without a quality kicker, the Oregon …
Evan Voeller: Leader by Example
The subject of this profile is another one of Oregon’s very own, and he is as talented as they come. Evan Voeller hails from West Linn, Oregon, where he played four years under the Lions’ head coach, Mike Fanger. He wasn’t a very vocal leader, but actions often speak louder than words. Fanger informed Aaron Fentress from The Oregonian that …
Lane Johnson: Chip Kelly’s Secret Weapon in Space?
Chip Kelly doesn’t just want his skill players to have speed. He places a high premium on athletic offensive linemen who can execute their blocks both at the line of scrimmage and in space. It is easy to see how Lane Johnson‘s rare athletic ability convinced Kelly to select the Oklahoma offensive tackle with the fourth overall pick last year. …
Jake Pisarcik: The “High School Football ‘Rocky'”
You may recognize this six-foot-four, 278-pound redshirt freshman’s surname if you’re an avid Eagles and/or Giants fan. NFL quarterback Joe Pisarcik’s – most infamously known for “The Miracle at the Meadowland” (if you’re on the Eagles’ side) — youngest son is this relatively unknown recruit. Jake Pisarcik wasn’t a guy on a lot of college radars. Sure, he attended camps and sent in …
No. 1-Ranked Texas Bullets Build Powerhouse With Oregon’s Blueprint
After three consecutive turnovers on the first three drives, the Texas Bullets stood calmly on the sideline knowing that this was it. Down 10-0 to the back-to-back league champion and current national champion North Texas Longhorns, this was not the start to the Bullets’ first shot at a championship we had dreamed about for the past seven years. John McGuire’s …
Like It or Not, the Pressure Is on for Mark Helfrich
After just one season in which his team posted an .846 winning percentage, Mark Helfrich is under significant pressure from many fans who doubt his ability to lead the Oregon Ducks to a national title. Such is the life of a head coach of a perennial top-ranked program. The intense scrutiny is nothing new for Helfrich, who inherited the impossible …
A Letter to the Assumers Out There: Assumptions Lead to Misconceptions
As a student who has been here for four years coming up on his fifth, you wouldn’t believe the amount of horrible rumors and nonsense that I’ve heard — not just about the football players that we value so highly on the field, but any other student-athlete who walks around this campus. Let me give you a little background before …
College Football Nation: It Pays to Cheat and “Roll Tide” Officer
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 …