Alright … I was wrong in last week’s article. And not just once, but in a couple of places. I was erroneously applying prior knowledge of the Oregon Spread Offense to the new Oregon Offense that features the Pistol formation the majority of the time. In this article, I will apologize, own up to my errors (each of them) and …
Cristobal Signals the Decline of the Backside Zone Read at Oregon
If you want a fluffy editorial, this ain’t it. I am not going to cover the same stuff as other media — that everyone can already see, such as dropped passes, elite throws by Justin Herbert, improvements on the defense, etc. I will focus on what I am passionate about on offense, and I was dismayed at what I saw …
FishDuck Prediction: “Look for ELEVEN WINS Baby!”
It is easy to stay safe and later ridicule others who stick their neck out on predictions, so I have not been one to worry about the blow-back from my prognostications. I was pretty good last year in predicting seven wins, but we won’t talk about 2016 … as that brings me back to 50/50 like everyone else. We all …
The O-Line Relay: Cristobal’s New Weapon to Win the Pac-12?
Anyone who’s ever had to compete single-handedly against a relay can tell you that it’s not a level playing field. Could this concept be formulated into a strategy that Coach Mario Cristobal utilizes to win and, ultimately, dominate the Pac-12? Let’s look at some unknown aspects of the offensive line and see if we can determine the unique new tactic …
Building an Oregon Football Repository at FishDuck.com
A gift to all the fans of Oregon Football are 12 new sections to the site in the Oregon Football Repository, the biggest library of articles and videos of any Duck website. It has 1,000+ links to incredible opportunities for entertainment about our beloved Ducks, as well as learning more about football that is organized in an easy way to …
Mark Helfrich: “The NFL BLOCKBUSTER SLEEPER Hire of the Year”
I know you read that title and are now thinking, “oh brother,” but bear with me and try to examine this with new eyes as we contemplate the hiring of Mark Helfrich as Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach of the Chicago Bears. I truly believe he will be the Blockbuster Sleeper hire of the NFL this year, and will fare better …
ANALYSIS LIBRARY
My friends, it is stunning how much football information is within this site from years of work by so many writers, analysts and coaches. I am creating this article for the sole purpose of simply creating a link for other places on the site to help the readers and coaches to find their topic of interest. To go directly to …
Charles’s Utah FishWrap and MELTDOWN: Taggart pulls from the Kelly/Helfrich Playbook!
My friends, in the last week I had disconcerting conversations with two other FishDuck.com writers Dr. Mark Weinrott, and Dr. Steven Smith, (who both wrote articles in the last week) about the stagnant Oregon offense under Coach Willie Taggart. I sadly came to a conclusion that unless Coach Taggart changes and looks at opening his offense up some more–much of …
Coach’s Opinion: “It’s Time to Calm Down”
My Friends, this article refutes much of what I’ve written over the last month and is an example of how we do not censor writers to be an Oregon “Pravda” like the official Oregon site and others that follow the Ducks. The readership here is professional, high-brow, and cannot be snowed. Thus, I present all sides of the discussion and let you, …
The Stanford FishWrap: Some Positives, and Taggart’s Learning Curve
I hope that readers understand the dilemma that I am in, because if I point out any negative at all — even when the majority of the article is positive — I am described as “bitter” and “going negative” on Oregon. Yet if I leave out the negative? I am regarded as a “homer” and “sunshine pumper.” Since I can’t …
Charles’ WSU-Oregon FishWrap: “Two Steps Forward and One Step Back”
I am going to write something that is dumber than my usual. In the comments of last week’s article, I expressed my concern about the Ducks getting their butts kicked against the Cougars. It was due to the loss of Justin Herbert at quarterback and how neither QB remaining had neither the skills nor the game experience to carry the Ducks …
Oregon Receivers: the WORST EVER for a Season Opener?
The dilemma I describe in this article is not Coach Willie Taggart’s fault. Oregon’s first-year head coach inherited a very difficult situation at receiver this year at Oregon. My belief is that the defensive line, while thin, is highly underrated, and it will become evident in 2017. So will the best depth at running back perhaps ever at Oregon. The …