We are seeing more of the Mark Helfrich stamp upon the Oregon offense become evident through this 2014 season, yet an old Chip Kelly game plan has remained with the new head coach. Using plays in the playbook infrequently and then storing them for years at a time is becoming a norm for Helfrich and Offensive Coordinator Scott Frost. This …
Oregon has changed its foundation play, the Inside Zone Read, from how they ran it three years ago! I covered part of it in a recent discussion about the components of the Pistol offense being added to Oregon Spread Offense, but we need something that covers this essential play from the perspective of how Duck running backs learn to read …
Injuries do create tactical opportunities, as opponents have feasted upon Oregon’s depleted offensive tackle position earlier in the season. However, the Cardinal now have injuries that open up some unique situations that fit within our offense’s abilities to exploit and can be added on to the analysis about Stanford by FishDuck.com analyst Rory Davidson. What plays do we run to capitalize? …
The phone lines between Coach Mike Morris (the Grizzled Ol’ Coach) and I have been burning up as we have been discussing the Oregon coaching staff’s introduction of an increasing amount of Pistol Offensive components into the Oregon Spread Offense. It was the Coach who called and noted the big step-up in Pistol variations against UCLA, but we hesitated to …
For Duck fans today — there are a couple of tactics to watch for against our rival in the Huskies. First, note that their defensive tackle over Oregon’s center (the Husky nose tackle) is between 340 pounds and 360 pounds, thus he will give Hroniss Grasu and an additional guard blocking him some trouble. This could foul up our Inside …
Oregon’s running game against the Bruins was aided by a most unlikely player–Stetzon Bair, who recently moved over to the offensive line from the defense! It is amazing how much better a coach Steve Greatwood became this week with the return of Jake Fisher, the improvement of Matt Pierson and Tyrell Crosby and the emergence of “transfer” Stetzon Bair on …
I know you’re shaking your head at my title; “Charles is shameless in how he tries to get hits.” There is truth in the shameless part, but there is also truth in how Royce Freeman made a huge play to help his teammates score a touchdown AND protect his quarterback, Marcus Mariota, from serious injury. Coach Tony Hoolulu in Hawaii …
Conditioning. Tempo. Team Speed. Everyone knows of these components that the Oregon Spread Offense attacks the defenses with, and it is assumed that process can be confusing for defenses in lining up during the haste before the play begins. What about the other elements of the attack that create confusion? Today we look at how one facet of the Oregon Football …
What a difference a couple of games makes in our impression of the Ducks and Head Coach Mark Helfrich! With the losses to Stanford and Arizona, along with the poor momentum at the end of last season–it all pointed to a big make-or-break year in 2014 for Coach Helfrich in the eyes of many fans. I heard it often … the …
How fun is it to see a new variation of a foundation play of the Oregon offense! The Sweep Read is one of those plays of the Oregon offense that has been unchanged since FishDuck.com introduced the play to football fans more than three years ago. Now we are beginning to see new wrinkles that Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich is adding to …
Oregon getting physical? We all know that the national narrative referred to the Ducks as soft and this game went a long way to refuting it, but how? What was the game plan that Coach Helfrich used to defeat the Spartans? There is an enormous amount to cover, but today lets look at one of the staples of the Oregon …
My friends … we are beginning our fourth year of learning together, and it is time to have “the talk” about some fundamental terms, because an understanding of them gives that next step up of learning that you and the thousands of “Next Level” readers who come to this site want. I promise that if you take the 15 seconds to understand the terms below, you will …