As Charles Fischer pointed out in yesterday’s article, the Oregon offense did take steps forward in the first half against ASU. This was encouraging to see and showed that the coaching staff was willing to open up the playbook to things that have WORKED at Oregon, and weren’t absolutely hell-bent on the conservative power-game that wasn’t working. Having said that, …
The Pac-12: The Conference of Champions. Conference ambassador Bill Walton inserts it into every basketball telecast he ever does – and for good reason. The Pac-12 is the conference of champions in all of athletics, and it’s not even close. On May 28, the conference won its 500th championship, followed by the B1G with 307, then the SEC with 220. It’s …
Over the past 50 years or so there have been many great teams in the Pac-8/10/12, but only a few teams have risen to the top to dominate the conference over an extended time period. There are common threads among the teams that dominated and unique outliers as well. Coaching, a matter of “no small disturbance” in Oregon right now …
Listening to my adversary’s closing argument this week, I suffered a moment of déjà vu clarity; one of those moments where you realize you just relearned a lesson you already knew. Everyone has a “tell.” We can train, practice and strive for self-improvement, and sometimes succeed, but we cannot escape that which we have made normal. When someone shows you, …
With the blockbuster NFL trade between the New Orleans Saints and the Seattle Seahawks to swap Jimmy Graham for Max Unger and a 3rd round pick, Pete Carroll has to be wondering who he will put in to replace his Duck alumni at center. While it does appear that the ‘Hawks are likely to sign a veteran center to step in, there is …
*Disclaimer. This column, like all of my columns, is made in jest. (Except the stuff about the Beavers and Huskies. I mean all of that.) In this week’s installment, I suggest engaging in some activities that would KILL YOU DEAD if you actually did them. Please don’t!* Super Bowl XLIX will be played tomorrow. That’s a good thing, because it means Super Bowl …
The Philadelphia Eagles under Chip Kelly keep reaching for the stars. They encourage fans to hope for a Super Bowl run with unselfish teamwork, clever schemes on both sides of the ball, and emerging young talent. Then reality slaps them back down to earth, as the Eagles lose to the top level of NFL teams: Green Bay (at Lambeau), San …
Before getting into this week’s Three-and-Out, I have one comment that I haven’t seen anywhere else about the big MSU game: Of Oregon’s 46 points, 38 were scored by underclassmen. With Jeff Lockie looking much improved from a year ago with 11-of-12 passing against South Dakota, don’t worry about 2015. There will be life after Mariota. Now, on to the …
It seems like such a short time ago. The very name “USC” brought about a sense of awe. Many of us liked to say the whole thing without shortening it – ”The University of Southern California.” They were who we wanted to be – a perennial power. The top of the college football world. They played in “The Coliseum.” No need for …
This is shaping up to be the summer of the hurry up offense and the attack it has come under. I am okay with coaches arguing over the possible rule change all summer and taking jabs at each other. Imagine how much bigger the Iron Bowl will be if Alabama’s Nick Saban and Auburn’s Gus Malzahn have all summer to speak …
Sanctions. You either love them or hate them. We love them when the teams we hate get leveled by them, and hate them when teams we love get the same treatment. Ironic, isn’t it? But there is something inherently unfair about the way sanctions are carried out, no matter what team we are rooting for. I began thinking of this …
Next man up. That mantra doesn’t apply only to the roster, it applies to Oregon’s coaching staff as well. 1977 was the last time the Ducks didn’t hire their previous offensive coordinator to fill their head coaching vacancy. On Sunday, Mark Helfrich became the latest one to follow that path, and in doing so allowed a staff that had previously …