Dis the Ducks

[marothisu]

That Hutchinson receiver looks pretty good, so our corners will have their hands full - both were just named All Pac-12 so it should be a fun matchup. The TE Kolar will probably see a bunch of different people matched up with him from the nickel safety to the LBs. He’s a big dude. I’m also wary of the back up RB, looks like he has some wheels on him and we’ve seen the defense get burned by chance of pace backs.

Hutchinson had a brutal first game against Louisiana but has done much better since then.

As far as receiving core who actually plays in games...a lot of length

- Dylan Soehner (TE): 6'7" 272 pounds
- Chase Allen (TE): 6'7" 240 pounds
- Charlie Kolar (TE): 6'6" 257 pounds
- Sean Shaw Jr (WR): 6'6" 212 pounds
- Xavier Hutchinson (WR): 6'3" 207 pounds
- Joe Scates (WR): 6'2" 191 pounds
- Landen Akers (WR): 6'0" 191 pounds
- Tarique Milton (WR): 5'10" 188 pounds

Tarique Milton has had some injuries this year but he's very good when healthy. Had over 700 receiving yards last season. And yeah, the backup RB Kene Nwangwu is fast. Was a track star in HS - runs a 10.71s 100 meters.

 

[inDucktion]

A little late to the party, but I'll give my two cents:
The Ducks very much live up to their title of the youngest team in the country. Something like 78% of our eligible players are underclassmen.
We have a new OC, entirely new o-line, new starting QB, new starting LBs (one of which is a true freshman), and new starters in the secondary. All of that with a month of limited practice before the season started meant that we were starting a bit behind.
We have flashes of brilliance then pure head scratching moments as a result.
Players finally have started reaching the condition that they would normally be at the start of a season, which has led to our defense looking a clip faster. However, our offense is still unsteady, which can be understood given the unique circumstances.
That said, our RB stable is deceptively good. They don't get a lot of fanfare but our top back this year averages 7 yards a carry and 27 yards per reception, and the other averages 4.4 yards a carry and 10.7 yards a reception and has been dinged up the entire year.
Until a couple games ago, our kicker was also a huge weakness, but the coach has changed kickers and the new one seems much more consistent and claims to be comfortable kicking FGs from up to 55 yards out.

Our biggest worry at the moment is our QB play. When the current starter is on, this offense hums and can score from anywhere on the field, but the past couple weeks he's gotten rattled and looks worse than he did at the start of the year.
Several people he mentioned that not much had been seen of Kayvon Thibodeaux, and there are several potential reasons for that:
1) nearly every offense would double him and we frequently would only rush 3 or 4
2) our other rushers weren't being effective, so single blockers could handle them
3) he put on some weight to be better at rush defense and be able to muscle players more, but didn't have the off-season conditioning program to get his body used to playing at that weight
4) many of the teams we were playing knew he was coming and tried to get the ball out quickly to the short or intermediate routes.
He looked better against Cal and then exploded against USC

Truth be told, I don't think the players weren't motivated much this year, and I don't think that changed until after they realized they were going to lose to Oregon State. It's also hard to continue a winning culture in a year when the presumed leaders of the team opt-out, and Covid protocol limits contact within the team making it harder for leadership to develop naturally.

There are three major factors that I feel will decide this game:
1) Can our QB play with confidence and make the right reads?
2) Can our defensive front get pressure on the QB?
3) Can we use our RBs effectively?

 

[RatherBeYachting]

I haven't watched much Duck football this year, so I need to check out some footage. Your team speed from previous years always stuck out to me.

Glad a bunch of Oregon fans came over here to visit. We appreciate the chatter from a good fan base.

I’m sure you won’t be too sorry to hear this, but Oregon doesn’t have those same track star types we’ve had in the past.

Cristobal has presided over a football philosophy change that emphasizes physicality over the blazing speed the team used to be known for. The RB group no longer moonlights as the track team’s 4x100 relay.

#30 Jaylon Redd, a 5’8” WR used on runs as well is the closest to those guys from the Chip Kelly era. Both of the main running backs, #7 CJ Verdell and #26 Travis Dye have enough speed for breakaways. #2 Mykael Wright is probably the fastest guy on the team, he’s one of the two CBs and had two 100 yard KO returns last season. #89 TE DJ Johnson and #1 ILB Noah Sewell are about as fast as 260 pounders can be.

 

[bisonduck]

Will be interesting to see the matchup of our WR/TE considering we have 4 WR and TE that are 6'6" and above, and a few more at 6'2" and 6'3"

Hutchinson had a brutal first game against Louisiana but has done much better since then.

As far as receiving core who actually plays in games...a lot of length

- Dylan Soehner (TE): 6'7" 272 pounds
- Chase Allen (TE): 6'7" 240 pounds
- Charlie Kolar (TE): 6'6" 257 pounds
- Sean Shaw Jr (WR): 6'6" 212 pounds
- Xavier Hutchinson (WR): 6'3" 207 pounds
- Joe Scates (WR): 6'2" 191 pounds
- Landen Akers (WR): 6'0" 191 pounds
- Tarique Milton (WR): 5'10" 188 pounds

Tarique Milton has had some injuries this year but he's very good when healthy. Had over 700 receiving yards last season. And yeah, the backup RB Kene Nwangwu is fast. Was a track star in HS - runs a 10.71s 100 meters.

Honestly, the athletic profile of Oregon's defense is elite. I don't worry about a teams length or speed. It's really about being fundamentally sound and playing assignment football since they're so young.

I hope this doesn't come off as bad as it sounds. Those three TEs aren't beating anybody because of their athleticism, especially Soehner. Kolar is really good at finding the soft spot of the zone. I am sure Campbell will come up with ways to get a mismatch here and there. There are a couple of defenders that are average athletically, primarily at boundary safety.

 

[CloneGuy8]

Honestly, the athletic profile of Oregon's defense is elite. I don't worry about teams length or speed. It's really about being fundamentally sound and playing assignment football since they're so young.

I hope this doesn't come off as bad as it sounds. Those three TEs aren't beating anybody because of their athleticism, especially Soehner. Kolar is really good at finding the soft spot of the zone. I am sure Campbell will come up with ways to get a mismatch here and there. There are a couple of defenders that are average athletically, primarily at boundary safety.

No one will mistake Soehner for Rob Gronkowski, but he's faster than you might imagine a 6'7 270 lb guy would be and has turned into a nice threat in the passing game. Plus he can do things like this

 

[Old87]

Just finished watching the PAC-12 Championship game. Oregon looks like a team that tries to be extra physical during and after the plays. Lots of trash talking too. Cyclones need to be ready for this kind of crap. Don’t let them intimidate anyone.

 

[bisonduck]

Just finished watching the PAC-12 Championship game. Oregon looks like a team that tries to be extra physical during and after the plays. Lots of trash talking too. Cyclones need to be ready for this kind of crap. Don’t let them intimidate anyone.

You gotta understand that's So Cal kids playing other So Cal kids. That game is always extra spicy.

 

[bisonduck]

No one will mistake Soehner for Rob Gronkowski, but he's faster than you might imagine a 6'7 270 lb guy would be and has turned into a nice threat in the passing game. Plus he can do things like this

They're good football players. I didn't want that to go the wrong way.

The inside linebackers ran sub 4.2 shuttles coming out of high school. The nickel back can touch his ankles standing up. When we drop our 250-260 pound edge players, they can run with any TE.

The team faces DJ Johnson and Spencer Webb in practice every day. OSU and UW regularly feature three TEs. The PAC 12 North features the TE heavily.

I am much more concerned about assignment, tackling and fitting the run.

 

[GoDuckxs349]

OK, that I agree with. BUT, the other part of the conversation was that all Tier 1 and Tier 2 revenues were shared equally from there on. Before that, teams got a bigger portion of the revenue for more TV appearances. Up until then, it was an almost yearly vote to try for equal revenue with only UT, NU, ATM, OU voting against. When you think about it, that $15M that Texas was getting from the LHN is pretty small vs the bigger ESPN and Fox packages for first and second tier rights...especially when all the other schools were able to market their third tier rights on their own. A school like Nebraska wouldn't have gotten $15M, but it might have been worth 8-10. I'm guessing they are regretting their decision about now.

Interesting perspective, I hadn't looked at that as closely as you did. It still seemed like the Big-12 bent over backwards to keep UT in the conference.

 

[cyclone1209]

I think it's high time for our D to get some turnovers. We have been lacking in this department for a couple games now.

It's testament to Rose's play that he has 4 int's this year, but some others need to step up in terms of forcing turnovers.

 

[bisonduck]

I think it's high time for our D to get some turnovers. We have been lacking in this department for a couple games now.

It's testament to Rose's play that he has 4 int's this year, but some others need to step up in terms of forcing turnovers.

On that front, it looks like the ministry of propaganda, Rob Moseley, isn’t mentioning Shough or Brown in his reports like he normally does. Looks like Anthony Brown may be with the ones.

Shough is a turnover machine.

https://goducks.com/news/2020/12/22/football-practice-report-dec-22.aspx

 

[Kimber45]

Now that we've entered Phase II (analytics) of the pregame banter cycle I decided to watch what ISU clips are available on YT, drove by a Holiday Inn, and came away with these impressions:

1. Purdy. The game will go as Purdy goes and I don't mean just on offense. When Purdy is on he's very good. Spins a great ball, makes good decisions, and frequently extends a play with his arm or legs. If the ISU offense can grind out long drives and score in the red zone Oregon could be in for a long day. Yeah, I know, file this under "no shite sherlock". What I don't see though is an offense that is good enough across the board to win with a QB who is just managing the game by relying on the talent around him. I really like your backs, #11 (Allen) is a stud and runs like a wide out, but Purdy having a good game is key. Who is your back up QB and how much faith do you have in him?

2. Pressure. I see the offense break down pretty quickly when there's pressure and that's where Purdy often excels; it's also where plays go horribly wrong. If Oregon plays mostly a three man front and zone coverage I can see Purdy absolutely slicing and dicing through the Oregon defense. Purdy also needs to be spied because he's such a good runner. Which leads to the rub - If Oregon puts four hands down at the line and spies Purdy with a LB or nickle then your TEs run wild down the seams or on shallow crosses. Personally, I prefer the latter and take our chances.

3. Defense. I see a lot of three man fronts with very athletic "max effort" (as another poster put it) guys who can get to the QB. The base looks like a 3-3-5, perhaps an ISU fan could chime in with some additional insight. The safeties are fast and hit hard, one guy in particular. Saw a lot of soft zone coverage and not overwhelmed by the corner play. On the whole, though, there's speed on defense, they play smart, and tackle well.

4. Run Defense. Saw a lot of six guys in the box and a high safety. I know ISU has pride in their run defense but I think even Oregon's relatively inexperienced OL can make hay with that.

Anyhoo, just the ramblings of a mostly sober interet rando with a keyboard.

Ps. I have all sorts of critiques about Oregon as well so don't take the foregoing as chest thumping.

 

[cyrocksmypants]

Now that we've entered Phase II (analytics) of the pregame banter cycle I decided to watch what ISU clips are available on YT, drove by a Holiday Inn, and came away with these impressions:

1. Purdy. The game will go as Purdy goes and I don't mean just on offense. When Purdy is on he's very good. Spins a great ball, makes good decisions, and frequently extends a play with his arm or legs. If the ISU offense can grind out long drives and score in the red zone Oregon could be in for a long day. Yeah, I know, file this under "no shite sherlock". What I don't see though is an offense that is good enough across the board to win with a QB who is just managing the game by relying on the talent around him. I really like your backs, #11 (Allen) is a stud and runs like a wide out, but Purdy having a good game is key. Who is your back up QB and how much faith do you have in him?

2. Pressure. I see the offense break down pretty quickly when there's pressure and that's where Purdy often excels; it's also where plays go horribly wrong. If Oregon plays mostly a three man front and zone coverage I can see Purdy absolutely slicing and dicing through the Oregon defense. Purdy also needs to be spied because he's such a good runner. Which leads to the rub - If Oregon puts four hands down at the line and spies Purdy with a LB or nickle then your TEs run wild down the seams or on shallow crosses. Personally, I prefer the latter and take our chances.

3. Defense. I see a lot of three man fronts with very athletic "max effort" (as another poster put it) guys who can get to the QB. The base looks like a 3-3-5, perhaps an ISU fan could chime in with some additional insight. The safeties are fast and hit hard, one guy in particular. Saw a lot of soft zone coverage and not overwhelmed by the corner play. On the whole, though, there's speed on defense, they play smart, and tackle well.

4. Run Defense. Saw a lot of six guys in the box and a high safety. I know ISU has pride in their run defense but I think even Oregon's relatively inexperienced OL can make hay with that.

Anyhoo, just the ramblings of a mostly sober interet rando with a keyboard.

Ps. I have all sorts of critiques about Oregon as well so don't take the foregoing as chest thumping.

It is a 3-3-5. A lot of teams think they can make hay with their run game against us, but most fail to do so. I’d argue we have one of the best run defenses in college football. If you want to beat our defense, you do it deep and over the middle.

 

[JM4CY]

Now that we've entered Phase II (analytics) of the pregame banter cycle I decided to watch what ISU clips are available on YT, drove by a Holiday Inn, and came away with these impressions:

1. Purdy. The game will go as Purdy goes and I don't mean just on offense. When Purdy is on he's very good. Spins a great ball, makes good decisions, and frequently extends a play with his arm or legs. If the ISU offense can grind out long drives and score in the red zone Oregon could be in for a long day. Yeah, I know, file this under "no shite sherlock". What I don't see though is an offense that is good enough across the board to win with a QB who is just managing the game by relying on the talent around him. I really like your backs, #11 (Allen) is a stud and runs like a wide out, but Purdy having a good game is key. Who is your back up QB and how much faith do you have in him?

2. Pressure. I see the offense break down pretty quickly when there's pressure and that's where Purdy often excels; it's also where plays go horribly wrong. If Oregon plays mostly a three man front and zone coverage I can see Purdy absolutely slicing and dicing through the Oregon defense. Purdy also needs to be spied because he's such a good runner. Which leads to the rub - If Oregon puts four hands down at the line and spies Purdy with a LB or nickle then your TEs run wild down the seams or on shallow crosses. Personally, I prefer the latter and take our chances.

3. Defense. I see a lot of three man fronts with very athletic "max effort" (as another poster put it) guys who can get to the QB. The base looks like a 3-3-5, perhaps an ISU fan could chime in with some additional insight. The safeties are fast and hit hard, one guy in particular. Saw a lot of soft zone coverage and not overwhelmed by the corner play. On the whole, though, there's speed on defense, they play smart, and tackle well.

4. Run Defense. Saw a lot of six guys in the box and a high safety. I know ISU has pride in their run defense but I think even Oregon's relatively inexperienced OL can make hay with that.

Anyhoo, just the ramblings of a mostly sober interet rando with a keyboard.

Ps. I have all sorts of critiques about Oregon as well so don't take the foregoing as chest thumping.

Brock “corn Jesus” Purdy doesn’t get hurt. No need to talk about a back up.

 

[CloneGuy8]

Since JM has jinxed it, the backup is Hunter Dekkers. True freshman dual-threat QB that is built like a linebacker. Played high school ball at a tiny town here in Iowa, but was a 4 star and player of the year in our state. He's looked good in mop-up duty, but hopefully we won't need to see him in an injury situation.

 

[theshadow]

3. Defense. I see a lot of three man fronts with very athletic "max effort" (as another poster put it) guys who can get to the QB. The base looks like a 3-3-5, perhaps an ISU fan could chime in with some additional insight.

4. Run Defense. Saw a lot of six guys in the box and a high safety. I know ISU has pride in their run defense but I think even Oregon's relatively inexperienced OL can make hay with that.

The front 3 have been good enough at times to require two double-teams, thus occupying all 5 OL (and getting held in the process) and allowing the LBs or a DB to fly in.

 

[Kimber45]

It is a 3-3-5. A lot of teams think they can make hay with their run game against us, but most fail to do so. I’d argue we have one of the best run defenses in college football. If you want to beat our defense, you do it deep and over the middle.

Then you have three things going in your favor. A great run defense with six guys in the box. An Oregon OL that's still gelling. And an Oregon team without a true three down power back. For some reason Coach Cristobal doesn't want to burn a scholly on a guy in the mold of Stewart or Blount. Our biggest back, Habibi-Likio, is serviceable but nothing that throws fear into the hearts of Gods.

 

[Kimber45]

On that front, it looks like the ministry of propaganda, Rob Moseley . . .

I'm still amazed that Oregon brought a guy made famous for crying about being excluded from Chip Kelly's closed practices into the machine.

 

[bisonduck]

Then you have three things going in your favor. A great run defense with six guys in the box. An Oregon OL that's still gelling. And an Oregon team without a true three down power back. For some reason Coach Cristobal doesn't want to burn a scholly on a guy in the mold of Stewart or Blount. Our biggest back, Habibi-Likio, is serviceable but nothing that throws fear into the hearts of Gods.

You have to watch some videos on the defense. It looks like a 6 man box but they bring them in post snap.

Put it this way, let's hope Brown starts this game. It will confuse the hell out of Shough. Brown did well in the short yard package and the best way to beat this defense is 3-4 yards at a time.

 

[cyrocksmypants]

Then you have three things going in your favor. A great run defense with six guys in the box. An Oregon OL that's still gelling. And an Oregon team without a true three down power back. For some reason Coach Cristobal doesn't want to burn a scholly on a guy in the mold of Stewart or Blount. Our biggest back, Habibi-Likio, is serviceable but nothing that throws fear into the hearts of Gods.

Yeah, we’re 10th in the nation against the rush allowing just over 100 yards per game in 11 games. It seems deceiving because we play with three down linemen and three backers, but generally those three down linemen can eat up all 5 offensive linemen, allowing Mike Rose (the Big 12 defensive player of the year) to freely flow for tackles, and our defense is pretty phenomenal at going sideline to sideline. I’m not worried about our rush defense. Our weakness is any kind of go route or hitch route, particularly up the middle. While our linebackers and safeties are fantastic run defenders, there seems to often be 4-5 plays per game where they just look completely confused in pass defense. One of our cornerbacks, Johnson, is pretty lockdown and rarely thrown to, but the other side is probably average, at best.