David Marsh

For the record I have written several articles about how Oregon's defense needs to improve. My most critical article of Oregon's defense can be found via this link... https://fishduck.com/2020/12/oregons-defense-is-a-cascading-failure/ Though the has been defensive growth and new leadership taking hold on the defensive side of the ball. https://fishduck.com/2020/12/a-new-defensive-era-has-arrived-at-oregon/ We do need our defense to grow and be the force it was in 2019 when they were the shut down defensive force in the pac-12. The offense needs to be more consistent and be able to win shoot outs. The offense needs to be better. The defense needs to be better as well but that is another discussion and I am sure I'll be talking defense again soon.

I do hope so... I have noticed more spread elements but the offense seems to have gotten bogged down pretty badly in the last three games.

The players will be there for it but will see see it on the field. It is a very exciting and promising recruiting class and I am hopeful we see an improvement in quarterback play to see an explosion of offense next season.

With another game under their belt maybe they would have sorted out some of the problems that plagued them in the fiesta bowl. The thing is the Oregon humiliation came out of season long problems. Probably wouldn't have helped but game expirence is so important.

Right now I do think Oregon threepeats next year. The biggest thing this current team needs is experience and they got some. They still have a lot to work on ... But that all starts with experience. You know ball security is going to be the first, second, and third top priority issues this off season.

I saw some Huskies in the Twitter feed declare themselves number one and should be pac-12 champions by default.

I'm honestly not sure a lot of those kids are actually serious about Oregon or just giving lipservice. Even with the previous coaching staves there were kids who said Oregon was their dream school and then didn't end up at Oregon. Yes, there were some Oregon didn't even offer but many many more who had an offer and didn't choose Oregon. I do think it would be to our benefit if Oregon had a high powered offense and become an offensive destination again. I think 2021 will be the real test for Cristobal as he will have some veterans that are apart of his first big recruiting class.

If Oregon gets Cardwell that could work. Six foot and 200 pounds ... Needs the speed. CHL has the size MC wants but no where near the speed. I know Cristobal wants a power fun game but beyond that I'm not sure he knows what he wants in his offense. You can have an effective power run game and a spread offense ... Ohio State showed us first hand in the 2015 National Championship Game with Elliot. Alabama has preserved a power run game with their spread offense.

I like the size of our offensive line for sure. The raw talent is there but what we have seen schematically over the past couple of years isn't helping them succeed. Get the offense in space and let those olinemen have more one on one match ups and they will dominate. Looking forward to the upgrades at reciever coming in. If they can regularly get behind the defense the run game is going to open up real fast. I feel JoMo will have a lot of the tools he will need to make a seller offense.

I did come across something the other day that Moorhead has struggled to install his system via zoom. As a high school teacher I completely get the difficulties of trying to teach anything over zoom for a prolonged period of time. I could only imagine how difficult it would be to teach a new offensive system over zoom when players need to physically go through the motions. I have theorized in the past that the Oregon offense has relied more on offensive schemes from the previous two years to help players bridge the gap when there was so much less practice time this year... though that is purely just my speculation. There was a general lack of tempo during the season as well... not necessarily a problem... but when Oregon was playing with tempo and in rhythm the offense looked good. The tempo also disrupted the defense which does allow the offense to play with more power as a slow tempo offense gives time for the defense to set up properly to stop whats coming.

TEs were used pretty well this year on the whole I feel and last year, especially when Breeland was healthy. The problem with TEs has been making sure there is depth at the position and all of the TEs are good blockers and pass catchers. I am really looking forward to seeing how DJ Johnson develops next year with a full off season because he is blocking like another lineman and has pretty good speed and power with good hands as a pass catcher. Webb and Herbert never really got a chance to play this year but next season I do expect both to be healthy and ready. Along with some highly rated freshman.

Credit where credit is due, Crisotbal's offense has been decent... it has been ranked in the upper third of the Pac-12 for the past couple of years which is ok. Though averaging less than forty points a game doesn't feel like the Oregon way we have all grown accustomed to. I am hopeful we are getting the lack of speed addressed with this recruiting class. Seven McGee looks like a burner in the mold of DAT. Recruiting is never done and when it is for a program that has undergone as much chaos as the Ducks had from 2015-2017 with three head coaches and under recruiting it takes time to fill all the gaps.

Addison could make a great corner... he has the height to make it very difficult on opposing receivers. It all depends with Addison if he wants to play on offense or just wants to play. I'm not surprised by Wilson (RB) is transferring out as that group is still top loaded. I would be shocked if Dye and CHL leave... Verdell I suspect comes back... but Dollars is working his way into more and more playing time. Benson sounds like he is also working his way in for some playing time as well as a bigger back. I wouldn't be surprised if a couple receivers opt to transfer... There are a few who have been with the program for a few years but have yet to see the field ... and with this upcoming class of recievers that makes their futures even more doubtful.

Losses can be more important than wins to a young team. This women's basketball team has a whole lot of youth and a loss can help build up their grit and determination to take on a beat a team like Stanford. Incredibly valuable in the long run.

Dollars looked the part of an Oregon back in the mold of LMJ and Barner... evasive and able to break free on the edge. Verdell isn't Oregon's back of the future, that belongs to Dollars and even Dye was running well in Moorhead's scheme when they limited the use of the pistol. I would say Devon Williams and DJ Johnson were huge this year. Both are big receivers and will be key pieces moving forward. Johnson is an incredible blocker but outside of a couple of drops he is a solid receiver. I will be great to see Webb and Herbert make it onto the field as both were sidelined this year due to injuries to the best of our knowledge. I think there is a lot of solid star power on the offensive line... I do think some incoming freshman might take some of those spots away as there are some weaknesses in the oline... granted the oline missed out on a lot of bonding time with a lost spring and a hasty fall camp.

Ohhh the flashbacks I just had when you invoked Hoke... I thought I had those memories nice and suppressed. Though in reality I would prefer to hold onto Avalos for at least another year. The defense was exposed more by the youth factor than scheme. The scheme failed when there was not enough on-field player leadership. Need to get this defense generating more turnovers. Though turnovers on the other side of the ball are way more troubling.

Can't be a top ten draft pick as an Oregon quarterback and not get a new head coach in your second year. Harrington, Mariota and Herbert. Hopefully for Herbert he gets someone who works with him rather than tries to smash him into a predetermined offense. The upside for Herbert though is that he is far more a prototypical quarterback than Mariota and should fit in just about any NFL system.

Right up there with Mariota v Herbert! A great time to be a duck!

If Avalos leaves I am sure Cristobal will find a great replacement. I do not find myself concerned about the defensive side of the ball at this time, even though the defense under-preformed this year, because of how young the defense is and how much potential they have. Whoever the DC is they will need to ensure they get the most out of the potential ability that is on this defense.

Schooler is a team player and Taggart moved him to offense out of need. Schooler really should have stayed on defense. He led the team in 2016 with interceptions. He actually reminds me a lot of Brady Breeze (and it's not just the hair) but both were ball hawking and physical safeties. It was a major shame to see him go to the offensive side of the ball and disappear.

It's the year of youth for all of Oregon's big sports right now. Football... Youngest team in the country. Women's basketball... Lost the big three that have been the core of the team for so long. Granted this women's basketball team still looks pretty good, especially fighting injuries. Mens basketball... Well Altman is constantly having to bring in new talent as the one and done problem isn't anything new to men's basketball but it always seems to be a struggle to hold onto talent. It is also the first year with out Pritchard who has been a key component to that team for four years. The future is bright... Even if it is marred with current problems.

I would say Cristobal needs to let go of his need for control over the offensive system. By the looks of it he really lets the defense do its thing. He can and should be involved in the system and aware of how it works. But he needs to step back and let the offense opporate. He hired an OC with a great track record... Cristobal needs to learn to let others make him look good by letting them do their thing. He wants a power run game... Fine... Have the offensive coordinator develop and execute a scheme that incorporates a more power run game. But let them do that.

We have gotten tastes of Moorhead's system. Though on the whole we haven't seen it and things have just not been consistent all year long. Next season there NEEDS to be a quarterback as the sole starter. There needs to be a leader on offense who makes the whole thing tick. The defense has found it's leaders and they are still growing. Those leaders will pull the defense together and bond. The offensive line has a leader in Forsythe as the center. But the offense on the whole is lacking in leadership. The compounds the nonreal system problem. A system provides built in leadership and identity. Without a concrete system there needs to be a leader to make things work... There isn't one.

MC would normally go for it... Th y shouldn't have punted. If they want to get back into the game they can't punt.

Looks like more just critical mental errors. Coaching can correct them and prepare them ... But the fact that they keep on happening is on both the players and the coaches.