Charles Fischer

Gotta have some fun...

That is from the past....we don't know if that is available for this year.

Note it is NOT the winged yellow helmet, I like both, but I gotta know--do we have more than one green helmet?

Oh yeah...us old farts love the classic look with our traditional colors! Gary Bryant Never Looked so Good... Beautiful Ducks Forever! Traveling in Style!

Here is the clip so you can hear the correct quote...I remembered it as best I could, but the actual sounds better....

I went home for a late lunch and had the show B1G Today on, and ol' coach and analyst Gerry DiNardo was effusive in his praise of Will Stein and what he witnessed in his trip to Eugene prior to the season. He stated that the QB meeting he sat in on with Stein...."the coaching and discussion of progressions in a play was the best I've watched in my life."

Yep, unfortunately, style points are still important...

Makes me wanna....

It is always fun to guess what Our Beloved Ducks are doing, and then seeing later how close we got. Our forum-friend, 30Duck, has tech issues and will not be able to rejoin us for a few weeks, but I spoke with him on the phone yesterday, as well as Mike West, and both gave me their thoughts on the offense that got me to wondering... What IS Will Stein up to? Thus far, he is doing the opposite of last year, whereas in 2024--he did a slow rollout of the offense that many here found pedestrian, almost boring at times. We were winning, but not winning BIG, while this year we are scoring boatloads of points, and showing stuff you would not think would appear until a big play in a much bigger game. What do YOU think is going on? Do you think he and Lanning decided to "go-for-it," as some games, (like the Rose Bowl last year) require a ton of scoring to win the game? Or that he is just messing with the Penn State DC in advance to make their preparation that much more difficult...and Stein pulls out new stuff for them? Or is this a head-fake and Stein reins the offense back in again...to keep opposing DCs guessing? I love what we've seen, but wonder what the bigger plan is the entire season, and what they're doing now--how it plays into their overall plan?

Boy...they have a fantastic culture going on the offensive line, and they are jelling already and totally bought in. "The sky is the limit for this group."

Great stuff, and a great interview if you can read it, as I don't know if it is free or subscriber content.

I noticed how a No. 17, a receiver, was blocking superbly downfield vs. Montana State, (Kyler Kasper...right?) and when I noticed him blocking fantastic on a running play vs. Oklahoma State, I realized that no....he is not 6'6" as Kasper is. So I looked it up and realized that Kasper changed to No. 3, and No. 17 is true freshman Cooper Perry. He caught a few passes, but has been exceptional at blocking already. Can you believe true freshmen in their first games doing so well? WR Coach Ross Douglas is Killing-it!

I think we did, as I know I underestimated him. We have had highly regarded receivers bust, such as Jurion Dickey, or others take a while to develop, such as Troy Franklin. But, Dak Moore is so far ahead of what I had hoped, and he is just what we needed to launch this offense and make a serious run in the Playoffs. Very grateful to have him!

Now if we could get them to say Eugene correctly? It is not YEW-gene, it is yew-GENE with the emphasis on the second syllable. No sweat, they'll get it down....in about five years!

No prob. We won't be punting anyway....

Oh, my orange-and-blue friend...this is one time that I politely disagree. We had physical football in the old Pac-12, but nobody watched us to see it, as the time-zone thing is real. (I think also Utah fans would take umbrage to being implied as soft, as an example) We did not toughen up; we were already physical, and simply blended in easily to win the conference. I see the scoring in the Big-10 is up already this year, and I would posit that the conference is adjusting to OREGON, and not the other way around.

Something I noticed at UCLA was a complete lack of pocket presence, and he stood flat-footed in the pocket, and thus between those two elements...got sacked easier. It appears he is not flat-footed in the pocket now, and I did not see any of the lack of pocket presence these last two weeks that I noted he had at UCLA. He might have felt quite a lot of pressure in Westwood to create something special, whereas the weapons he has here at Oregon would give anyone more confidence. In both Oregon games thus far, he has thrown the ball away when nothing was open, as opposed to forcing throws for the Bruins that created Pick-Sixes. As I ponder it...he looks completely different at Oregon than his UCLA days, IMHO.

I completely agree with this post; as quickness in a defender can be recruited and trained, but it can be slowed down by hesitation created from so MUCH preparation needed when facing Oregon. I am in the camp of running all the offense, but continue to add unseen elements out of the back of the playbook, as Helfrich did often as OC. Throw lots of stuff out there that requires defensive preparation, but pop new wrinkles on big 3rd downs.... Will our OC do that? This is a new element of entertainment to watch for in upcoming games. How much will be the same? How much will be new? You can score easily from tactical components, not just with raw talent, and we saw a ton of that last Saturday.

I sense that too, a much different approach than last year, where we, "did a slow-roll" of the offense as the season progressed. I believe he has made a tactical turn toward creating an expectation of scoring boatloads, using strategic formational and play variations to overwhelm an opposing DC in preparation. Then he pulls something else out not seen before... Perhaps they have embraced that this is the era of offense as you suggested, and thus need a high-powered offense to counter. Glad to see it, and glad to see all the entertaining permutations of plays off formations. Ha! You noted the Fly-Sweep from under center to Dak Moore zipping by....which resembles elements of the "Jet-Sweep" from the Shotgun under Taggart. I've seen more snaps under center in the first two games this year than entire seasons in the past, and I love it. (This might be part of following up on recruiting promises to prepare Oregon QBs for the NFL?) It seems that Stein has really upped his game, as has the rest of the team.

The depth at defensive back has been astonishing. They are all so fast, and hit hard whether they are veteran or a freshman. I actually think we have a touch faster reaction in the secondary this year, with more sure tackles in the first two games. If there is an injury--I feel much better about the backup coming in....since he is playing as much as the starter! Aaron Flowers, RS Freshman Safety

I lost all sympathy for them once they decided to steal 300 million from the departing 10 members... Phil did not join us until we went to the Rose Bowl and then the Cotton Bowl. We had to EARN his trust, as winners want to work with winners. Beavis has not earned it, has declined, and is worth much less now.