Mic

8-1 Ducks? Which game are you ceding? Or do you mean overall and not the 9 Pac-12 games each team plays?

I had forgotten about that! Well, their big receivers are mostly seniors and TB is now one year older himself. But he can't do it alone. Lanning & Lupoi have a task in front of them. Washington solved the conundrum, Oregon should be able to as well. I hope.

After considering all the information I could find on Stanford, (including Joey Mac's Duck Insider show today where he interviewed Stanford's John Platz) I think the one area a depleted Tree team could attack Oregon's defense is their passing game to their WR's. They have size at the receiver position, bigger than what Oregon can match with our shorter (albeit quicker) DB's. Only Trikweze Bridges has anywhere near the height and wingspan of the Stanford receivers and even then he gives up 2 inches or more. Gonzalez gives up 3" and other O DB's 4" or more. The so-called 50-50 balls where the QB throws the ball high and to the outside shoulder making the catch one of a jump ball situation has worked very well for Stanford over the years. Here is where Lanning/Lupoi's Cover 2 defense (designed to limit the deep passes and keep everything in front of them) can be attacked, especially if/when Stanford gets near the red zone. Stanford did give up 8 sacks to Washington. Oregon needs to see if they can do the same and keep their QB scrambling for his life and not steady in the pocket. I'm not original in thinking this. This is Platz's feeling on how the Tree can find success against the Ducks.

I suppose this is one way to create an obstacle for the defender without jeopardizing your QB. If it works, it works, I guess. lol

ESPN is also reporting that E.J.Smith is out for the rest of the season so we won't see him in uniform at Autzen. There went their best rusher, averaging 6.9 yds per carry. I think he had a lot to do with the 200 yards Stanford got against USC. He did not play against Washington (when they rushed for <90). So, there's that much. Tanner McKee is a pretty good passer it appears with a 67% completion rate, (but w/4 ints to 6 td's). WR Michael Williams has the most receptions (13) for the most yards (286) with an excellent 22+ yard per catch. I don't see how else Stanford can attack Oregon's defense much differently than WSU did if Charles' & DNZ's analysis is correct about the weak points to the Cover-2. If you are right, and S can't run the ball against O's defense - well, that's probably why the betting houses have O at -20. Thanks to yours and Charles analysis we should be able to watch this play out and better understand why things are happening the way they might. I still think Stanford is dangerous (having won 2 of the last 4 and leading the overall series) but maybe not so dangerous right now. O should win this going away.

I wonder if David Shaw will attempt to prove Chip right this Saturday? Reports are that E.J.Smith may be out (best RB) so he may have to adjust and throw more (my guess).

I haven't really studied Stanford yet this year (better get busy) but it doesn't appear that they're using the TE position as much as in the past. Their top 5 receivers are 4 WR's and 1 RB. Their TE tacks in at #7 in catches. Also, with E.J. Smith reported not available Saturday, the running duties will fall heavier of Filkins who's averaging about 2 yards less per carry than Smith. (Smith is also #6 on pass catches). This leads me to believe Stanford will attempt to pass more, maybe run less, and attack the soft spots of the Oregon Defense, using the the slants and screens much like WSU. Unless, of course, David Shaw (cagey fellow he is) comes up with something else. End result: Oregon will likely continue with their Cover-2 you and Charles are describing here and Stanford is going to have a rough time keeping up with the Oregon offensive juggernaut. I won't predict a 'blowout' but I might call it a thumping if Stanford can't force a couple turnovers. GO OREGON!

Congratulations Charles!

These are my thoughts as well.

I hope many will take the time to read these analysis', Charles. It's the best part about FishDuck, imho.

For now, as in recruiting better pass rushers? Well, if this technique continues to work I'm all for it. It was pretty amazing to see how well it helped the secondary standup when the QB had so much time to find a receiver.

So that's why WSU looked so fast on the edges.

This technique (staying safe) would suggest much fewer sacks with (hopefully) more throw-aways instead. Both result in a 'lost' down but without the lost yardage (and punishment on the QB) a sack yields. It will be interesting to see how Stanford counters this, keeping in mind their two injured OT's and #1 RB.

History says not; unless 17 points is considered a blowout. If Oregon wins by 24 then that I'd consider that a blowout. Ducks 38-20 if I had to guess.

I agree with you on this because no team in the FBS can ever have too many good, experienced and healthy O- Linemen. This is such a critical part of any winning football team and no other position I know of is more susceptible to serious injuries than down linemen. Also, I would disagree with you on the first 1/2 of the first sentence above. Something wasn't working down in the red zone. How much of that was the play calling or the fact that in a shortened field, the O-line was just not as dominate or effective as it needed to be on multiple successive drives is still being debated. If the coaches think Conerly can contribute and bring a spark then - hey ho! Let 'er buck! Rotating linemen in and out to keep them fresh and healthy is the best luxury any team can have (outside of a stable of 5* QB's & RB's).

Maybe. In this modern world of '100% commitments' being about as solid as the ether they're tweeted on, I wouldn't want to hold my breath on this one. Nix could be back, TT might just stay on and who knows if JB does as well? I still say Oregon needs to be looking hard at replacing our senior linemen - on both sides of the ball. KD knows this, I'm certain.

KPNW reported this morning that both starting tackles are out for the game, as is their best RB (Emmett Smith's son). If the Ducks can't get more sacks against Stanford than they did against WSU I will be quite surprised and disappointed. They (S) are gonna have to pass a lot to keep up with Oregon.

Byron Cardwell is listed at 6'0", 206. Plus: All of the above listed Running Backs (11) are either Freshmen or Sophomores. We have no upperclassmen on roster at this position. The only way I see Dowdell coming here is if he thinks he'll be carrying the rock in a year or two, at most. I think Oregon needs another RB on roster about as bad as they need a new head coach. Nada. Better DL, KD & TL spend their time & efforts on other much needed positions like O & D-linemen. We have a bevy of good linemen leaving soon. Just my 2 cents worth.

For what it's worth (2 cents?) I think Ken Dillingham is going to be around for about 3 years because: In 3 years, this program could be in the National Championship game again and it would be his Offense on display nationally. Right now KD is still learning everything that goes into being the top man on offense: the recruiting, the coaching, the scheming; and he has a lot still to learn about all three. O.C.'s and D.C.'s are now starting to get plump salaries of their own including lots of perks - without all the extra pressure and headaches of being the H.C. The H.C.'s are the 1st to get blamed when teams struggle. H.C.'s are far more likely to get fired when things go wrong with the program - on the drop of a hat. But this is all just fun speculation.

Probably not big enough (debbie duck). Uncle Phil's well-heeled, of course, but that doesn't mean he will want to just throw money around. Some of the other really big programs are so well endowed with $ that Oregon, a relatively small university in a very small media market, will always struggle to compete. Gotta keep finding these Chip Kelly's and Dan Lanning's out there before the big schools do.

It wasn't an upset, but it was pretty darn inspirational

What about the "Next Man Up" ? All teams suffer injuries (alas) and it's a lousy part of the game for every team. Unless, of course, your team is an SEC powerhouse where the 'B' squad is > the A squad of most other college teams. Stanford is missing two starting O-linemen and their stud RB this Saturday. What happens to O if Nix gets hurt? fNix goes down?

Certainly, but I sure hope those opportunities don't come too soon! Seriously, I hope KD is SO focused on Offense right now, on designing and experimenting on how to make the game go faster and harder, that he's got absolutely no interest what-so-ever in taking on the role (and headaches) of being a Head Coach. But then, my wife tells me I can be selfish at times. Aren't we all?

Like Kamikaze Kid points out - the Miami job may come up! (or is that a dumpster fire too?)