FishDuck Article Administrator No. 1 Share Posted October 1, 2023 This is kind of hard to believe about Our Beloved Ducks, so you need to confirm this for yourself in reference to just how unique this season has progressed through five games. I was able to pull Mr. FishDuck from his NFL Thursday predictions long enough for even him to be amazed as well. The first thing you should do ... Duck Defense: Are You Beginning to Believe? FISHDUCK.COM This is kind of hard to believe about Our Beloved Ducks, so you need to confirm this for yourself in reference to just how unique this season has... 1 3 2 3 1 Two Sites: FishDuck and the Our Beloved Ducks forum, The only "Forum with Decorum!" And All-Volunteer? What a wonderful community of Duck fans! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Robertson No. 2 Share Posted October 1, 2023 Duck fans: I'm very glad to be back writing for you. I've got a few interesting article ideas that I expect you will enjoy. I am back for what should be an incredible season, and I will bring you the best Sunday articles I can as long as I keep writing! Also of note: I convinced my wife, whose birthday is January 1st, that if the Ducks make the Rose Bowl/Playoff that we should go, so maybe I can get some good in-the-stadium coverage! Go Ducks! 2 1 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyToBeADuck No. 3 Share Posted October 1, 2023 Ryan, great to have you back and your always interesting articles back on OBDF. Thank you. Am I starting to believe in the Duck defense? Well my eyes certainly believe. As the season has progressed the D unit has started to gel. Players are playing their position and trusting each other. Open field tackling, blanket coverage, limited YAC's and front 7 pressure have dramatically improved this season. Chaos, disruption, intense QB pressure, TFL's and SACKS (12 the last 2 games) have totally disrupted the Ducks opponents. Since Bassa's pick six against TT the Duck 2 deep have dominated. With the exception of 1 scoring drive by Hawaii and Furds 2 sustained first quarter drives (which only surrendered 13 total points) the Duck D has dominated the last 3 games. I dont count Colorado's face saving TD against the freshmen and walk on players. Whether we believe the Ducks D has improved is not as important as i am sure the Ducks opponents believe! So Ryan, yes my eyes believe! However, i will be the first to admit that my heart will be filled with anticipation and the butterflies dancing in my stomach everytime Penix, Williams, Ward and maybe Rising take a snap. Those 4 are future NFL QB's and we will not face any QB' s or scoring offenses better than the trojans, huskies and Cougars. So my heart is still on the fence.... Hec the Duck D could play very well and still need the Duck O to score 45 points to win. My confidence is high that the D can get it done and this Duck team will be 8-0 whem leaving Rice Eccles Field in Utah. This prediction is based on the Duck O not taking 20 minutes to get a first down. Could be 2 or 3 scores down by then. TOP 25 teams will make you pay if you come out flat. So get healthy, rest up and keep improving because the competition is about to get real........ GO DUCKS! 1 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smith72 Moderator No. 4 Share Posted October 1, 2023 Thank you Ryan! Excellent observations. We're seeing the defense begin to look like the defense of our dreams. Thank you Dan Lanning, Tosh Lupoi, and all of the staff of coaches! Create Havoc. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudslide No. 5 Share Posted October 1, 2023 'Tis great to have you back educating and entertaining us, Ryan. Great article. Keep them coming, please. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Haulin No. 6 Share Posted October 1, 2023 The Ducks have a defense that is every bit as good as the offense. Both came out flat v. Furd and the D was able to keep the opponent out of the endzone. Not once but twice. This is not a top 30/40 defense we were all hoping for to start the season. In my view, this is a top 10 defense that is getting better every week. And the Oregon D is backing up a top 10 offense. Yikes! This much improved D playes incredibly disciplined. They play with violent intent and an aggression we haven't seen as a collective unit in perhaps... ever! The tackling has been outstanding, to the ground and often as a group. One sack of Sanders last week could have been credited to 3 dudes. They are fast at all three levels and the secondary has been lockdown. Gone it seems, are the soft holes in the middle of the D. Leading to coverage sacks and throw aways. I could go on and on. I will say that I am way more critical of the Ducks when I watch their games v. Watching other games. Just the nature of being a fan. But so far, even with the added critical view, I don't see any future opposition being better than Oregon. And it might not be close. Thats not saying Ducks will win them all but but I love their chances. These dudes are really good and it will take a massive effort to beat them. 1 1 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Duck No. 7 Share Posted October 1, 2023 (edited) After seeing what Colorado just did to USC, I'm absolutely beginning to believe. It took Colorado 58 minutes before they put up any points against the Ducks, and that was obviously against our 2nd, 3rd, and other team guys (immediately followed by our special teams saying, "screw that," and blocked the PAT). Yesterday, apparently just to make things a bit more fair or something, we kindly gave Stanford a 20 minute head start, and our defense nevertheless allowed no TDs. All while the Oregon Lumber went on to drop 42 unanswered points on the Palm Trees. So yeah... I'm seriously buying in at this point. Edited October 1, 2023 by Desert Duck 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDuck No. 8 Share Posted October 1, 2023 I believe 5 freshmen played on defense, one or more plays, vs Stanford...and 10 overall during the game. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 9 Share Posted October 1, 2023 The concern is special teams and Camden Lewis. When a kicker gets the yips it can cascade into something terminal. Not sure what was happening to Lewis, but he better get it turned around against the dawgs. It will take all phases executing well to win going forward. I tend to think the defense was playing almost a rope of dope kind of defense in the first quarter. See what a team has and then shut them down. The big thing is don't get hurt, and two field goals while feeling out an offense isn't getting hurt. I have been skeptical of Tosh, but am coming around to becoming a believer. As Charles noted the defense has the guys it wants, and Tosh is starting to put them together. This next game will be a true test of what our secondary can do. I look forward to watching that battle. In two weeks we will also need pressure, and as was pointed out Williams is a closer. No longer do we have secondary guys blitzing and missing. Evan is the secret weapon who will be like a guided missile against Penix. We also have a healthy Dorlus who is a disruptor like we use to have. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred flintstone No. 10 Share Posted October 1, 2023 The Washington game will be the tell all.......and I do believe Oregon will do well in that game. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Ducky No. 11 Share Posted October 1, 2023 Interesting tidbit; Oregon has 10, I repeat, 10 more sacks than Georgia. Who would have thunk it. 1 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Haulin No. 12 Share Posted October 1, 2023 Just saw this, Oregon has surrendered 3 TD in the last 16 quarters of football. Thats pretty impressive considering the 3's have played about 5 of them. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 13 Share Posted October 1, 2023 (edited) Caleb Williams went off against CU with 6 TD throws. But Shedeur Sanders who was throttled in Eugene threw for more yards than Williams and accounted for 5 TDs. The CU run game that went nowhere vs. Oregon put up significant yardage against Troy. Oregon - CU 199 total yards on O. USC - CU 564 total yards on O. Last night, Arizona put up 24 points against an overhyped Huskies D. Comparing scores is dangerous, but today, the Oregon D is at or close to the best D in the conference. Thank you, Ryan, and welcome back! Edited October 1, 2023 by Jon Joseph 1 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mic No. 14 Share Posted October 1, 2023 On 10/1/2023 at 8:44 AM, Just Ducky said: Interesting tidbit; Oregon has 10, I repeat, 10 more sacks than Georgia. Who would have thunk it. Different opponents. But yes, we're seeing severe improvement. How Colorado scored on USC was one good indicator. How Oregon stopped Stanford twice to force the fg's (while the offense was still in the locker room) yesterday was another. Including those 3 stops on 4th & short. Seeing how they do against UW in two weeks will finally tell us how much improved O is on defense. O's weak point has been the passing attack and that's UW's bread and butter. If they can slow down Penix enough to win the game, on the road, I will finally eat my words about Tosh Lupoi. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Hilarius Moderator No. 15 Share Posted October 1, 2023 On 10/1/2023 at 9:40 AM, Mic said: O's weak point has been the passing attack and that's UW's bread and butter. Passing D was our kryptonite last year, but this year we’re actually a better passing D than rushing D. We’re 8th in FBS in passing D (153 ypg) and 26th in rushing D (102 ypg), which translates to 10th in total D. Another reason to trust DL. 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 16 Share Posted October 1, 2023 Ryan...it is so great to have you back and your tongue-in-cheek ending had me smiling! 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mic No. 17 Share Posted October 1, 2023 Less penalties, better tackling in open space and tighter coverage of the receivers (ie less separation) resulting in more knock downs of passes are all improved. Add to that a better pass rush and there we have it. A much improved Defense. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 18 Share Posted October 1, 2023 On 10/1/2023 at 7:39 AM, Log Haulin said: They are fast at all three levels and the secondary has been lockdown. On outside plays--the pursuit is noticeably faster than last year. We are stopping many outside zone plays with short gains, where last year they would have turned the corner and got eight or nine yards. 3 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 19 Share Posted October 1, 2023 On 10/1/2023 at 8:10 AM, Haywarduck said: I have been skeptical of Tosh, but am coming around to becoming a believer. As Charles noted the defense has the guys it wants, and Tosh is starting to put them together. I do not believe it is a Tosh defense, but a brain trust of Lanning, Lupoi and Hampton. (Hampton has already been a DC calling defensive plays, thus all three have been DCs before) IMHO anyway... 1 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 20 Share Posted October 1, 2023 Not to say "I told you so," (but I will)....recall how I wrote before the season that by mid-season the sportscasters on TV would be saying...."I do not even recognize this Oregon defense compared to last year." "I never said I was noble..." 1 1 1 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 21 Share Posted October 1, 2023 On 10/1/2023 at 10:18 AM, Dr Hilarius said: We’re 8th in FBS in passing D Which is incredible considering we have facing teams that primarily score by passing! 1 1 2 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasDuck No. 22 Share Posted October 1, 2023 Not a believer yet. The increased team speed on D compared to last year is noticeable. Huge test @ UW. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Duck No. 23 Share Posted October 1, 2023 On 10/1/2023 at 10:40 AM, Mic said: Less penalties, better tackling in open space and tighter coverage of the receivers (ie less separation) resulting in more knock downs of passes are all improved. Add to that a better pass rush and there we have it. A much improved Defense. Brief, succinct, and right on. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonDucks No. 24 Share Posted October 1, 2023 (edited) I started to believe during the spring game. You could tell that the secondary was covering better, players were flying around and making tackles. Glad that it has continued into the season and we have seen our defensive line step up (including some freshman studs) and be able to apply pressure with a four man rush. We are not going to shut down Washington and USC but I'm anxious to see how well the defensive units perform on those games. Oregon is unlikely to face better offenses in college football this season, even if they make it to the playoffs. Dan, Tosh, and the defensive coaches deserve props. I'm excited about the future and what our program can become with an elite defense. Edited October 1, 2023 by OregonDucks 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Hilarius Moderator No. 25 Share Posted October 1, 2023 On 10/1/2023 at 12:21 PM, OregonDucks said: Oregon is unlikely to face better offenses in college football this season So true! Because there are no other better offenses in FBS. Including the Ducks at #2, the Pac has 4 of the top 5 scoring offenses, and we play the other 3: USC, UW, WSU. On 10/1/2023 at 12:21 PM, OregonDucks said: We are not going to shut down Washington and USC We have shut down all the pass-heavy teams we’ve played this year. We are a top 10 D, and our passing D is better than our rushing D. I would much rather be us than them. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastBayDuckDad Moderator No. 26 Share Posted October 1, 2023 On 10/1/2023 at 8:10 AM, Haywarduck said: The concern is special teams and Camden Lewis. When a kicker gets the yips it can cascade into something terminal. Not sure what was happening to Lewis, but he better get it turned around against the dawgs. I don't necessarily believe it was the yips. Lewis is used to FieldTurf or a variant of that, like the Hellas Matrix at Texas Tech. I have to wonder about the footing on Stanford's grass surface as it was the first time for Camden this year, and I don't believe Oregon has a natural practice field at the Mo/Hatfield-Dowlin complex. The Fusky surface is the newest AstroTurf 3D3 version so it will be much closer to what the Ducks practice on. I think he will have the control problems ironed out by then. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave23 No. 27 Share Posted October 1, 2023 According to cfbstats.com Oregon is now at #7 in the nation in total defense, allowing only 153.6 yard a game! Oregon is also #2 in total offense in the nation, averaging 557.8 yard a game! Oregon is the only team in the nation in the top 10 in both of those categories! I'm a believer! 1 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
