UW Has an Extra Week to Fix Weaknesses

[FishDuck Article]

With the upcoming bye, we have an extra week to ponder (ie. over-analyze) this year’s Oregon-Washington game. And, what a year to have that extra week. I think I can speak for most Duck fans when I say that we were pleasantly surprised that Washington’s defense and aerial attack were not up to snuff last Saturday against Arizona, which almost ...

 

UW Has an Extra Week to Fix Weaknesses

FISHDUCK.COM

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Darren Perkins of FishDuck.com worries that Washington might be able to work out their Arizona exposed weakness with an extra week...

[Haywarduck]

Oregon needs to work on taking away their biggest weapon, the crowd. If Oregon gets out front early and stifles the crowd, all will be good.

 

There are few things as dangerous as a young college student who thinks they can do something and then is cheered on to keep thinking that. Even when they shouldn't, probably couldn't, a little enthusiasm can make it all happen. Oregon needs to set the dawgs straight right off the bat, and let them know last year was an anomaly.

 

All will also be good with the fan base. Few things bring joy to opposing teams fans then a road game turned quiet. If the Ducks can put the choke collar on the crowd I know I will be extremely happy.

 

The Ducks can make it hard on themselves and keep the dawgs in the game or do the Colorado thing and put 35 on them in the first half. I want to see the Ducks come out, and give the dawgs an extra special treat, a lesson they won't soon forget.

[David Marsh]

We are reaching tte point in the year that teams are starting to understand their own weaknesses. With this understanding comes two kinds of weaknesses.

 

One that can be fixed with changes in coaching or practice. A good example of this is Oregon getting their penalties under control. They were really bad against Texas Tech but since we have seen them decline in a meaningful and significant way. 

 

The other kind of weakness is structural and these are a lot harder or impossible to fix during the season. Colorado has a major structural weakness in their offensive and defensive lines, they're too small. That can't be fixed during the season because they can't add anymore guys to their team. They are going to have to live with that. 

 

Teams usually have a mixture of the two. But I think some of Washington's problems are certainly structural. They don't have much depth and they lost one of their big linemen against Arizona and by the sound of it he is suspect to return for the Oregon game. If that's the case that's something they really can't fix. 

 

They've also had some bruised up receivers but they are expected to return but how effective will they be? 

 

How effective with Washington's offensive line be against Oregon's pass rush? That's another structural problem. Sure they can scheme their way out of it by getting the ball out fast but what if there is no separation between receivers and defensive backs? 

 

The question for the Huskies is how much can they fix? And how much can get put a bandaid on to make it less bad because there is no in season fix? 

[Darren Perkins]

On 10/5/2023 at 6:47 AM, Haywarduck said:

Oregon needs to work on taking away their biggest weapon, the crowd. If Oregon gets out front early and stifles the crowd, all will be good.

 

There are few things as dangerous as a young college student who thinks they can do something and then is cheered on to keep thinking that. Even when they shouldn't, probably couldn't, a little enthusiasm can make it all happen. Oregon needs to set the dawgs straight right off the bat, and let them know last year was an anomaly.

 

All will also be good with the fan base. Few things bring joy to opposing teams fans then a road game turned quiet. If the Ducks can put the choke collar on the crowd I know I will be extremely happy.

 

The Ducks can make it hard on themselves and keep the dawgs in the game or do the Colorado thing and put 35 on them in the first half. I want to see the Ducks come out, and give the dawgs an extra special treat, a lesson they won't soon forget.

Husky crowd control!!! This I where I mention that my uncle was a 30-plus year officer/detective with the UW Police Department. Worked many a football games. As he got tenure he avoided working the student section, for obvious reasons, and worked the donor sections so he could relax and get paid to watch the game. 

 

A fast start would be optimal, for sure. If the Ducks play their game they should be fine. 

[Darren Perkins]

On 10/5/2023 at 7:24 AM, David Marsh said:

We are reaching tte point in the year that teams are starting to understand their own weaknesses. With this understanding comes two kinds of weaknesses.

 

One that can be fixed with changes in coaching or practice. A good example of this is Oregon getting their penalties under control. They were really bad against Texas Tech but since we have seen them decline in a meaningful and significant way. 

 

The other kind of weakness is structural and these are a lot harder or impossible to fix during the season. Colorado has a major structural weakness in their offensive and defensive lines, they're too small. That can't be fixed during the season because they can't add anymore guys to their team. They are going to have to live with that. 

 

Teams usually have a mixture of the two. But I think some of Washington's problems are certainly structural. They don't have much depth and they lost one of their big linemen against Arizona and by the sound of it he is suspect to return for the Oregon game. If that's the case that's something they really can't fix. 

 

They've also had some bruised up receivers but they are expected to return but how effective will they be? 

 

How effective with Washington's offensive line be against Oregon's pass rush? That's another structural problem. Sure they can scheme their way out of it by getting the ball out fast but what if there is no separation between receivers and defensive backs? 

 

The question for the Huskies is how much can they fix? And how much can get put a bandaid on to make it less bad because there is no in season fix? 

Nice breakdown, David. The Ducks are deeper and more talented. They should be able to get pressure on Penix, not Colorado-esc type pressure, but some. Which the Fuskies have not yet seen. Really comes down to ole' cliche of playing your game, execution, and limit mistakes. 

[Haywarduck]

Looking forward to seeing this, anyone have a caption? 'But we're at home and were undefeated!' 

[Haywarduck]

On 10/5/2023 at 8:16 AM, Haywarduck said:

Looking forward to seeing this, anyone have a caption? 'But we're at home and were undefeated!' 

'You can turn your hat around so the 'W' is on the back, but your t-shirt still says your a dawg fan.'

 

'Honey, don't worry I actually put money on the Ducks to win and maybe our kid can still get into the U of O!'

[DanLduck]

I think the crowd in Lubbock was louder than UW will be, but should be a good reference point for the team.

 

Crowd noise usually juices up both teams. But getting snap count right is big, we don't want false start penalties. 

 

Oregon is in a pretty good position:

 

We are mostly healthy (assuming Khyree is back)

Pre and post snap penalties are way down

O-line is playing solid with more confidence 

The defense seems to be coming into its own, and with all the rotation that's been used, players are fresh.

Bo is playing at a really high level. (All we need is to hit a couple more of those near misses on the deep shots)

 

With the extra "work" week (a la Dan Lanning) our guys should be as ready as ever to bury them dawgs.

 

My biggest concern is controlling qb runs. Can't let that guy beat us with his feet.

And stopping them on 3rd and long. That is still a major issue.

 

Sat 10/14 will be a very good day to be a Duck!

[Charles Fischer]

A big factor for Washington for this game will be healing from their injuries.  They have some big ones, and do see the post I created summarizing their injuries that could impact our game.

[Jon Sousa]

The Arizona game was UW's trap game, and they escaped with the win. If they were playing the Ducks last week, they would have played a lot more juiced and focused.

 

They will bring their best game (as possible) against the Ducks.

[Jon Joseph]

Darren, Don't Worry, Be Nappy.

 

Work Week for the team; but not for us. Fans get back to work next Saturday. I'm stocking up on Rolaids.

[Charles Fischer]

Thanks for making us ponder Darren, because if I was a Washington fan...I'd want more of a balanced offense than what the Huskies have.  They are going to need that against Oregon to keep our defensive line out of their backfield.  I imagine this might be a point of work for them in the bye week?

[Darren Perkins]

On 10/5/2023 at 3:21 PM, Charles Fischer said:

Thanks for making us ponder Darren, because if I was a Washington fan...I'd want more of a balanced offense than what the Huskies have.  They are going to need that against Oregon to keep our defensive line out of their backfield.  I imagine this might be a point of work for them in the bye week?

It'll fun to run on them while they cannot run on us. Time to bully 'em a bit. 

[Desert Duck]

On 10/5/2023 at 9:02 AM, DanLduck said:

My biggest concern is controlling qb runs. Can't let that guy beat us with his feet.

 

 

One good thing is that YTD, Penix has only run the ball 8 times for a total of 9 yards. 

 

80% of their offense has been from his passing game vs. 60% for Oregon. The Ducks are much more balanced. 

 

Hopefully, our defense can get him out of his rhythm early with some pressure.

[Desert Duck]

On 10/5/2023 at 3:21 PM, Charles Fischer said:

because if I was a Washington fan...I'd want more of a balanced offense than what the Huskies have.  They are going to need that against Oregon to keep our defensive line out of their backfield.  I imagine this might be a point of work for them in the bye week?

 

Absolutely, Charles. Like CU, UW is getting about 80% of their yards through the air, compared to Oregon’s much more balanced attack of 60% through the air. 

 

Also, for as athletic as Penix appears to be, he hardly runs the ball. So far, YTD, he's only run the ball 8 times for 9 yards. Last year he only ran for a total of 92 yards on 35 carries -- vs. Bo's 510 yards on 89 carries. 

 

One of the reasons his rushing stats are so low is because they haven't needed him to run the ball much either. 

 

We'll see what next Saturday looks like for him as we will hopefully be flushing him out of the comfort of the pocket. But if we can get pressure on him, especially early, they're going to need a much better performance from their rushing attack.

[OregonDucks]

LOL. Didn’t they have all off-season? 

 

Little late now to fix that D…

Edited October 6, 2023 by OregonDucks

[Log Haulin]

On 10/5/2023 at 9:35 PM, Desert Duck said:

 

Absolutely, Charles. Like CU, UW is getting about 80% of their yards through the air, compared to Oregon’s much more balanced attack of 60% through the air. 

 

Also, for as athletic as Penix appears to be, he hardly runs the ball. So far, YTD, he's only run the ball 8 times for 9 yards. Last year he only ran for a total of 92 yards on 35 carries -- vs. Bo's 510 yards on 89 carries. 

 

One of the reasons his rushing stats are so low is because they haven't needed him to run the ball much either. 

 

We'll see what next Saturday looks like for him as we will hopefully be flushing him out of the comfort of the pocket. But if we can get pressure on him, especially early, they're going to need a much better performance from their rushing attack.

This is why Penix doesn't run the football. Can't blame him. 

 

"He suffered a torn ACL in both 2018 and 2020. He also suffered a sternoclavicular joint injury in 2019, then an AC joint (shoulder) injury in 2021."

 

flush him out, get him on the run and Penix is a fraction of the QB he is when comfortably in the pocket.

 

Oregon has the Dogs to really put the fear into Penix. If Oregon gets good pressure from rushing three and bring the blitz from anywhere else on the field, Fusky is in for a long afternoon.

[Charles Fischer]

I remember a quote from Coach Lanning when asked about the pressure he wants to put on defenses with his MINT 4-2-5 defense, and he said, "I want the opposing offensive line coach to have to WORK, and feel stress when playing us."

 

Pocket is collapsing!

[Desert Duck]

On 10/6/2023 at 3:30 AM, Log Haulin said:

This is why Penix doesn't run the football. Can't blame him. 

 

"He suffered a torn ACL in both 2018 and 2020. He also suffered a sternoclavicular joint injury in 2019, then an AC joint (shoulder) injury in 2021."

 

flush him out, get him on the run and Penix is a fraction of the QB he is when comfortably in the pocket.

 

 

 

Ahh... I didn't realize that Penix had these prior injuries. This is enlightening to me and explains his lack of running.

 

And I like it!

[Jon Joseph]

Interesting take on UW to date.

 

Washington Football: 5 numbers that have defined the Huskies’ 5-0 start

SATURDAYOUTWEST.COM

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Washington is 5-0 at the bye. Here are numbers that have defined the unbeaten start to the year.

 

UW D is not getting to the opponent's QB. This could mean a long day for the UW D with Bo Nix coming to town.

 

In 2024, OREGON is #4 in sacks. UW is #124.

 

Sacks allowed, both teams have surrendered only 3 sacks to date.

[Whiskey Duck]

Oregon has the best DBs and DL that Washington has seen to date. Will that be enough to shut their offense down?  We'll see, no one else has even come close. 

[David Marsh]

On 10/6/2023 at 1:30 PM, Whiskey Duck said:

Oregon has the best DBs and DL that Washington has seen to date. Will that be enough to shut their offense down?  We'll see, no one else has even come close. 

Don't need to shut it down completely and I don't think that's possible... but get just enough stops to build a lead offensively and run out the clock. 

 

Don't need to hold them to zero... just less than us.

[Log Haulin]

On 10/6/2023 at 2:01 PM, David Marsh said:

Don't need to shut it down completely and I don't think that's possible... but get just enough stops to build a lead offensively and run out the clock. 

 

Don't need to hold them to zero... just less than us.

I think Penix is in trouble next Saturday. Ducks have racked stats defensively this year. More importantly, they pass the eye test

 

This D has done exactly what it should do regardless of the strength of opponents. And they have looked great doing it.

 

You put Taki, Popo and Burch or Dorlus on the field. You gotta decide which two you are going to double. Tough choice. Any of them can beat ono on ones at a regular clip.

 

 

[idontrollonshobbas]

Pressure is on the Doogs.  There are higher ranked, at home, with Gameday and all eyes on them, and they won in Eugene last year so the lazy narrative is that they should win due to all of the above

 

If we protect the ball and can get to Penix, we will neutralize the home field advantage. Then it comes down to turnovers and penalties.

 

I like being the road dog here.  

[Washington Waddler]

     Scoring right out of the gate and staying ahead is the best way to quiet the barking. But another is to keep the game so even as to stress the puppy pound into an anxiety-induced shrillness that doesn’t hit the playing field with the same impact. 
 

     I’m in agreement with Nix. It’s going to be a brawl. What tips brawls one way or the other is slight edges, and Oregon possesses a balance that Washington doesn’t.

 

     Staying right with a higher ranked home team into the 4th quarter always creates gitters  since they’re suppose to win. It can also lead to devastating mistakes. 
 

     Get in their faces and stay there. All it takes is one point.