FishDuck Article Administrator No. 1 Share Posted October 18, 2023 Our Oregon Ducks football program has some work to do this week. After a gut-wrenching shootout with the Huskies ending in the first loss of the season, the Ducks have to load up in a bounce-back game against Washington State to dominate a high-powered Cougar team that’s looking to rejoin the top-25. Dan Lanning’s squad looked like they could compete with anyone ... Ducks Football: 3 Areas to Fix vs Washington State FISHDUCK.COM Our Oregon Ducks football program has some work to do this week. After a gut-wrenching shootout with the Huskies ending in the first... 1 1 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...
Log Haulin No. 2 Share Posted October 18, 2023 (edited) Going 0-3 on fourth down is brutal. It is the biggest debate we have had since wide right at :00 Coming into the game Ducks were 8-10 converting 4th down. These are pretty great numbers and definitely a factor in the decision to go. I don't think Lanning made bad decisions. The one at the half is a coinflip. I can't even say the play calls were bad. Mike W has made a great argument that execution was the most glaring bugaboo in why Ducks went 0-3. He has done a deep dive and his analysis is spot on imo. I also thought the secondary play remarkable. It's said that in order to get pressure on the QB the secondary has for cover and give them time. It's also said that in order for the secondary to be successful the front has to get pressure. Imo, the D played exceptional as an entire unit. They were playing the #1 passing offense in the country. Statistically Oregon dominated Washington. It came down to "wide right" in an exteamly hostile environment. Fusky got some luck, some calls and some exceptional play from their team. This game proved that these are great teams. It did not settle who is better. IMO, Ducks are the better team , but I am a homer. Edited October 18, 2023 by Steven A typo 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 3 Share Posted October 18, 2023 When you look at our history under Lanning I think it comes down to 4th quarter toughness, execution. While the defense showed some toughness against the dawgs, and Utah last year they need to tighten it up. The offense needs to have some plays where Nix goes through his progression and knows he can get the yardage needed. Granted Lanning has done exceptionally well as a new coach. The problem is losing to our rivals, in tight games. He has to be able to stop a one dimensional beav team late in a game. He has to be able to get the team to execute late in a game against the dawgs. This is that last little element which is the difference between championship teams and very good teams. There can be no meltdown at the end of a game against a rival, or anyone. A coach should not be able to say they took advantage of tendencies. This is the tiny minutiae elite coaches spend serious hours trying to fix, or build up. I think it comes down to shrewder coaching in the those critical moments, not more juice as our previous coach use to espouse. This is something you see with truly elite teams, the game seems to slow down for them and they execute. At the end of the game, in tight situations, the game does seem to slow down, but the execution just isn't there. You could see it in Saban, Osborne and our old CK they relish these times, and will a win. The other element is players step up in moments. I was hoping a few players would step up a little more. I won't name names because they all played their hearts out. The bottomline is they didn't make that final stop on defense, or find a way on offense. We need individuals on the field playing sharper that the opponents, and giving just a little more. I too think this is fixable. Lanning is building the elements, but they aren't there yet. We are close, but, as noted, coaches need to get sharper. We need a few players to really step up to become Oregon legends if we are to make that next step. It can happen this season, but these fixable things will have to happen late in games. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 4 Share Posted October 18, 2023 Dan Lanning will win some close games by eschewing the field goals and going for it on 4th down, and he will absolutely lose some more games because of it over his career at Oregon. Why? Because with all that has been written about "his aggressiveness" and "aggressive nature" by the media--it is now part of his brand, his persona. With all he has said about it and effectively doubled-down...he will go for it every time, and the percentages over the long term are against us. We will win some, and lose even more games because of this, IMHO. Take the damn points, Dan. 2 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solar No. 5 Share Posted October 18, 2023 (edited) DL's press conference yesterday is a must watch. He discussed his 4TH Down decision making. Many people here won't like what he says. My comment is that if you have the defensive look you want to run your offensive play call, and the play is still defended to the point of being a total cluster, maybe you need to revisit some of what you think you know as an OC. That being said, for the 300th time, going for it on 4th and 2 at the end of the game was absolutely the right decision. I'm glad the play-not-to-lose crowd isn't in charge of the Ducks. I've seen too much of that over the years in CFB and the NFL lead to disaster. Edited October 18, 2023 by Solar 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Ducky No. 6 Share Posted October 18, 2023 One area is the middle of the field on passing downs. Our offense seems to be predictable with wide receiver screens, that hardly ever work, and not throwing intermediate passes to the middle of the field on slants. Maybe our slot guys don’t like the slant pattern very much and I doubt if I would either but we need to use the middle of the field more. Defenses seem to jam the box on short yardage plays and we don’t seem to take advantage of this. Tight ends are valuable assets but our coaching staff seems to ignore them for the most part. Guess I’m saying to the coaches to use the whole field. It’s there for the taking. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph No. 7 Share Posted October 18, 2023 Thanks, Alex. #4? Draft a kicker from the soccer team? I would have liked to have seen an FG attempt right before the end of the 2nd Q so the currently shaky Lewis could have seen the ball go through the uprights. DL - 'Cam Lewis is a pro.' SMH but there is no sense in throwing the guy under the bus. Right, Deion? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyToBeADuck No. 8 Share Posted October 19, 2023 Alex thanks for your 3 areas the Ducks must improve on before this Saturdays game. I agree with you on all 3. And i love the comments posted from some heavy hitters on this forum. My take is a little different because for 57 minutes of this game the Ducks did everything right except take the points on 2 opportunities. Regardless of the right thing or wrong thing to do......but DL robbed the Duck D of 3 valuable points, they earned just before half. You win the game by making solid decisions and scoring points. The game was not on the line just before halftime. A field goal attempt is not playing to not lose. Points matter..... Had DL let Cam try 2 field goals and had he even made one, well the players and Cam would have been lining up for a game winner. A game winner...... Any kicker can miss on any kick but less pressure on Cam. If he misses then it goes to overtime. However, that horse has been beaten to death........ Here is my concern..... The Ducks played great in an amazing high profile game They controlled the clock, 500 plus yards, 33 first downs with great offense balance. The offense did everything but win the game. Now consider this, as Bo was slowly moving the ball out of the shadow of the goal post our Duck D had held the high scoring dogs to 29 points. Not many fans saw that coming. Great job D... No criticism of any Ducks thru 57 plus minutes of the game. Now its crunch time..... The offense cant convert a 4th down and we turn the ball over on downs. One play in crunch time and the game is over. The defense gives up a go ahead score on 2 plays, in crunch time.. Then Bo and the offense move down the field, clock runs down to nothing and Cam misses a game tying field in crunch time. How did this team control a game and then lose it in crunch time. Dammitt, the dogs did everything possible to lose this game. Yet, Deboer figured out tendencies and called defensive formations on 3 critical plays to steal the win.... I agree with Coach Lanning 100% that this loss is 100% on him. He left critical points off the board and got out schemed where and when it mattered. And hus team was not prepared to close out the game in crunch time. How did, a slightly above average defense hold the Ducks to 33 points? What was missing? The putrid dogs won crunch time and won the game...... Figure it out DL and staff. I think you are awesome. But losing to the leg lifters is never, never acceptable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
