How Joe Moorhead Beat the Bruins’ Blitz

[FishDuck Article]

Oregon’s trip to Los Angeles was the perfect opportunity for all of the Mario Cristobal skeptics to say “I told you so.” Chip Kelly and his Bruins run one of the more creative offenses in the country, with wild run-blocking schemes, plenty of tempo and a wide variety of formations. Cristobal — on the other hand — has become infamous ...

 

Read the full article here...

[HappyToBeADuck]

Joshua thank you for the great explanation and examples on how the offense took what the Bruins gave them 

 

JM 's game plan and intricate scheme was executed very well by the players. Sure we had a few mistakes along the way but CK and his staff either didn't or couldn't make the adjustments.

 

The defensive coaching staff also made the adjustments needed to shut the Bruins down for 2 quarters. And the D played with their hair on fire. CK and his defensive staff again didn't make or couldn't make the adjustments.

 

Who was the better coached team last Saturday? Whose players executed better?

 

Well done players and we'll done coaches. Let's continue to go 1-0 this week. Maybe, just maybe we can settle the issue early and I can cancel my visit with the doctors. You know for high blood pressure and anxiety.....

 

Go Ducks!

[Smith72]

Thanks Joshua for the excellent analysis!

 

The UCLA game was a perfect example of playing "Smarter" instead of "Tougher".  Hats off to Joe Moorhead for his play calling!  Kudos to Tim DeRuyter for making adjustments to the defense!

 

The coaches and players came out of halftime with their hair on fire.  Adjustments had been made and coached.  How long has it been since an Oregon team exploded in the third quarter!

 

Here's hoping for more games (all 4 quarters) like we saw in the 2nd and 3rd of the UCLA game!  Go Ducks!

[30Duck]

Thank you Joshua for the inside look, It showed what can happen when Mario does what so many of us have wanted. Don't just hire great coaches; let them do their jobs! Explaining how Moorhead used UCLA's defensive  scheme against them is what a top flight OC does when the head coach let's him.

 

Hopefully Mario recognized that this is what occurred, it was causation that Moorhead coordinated the offense and the Ducks won.

[Haywarduck]

The scheme was also what AB does well, with a few exceptions. I hope Joe also learns from this and keeps AB doing what he does best.

 

AB is actually a very good qb when asked to pass the ball, it seems, no further than 10-15 yds down the field. It will be interesting to see a future defense play a press coverage and what AB can do. If I was an opposing coach that is what I would have learned. 

 

I would think between what AB does well and our running game we can score enough to win out. The question is the turnover game if AB gets slinging it. Oregon needs to stay in its lane and keep executing.

 

Great analysis and thanks for all your hard work on the article, enjoyed it!

[Jon Joseph]

Thanks Joshua, great analysis.

 

Chipper are crew were outcoached. Chip is being paid $5.6M a year (Mario, $4.4M/ Smith, $2.4M) and is under contract through 2022. However, his buy out goes to $0 in mid-January 2022. The current UCLA AD did not hire Chip.

 

Chip's recruiting numbers stink; especially, considering the LA location. 

 

The Bruins in 2021 is a very experienced team. Lots of starters depart after this season including QB DTR. 

 

Kelly obviously has not produced the expected results and I don't see him in Westwood after 2022. Perhaps he is gone after this season?

[Haywarduck]

On 10/27/2021 at 7:26 AM, Jon Joseph said:

Thanks Joshua, great analysis.

 

Chipper are crew were outcoached. Chip is being paid $5.6M a year (Mario, $4.4M/ Smith, $2.4M) and is under contract through 2022. However, his buy out goes to $0 in mid-January 2022. The current UCLA AD did not hire Chip.

 

Chip's recruiting numbers stink; especially, considering the LA location. 

 

The Bruins in 2021 is a very experienced team. Lots of starters depart after this season including QB DTR. 

 

Kelly obviously has not produced the expected results and I don't see him in Westwood after 2022. Perhaps he is gone after this season?

Interesting and spot on analysis of Chip's situation.

 

We may want to say Cristobal is the most stubborn coach, and will be unable to get us to the National Title. His progression towards what he has stated is agonizingly slow. There is progress though and growth.

 

I think Chip is the poster boy for a stubborn coach who will never take the steps need to reach even true success as a head coach. He was put into an enviable situation at Oregon he may never truly appreciate. 

 

He may end up at some high school back east coaching at a level where his genius is effective. Right now his genius is just annoying, what could have been!

 

The backdrop photo says so much about Chip's coaching career.

[Charles Fischer]

Joshua!  That is a wonderful analysis as you did not just explain two plays to us, (tunnel screen and QB Counter) but why they worked.  It is so fun as a fan to see the "why" of it all, and to take what you have taught us and apply it to future games. Really an outstanding analysis from the perspective of making it easy for fans to understand, and yet so informative.

 

Thanks so much!

 

[Duck1984]

Well done analysis Joshua!

 

It seems that UCLA gave the Ducks all they could handle with a game plan built on schemes and execution.  Faceless opponents approach, with an experienced roster.

 

But the Duck coaches appear to have out-schemed Chip, but with less experienced talent.  The exception was AB, who had enough talent and experience to lead the Duck offense to a victory.

 

It’s hard not to be optimistic about this team and coaching staff going forward.

[Jon Sousa]

On 10/27/2021 at 6:35 AM, Smith72 said:

The UCLA game was a perfect example of playing "Smarter" instead of "Tougher".  Hats off to Joe Moorhead for his play calling!  Kudos to Tim DeRuyter for making adjustments to the defense!

...and Kudos to MC for letting them do it!

[C J]

" Joe Moorhead was the mastermind behind Oregon’s thrilling victory."

 

Very true......very true. It's clear now that between the Ohio State and the UCLA games Moorhead exhibited mastery of scheme and Brown proved capable of implementing the plan.

 

So the million dollar question is reinforced. Why have the Ducks coaches seemed out-schemed by the other five coaches they have faced? It has to do something with motivation. We have two data points that lend credence to both the coaches and teams abilities. The x factor to me has to be desire and respect. Desire to draw up a superior game plan and respect to the opposing foe.

 

If they only play well as underdogs, then let's call them underdogs for the rest of the season. Fine by me.

[Joshua Whitted]

On 10/27/2021 at 7:13 AM, HappyToBeADuck said:

Joshua thank you for the great explanation and examples on how the offense took what the Bruins gave them 

 

JM 's game plan and intricate scheme was executed very well by the players. Sure we had a few mistakes along the way but CK and his staff either didn't or couldn't make the adjustments.

 

The defensive coaching staff also made the adjustments needed to shut the Bruins down for 2 quarters. And the D played with their hair on fire. CK and his defensive staff again didn't make or couldn't make the adjustments.

 

Who was the better coached team last Saturday? Whose players executed better?

 

Well done players and we'll done coaches. Let's continue to go 1-0 this week. Maybe, just maybe we can settle the issue early and I can cancel my visit with the doctors. You know for high blood pressure and anxiety.....

 

Go Ducks!

Thanks for reading! The defense played fantastically, and a second analysis article could certainly be attributed to its performance.

[Joshua Whitted]

On 10/27/2021 at 9:35 AM, Smith72 said:

Thanks Joshua for the excellent analysis!

 

The UCLA game was a perfect example of playing "Smarter" instead of "Tougher".  Hats off to Joe Moorhead for his play calling!  Kudos to Tim DeRuyter for making adjustments to the defense!

 

The coaches and players came out of halftime with their hair on fire.  Adjustments had been made and coached.  How long has it been since an Oregon team exploded in the third quarter!

 

Here's hoping for more games (all 4 quarters) like we saw in the 2nd and 3rd of the UCLA game!  Go Ducks!

Absolutely. My initial title was "How Moorhead Outsmarted Kelly." The Ducks were the smarter team, and it's why they won the game.

[Joshua Whitted]

On 10/27/2021 at 9:42 AM, 30Duck said:

Thank you Joshua for the inside look, It showed what can happen when Mario does what so many of us have wanted. Don't just hire great coaches; let them do their jobs! Explaining how Moorhead used UCLA's defensive  scheme against them is what a top flight OC does when the head coach let's him.

 

Hopefully Mario recognized that this is what occurred, it was causation that Moorhead coordinated the offense and the Ducks won.

I couldn't agree more. Moorhead is a top-10 playcaller and offensive mind in my book. I sure hope he hangs around for another season!

[Joshua Whitted]

On 10/27/2021 at 9:57 AM, Haywarduck said:

The scheme was also what AB does well, with a few exceptions. I hope Joe also learns from this and keeps AB doing what he does best.

 

AB is actually a very good qb when asked to pass the ball, it seems, no further than 10-15 yds down the field. It will be interesting to see a future defense play a press coverage and what AB can do. If I was an opposing coach that is what I would have learned. 

 

I would think between what AB does well and our running game we can score enough to win out. The question is the turnover game if AB gets slinging it. Oregon needs to stay in its lane and keep executing.

 

Great analysis and thanks for all your hard work on the article, enjoyed it!

AB generally executes the underneath passing game very well and decisively, that's a great point. I think Moorhead is doing his best to coaching to his strengths, as opposed to making him make full-field reads. 

[Joshua Whitted]

On 10/27/2021 at 10:26 AM, Jon Joseph said:

Thanks Joshua, great analysis.

 

Chipper are crew were outcoached. Chip is being paid $5.6M a year (Mario, $4.4M/ Smith, $2.4M) and is under contract through 2022. However, his buy out goes to $0 in mid-January 2022. The current UCLA AD did not hire Chip.

 

Chip's recruiting numbers stink; especially, considering the LA location. 

 

The Bruins in 2021 is a very experienced team. Lots of starters depart after this season including QB DTR. 

 

Kelly obviously has not produced the expected results and I don't see him in Westwood after 2022. Perhaps he is gone after this season?

This was a really big loss for Kelly. This is the year his team should be in Pac-12 title contention, and that looks a far way off after this past Saturday.

[Joshua Whitted]

On 10/27/2021 at 12:58 PM, Charles Fischer said:

Joshua!  That is a wonderful analysis as you did not just explain two plays to us, (tunnel screen and QB Counter) but why they worked.  It is so fun as a fan to see the "why" of it all, and to take what you have taught us and apply it to future games. Really an outstanding analysis from the perspective of making it easy for fans to understand, and yet so informative.

 

Thanks so much!

 

Thanks, Charles! I'm glad it was easily digestible. Cristobal is right when he talks about how wild UCLA's defensive scheme is, so I definitely wanted to spend some time crediting him and Moorhead for having a great gameplan for it. 

[Joshua Whitted]

On 10/27/2021 at 1:03 PM, Duck1984 said:

Well done analysis Joshua!

 

It seems that UCLA gave the Ducks all they could handle with a game plan built on schemes and execution.  Faceless opponents approach, with an experienced roster.

 

But the Duck coaches appear to have out-schemed Chip, but with less experienced talent.  The exception was AB, who had enough talent and experience to lead the Duck offense to a victory.

 

It’s hard not to be optimistic about this team and coaching staff going forward.

It's games like this that have me thinking the sky's the limit for the team and the offense. Let's hope we can be consistent and keep the ball rolling!

[Joshua Whitted]

On 10/27/2021 at 8:29 PM, C J said:

" Joe Moorhead was the mastermind behind Oregon’s thrilling victory."

 

Very true......very true. It's clear now that between the Ohio State and the UCLA games Moorhead exhibited mastery of scheme and Brown proved capable of implementing the plan.

 

So the million dollar question is reinforced. Why have the Ducks coaches seemed out-schemed by the other five coaches they have faced? It has to do something with motivation. We have two data points that lend credence to both the coaches and teams abilities. The x factor to me has to be desire and respect. Desire to draw up a superior game plan and respect to the opposing foe.

 

If they only play well as underdogs, then let's call them underdogs for the rest of the season. Fine by me.

I actually have a theory that admittedly holds little weight considering I'm definitely not an X's and O's expert. But I think UCLA and Ohio State had the two most "defined" (for lack of better word) defensive schemes of all of the Ducks' opponents so far. Ohio State almost exclusively plays cover 3 and cover 1. UCLA centers their scheme around blitzing. The Ducks knew what they would be facing in each of these games and schemed towards the weaknesses of each of these schemes. The rest of the teams they've played have far more varied defensive schemes, so we kind of just ran our base offense with mixed results. 

 

It's unrealistic to change up an entire offensive philosophy week to week, which is why I think it looks like we decide to turn it on in these big games. Really, I think they are the few games that we dedicate a year to really switching up our offense in order to take advantage of holes in a well-defined defensive system.

[C J]

On 10/27/2021 at 6:04 PM, Joshua Whitted said:

I actually have a theory that admittedly holds little weight considering I'm definitely not an X's and O's expert. But I think UCLA and Ohio State had the two most "defined" (for lack of better word) defensive schemes of all of the Ducks' opponents so far. Ohio State almost exclusively plays cover 3 and cover 1. UCLA centers their scheme around blitzing. The Ducks knew what they would be facing in each of these games and schemed towards the weaknesses of each of these schemes. The rest of the teams they've played have far more varied defensive schemes, so we kind of just ran our base offense with mixed results. 

 

It's unrealistic to change up an entire offensive philosophy week to week, which is why I think it looks like we decide to turn it on in these big games. Really, I think they are the few games that we dedicate a year to really switching up our offense in order to take advantage of holes in a well-defined defensive system.

 

Very plausible theory I think. It's a lot easier to strategize against the known. However I have to think that at least the PAC12 schools have some fairly consistent schemes and approaches i.e. Stanford, Cal and AZ. 

 

I am definitely thinking that the base offense does not operate as well in general. All in all I personally think they just need to throw the ball more and operate in more space, which is basically what they implemented against both Ohio State and UCLA. Need to stick with it.

Edited October 28, 2021 by C J

[Washington Waddler]

Great job Joshua of showing us how JM’s chess moves set-up a ‘check mate’ by getting UCLA’s defense to  to create the opening that allowed AB’s TD run. Pure artistry! It gets me excited wondering if we can anticipate a similar approach to reading our remaining opponent defenses. 

[Jon Joseph]

On 10/27/2021 at 8:55 PM, Joshua Whitted said:

I couldn't agree more. Moorhead is a top-10 playcaller and offensive mind in my book. I sure hope he hangs around for another season!

 

He has to be high on the WAZZU list? But will he wait for a better offer?