Charles Fischer Administrator No. 1 Share Posted October 29, 2021 I was watching the game again last night, and was noticing the jump in improvement across the board with the defensive line. Keep in mind that many on that broadcast and the Oregon State Pac-12 Network broadcast were declaring the UCLA offensive line the best in the conference. We all know about Thibs as an elite defender and how his presence opens things up for others, but I also saw great technique that would have worked regardless. Popo Aumavae had some very quiet, but big plays in run defense that contributed to many TFLs. Treven Ma'ae used superb hand technique to not only blow up a few Outside Zone Reads, but in one case defeated a double-team to create a tasty TFL. Brandon Dorlus has a swim move that has him often at the QB, but also in the backfield for running play TFLs, and we are seeing it even more. Bradyn Swinson had a great game, considering it was his first major effort coming back from injury. His performance was like so many of the other Duck D-Linemen--he pressured the QB into bad throws often, and while he did not get credit for a sack, he created incomplete passes. And he had a blocked pass that created an interception, and another blocked pass that was not noticed. A real high upside there! I believe Noah Sewell was not meant to be pass-rushing as much as he is, but because he is so good at it--he should replace Mase Funa for all passing situations, and get a fast MLB to replace his spot on 3rd downs. I cannot count the number of times he forced quicker throws that were either not accurate or purposely thrown out-of-bounds. Jeffrey Bassa is a candidate for the aforementioned, as he is making it impossible to keep him off the field--even if he is undersized to be a linebacker. And we are starting to see some excellent inside blitzes from Tim DeRuyter that we heard about, and now are enjoying. Bottom line? This defense is really blossoming and coming to maturity at the right time in the season! 5 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrw Moderator No. 2 Share Posted October 29, 2021 Nice analysis, thanks Charles. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 3 Share Posted October 29, 2021 The secondary even did a nice job keeping a lid on the UCLA offense by stopping the threat of a deep ball. However, with this much pressure in the QB's face it would be nice to see the back end of the defense clamp down on the underneath passes that have been killing us. However... those short yardage passes didn't seem quite as effective has they have been against Oregon in previous games. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
latracey No. 4 Share Posted October 29, 2021 Great analysis Charles and I completely agree. DeRuyter is blessed with a talented cast of characters and they are beginning to internalize his schemes and use them to make for a defense whose upside is just plain scary. Sewell, KT#5, Dorlus, and Swinson and company are crazy good. While it may be debatable that UCLA has the best O-line in the Pac 12, the fact that Colorado is far behind in that department is clear. It will be interesting to see if Oregon's defense will continue to improve and to capitalize on Colorado's weaknesses. I think we are all keeping our fingers crossed that this WILL NOT be another game in this year's trend where the Ducks play down to the level of their opponent. Given the terrific mismatch of our defense vs their offense alone, it shouldn't be close. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 5 Share Posted October 29, 2021 Agree watching Bassa play was a revelation. Sometimes a player gets on the field and just yells gamer! Bassa for four years is going to be fun to watch, wherever he ends up. Almost seem like a TJ Ward type player. It will be fun to see who he becomes! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Author Administrator No. 6 Share Posted October 29, 2021 On 10/29/2021 at 11:11 AM, Haywarduck said: TJ Ward type player Oh...that was a GREAT example to pull up! Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 7 Share Posted October 29, 2021 On 10/29/2021 at 1:36 PM, Charles Fischer said: I was watching the game again last night, and was noticing the jump in improvement across the board with the defensive line. Keep in mind that many on that broadcast and the Oregon State Pac-12 Network broadcast were declaring the UCLA offensive line the best in the conference. We all know about Thibs as an elite defender and how his presence opens things up for others, but I also saw great technique that would have worked regardless. Popo Aumavae had some very quiet, but big plays in run defense that contributed to many TFLs. Treven Ma'ae used superb hand technique to not only blow up a few Outside Zone Reads, but in one case defeated a double-team to create a tasty TFL. Brandon Dorlus has a swim move that has him often at the QB, but also in the backfield for running play TFLs, and we are seeing it even more. Bradyn Swinson had a great game, considering it was his first major effort coming back from injury. His performance was like so many of the other Duck D-Linemen--he pressured the QB into bad throws often, and while he did not get credit for a sack, he created incomplete passes. And he had a blocked pass that created an interception, and another blocked pass that was not noticed. A real high upside there! I believe Noah Sewell was not meant to be pass-rushing as much as he is, but because he is so good at it--he should replace Mase Funa for all passing situations, and get a fast MLB to replace his spot on 3rd downs. I cannot count the number of times he forced quicker throws that were either not accurate or purposely thrown out-of-bounds. Jeffrey Bassa is a candidate for the aforementioned, as he is making it impossible to keep him off the field--even if he is undersized to be a linebacker. And we are starting to see some excellent inside blitzes from Tim DeRuyter that we heard about, and now are enjoying. Bottom line? This defense is really blossoming and coming to maturity at the right time in the season! Great take! And DJ Johnson has been one heck of a pinch hitter. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyToBeADuck No. 8 Share Posted October 29, 2021 Great observation and analysis Charles. Thanks.... This group is growing into a force to be reckoned with. Actually find myself excited about this D unit coming on the field. Fun to watch them play. They relentlessly pounded DTR. Hoping for more this weekend against the Buffs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Author Administrator No. 9 Share Posted October 29, 2021 On 10/29/2021 at 2:34 PM, HappyToBeADuck said: They relentlessly pounded DTR They really did, and it is not something you see very often, let alone against "the best offensive line in the conference." Incredible to watch on replay again! 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck 1972 No. 10 Share Posted October 30, 2021 The Buffs fired the OL coach and brought in advisor. It could make them play better. And instead of us playing down to other teams, what about other teams playing up to us since outside of a couple yrs, we have been beating up on them for the last 27 yrs or so. And of course the narrative of uncle Phil money being the only reason we are winning Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
