FishDuck Article Administrator No. 1 Share Posted September 4 My FishDuck Friends, I was going through the game looking at the failure of the offensive line, (upcoming article on Friday) and I could not help but notice how Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel seemed to only have eyes for Terrance Ferguson, or other short routes. As much as ... Gabriel Game-Plan: Ignore the Longer Passes? | FishDuck FISHDUCK.COM My FishDuck Friends, I was going through the game looking at the failure of the offensive line, (upcoming article on Friday) and I could not... 1 4 2 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...
Mike West No. 2 Share Posted September 4 Nice demonstration Charles. Indeed that is a question to ponder. I wonder how much of this was brought up. He still played well. But he left A LOT of food on the table. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 3 Share Posted September 4 You know me—I am not a suck-up. I will call it as I see it, even if unpopular. He is a record-setting quarterback…what is going on? 4 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonDucks No. 4 Share Posted September 4 Thank you, Charles. Lanning said that Idaho’s defense was playing two deep, resulting in the check downs. However, as you pointed out, DG missed some open receivers downfield. Perhaps he didn’t have confidence in his offensive line? IIRC, he got popped on his first downfield throw. In the first photo, it appears that #93 beat his blockers and has a clear path to the QB (shows how bad our blocking was). There is also a safety over the top so I believe that DG made the right read here. In the second photo, DG is already scrambling to the left side of the field. Unless you are Bo Nix or have a Justin Herbert sized cannon for an arm, most coaches do not want a QB throwing back across the field so I can’t fault him with this decision. What a nice cut by Stewart on your third example! DG probably should have recognized that he had single coverage on the outside, pre snap, and threw the ball before Stewart made his cut. Hopefully, Stewart gets some downfield receptions this weekend for his effort. In your fourth and last example, I don’t like how we are throwing the ball short on 3rd and goal. T. Ferg is wide open but the defense wants the offense to make that throw so that they can come up and make the tackle before the end zone. Doesn’t seem like a good play call for 3rd and goal from the 13 yard line. Take a shot in the end zone! Thank you for taking the time to post the pictures and thoughts. I don’t believe that DG made the wrong decision in the first two examples. However, he probably should have recognized the coverage in the third and knew the situation better in the fourth. Hopefully we see significant improvement next week (especially along the offensive line) and as DG gets more comfortable in the system and with the players around him. Go Ducks!!! 1 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyToBeADuck No. 5 Share Posted September 4 Thank you Charles for this article and for taking the time to analyze and present these eye opening pictures. Just another reason this is a fabulous forum for all things Duck. I got more out these few examples and pictures than I did from the BIG Ten Network broadcast. Is it just me or was the brodcast angle very narrow. I only saw the wide field angles on certain replays. It made for an uncomfortable broadcast. I could have missed it but from the broadcast booth, Yogi Roth would have seen these receivers break free. I don't recall him commenting on this. In the first half DG seemed to lock onto 1 target. However, it appeared he was under duress with little time to work his progressions. Pictures you shared tell a little different story. Let's hope DL and DG work on this and give a better showing. Nothing opens up an offense like repeatedly stretching the field with TD passes. Go Ducks...... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smith72 Moderator No. 6 Share Posted September 4 My reaction all game was, for the most part, Dillon Gabriel was staring at his receiver as soon as he got the ball. The throws were quick. Some were into very tight windows. Hopefully there was a lot of video review by Coach Stein and his quarterbacks. I also hope it was a staff decision to work the short game. Great analysis Mr. FishDuck! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckley Palace No. 7 Share Posted September 4 I've seen DG make three reads in quicker time than he did against Idaho. It seems like the game plan was quick read slants or dump passes. I don't think anyone expected the offensive line to struggle so much in pass protection or run blocking. I'd expect Stein to draw up more elaborate tree outs vs Boise, but still save up his best stuff till conference play starts. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 8 Share Posted September 4 On 9/4/2024 at 5:47 AM, OregonDucks said: I don’t believe that DG made the wrong decision in the first two examples. We will disagree. Based upon what I've seen of his arm, and prior Oregon QBs...those were missed opportunities. That is, if you have your feet ready; if you have to set your feet and throw--the opportunity is lost, IMHO. But what do I know? 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartm25 No. 9 Share Posted September 4 I'm going to assume that the low-lying sun was in his eyes constantly, impeding his downfield vision. When I watched his Oklahoma tape, there was no shortage of bombs down the field, so it seems a bit of an aberration for him to miss the open, downfield WRs. I anticipated him throwing bombs in our offense . . . 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonDucks No. 10 Share Posted September 4 On 9/4/2024 at 10:17 AM, cartm25 said: When I watched his Oklahoma tape, there was no shortage of bombs down the field, so it seems a bit of an aberration for him to miss the open, downfield WRs. That was Oklahoma’s offense - downfield passes to their talented WRs. Makes you wonder if this is just Oregon’s offensive philosophy under Coach Stein… Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GODUCKS15 No. 11 Share Posted September 4 I don't remember where I read it but there was an article written about Will Steins offensive game plan where he stated that he want to be different and mostly use short passes. Someone on here mentioned that article a few days ago and maybe they could chim in. It seemed like the game plan was to have DG not run and not throw deep. It's almost like his hands were tied. Like when Herbert couldn't run. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartm25 No. 12 Share Posted September 4 On 9/4/2024 at 9:31 AM, OregonDucks said: That was Oklahoma’s offense - downfield passes to their talented WRs. Makes you wonder if this is just Oregon’s offensive philosophy under Coach Stein… Fair take and question. I think our WRs are just as talented as Oklahoma's were . . . at least that's what the analysts tell us, ha. Also, I thought it was Stein that said he wants to take ~8 shots downfield per game as part of his philosophy. I can't imagine Stein telling DG, "Look, if the deep guy is wide open ignore that if the underneath route is also open." My take is that this is a brand new offense for a 1-year rental QB and it's going to take time . . . hopefully not too much time. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 13 Share Posted September 4 On 9/4/2024 at 8:31 AM, OregonDucks said: Makes you wonder if this is just Oregon’s offensive philosophy under Coach Stein… Stein threw bombs eight times a game at UTSA... Stewart is ideal, as he comes down with 50/50 balls most of the time. 1 3 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notalot No. 14 Share Posted September 4 (edited) Good takes, Charles. During the game and in replay I noted the tendencies and plays you highlighted. Sheesh! Additionally, there appeared to be telegraphing by Gabriel. He was locked in early on a receiver or zone, and to his detriment all the while missing breaking open receivers and allowing defenders to close in on the target. I am confident that Gabriel will see the same things and adjust accordingly, but the mentioned plays were hard for me to understand given Gabriel’s experience and track record. Your analysis was spot-on. Edited September 4 by Notalot 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 15 Share Posted September 4 The entire enterprise was FUBAR. From the coaches down to the Gator Ade guys and gals. Show future opponents nothing because we can beat These Guys with our eyes closed. (I hope!) I hope this wasn't Stein going short pass, don't run the ball Mr. QB as was the case in a disastrous 1st quarter in the conference champ game that UW knew was coming, but it sure looked like it. We will find out a lot vs a Boise team that will be super fired up. Boise put up 56 points vs GA SO. but surrendered 45 points. The Ducks should score lots of points vs Boise and the D will be focused on shutting down the Broncos run game. Stop the run game and Boise will not defeat Oregon passing the ball. I hope all hands are on deck including Bassa and Justin Jenkins who barely saw the field last week. Good calls Charles, Gabe looked tentative. He does not have at least based on the 1st game, anywhere close to Bo's quick release. He has to get aggressive. He looked like he was afraid of making mistakes and where was the run game he showed at Oklahoma? He looked nowhere like the guy who took the Sooners to a walk-off TD over Texas last season. I see the Boise game as a test not only for the O line and the run game but of Gabe's willingness to take calculated risks in the pass and run game. Also, a test for Stein and Lanning's in-game coaching chops. Lanning handed Idaho its 2nd TD on Saturday. Come out fired up and play with effort and swagger. A solid roster means nothing if the potential talent is not coached up. Ask Blue Chip Florida and close to Blue Chip FSU. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonDucks No. 16 Share Posted September 4 (edited) On 9/4/2024 at 10:43 AM, Charles Fischer said: Stein threw bombs eight times a game at UTSA... Stewart is ideal, as he comes down with 50/50 balls most of the time. Yes, but we haven’t really seen that at Oregon. Bo took some deep shots but some called him “check down Bo.” I don’t think it was Bo but rather Coach Stein’s offensive philosophy - get the ball out quick to your playmakers and let them make the defender miss. The issue is that better defenses will crowd the line of scrimmage. Does Coach Stein have counters in his playbook (e.g., fake WR screens, hitch and go routes) like we used to see from Chip/Helfrich, who were masters at setting up a defense. Edited September 4 by OregonDucks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbmichaels No. 17 Share Posted September 4 On 9/4/2024 at 8:17 AM, cartm25 said: I'm going to assume that the low-lying sun was in his eyes constantly, impeding his downfield vision. I think this might be a solid point. The sun was bad during most of the game due to the 4:30 start. I'd be curious if there was any correlation between missed reads and when they were playing into the sun. In the first three examples you can tell by the shadows that he's staring at the sun. The fourth was later in the game with the sun likely not a factor. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
idontrollonshobbas No. 18 Share Posted September 4 On 9/4/2024 at 9:30 AM, bbmichaels said: I think this might be a solid point. The sun was bad during most of the game due to the 4:30 start. I'd be curious if there was any correlation between missed reads and when they were playing into the sun. In the first three examples you can tell by the shadows that he's staring at the sun. The fourth was later in the game with the sun likely not a factor. I am not even a "singer in a rock-n-roll band" so take my thoughts with a ton of salt.....but, sitting at home, that sun angle looked brutal. A couple of close-ups of DG during the quarter the Ducks were driving to the west, showed him squinting and blocking the sun with his extended hand between plays. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck No. 19 Share Posted September 4 One stat, 41-49 says it all. He was told to make the easy pass, get in a groove in a game day experience at Oregon. From there extend the 7 yd. average, and take some shots in the coming games. Great observations and screen shots of the misses. He is also a short qb, and may be missing some receivers as he can't see over the o-line at times. Those pics show the receivers were open, and we have all seen DG can make those throws. I bet Stein sees what we have seen and comes to similar conclusions. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUCati855 Moderator No. 20 Share Posted September 4 From where I was sitting (about halfway up on the north side). There were two things that SEEMED obvious. 1) Gabriel was told not to run. There were several times early in this game he rolled out, had 15 yards of open field in front of him, yet chose to unnecessarily throw instead. Idaho picked up on this and knew they did not need to defend it. 2) Gabriel does not see the entire field as well as our QB's in the past. I feel part of the reason for this is his height. In 3 out of the 4 images in the article his vision is obstructed by larger humans. It felt as if he was told to stay planted and simply dink and dunk to nearby receivers. He didn't even use his feet to get larger views of the field. It felt purposeful. My two cents: The Ducks had a VERY simple plan for this game. They knew they could win on talent alone and didn't want to show any of their cards to future opponents. At the end of the day, they won, saw their points of need, and got a feel for real contact. Now it is time to take that experience and build on it. Luckily the schedule ramps up gradually over the first three weeks. They do not have to rush it. But, they MUST learn (from this game) and improve after each of the next two games. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake Moderator No. 21 Share Posted September 4 There definitely were receivers open downfield on several plays that DG overlooked. I told my wife that I thought he couldn’t see green very well. However, you are going to miss open receivers when 4 or 5 potential receivers are downfield. I will also agree that at the start of the 3rd quarter, the team was staring directly into the sun. DG was sacked in that quarter, and the sun glare definitely contributed to it. DG had the look of someone who is still processing the playbook. He wasn’t forcing too many passes into tight windows, but seems capable if necessary. He will get better. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirklandduck Moderator No. 22 Share Posted September 4 Occam's Razor. IMO I think the issue may be the most obvious: he's still building a rapport with his receivers. It's his first and only year in a new offense with new ball catchers, I think it's reasonable to say he won't be a 2nd year Bo Nix. But if he performs more like 1st year Bo Nix that should be more than sufficient providing that Will Stein will allow Dillon to pull the ball and run once in a while like Kenny Dillingham did. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 23 Share Posted September 4 On 9/4/2024 at 10:31 AM, kirklandduck said: It's his first and only year in a new offense with new ball catchers, I think it's reasonable to say he won't be a 2nd year Bo Nix. Agreed. I may be guilty of expecting too much and too soon. Last year....Tez Johnson really did not get going until the second half of the season, and then went wild. This might apply here... My FishDuck Friends,....I will have my thoughts, screenshots and videos of the issues with our blocking on Friday. At this point, I am more blown away than the Idaho defensive linemen were... 1 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirklandduck Moderator No. 24 Share Posted September 4 On 9/4/2024 at 10:44 AM, Charles Fischer said: Agreed. I may be guilty of expecting too much and too soon. Last year....Tez Johnson really did not get going until the second half of the season, and then went wild. This might apply here... I think we're all guilty of expecting so much given we've been spoiled by the talents of Bo Nix last year. That's the one drawback of grabbing players through the transfer portal, often they only have 1 year of eligibility left so their impact is less than someone who's in the program 2+ years. It's the reason why I'm thankful OBD have a bye week in the 1st half of the season which buys valuable time for players like DG who need every minute to get up to speed. I always thought it would take him half the season to really get comfortable in the offense...well the Ohio State game is right before mid-season so I'm hoping the universe lines up and DG turns in a monster performance that day. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 25 Share Posted September 4 Saturday Tradition is Keeping the Faith with Gabe and Puddles Ranking B1G QBs after Week 1: Let the race for No. 1 begin SATURDAYTRADITION.COM We rank and analyze every Big Ten starting quarterback's performance after Week 1. As are my betting buddies and I with $ down to cover -19. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 26 Share Posted September 4 This was a game where the stats didn't match up and one in particular stood out to me and ties in to the article. Tez Johnson: 12 catches, 81 yards, that's 6.75 per catch, not exactly stretching the field, At first, I was annoyed when I heard, read a comment that no wonder Gabriel had such a high completion rate, he was throwing checkdowns the whole game. Hopefully, this was part of Oregon wanting to get through this game without showing Boise State anything. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solar No. 27 Share Posted September 4 I really appreciate your assessment Charles, and I concur as do many in the media that have evaluated how open down field receivers were. However here is what DL said the day after the game having been able to evaluate the film. I think he is lying to cover for DG for all reasons/excuses we are speculate about.. Sun in the eyes, Stein's direction, being too short to see the field, etc. Q: How much of the lack of explosive plays about not making the correct read or was it the defense they ran? Lanning: "'I'd say none of it was really him [Gabriel] not making the right read. I think they, you know, we took a shot early in the game down the field, and then they stopped playing that coverage that gave us the opportunity to take that shot. We called a lot of shot plays, and they played over the top. So I think Dylan made the smart decision with where, where he took the ball, where he got to the ball. And, you know, you don't go what 41 of 50 passing if that's not the case. So, he did a really good job of making decisions on where he could actually go with the ball given the opportunity. They just eliminated some of those opportunities to take those shots. I think more of your explosives are going to come whenever you do catch the ball in space, who's going to break a tackle, who's going to go cover up on the block downfield, and those are the things that we got to do a better job taking care of. And then being able to run the ball more effectively." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solar No. 28 Share Posted September 4 Personally I think it's disingenuous to say they loaded the box to stop the run, yet covered well deep leaving only a few underneath routes at 5-10 yards. It's like they had 15 players on the field or something. The truth is more likely they knew Stein and Gabriel's tendencies and took away the run and the bird bombs leaving short and intermediate routes know Gabriel doesn't throw intermediate routes due to the risk of being picked off by some he can't see on the other side of his blockers. Has anyone watched enough prior tape to know if Gabriel targets 10-30 yard routes much? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 29 Share Posted September 4 I remember reading somewhere that Stewart left the game looking frustrated. I can see why now... he was open on so many plays for touchdowns and one of the few balls thrown his way was a pressured pass that was a bit too far out of his reach. I'm hoping we see this team come alive this week and beyond. So much talent and we just need to see it explode! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoutheastDuck No. 30 Share Posted September 5 It's also hard to quantify the impact of his hand injury, he was nursing it after he hit it on the helmet with 5:01 left in the 1st Qtr and he's mentioned in interviews it's fine for Saturday and that he's been icing it this week. So it's not nothing, and you can't help but wonder how much it affected his confidence and hesitation with longer throws against Idaho. It obviously didn't help him, but how much did it actually affect his game. Hopefully this was a bigger factor that we aren't aware of, and thus shouldn't be an issue this Saturday. Regardless, we've seen what he can do at OK and he should be significantly better this week. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirklandduck Moderator No. 31 Share Posted September 5 On 9/4/2024 at 2:38 PM, Solar said: Personally I think it's disingenuous to say they loaded the box to stop the run, yet covered well deep leaving only a few underneath routes at 5-10 yards. It's like they had 15 players on the field or something. The truth is more likely they knew Stein and Gabriel's tendencies and took away the run and the bird bombs leaving short and intermediate routes know Gabriel doesn't throw intermediate routes due to the risk of being picked off by some he can't see on the other side of his blockers. Has anyone watched enough prior tape to know if Gabriel targets 10-30 yard routes much? I found a good video of last season's highlights at Oklahoma. He has more than enough arm talent, accuracy, and vision for intermediate and long passes. I'm chalking this up to what I mentioned in my last comment in this thread, which is he's still getting used to his new receivers. It takes time to build chemistry/trust and learn all your teammates tendencies, makes it even tougher when you can't trust the right side of the OL to protect your blind spot so timing is off as well. 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solar No. 32 Share Posted September 5 On 9/5/2024 at 10:09 AM, kirklandduck said: I found a good video of last season's highlights at Oklahoma. He has more than enough arm talent, accuracy, and vision for intermediate and long passes. I'm chalking this up to what I mentioned in my last comment in this thread, which is he's still getting used to his new receivers. It takes time to build chemistry/trust and learn all your teammates tendencies, makes it even tougher when you can't trust the right side of the OL to protect your blind spot so timing is off as well. Thank very much for the research! I'm also very much in the camp of blaming the people that decided on a cloudy day to build Autzen as an east-west stadium. It seemed like Gabriel was looking into the sun on every important drive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirklandduck Moderator No. 33 Share Posted September 5 On 9/5/2024 at 12:33 PM, Solar said: Thank very much for the research! I'm also very much in the camp of blaming the people that decided on a cloudy day to build Autzen as an east-west stadium. It seemed like Gabriel was looking into the sun on every important drive. Yeah I noticed that too, he was squinting quite a bit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 34 Share Posted September 5 On 9/5/2024 at 3:33 PM, Solar said: Thank very much for the research! I'm also very much in the camp of blaming the people that decided on a cloudy day to build Autzen as an east-west stadium. It seemed like Gabriel was looking into the sun on every important drive. I'm blaming it on Solar. Or, maybe just Sol? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuckFan93 No. 35 Share Posted September 5 Excellent analysis as usual, Charles. DG really needs to look at Stewart more! Another thing we noticed while watching the game - DG looks short at 6', so maybe his vision is not as open. Is it because everyone around is bigger? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solar No. 36 Share Posted September 5 On 9/5/2024 at 1:25 PM, Jon Joseph said: I'm blaming it on Solar. Or, maybe just Sol? LoL. I was in San Diego at my daughter's volleyball tournament, I accept none of the blame. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
