Charles Fischer Administrator No. 1 Share Posted October 6 It is really hard to have great observations about a game until at least a day has passed and the emotion that can blind you subsides. Normally I cannot get a good view of the game until Monday or Tuesday, but a Friday night game gave me fresh eyes on Sunday morning. It also helps to have spent Saturday watching other teams to give me a better "eyeball" comparison. Blocking is a Beautiful Thing... When the blocking is great, then we have time to throw accurate passes, and the run game keeps a defense off-balance. At first I noted that running outside was better on the left side because both Strother and Conerly are great at sealing defenders to the inside, or kicking them out to create running lanes. Now the left side is developing the same talents, and the tight ends are just killing-it downfield with their blocking. A highly undersold element of this offense is the superb blocking downfield by Traeshon Holden and Evan Stewart. I frankly was shocked at how dedicated Stewart was on a number of plays, and it made a big difference in longer running gains made, IMHO. Great to see Stewart (above) getting a TD, and being thrown to more, as he is poised for a big breakout game. My impression of the offense has changed; they ARE ready for Ohio State, as many aspects have been kept under-wraps and will surface next Saturday. This offense has been a SLOW unveiling by design, and points scored per game have not been as important as saving stuff for later in the season. BTW...have you noticed how the Pistol Formation has been used quite a bit? No howling about it, because our line blocking for it has been excellent. This is not your father's Cristobal Pistol, and this addition makes preparation for opponents that much harder. Oregon could unveil a TON out of that formation, and I would not be surprised to see a lot more. Best Defense EVER at Oregon? The vibe coming from the defense up to now has been, "OK," and playing hard, but now I feel a vibe of them truly jelling and trusting each other. The defensive line has really come alive, as both Jordan Burch and Jamaree Caldwell have not been very notable...until now. You saw the telecast with how they were chatting about Burch, but Caldwell is the one who created the fumble at the goal line, and was the instigator of many sacks. You've seen it before, the first guy turns the QB a direction, and into the second guy who gets the sack. Caldwell turned a TON of sacks and TFLs into his teammates, and was truly a dominant Nose Tackle that Oregon really needs. We put great pressure on at times with just four rushing, which made completing passes on seven in secondary zones that much harder, IMHO. Another sack! While the numbers do not yet support the notion, I do believe this might end up being our best defense ever, and overall our best defensive line ever. Every one of those front four had great moments, and I believe will elevate their game that much more on Saturday. While I don't like giving up 10 points in the final eleven minutes of the game, the reserves needed that playing time to make them better, and I applaud Tosh for getting them in there. While we've had some safety blitzes and a few corner blitzes, our defense has not yet shown a fraction of the "Simulated Pressures" and Blitzes of prior years. It certainly seems that both the offense AND the defense have had slow rollouts, which will help our trek through the B1G schedule. I am excited to see what will get thrown at the Buckeyes, as I know we have a ton more defensive plays to use. That WAS a Special Team Play... To see Andrew Boyle, No. 98, kick the 50 yarder was exciting because he is back, but also how much he cleared 50 yards by. It looks like on a calm day/night he might clear a 56 yarder? What a great new weapon to have for the B1G season! Sorry to be so long, but I never was one for brevity, and I will have an analysis out later this week as I see some things that I believe nobody else has noticed. (Well, I did not until today's "Skull-Session" looking at film and finishing my game charting.) There is a lot to like about this team, as they ooze upside that I sense we are about to see.... I love this community, Charles P.S. Thanks to all for enduring my silly sense of humor in many of my posts. 1 1 8 8 2 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanLduck No. 2 Share Posted October 6 Great points Charles. I concur totally that play calling is goi g hand in hand with comfort and development of players. Dillon is a great talent, but learning the offense and adjusting to new teammates takes game experience. Our win against the smurf-turf horsies looks better and better each week. I believe we are ready for tOSU. 1 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kamikaze Kid Moderator No. 3 Share Posted October 6 Awesome post Charles. Has Lanning secretly rebuild his Georgia D? Rewinding my memory back to the BSU game, the D actually came out of halftime firing on all cylinders. I think they got three consecutive three and outs. It was only when fumble fest happened that BSU woke back up for a 14-0 momentum change and bloat up the D stats in the wrong direction. Since then, only late game downs have been negative. The halftime scores have been looking rather UGA like the last three weeks. The progress of the O line makes me think of Godzilla slipping on a banana peal. We all have a good laugh while he falls on his butt but then he gets back up and continues stomping toward us. Don't think the BIG is laughing at our o line now. Line positions that were extreme question marks earlier are now getting great PFF grades. A good trend. My main concern is self inflicted momentum swings. Two fumbles on two consecutive series almost cost them the BSU game. Leaving 14 points on the one yard line against MSU makes this a concerning trend. We all know that the margin for error is much smaller than that in the big boy games. They seem to have cleaned up the penalty issue. Hopefully they get turnovers under control as well. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck No. 4 Share Posted October 6 Good eye, Charles, and the last picture had my favorite Duck on the D side. Boettcher is a player I used to see playing on teams that Oregon didn't get. He's not that talented, won't get picked in the first round. But he's a leader, intensity drips off him. He wants to hit somebody on every play. That attitude carries over to the other players. This could be the best defense OBD has ever had, because they attack! This isn't a defense that reacts to the offense, it forces the action, like the SEC does. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Author Administrator No. 5 Share Posted October 6 My OBD forum friends; I am working on creating the screenshots over the next couple of hours, and from the first play I have this... How is this NOT interference? (He can't catch the ball if his arm is restricted, and the ref watched it?) 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 6 Share Posted October 6 On 10/6/2024 at 1:51 PM, Charles Fischer said: BTW...have you noticed how the Pistol Formation has been used quite a bit? There is nothing wrong with the pistol. If used correctly it can merge power and flexibility as it's based alignment allows the running back to make their approach on either side of the quarterback. It can go down the middle or bounce to the outside... Or any other way you want to use this formation. Cristobal used it basically like a worse I-formsation and ran players right into A-gaps. Also... Anyone else watch Cristobal's beloved offensive line get mostly worked over by Cal last night? Yeah... We upgraded big with Lanning. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven A Moderator No. 7 Share Posted October 6 On 10/6/2024 at 2:52 PM, Charles Fischer said: How is this NOT interference? Charles, know the rule book. The pass was uncatchable (after the defender grabbed him)!! 2 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
idontrollonshobbas No. 8 Share Posted October 6 In the Pac-12, that PI call would have been automatic. B1G refs seem to swallow the whistle more. I prefer the B1G option. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Author Administrator No. 9 Share Posted October 7 Is this LOVE or interference? Thankfully they did call this one! 1 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake Moderator No. 10 Share Posted October 7 You have to think DG is mad at himself about trying to force passes in the red zone. Probably the only negative over the last two games. (Is he trying to pad his TD stats?) I have to think that unless we are trailing that those forced passes will not happen again. Otherwise, as stated, because of the OL and blocking, the offense has found its mojo. Defensively, I will be curious to see what they can do to the chestnuts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonDucks No. 11 Share Posted October 7 (edited) On 10/6/2024 at 7:17 PM, Charles Fischer said: Is this LOVE or interference? Thankfully they did call this one! Why? It looks like the DB just wanted a hug, in the middle of the play… Edited October 7 by OregonDucks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonDucks No. 12 Share Posted October 7 The offensive line has been doing a great job but the step up in talent will be significant on Saturday. I’m hoping that they can more than hold their own. One of my favorite plays was when the center dropped back and looped around to help a blitzing linebacker coming from the left edge. The TV announcers highlighted the play. There was another one where Tez pointed out that the CB was going to blitz and DG hit him for a nice gain. The blocking has improved significantly but so has the communication. Anxious to see how the team performs on Saturday (i.e., the mid term). 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck No. 13 Share Posted October 7 On 10/6/2024 at 7:43 PM, OregonDucks said: The TV announcers highlighted the play. Have to give credit to a Husky. Brock Huard is a very good analyst. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitnessczar No. 14 Share Posted October 7 On 10/6/2024 at 2:52 PM, Charles Fischer said: My OBD forum friends; I am working on creating the screenshots over the next couple of hours, and from the first play I have this... How is this NOT interference? (He can't catch the ball if his arm is restricted, and the ref watched it?) I was yelling exactly that at the t.v. And the worse part is the ref is looking right at it. So frustrating. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nevada Dawg No. 15 Share Posted October 7 I actually love the pistol formation. Carson Beck was in it quite a bit in 23 when the offense was really humming and almost unstoppable. It gives backs an extra step head start on running plays and opens up vision to multiple downfield passing routes. Georgia has not used the pistol as much this year, why I am a bit uncertain. I think it probably has something to do with a lack of experienced running backs beyond Etienne (who is still assimilating the Georgia offense),and a lack of absolutely dominant receivers such as Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey who were practically uncoverable. I'm certainly not an OC but would encourage ample use of the pistol with Dillon Gabriel and dynamic receivers. It really is hard to stop when you got it rolling. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Sousa No. 16 Share Posted October 7 (edited) On 10/6/2024 at 5:17 PM, Charles Fischer said: Is this LOVE or interference? Thankfully they did call this one! I don't know. It looks like LOVE. "Am I leading, or are you?" Edited October 7 by Jon Sousa 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonDucks No. 17 Share Posted October 7 On 10/7/2024 at 12:33 PM, Jon Sousa said: I don't know. It looks like LOVE. "Am I leading, or are you?" LOL. It is a great photo for a caption contest! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woundedknees No. 18 Share Posted October 7 On 10/6/2024 at 10:24 PM, Fitnessczar said: I was yelling exactly that at the t.v. And the worse part is the ref is looking right at it. So frustrating. Actually looked as if the ref was looking beyond the players... Maybe he was bedazzled at the beautiful blue Oregon sky? 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Duck No. 19 Share Posted October 8 Best defense ever at Oregon? Through 5 games -- arguably, yes. If we just looked at average points per game allowed as the measurement, they could end up being the best Duck defense... at least over the last 50 years. So far, OBD D has only given up an average of 17 ppg. Over the last half century, I could not find an Oregon defense that has given up an average, for the season, of less than 17.5 ppg --- and that was in 1980... way back when the average points scored per game was quite a bit lower, and reportedly, some dinosaurs still roamed the earth. All I know for sure is that, so far, our defense has been absolutely nails. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Duck No. 20 Share Posted October 8 On 10/6/2024 at 5:17 PM, Charles Fischer said: Is this LOVE or interference? Thankfully they did call this one! Or perhaps the defender (aka. The Mugger), was just wanting to hug it out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
