Duck Fans - Have Faith in Will Stein

[Smith72]

Offensive Coordinator Stein should show much improvement in his second year at Oregon.

 

 

[Gizmoduck]

This will be his 3rd year I think. And if Moore or Novasad win the starting position, then it will be his first coaching a starter for more than a single season.

[spartan2785]

This will be his third year upcoming as Gizmo said, he is a okay play-caller, he isn't very good at adjusting to what the other team is taking away, he calls too many screens when it obvious that is what the opposing team is trying to take away.  He doesn't always do a good job setting other teams up for big plays later in the game.  I think he does a good job getting multiple facets of the offense involved, but I would like to see him develop the mid and deep passing game more.  

 

Too often you would see a play set up on a 3rd down where we are depending on the receiver making a play after the catch in order to pick up the first down.  This isn't a bad strategy all the time, but it seemed like we relied on it to a greater degree than we should have.  That might have to do with our roster, but I would like to see the offense become more diversified in its passing tree. 

 

I am interested to see what he does with a QB who has the arm talent that Moore has.  Gabriel was a great player but he was limited by his height and he lack of elite arm talent (it was decent to good).  I wouldn't be surprised to see Oregon throw the ball down the field more often with a QB who can throw with elite velocity. 

[Solar]

Will is going to have to have a better playbook for second and long and 3rd and long, because think Moore is going to take more sacks, and his lack of running threat will reduce the YPC of the running game, putting us behind the sticks more often.

 

It was already bad this year when getting 3rd and long, now it will happen more often.

Edited January 16 by Solar

[GODUCKS15]

I would like to see better production in the 3rd qtr. How many times did the Ducks come out with the ball starting the 3rd qtr and flop? Not sure if it's from the lack of adjustments or lack of player energy. Personnel changes from 2023 to 2024?

 

Oregon ranked 95th in 3rd qtr scoring with scoring average of 4.5 pts in 2024.

In 2023 they averaged 8.9 pts in the 3rd qtr. That would've placed them at 13th tied with CO and Syracuse. 

 

At home they scored 5.2 and away they scored 3.9. 

 

Is it Stein not making adjustments or Lanning not getting the players fired up or the opposing DC making adjustments? Such a big deal about the middle 8 but it fizzled more times than not. 

 

Edited January 16 by GODUCKS15

[Washington Waddler]

    Always felt that to be a top O (or D) coordinator requires the personality traits of a chess player. Knowing your opposite’s play book and response tendencies is fundamental homework. That’s why George Patton is a good example of a great coordinator (“I read your book Rommel!”).

 

    That said, it’s the players that still have to execute it. 
 

     Because the two quarterbacks through which we view much of Stein’s performance were such polar opposites, it’s hard at this time to judge him fairly. Nix’s ‘go for it’ impulse as opposed to Gabriel’s more cerebral ‘play the %’ approach (not to mention size difference) made for very different approaches to the game. And, that doesn’t take into consideration RBs and receivers, and the playbook/tendencies of their counterparts.

 

     Maybe with Moore we’ll get a better feel for his abilities. Right now, for me, the jury is still out.

 

 

[AnotherOD]

I just hope WS doesn't "sterilize" what has made DM elite.

 

(I looked up synonyms for "sterilize" and didn't find much).

 

It's been a bit now; but, way back when WS was asked about DM, he said something to the effect of, "He is learning to not always look for the home run and to trust his playmakers and get them the ball out in space."

 

And that is all well and good and has been successful at largely what the Oregon offense has been done well the last 3 seasons; but, that has also been, IMO, a bit subject to what the starting QBs at Oregon do well.

 

DM, for better or worse is a gunslinger who has exactly no qualms about trusting his arm and throwing downfield (it is exactly that IMO that has made him elite to this point and wasn't exactly missing in his otherwise up-and-down showing with mediocre talent surrounding him and a Chip Kelly who couldn't wait for the next plane out of town). We didn't see much of DM; but, arguably he threw one of the three prettiest balls all season.

 

My first thought is WS wasn't afraid to let it fly  a bit at UTSA; but, to some degree a bit of a different stage. Where does he fall in 2025?

 

Just maybe me but I long a tiny bit for the days the Oregon staff let it fly a bit more. Saw what it could do in the first tOSU game: and, ultimately, may very well be a big piece in what brings tOSU another title.

 

Edited January 16 by AnotherOD

[Charles Fischer]

On 1/16/2025 at 3:10 PM, AnotherOD said:

Just maybe me but I long a tiny bit for the days the Oregon staff let it fly a bit more.

[30Duck]

On 1/16/2025 at 12:56 PM, GODUCKS15 said:

or Lanning not getting the players fired up

This seems very unlikely.

[Akubra91]

I agree with spartan 2785. Too many wide receiver screens.  If those aren't working, you need to make adjustments.  I'm no football genius, but if the other team has the numbers to stop the screens, something else should be available.

 

I agree with the earlier article this week: we need a back with breakaway speed.  James was REALLY tough, but no breakaway speed.

 

 

[spartan2785]

On 1/16/2025 at 4:02 PM, Akubra91 said:

I agree with spartan 2785. Too many wide receiver screens.  If those aren't working, you need to make adjustments.  I'm no football genius, but if the other team has the numbers to stop the screens, something else should be available.

 

I agree with the earlier article this week: we need a back with breakaway speed.  James was REALLY tough, but no breakaway speed.

 

 

I don't mind a lot of screens at times, even if it doesn't work for a bit, but very very very rarely were the screens used to set something up for a shot down the field later in the game, or something where we faked a screen one way and had something on the backend.  It just didn't seem very wise to not use our tendencies to set up the opposition.

[Utki]

Maybe he can start to do something called passing it down the field more than 3 yd at a time that would be revolutionary. Also passes to the flats where our receivers never block correctly are really not enjoyable to watch a thousand times a season.

[Jon Joseph]

As noted above, it's Steiney's 3rd season in Eugene coming up.

 

Dan comes from programs where D won games and the O Chipped (Sorry ) in. So, I think Stein is doing exactly what his boss wants him to do. Doing what Dan learned from NFL coaches he reached out to in a season where OBD could have played 17 games, those who coach teams that play 17+ games a season.

 

OBD is a CFB team that does not frequently use its QB in RPOs. The longest run from scrimmage in 2024 was a 54-yard run by Gabe not by design, but when he scrambled. I believe, for it's worth, that Gabe should have played in a more QB-run-friendly O this season. The O was opened up vs. tOSU. Otherwise?

 

Get the lead and throttle down for the win. Just Win Baby is the NFL mantra and also the style of play when Dan coached in Dixie at Bama and UGA.

 

Unless the mindset changes, I do not think we will see a change in the ball control, defense-oriented paradigm. 35-6. Why change it up? If you want more wide-open O look to Dan and not Will.

 

IMO, FWIW, OBD has to start taking advantage of the stud-recruited WRs and press 'the edges' in the run game more than we have seen. I think JJ and the O-line in a predictable run game O did as well as possible in 2024.