It feels strange to say that perhaps former Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning’s biggest weakness is his team’s defense. I mean the Oregon secondary in particular, but looking back at his first three years as head coach, that weakness is what stands out — but perhaps 2025 will be the season this ceases to be the case. Even our Mr. ...

Will the Duck Defensive Secondary be a Liability Again This Year

Spot on, great read!

I’d equate having a good passing attack to having a good 3-point shooting team in college hoops. Any team with a draft-able QB, a couple good WRs and an air first scheme has a shot to win a shootout on a given day, especially at home. The great equalizer for talent which our buddy Mike Leach (RIP) made a career out of. Relying on this probably won’t get you to 10 wins very often, but it can make a team consistently bowl eligible that otherwise wouldn’t be.

That being said, there aren’t a lot of air it out “buzz saws” in our new league, so it may take a while to find out if we have the same weakness this year.

2 minutes ago, JabbaNoBargain said:

That being said, there aren’t a lot of air it out “buzz saws” in our new league, so it may take a while to find out if we have the same weakness this year.

There aren't many of them... But there is ONE that we cannot ignore, Ohio State. Many will argue that Ohio State has a pretty balanced attack which is pretty true as well but they have elite receivers and usually quarterback talent that can destroy secondaries.

Then the playoff itself will have plenty of elite receivers that we'll have to defend to reach the natty.

Great article! Hoping to see this defense take on DL's personality, and start to resemble those defenses he coached at Georgia.

Cornerback is one of the most difficult positions to play on defense. A CB’s reaction times and quickness are negated if a decent QB has the time to throw the ball.

The most effective secondaries get a huge assist from the pass rush, or blitzing scheme. With 39 sacks Oregon was ranked #6.

Oregon’s passing defense allowed 187 yards/game, and total defense allowed 19.4 points/game. Our red zone defense was below average allowing teams to score 85% of the time.

To compare, tOSU pass defense allowed 167/game, and total defense 12.9 points/game. Their red zone defense allowed scores 60% of the time, and was near the top in the nation.

Our secondary is just part of the entire story.

I recall the early Lanning days when he was asked about the blueprint and the roster he was inheriting.

He said the plan was to build from the trenches outward. Lupoi echoed that on defense specifically. Taking them at their word then the timetable makes sense that this is the year we should see developed players with the desired measurables on the back end.

Should be fun…..personally I am most worried about receiving on the offensive side

Usually the DB's reflect the situation up front. If the DL and LB's are good the DB's mirror it.

Since IMO this is the first year Lanning has a "Lanning" defence up front. I suspect everything will be just fine.

Thanks, David, for another terrific article. It's great to have an article dealing with football and not the extracurricular stuff.

Bigger, faster, stronger are the watchwords for OBD's DBs, who gave up many yards to Ohio State's terrific receiving corps in Autzen and were shredded by the same group in Pasadena in what looked like a group of amateurs against pros.

It took one of Dan Lanning's mentors, Kirby Smart, six seasons to win a national championship, ending a 41-year drought with a most satisfying win against Saint Nick's Alabama. Georgia had a great deal of success before winning it all, but it took monster recruiting years to assemble the talent required to play Smart's hybrid defense.

Like Kirby, it took Ryan Day six years to win it all at Ohio State. The Rose Bowl loss came against a better-prepared, super-motivated team with the deepest and most talented roster in college football. Yet, Texas found a way to shut down J. Smith and crew in the Cotton Bowl. With the right talent and coaching, even the best offenses can be held down. See, Eagles versus Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

This is Dan's 4th season at the helm. The roster is inexperienced, but it is probably the deepest and most talented since Dan's arrival, and it does look like bigger, faster, and stronger guys will be manning the D-back spots.

Dan is moving OBD toward the title, and I expect the Ducks will have another good chance of capturing a B1G title and will return to the PO. You have to make the PO field to win it all. Get there often enough, and the championship day (Day?) will arrive, and Dan and his D will look oh so Smart.

Thanks again, David, and let's Bob some Cats!

I think the pass rush and coverage are the ultimate in complementary football.

If the pass rush is disruptive the DBs don't have to guard as long, and if the DBs can guard well it gives time or the pass rush to get home and make coverage sacks.

We likely will have the best pash rush in the country this year.

Because of this and that our secondary will be so physical yet inexperienced, I think our secondary will play a lot of man coverage, to jam the wr off the line to eliminate quick passes before the rush can get home, and to minimize zone coverage breakdowns due to lack of experience as a group.

I think soft defense is sort of a systemic thing with OBD. It goes with the territory/history of glitz, glamour, speed and likability. IMHO we need a few more dirt dogs like this to set the tone for tough defense:

Very good summary and assessment David. Thanks for the article. Really made me think about this year's challenges the team will face.

I believe we will be seeing key elements we haven't seen before in this year's defense: Lanning's first group that is overwhelmingly his as an entire unit, and the fact that most of that group has been in the system at least two years. I believe it also will be a true evaluation of Lanning's version of the Bear Defense. Which I myself am looking forward to evaluating over the course of this season. I am looking forward to scrutinizing the defense in both college and its iterations in the NFL as well. There are a good number of teams that are very close to each other in terms of talent and ability. It's going to be a fascinating year as I believe coaching is going to be a major factor in determining who wins this year's title.