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Will Oregon’s Offense Instantly Improve Under Dillingham?

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It is a valid question with all we have read from interviews...

 

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Mario Cristobal's biggest flaw at Oregon was his inability to create an explosive offense. Determined to combine old school, smashmouth football with modern...

 

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We will only know as the season plays out, but we can make a few assumptions based on facts that can conclude an opinion.

 

Beforehand, I do not believe that Cristobal was the heart of the problem as the Head Coach. I see him more at fault for not intervening in the offense, and for faulty in-game decisions and poor clock management.

 

1. Dillingham has a history of leading prolific offenses.

2. There WILL BE a reliable passing game that was absent in 2021.

3. The offense will be multi faceted getting the ball quickly to playmakers.

4. There are more highly skilled playmakers in 2022.

5. Tempo will be used as the weapon it can be.

6. The O line is big, talented, and experienced.

7. The D will provide plus takeaways.

8. More too.

 

GO DUCKS!!!

 

Edited by Notalot
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I'm expecting immediate results. The difference in philosophy should be dramatic. Just the idea of not playing a "prevent offense" will be interesting to see.

 

An attacking offense will have more risks but will be a more enjoyable product on the field. Returning us to the Ducks that the rest of the country fell in love with will be a blessing and not happen soon enough.

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I don't really need it to improve, that was the problem with what MariØ was selling. We just need our offense to return. 

 

We may have metrics which we will use to judge if the Oregon offense is better under Dilly, I won't be following any of them. What I say is, using one of the great phrases ever produced, we will know it when we see it.

 

I also think we saw it in the spring game, so I can comfortably answer the question yes, if what we saw in the spring game continues.

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Joshua that is a great question and thanks for the article.......

 

Notalot laid out some solid reasons for instant improvement. Especially that MC will not be on the sidelines restricting the offense. Or making in game decisions. What a relief.......

 

Only time will tell. Can Coach Lanning and his staff coach these players up and then execute the offensive game plan needed? Game in and game out........

 

Personally i will give the offense a pass against Georgia. Even if the 2022 Dawgs defense gives up an extra touchdown over the 2021 squad that would mean only 17.2 a game. Thats some tough sledding for any offense.

 

24 to 28 points against the Dawgs D in a hostile environment would be a solid number. However, after that the Ducks, with a solid level of offensive execution should put 40 plus on the board. Against every team.

 

All the pieces are in place for the 2022 Ducks to light up the scoreboard. Nothing less than 70 against the lesser dawgs up north would or will be acceptable.

 

GO DUCKS.......

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Yes, it will just by the fact Dilly will make the defense defend the field more vertical and that will spread the defense more. 

 

Mario's offense would allow the defense to only defend about 15 yards vertical, but Dilly's offense will see the safety setting up 15 yards deep pre-snap and dropping at the snap. 

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     Three things could contribute to an improved offense, or a returned offense or whatever you want to call it:  1) consistent accuracy from our quarterback without which Dilly’s schemes are neutralized. 2) the emergence of a reliable running back in the mold of CJ (which was why MC had any offense at all), and 3) no more panic and confusion coming from the head coach.

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Short answer... Yes. 

 

Longer answer.... Yeesssss.

 

First off the scheme is going to be better because Dillingham is going to be allowed to do his job. It has become all too clear that MC tied his OC's hands and forced up the gut runs. 

 

We all bemoan the pistol as a "bad" formation but the truth is that it was used wrong and the most effective use of the pistol we find from other teams is using it as a change up to attack different parts of a defense... Not just a lazy attempt at making a "spread" offense with a power game. It always struck me that what Cristobal wanted was a Stanfordian smash mouth lots of i-formation runs that uses the quarterback under center. 

 

However, that is not Oregon and I am sure there was pressure to keep a spread offense so we got a lazy and terrible pistol. Because all you need for a spread offense is the quarterback in the shotgun, or at least not under center right? (Yes, that is some sarcasm...) 

 

Another major factor is defense. Fir some reason Cristobal only had one, maybe two, good years of defense. 2019 being the high water mark, which also corrilates with his peak offensive production. 

 

I wrote an article a while back going over how Dillingham's ambitious 80 plays per game can work. 

 

Byron-Cardwell-v-Colorado-2021-Craig-Str
FISHDUCK.COM

Back on National Signing Day in early February, Offensive Coordinator Kenny Dillingham said that his...

 

 

I do feel Lanning's defense will support the Dillingham offense. The Dillingham offense will also get players into space to make plays. 

 

It also doesn't hurt that whoever the quarterback will be that they will be an improvement over Brown. Especially with a scheme that can stretch the field. 

 

 

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I think yes is the correct answer.

 

We have a veteran OL, and solid QBs. QB1 will have available to him some of the best receivers we have had for quite some time, and the RBs should have a very good season. 
 

The only thing stopping this offense is themselves, and maybe Georgia…

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If things on offense do not explode...then Lanning/Dillingham will have a serious credibility issue with the fans.  Cristobal lied to us from the very beginning, but hid it well in nuance.  Even when presented the precise words he stated in his press conference--many Oregon fans still carried his water for him, and attacked me for even suggesting anything untoward.

 

By contrast, Dillingham has come out almost shouting about "explosion plays, and creating space for playmakers with one-on-one matchups."  In fact, if I were a coach trying to announce my intentions of returning to a high-scoring offense again--the way they have done it is how I would do it!

 

I too, had been wondering about the direction of the offense, but found proof of Dillingham's intentions in the Spring Game...right off the bat.  (Oh...these FishDuck writers!)

 

Bo-Nix-to-Seven-McGee-TD-in-2022-Spring-
FISHDUCK.COM

Oregon Offensive Coordinator Kenny Dillingham has explained how he prefers a fast-tempo offense and in particular—taking advantage of one-on-one matchups that...

 

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Mr. FishDuck

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On 6/29/2022 at 6:39 AM, cartm25 said:

The offense MUST be better.

 

With the talent the Ducks have, and given the P12's "weakling" status, if Dillingham's offense isn't better than Mari Cristbal's then I don't want to keep Dillingham for a second year.

 

All the red/orange (not good) below is clustered around Mari Cristbal's tenure. MC's offensive output should be the new pass/fail standard. If you come in less than 31 pts./game, you're out; no questions asked.

 

 image.thumb.png.1b8f69b919d553d78f8319c395fd3119.png

And as we all know, Herbert still got picked 6th...and Mari's offense was clearly holding him back.  There is no doubt we'll see immediate and drastic improvements on offense, we have a lot of talent at skill positions and a great OL, and decent depth.  Still young...not too many inexplicable picks by the QB and we'll be fantastic.  D will be a lot better too, overnight.

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Yeah JDuck, you had to bring up Herbert.  It makes me a little sick just thinking how Mario wasted that young man's talent. 

 

Just think  how explosive this offense would be with Herbert running it.   With his talent, OMG we would be putting up some ginormous numbers.  

 

I'm just hoping Bo can be the best Bo possible.   Cuz if he is we gonna take some people out behind the woodshed this year!  

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On 6/29/2022 at 1:53 PM, Quackerbacker said:

Yeah JDuck, you had to bring up Herbert.  It makes me a little sick just thinking how Mario wasted that young man's talent.

In fairness... There weren't a whole lot of home run hitters on the wide receiver side of things for Herbert to throw to. 

 

I do agree in that the scheme was underwhelming but there wasn't much firepower on the roster either. 

 

One of the crazy things is that every wide receiver that verbslled under Taggart decommitted. I think Oregon signed obe or two that year and they haven't planned out... 

 

Definitely some misses. 

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I look forward to more offensive explosion this year. Strong o-line, better QB(s), very good tight ends, much better wide receivers and a good looking running back room. Add in good offensive coaching and I would be shocked if we were not quite a bit better. Bring on Miami!!!!! 

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I think the 70 pass uncorked on the first play from scrimmage in the spring game was a warning shot across the bow of every defensive coordinator Oregon will face net season.

 

I almost wish the Ducks had kept that under wraps for the first play against Georgia...

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On 6/29/2022 at 7:39 AM, cartm25 said:

The offense MUST be better.

 

With the talent the Ducks have, and given the P12's "weakling" status, if Dillingham's offense isn't better than Mari Cristbal's then I don't want to keep Dillingham for a second year.

 

All the red/orange (not good) below is clustered around Mari Cristbal's tenure. MC's offensive output should be the new pass/fail standard. If you come in less than 31 pts./game, you're out; no questions asked.

 

 image.thumb.png.1b8f69b919d553d78f8319c395fd3119.png

I am surprised by this chart to find that the Cristbal years were so poor in rushing.

 

The passing was more obvious, but the rushing was worse.  

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On 6/29/2022 at 6:53 PM, Dr Hilarius said:

I am surprised by this chart to find that the Cristobal years were so poor in rushing.

 

The passing was more obvious, but the rushing was worse.  

Yep.  For all the talk about the offensive line...we had quite a drop-off with Cristobal.

 

And Minnie-Me...

Alex Mirabal coaching Jacob Capra_KC.jpg

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Mr. FishDuck

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On 6/29/2022 at 6:23 PM, Charles Fischer said:

Yep.  For all the talk about the offensive line...we had quite a drop-off with Cristobal.

 

And Minnie-Me...

Alex Mirabal coaching Jacob Capra_KC.jpg

Charles you spelled Cristbal wrong, or with him should it be "wrng"???

Edited by JDuck
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On 6/29/2022 at 8:20 AM, Notalot said:

We will only know as the season plays out, but we can make a few assumptions based on facts that can conclude an opinion.

 

Beforehand, I do not believe that Cristobal was the heart of the problem as the Head Coach. I see him more at fault for not intervening in the offense, and for faulty in-game decisions and poor clock management.

 

1. Dillingham has a history of leading prolific offenses.

2. There WILL BE a reliable passing game that was absent in 2021.

3. The offense will be multi faceted getting the ball quickly to playmakers.

4. There are more highly skilled playmakers in 2022.

5. Tempo will be used as the weapon it can be.

6. The O line is big, talented, and experienced.

7. The D will provide plus takeaways.

8. More too.

 

GO DUCKS!!!

 

I think point No. 2 is the most important one. We need a passing attack to take the next step forward on offense.

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On 6/29/2022 at 8:58 AM, Duck 1972 said:

I'm expecting immediate results. The difference in philosophy should be dramatic. Just the idea of not playing a "prevent offense" will be interesting to see.

 

An attacking offense will have more risks but will be a more enjoyable product on the field. Returning us to the Ducks that the rest of the country fell in love with will be a blessing and not happen soon enough.

I am hoping and praying you are right!

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On 6/29/2022 at 9:24 AM, Haywarduck said:

I don't really need it to improve, that was the problem with what MariØ was selling. We just need our offense to return. 

 

We may have metrics which we will use to judge if the Oregon offense is better under Dilly, I won't be following any of them. What I say is, using one of the great phrases ever produced, we will know it when we see it.

 

I also think we saw it in the spring game, so I can comfortably answer the question yes, if what we saw in the spring game continues.

Very true, but at this point, getting the offense to return to what it once was would take significant improvement. I do agree; the offense that we saw in the spring game will be an improvement if that's what the actual product looks like.

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On 6/29/2022 at 10:39 AM, cartm25 said:

The offense MUST be better.

 

With the talent the Ducks have, and given the P12's "weakling" status, if Dillingham's offense isn't better than Mari Cristbal's then I don't want to keep Dillingham for a second year.

 

All the red/orange (not good) below is clustered around Mari Cristbal's tenure. MC's offensive output should be the new pass/fail standard. If you come in less than 31 pts./game, you're out; no questions asked.

 

 image.thumb.png.1b8f69b919d553d78f8319c395fd3119.png

This is a TERRIFIC graphic and it really does a great job of illustrating how our offense has regressed in recent years (look at that 7.5 ypp in 2013!) thank you for sharing it; this is gold.

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On 6/29/2022 at 11:58 AM, David Marsh said:

Short answer... Yes. 

 

Longer answer.... Yeesssss.

 

First off the scheme is going to be better because Dillingham is going to be allowed to do his job. It has become all too clear that MC tied his OC's hands and forced up the gut runs. 

 

We all bemoan the pistol as a "bad" formation but the truth is that it was used wrong and the most effective use of the pistol we find from other teams is using it as a change up to attack different parts of a defense... Not just a lazy attempt at making a "spread" offense with a power game. It always struck me that what Cristobal wanted was a Stanfordian smash mouth lots of i-formation runs that uses the quarterback under center. 

 

However, that is not Oregon and I am sure there was pressure to keep a spread offense so we got a lazy and terrible pistol. Because all you need for a spread offense is the quarterback in the shotgun, or at least not under center right? (Yes, that is some sarcasm...) 

 

Another major factor is defense. Fir some reason Cristobal only had one, maybe two, good years of defense. 2019 being the high water mark, which also corrilates with his peak offensive production. 

 

I wrote an article a while back going over how Dillingham's ambitious 80 plays per game can work. 

 

Byron-Cardwell-v-Colorado-2021-Craig-Str
FISHDUCK.COM

Back on National Signing Day in early February, Offensive Coordinator Kenny Dillingham said that his...

 

 

I do feel Lanning's defense will support the Dillingham offense. The Dillingham offense will also get players into space to make plays. 

 

It also doesn't hurt that whoever the quarterback will be that they will be an improvement over Brown. Especially with a scheme that can stretch the field. 

 

 

Very good points, and I'm a huge fan of the increased tempo. More plays per game means more chances to score!

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On 6/29/2022 at 2:50 PM, Charles Fischer said:

If things on offense do not explode...then Lanning/Dillingham will have a serious credibility issue with the fans.  Cristobal lied to us from the very beginning, but hid it well in nuance.  Even when presented the precise words he stated in his press conference--many Oregon fans still carried his water for him, and attacked me for even suggesting anything untoward.

 

By contrast, Dillingham has come out almost shouting about "explosion plays, and creating space for playmakers with one-on-one matchups."  In fact, if I were a coach trying to announce my intentions of returning to a high-scoring offense again--the way they have done it is how I would do it!

 

I too, had been wondering about the direction of the offense, but found proof of Dillingham's intentions in the Spring Game...right off the bat.  (Oh...these FishDuck writers!)

 

Bo-Nix-to-Seven-McGee-TD-in-2022-Spring-
FISHDUCK.COM

Oregon Offensive Coordinator Kenny Dillingham has explained how he prefers a fast-tempo offense and in particular—taking advantage of one-on-one matchups that...

 

I agree that this staff, at least very early on, appears to be very genuine in how they plan to approach both sides of the ball. We're going to be aggressive, for better or worse, and I believe that's the best approach.

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On 6/29/2022 at 4:53 PM, Quackerbacker said:

Yeah JDuck, you had to bring up Herbert.  It makes me a little sick just thinking how Mario wasted that young man's talent. 

 

Just think  how explosive this offense would be with Herbert running it.   With his talent, OMG we would be putting up some ginormous numbers.  

 

I'm just hoping Bo can be the best Bo possible.   Cuz if he is we gonna take some people out behind the woodshed this year!  

One of the biggest travesties in recent college football history is how badly Cristobal and Arroyo stifled Herbert...

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He also didn't have the WRs. Once his TE went out. MC clamped the chains on. I don't believe an unreasonable reason. He couldn't run him do to injury risk. I believe they ran him in the Rose Bowl because the Badgers took everything else away and it was the last game of the year. 

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On 6/30/2022 at 5:39 AM, Wrathis said:

I may be completely off here, but it was my thought that Herbert ran himself during the Rose Bowl bc he wasn't going to let bad play-calling lose the game...

To Duck 1972 and Wrathis:  I am not going to repeat the articles written about the Rose Bowl, except to say that Herbert did not run the ball on his own or call his own play.

 

These were "Zone-Read" plays that in the past--Herbert was not allowed to pull the ball, but in the Rose Bowl--he could if the "read" defender went after the running back and vacated his zone.  Two of the Zone-Reads for touchdowns were made out of the Pistol, and a third TD was out of the Zone Read in the Shotgun.

 

Even with the correct read--Herbert still had to put a juke on an outside linebacker to make the TDs.

 

Justin Herbert doing the Zone Read out of the Pistol in the Rose Bowl

Herbert reading a backside defender out of the Shotgun in RB_Eugene Johnson.jpg

 

 

Mr. FishDuck

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Oh heck, I had to pull a video from a FishDuck analysis article...

 

 

Mr. FishDuck

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"Mario Cristobal held down Justin Herbert better than any defense in the NFL!"

 

Herbert vs KC_Chargers Twitter.jpg

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