The Best Oregon Offensive Line...Wasted?

[Charles Fischer]

Below is an article from the FishDuck Feed about how Jake Hanson has a real shot at starting for Green Bay, but the conclusion is what blew me away.  Four starters from the 2018-2019 Oregon teams on the offensive line are in the NFL and could be starting.

 

Think about that.  When has that ever happened at Oregon?

 

All four were recruited by Steve Greatwood for running the Spread offense, and they continued to flourish in the Gulf Coast offense of Willie Taggart.  But once 2017 was past....they were wasted.  Perhaps the best offensive line ever in the history of Oregon football had poor stats after Cristobal and "Minnie-me" took over?  Whew!

 

Perhaps Mari was not just a QB-Killer?

 

Former Duck Jake Hanson pushing for a starting role with Packer o-line

247SPORTS.COM

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Could former Oregon Duck offensive lineman Jake Hanson find his way into the starting lineup for one of the best NFL teams this upcoming season? It appears so.

 

[The Kamikaze Kid]

I think one of the biggest Duck stories to not come out was how not broke the Ducks were at the end of the Helfrich era. 
 

The biggest problems they had were defensive miss management. Both D coordinators Pellum and Hoke tanked a defense that had been humming along until then. 
 

The team had an instant turn around under Taggart with Herbert at QB but flailed with Bermister. I don’t think the Ducks were broke at all when Mario took over.

He got WAY too much credit for the return to the top 25. It looks to me more like he was what kept them from being top 5.

[David Marsh]

Two years of a I'll conceived use of the pistol. Again, the pistol in itself isn't a bad formation, lots of big time teams use it. It's usually a sometimes formation and not used the way Cristobal used it. 

 

Cristobal used it as a spread version of the i-formation which it isn't. 

 

But it is worse than the i-formation when trying to use it for the same job... Power run the a-gaps. 

 

The poor offensive line had to hold up longer and run block longer. And against a defense that knew if Oregon was in the pistol formation there was a 99% chance that runningback was coming to the a-gaps so every defense just crashed those gaps or looped around the offensive line and got the runner. 

 

It wasn't hard to figure out. I figured it out rather quickly and I'm not a football coach or anything near a coach. 

 

The thing is... That in 2016 I do remember Helfrich saying that this was an entire redshirt freshman line and that 2016 was going to be a bit rough for them as they needed to learn. 

 

2016 was rough but mostly on defense. The offense wasn't quite as good but they also didn't have the ball all that often and halfway through the season Herbert was the first freshman to start at QB in like 30 years at Oregon, don't quote me on that stat but it was a very long time. 

 

I have been meaning to watch highlights of the Miami spring game to see what Cristobal is doing there in terms of running formations. But what is sure is that through poor scheme and the desire to put physical the other team he wasted some of the best talent Oregon has ever had..

[David Marsh]

On 8/22/2022 at 10:25 AM, The Kamikaze Kid said:

I think one of the biggest Duck stories not come versed was how not broke the Ducks were at the end of the Helfrich era. 
 

The biggest problems they had were defensive miss management. Both D coordinators Pellum and Hoke tanked a defense that had been humming along until then. 

Helfrich hired the wrong DC in Hoke. 

 

Helfrich gets a bye for hiring Pellum and that not working out because promoting from within was the Oregon way. That's how things worked back then, promote from within whenever possible. 

 

There just wasn't any patience for Helfrich anymore at that point. 

[Haywarduck]

When analyzing greatness you can break it down into two elements. There is raw physical talent which is often measured, built and ogled over. The other, more important item is mental acuity and ability to problem solve in situations.

 

Our previous coach could recruit the raw physical talent and display that talent in a raw way on the football field. The problem with focusing on raw talent and power is we then overlook the most important element, the mental aspects of the game.

 

I am not talking about mental toughness, although that can be part of it. I am talking about a qb seeing the field and plays developing. Mental aspects of the game are also on the defensive side of the ball and being able to foresee what is going to happen next. 

 

The curiosity for the finer points of football was lacking in our previous coach. Every once in a while an amazing play would get through the playbook, and our coach would be a wreck on the sideline, this wasn't what he wanted, or enjoyed. This play would get buried in the playbook, and never seen again. The play to DJ Johnson for a 1st down is the best example.

 

Our previous coaches ability to put raw talent on the field overshadowed his inability to develop any of the mental acuity needed to really compete at the highest levels. That was what happened in most if not all positions. 

 

I still remember way back when Coach Neal, our DB coach, was hired and he lamented about the lack of development of Keith Lewis at safety. The young man had so much talent, but was only drafted in the 6th round and was never made into the talent he was.

 

This is what has been happening throughout our team recently, and is something I look forward to seeing change. I want to forget about that past and be able to enjoy the development of the mental side of these student athletes.

[David Marsh]

On 8/22/2022 at 10:25 AM, David Marsh said:

I have been meaning to watch highlights of the Miami spring game to see what Cristobal is doing there in terms of running formations. But what is sure is that through poor scheme and the desire to put physical the other team he wasted some of the best talent Oregon has ever had..

So I have watched the Miami spring game highlights...

 

In short for those who are interested... the linemen are still being forced to block in the same way. The offense is basically the offense we saw last year but with more pistol. So not the worst Cristobal offense but still predictable and boring to watch.

 

What I find is more interesting was how soft the defense played with his FOURTH defensive coordinator. Its bend but don't break and it has a soft underbelly, in that there are lots of underneath throws that are easy because they aren't being pressured.

 

So... looks like Cristobal has wasted some of the best defensive talent Oregon has had as well.

[WickedGreen]

On 8/23/2022 at 12:39 AM, David Marsh said:

So I have watched the Miami spring game highlights...

 

In short for those who are interested... the linemen are still being forced to block in the same way. The offense is basically the offense we saw last year but with more pistol. So not the worst Cristobal offense but still predictable and boring to watch.

 

What I find is more interesting was how soft the defense played with his FOURTH defensive coordinator. Its bend but don't break and it has a soft underbelly, in that there are lots of underneath throws that are easy because they aren't being pressured.

 

So... looks like Cristobal has wasted some of the best defensive talent Oregon has had as well.

Don't think you're wrong on this. Not a fan of the technique MC & the dwarf taught. It poses some challenges IMO against speedy shorter DL. Just think it poses too many challenges but to each their own. Ironically, MC's greatest skill...recruiting,..maps to his model of great talent can overcome crappy coaching and still win. Which inevitably, explains so many close wins for us during his tenure instead of mass blowouts.