Oregon Football is The Embodiment of Modern Physicality

[FishDuck Article]

OBD Writer, David Marsh,  gives new meaning to the term Physicality.  The offense created by Coach Dillingham defines modern physicality.

 

Oregon Football is The Embodiment of Modern Physicality

FISHDUCK.COM

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As Oregon fans, we heard all about physicality from former HC Mario Cristobal over the last four years. Cristobal is gone now, and what we have...

 

[McDuck]

I don't pretend to be a x and o maven, just a simple fan.  As such it is interesting to read about the evolution and variations of the different packages in the Ducks playbook.

 

I remember in years past Stanford used a jumbo package with great success.  They lined up five star offensive linemen and four star tight ends shoulder to shoulder and, at least against Oregon, scored rather easily.  Mario Cristobal would be proud.

 

Is the Kenny Dillingham version basically a copy of what Stanford ran or is it developing into another animal altogether?  For example I don't remember the Tree handing off to a tight end, just little lobs to players who dwarfed the DB trying to cover them.  Are we seeing other innovations?

[Mic]

Multi-dimensional levels of "physicality".  

 

And there-in (imo) lies the primary weakness of Mario C's physicality scheme (or his idea of physicality).  MC's was, basically, very one-dimensional possibly indicating a limited view of what it means to be physical.

 

Was it Bucky Irving or Coach Locklyn in an interview recently where one or the other (pretty sure it was Locklyn) explained how speed can equal physicality which is true: it's simple physics.  A speeding object (runner, blocker) colliding with a slower or stationary object imparts greater force on that object (tackler).

 

ie: it's not just size and weight, Mario.  It's speed, it's numbers, it's angles: all directed at the point of attack, whether moving the ball forward on offense or stopping the progress of the ball on defense.  

 

David Marsh does yeoman's work here explaining this to his readers.

 

 

[David Marsh]

On 10/12/2022 at 7:26 AM, McDuck said:

Is the Kenny Dillingham version basically a copy of what Stanford ran or is it developing into another animal altogether?  For example I don't remember the Tree handing off to a tight end, just little lobs to players who dwarfed the DB trying to cover them.  Are we seeing other innovations?

I'm sure they are similar. Stanford did a lot of very predictable stuff where they would line up and you could know with a 90% certainly as to what they were going to do. 

 

Stopping it was another matter. 

 

I feel Oregon has a bit more flare to what they are trying to do right now, a few more variations but I know Stanford back a decade ago was doing some similar things. 

[David Marsh]

On 10/12/2022 at 8:19 AM, Mic said:

ie: it's not just size and weight, Mario.  It's speed, it's numbers, it's angles: all directed at the point of attack, whether moving the ball forward on offense or stopping the progress of the ball on defense.

And then you pair all that with a scheme that is complex enough to make defenders hesitate and guess and you have a recipe for some big time explosion plays! 

 

Kelly and Helfrich made teams hesitate and they got points for it regularly. 

 

Make them work their minds as much as their bodies. 

[The Kamikaze Kid]

Key word here is modern. Mario's brand of physicality requires eating a leather helmet before the game.

[Mic]

On 10/12/2022 at 8:22 AM, David Marsh said:

 Kelly and Helfrich made teams hesitate and they got points for it regularly. 

And complete mis-direction.  I still have it in my mind how Oregon would pound the defense (with tempo) one direction and then suddenly attack them at another catching the defenders completely out of position.  It's how Marcus Mariota destroyed defenses with long-ball strikes to a streaking receiver with no defender even in the picture.

 

How did that happen?  The corners and safeties were made to be completely out of position.  This is something the Ducks will really need be on the lookout for when they play UCLA.  Discipline will be paramount as DTR will be acting as MM in an offense trying its best to mimic what Oregon once was, with wrinkles, of course,  New wrinkles as Chip's mind never stops thinking and scheming.  

[DazeNconfused]

Great article Marsh. I wrote in the post-game article Saturday how Dilly ran James 4 straight times out of the Josh-14 from the 19-yard line to score a TD right before halftime. 

 

Just physical like you're saying in the article - you know it's coming can you stop it?

[Drake]

Our OL is definitely is worthy of MVP status. 
 

Without an elite OL, the running game isn’t as prolific, and Bo Nix probably doesn’t have the time to complete 70% of his passes. 
 

It is refreshing to see Dillingham’s play calling switch gears in games. If a defense sells out to stop the run, we simply start passing the ball. When the defense adjusts, and spreads out to defend the pass, we run it for big chunks of yards. 
 

Now, the jumbo package in short yardage that initially shouted QB sneak to the other team, has additional twists added to it.

 

I love it. 

[Mic]

On 10/12/2022 at 11:20 AM, Drake said:

Now, the jumbo package in short yardage that initially shouted QB sneak to the other team, has additional twists added to it.

It will be interesting to see how UCLA deals with or counters the 'jumbo' package when Oregon gets near the goal line. They're watching the game tape right now showing Jordan James run the ball 4 straight times till he hits the end zone, and Moliki Matavao carry the ball around the end into the end zone. That's Oregon showing their hand and daring them to stop it.  

 

Seems to me Dilly could take advantage of that and catch them in the wrong defense with a pass or QB run.

[David Marsh]

On 10/12/2022 at 11:40 AM, Mic said:

Seems to me Dilly could take advantage of that and catch them in the wrong defense with a pass or QB run.

The way this is set up is that it is possible to stop but in reality you can't stop them all at once.

 

The offense is only going to pick one of the plays to run but the defense has to account for all do them. if they pick the wrong one Oregon scores. 

[Charles Fischer]

Fun article, and it reminded me what the "Grizzled Ol' Coach" taught me years ago before he passed--the difference between a "Jet Sweep" and a "Fly Sweep."  A Jet Sweep is when you are in the Shotgun and the QB hands off or tosses the football to a flanker/receiver who has gone in motion and speeding across the LOS in front of the QB.

 

A "Fly Sweep" is when the QB is snapping from center and hands off behind him to the receiver speeding past.  When I saw that play with the tight end, I about went nuts.  A "Fly Sweep" with a tight end?  I love it!

 

[Mic]

Call me crazy but over the past decade or two the TE position has under gone a renaissance.  Remember when the position seemed almost an after-thought to the offense, a blocker on runs as interference ahead of the full-back, the tail-backs; an 11th man not figured in much of the passing offense other than as a blocker to pickup the blitzing linebackers and safeties, protect the QB?

 

Travis Kelly showed us the other night how much that position has changed (and how incredibly important it's grown to the pro-system offense) when he became the 1st player in NFL history to sore 4 TD's in one game from less than 10 yards from the end zone.

 

I may be all wet on this but I noticed the changing landscape for Tight Ends in the collegiate ranks first.  Or maybe it seemed to me it was first because it's college football where new things get tried, proven or discarded and because I watch so much more collegiate football than pro any more now days.

 

I just love how a team now has become judged not just by how good the QB & RB's are, but how versatile and dangerous the TE's are.  Whole offenses are now being schemed around this position and Oregon is certainly one of those teams pushing the envelope outward.  GO OREGON!