Spring Game Thoughts?

[Charles Fischer]

A lot to digest?

[Santa Rosa Duck]

It seems we have a pretty good backup Quarterback much to my relief. Now we see who hits the Transfer Portal next week.

Edited April 29, 2023 by Santa Rosa Duck

[HappyToBeADuck]

Charles, you are correct. There is alot to digest from a small sample size. 

 

1. Open field tackling is much improved. Both units made solid, one on one, openfield tackles. Very promising.......

 

2. TT has improved his pocket presense. Improved his reads and progressions, except when it was an obvious situation. Then he locked on to just one receiver. Solid on his long throws.

 

3. Dez has a 2nd and 3rd gear in the open field. PAC D coordinators may not have an answer.

 

4. Everything on both sides of the ball was fairly generic. However, both D units stuffed the run games.

 

5. Many positives and many negatives. Young receivers dropped on the money passes.

 

6. 2nd year D players appeared to understand DL's schemes better.

 

Loved it all, good or bad, because its actual real football. With Top 10 talent on the field.

 

GO DUCKS........

[Dave23]

The SEC transfers looked good, a little rusty but an upgrade across the board. 

 

Happy with the secondary for the most part. Looked like the guys competing for starting positions where not giving up a lot of easy passes.

 

TTs looking better but not great, first pass of the game was 6 for the defense. 

 

Funa looks like he's picking up where he left off and could be a big factor on the edge this year.

 

Surprised the D line didn't get more pressure on the QB which might be due to not being able to touch him.

 

Was hoping to see more out of the LBs.

[Duckhart]

I thought BO was a bit off with his throws, but decent overall. Thought we'd see more tight end action?

 

[The Kamikaze Kid]

A boringish game was exactly what I wanted to see from an improved D perspective. Looked like better tackling and positioning than last year.

[Drake]

With the offense and defense split into two teams it is hard to come away with solid conclusions. It was a good practice game. A lot of our players got an opportunity to show the coaches what they will have to work with. 

I think the coaches saw solid play, and also areas that need attention, on both sides of the ball. 
 

I am probably more interested to see the impact this game has on our recruiting. Great weather and a solid crowd to cheer on our Ducks should create some excitement with all the recruits in Eugene his weekend. 

 

Edited April 30, 2023 by Drake

[Smith72]

WR Traeshon Holden was strong.  Appears he and Bo have a connection already.

 

Thompson was improved from last year.  Progress. You can tell the coaching is improving his abilities, and maybe his maturity is coming around.  

 

Khyree Jackson is a force at boundary DB.  Cole Martin contested everything thrown his way. Great hands by defenders fighting for the ball causing many of the dropped balls by receivers.

 

Donte Dowell is everything advertised.  Quick to the hole, sets up his blockers, and man talk about power!

 

Overall a fun day to be in Autzen and watching Duck football!  Go Ducks!

[Charles Fischer]

Thanks to all of you posting, and if anyone else has something to add--please do so!

 

I am publishing a FishDuck article on Monday morning with my impressions/comments.

 

[Dave23]

On 4/29/2023 at 7:46 PM, Smith72 said:

Cole Martin contested

Already wise beyond his years, got to love a coaches kid. He looked very capable of having a big impact soon, with great instincts and the athleticism to keep with speedy WR.

[Jon Joseph]

Great day. Great crowd. Fun game. 

 

Had to impress the recruits in attendance. 

[Smith72]

The PA announcer Don Essig (spelling?) said attendance was about 45 thousand.  Good crowd yelling "GO" one side and then "DUCKS" on the other side was very loud.  Had to impress the recruits!

 

Then singing "Shout" with the Oregon legends toga party video on the big screens was the icing on the cake for everyone there - including those recruits!

[David Marsh]

My biggest takeaway is that the defense played far more aggressive in coverage. We saw a good amount of man coverage and they put pressure on receivers at the line of scrimmage for the most part. 

 

Receivers struggled to get free as the coverage was solid. 

 

And that isn't a knock on our receivers because there were times they showed off their speed and abolyas well. Franklin is going to be a beast this year as he seems to be a bit faster than last year. He frequently got open on go routes. 

 

Tez Johnson and Kris Huston are going to be huge threats this year as well. 

 

Defense looked good and so did the offense. This Oregon team is going to be scary. 

[2002duck]

Fun second half! I must say, though, if the coaches call Ty Thomson's first snap from the line to be a backwards pass one more time, I might lose my mind.

 

Last season that was his first play call when he went in on three occasions, one for a big loss, one hit a player in the helmet, and one was a fumble. Simple request.

Edited April 30, 2023 by 2002duck

[David Marsh]

On 4/29/2023 at 8:59 PM, 2002duck said:

Fun second half! I must say, though, if the coaches call Ty Thomson's first snap from the line to be a backwards pass one more time, I might lose my mind.

 

Last season that was his first play call when he went in on three occasions, one for a big loss, one hit a player in the helmet, and one was a fumble. Simple request.

Yeah Ty looked better in the second half. 

 

But his first couple drives looked awful. Hopefully he continues to get more comfortable playing on the big stage because that's what I think is holding him back right now. I hear he is practicing well but I don't think that is translating to the game.

[Dave23]

On 4/29/2023 at 9:59 PM, 2002duck said:

I must say, though, if the coaches call Ty Thomson's first snap from the line to be a backwards pass one more time, I might lose my mind.

Let him bomb it, worst case scenario 45 yd interception best case scenario touchdown. The deep throws look to be one his strength anyways. 

 

This year's WR core looks to be one of the most lethal ever. Tez looks like a legit threat to take it to the house every time. Holden is a solid possession guy, Hudson has become more consistent and smarter, Franklin is the man and almost always seams to have a step on the defense.

 

With these guys he'd have a hard time not doing something great down field. All of these guys go and get the ball and don't wait for it to come to them, which I love to see. 

 

Please don't ask him to lightly throw a ball to someone behind him when there's better options.

[Ktmguy2018]

I always like watching how the veterans play and seeing their connections with each other.  

 

But my favorite part is seeing the new guys....I'll never forget that young MM kid busting through the line and running away from EVERYONE in a spring game.

 

So, many of you have already touched on the main ones and I'll add three more:

 

1.  Jordan Burch is a whole different speciman.  Not sure where they got the DNA for that guy but good grief!! Dude can edge rush, cover a RB out of the backfield, and probably could return kicks!

 

2.  Matayo Uiagalele is gonna be fun to watch.  I can't wait to see how he develops.

 

3.  This Bryce Boettcher kid was everywhere.  Reminds me a lot of Brady Breeze but seems bigger.  Lots of energy, passion, and he seems to love the game.

 

Oh, and Patrick Herbert looks like he's beefed up quite a bit!

[Haywarduck]

Burch and Jacobs are going to be even more impactful than Gonzo was last year. I think these critical positions are now manned by players who can do what Lanning wants to see.

 

We have legitimate speed at wideout, and Tez is going to create some highlight film before the season is over.

 

At qb Ty seems to finally be hitting his stride, and Austin looks to have potential. I think Ty needs to start every set he goes in for with a run where he gets hit, and never repeat any of the plays he has runs first up to this point, ever again! The guys head doesn't seem to be right when he goes into the game cold. Fortunately our qb's have weapons galore!

 

I still look forward to seeing what Jurrion Dickey can do, and how Pleasant's speed impacts the team. Also it will be interesting to see who leaves, and any moves Lanning makes in the portal.

 

Lastly I love seeing the energy, and camaraderie the teams seems to be building. It is going to take a team of players, and continued development of on field leadership. Lots of potential, and the future looks bright! I will say this was one of my favorite moves.

[Jon Joseph]

Ty Thompson. The game was emblematic of the young man's 'career' at Oregon. 

 

Rather than take the easy way out Ty has stayed in Eugene and competed. What we used to see before the portal made its presence. 

 

Hats off to Ty and keep on TYing to get better.

[idontrollonshobbas]

I was heartened to see much improved LB play....quicker reads and reactions to get in position to make plays and solid tackles.  

[David Marsh]

On 4/30/2023 at 7:20 AM, Haywarduck said:

Burch and Jacobs are going to be even more impactful than Gonzo was last year. I think these critical positions are now manned by players who can do what Lanning wants to see.

With an effective pass rush I think our secondary looksiles better this year too. Gonzo became so important because he could maintain coverage for a very long time because the pass rush never got there. 

 

The secondary looked better as the year went on but without a passrush they always had to hold up in coverage far longer than they should have. 

 

Looking forward to seeing Lanning's Defense show out this coming season. They just looked so much more put together. It's obvious that between the experience in the system, the transfers and recruits and the coaching development that the defense should make a giant leep. 

[The Kamikaze Kid]

Pluses

All defensive position groups. Huge sigh of relief.

Additions at receiver. Welcome aboard Tez and Traeshon!

Dowdell looks to be the real deal.

 

Minuses

QB2

TE depth

OL? Not really a minus but didn't stand out as dominant yet.  Still work to be done but not worried about it.

[Jon Joseph]

Wow! What a terrific halftime interview with U of O's 19th President, John Karl (Sergeant) Scholz. [Sorry to go Chris Berman.]

 

The man is brimming with enthusiasm. Sports fan? You know it. After the football game, he told Yogi Roth that he was headed out to watch the women's soccer game and then the baseball game. 

 

This is about as far as you can get from UCLA President Bloch (head.) [Did it again. But one of Larry's biggest enablers has this coming.] A man who has never attended a regular-season Bruins football game.

 

Plus, President Scholz has a daughter attending Oregon and pursuing her Doctorate degree. 

 

Help! 99.9% of the folks on this Forum are far more tech-savvy than I am. Would be great if a Forum person (Pa Duck, NJ Duck?) could post this interview.

 

Writers? I think it would also be great if one of you was to author a deeper dive article on President Scholz.

 

It appears that Ducks sports are in very good hands at the highest levels. 

 

Go Ducks! 

[Washington Waddler]

     Because the teams split the talent evenly, it just has me chomping at the bit to see what we can unleash on both sides of the ball come fall.

[David Marsh]

On 4/30/2023 at 9:28 AM, The Kamikaze Kid said:

OL? Not really a minus but didn't stand out as dominant yet.  Still work to be done but not worried about it.

Hardest thing to gage with a spring game like this because they mixed the groups. We didn't see the first string or the second string, we saw linemen just playing with those they really don't practice with. 

 

Last year's spring game looked similar in terms of offensive line play... Actually worse I think, and we had a great line once the season got going. 

 

I'm not worried at all and from what I've read about practice, we're in for another good line from the sound of it. 

[OregonDucks]

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[The Kamikaze Kid]

On 4/30/2023 at 11:41 AM, David Marsh said:

Hardest thing to gage with a spring game like this because they mixed the groups. We didn't see the first string or the second string, we saw linemen just playing with those they really don't practice with. 

 

Last year's spring game looked similar in terms of offensive line play... Actually worse I think, and we had a great line once the season got going. 

 

I'm not worried at all and from what I've read about practice, we're in for another good line from the sound of it. 

If this was last year's veteran group, I'd say what we saw was a much improved D line. Since there is a lot of turn over this year, with a one game sample size, it's hard to know if the improved looking D was due to an over matched O line or that the O line is fine but the D has just vastly improved. Like I said before, I'm not worried about the O line. I think we saw a D that is ready to spell trouble for the rest of the Pac and a newly formed O line that was just trying to deal with that reality.

[David Marsh]

On 4/30/2023 at 11:51 AM, The Kamikaze Kid said:

If this was last year's veteran group, I'd say what we saw was a much improved D line. Since there is a lot of turn over this year, with a one game sample size, it's hard to know if the improved looking D was due to an over matched O line or that the O line is fine but the D has just vastly improved. Like I said before, I'm not worried about the O line. I think we saw a D that is ready to spell trouble for the rest of the Pac and a newly formed O line that was just trying to deal with that reality.

One other observation is that I had about the dline v oline is I don't remember a whole lot of sacks. Sure lots of defensive pressure that forced some errant throws but I don't remember a lot of sacks. 

 

Last year I do remember a lot of sacks. 

 

Nix also has the ability to leave the pocket and extend the play which I think is by design and just out of instinct as well. 

 

It will be fun to watch that's for sure. I feel both sides have upgraded from last year. 

[12Duck72]

On 4/30/2023 at 12:58 PM, David Marsh said:

One other observation is that I had about the dline v oline is I don't remember a whole lot of sacks. Sure lots of defensive pressure that forced some errant throws but I don't remember a lot of sacks. 

 

Last year I do remember a lot of sacks. 

 

I believe they weren't allowed to touch the QB's. I saw a lot of guys run past that probably would have been a sack.

 

I agree with folks that the defense looks improved especially the secondary. Lots of contested throws and there was some pressure up front. I'll be happy with an average D but by the end of the year they might be pushing elite status. Here's hoping.

 

No too worried about the offense for reasons everyone has mentioned already. They'll be fine.

 

I read the article by Canzano about the atmosphere in the program. I love what DL is doing with this program. I was a little nervous when they hired him but he clearly was the best choice.

 

[Augduck]

On 4/30/2023 at 8:19 AM, idontrollonshobbas said:

I was heartened to see much improved LB play....quicker reads and reactions to get in position to make plays and solid tackles.  

the 'Lanning effect'