Cal is rolling into Autzen with a 1-2 record, a pretty solid passing game and not much else to brag about. This will be a good test of our defensive backfield and I believe Ifo and the boys will be ready for the task.
Offensively we should see another track meet, Cal gave up 37 and 44 to Portland State and Northwestern. Yikes! I look for DAT to have plenty of space to show off that world class speed. Byron Marshall and Marcus Mariota should also have NO trouble running the ball in this game.
As a side note I'm still not sold on Byron's running right now. Better against TN than he did out in VA, but he has got to make a decision and hit the hole. I really want to see Thomas Tyner get 4-5 meaningful touches with the 1st string. Hopefully light a fire under Byron. I think Byron is great, solid freshman year but I just don't think he's running at the top of his game right now.
I really don't want to hear anything about Colt. Other than we throw to him as often as we threw to Mundt last week. Colt had a rough week in VA and then out last week, then Jason Quick decided to send a tweet about Colt 'obviously' not having the flu. He's defended that by saying he is a journalist. A tweet with absolutely no fact behind it was journalism. pfft. Here's my journalism - Suck It Jason Quick. Suck it long and suck it hard!
Maybe Helfrich should try a jumbo package with Colt in the backfield and both Mundt and Brown in a double TE set. Why not? May be a good set up for 4th and short in big games. :) With all 3 being viable passing options as well. If the D loads the box we shift and spread everyone out, still have Colt in the backfield. My mind is going crazy with options in a setup like that.
Marcus will do fine in this game, the Ducks will do fine in this game. What I really want to see out of him is a steady start. Crisp from the 1st snap. He's been a tad off early in games.
We're a couple games in and Ifo, Avery, Terrance and Brian have been relatively quiet this season as far as picks are concerned. To me this means we're due!!! Due for a pick 6 or two.
Cal put up 34 points on OH ST. It will be interesting to see what we hold them to. I'd like to see 100% (or near) shut down of their run game, some solid pressure from our D line and forcing some turnovers in this game.
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Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Friday, September 13, 2013
Oregon VS ...... Tennessee
This is the week! If the Ducks were to fall, I may have to jump of a bridge or something.
Here's what my staff did to my office...
Seems as thought a ton of people are picking the Ducks by 25-35 points. For some reason I feel like it is going to be a little closer than that. I HOPE I'm wrong. But here we go.
OREGON DUCKS 45 TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS 24
A 3 touchdown game is what I'm calling. Conservative compared to virtually every pick I've seen.
The run game - Last week DAT saw a great deal of success on the outside. I think he can do that virtually anytime he wants. Where we struggled was up the middle. Byron Marshall also had a very rough game. I look for him to rebound with a much better performance but still have a tough time up the middle. If he does have any kind of repeat of last week I do believe Tyner will see some action early. He ran 4 plays and it was mop up duty late, but the burst and concise decision making was extremely apparent. How do you keep that kid off the field? I wouldn't mind seeing him and just giving him a swing pass or 2, maybe a jet sweep, just to get him in some open space and letting him make a play.
This is an odd prediction because Western KY averaged 5 yards a carry. 5 yards a carry. Western KY. If they can average 5 we should be able to do much better with our speed and athletes. So I may be way off on this. I hope I am.
Since I'm predicting a slow down (by Duck standards) in the run game this means Marcus Mariota will have to pick up that slack. If this game stays tight for the 1st half we will need to pass more. Marcus has had a ton of success running the ball in the 1st two games. Now lets see him flex that throwing arm. Couple of deep balls will open up the run game and keep them honest as well. Tennessee's defensive backs have seen great success in the 1st two weeks against sub par competition. I think Marcus lights them up!
Colt had a rough week last week dropping 3 passes. I've been told that he had a broken finger. Look for him to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder and make the most of each touch this week. I want them to hook him up early to get him back into this game.
Braylon Addison continues to make plays. Let's give him the ball a few more times. So many weapons to choose from. Since we led the whole way against Virginia we didn't see a ton of passes. Huff, Lowe, Hawk... I want to see Marcus toss the ball around and get these receivers involved.
Defensively I'd like to see more turnovers. Greedy I know, but lets get 10 or so. :) Ok, maybe 3. Ifo and Mitchell have been relatively quiet this year. If we get up a score or two Tennessee will need to throw. Last week the majority of the completions were underneath to the TE's for moderate gains, but it kept the chains moving. The LB's need to keep an eye on that, if I saw it you know Tennessee did.
This is a big, strong and talented offensive line. It will be a good test for our D-line this week. We should see what kind of defensive line we're going to have for teams like Stanford, UCLA and Washington. Look for the boys in the trenches to show their stuff this week.
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Here's what my staff did to my office...
Seems as thought a ton of people are picking the Ducks by 25-35 points. For some reason I feel like it is going to be a little closer than that. I HOPE I'm wrong. But here we go.
OREGON DUCKS 45 TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS 24
A 3 touchdown game is what I'm calling. Conservative compared to virtually every pick I've seen.
The run game - Last week DAT saw a great deal of success on the outside. I think he can do that virtually anytime he wants. Where we struggled was up the middle. Byron Marshall also had a very rough game. I look for him to rebound with a much better performance but still have a tough time up the middle. If he does have any kind of repeat of last week I do believe Tyner will see some action early. He ran 4 plays and it was mop up duty late, but the burst and concise decision making was extremely apparent. How do you keep that kid off the field? I wouldn't mind seeing him and just giving him a swing pass or 2, maybe a jet sweep, just to get him in some open space and letting him make a play.
This is an odd prediction because Western KY averaged 5 yards a carry. 5 yards a carry. Western KY. If they can average 5 we should be able to do much better with our speed and athletes. So I may be way off on this. I hope I am.
Since I'm predicting a slow down (by Duck standards) in the run game this means Marcus Mariota will have to pick up that slack. If this game stays tight for the 1st half we will need to pass more. Marcus has had a ton of success running the ball in the 1st two games. Now lets see him flex that throwing arm. Couple of deep balls will open up the run game and keep them honest as well. Tennessee's defensive backs have seen great success in the 1st two weeks against sub par competition. I think Marcus lights them up!
Colt had a rough week last week dropping 3 passes. I've been told that he had a broken finger. Look for him to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder and make the most of each touch this week. I want them to hook him up early to get him back into this game.
Braylon Addison continues to make plays. Let's give him the ball a few more times. So many weapons to choose from. Since we led the whole way against Virginia we didn't see a ton of passes. Huff, Lowe, Hawk... I want to see Marcus toss the ball around and get these receivers involved.
Defensively I'd like to see more turnovers. Greedy I know, but lets get 10 or so. :) Ok, maybe 3. Ifo and Mitchell have been relatively quiet this year. If we get up a score or two Tennessee will need to throw. Last week the majority of the completions were underneath to the TE's for moderate gains, but it kept the chains moving. The LB's need to keep an eye on that, if I saw it you know Tennessee did.
This is a big, strong and talented offensive line. It will be a good test for our D-line this week. We should see what kind of defensive line we're going to have for teams like Stanford, UCLA and Washington. Look for the boys in the trenches to show their stuff this week.
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Saturday, September 7, 2013
DUCKS DOMINATE!!
Probably should go to sleep, have a 9 hour drive in the morning. BUT I CAN'T. Still pumped up from seeing my boys live for the 1st time since the TN game a few years ago. Who won that again????
Anyway, what a game. I swear I am spoiled rotten, I am thinking we are not playing well. We WON 59-10 against a team that knocked off a top 20 and I'm wanting more. Sheeesh!
I predicted 56-17. We got an extra FG and didn't give up a garbage TD at the end of the game. I'd say that was a solid prediction.
Marcus ran for 100+ with a nice 71 yard TD run and DAT went over 150 (124 yards rush with 3 TD's/28 rec yards) as well. Marshall fell quite a bit short. Tyner looked phenomenal on 4 carries late.
I still think our passing game has a ways to go. Last year we relied on it against CAL, that will happen again. Colt! UGH. I begged for more touches for Colt and he drops 3 passes. 3!
(Sunday update - I have since learned that Colt has a broken finger. That would explain the drops. Here's hoping for a quick and complete recovery so that I can continue to beg for 8 touches per game)
Marshall also dropped one right in his hands. Marcus was 14 for 28. Yeah he got 199 yards 2 TD's. But I'd like to see a better completion %, even without the drops. There seemed to be 2 guys open on every pass play, he didn't always go to the open guy.
A word about Byron Marshall. I really like the kid. I thought he looked very good last year and I did NOT jump on the Tyner for president band wagon. Today though, whew. Tyner impressed when Byron was off. The difference was huge. Byron is pussy footing through the hole and not looking very decisive. Tyner was in during mop up duty late in the game but he made 1 cut and GONE! Gone gone gone!
A word about our DEFENSE. GREAT FRICKEN GAME. Virginia had the ball for almost 40 minutes and ran 86 plays. Total yards = 298 and 10 points.
They ran the ball 39 times for 124 yards. The top 4 runs went for 45, 10, 10 and 9. Take those 4 biggest plays out and you have 35 rushes for 50 yards.
Jake McGee for Virginia had a solid day. He had me yelling "cover the TE" on every 3rd down. We are going to face some very good TE's when we get to conference play, need to find someone or some way to cover those guys. Seemed like he had 10 catches. He and the other TE combined for 12 catches yards. From my perspective each one was for a 1st down. If Washington's Austin Seferian Jenkins is eligible and sober he could have a big game.
DAT looks great to me when we run him outside. I'm still not convinced he's an every down inside zone read running back. I'm not saying he should never go in there. But why not get him in space. Still seems stubborn. (of course he rushed 11 times for 124 yards, sooooo, what the hell do I know.) If DAT does nothing but prove me wrong over and over again..... I'm OK with that! I'm a humble guy, I will be happy to admit I was wrong as they lift the trophy at the end of the year.
125 - 13 this year. GREAT START. Let's keep it going next week!
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Anyway, what a game. I swear I am spoiled rotten, I am thinking we are not playing well. We WON 59-10 against a team that knocked off a top 20 and I'm wanting more. Sheeesh!
I predicted 56-17. We got an extra FG and didn't give up a garbage TD at the end of the game. I'd say that was a solid prediction.
Marcus ran for 100+ with a nice 71 yard TD run and DAT went over 150 (124 yards rush with 3 TD's/28 rec yards) as well. Marshall fell quite a bit short. Tyner looked phenomenal on 4 carries late.
I still think our passing game has a ways to go. Last year we relied on it against CAL, that will happen again. Colt! UGH. I begged for more touches for Colt and he drops 3 passes. 3!
(Sunday update - I have since learned that Colt has a broken finger. That would explain the drops. Here's hoping for a quick and complete recovery so that I can continue to beg for 8 touches per game)
Marshall also dropped one right in his hands. Marcus was 14 for 28. Yeah he got 199 yards 2 TD's. But I'd like to see a better completion %, even without the drops. There seemed to be 2 guys open on every pass play, he didn't always go to the open guy.
A word about Byron Marshall. I really like the kid. I thought he looked very good last year and I did NOT jump on the Tyner for president band wagon. Today though, whew. Tyner impressed when Byron was off. The difference was huge. Byron is pussy footing through the hole and not looking very decisive. Tyner was in during mop up duty late in the game but he made 1 cut and GONE! Gone gone gone!
A word about our DEFENSE. GREAT FRICKEN GAME. Virginia had the ball for almost 40 minutes and ran 86 plays. Total yards = 298 and 10 points.
They ran the ball 39 times for 124 yards. The top 4 runs went for 45, 10, 10 and 9. Take those 4 biggest plays out and you have 35 rushes for 50 yards.
Jake McGee for Virginia had a solid day. He had me yelling "cover the TE" on every 3rd down. We are going to face some very good TE's when we get to conference play, need to find someone or some way to cover those guys. Seemed like he had 10 catches. He and the other TE combined for 12 catches yards. From my perspective each one was for a 1st down. If Washington's Austin Seferian Jenkins is eligible and sober he could have a big game.
DAT looks great to me when we run him outside. I'm still not convinced he's an every down inside zone read running back. I'm not saying he should never go in there. But why not get him in space. Still seems stubborn. (of course he rushed 11 times for 124 yards, sooooo, what the hell do I know.) If DAT does nothing but prove me wrong over and over again..... I'm OK with that! I'm a humble guy, I will be happy to admit I was wrong as they lift the trophy at the end of the year.
125 - 13 this year. GREAT START. Let's keep it going next week!
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Friday, September 6, 2013
Oregon Ducks VS Virginia Hoos
Been in VA for a few days now, having a great time out in the Massenutten Ski Resort. Riley is having a blast...
Here she is on the ski lift on the way back down the mountain.
Not sure if I ever heard Virginia called the Hoos before this weekend but that seems to be what they call themselves so there you have it.
Last week was a glorified scrimmage, no way we were going to be slowed down by Nichols. In Virginia we face an upcoming and hungry team who just knocked off a top 20 team. This is a trap game if we don't bring our A game. Or at least a B. You go out flat and turn the ball over we may find more than we want. Having said that, we'd have to play pretty bad for that to happen.
So let's see what I want to see tomorrow live.......
Oregon 56 Virginia 17
I think we roll again. The offense looks better against VA than we did against Nichols. Marcus sharpens up the misses he had and the receivers clean up their drops. We see more than the vanilla offense than we did against Nichols.
I think we have a solid chance of having 3 X 100 yard rushers again. That would be 2 weeks in a row to have something that has never happened happen. huh? Yeah.
Release the BEAST! I NEED Colt Lyerla to get the ball this week, more than mop up duty late. He needs a reception in the 1st QTR. No reason he doesn't touch the ball 6-7 times a game. The crappy thing for him is he's usually the change of pace guy. Since we don't often need a change of pace he doesn't get much action. As much talk as DAT gets, Colt NEEDS the ball. He's too good to let him just block. Couple of quick hits up the middle a game. Keep the backers honest.
Last week it seemed they went to prove that DAT could run between the tackles. He did well. And, I'm fine with them doing it. I would like to see us get him in space a few times. Jet sweep. Screen. Motion him out to the tazer slot. Something. I feel like running him up the middle 20 times is a little stubborn. Sure, let him be the every down back. But get him in some space from time to time.
Looking for a big game out of a receiver this week. My pick is Braylon Addison. Huff will get a couple but I think this is the year Braylon breaks out.
Predictions -
Ifo - 1 Pick
Lokombo - 1 turnover
Marcus - 250+ yards passing AND 100+ rushing
DAT - 150+ Rushing
Marshall - 100+ yards rushing
TEAM - 400+ yards rushing
Defense - 5 sacks
Taylor Hart - Gets 2 of those sacks
Addison - 100+ receiving yards
I think we roll again. I've enjoyed my time in VA and I wish them well. But I think we get this thing really rolling tomorrow afternoon.
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Here she is on the ski lift on the way back down the mountain.
Not sure if I ever heard Virginia called the Hoos before this weekend but that seems to be what they call themselves so there you have it.
Last week was a glorified scrimmage, no way we were going to be slowed down by Nichols. In Virginia we face an upcoming and hungry team who just knocked off a top 20 team. This is a trap game if we don't bring our A game. Or at least a B. You go out flat and turn the ball over we may find more than we want. Having said that, we'd have to play pretty bad for that to happen.
So let's see what I want to see tomorrow live.......
Oregon 56 Virginia 17
I think we roll again. The offense looks better against VA than we did against Nichols. Marcus sharpens up the misses he had and the receivers clean up their drops. We see more than the vanilla offense than we did against Nichols.
I think we have a solid chance of having 3 X 100 yard rushers again. That would be 2 weeks in a row to have something that has never happened happen. huh? Yeah.
Release the BEAST! I NEED Colt Lyerla to get the ball this week, more than mop up duty late. He needs a reception in the 1st QTR. No reason he doesn't touch the ball 6-7 times a game. The crappy thing for him is he's usually the change of pace guy. Since we don't often need a change of pace he doesn't get much action. As much talk as DAT gets, Colt NEEDS the ball. He's too good to let him just block. Couple of quick hits up the middle a game. Keep the backers honest.
Last week it seemed they went to prove that DAT could run between the tackles. He did well. And, I'm fine with them doing it. I would like to see us get him in space a few times. Jet sweep. Screen. Motion him out to the tazer slot. Something. I feel like running him up the middle 20 times is a little stubborn. Sure, let him be the every down back. But get him in some space from time to time.
Looking for a big game out of a receiver this week. My pick is Braylon Addison. Huff will get a couple but I think this is the year Braylon breaks out.
Predictions -
Ifo - 1 Pick
Lokombo - 1 turnover
Marcus - 250+ yards passing AND 100+ rushing
DAT - 150+ Rushing
Marshall - 100+ yards rushing
TEAM - 400+ yards rushing
Defense - 5 sacks
Taylor Hart - Gets 2 of those sacks
Addison - 100+ receiving yards
I think we roll again. I've enjoyed my time in VA and I wish them well. But I think we get this thing really rolling tomorrow afternoon.
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Saturday, August 31, 2013
Ducks fly 66-3 over Nicholls!
Whew - great game. Admittedly I want our team to win by 100 points and not give up a yard, despite my lofty expectations we still did really good.
Let's take a look at my predictions.
80 -10 :) Reality - 66-3 Not too bad.
DAT with the 1st TD TRUE!
DAT with 2 TD's on 7 touches in the 1st. 2 TD's on 12 touches (in the 1st, I think?)
3 rushers over 100 yards! TRUE
35 points in the 1st. We had 24.
Ifo with a pick six. He did not.
Total rushing yards 400+. We got 500!
Passing yards 300+. We got 272. close.
Zero for Nicholls in the 1st half. They got 3.
Under 20 yards rushing in the 1st half. They passed that. (total of 87 yards on 37 carries for 2.4 ypc. Not too shabby D.
I feel like despite my crazy predictions we did get some of them. Of course we were supposed to beat Nicholls. We're supposed to not only beat them but CRUSH them. We did.
Defensively they ran 87 plays and only accounted for 343 ttl yards. Offensively we ran 71 plays for a record 772 yards.
And, the gas pedal most certainly was not pressed to the fullest ability.
I enjoyed the game, it is quite a switch to see the way Helf manages a game vs Chip. In this game I believe Chip would have gone FULL speed, racking up my predicted 35 points in the 1st and put Marcus on the bench midway through the 2nd. Chip would have unleashed the full arsenal. This game seemed like it was treated like a scrimmage. The play book was pretty vanilla and we seemed to be at a moderate speed. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I'm hoping to see warp speed next week when I get to see my Ducks 1st hand for the 1st time since the Tenn game a few years back.
I love our defense and I think it can continue to get better. Those guys on the line are MONSTERS. Armstead, Buckner, Hart, Washington... and on and on. GREAT job pushing people around. I LOVE Taylor Hart's motor. The kid just keeps coming. I believe Armstead will be a dominant force as his development continues. I can't wait.
Our offense rolled like it should. I was kind of hoping for a 99 yard run or pass when they pinned us deep on 2 occasions. :) Oh well. I was a little surprised we didn't have a 50-60 + yard play. Sure, we had 4 that were in the 40's. I just expected a really long one.
We got a heavy dose of DAT running in the middle. I still get a little nervous about that when the competition gets better. But he just keeps going. Marshall is fast, but clearly not DAT, LMJ or KB fast. I want to see him with a higher caliber of competition.
Can I just say that kid from Nicholls, Marcus Washington, he's a stud. What a great game he had.
On the negative side I would say I'm quite surprised that Marcus seemed a tad jittery. I was expecting darn near 90-100% completion against this team. Last year he was 18-22 in the opener against Arky State. 12 for 21 was a shock. I think he'll get back into form and be fine.
Again, seemed like we were pretty vanilla today. Can't wait to see more of the playbook and seen the progress of Marcus, DAT. We ran the ball 45 times and passed 26 times. When you are up by 63 you really can't make the case for airing it out more. Maybe in the next 2 weeks we'll see some more of that.
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Let's take a look at my predictions.
80 -10 :) Reality - 66-3 Not too bad.
DAT with the 1st TD TRUE!
DAT with 2 TD's on 7 touches in the 1st. 2 TD's on 12 touches (in the 1st, I think?)
3 rushers over 100 yards! TRUE
35 points in the 1st. We had 24.
Ifo with a pick six. He did not.
Total rushing yards 400+. We got 500!
Passing yards 300+. We got 272. close.
Zero for Nicholls in the 1st half. They got 3.
Under 20 yards rushing in the 1st half. They passed that. (total of 87 yards on 37 carries for 2.4 ypc. Not too shabby D.
I feel like despite my crazy predictions we did get some of them. Of course we were supposed to beat Nicholls. We're supposed to not only beat them but CRUSH them. We did.
Defensively they ran 87 plays and only accounted for 343 ttl yards. Offensively we ran 71 plays for a record 772 yards.
And, the gas pedal most certainly was not pressed to the fullest ability.
I enjoyed the game, it is quite a switch to see the way Helf manages a game vs Chip. In this game I believe Chip would have gone FULL speed, racking up my predicted 35 points in the 1st and put Marcus on the bench midway through the 2nd. Chip would have unleashed the full arsenal. This game seemed like it was treated like a scrimmage. The play book was pretty vanilla and we seemed to be at a moderate speed. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I'm hoping to see warp speed next week when I get to see my Ducks 1st hand for the 1st time since the Tenn game a few years back.
I love our defense and I think it can continue to get better. Those guys on the line are MONSTERS. Armstead, Buckner, Hart, Washington... and on and on. GREAT job pushing people around. I LOVE Taylor Hart's motor. The kid just keeps coming. I believe Armstead will be a dominant force as his development continues. I can't wait.
Our offense rolled like it should. I was kind of hoping for a 99 yard run or pass when they pinned us deep on 2 occasions. :) Oh well. I was a little surprised we didn't have a 50-60 + yard play. Sure, we had 4 that were in the 40's. I just expected a really long one.
We got a heavy dose of DAT running in the middle. I still get a little nervous about that when the competition gets better. But he just keeps going. Marshall is fast, but clearly not DAT, LMJ or KB fast. I want to see him with a higher caliber of competition.
Can I just say that kid from Nicholls, Marcus Washington, he's a stud. What a great game he had.
On the negative side I would say I'm quite surprised that Marcus seemed a tad jittery. I was expecting darn near 90-100% completion against this team. Last year he was 18-22 in the opener against Arky State. 12 for 21 was a shock. I think he'll get back into form and be fine.
Again, seemed like we were pretty vanilla today. Can't wait to see more of the playbook and seen the progress of Marcus, DAT. We ran the ball 45 times and passed 26 times. When you are up by 63 you really can't make the case for airing it out more. Maybe in the next 2 weeks we'll see some more of that.
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Thursday, August 29, 2013
Ahhh, we're back baby!
Football season kicks off tonight and for my Ducks we're looking at a game with Nicholls in under 48 hours. I CANNOT WAIT!!!
For the 2nd season in a row I think I'm more excited to see our D-fence play. To me, this is our best defensive line up ever. Hard to say since I personally knew a couple of the 1995 Gang Green boys and played against them in high school.
Against Nicholls I look for our D to completely shut them down. I'm talking no 1st downs for a good quarter or two. With the big boys up front - Taylor Hart 287, Wade Kellikipi 299 and Arik Armstead at 296 we're finally a 'beefy' line yet still quite athletic. Tony Washington seems poised to fill in the shoes of Dion Jordan (Do people even realize we had a guy on our DEFENSE drafted #3 overall). We're a little untested at linebacker outside of Boseka Lokombo who I have high hopes for.
Prediction - No more that 20 yards rushing for Nicholls in the 1st half.
Prediction - No points for Nicholls in the 1st half.
Our secondary? Whew, Ifo and Terrance did GREAT last year and are poised for bigger numbers. Patterson is back. We have several 2nd platooners that could start elsewhere.
But at Oregon we love our OOOOOOOOOOO.
1st TD goes to DAT. I think it will be early and I think it will be a long breakaway. If he hits the corner against the Colonels I think he wins every time. I don't think we see a ton of DAT Saturday.
Prediction - 2 TD's on maybe 7 touches all in the 1st.
I'm itching to see Marcus Mariota air it out a bit. Let's be aggressive through the air, throw some deep balls.
Prediction - 1st QTR = 35 pts for my Ducks. Yes, 1 TD every 3 minutes. One of those by Ifo Ekpre-Olomu on a Pick 6.
I always want to see Colt Lyerla getting the ball but holy crap I don't want him to hurt anyone. :)
Also wanting to see Byron Marshall get a good look at running back with a lot of reps. Not 100% sure if Tyner is ready to play this week but if he is I cannot wait. Easily the most hype around a running back. If he stays healthy we have a tremendous triple threat. When DAT is out wide and Marshall or Tyner in the backfield we are scary.
Prediction - 3 x 100+ yard rushers. One of them may be Marcus but I'd be surprised if he runs a lot. Hell, we may have 4 people with 100+.
WR's. I'll say this again. I really don't care who, but someone needs to really step out and be THE guy. Someone to compete at the end of the year for top receiver in the Pac if not the country. The good news / bad news of our team is that there are so many weapons that can strike it is hard to find 1 receiver to give 10+ catches every single game. I think Huff can do it. I think Addison can do it. I think Colt can do it. Hawk and Keanon seem more like solid possession receivers, but I could see them doing it as well.
2nd platoon receivers should get plenty of work, even if it is with Jeff Lockie and/or Jake Rodrigues.
NOTE - I say "2nd platoon" instead of 2nd string due to the number of snaps we have. At a lot of positions we have 2 sets of starters. Which helps the 'next man up' philosophy that we have.
Johnny Mundt is a true frosh who should see some time at TE this weekend. Eric Dungy, Chance Allen and BJ Kelley will have a chance to show that they are poised to be "the guy" at wide receiver.
Predictions - Ducks 80 Nicholls 10
Rushing Yards = 450+ (last year we had 436 against USC)
Passing Yards = 300+
I know we will pull our foot off the accelerator, but unlike last year I think we wont see as much of a drop of when Marcus comes out of the game. If Marcus is done 5 minutes into the 2nd QTR when we are up 42-0 and Jeff Lockie comes in I think it keeps rolling, especially if he's dishing to Marshal still or Tyner. Last year when Bennett would come into the games the wheels slowed quite a bit. Then toward the end of the 3rd we see Jake Rodrigues and again we don't see much of a drop. Especially if Tyner is in, Marshall will certainly be done by then.
Nicholls is obviously a tune up game so I do want to see some GAWDY numbers out of this OOOOOOOO, even if the 'starters' only see 15-20 minutes of play.
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For the 2nd season in a row I think I'm more excited to see our D-fence play. To me, this is our best defensive line up ever. Hard to say since I personally knew a couple of the 1995 Gang Green boys and played against them in high school.
Against Nicholls I look for our D to completely shut them down. I'm talking no 1st downs for a good quarter or two. With the big boys up front - Taylor Hart 287, Wade Kellikipi 299 and Arik Armstead at 296 we're finally a 'beefy' line yet still quite athletic. Tony Washington seems poised to fill in the shoes of Dion Jordan (Do people even realize we had a guy on our DEFENSE drafted #3 overall). We're a little untested at linebacker outside of Boseka Lokombo who I have high hopes for.
Prediction - No more that 20 yards rushing for Nicholls in the 1st half.
Prediction - No points for Nicholls in the 1st half.
Our secondary? Whew, Ifo and Terrance did GREAT last year and are poised for bigger numbers. Patterson is back. We have several 2nd platooners that could start elsewhere.
But at Oregon we love our OOOOOOOOOOO.
1st TD goes to DAT. I think it will be early and I think it will be a long breakaway. If he hits the corner against the Colonels I think he wins every time. I don't think we see a ton of DAT Saturday.
Prediction - 2 TD's on maybe 7 touches all in the 1st.
I'm itching to see Marcus Mariota air it out a bit. Let's be aggressive through the air, throw some deep balls.
Prediction - 1st QTR = 35 pts for my Ducks. Yes, 1 TD every 3 minutes. One of those by Ifo Ekpre-Olomu on a Pick 6.
I always want to see Colt Lyerla getting the ball but holy crap I don't want him to hurt anyone. :)
Also wanting to see Byron Marshall get a good look at running back with a lot of reps. Not 100% sure if Tyner is ready to play this week but if he is I cannot wait. Easily the most hype around a running back. If he stays healthy we have a tremendous triple threat. When DAT is out wide and Marshall or Tyner in the backfield we are scary.
Prediction - 3 x 100+ yard rushers. One of them may be Marcus but I'd be surprised if he runs a lot. Hell, we may have 4 people with 100+.
WR's. I'll say this again. I really don't care who, but someone needs to really step out and be THE guy. Someone to compete at the end of the year for top receiver in the Pac if not the country. The good news / bad news of our team is that there are so many weapons that can strike it is hard to find 1 receiver to give 10+ catches every single game. I think Huff can do it. I think Addison can do it. I think Colt can do it. Hawk and Keanon seem more like solid possession receivers, but I could see them doing it as well.
2nd platoon receivers should get plenty of work, even if it is with Jeff Lockie and/or Jake Rodrigues.
NOTE - I say "2nd platoon" instead of 2nd string due to the number of snaps we have. At a lot of positions we have 2 sets of starters. Which helps the 'next man up' philosophy that we have.
Johnny Mundt is a true frosh who should see some time at TE this weekend. Eric Dungy, Chance Allen and BJ Kelley will have a chance to show that they are poised to be "the guy" at wide receiver.
Predictions - Ducks 80 Nicholls 10
Rushing Yards = 450+ (last year we had 436 against USC)
Passing Yards = 300+
I know we will pull our foot off the accelerator, but unlike last year I think we wont see as much of a drop of when Marcus comes out of the game. If Marcus is done 5 minutes into the 2nd QTR when we are up 42-0 and Jeff Lockie comes in I think it keeps rolling, especially if he's dishing to Marshal still or Tyner. Last year when Bennett would come into the games the wheels slowed quite a bit. Then toward the end of the 3rd we see Jake Rodrigues and again we don't see much of a drop. Especially if Tyner is in, Marshall will certainly be done by then.
Nicholls is obviously a tune up game so I do want to see some GAWDY numbers out of this OOOOOOOO, even if the 'starters' only see 15-20 minutes of play.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Fiesta Bowl Predictions
Well, so far the Pac 12 is earning that reputation I hear so much about living in SEC country. UCLA lost badly to an unranked Baylor. The Beavs at #13 choked big time against #23 Texas. These are games the Pac just needs to win. Unranked Washington may have had the best showing in their loss to BSU. AZ and AZ ST did about what was expected of them. The Pac heavyweights need to sweep their games for the Pac to end this bowl season 5-3. Since the Pac is the higher ranked team in each of the games we are expected to do just that. We need some blowouts.
On to the FIESTA BOWL for the Ducks!
Last year we made a step by defeating a solid Wisconsin team, winning a BCS for the 1st time in a decade and winning the Rose for the 1st time in a looong time. And let's not forget that this is our 4th BCS bowl game in a row, absolutely a HUGE feat. But no one wants to be the Buffalo Bills, or even 1 game better than the Bills. We need to take our 4 year run to 2-2. This time, we need to do it in dominating fashion. These aren't the Ducks I grew up on. Chip Kelly has turned me from a Duck fan who expects the choke, expects a 9-3 season to be our best into someone who was quite frankly a bit disspointed to come up a little short of the NC game. Go back and tell 80's and 90's Jason that he would be a little dissapointed to be 11-1 and in a Fiesta Bowl, see what he thinks about that!
Ultimately I want and think we can dominate this game start to finish. A couple of things will need to happen in order to make that happen. So here's what I want to see out of my Ducks.
#1 - Marcus needs to run this show. The blueprint for beating the Ducks the last couple of years has been pretty clear, play great gap defense and stop up the run. KSU should attempt to do the same. Marcus needs to make them pay early and often. If there's 7-8 in the box....find Colt streaking up the middle or get Huff and DAT on some WR screens. Something ABSENT in the Stanford game. UGH!
#2 - Kenjon Barner! KSU is NOT Auburn. They are not LSU and they are not OH ST. I believe they will put up a good effort to stop the run early. If Marcus makes them pay with his trademark calm and cool presence and great decision making they will have to adjust and Kenjon can take over the game.
#3 - Defense. Where oh where has my defense been since the USC game? It is like they forgot they were for real this year. Many are questioning but I am still a believer. Arizona is the 15th best scoring team in the country....we skunked them. We skunked them AND gave them great field position on many occasions. We've had some injuries, specifically at the safety position. But I want to see Dion go off in this game. I want to see Kiko repeat his Rose Bowl performance. I want Bo to come up with some big plays. Ifo to snatch a pick and I want to see Michael Clay putting Optomus Klein on his back side head 1st. As Coach Parnell used to say...."Where the head goes, the ass must follow!"
#4 - Will the #1 WR please stand up? WR by committee has been working for us. But I just want someone to become "THE" guy. With the exception of Will Murphy and Vaughn we should get all these guys back. But someone needs to step up and just scream to the world that they want to be the guy. Huff had a crazy freshman year, has been fighting injuries and showing a ton of heart, I want him to make a ton of plays that make me jump out of my seat. Hawk, Lowe, Addison, Dungy, Kelley, Stanford???? I don't much care who. Hell, I don't care if Bryan Bennett lines up at WR and becomes the guy, I just want a guy. A guy who defenses say "we need to hold _____ to under 10 catches."
#5 - DAT. 7.6 yards a carry, 686 yards on 90 carries, 385 receiving yards and a total of 15 TD's and we're calling most of this season "quiet" for him???? Let us remember last year in the Rose Bowl. 2 carries, 155 yards and 2 TD's. Let's see that again.
I'm not asking for too much am I? I don't think so, I really beleive this game can go similar to the AZ ST game. You know, 43-7 with 11 minutes left in the 1st half! TOTAL DOMINATION.
If our O and D just do what they can do this is possible.
KSU is no slouch, this will be a tough battle. I want us to over achieve in a big game on a big stage this year.
That's all I want.
As for a prediction, I call Ducks 58 KSU 23. :)
On to the FIESTA BOWL for the Ducks!
Last year we made a step by defeating a solid Wisconsin team, winning a BCS for the 1st time in a decade and winning the Rose for the 1st time in a looong time. And let's not forget that this is our 4th BCS bowl game in a row, absolutely a HUGE feat. But no one wants to be the Buffalo Bills, or even 1 game better than the Bills. We need to take our 4 year run to 2-2. This time, we need to do it in dominating fashion. These aren't the Ducks I grew up on. Chip Kelly has turned me from a Duck fan who expects the choke, expects a 9-3 season to be our best into someone who was quite frankly a bit disspointed to come up a little short of the NC game. Go back and tell 80's and 90's Jason that he would be a little dissapointed to be 11-1 and in a Fiesta Bowl, see what he thinks about that!
Ultimately I want and think we can dominate this game start to finish. A couple of things will need to happen in order to make that happen. So here's what I want to see out of my Ducks.
#1 - Marcus needs to run this show. The blueprint for beating the Ducks the last couple of years has been pretty clear, play great gap defense and stop up the run. KSU should attempt to do the same. Marcus needs to make them pay early and often. If there's 7-8 in the box....find Colt streaking up the middle or get Huff and DAT on some WR screens. Something ABSENT in the Stanford game. UGH!
#2 - Kenjon Barner! KSU is NOT Auburn. They are not LSU and they are not OH ST. I believe they will put up a good effort to stop the run early. If Marcus makes them pay with his trademark calm and cool presence and great decision making they will have to adjust and Kenjon can take over the game.
#3 - Defense. Where oh where has my defense been since the USC game? It is like they forgot they were for real this year. Many are questioning but I am still a believer. Arizona is the 15th best scoring team in the country....we skunked them. We skunked them AND gave them great field position on many occasions. We've had some injuries, specifically at the safety position. But I want to see Dion go off in this game. I want to see Kiko repeat his Rose Bowl performance. I want Bo to come up with some big plays. Ifo to snatch a pick and I want to see Michael Clay putting Optomus Klein on his back side head 1st. As Coach Parnell used to say...."Where the head goes, the ass must follow!"
#4 - Will the #1 WR please stand up? WR by committee has been working for us. But I just want someone to become "THE" guy. With the exception of Will Murphy and Vaughn we should get all these guys back. But someone needs to step up and just scream to the world that they want to be the guy. Huff had a crazy freshman year, has been fighting injuries and showing a ton of heart, I want him to make a ton of plays that make me jump out of my seat. Hawk, Lowe, Addison, Dungy, Kelley, Stanford???? I don't much care who. Hell, I don't care if Bryan Bennett lines up at WR and becomes the guy, I just want a guy. A guy who defenses say "we need to hold _____ to under 10 catches."
#5 - DAT. 7.6 yards a carry, 686 yards on 90 carries, 385 receiving yards and a total of 15 TD's and we're calling most of this season "quiet" for him???? Let us remember last year in the Rose Bowl. 2 carries, 155 yards and 2 TD's. Let's see that again.
I'm not asking for too much am I? I don't think so, I really beleive this game can go similar to the AZ ST game. You know, 43-7 with 11 minutes left in the 1st half! TOTAL DOMINATION.
If our O and D just do what they can do this is possible.
KSU is no slouch, this will be a tough battle. I want us to over achieve in a big game on a big stage this year.
That's all I want.
As for a prediction, I call Ducks 58 KSU 23. :)
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