Areas of concerrn

[buckmarkduck]

Ifo has been solid, I think people aren't realizing how hard it is to cover a guy when the Qb has all day to throw. He did get juked pretty good on one play, but he made up for it a few plays later. Hill has played great all year IMHO also, and could be working his way into a nice payday. I wouldn't be shocked to see him work his way into a 3-5 round pick.

[jimmy12]

LB play has been awful (especially malone). They always look confused and out of position.

[SuperDuck]

LB play has been awful (especially malone). They always look confused and out of position.

I thought that this was the very thing that Pellum intended to eliminate from Aliotti's defense? The thought was that his defense was very complicated and Pellum's plan was to simplify it so players could simply utilize their talent without the confusion. I guess some of the players didn't get the memo.

Still, the defense has steadily improved the past couple games. I suspect that Pellum may have picked up the phone and asked for some advice from a few coaches - including Aliotti. I would.

[gogreen55]

Wogan is the biggest concern. Heaven forbid a game comes down to him kicking a field goal beyond 30 yards. I'll give him props for the job he is doing on kickoffs though.

Punt returns are a concern. Charles Nelson has proven to be extremely unreliable filling that role, which is why he was replaced later in the game. He has put the ball on the ground a few times and is very lucky this hasn't resulted in a game changing turnover.

Kickoff returns are absolutely terrible, making me cringe every time the Ducks run the ball out of the end zone rather than taking a knee. The Ducks have shown drastic improvement the past couple of weeks in kickoff coverage. Similar improvement needs to happen with kickoff returns, pronto.

[duckfan96]

where were the blockers on extra points last night? almost blocked every time.

[Duck07]

where were the blockers on extra points last night? almost blocked every time.

I replayed one pat attempt where the Armstead/Buckner combo looked lost and it was good they only brought the 2 instead of 3. I put more of it on Armstead on that one for stepping out as Buckner HAS to take the man coming inside of him (rather than the outside guy) but it really should have been handled better by Arik which would have left DB to take the outside guy.

[GrantDuck]

From last night:
Blocking on FG kicks
Containing scrambling QB's on 3rd and 6-8ish. Has been an issue the last 3 games actually.


On the season:
Don Pellum(1 decent game does not make a DCs
Offensive line health

[snapt]

Ifo has been solid, I think people aren't realizing how hard it is to cover a guy when the Qb has all day to throw. He did get juked pretty good on one play, but he made up for it a few plays later. Hill has played great all year IMHO also, and could be working his way into a nice payday. I wouldn't be shocked to see him work his way into a 3-5 round pick.

I'd hate to play DB in the Pac-12, the PI calls have gotten so out of hand the last 5 years. SEC refs allow defense in the secondary still.

[OregonFan4Life]

I was a little upset with the D in the 3rd quarter for not containing the QB and letting him scramble like that. The DE's showed a lack of discipline and where is a spy? Of course he's gonna run, he had a tough day throwing the ball and he's very mobile. Just was frustrating to see that.

Maybe so but keep in mind, it was 28-6 at halftime and we held them to 27 yards rushing. We come right out and score again in the 3rd to make it 35-6, that's ballgame. So if we didn't play our best D in the 3rd/4th, so what? Its also possible up 35-6 Pellum started rotating in 2nd/3rd string guys to get them some experience.

Don't get me wrong, I am very happy with the defensive performance from a player and coaching standpoint. Most complete game of the season maybe. However in the second half there was poor containment of Miles and as a young mobile QB who was struggling passing the ball, that should've been a focus of the defense.

[UOducksTK1]

There is one common theme on 3rd down, that has been taken out of the equation on 1-2 downs. Anyone care to guess what that is? It's Malone, and his guy catching the ball and running for a first down before he finally tackles him.

That said our D has improved a ton since UA, and I know they will continue to improve the rest of the year. It was also nice seeing the yourg guys on D lay the wood, guys like Tyree, Austin, Henry M (or Hart Jr, because he plays just like him, but is more athletic) and Mattingly. Another guy who struggled early in the year, but has seemed to get better is Chris Seisay.

It's something, because our 3rd/4th down defense is pretty awful still.