Watching You
A year ago at this time, the offense was light years ahead of the defense in practice. At the time, many thought that was really good news for the team as the defense was expected to be better than the offense – especially given the questions at quarterback last spring.
Fast forward to 2023 and there seems to be less distance between the two. People who have seen some closed portions of practice have said that this defense seems to be on a different level and playing with the kind of tenacity and fire we did not see as much a season ago.
But these are also somewhat scripted coach-speak moments that come out to us generally and there is a reason that the defense may appear ahead of last year – changes on offense. Though the QB is much more settled, the running backs as deep as Oregon has ever seen, and the receiving corps looking very good, the offensive line is a very new unit as a whole. While the players on the two-deep are as talented – maybe even more so than last year’s group – they also lack the consistency and cohesion of that group. That is not a reflection on talent, coaching, scheme, or even teamwork; instead, it is the reality of a group of athletes who have not played together as much and do not have the same level of communication and cohesion as a team that was very, very good a season ago.
On the plus side, this offense has not been prone to turnovers or sacks, it is just that there are fewer big plays, and the team is not being as effective in the moments that they were a season ago.
By the time this offense gets to mid-season in 2023 – if they are healthy – I think that the offensive line is better than last season, but there are going to be some growing pains with the offensive line. I think it is a good season to break in a new offensive line because they will have time to work out those kinks before getting to the meatier part of their schedule.
We may not see those kinks early because the Ducks offense should be able to score plenty of points against their first four opponents and that will help to disguise any flaws.
On the other side of the ball, we should see how far the group has come much earlier as Texas Tech has a good offense that will test the Ducks on the road.
The Distance
I don’t know that I have ever seen a Duck running back group as deeply talented as this group. Given that the 2011 team had LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner, Tra Carson, and De’Anthony Thomas on the team, that sounds almost absurd to say.
I am not sure that anyone in this group wins a Doak Walker award like James; or breaks Kenjon Barner’s single-game record, Royce Freeman’s career or single-season rushing record, or career touchdowns record. I am not sure that anyone in this group will have the explosive capacity of Thomas, but as a group, this is a very deep set of running backs.
We already know just how good Bucky Irving and Noah Whittington were last season – and they look even more comfortable this season. Jordan James – from all reports I have heard – is much better this season and is going to be more than a short yardage back. He is now an every-down back capable of making big plays and carrying a bigger load. Dante Dowdell is already turning heads and looks like he could be an elite running back and somehow, four-star Jayden Limar is also catching a lot of praise.
It will be interesting to see how running backs coach Carlos Locklyn manages the carries for this group and keeps them all engaged throughout the season.
A year ago at this time, the offense was light years ahead of the defense in practice. At the time, many thought that was really good news for the team as the defense was expected to be better than the offense – especially given the questions at quarterback last spring.
Fast forward to 2023 and there seems to be less distance between the two. People who have seen some closed portions of practice have said that this defense seems to be on a different level and playing with the kind of tenacity and fire we did not see as much a season ago.
But these are also somewhat scripted coach-speak moments that come out to us generally and there is a reason that the defense may appear ahead of last year – changes on offense. Though the QB is much more settled, the running backs as deep as Oregon has ever seen, and the receiving corps looking very good, the offensive line is a very new unit as a whole. While the players on the two-deep are as talented – maybe even more so than last year’s group – they also lack the consistency and cohesion of that group. That is not a reflection on talent, coaching, scheme, or even teamwork; instead, it is the reality of a group of athletes who have not played together as much and do not have the same level of communication and cohesion as a team that was very, very good a season ago.
On the plus side, this offense has not been prone to turnovers or sacks, it is just that there are fewer big plays, and the team is not being as effective in the moments that they were a season ago.
By the time this offense gets to mid-season in 2023 – if they are healthy – I think that the offensive line is better than last season, but there are going to be some growing pains with the offensive line. I think it is a good season to break in a new offensive line because they will have time to work out those kinks before getting to the meatier part of their schedule.
We may not see those kinks early because the Ducks offense should be able to score plenty of points against their first four opponents and that will help to disguise any flaws.
On the other side of the ball, we should see how far the group has come much earlier as Texas Tech has a good offense that will test the Ducks on the road.
The Distance
I don’t know that I have ever seen a Duck running back group as deeply talented as this group. Given that the 2011 team had LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner, Tra Carson, and De’Anthony Thomas on the team, that sounds almost absurd to say.
I am not sure that anyone in this group wins a Doak Walker award like James; or breaks Kenjon Barner’s single-game record, Royce Freeman’s career or single-season rushing record, or career touchdowns record. I am not sure that anyone in this group will have the explosive capacity of Thomas, but as a group, this is a very deep set of running backs.
We already know just how good Bucky Irving and Noah Whittington were last season – and they look even more comfortable this season. Jordan James – from all reports I have heard – is much better this season and is going to be more than a short yardage back. He is now an every-down back capable of making big plays and carrying a bigger load. Dante Dowdell is already turning heads and looks like he could be an elite running back and somehow, four-star Jayden Limar is also catching a lot of praise.
It will be interesting to see how running backs coach Carlos Locklyn manages the carries for this group and keeps them all engaged throughout the season.
