Reply To: 3 games in and this is how I see this years team vs last years

I disagree wholeheartedly. I know we like to get caught up about the lack of #DeepThrows but the reality is that our offensive game plan still attacks the safeties and keeps them honest. We run routes to the middle of the field and to the corners enough that safeties have not been able to sneak up and affect our ground attack.

TWilson’s ability to quickly get the ball to the edges acts as a counter to LBs and NB/SSs cutting inside to take away our inside reads, and our OLine has probably been the group with the most to prove going forward. They need to consistently get into and out of their combo blocks to disrupt the 2nd level to allow Booker to get hit 3 yards AFTER the LOS and not AT the LOS.

Our defense is statistically BETTER than last year. Minus the bone-headedness of the 4th quarter against Fresno St. where the team had already boarded the plane (seriously, no other explanation outside of kryptonite) and we are leading the nation in take-aways and in the top 10 of points allowed. Our run defense is BETTER than last year. Oregon RUNS THE BALL. I’m excited to see what this Old School Pease vanilla defense can do against an Oregon team that relies upon exploiting teams’ aggressive tendencies.

Oh – and 2 kicks returned for TDs from 2 different players – our effective kick return game has seemingly doubled.