[Oasis]

Last night I flipped back and forth between Oregon-Figueroa Institute and Alabama-LSU.  By far the best team of the four was Oregon. Their offense is unstoppable.  They wear down the defenses with their up-tempo pace, but don't wear out themselves.  I did not see many Oregon substitutions.  In the fourth quarter, several times $C wasn't even lined up when Oregon snapped the ball.  They must have better-conditioned players.  Hard to believe with all the work everyone does to get their teams in shape, but Oregon seems to have a real edge in stamina. 

The Figueroa Institute played inspired ball, but simply couldn't keep up.  After the Barkmeister & Co. would laboriously drive the length of the field, back would come Oregon with a seemingly effortless touchdown.  The Barks has some very good receivers and had a good game.  From what I saw, neither Alabama nor LSU would've done any better against Oregon.  (Yes, I remember Oregon-LSU from last year but this Oregon team looks a lot better than their showing in that game.) 

Bama and LSU were like two wooly mammoths beating on each other.  Oregon was like a pack of wolves.  They relied on speed, surprise, mobility and stamina.  Their goal seemed to be physical and mental exhaustion of the other side.  They were consistent and relentless.  They had a lot of weapons. 

Kelly has gone beyond inventing a new formation or a style of football.  He's re-invented the game, mainly in how fast it moves.  He's a sort of evil genius.  His team works so well he's doing "logistics" commercials for UPS.  His team is also highly entertaining.

It's scary to think we have to face them on their own turf in two weeks.  To win we will have to score at least 42 points and our defense will have to play the game of their lives.  If we don't play very well, it could get really ugly.

And of course first we have to deal with Oregon State. 

[Oasis]

Last night I flipped back and forth between Oregon-Figueroa Institute and Alabama-LSU.  By far the best team of the four was Oregon. Their offense is unstoppable.  They wear down the defenses with their up-tempo pace, but don't wear out themselves.  I did not see many Oregon substitutions.  In the fourth quarter, several times $C wasn't even lined up when Oregon snapped the ball.  They must have better-conditioned players.  Hard to believe with all the work everyone does to get their teams in shape, but Oregon seems to have a real edge in stamina. 

The Figueroa Institute played inspired ball, but simply couldn't keep up.  After the Barkmeister & Co. would laboriously drive the length of the field, back would come Oregon with a seemingly effortless touchdown.  The Barks has some very good receivers and had a good game.  From what I saw, neither Alabama nor LSU would've done any better against Oregon.  (Yes, I remember Oregon-LSU from last year but this Oregon team looks a lot better than their showing in that game.) 

Bama and LSU were like two wooly mammoths beating on each other.  Oregon was like a pack of wolves.  They relied on speed, surprise, mobility and stamina.  Their goal seemed to be physical and mental exhaustion of the other side.  They were consistent and relentless.  They had a lot of weapons. 

Kelly has gone beyond inventing a new formation or a style of football.  He's re-invented the game, mainly in how fast it moves.  He's a sort of evil genius.  His team works so well he's doing "logistics" commercials for UPS.  His team is also highly entertaining.

It's scary to think we have to face them on their own turf in two weeks.  To win we will have to score at least 42 points and our defense will have to play the game of their lives.  If we don't play very well, it could get really ugly.

And of course first we have to deal with Oregon State. 

[Oasis]

Last night I flipped back and forth between Oregon-Figueroa Institute and Alabama-LSU.  By far the best team of the four was Oregon. Their offense is unstoppable.  They wear down the defenses with their up-tempo pace, but don't wear out themselves.  I did not see many Oregon substitutions.  In the fourth quarter, several times $C wasn't even lined up when Oregon snapped the ball.  They must have better-conditioned players.  Hard to believe with all the work everyone does to get their teams in shape, but Oregon seems to have a real edge in stamina. 

The Figueroa Institute played inspired ball, but simply couldn't keep up.  After the Barkmeister & Co. would laboriously drive the length of the field, back would come Oregon with a seemingly effortless touchdown.  The Barks has some very good receivers and had a good game.  From what I saw, neither Alabama nor LSU would've done any better against Oregon.  (Yes, I remember Oregon-LSU from last year but this Oregon team looks a lot better than their showing in that game.) 

Bama and LSU were like two wooly mammoths beating on each other.  Oregon was like a pack of wolves.  They relied on speed, surprise, mobility and stamina.  Their goal seemed to be physical and mental exhaustion of the other side.  They were consistent and relentless.  They had a lot of weapons. 

Kelly has gone beyond inventing a new formation or a style of football.  He's re-invented the game, mainly in how fast it moves.  He's a sort of evil genius.  His team works so well he's doing "logistics" commercials for UPS.  His team is also highly entertaining.

It's scary to think we have to face them on their own turf in two weeks.  To win we will have to score at least 42 points and our defense will have to play the game of their lives.  If we don't play very well, it could get really ugly.

And of course first we have to deal with Oregon State. 

[Oasis]

Last night I flipped back and forth between Oregon-Figueroa Institute and Alabama-LSU.  By far the best team of the four was Oregon. Their offense is unstoppable.  They wear down the defenses with their up-tempo pace, but don't wear out themselves.  I did not see many Oregon substitutions.  In the fourth quarter, several times $C wasn't even lined up when Oregon snapped the ball.  They must have better-conditioned players.  Hard to believe with all the work everyone does to get their teams in shape, but Oregon seems to have a real edge in stamina. 

The Figueroa Institute played inspired ball, but simply couldn't keep up.  After the Barkmeister & Co. would laboriously drive the length of the field, back would come Oregon with a seemingly effortless touchdown.  The Barks has some very good receivers and had a good game.  From what I saw, neither Alabama nor LSU would've done any better against Oregon.  (Yes, I remember Oregon-LSU from last year but this Oregon team looks a lot better than their showing in that game.) 

Bama and LSU were like two wooly mammoths beating on each other.  Oregon was like a pack of wolves.  They relied on speed, surprise, mobility and stamina.  Their goal seemed to be physical and mental exhaustion of the other side.  They were consistent and relentless.  They had a lot of weapons. 

Kelly has gone beyond inventing a new formation or a style of football.  He's re-invented the game, mainly in how fast it moves.  He's a sort of evil genius.  His team works so well he's doing "logistics" commercials for UPS.  His team is also highly entertaining.

It's scary to think we have to face them on their own turf in two weeks.  To win we will have to score at least 42 points and our defense will have to play the game of their lives.  If we don't play very well, it could get really ugly.

And of course first we have to deal with Oregon State. 

[Redrum]

Maybe it is something to do w/ the different levels of conditioning, but I doubt it.

Defense is inherently more physically demanding, mostly because everyone is responsible for stopping the play no matter where it goes and how long it takes.  That means getting off blocks and continuing to pursue.  An OL can make his block and then, generally, his work is done.  Defensive players have to stay in motion, moving to the ball until the play is done.  That's very simplified but catches the essence of it.  Of course lots of offensive guys move downfield to assist the play,  but more often they don't because their job was, for example,  to take the blitzing linebacker.  Make contact, keep them out of the play and then, most often the play is over.

Also, when announcers and coaches talk about conditioning and fatigue affecting a game,  they're mostly talking about the line of scrimmage, linemen and linebackers,  who usually have contact and maximum effort on every play.  When fatigue starts to slow them down, decently called and executed plays seem to yield more yards and more breakaways.  Last night the game tilted in the second half when LSU began consistently winning the battles at the LOS.  Alabama rallied for the last drive but it also helped that LSU started coming at McCarron w/ fewer guys.

This asymmetry of effort expended is not fair,  but it wasn't fair when I played DL in high school and it hasn't changed much since.  At least, back then,  I was so slow to begin with that nobody seemed to notice when I got gassed.

* Oh, just thought of another Oregon specific one:  Their linemen are generally lighter and faster than a lot of schools'  O lines which feature 300lb + guys who are always welcome to carry more weight if it doesn't affect their blocking success.  At Oregon they recruit speed and mobility, even in their linemen, even if they are lighter.  If you look on their roster, it's the DL that are the behemoths,  more guys > 300 lbs.

[Redrum]

Maybe it is something to do w/ the different levels of conditioning, but I doubt it.

Defense is inherently more physically demanding, mostly because everyone is responsible for stopping the play no matter where it goes and how long it takes.  That means getting off blocks and continuing to pursue.  An OL can make his block and then, generally, his work is done.  Defensive players have to stay in motion, moving to the ball until the play is done.  That's very simplified but catches the essence of it.  Of course lots of offensive guys move downfield to assist the play,  but more often they don't because their job was, for example,  to take the blitzing linebacker.  Make contact, keep them out of the play and then, most often the play is over.

Also, when announcers and coaches talk about conditioning and fatigue affecting a game,  they're mostly talking about the line of scrimmage, linemen and linebackers,  who usually have contact and maximum effort on every play.  When fatigue starts to slow them down, decently called and executed plays seem to yield more yards and more breakaways.  Last night the game tilted in the second half when LSU began consistently winning the battles at the LOS.  Alabama rallied for the last drive but it also helped that LSU started coming at McCarron w/ fewer guys.

This asymmetry of effort expended is not fair,  but it wasn't fair when I played DL in high school and it hasn't changed much since.  At least, back then,  I was so slow to begin with that nobody seemed to notice when I got gassed.

* Oh, just thought of another Oregon specific one:  Their linemen are generally lighter and faster than a lot of schools'  O lines which feature 300lb + guys who are always welcome to carry more weight if it doesn't affect their blocking success.  At Oregon they recruit speed and mobility, even in their linemen, even if they are lighter.  If you look on their roster, it's the DL that are the behemoths,  more guys > 300 lbs.

[Redrum]

Maybe it is something to do w/ the different levels of conditioning, but I doubt it.

Defense is inherently more physically demanding, mostly because everyone is responsible for stopping the play no matter where it goes and how long it takes.  That means getting off blocks and continuing to pursue.  An OL can make his block and then, generally, his work is done.  Defensive players have to stay in motion, moving to the ball until the play is done.  That's very simplified but catches the essence of it.  Of course lots of offensive guys move downfield to assist the play,  but more often they don't because their job was, for example,  to take the blitzing linebacker.  Make contact, keep them out of the play and then, most often the play is over.

Also, when announcers and coaches talk about conditioning and fatigue affecting a game,  they're mostly talking about the line of scrimmage, linemen and linebackers,  who usually have contact and maximum effort on every play.  When fatigue starts to slow them down, decently called and executed plays seem to yield more yards and more breakaways.  Last night the game tilted in the second half when LSU began consistently winning the battles at the LOS.  Alabama rallied for the last drive but it also helped that LSU started coming at McCarron w/ fewer guys.

This asymmetry of effort expended is not fair,  but it wasn't fair when I played DL in high school and it hasn't changed much since.  At least, back then,  I was so slow to begin with that nobody seemed to notice when I got gassed.

* Oh, just thought of another Oregon specific one:  Their linemen are generally lighter and faster than a lot of schools'  O lines which feature 300lb + guys who are always welcome to carry more weight if it doesn't affect their blocking success.  At Oregon they recruit speed and mobility, even in their linemen, even if they are lighter.  If you look on their roster, it's the DL that are the behemoths,  more guys > 300 lbs.

[Redrum]

Maybe it is something to do w/ the different levels of conditioning, but I doubt it.

Defense is inherently more physically demanding, mostly because everyone is responsible for stopping the play no matter where it goes and how long it takes.  That means getting off blocks and continuing to pursue.  An OL can make his block and then, generally, his work is done.  Defensive players have to stay in motion, moving to the ball until the play is done.  That's very simplified but catches the essence of it.  Of course lots of offensive guys move downfield to assist the play,  but more often they don't because their job was, for example,  to take the blitzing linebacker.  Make contact, keep them out of the play and then, most often the play is over.

Also, when announcers and coaches talk about conditioning and fatigue affecting a game,  they're mostly talking about the line of scrimmage, linemen and linebackers,  who usually have contact and maximum effort on every play.  When fatigue starts to slow them down, decently called and executed plays seem to yield more yards and more breakaways.  Last night the game tilted in the second half when LSU began consistently winning the battles at the LOS.  Alabama rallied for the last drive but it also helped that LSU started coming at McCarron w/ fewer guys.

This asymmetry of effort expended is not fair,  but it wasn't fair when I played DL in high school and it hasn't changed much since.  At least, back then,  I was so slow to begin with that nobody seemed to notice when I got gassed.

* Oh, just thought of another Oregon specific one:  Their linemen are generally lighter and faster than a lot of schools'  O lines which feature 300lb + guys who are always welcome to carry more weight if it doesn't affect their blocking success.  At Oregon they recruit speed and mobility, even in their linemen, even if they are lighter.  If you look on their roster, it's the DL that are the behemoths,  more guys > 300 lbs.

[JohnOlenchalk]

After defeating Oregon last year, revealed that all off season LSU changed their entire practice tempo to adapt to OREGON'S game tempo.  He said they changed everything, even asked their linemen to come in lighter and worked to achieve the level of conditioning to match the pace of OREGON'S approach.  Your observations are absolutely on point, Oregons tempo is more Canadian football like, where you have less time between plays, more field to cover, more motion, and speed and conditioning are much bigger factors.

[JohnOlenchalk]

After defeating Oregon last year, revealed that all off season LSU changed their entire practice tempo to adapt to OREGON'S game tempo.  He said they changed everything, even asked their linemen to come in lighter and worked to achieve the level of conditioning to match the pace of OREGON'S approach.  Your observations are absolutely on point, Oregons tempo is more Canadian football like, where you have less time between plays, more field to cover, more motion, and speed and conditioning are much bigger factors.

[JohnOlenchalk]

After defeating Oregon last year, revealed that all off season LSU changed their entire practice tempo to adapt to OREGON'S game tempo.  He said they changed everything, even asked their linemen to come in lighter and worked to achieve the level of conditioning to match the pace of OREGON'S approach.  Your observations are absolutely on point, Oregons tempo is more Canadian football like, where you have less time between plays, more field to cover, more motion, and speed and conditioning are much bigger factors.

[JohnOlenchalk]

After defeating Oregon last year, revealed that all off season LSU changed their entire practice tempo to adapt to OREGON'S game tempo.  He said they changed everything, even asked their linemen to come in lighter and worked to achieve the level of conditioning to match the pace of OREGON'S approach.  Your observations are absolutely on point, Oregons tempo is more Canadian football like, where you have less time between plays, more field to cover, more motion, and speed and conditioning are much bigger factors.

[OutsiderFan]

Conditioning is just a tactical response to an offense that goes as fast as it can.  To beat Oregon, a strategic response is needed. 

I'll post more on this topic after the Oregon State game, which right now, is FAR more important than the Oregon game.

[OutsiderFan]

Conditioning is just a tactical response to an offense that goes as fast as it can.  To beat Oregon, a strategic response is needed. 

I'll post more on this topic after the Oregon State game, which right now, is FAR more important than the Oregon game.

[OutsiderFan]

Conditioning is just a tactical response to an offense that goes as fast as it can.  To beat Oregon, a strategic response is needed. 

I'll post more on this topic after the Oregon State game, which right now, is FAR more important than the Oregon game.

[OutsiderFan]

Conditioning is just a tactical response to an offense that goes as fast as it can.  To beat Oregon, a strategic response is needed. 

I'll post more on this topic after the Oregon State game, which right now, is FAR more important than the Oregon game.

[JohnOlenchalk]

Athletes and bench to play a lot of cover 2 or cover two press man under, and had good gap maintenance against the run, won the l.o.s. on either side of the ball. OREGON'S offense isn't paticularly exotic either.  Their tempo and overall team speed allows them to get a lot of y.a.c. Yards on long handoff type throws, bubble screens etc...they aren't a deep ball team like USC. The key to defending them, besides conditioning, is not to get caught transitioning too many personnel packages and play run first and make them beat you over the top, downfield.  That's how Pendergast at KAL kept them under 20 last year.  The other key is to score and work the clock on offense. We can conceivably do both now, but first lets beat OSU .

[JohnOlenchalk]

Athletes and bench to play a lot of cover 2 or cover two press man under, and had good gap maintenance against the run, won the l.o.s. on either side of the ball. OREGON'S offense isn't paticularly exotic either.  Their tempo and overall team speed allows them to get a lot of y.a.c. Yards on long handoff type throws, bubble screens etc...they aren't a deep ball team like USC. The key to defending them, besides conditioning, is not to get caught transitioning too many personnel packages and play run first and make them beat you over the top, downfield.  That's how Pendergast at KAL kept them under 20 last year.  The other key is to score and work the clock on offense. We can conceivably do both now, but first lets beat OSU .

[JohnOlenchalk]

Athletes and bench to play a lot of cover 2 or cover two press man under, and had good gap maintenance against the run, won the l.o.s. on either side of the ball. OREGON'S offense isn't paticularly exotic either.  Their tempo and overall team speed allows them to get a lot of y.a.c. Yards on long handoff type throws, bubble screens etc...they aren't a deep ball team like USC. The key to defending them, besides conditioning, is not to get caught transitioning too many personnel packages and play run first and make them beat you over the top, downfield.  That's how Pendergast at KAL kept them under 20 last year.  The other key is to score and work the clock on offense. We can conceivably do both now, but first lets beat OSU .

[JohnOlenchalk]

Athletes and bench to play a lot of cover 2 or cover two press man under, and had good gap maintenance against the run, won the l.o.s. on either side of the ball. OREGON'S offense isn't paticularly exotic either.  Their tempo and overall team speed allows them to get a lot of y.a.c. Yards on long handoff type throws, bubble screens etc...they aren't a deep ball team like USC. The key to defending them, besides conditioning, is not to get caught transitioning too many personnel packages and play run first and make them beat you over the top, downfield.  That's how Pendergast at KAL kept them under 20 last year.  The other key is to score and work the clock on offense. We can conceivably do both now, but first lets beat OSU .