The Oregon faithful expect a high-flying offense because they’ve been spoiled by them.
In 2012, they expected Chip Kelly to boat race opponents out of Eugene, tearing them apart with his uptempo offense.
In 2014, they expected Mark Helfrich and Marcus Mariota to dissect defenses with their run-pass options.
In 2018, they expected Justin Herbert to break games open with a 70-yard deep ball.
They expect those same magical nights in Autzen Stadium this year too.
Wishful thinking. Get used to it, Ducks fans.
“We’re never going to reach the standard that we set for this offense,” Oregon offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead said. “I know a lot of people want to see a touchdown on every drive, and that’s just not feasible.”
With Anthony Brown under center, the Ducks’ offensive potential is capped. Brown struggles to go through his progressions and push the ball downfield. The offense consists of zone reads and check-downs to the running backs, underneath routes from the slot receivers and tight-ends, and Brown making plays with his legs.
The Ducks’ offense relied on a 26-touch game from Travis Dye to eke out a 24-17 victory against Cal.
“Travis played really tough and physical,” head coach Mario Cristobal said. “He was all over the place, and he’ll keep getting those opportunities.”
Dye has proven himself time and time again as the quarterback’s best friend. He rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries and made himself available as a check-down option in the passing game, accumulating seven catches for 73 yards.
The wide receivers also need to get used to it.
Frustration was a constant in Mycah Pittman and Jaylen Redd’s body language against Cal. The former four-star recruits combined for one catch on four targets. They ran empty route after empty route, throwing their hands up in angst as they continuously watched the ball dumped underneath.
After finding themselves trailing in the fourth quarter, the Ducks’ offense fought its way back.
Brown led two clutch drives to steal the upset out of the Golden Bears’ paws. His late-game heroics have forced Oregon’s fans into another week of a constrained offense.
The student section’s chants of, “We want Thompson!” went unfulfilled against Cal, but they could travel across state borders as the Ducks take on the UCLA Bruins next week.
While the Oregon faithful are uncertain about what their backup brings to the table, the thought process behind their chants seems to be: “it can’t get worse than this.”
Well, maybe Cristobal thinks it can.
The fourth-year head coach remains confident in his starter. He finds comfort in Brown’s ability to take care of the ball and keep drives alive with his legs.
But, with Brown’s tendencies of disregarding downfield progressions and settling for the check-down, his completion percentage should be inflated, right?
That’s not the case.
While Brown has avoided throwing interceptions, his completion percentage of 58.9 is second to the worst among eligible quarterbacks in the Pac-12.
Despite their loss to Stanford, the Ducks still find themselves fighting for a Pac-12 title and an outside chance at the College Football Playoff.
As for the Oregon faithful, you can look forward to “Shout,” because this team may continue to grind wins, as bored or unsatisfied as it may make you.
