Photo by: @EricEvansPhoto
Monday With Mario: Bye Week Edition
09/25/19 | Football, @GoDucksMoseley
The UO football coach held his weekly press conference with local reporters on Wednesday of the Ducks' late September bye week.
The Oregon football team returned home from the San Francisco Bay Area late Saturday night with a 3-1 record on the season after a 21-6 victory at Stanford earlier that day.
Oregon's win in its Pac-12 opener propelled the team into its first bye week of the season with positive momentum. The UO football team will take a three-game win streak into its next game, against visiting California on Saturday, Oct. 5 (5 p.m. PT, FOX).
On Wednesday, UO head coach Mario Cristobal met with local media to discuss developments around the team during the bye week, and to begin looking ahead to the matchup with the Golden Bears, who play this Friday against visiting Arizona State.
1. The Ducks returned to practice for a non-contact workout Tuesday, after taking a couple of days to enjoy the win over Stanford and begin the process of resting and rehabilitating during the bye week.
"It was good to come back home after a conference win," Cristobal said. "It had been awhile since we'd been able to do that."
The last time the Ducks flew home from a road win in a conference game was almost exactly a year earlier, after a win at Cal on Sept. 29, 2018.
After the light workout Tuesday, the Ducks were in full pads Wednesday, finishing a midweek practice as the usually do with a two-minute scrimmage situation. The abbreviated practice week will wrap up Thursday, and Cristobal said the schedule will include another scrimmage situation, in that case an overtime drill.
Assistant coaches hit the road to recruit immediately after the Stanford game, returned to Eugene for practice and will head back out over the weekend.
2. Among the participants in practice Wednesday, albeit in a non-contact jersey, was true freshman receiver Mycah Pittman.
A sensation in preseason camp until injuring his shoulder in a scrimmage, Pittman has yet to make his UO debut. He was solidly in the two-deep and even pushing for a starting role prior to the injury.
Cristobal said center Jake Hanson is also poised to return after missing the Stanford game, and that running back Cyrus Habibi-Likio's return is imminent as well. Graduate transfer Juwan Johnson remains in a "day by day" situation, but senior receiver Brenden Schooler could rejoin practice as soon as Thursday as he looks to come back from a preseason camp foot injury.
Johnson's inability to play in September has been a source of frustration to player, coach and fans alike, Cristobal acknowledged.
"There's no setback; it has not worsened," Cristobal said. "It's just not quite there yet."
3. A major focus of this week's practices is to refine elements of the running game that have kept the Ducks from performing at their explosive best.
"We're off; we are," Cristobal said. "We're out of sync a little bit. … We've done it before, and we've been good at it before. We've got to get back on track."
The rushing attack has been about as productive as it was a year ago. In 2018, Oregon averaged 4.41 yards per carry and just under five rushes per game of 10 yards or more. Through four games this year, the Ducks are averaging 4.42 yards per carry, although their explosion plays of 10 yards or more are down to four per game on average.
Still, with a senior-laden offensive line and nearly everybody back in a young but now game-tested backfield, the Ducks want more. Cristobal hinted that the backs could perhaps be a little more patient in allowing plays to develop.
"Sometimes have we pressed a little bit? Maybe," he said. "Those are things that are fixable with time."
4. Senior Blake Maimone impressed Cristobal with his play Saturday at Stanford, and not just in his primary role as the Ducks' punter.
Maimone did indeed excel in that job against the Cardinal, pinning Stanford inside its own 20-yard line on five of his six punts. Entering the bye week, Maimone ranks second in the Pac-12 in punting average at 46.35 yards per attempt.
But Maimone also earned kudos for his performance as the holder on place kicks, ironically on a missed kick. Oregon's missed field goal in the fourth quarter Saturday was essentially doomed from the moment it left the snapper's hands; the left guard on the play backpedaled so fast and so far at the snap that his foot nipped the ball in flight. Maimone had to reach high above his head to catch it in an attempt to get the ball placed for the kick.
"It certainly highlights that even the smallest detail is not a small detail," Cristobal said.
5. So the Ducks will be working on their blocking for field goals as well as the running game during the bye week, but that's not all.
Cristobal said limiting turnovers and penalties will continue to be a focus, and that's despite a very strong start to the season by Oregon in both categories.
Through four weeks, the Ducks have lost just two turnovers; only four teams in the country have but a single turnover so far. And Oregon is eighth nationally in penalty yardage, being assessed 35.5 per game.
Despite those strong starts, Cristobal said, "those are big focuses for us."
Oregon's win in its Pac-12 opener propelled the team into its first bye week of the season with positive momentum. The UO football team will take a three-game win streak into its next game, against visiting California on Saturday, Oct. 5 (5 p.m. PT, FOX).
On Wednesday, UO head coach Mario Cristobal met with local media to discuss developments around the team during the bye week, and to begin looking ahead to the matchup with the Golden Bears, who play this Friday against visiting Arizona State.
1. The Ducks returned to practice for a non-contact workout Tuesday, after taking a couple of days to enjoy the win over Stanford and begin the process of resting and rehabilitating during the bye week.
"It was good to come back home after a conference win," Cristobal said. "It had been awhile since we'd been able to do that."
The last time the Ducks flew home from a road win in a conference game was almost exactly a year earlier, after a win at Cal on Sept. 29, 2018.
After the light workout Tuesday, the Ducks were in full pads Wednesday, finishing a midweek practice as the usually do with a two-minute scrimmage situation. The abbreviated practice week will wrap up Thursday, and Cristobal said the schedule will include another scrimmage situation, in that case an overtime drill.
Assistant coaches hit the road to recruit immediately after the Stanford game, returned to Eugene for practice and will head back out over the weekend.
2. Among the participants in practice Wednesday, albeit in a non-contact jersey, was true freshman receiver Mycah Pittman.
A sensation in preseason camp until injuring his shoulder in a scrimmage, Pittman has yet to make his UO debut. He was solidly in the two-deep and even pushing for a starting role prior to the injury.
Cristobal said center Jake Hanson is also poised to return after missing the Stanford game, and that running back Cyrus Habibi-Likio's return is imminent as well. Graduate transfer Juwan Johnson remains in a "day by day" situation, but senior receiver Brenden Schooler could rejoin practice as soon as Thursday as he looks to come back from a preseason camp foot injury.
Johnson's inability to play in September has been a source of frustration to player, coach and fans alike, Cristobal acknowledged.
"There's no setback; it has not worsened," Cristobal said. "It's just not quite there yet."
3. A major focus of this week's practices is to refine elements of the running game that have kept the Ducks from performing at their explosive best.
"We're off; we are," Cristobal said. "We're out of sync a little bit. … We've done it before, and we've been good at it before. We've got to get back on track."
The rushing attack has been about as productive as it was a year ago. In 2018, Oregon averaged 4.41 yards per carry and just under five rushes per game of 10 yards or more. Through four games this year, the Ducks are averaging 4.42 yards per carry, although their explosion plays of 10 yards or more are down to four per game on average.
Still, with a senior-laden offensive line and nearly everybody back in a young but now game-tested backfield, the Ducks want more. Cristobal hinted that the backs could perhaps be a little more patient in allowing plays to develop.
"Sometimes have we pressed a little bit? Maybe," he said. "Those are things that are fixable with time."
4. Senior Blake Maimone impressed Cristobal with his play Saturday at Stanford, and not just in his primary role as the Ducks' punter.
Maimone did indeed excel in that job against the Cardinal, pinning Stanford inside its own 20-yard line on five of his six punts. Entering the bye week, Maimone ranks second in the Pac-12 in punting average at 46.35 yards per attempt.
But Maimone also earned kudos for his performance as the holder on place kicks, ironically on a missed kick. Oregon's missed field goal in the fourth quarter Saturday was essentially doomed from the moment it left the snapper's hands; the left guard on the play backpedaled so fast and so far at the snap that his foot nipped the ball in flight. Maimone had to reach high above his head to catch it in an attempt to get the ball placed for the kick.
"It certainly highlights that even the smallest detail is not a small detail," Cristobal said.
5. So the Ducks will be working on their blocking for field goals as well as the running game during the bye week, but that's not all.
Cristobal said limiting turnovers and penalties will continue to be a focus, and that's despite a very strong start to the season by Oregon in both categories.
Through four weeks, the Ducks have lost just two turnovers; only four teams in the country have but a single turnover so far. And Oregon is eighth nationally in penalty yardage, being assessed 35.5 per game.
Despite those strong starts, Cristobal said, "those are big focuses for us."
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