Tag: Pro Ducks

Kellen Moore could help Justin Herbert have best NFL season yet

Former Oregon Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert should benefit from the Chargers hiring of offensive coordinator Kellen Moore in 2023.

The Los Angeles Chargers made a much needed move at offensive coordinator this offseason, hiring former Boise State quarterback and Cowboys OC Kellen Moore to replace Joe Lombardi.

Lombardi’s offense was tenth in the NFL last season, but they were horrendous on the ground, with their 89.6 rushing yards per game good for 30th in the league.

Moore will help balance LA’s offensive attack, and while at first glance that may seem problematic for star quarterback Justin Herbert, Locked on Chargers host Daniel Wade believes it could end up being a good thing for the former Oregon legend.

“He could be more efficient and he could have a better season without putting up those stats,” Wade said. “A 40 touchdown season is not out of the question for Herbert. If you’re running the ball well you’re getting more opportunities to score, and Kellen Moore’s offense with the Cowboys was much better in the red zone.”

Sure a more balanced offense likely prevents Herbert from topping the monster numbers he posted in 2021, when he threw for over 5,000 yards and 38 touchdowns, but forcing defenses to respect the run game does free Herbert up a little, and his ability to use his arm and legs will make him an even more dynamic threat heading into his fourth NFL season.

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Kayvon Thibodeaux offers his Super Bowl LVII prediction ahead of big game

Kayvon Thibodeaux knows who he’s picking in Super Bowl LVII between the Eagles and Chiefs.

It’s not often that you see current players in the NFL offering in-depth looks at other games taking place in the league, giving detailed breakdowns and analyses. It’s also not often that you see current players in the NFL pick their division rival — a team that beat them in the playoffs — to win the Super Bowl, usually with a good amount of spite weighing on the prediction.

Obviously, personalities like Kayvon Thibodeaux don’t come around often.

The former Oregon Ducks’ great and current New York Giants’ defender got a jump start on his media career this week, offering up his prediction for what is going to take place in Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Cheifs and Philadelphia Eagles.

Spoiler alert, Thibodeaux picked the Eagles to win the whole thing on Sunday afternoon.

Thibodeaux’s reasoning was that Philadelphia’s running game was better, the passing game was better, and the defensive line was better, in his opinion. Thibodeaux also took the Eagles’ secondary over the Chiefs’ and reasoned that the coaching staff wasn’t going to play a major factor.

“It’s any given Sunday, so anything can happen,” Thibodeaux said. “But I’m going to take my chances with the Eagles.”

Whether you agree with him or not, it’s clear that Thibodeaux has a future with a microphone in his hands.

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Christian Gonzalez joins former Oregon Duck in latest College Sports Wire NFL Mock Draft 4.0

According to the latest mock draft from @PatrickConnCFB, Christian Gonzalez is going to be teaming up with a former Oregon great at the next level.

Mock Draft season has been in full swing for the past couple of months since the college football season came to a close, and at this point, we’ve got a pretty good idea where the top players are going to end up, for the most part.

While there are some differences here and there, depending on which mock draft you look at, players and fans can feel confident that they at least know which round, or where in the first round some of the top players will be drafted.

For fans of the Oregon Ducks, the past couple of months have been spent trying to figure out where cornerback Christian Gonzalez is going to end up landing. Some mock drafts have him going as high as the No. 7 or No. 8 pick in the draft, while others see him more as a middle-to-late rounder on day one of the draft in April.

According to USA TODAY’s Patrick Conn, who recently put out his latest 4.0 version of the College Sports Wire Mock Draft, it will be a little bit of a wait until Gonzalez hears his name on draft night. Conn has Gonzo being taken by the Detroit Lions with the No. 18 pick.

“The Lions could use an upgrade at tight end, but the opportunity to snag Gonzalez is one they might not want to pass up,” Conn writes. “The Ducks cornerback can be a physical tackler and he hauled in four interceptions in 2022.”

While it may not mean much to Gonzalez, since he never played with the Oregon legend, Duck fans would be happy to see Lions’ offensive tackle Penei Sewell be able to welcome in a fellow Man of Oregon in Detroit and help get him settled into the NFL. We will see on draft night if Gonzalez ends up having to wait this long to hear his name, but at this point, it’s pretty clear that, regardless of when it is, Gonzalez should come off the board sometime on day one.

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How NBA trade deadline impacted every Oregon Duck

The eight Oregon Ducks in the NBA all stayed put during the 2023 NBA trade deadline, but the moves their team made will impact playing time.

The NBA trade deadline is guaranteed to be among the most action packed days in sports every single year, and 2023 was no different.

Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns was the big move, immediately cementing this club as a title contender. The local Portland Trail Blazers made moves involving a pair of former Pac-12 stars, shipping Oregon State product Gary Payton II to Golden State while bringing in Washington alumni Matisse Thybulle.

No Ducks were involved in any deadline deals, although many will feel the effect of this day for the rest of the season. Some guys have a bigger opportunity to snag playing time, while others just saw their chances dwindle over the final few months.

Here is a look at how each of the eight Oregon alumni in the NBA were impacted by their team’s trade deadline acquisitions and departures, with an updated look at their performance on the season as well.

A dozen Oregon Ducks football records that are unlikely to be broken

What are the records that will never be touched at Oregon? There are actually quite a few.

In the wake of LeBron James making history on Tuesday night by becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, passing Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, we got to thinking here at Ducks Wire.

That feat by James was unimaginable for much of his career. With Abdul-Jabbar’s record standing for almost 39 years, it seemed outside the realm of possibility that anyone would score more than 38,388 points in a single career. Of course, then King James came around and made it all possible.

So, what are some records at the University of Oregon that might be unlikely to be broken in the future? Are there any feats that Duck football players have accomplished over the past century in Eugene that were so legendary that they will never be replicated?

This question intrigued me. I dove into Oregon’s history books and looked at some of the most notable performances. As it turns out, there are quite a few statistics that it would be hard to break going forward, whether it be due to the fact that players typically don’t stick around for four years in college anymore, or that the transfer portal sees to it that few guys are at a single school for their entire career.

I would certainly love to be wrong, but here are the records that I don’t think will be broken in Eugene for a long time coming.

Social Media Buzz: NBA world reacts to Dillon Brooks’ dirty play vs. Donovan Mitchell

It appears that former Oregon star Dillon Brooks hit Donovan Mitchell…below the belt on Thursday night. NBA Twitter had some thoughts after the scuffle.

At this point, former Oregon Ducks forward Dillon Brooks has made a name for himself as one of the more controversial figures in the NBA. As one of the key players for the Memphis Grizzlies, it’s not uncommon for Brooks to be involved in some dust-ups throughout the season.

On Thursday night, Brooks might have been in one of the biggest scuffles of his career, getting into it with Cleveland Cavaliers’ star Donovan Mitchell, leading to both players being ejected from the game. The play that led to the scuffle on the court appeared to come after Brooks when to the ground and flailed his arm, catching Mitchell with a fist to the groin area.

By all means, it did not look like a clean play, to say the least.

As you would expect, with a villain in the NBA committing an act like this on the court, the Twitter world went wild. Here are some of the best reactions after the incident.

Report: Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers to land established OC Kellen Moore

Kellen Moore is heading to Los Angeles to work with Justin Herbert and the Chargers.

It looks like Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers are making a significant upgrade at the offensive coordinator position, landing arguably the top play-caller on the open market.

Former Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore is reportedly expected to take over as the new OC for the Chargers, taking over one of the most promising offenses in the league with Herbert at QB, Keenan Allen and Mike Williams at WR, and Austin Eckler at RB. Moore agreed to part ways with the Cowboys last week, ending his working relationship with Dak Prescott and Mike McCarthy.

With Moore on the open market, many expected him to go to Tampa Bay to work with Tom Brady and the Buccaneers. However, it appears that the Chargers were able to get in there first and hire the young signal caller who has been considered for several head coaching positions over the past couple of years.

For Herbert, and Oregon fans that enjoy watching him play every weekend, this should be a big boost in production. Moore has a nice track record of working with quarterbacks as a former Boise State Broncos QB himself, and should be able to get the most out of the talented passer from Eugene.

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Justin Herbert undergoes surgery to repair torn labrum in non-throwing shoulder

Justin Herbert had surgery recently to repair a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder.

With the offseason comes time to rest and recuperate for football players, and that appears to be what Oregon Ducks legend Justin Herbert will be doing for the next several months.

According to multiple reports on Sunday morning, the Los Angeles Chargers quarterback underwent successful surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. It’s unclear how long Herbert was dealing with this injury throughout the season, but he will spend the next several months working on rehabilitation. Expectations are that he should be available to participate in activities with the team this offseason, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

This is not the only injury that Herbert was dealing with during the season, as the QB also was hampered by a rib injury that was suffered in Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

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A final look at how Oregon Ducks performed during 2022 NFL season

A final look at how Justin Herbert, Marcus Mariota, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and other Oregon Ducks performed during the 2022 NFL regular season.

The 2022 NFL regular season has come to an end, with a handful of Oregon Ducks alumni headed into the playoffs for their respective teams.

All in all 27 different Oregon players participated in the NFL during the regular season. Some only played in one game, some played every game, heck some (like Penei Sewell) played every single snap for their team, at least on the offensive side of the ball.

Some players had down years, like Arik Armstead who failed to record a sack for the first time in his career. Meanwhile, many others had career best seasons, including Juwan Johnson who had over 500 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, and Johnny Mundt who had the first receiving touchdown of his career.

Oregon’s rookies also showed out in a big way, with Kayvon Thibodeaux showing why he was a top pick in the NFL draft and Verone McKinley proving the doubters wrong by starting games as an undrafted rookie for Miami.

Here is a look at how all 27 Oregon alumni performed during the 2022 NFL regular season:

Former Oregon QB Anthony Brown will start for Baltimore Ravens vs. Bengals on Sunday

Former Oregon QB Anthony Brown will get his first career NFL start vs. the Bengals on Sunday as the Ravens prepare for the Wild Card weekend.

Former Oregon Ducks’ quarterback Anthony Brown will make his first career start in the NFL on Sunday, stepping in for injured Baltimore Ravens’ QB Tyler Huntley and lining up against the Cincinnati Bengals in the last regular season game of the year.

Brown has played in just one game this season, completing 3-of-5 passes for 16 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14.

While the Ravens have clinched a playoff spot already and are just jockeying for seeding at this point, it’s clear that Baltimore is pulling the dogs and making sure that they are as healthy as can be for next week’s Wild Card matchup. There are expectations that QB Lamar Jackson could be good to go, but in case he has not fully recovered, John Harbaugh wants to make sure that Huntley is fresh and ready to play in the playoff game. The Ravens will also sit TE Mark Andrews and RB J.K. Dobbins for Sunday’s game vs. the Bengals.

This brings about a big opportunity for Brown, who has made some waves on social media this season with the Ravens. It all started with an electric preseason run that had many people thinking that he would make the 53-man roster, while Oregon fans wondered how this dynamic player at times struggled with the Ducks a year ago playing under head coach Mario Cristobal.

We will see on Sunday if Brown can further his young NFL career with a solid game and potentially get some more looks from either the Ravens or other teams down the road.

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