5 major Qs facing the Oregon Ducks for the 2009 FB season

[briarduck]

Great Article and excellent questions for this off season!

Can the Oregon Ducks Hold the Line in 2009?
by Charleston Duck member of the Bleacher Report
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1315 ... ne-in-2009

I like our Offense a lot but our DL and CB positions worries me greatly, but no more than last year (D-Line)...

GO DUCKS!!

[dthomas=ddixon]

Corner does't really worry me. We have great depth there & a combination of Glasper, Jackson III, & Gildon will get ther job done.

The D-line is a typical Oregon D-line. Someone will step up like always & we don't need our DTs to be great just take up blocks & space. Of course it would be nice to have a Haloti type player but we just don't.

[ARGHimaPirate]

I agree with DThomas=DDixon, I am not worried about the corners one bit. I hope Gildon lives up to the hype, and Jackson III is a suitable replacement to Byrd if Gildon cant step up into the starting role. Cliff Harris is the wildcard in this situation. He has the potential to be a stud right out of the box.

Im also not that worried about the DLine because we got a handful of JUCO guys with skills. Iupati looks the part, and Montgomery is mature and willing to put in the work to be the best he can be. Clark I think will be a poormans Nick Reed, and you cant foget and about Kenny Rowe, he is a really good athlete who I think could really get after the QB in pass rush situations.

We really need someone in the WR core to step up this year. Davis showed the skill and potential to be a stud along with Holland. Jameere just need to put it all together this season and show why he was such a highly recruited reciever with elite speed. If Gaines does get in, and I really hope that he does, he adds another skilled big bodied reciever that will be much needed. I worry a little about the recievers because you never know what J. Holland you're going to get, Drew "D.J" Davis is coming off of a torn ACL, Maehl is a great slot receiver but isnt a number 1 option, and you never know what you're going to get from a JUCO reciever in regards to Gaines and Teunei, considering they're going to be in their first year in this system. You never know whats going to happen year one.

The O-Line is where I really worry. It is very hard to replace a Max Unger. Center is the most important compenent to a succesful O-Line. Toupu was a stud and great at run blocking. It is very hard to replace two NFL caliber players on the O-Line. The one plus is that we have a great O-Line coach in Greatwood, and the zone blocking scheme allows for players to be plugged into spots and be succesful. The amount of guys the played last year shows the depth that we have but there you never know what guys are going to show progress or regress in their devoplment.

I believe if the O-Line plays solid this year along with the D-Line, and one or two players along with Dickson step up huge in the WR core this team can give USC a real run for their money. I am a very optimisctic Duck fan and always hope for the best but I really think this team has a lot of potential just like everyone else. Winning the PAC-10 Title would be so sweat, the Ducks havent been to the Rose Bowl since I was a kid, and I had to watch K. Carter torch us. I hope in the near future that memory can stricken from my memory.

[briarduck]

I agree guys but even though we have guys to replace our seniors, I'm still concerned how they do. It the D Tackle that I'm mostly concerned with, just like I was last year, because we need guys to step up and while we always do there is reason for concern. Corner is the other area that we have legitimate concern, yes we have a ton of depth and I think we have great guys stepping in we have to see how they do because we have been blessed in recent years. I do see a great three way battle between TJIII, Glasper and Gilden (with Gilden winning the job, hopefully) but time will tell just how they replace a great corner/safety in Bryd!

So while I won't argue we have a bunch of depth and warm bodies, they have a lot to show us/coaches before we can be happy before the season starts...

GO DUCKS!!

[nogerO]

Nice read Charleston.