Oregon Offense Starts Hot, Defense Closes Strong in First Fall Scrimmage
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The Ducks completed their first scrimmage for the fall 2022 campaign on Saturday inside Autzen Stadium.
Dan Lanning gave the media some time to get some questions answered following the conclusion of the scrimmage.
From the press meeting we got to hear Lanning’s takeaways from the offense vs. defense battle and how each side played. It was tough to name a winner for the day, as both sides had flashes.
“I would have definitely said the offense early; they were definitely moving the ball and having some success early," Lanning said. "I think defense late, so it's good to see the Ying and Yang, but plenty to clean up on both sides."
We saw something similar a few months ago in the spring game.
READ MORE: No separation in Oregon quarterback battle following first scrimmage
In the spring game the Ducks' offense was lights out and showed signs of explosion everywhere, and then once the second half hit the offense sputtered at times as the defense adjusted its scheme, making it more difficult to move the ball.
Though there were no specific stats available from the scrimmage Lanning said that each quarterback led a scoring drive while two of them threw picks. They put the defense in some uncomfortable positions, allowing them to get going early on.
Defensively, Lanning said safety Bennett Williams snagged an interception in the scrimmage during the defense's two-minute drill. Williams is arguably the top returning playmaker in the secondary following the departures of Verone McKinely III, Mykael Wright and DJ James.
Lanning also added that before the scrimmage the team was shown an old clip of a Rice vs. UAB game situation from when tight ends coach Drew Mehringer was with the Owls.
Rice had just thrown an interception to UAB and as UAB was running with the ball downfield, they fumbled and gave it back to Rice, which allowed them to score and win the game.
Lanning said the defense was in the same position on Saturday and chose to down the ball for the team to take over rather than choosing the personal yards after interception yards route.
“It’s fun to see moments like that start to be reciprocated in practice.”
For a first scrimmage situation, it's good to see the defense have that sense of urgency while also playing smart football as we've seen multiple games decided by one play.
There are plenty of new players that will step into bigger roles than had last year and some young players who may see the field for the first time at the college level. Situational football practices are what will help this young team grow together and be better prepared come week one.
Key takeaways from Saturday's scrimmage
-The offense will be explosive and will have some tempo to it that will give some defenses trouble.
-The defense will have an answer to the offense regardless of the situation.
-Quarterbacks looked solid together as a group. He says the stats could be very similar minus the picks from two quarterbacks.
-Both the offense and defense had their shining moments at different scrimmage periods.
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