Another Monday. And luckily, this week the Ducks have a notch in the victory column. It wasn't pretty, but as I said before, I think we saw improvement as the game progressed. There were bright spots on both the offense and the defense. However, the reaction around the web was mixed. Here's your daily quack:
- George Schroeder did not see the good signs in the game, and his column from Sunday focused more on the negative. I think it's a stretch to say "we didn’t see much progress," but there was definitely a lack of consistency on both sides of the ball.
- Ken Woody filed his usual game recap. One thing that is concerning is the woeful 3rd down conversion rate the Oregon offense has had. The Ducks are sitting at last in the Pac-10 with a pathetic 22.73% conversion rate. That must improve, along with the consistency of the offense in general. What is most concerning, however, is Woody's comment that, "with the amount of mistakes the Ducks are making, along with the lack of a physical presence in the trenches on both sides of the ball, the Ducks will have a difficult time winning more than five games this year."
- Chip Kelly was pleased with the win, but no overjoyed. There are improvements to be made, no doubt, but getting a win through hard work will hopefully pay dividends as the season progresses.
- Duck Sports News has a number of video interviews with the Oregon players and coaches.
- Looking ahead to Utah, SBNation blog BlockU gets an early look at the game. They predict an Oregon win, which shows more of a lack of confidence in their own team that it shows confidence in Oregon. Both teams have underperformed this season (with Utah looking rather unimpressive against Utah State and San Jose State), so who knows what we'll see this weekend.
- Luckily, the team and coaching staff knows things won't be getting any easier. Utah poses an extreme test, and with the way this team is playing, there will be no overlooking any team (ok, maybe Washington State). Also, there were no injuries of note in the Purdue game, which is always good news.
Got any thoughts on the improvements the Ducks will have to make to win this weekend? Leave 'em below. GO DUCKS!