What is the Ducks' biggest area of concern heading into the 2021 football season?
In any offseason, its hard not to be optimistic if youre a fan of the Oregon Ducks. For the most part, things have been pretty great over the past decade in Eugene, and aside from a couple of down years, dominance in the Pac-12 is usually an expectation. This season is no different, and with head coach Mario Cristobal heading into the year with another elite recruiting class, looking to capture his third-straight Pac-12 championship, morale is high in the Emerald Valley. All five starters on the offensive line are returning, the running back duo is stout with CJ Verdell and Travis Dye, and a stacked wide receiver group comes in with minimal holes. On top of all of that, the defense under new coordinator Tim DeRuyter is expected to be one of the best in the conference, with projected No. 1 overall pick Kayvon Thibodeaux leading the way. Well, thats a great question to ask. According to Athlon Sports, the biggest area for concern lies at the quarterback position, with graduate senior Anthony Brown projecting to be the Week 1 starter. Anthony Brown is favored to win the quarterback battle, and the Boston College transfer played well in limited time last year. He will be tested right away with a trip to Ohio State in Week 2. The Ducks lost the most turnovers (16) of any team in the Pac-12 last year. Concerns about Brown are very warranted. He played in some decently big games at Boston College but has never beaten an opponent ranked inside the top 25. Luckily, the key to success for this Oregon team rests in the brevity of weapons, not the bravado of the quarterback. If Brown can limit mistakes and simply get the ball in the hands of his playmakers, then we can rest easy knowing that offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead will surely scheme up the right plays to get the job done. This is not an article saying that Oregon fans have any reason to worry this upcoming season. Rather, its pointing out where a problem could arise, should there be one. In the end, we trust in Cristobal, and we trust that a graduate senior, with all of his years of experience, will get the job done.