Oregon football’s passing game was lethal with sophomore quarterback Justin Herbert at the helm. But after he fractured his collarbone against Cal, the Ducks’ passing game plummeted.
Now, with true freshman Braxton Burmeister starting, the Ducks are relying moreso on the ground game.
“We don’t have the depth,” head coach Willie Taggart said. “We don’t have as much talent as we need to be able to make the mistakes that we’re doing. We can’t do that with limited playmakers.”
Oregon has been known for a dominant run game, especially this year with Royce Freeman, Tony Brooks-James and Kani Benoit in the backfield. Even with the run game as the main threat in Oregon’s offense, the Ducks still throw the ball with Burmeister, but it’s been a work in progress.
“It’s definitely a step when you go from 20 yards one game to 74,” wide receiver Charles Nelson said.
Burmeister went 15-of-27 against Washington State in his first start for Oregon, throwing for 145 yards in the Ducks’ 33-10 loss to the Cougars. But when the Ducks flew south to take on Stanford, the freshman was a mere 3-of-8 for 23 yards.
After that, it seemed the offense would certainly be stuck with the run game as its only option. Though they faced a UCLA team with a vulnerable defense, Oregon struggled to score through the air.
Oregon has scored six touchdowns with Burmeister at quarterback, but only one has come from a pass. The other five have been on rushes by Burmeister.
He only threw the ball 15 times against the Bruins, and completed eight of those attempts for a total of 74 yards. After throwing just 20 yards the week before, there’s nowhere to go but up.
Oregon’s coaches say they’ve seen slight, yet steady, improvement over the past several weeks.
“There was some improved pocket development that you can see,” quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo said.
A lot of the blame for the lackluster pass game could fall onto the wide receivers, too.
“We can’t just say because Braxton’s playing — that’s not it, we’re over that, move forward, let’s get onto the next deal,” Arroyo said. “We’ve got to find ways to create. Those guys have to make plays to help everybody.”
With limited touches, the receivers have to be prepared for the rare throws that come their way. But according to the coaches, it doesn’t upset the receivers that they have taken up different roles with Herbert still on the sidelines.
“If we’re having to baby guys because they’re not getting all the touches they want, then we’re not doing enough stuff culturally,” Arroyo said. “They need to understand their role, and our role sometimes is to get somebody else open in a certain coverage.”
When Herbert returns, the passes will come. For now, the receivers will have to be patient as Burmeister improves his arm and the Ducks try to get their season back on track.
Follow Shawn Medow on Twitter @ShawnMedow
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