bbmichaels

I like the concept. But, the deep ball requires pass protection, which hasn't been great against the better teams. Yes, some of that has been Dante's fault, but a lot of it has not. World's face mask penalty vs Wisconsin comes to mind... Right or wrong, my guess is that we're not throwing deep as often because of that

My thought when I saw him warm up but then Brock go into the game was that they were getting him ready but then realized Moore could go back in if needed so Brock would just fill the gap until Moore was ready. But then Moore never went back in...maybe because we scored again and they decided he didn't need to.

Only championship caliber teams...which is kind of the point. Preseason the narrative seemed to be that Novosad was pushing Moore and really competing for the QB1 role. If that was truly the case I would expect him to be able to step in and potentially win a big game against a top opponent. The new narrative is that Brock earned the playing time at practice. So does that mean that Novosad isn't really the QB1-b that we assumed he was? Or is that not the full story and there is more going on? I personally think it's the latter.

Brock has been a fun story, and he’s done what has been asked of him. I’m rooting for him. That said, I do have concerns if he’s the legit #2 option and OBD ends up needing him to come in and win a game against a top-tier opponent. I fully believe that he’s moved ahead of Moga. But it’s more difficult for me to believe that he’s truly a better option than Novosad. Is Novosad not as good as we generally think? Or is this really about something else such as a potential medical redshirt or Dan not wanting scouting film on his next starter? Yes, Brock went 4/4 and led the team admirably yesterday, and in very poor conditions. But if I’m being honest I feel like they have to really back down the offense for Brock, and that circus-catch by Moore really should have been a pick. I tend to think that if OBD were behind, or playing a more dangerous team, we would see Novosad enter the game. I’m guessing we didn’t see him yesterday because Dan trusted that the defense would hold against an inept Wisconsin offense. I’d be curious to hear thoughts on this.

I heard an interesting rumor on this today. It's 2nd-hand but the supposed original source would be in good position to likely know such things: Moga isn't hurt or anything else - Brock has simply moved ahead of him on the depth chart. A bit unexpected, but if this is true, and the medical red shirt situation with Novosad is true, things make a lot more sense.

I always love your insights Mike. Zooming out a bit, as I would get lost following you into the weeds: To start the season most thought OBD would be rebuilding to some extent, with so many starters gone. Dominant wins over subpar opponents began to turn that tide, as the first weeks of the season looked so different than last year. The win at PSU solidified that narrative for most, as it appeared to confirm that OBD were for real. Then PSU stumbles, and OBD loses at home... IMO we're simply back where we expected to be. OBD are loaded with talent but need to grow and come together as a team. They still have the potential to be great, but still need to become who they are going to be. The loss can help that if leveraged correctly. I'm still excited about this team. Just as I was preseason. Let's not let the quick expectation inflation/deflation ruin that. Go Ducks!

Yeah, you never truly know how the rest of the game would have played out if you could go back in time and change one of those decisions. The FG that was missed was by no means a gimme, but the 4th down yardage needed was much longer, I believe. I generally like Dan's aggressiveness. But the one I noted above felt like too much for me. PSU hadn't been able to do anything offensively at that point. The FG was a chip-shot, and would have made it a 2-score game. I was all about taking the points there. Good thing I'm not making the calls. And the thing we'll never know in the moment is how good they feel about a particular play in a particular situation that gives them the added confidence to go. That run by Davison was blocked perfectly and made it look easy.

Saw this on reddit and thought I should share:

I vocalized my frustration when Dan didn't opt to take the FG on 4th and 2 while up 7 and with our defense thus far playing lights out. I imagined Charles yelling at his screen "TAKE THE D@%$# POINTS!" Then when Davison walked into the endzone I of course had to jokingly tell my family I was just kidding... Anyway, @Charles Fischer I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on this and if it changes your mindset at all. I would have taken the 3 points, but in hindsight that might have very well cost OBD the game...

Gary continues to get very little recognition, yet he has a TD in every game thus far, and he turned into the go-to receiver during crunch time and caught everything thrown his way. Dude is legit. It's becoming apparent that the two frosh RBs have the faith of the coaches, and they continue to deliver. Defense mostly looked great tonight. Great win!

I tried watching the Miss St game last week and also hated those bells, to the point that I just turned it off.

Definitely petty. It’s akin to the "but our academics are better" argument often brought out by grumpy fans of old. The NIL era is what it is. Don't hate the playa; Hate the game. But...happy to see Dan take the high road. Well done sir.

Wrong #20

Gave up the shutout... Burn your season tickets now. :)

Looks like Hughes is on the sideline without pads.

There have definitely been a few misses, but it could have been worse...

Tyler Shough > Shedeur Sanders...? Wow

Yes! I also have two girls, and we relate to Bluey in a way unlike any other show. It's as much for parents as it is for kids. Sometimes we laugh out loud and tear up in the same episode. Such an amazing show.

This thread seems to have gotten a bit contentious, at least by our standards. But somehow I find myself largely agreeing with most sentiments expressed on here, by all sides. WS has been great, and I'm very happy we have him. All of the coaches deserve some fault for the debacle that shall not be named. Lots of blame to go around there, including WS, IMO. It is what it is. Sh...stuff happens. Doesn't make him a bad coach. It was just the perfect storm of a bad game in all phases. But in regards to WS potentially leaving: I don't want that to happen by any means, but I also have a lot of confidence in DL's ability to hire great people. Because of that, the idea of any one coach or coordinator leaving isn't as scary for me as it once was. The funny thing is that WS is a large reason that I have that confidence, as we watched Dilly leave and then saw DL immediately bring in an awesome replacement. So it's actually the hiring of WS that makes me less worried about losing WS...if that makes any sense. Maybe I'm over confident in DL's ability to reload. But for now that's how I feel, and it allows me to rest easy (as if there would be anything I could do about it anyway). Go Ducks! Looking forward to seeing Moore to Moore next year. I think WS will make good use of that new weapon.

Definitely a worthy champion. But what they overcame most of all was their own fanbase,

@Mike West Great post. I'm curious about your thoughts on a Savage/Thieneman safety tandem. Both great players, but both also excel at making the big hit and tackling well, rather than coverage. And while it's exciting to think of having both of those guys hunting in the defensive backfield, I wonder how that plays out in terms of pass coverage. Your posts seem to be extremely knowledgeable, so I'd love your 2 cents on this.

Also cause for leaving soon... 🙂 Dan's seat, meanwhile, is comfortably room temperature.

A buddy of mine often asks, when OBD are getting ready to play in a big bowl game, the following question: If you could take any past Duck and put them on this team for this game, who would it be? The answer, for both of us, is often Ngata. Dude not only occupied multiple O-lineman, but still disrupted things all by himself.

Yeah, I just don't see it happening. ND is too 1-dimensional on offense...though the same could be said about that team up north, so I suppose you never know.

While that game seemed relatively even until the end, I think if Henderson doesn't lose his cool and pick up that drive-killing penalty late in Q1, OSU goes up 14 and the rout might have been on. Obviously, we'll never know. But in Q1 OSU looked to be picking up right where they left off until that happened. If they immediately go up 14, on the heals of their last two dominating performances, there might have been some panic on the other sideline.