David Marsh

Dink and Dunk is still going to be a staple of this offense. So much of the offense is built around getting the ball out fast and to play-makers who in turn make a big play. This last year it did feel like the deep ball was a consistently missing element of the offense. I don't see the offense going deep every series but it should be a bigger factor in the play calling. Nix went deep more often it felt like than Gabriel did this year and Gabriel threw a pretty good deep ball. The difference could have been in Gabriel's shorter height and his difficulty to see over the linemen at times and the offensive line's decline this year. Yes, the offensive line generally did well but I think a lot of that had to do with Gabriel getting the ball out fast so that the line didn't need to hold up for too long. However, the big game that stands out as an outlier is the win against Ohio State as Gabriel did go deep and that offensive line absolutely held up during the course of the game.

Or he is too afraid of his fan base and doesn't want to put anything on display for them to watch.

I'd agree with that sentiment. But the title "Is 2025 the End of Lanning's transfer portal dependent teams" doesn't have the same ring to it. Lanning this time around has gone big in the portal for offensive linemen. The line is going to be a point of concern to get them all on the same page this year I feel. However, I also wouldn't be at all surprised if some of those linemen were brought in as insurance policies for the current roster and are rotational pieces rather than pure starters. We'll have to wait and see. What is clear this year is that Lanning didn't cast nearly as wide a net for position players this off season as he had in the past. He definitely went after certain positions and didn't just try to grab a bit of everything.

I don't think so... Transfers, especially ones that only play one year, may be the best option to play due to their expirence. However, that does usually put a limitation on how deep the playbook can go. Players need to learn the scheme and learn how to play with each other. Year two Bo Nix in the Oregon system was better than year one Nix. He was also better than one year Gabriel. Lanning's defense has improved year-on-year but still doesn't feel like it's reached it's potential yet and the mercenary like feel to the team makes them successful but not inherently good enough to win it all. My article tomorrow will talk about how we may be seeing the end of the Lanning Mercenary teams.

The Heeler Family... From Bluey! First off I have two girls and I have seen all the Bluey. Beyond that Bluey is more than a kids show. If you have Disney+ it's worth watching just a little bit... And you'll be hooked. Also my family is the Bluey family it feels right now.

With recruiting comparisons you always need to see how they recruit and not who they recruit. Syracuse isn't going to compete for many top tier receivers so instead you have to look at who did he bring in and develop. What qualities does he look for in a receiver? The Ducks don't go after any and every five star. Nor should they. I'm assuming he does a good job getting the players they need to be successful. Now put a bigger brand and more resources behind him... And he'll elevate it. First recruiting job he has is on the Oregon roster and the incoming freshman. Convince them he's their guy and I have no worries.

He's right... The meta game is stale. “But it’s a copycat league that we play in, and you can’t have everybody playing one way, a successful way and you playing a different way. You’ve got to get in line with what’s working to win, and right now that’s what it is.” Now this isn't entirely unique to the NBA. The NFL is saying has a very very similar problem but not to the same extreme. All pro sports suffer from it to some degree. When you only take the top 2% of the best athletes from the lower leagues you're dealing with a level of athlete that is functioning at such a high level that they can execute the game in the best way possible. Now that may shift a bit... But in the NBA right now the best athletes can chuck up threes without a problem. The officiating has been punishing physical defense for years so trying to play physical defense is pointless. Just shoot more threes! Between the ability of athletes to shoot threes at a high rate and the rule administration being what it is is it any wonder the NBA meta game is all threes all the time? College ball has variety because few teams can field enough top end players who can play the game the pros play. So they have to find other ways to win. And the officiating allows and encourages players to play defense.

And unlike Herbert he should have plenty of receivers who can actually catch his throws. I can't tell you how many times in 2018 it was frustrating to watch Herbert throw beautiful balls to JJ3 or Redd only to watch them fail to secure the catch entirely and it result in an incomplete pass. There is a reason in 2018 why Herbert seemed laser focused on Dillon Mitchell and that was because he was the only one who could reliably catch his passes. 2019 got better. But Herbert never had the stable of recievers he needed. Moore absolutely does.

Someone posted this on another forum but I wanted to post it here with some observations. Dante Moore has an incredible arm and I think we all knew that. But what really stood out to me in all these highlights is his comfort and ball placement. Yes, the bulk of the first half of the video is against less competition but his smoothness and perfect placement on those passes is beautiful. Not to throw Dillon Gabriel under the bus or anything but this last season he didn't look THAT smooth in his deep throws. I think part of that is the better defenses Oregon played but the other part of it is Gabriel's height is sub 6ft which made seeing over linemen a whole lot more difficult than what Moore has to deal with. I am expecting the deep ball to make a big impact next year. Moore has the arm talent to get it there consistently.

Samples is in an incredible negotiating position. He's getting a pay raise for sure and probably a title bump too. I'm sure his agent is pushing his name everywhere he can. I feel Lanning is going to want to keep Samples but it will come with a steep price tag.

The way the NFL and all pro sports work is that success is repaid with difficulties. The Chiefs have been successful so as a result their stars have required bigger pay days which eats into the salary cap. As a result, they have to make roster cuts at some point due to salary cap issues. Additionally, their success has resulted in lower draft picks. So is it surprising they've hit a couple bumps on the road? No.... That's how pro sports work and to get out of this takes some very, very careful roster management or a few downish seasons.

Fun formation and it was fun to write about. It's going to be a long off season as we all wait for the next one to begin.

Nahh I think he would have left. It was the destination, timing and money. MC didn't even consider the Miami job at the end of the 2018 season when it opened up. But when it opened up before Diaz was even fired it was only for Cristobal and it was served up in such a way that he couldn't say no. MC wasnt leaving for anything else than this particular opportunity served up especially for him.

Does this hurt, yes. Is this surprising? Not really in truth. Last year I made a forum post on how Adams only got a one year contract extension. I thought that was a little odd at the time but I think Adams has had an eye to move on at some point and I don't think either party wanted a big contract tieing them down.

It's a pity that Cristobal didn't have any patience for him and his development as he could have been something special at Oregon. However, those what ifs always trickle down as if Shough was a star at Oregon we might not have gotten Nix.