David Marsh

Vanilla defense during the spring game is pretty standard... not a ton of time for the install and all spring is about anyways is just making sure that everyone has the basics down and maybe a few extra things for some flare. I'm also sure that Lanning has dreamed up some schematic ideas that he never used at Georgia just for the time when he is the head coach somewhere. Georgia is a big week one opponent and quite possibly the biggest opponent they will face all year. So that is the game I fully expect Lanning to throw out some weird and wild stuff. Something that would give Oregon an advantage. Considering Oregon is going to need some added luck to stand a chance at beating Georgia something new and crazy is just what we need as well.

I think this is a good point as well. So much happens during practice and they have to evaluate plays from both sides of the ball that I don't think there is much that can be reported on by the head coach especially directly after a scrimmage. Sure he probably has a few highlights in his head and those are the things that are usually mentioned along with the overall tone of the day. But individual players and plays ... Not so much. It would be interesting to have some questions asking about the scrimmage a day or two after the scrimmage itself. But usually reporters just move on to the next story.

I found Cristobal to be much more open in the first couple of years at Oregon than the last two. I remember him more openly talking about injuries and that sort of thing. His last two years you couldn't get anything out of him and he was pure coach speak. Coaches can get away with not being open to the fan base when they are winning... which was why fans tolerated the Kelly era and Kelly not talking to the media at all and fans even tolerated it for the first 2-3 years of the Helfrich era because Oregon was still winning. But come 2016 and that disaster of a year fans and boosters wanted answers and not just coach speak. We'll see where Lanning falls in all of this. I think he has a personality that is much more open than previous head coaches and that gives him more likability, but that doesn't mean he'll answer questions.

I give a first year head coach a bye on the level of secrecy. As a first year head coach there is actually stuff that could be hidden and saved for the first few games. Same goes for Dillingham. Both Lanning and Dillingham have expirence as coordinators but both were heavily inflicted by their head coaches. So now that they have a chance to create something more in their own image why wouldn't they want to hide it from the world until game one against Georgia? After this off season it is silly to hide anything that will be on film from actual games. That is what I feel is the most annoying thing about coaches being overly secretive is when they are hiding stuff we already know about.

There were a few tidbits but for the most part these weren't interesting questions and the answers weren't that interesting either. On the QB side of things I wouldn't be surprised if they don't announce a starter publicly until the first official depth chart comes out. The emphasis on special teams and on end game scinarios was nice. I feel like end game clock management and end game strategy is going to be more solid than under MC.

I think either towards the end of this recruiting cyle or the start of the next Oregon is going to have to reevaluate their NIL budget for players... Well not directly Oregon but the big time doners. A lot of these losses have an NIL part in them, not all, but Oregon isn't spending on recruits as much as other programs. However, I think Oregon is also very happy to play the transfer portal and might be able to pick up some linemen on the "cheap" because they aren't locked into NIL contracts that require them to stay at their university if they want the payout. So we will just have to wait and see.

Looking forward to this practice report... So many of the practice reports are mildly interesting and you get a sense where the team is going or at least the tone of the team. But the jucy stuff comes from the scrimmages and who starts to emerge as contenders for starting jobs.

Glad we don't have MC because he would be pretty near the bottom. Especially with last year's showing. We failed to cover the spread against sooooo many teams last year. I believe we failed to cover the spread against Stoneybrook!

Now if this class can buy into what Altman is coaching, it could make for a very special team.

Getting enough big uglies is getting more difficult with NIL. These are players that have something that is completely unteachable... Size. Schools are going to pay for the top OL guys. It sounds like Iowa probably spent their entire NIL budget on landing 5-star Proctor.

So apparently Anthony Brown had a pretty good preseason game. Titans vs. Ravens - Game Summary - August 11, 2022 - ESPN WWW.ESPN.COM Get a summary of the Tennessee Titans vs. Baltimore Ravens football game Herbert was stunted for multiple reasons between scheme and not having a stable of receivers to throw to. But Brown had some good receivers available and the scheme, even with Moorhead, didn't do him any favors. But I this preseason NFL game Brown had some good plays and went 10-15 passing. And some of those passing plays were vertical throws. So Maimi... You all better look out. That prized quarterback you have on your roster now, and your 2023 5 star in Rashada who your boosters are paying 9 mil for, may not turn out to do much of anything. Though they may make the NFL despite Cristobal so who knows.

Flowe is going to cause problems for opposing teams by himself. However, think how much more effective he will be with Sewell next to him??? Then throw in DJ Johnson and Bradyn Swinson and Brandon Dorlus... And that is going to be a nightmare to scheme against. Especially when it's Lanning's defensive scheme that is deploying all that talent.

One of the reasons why conferences that can't play round robin schedules are annoying. Part of me wants to say if it's a two team tie breaker then you just need to put those two teams in the field as a sort of semi final championship game and just be done with it. Multi team tie breakers ... Well presumably at that point two of those teams already played each other and eliminate the loser.

I hope this is good and productive weight loss. By the sound of it it might be. I just remember Jordon Scott lost a ton of weight before the 2020 season to be more explosive and instead he became rather ineffective. Howey, that was with the old strength staff.

Ten years this year. 2012 was the year o became a die hard duck fan. Even though I already graduated from UO... Weird, I know.

Trash talk isn't always a problem going out... It's a problem when it comes back and the players don't know how to not engage in it. When they engage in trash talk by dealing it out they have less control staying out of if it later. Don't engage from the start and it's easier to stay out of it.

Stanford has wrecked many Oregon seasons... And Oregon has gotten some revenge as well. Stanford ruined Oregon's shot at the natty in 2012 and Oregon ruined Stanford's shot at the playoff in 2015. In the same vein Oregon and Utah have both wrecked each other's shot at the playoff as well. Oregon destroyed Utah's shot in 2019 and Utah destroyed Oregon's shot last year... Though Oregon was such a battered and broken team by the end of the season I don't think they could have completed.

Oregon is actually 1-1 with pink uniforms. In 2013, Oregon defeated WSU while wearing pink, most notably with the pink helmet. Then in 2014, Oregon lost to Arizona while wearing a uniform with pink highlights. This is the only regular season loss of 2014. I still think the pink is better than any of the grey uniforms if I'm being perfectly honest. The grey uniforms suck in every variation.

I have mixed feelings on this. On the one hand crowd sourced funding is completely normal today so why not have people directly fund their favorite athletes. However, this doesn't feel like a place where fans should shell out more cash towards our team when we already prop up the backbone of college football as it is so why should we feel the need to directly pay the players? Yes, I'm aware of the obvious that it is all about getting the best players by offering a competitive amount of money at the very least but it doesn't feel right when media deals worth billions (with a b) are being signed and yet we as fans still feel the need to directly pay the players. Also I only glanced at the site but is this money going to bind players to Oregon in some way with a contract that they'll have to stay with the school in order to get paid or is it just throwing money at players that could transfer if they think there are greener pastures elsewhere?

Negotiations are about to actually mean something. A few weeks ago I used the football analogy that we were all just sitting in a tie game and both sides were happy to punt. Well now it looks like someone is going to have to make a move and put forth some real effort. Early stages in negotiations always feel pointless because there is no pressure to get anything done. Well now the pressure is mounting and we get to see where it goes. Conference expansion talk will heat up but there will be something more real behind it now and the survival of the PAC is in play.

This can also be said for a particular starting quarterback with the Chargers. Didn't a lot of NFL pundits say Herbert wasn't going to be any good and questioned his fire and passion for the game? I think a lot of people just question the Ducks players and are looking for reasons to make us look bad.

I will say I am thankful for all the editors Charles as brought on board at FishDuck. They are a pleasure to work with and make my writing look much better. Most places don't bother with editing, besides spell check that doesn't catch everything. I see typos even in bigger publications like 247sports and even Oregon Live all the time. This is the age of getting something out fast for the clicks rather than something out that is good and polished.

Looks like there will be a breast cancer awareness pink thing going this year again. I know there was a uniform that was not rolled out last year because it was a home color jersey for the pac-12 championship game or bowl game and in both Oregon wore white. So there is another possibile surprise there. Otherwise the jerseys look the same as last year. Even the pink one is the same look as last year but with some hints of pink. I'd assume there may even be a black version of it as well.

Oregon does have TWO starting quarterbacks in the NFL right now. Herbert is pretty much a lock for stardom if he continues has he has. Mariota has all the skills if the right fit is there. Here's hoping for those two quarterbacks staying in the NFL for years to come. And maybe adding a third to the mix... Nix? Thompson? Moore?

Those Utah losses were the cause of two things. One Oregon was super injured by that part of the year. I think one stat was basically like there was only two games that had the same defensive starters and that was it due to injuries. And two... Poor coaching. Simply put Utah was the only team during the regular season that figured out how to beat Oregon and execute it. Sell out to stop the run and provide enough secondary coverage. Brown then panics and plays hero ball... Which is a massive failure for the team. Basically... What Utah did was challenge Cristobal on his single minded run the ball mentality and challenged him to pass the ball. Cristobal responded by trying to run the ball harder up the gut and it didn't work. I feel confident that Lanning isn't that single minded and has a much much better plan in place. The Utah games were an embarrassment but it wasn't because of the players but the scheme and game plan they were forced to commit to. Well... Maybe Browns inability to see and pass across the middle didn't help... But still. Coaches need to put their players in position to succeed not fulfill some single minded idea of toughness.