David Marsh

The team is just not geling and that really has to do with the players. The best teams in any sport are player led, not coach led. This Oregon team needs players to hold each other accountable and to build those bonds amongst themselves. At this point in the year that has either happened or it hasn't and there really isn't a whole lot that any coach can do about it at this stage. The culture will need to be reassurted by the coaches in the off season and players will need those build their bonds in the off season. Unless the players want it now and then we will see what they can do.

In the past I would have said that games ending in ties would not be satisfying... and I still kinda feel that way. But after sooooooo many Oregon games were delayed or shuffled to some backwater ESPN channel this last year so that the previous game can finish their multiple overtimes... Yeah.... I feel ties would be just fine. The biggest problem with a tie that I can see is that the "tie breaker" game between teams that tied a game for a conference championship with equal records don't have a real way to determine who should represent their division. But the brokenness of Conference Championships based on a divisional break down is also dumb and is another discussion.

Being able to appeal is a move in the right direction... But it doesn't solve the biggest problems with the targeting rule during the game. What about accidental helmet to helmet contact? What about offensive players lowering their heads and effectively initiating helmt to helmet with a defensive player who can't change their angle in time? Both of those could certainly be appealed and overturned... But outside of the immediate contact and concussion concern, which should be looking at ALL players involved in the contact ... It really just continues to punish defensive accidental contact. Better than nothing but won't solve the problems with the rule.

That's a pretty brutal injury that really derailed his entire season. I wish him luck at the NFL level.

It's interesting that Cristobal is still pursuing NW kids. Recruiting nationally for Oregon is a must and Oregon needs to go into Miami's backyard to pick up a kid or two there whenever they can... But it's kind of odd that Cristobal is trying to pull talent across the country the other way. Yes, Miami is still a national brand and yes there is probably an existing relationship because Cristobal and co have probably been recruiting Wayne for at least a year or two... So right now I suppose it's not too unexpected to see Maimi recruiting out west still and this is a high potential player, so much so that Bama is after him too... But it will be interesting to see how long we feel a constant Miami recruiting presence out here.

The pistol isn't a bad formation... but it is not an every down straight ahead no deviation formation. It needs to be utilized in a varied way that is not predictable. The use of the pistol here gives me hope of it being used correctly. Lots of teams use the pistol as apart of their overall scheme ... Cristobal wanted to use it like an I-Formation and it didn't work... but that was mostly because it wasn't being used correctly.

Well that's a big aspect of it... The other way to reach that number is to have a really bad defense. I just wanted to point out with the article how that actual 80 plays per game number has only been reached once at Oregon and according to the stats it came with a pretty good defensive year.

Ok... personally I find it somewhat funny that I went to Oregon for my under grad and then for my Masters in Teaching I went to Concordia.... which is now going to be an Oregon campus... I guess things come full circle in that regard.

I tuned into the Oregon-Ohio State game last year expecting a big loss... Oregon in the previous week lost KT and Flowe and Mathis... basically week 1 and three starter injuries.... not a good way to start. Then Oregon left Ohio State with a win... soooo I'm going to be cautiously optimistic here but I am not expecting a week 1 win for Lanning.

I don't find this all too surprising... I find that with so many things from the Kelly era it is that support staff that was the glue that enabled Kelly's Xs and Os genius to actually work. Sure there were some players close to Kelly but Kelly has never been a player's coach. Even UCLA players have complained Kelly is cold and distant.

A major element for many of those Oregon blur teams not reaching 80 plays per game was also due to the explosive plays. Arizona under Rich Rod would regularly run more plays than Oregon... but Oregon's offense was more efficient and more explosive. In the only stat that matters... Oregon had more wins. 80 plays per game doesn't mean those are efficient plays, just lots of plays run. Personally I'm fine if Oregon doesn't make it to the 80 play mark as long as we score more points and the offense snaps the ball before there are 5 seconds on the play clock on a regular basis.

There seems to be a consistent level of anti-Oregon bias in the NFL draft the past three years.... Herbert, Sewell and Thibodeaux all getting the same treatment that they aren't worth a top 10 pick. Well Herbert and Sewell have more than proven their worthiness of that top 10 pick status. Thibodeaux will probably prove it too in the NFL. But every year... we seem to go through the same song and dance that _____ Oregon player isn't worth an early draft pick. You know what... I'm ok with that... get these Oregon players on some better teams and let them shine from the get go and increase Oregon's NFL talent. I know there is some prestige in getting drafted in the top 3 but those teams can be dumpster fires and a bad place to start a career.

I think it is possible but perhaps a bit unlikely... Georgia has lost a lot of starters that made that team tick but they are going to reload fairly well. Oregon will put up a fight and I think if Oregon plays an inspired and clean game with a few lucky bounces the game could go either way. Though barring some help from lady luck I feel it is Georgia's game ... at least for now. As for Oregon going into Ohio State and beating them last year... I think there is a factor that Ohio State fans collectively realized but haven't actually said... Maybe Ryan Day isn't as good as all the media says he is? Yes, he can recruit well and with Meyer's players he got to the playoff and National Championship game... but he has some learning and a ways to go himself. Ohio State will get better but Day also has some learning curves before he can be considered a great coach. By no means am I calling Oregon's win at Ohio State a fluke... Oregon outplayed Ohio State that day but it also felt like Ohio State perhaps didn't live up to their own talent.

Keanon Lowe was a beast of a blocker... he just created lanes for runners by himself. I remember clearly seeing him block like 2-3 defenders all at once with one block, it was a thing of beauty.

Not getting sacked in passing situations would help a lot from an injury point of view. Simply put... if he is running the ball and gets to the second level he is getting tackled by linebackers or a secondary player. Ideally a safety or corner... but either linebacker or secondary are both smaller players than defensive linemen coming in at full steam. Or if he is running towards an edge he has the option to just step out of bounds and avoid a hit all together. I would argue that he sustained so many injuries because he wasn't put in a position to run the ball. At Tennessee a mixture of a bad offensive line and a scheme that forced him to play a style of football that isn't his natural fit resulted in a whole lot of unnecessary hits which led to injuries. Then injuries not healing or not healing properly just leads to more injuries.

The pass opens up the run and vice versa... Really need both to be truly successful. Oregon got away with being one dimensional last season for ten wins because no one besides Utah could truly stop Oregon's run game .... Well I guess UCLA did sorta but their pass defense was awful. Once Utah sold out to stop the run and covered the short passes it made Brown super flustered and easy to defend. If Brown could have hit some of those passes over the middle or deeper balls those games could have been very different because Oregon may have gotten their run game started.

Went to Oregon and graduated in 2012. I was in a car accident that should have killed me ... oddly enough driving back from Seattle after seeing some friends. After the car accident Oregon football became something fun to watch and something new to learn. And being the person that I am I became glued to everything Oregon football and quickly became a fan... though maybe not just a fan as I am pretty obsessed about my Ducks. Then just under two years ago I started writing for FishDuck ... which has been a wonderful outlet for all my constant need of talking about Oregon.

What about club sports? You counted club sports right? RIGHT?! or at least... that is what a UW fan would say...

I would say this problem extends beyond men's basketball this year but also the women's basketball team as well. Whatever it is this year Oregon just doesn't seem to have the person who can carry the team to the finish.

Only because when that Cincinnati game was schedule was at a time when they were a safe win. Times change and teams eb and flow. That is what makes so many of these non conference games such an annoyance from a fan perspective. Are we scheduling instant classics or a one sided beat down? It's a coin toss when it is a decade or more away.

Also...100 years between two rose bowl wins.. Then repeats at 2015 and 2020 Rose Bowls... In the last decade Oregon has had 3 Rose Bowl wins which is more than UW over the last 30 years. Sooo there is that...

I know with TAMU and their NIL contracts they bind players to staying with the team in order to actually collect it all. I would assume there is a clause in there about going pro vs transfer portal.

Charles Nelson also wore 6 if I recall... I know he didn't have the NFL ceiling but that kid just played hard all the time.

It was nice to see that Havoc isn't just up to the front seven. It would be great to see the corners up at the line of scrimmage and distrusting routes before they start this year... Rather then letting receivers run free underneath.

The sustainability of NIL is going to be the big key thing to watch. Especially when some of these big deals go bust because the player they paid for doesn't materialize. I don't think we will get a full grasp as to how sustainable NIL will be for probably five years when the novelty wears off and the results of all that money spent reveals itself. Some players will be massive hits and others will be flops, such is the nature of recruiting but now with big time money behind it. I do think Oregon and knight are looking at NIL with a longer-term lens than other programs. Using NIL to build a machine to invest on current players and future players without burning out the Oregon's donar base. Oregon doesn't have a huge donar base but it is incredibly powerful... So keeping them engaged and in the game is going to be key to the long term success. Irrational fan base and donar spending is at its height right now... But will they continue to feel that way if it doesn't come with immediate national championships?