David Marsh

I have come to question this season if the strength and conditioning at Oregon has been over the top under Feld. There have been a lot of major injuries which seem like more freak injuries that may or may not have their roots in over working in terms of strength and conditioning... But we have also been plagued with more mild injuries that could have certainly been influenced by over work. I am hoping this new guys can do something to keep the injury bug to a minimum.

In truth I felt the ducks were playing their best when MC needed to be kept off the field. If you're not a big xs and os HC you need to really bring the passion for the game. MC was at his best when he did that... Now... Look at the utah games... He was really emotionally out of it for both of those games. He was not bringing the fire for the team to feed off of.

Josh Pate on Late Kick Live did a whole thing about fixing bowl season and part of his proposal was to pay players. I personally don't agree with it all but I do think that it is at the very least worth a watch and a listen. More than anything else I think the best way to get plays to opt into bowl games isn't just money but really highlighting any NFL scouts at the game. This may not influence some decisions like KT's because everyone knows what he can do already... But there are a lot of players who are opting out now because they are in that limbo zone of will or won't they be drafted and the risk of injury may push them over into the not drafted... But maybe the risk is worth it if is is possible to elevate one's draft stock enough to get into the drafted category.

They still have two playoff teams which more and more means more than any of the other bowl games. Pre playoff this would be a bigger deal than it is now sadly.

Just think of his influence beyond the broadcasting and commentary. Most kids today only know Madden because of the video game that bares his name. It is pretty remarkable that he has continued to have such a large cultural impact even when he has stepped out of the spotlight.

Brown is an average quarterback... He is often ranked right in the middle of the entire NCAA for passing efficiency. Now that is not good enough for Oregon and what we expect out of our offense and quarterback. It is good enough for most teams though and it is amazing to see just how well we did this season with a completely average, middle of the pack quarterback.

Ohio State has a bunch of star players opting out of the Rose Bowl.... the ROSE BOWL! I was understanding why players would opt out of lower level bowl games but the freaking Grand-daddy of them all? NY6 games used to be a huge deal... now its playoff or nothing.

I would say the most fundamental mistake that Helfrich made (more than the DC hires) was giving up coaching qbs himself. Frost did a decent job with already good to great quarterbacks. Frost failed to get any of the new freshmen ready for game time. Herbert had a different QB coach entirely in David Yost for his freshman year.

I can get behind this statement more.

Not at practice could also mean something like they are stuck at home because the players all had a chance to go home for a while but there have been a TON of cancelled flights so maybe they are just stuck. Just a guess... I know they were supposed to get themselves back to Eugene and from Eugene they were to take a charter flight to San Antonio... But maybe some couldn't get to Eugene in the first place.

I respectfully disagree with this... It has appeared by so many fans and I feel it usually comes with a more surface comparison rather than a deeper dive into the two. Helfrich was an ok recruiter and we usually bash him more on this front because of his misses than his hits. In this four recruiting classes (I used 247 sports because I was having issues getting the class ranks from rivals) under Helfrich the classes were 19, 21, 16, 27. Under Kelly it was 30, 12, 12, 14 ... So a drop off but in truth Helfrich was doing what Kelly was (minus Willie Lyles) and with some minor but impactful sanctions. Helfrich did promote Pellum to DC but this was also fully inline with the Oregon way and continuity at the time. It failed but not as bad as the Hoke hire failed. Lake inherited a good recruiting class and then bombed the following classes. He promoted from within against the advisement of others. Lake at Washington was a massive failure. Helfrich was a mostly successful coach at Oregon and at any other program or even at Oregon a decade earlier he would still be employed as the HC. Just my little rant about the comparison. I could probably write a whole article on it. Oh and Helfrich did put Mariota in position to win a Heisman and he did make a playoff appearance and won a rose bowl. If you had to pick between the two Helfrich over Lake all day everyday and without a second thought.

I was saying it during the offseasons when Lake was making those hires he was making the wrong hires for the wrong reasons. He opted to go with who was safe (or at least felt safe) rather than a risk. Donovan was a huge risk but to Lake apparently his only requirement was NFL guy and that's what he wanted and what felt safe. Granted it feels like all Lake wanted was NFL guys and felt that would be enough to do the recruiting work for him. I didn't know how many times he was rejected though. Say what you will about Cristobal, he certainly has his own major flaws, but he knew he needed solid recruiters and he was thorough in the hiring process. Lanning also feels like he knows exactly what he wants in the hiring process and is moving at decent pace. Not as fast as fans would like but getting the right hire is more important than the fast hire. Speaking of hirings... Isn't it interesting from an institutional level the mentality of both the Oregon and Washington schools. Washington choose a safe option, or relatively safe in Kelan DeBoer and Oregon chose to take a bigger risk with arguably a much higher reward on Dan Lanning. Oregon is playing to win and win big. Washington is playing to not lose. Completely different mentalities between the programs.

I would say that under MC Oregon really didn't have the fully united factor that binds teams together through adversity. Actually with the 2020 season and covid and the opt outs I feel the culture took a very negative dive with the program. Not only losing a final season from some very strong veteran guys like Holland, Gram, Breeze and Penei Sewell... But in their opting out they sort of signaled an individual first vibe. I do think any signal like that was unintentional simply because the Pac-12 was so woeful in determining whether there would be a season or not ... But for the past two years I think a United team vibe has been missing from the Ducks. Maybe lack of a strong quarterback and consistency of leadership with all the freshman has contributed as well. But when the ducks really needed to rally together... Looking at the Utah games... They completely and utterly failed this year. Maybe Cristoabl leaving was the epidome of "me before we" and that ignited the players and remaining the coaches to bond together. Utah has certainly come together as a team this year with the deaths of two of their players. They had something to unite them an leaders who stepped forward to lead. Oregon has really been lacking in that department. Here's hoping for a surprise in the Alomo Bowl.

In his first year as commissioner I am giving him the benefit of the doubt. We have no idea how much work is being done behind the scenes because most of it is frankly boring to fans. I am sure Larry left behind one amazing mess for George to clean up. There have been some smaller public steps made but nothing earth shattering at this time. I am expecting to see more out of George in his second year.

In truth Riley didn't bring too much beef to Oklahoma. 0-4 in the playoff because they weren't able to beat the heavy hitting SEC linemen. He got bigger linemen than Oregon of old had but wasn't built to really compete with the top tier programs. Also... Riley is keeping the same problem Helton had with recruiting ... Lots of good skill guys but not on the lines of scrimmage. Lots of flash not a lot of as you said... Beef.

Washington is at a point where they need to burn a large portion of the program down.... Or let it burn more to the point... And then rebuild. Though for us Duck fans... This is a whole lot of fun watching the program burn.

I absolutely agree Oregon needed to take a risk. I think it will payoff big time for Oregon. The Utah games were brutal and the youth excuse by that point in the season was no longer in play. Injuries were still in play... But really no excuses left for those games.

Smells of desperation and dispair. Lanning will have some growing pains but he knows what he wants in his coaching staff and has put together a strong defense at Georgia, with the help if Smart. I think Lanning is a high risk hire but it has the potential to be the best in the PAC.

Players have the ability to transfer got whatever reason right now. I do believe players should have the ability to transfer once if they so desire, especially in this day and age where there is so much movement among coaches. I see nothing wrong with wishing players and coaches the best as they move on. I think Cristobal leaving is a real opportunity for Oregon to upgrade. If Lanning can recruit as well or better than Cristobal then we have upgraded because Lanning is a better X's and O's coach and Cristobal. So why should I be mad Cristobal or any player leaves if it gives us an opportunity to upgrade? If they stay at Oregon against their will are we going to get a better performance out them? Maybe but certainly not guaranteed. Yes, with Cristobal leaving and any player leaving there is the feeling of rejection. Cristobal leaving cost us some big recruits and this class is a bit of a wash because of it but we are setting up for a new era of Oregon football, one that may be better than the last. So be nice and wish them well... We may reach higher heights without them than with them.

Absolutely possible... But will anyone with that kind of money want to pay for specialists? Wouldn't they prefer to pay for any other position on the field and get some real star power for their dollars?

Then the baffling kicking disaster that was the Utah games... But I won't hold that against him... Again distance and ball placement on those attempts was pretty bad. One was outright blocked which wasn't Lewis' job to provide protection and it's not like the snap and catch was messed up. Also... A few more points would have helped moral in those games but they would still have been losses. I am fine with Lewis being the kicker for next year ... But I really feel we need someone with a bigger leg for kick offs. Lewis struggled to get that ball reliably in the end zone for touch backs. Matt Wogan many years back was super unexciting from a fans point of view for both teams. He basically got rid of the opposing team's return game by kicking the ball right out the back of the end zone every time.

As far as Ohio State and it's fans are concerned it's season ended with their loss of Michigan. For Oregon's fans are we much better? Our excitement right now is all wrapped up in the coaching hires. Personally, I'm not all that excited for the Alamo Bowl... I'll watch (unless it is really bad for the ducks then I'll turn it off) but I'm not anxiously awaiting Wednesday to come for the game.

The Oregon offensive line has underperformed the last two years for sure. Lots of raw talent but MC hiring Mirabal wasn't a good choice for player development it turns out. We have seen amazing glimpses in what this offensive line can do ... But nothing consistent enough.

Camden Lewis is kinda the new version of Maldonado. Also Aiden Schider broke some records for kicking and consistency at Oregon but he was a walk on (at least for the majority of his time at Oregon). He tried out for an NFL team and hated it so he stopped his pursuit of that.

I hear that kickers, long snappers and punters don't train the same way and that can be a rub for some. The other side of it is if there are scholarships for kickers then wouldn't everyone just want to be a kicker? No... I think the vast majority of those who play football and grow up watching football don't look at the kicker as the person they want to be in the field. Again... As fans we want to be able to ignore the kicker, punter and long snapper for the entire game. We want them to be SUPER boring because if they do their jobs right we don't know they exist and if the game doesn't depend on a field goal to win the offense has done its job. No die hard football fan dreams of being a kicker. Beyond that only a handful of the best of the best specialists make it to the NFL. Then once in the NFL they do have long careers which makes it difficult for new specialists to make it to the NFL. Might as well give them a scholarship at college... Or maybe at the very least a partial scholarship... Give them something.