David Marsh

My leaning as well... though if Heyward was the one who formulated the plan against USC for the past two years I would feel more comfortable with his promotion than before. Not like the coaches care what I think.

This does change I think how we all look at the defensive coordinator spot if we do choose to promote from within.

Charles I had to go through the wonderful FishDuck photo gallery and find my favorite uniforms... COLOR RUSH! Uniforms from the Oregon-Oregon State game in 2013 and 2014.... I like the yellow helmets a bit more.

USC ... Where high quality runningbacks go to sit. Especially with their air raid offense now that is reluctant to use their stable of highly touted runningbacks. Going air raid was one of the dumbest ideas USC has decided to pursue. Yes, USC has good receivers and have done well at quarterback and have gone all in on that strategy. In the process USC will probably be seeing lots of their runningbacks looking to leave in the coming years. USC has also been completely out recruited by Oregon on the offensive line and in the long run that will only help Oregon. Personally, I'm completely ok with this.

And that is precisely why they didn't let Herbert run the ball because Herbert broke his collar bone because of a run. Now the coaches said they always gave Herbert permission to run... But we all know that wasn't the case.

Taggart was on the upswing... Though that was still a very underwhelming season all the same... Herbert getting injured and watching a freshman flail around on the field as qb was not a good time.

Development of receivers has definitely been a concern. Mitchell was a Helfrich recruit. Mitchell was a good receiver but he was made better because he had a good quarterback throwing him the ball in Justin Herbert. Great receivers need great quarterbacks. Pittman and Williams have a lot of potential to break out into stars next year but they need someone to throw them the ball and allow them to make plays. Shough had some decent deep balls but from what I saw I don't feel confident that Shough has the arm strength to get receivers the ball over the top of a defense... or on a crossing route across the middle of the field as he missed a LOT of those over the season. For a receiver to be a star we need a quarterback who can run the offense better and get those receivers the ball. Alabama's Heisman winning receiver wouldn't have won the award if his QB didn't throw him the ball.

I'm less worried about the receivers than I am about the trigger man. Receivers Primed to breakout: Williams, Pittman, Hutson, Webb and DJ Johnson. Williams and Pittman both missed quite a few games this year due but both had some great moments. Hutson is a freshman who was thrown into learning a college system with only the bare minimum supports and practice time to actually learn the system. He had some flashes and saw the field. Webb didn't see the field this year (at least not to my knowledge) and Johnson overall has some nice hands and runs with some insane power. Webb has a lot more speed than Johnson but Johnson has some decent speed if he gets free and even then he isn't easy to tackle. Granted, I don't see either of these two TEs being a featured receiver. Super Promising Freshman: Franklin, Thorton, Brevard and McGee I do expect to see Franklin on the field this upcoming season. Thorton and Brevard may see the field but I wouldn't be surprised if they end up maintaining their redshirts as there are still other receivers on the Oregon roster who may surpass them. However, this freshman crop might just take control and all play significant roles. I am also including McGee on this list because he is really a hybrid type player in the mold of a DAT or Nelson who may be deployed in the the slot or as a runningback depending. The Vets: Johnny Johnson and Redd Both have had their moments but neither have really proven to be that breakout star that demands special coverage from an opposing team.

And their uniforms are pretty cool.

Oregon also had about 4 turnovers with quarterbacks who were really trying to be constant heroes... And... Iowa State had the ball for at least three times longer than Oregon. Not a good game to display Oregon's potential in general.

Arroyo left last year and took no Oregon staff with him. Avalos leaves and is taking some support staff with him. One of the assistant strength coaches is going to Boise with Avalos and some office staff as well. Could be a bit of bad blood there. Who knows?

I vote for Millen to switch positions that's for sure... he demolished USC's kick returner in the Pac-12 Championship Game. I think he should see the field, and if it is as QB sure, but he is stuck in deep in the depth chart right now.

Bend-but-don't-break is the worst to watch as a fan. The offense is never on the field and we just watch the clock drain away from the game. Iowa State was one of the most agonizing boring games I have watched in some time... right up there with the games against Stanford several occasions this last decade. Personally I would like a defense that is aggressive and can break the opposing team's offense. Get that ball back to our offense and lets see some more points!

If Mario Cristobal hires them that coach is going to be oozing energy. The job requirements that Cristobal demands from his coaches require a lot of energy.

Additionally Washington's recent tenure as standard-bearer for the Pac-12 wasn't that great... 0 playoff wins 0 NY6 bowl wins Yeah... Oregon didn't look too hot this year but this whole year was a mess for the entire Pac-12. But in the last decade Oregon has... 2 national championship appearances 1 playoff win (more than Oklahoma I might add) 4 NY6 Bowl wins.... 3 Rose Bowl wins and 1 Fiesta Bowl win 1 Heisman Trophy

Need to get receivers consistently behind opposing defenders AND a quarterback with the arm strength and accuracy to hit them deep. Dillon Mitchell was really the last receiver Oregon had that had the speed get around opposing defenses. I am really looking forward to seeing what these receivers can do.

It would make for a great script... 2016 ... beloved team bottoms out 2017-2018 ... the rebuild 2019... Rose Bowl victory and then... NFL breaking records and Rookie of the year.... It checks a lot of the boxes needed for sports movies...

I would also like to say that maybe Avalos' style of defense is the right one and the one that Oregon should continue to use and develop. That would be completely fine! Though now is a prime opportunity for Cristobal and his staff to evaluate the current state of the defense.

I would say Avalos' defense was in a lot of ways closer to what Alioti ran in terms of philosophy of aggressiveness. Wanting to get pressure pressure behind the line of scrimmage and try to disrupt the opposing offense up-front rather than as much on the back end. If both are working in tandem as we saw last year in numerous games we really saw how that creates a lot of errant throws to be picked off. I would say Pellum's bend-but-don't-break defense was really a more passive back-end prevent defense. Typically rushing three and dropping eight into coverage to prevent the pass. A whole lot more bending and in 2014 with a defense that was completely loaded with modern Oregon legends this worked well enough to get Oregon to the National Championship Game... though I think we can all agree that defense was far too passive and was prone to bending far too much.

Or play defense that can stop or at the very least slow those offenses. I think Avalos' defense would slow them but not enough for the current state of our offense.

The pistol is like dessert... Sometimes food... It can certainly work but it shouldn't be used as an every down formation. Oregon has had some nice runs from the pistol both this year and previous years.

Oregon has been blessed with two generational talents in the same decade. I do think Thompson is going to be the next big quarterback at Oregon but does he need a few years to prepare is the question. I think no matter who is the starting qb there will be compromises made in terms of skillset. Butterfield may not be a great runner but maybe a great passer. I watched some of the masoli games and the scheme was what really helped him out. He was not a great passer (lots of passes to open recievers that recievers still had to go out of their way to catch) but he was a great runner. I think just as big as who is the quarterback is who makes up the supporting cast? That will make even an average quarterback look great.

Dye and Dollars have shown some better bounces to the outside. Dollars in particular had some very nice cuts in the Pac-12 Championship game. I would say the Pistol, the way it is being run, tends not to allow for much more than run straight ahead. Verdell tends to just want to run straight ahead and looks for contact and as he isn't that big of a back it results in minimal gains.

My only hesitation with Ashford currently is that he is very low on the depth chart at the moment... which can obviously change with a good spring and fall. Butterfield was solidly running with the threes and I wouldn't be surprised if he takes the next step and really challenges for the starting spot. It is true he is not a true runner... but neither is Shough and Shough's biggest problem down the stretch wasn't his running ability but more his decision making. He would often keep the ball when he should hand it off. Having a more pure passer would open up the run game, even for the QB, as it could stretch the field vertically and as a result the run game opens up for the runningbacks and the quarterback run. Moorhead's desire to run the quarterback isn't to make the quarterback a rusher to the degree of a runningback but make the defense respect the quarterback run and defend against it. There needs to be some qb runs in the game for that to work but it shouldn't be the quarterbacks primary job to run the ball. Right now I feel Oregon needs a solid passer who can run the ball a few times a game more than someone who is a stronger runner. Ideally we want a Marcus Mariota type who can do both things incredibly well... Mariota was a really rare talent. I would like a Vernon Adams or Justin Herbert type QB who can really stretch the field with their arm ... granted VA had some major durability issues and Herbert didn't have a receiving corp that could reliably allow him to stretch the field. Depending too much on the quarterback run just crowds the box and makes the defense's job easier.

Early front runners in my mind are ... Shough, Butterfield, and Thompson ... if Brown decides to stay throw him in there too. Though I think with a solid off season Butterfield is going to catch up on Shough and Brown. Thompson is young but you can't discount the potential.