David Marsh

My family would say the exact same thing during the past few games as well. An empty set is one thing in a must-pass situation. But if you have a runningback back there then there are three options to the play... handoff to run, pass, or QB run (and all the variations that come with all those). But with an empty set... you have pass or QB run. The defense doesn't have to work as hard.

For now I feel he is probably going to honor the commitment... but the nice thing is that the early signing period is during the transfer portal window so Lanning and Co can react if something falls apart.

Good news is that he will sign in the early signing period so he will be officially locked in with the Ducks while the transfer portal is open.

It feels silly to want to put my hopes and dreams in backing a 5-star quarterback who hasn't played any college football, but I do feel Dante Moore will probably be the guy. If Nix stays we are fine for this year. If Nix leaves... I feel we may need to consider a transfer quarterback so we could at least have a back-up. This assumes that Moore is everything we think he can be... I am not sure that Thompson is going to stick around. We need an actual back-up. Granted in this new age of NIL and Transfer Portal... I feel every major school's qb room will probably only be 2-3 deep at most.

I would be surprised if he doesn't enter the portal. He announced he was going into the portal last year after Lanning's hiring and then withdrew. I don't see his snap count improving next year if he stays.

Personally... I think Bo needs to go late enough that he is going to a team that as a good foundation. Nix will struggle if he has to play hero ball as that was what happened at Auburn. He needs a team that can support him and not put the entire game on his shoulder. Now... I know what I just said seems a bit ridiculous at the same time because the NFL game is more and more about the quarterback than a run game. So the game will be on his shoulder more often than not but he needs a good supporting cast to be successful.

Worst case for Moore is that Nix stays another year and he gets to redshirt and learn from an experienced quarterback. And he would really be the guy to take over the following year. I think many quarterback recruits can see that path as something that would work for them. Though I think most would rather be the starter out the gate, but who wouldn't?

This is probably my biggest complaint from the Dillingham offensive play calls. He would settle into a pass heavy routine and just seemingly forget about the run game for possessions at a time. I love some explosive pass plays as much as anyone else but when first and second down are both passes that are either incomplete or don't go for many yards that leads to a predictable third and long situation. Running the ball leads to third and manageable which means it leaves the whole playbook open. Especially when our duo are picking up large chunks of yardage. This is a big reason why I feel Lanning needs to hire someone with some more extensive play calling experience on offense where they won't get tunnel visioned the same way.

I would agree in the idea that they failed to meet the standard. But I am tempering my current frustrations with the fact that this rosters has a lot of problems attached to it. Many players didn't buy into Lanning's vision and culture (some are entering the transfer portal because of that) and many players have just failed to be developed by the previous staff. We don't have the right balance on personnel and depth on the roster to really run Lanning's defense right now but hopefully we will next year. Rookie head coaching mistakes were made, new OC play calling mistakes were made and of course the defense was and still is a complete hot mess despite some good individual talent but defense is about the unit not the player. The standard for Oregon football is sky high and we haven't touched that standard of what fans expect since really 2014 when we reached the playoff and played for the National Championship, that's what fans want out of this team. Rose Bowls used to be good enough but those have lost some of their shine due to the playoff and opt outs. It has really become playoff or bust for most fans and we aren't there yet. Maybe in a year or two... but we need growth out of coaches and players alike.

I know I tend to get wrapped up in the Ducks season and I get disappointed when it doesn't pan out the way I want... namely at least winning a Pac-12 Championship. The roster is talented on paper but has struggled to break through and put it all together for years now. I think a good chunk of that lies with the current and past coaching staffs. Should Oregon be in the Pac-12 Championship game? With a healthy Nix yes.. but we fell sort of that. The hangover of losses to Washington and Oregon State is still with me and I know it will eventually fade as we move into the off-season. It is just a game and there is so much more going on in my life than just Oregon Football... and I do find when Oregon is winning life is good but when they lose it effects me far more than it should. We tend to stew on losses more than victories. I think part of my current misery is also the notion that USC could sneak into the Playoff and the fact they Riley was able to gut his roster with a new hire rule and then bring in a ton of transfers (with the help of booster NIL) makes me sick to think that is where the sport is headed. That and USC already stabbed the conference in the back and they are enjoying success also just hurts. But of the biggest joys of sports though is that there is always next year.

It sounded this was the way it was going when he had basically recovered from his injury and didn't want to get back on the field so he could preserve his redshirt. Irving and Whittington are beasts and I can see breaking into that duo's rotation would be pretty hard. That and James is looking like a big time player and with Dante Dowell coming in as well, Oregon's runningback room is LOADED. It will be interesting to see whether Sean Dollars stays or goes.

Not as much as he would have in the past... it seems there is really no patience for anything other than a fast turnaround. He is going to have to post a record of improvement. I would say there are only a few examples of patient ADs these days. Utah and Oregon State being two of them that have shown they can give their HCs time to actually produce results before giving them the ax. I would say Arroyo was given a bad deal at UNLV, he had that program improving and becoming respectable but he still needed a couple more years to do it. I really doubt they are going to do much better with a new hire.

I think we all were... as we blamed Arroyo for the lack of offense. Then we got offensive guru Moorhead and ... still not much more offense.

This one hurts... Thornton was going to be a big time receiver next year. He was breaking out pretty big the past few games so losing him is going to hurt. I guess that makes it all the more important to make sure we hold onto verbal commits in the 23 class right now.

I do wonder how much of the offensive aggression was Diy and how much was Lanning. I know Lanning wants to be on the aggressive side of things but how aggressive is he really? Yes... The final decision is Lanning's but he also wasn't calling the plays. Lots of lessons to be learned from this year.

Lanning was not caught off guard by the Dillingham hire. The two had talked it out and it was clear that Dillingham was going to go to ASU if they offered. I am sure Dillingham and Lanning both talked to Moore a couple weeks ago about the possibility. Lanning also has a short list of new OCs and has probably communicated something about his vision for the offense to Moore as well. The other big thing is that Dillingham and Lanning are actually friends out of respect for that friendship I would imagine that Dillingham isn't looking to outright sabotage Lanning right now. Not saying he is going to go out of his way to help Lanning but among coaching circles showing each other some respect goes a long way. There is a reason why Lanning didn't just leave Georgia after being hired by Oregon, he finished his year with Georgia first. ASU is a major rebuild... and in reality here I really doubt there is much real overlap between recruits that Oregon and ASU are going after right now realistically.

He's probably a mid-round draft pick at this point. He might be able to improve his stock a little bit but not much. However, get a good enough NIL deal and staying could be worth it, especially with some draft insurance.

I agree. The Huskies and beavers weren't inferior opponents this year and they proved it. Lanning and co were out coaches in both games, especially defensively. DeBore and Smith are moth far more experienced head coaches and they are both incredibly smart and they took advantage of some of Lanning's rookie mistakes. Also... A healthy Nix would have won both games which also shows just how fragile this Oregon team is. Our defense wasn't going to win many games on their own and needed the offense the carry.

Lupoi already as the co-defensive coordinator title. The other DC is Matt Prowledge Prowlage has a decent background as a position coach in the secondary but the secondary has been suspect this year. Well... The run defense was doing a decent job until it just decided to stop working. Lots of questions right now. I think depth was certainly a problem this year and I think Lanning is working to address that issue with how he is recruiting... Lots of defensive lineman in this class and only a few linebackers which is what his defense needs.

And Chip has thrown away a big lead while at UCLA ... Talk to WSU about that one. Lanning is a first year head coach and has made some blunders. I think it would have been different with a healthy Nix but that's not the way it is. Lots of lessons to be learned here and he just needs to show he's learned them. Big OC hire coming up. Then I would also say he has some big things to consider on the defensive side of the ball.

On one of the other threads about this topic I threw out Helfrich and David Shaw. I doubt either will be interviewed but I think both could be good. Though I'm not sure on Shaw's QB coaching credentials.

Here are two names... I think neither are going anywhere but I would love to see what they could do. Mark Helfrich: every year we have this discussion when there is an OC spot open. The guy can identify QB talent (Mariota and Herbert) and is a good QB coach when he is focused on that job. See Darron Thomas and Marcus Mariota. He isn't the strongest recruiter but to be blunt he can build relationships and he doesn't need to be the HC and be in charge of recruiting for the whole operation. That and NIL does change the game a lot with recruiting. I feel Helfrich is unlikely due to some bad blood with Mullens probably and he seems pretty happy with his current home and work balance. David Shaw: will he go down a level to an OC position? Unlikely, but he is a smart coach and it would be fun to see what he could do with Oregon's roster. I also think Shaw was beaten down by trying to be competitive at Stanford with both hands and one leg tied behind his back. He might want something "easier" for a few years. He is much older than Lanning which would also give Lanning some much needed expirence in the room but also Shaw has shown aggressive play calling in the past which does mesh with what Lanning seems to want to do... Stanford of a decade ago would go for 4th and one in a heartbeat and get it. I think both of these coaches are solid picks... But I don't think either would get an interview to be honest.

I said we were going to the Rose Bowl after the Georgia loss. If Nix didn't get hurt I think I would be correct in that prediction but not anymore. Also... Last year I said that Oregon should give Thompson an opportunity to play and I think that is a glaring mistake to say because I'm pretty sure we'd have a lose record two years in a row if he was the starter. There is a reason an injured Nix started over a healthy Thompson.

This isn't surprising at this point. Shaw is a good coach and he will probably take a year off before looking for another job. Stanford just isn't competitive in terms of roster management in this day and age if college football. They lose to the portal and never really gain and they've always had to restrict their recruiting to players who meet their difficult academic standards. Staford is simply not competitive anymore.

ASU is a mess... And Oregon has an strong NIL program for the average player right now. I don't see really any players on the current roster decide to leave and go to ADU. At least starter quality players.