David Marsh

I think this is a sign saying they are planning on getting those teams out of the PAC to one of the mega conferences at some point. They won't pay top dollar for them in the PAC but they would be more willing to poach them to a "better" conference. This is the consolidation of resources and the PAC is deemed not worthy. With a shattered PAC picking up late night programs on the cheap from the reminents becomes viable as they would have no bargaining power.

The market is absolutely chosing to pay for bloated contracts. But the major players have also determined that west coast football and other college sports must die to pay for it. ESPN a d Fox have both taken on making bigger conferences in the B1G and the SEC and to pay them some massive bucks. Either want to pay the PAC for anything more than late night programming and are happy to watch the PAC die to pay for their new mega conferences.

And I do appreciate that he didn't want to just clean house last year when he signed on but took the time to understand what he actually had on his roster. Not all the pieces fit but by working to preserve the team he built trust with the team and fans.

I would say it would make for some interesting interactions with his former team mates when Oregon trashes Colorado this season. But in truth it won't be awkward at all... His whole team is basically gone now under Sanders.

Here's to a new and improved duckndecense that will not let that passing attack deal as much damage as last year. Also.. Washington's defense couldn't stop the Oregon run game all that well and that's coming back for them.

I think the Big-12 jumped ahead for four reasons. 1. They had their crisis a year earlier with Texas and Oklahoma announcing their departure to the SEC. So they were already living in crisis management mode. 2. George K didn't become commissioner until the Texas and Oklahoma crisis was in full swing. The conference didn't try and pounce on the reminants of the big-12 for better or worse at the time. I think George had a ton of crazy Larry Scott stuff to unravel that we don't even know existed. There also didn't seem to be much of a desire from any PAC member schools to scavenge the big-12 either. 3. In a swing of desperation the big-12 added new members, they had some decent options due to their geography. 4. USC in particular lied to George K a out being satisfied in the PAC. Sure the moaned and groaned about their share not being what they wanted but from everything I've read they just wanted a better media deal, and unequal shares too, but when asked they gave no indication that they were planning on leaving. I feel right now the PAC has far more patience than the big-12. The big-12 doesn't have a second set of teams that have a major audience draw like the PAC. The PAC lost the LA schools, which hurts a lot but Oregon is a big national brand and Washington has Seattle. That is leaps and bounds ahead of what the big-12 was initially left with. I do feel that the new media contract has gone for too long and I do feel there have been many missed opportunities along the way. I also feel that the big-12 was eager to sign any new media deal they could go declare victory. I don't think the PAC feels that desperate. But I would love to hear SDSU is joining the PAC for starters.

I do feel the coaches, the Cristobal era, really did some star chasing at linebacker when they secured commitments from Sewell and Flowe. Neither Sewell or Flowe as players had the bodies or ability to do everything that was required of them. Flowe has some explosive speed and probably could pull off coverage but he never understood the playbook well enough and was constantly out of position. I think some of the coaching was probably fine but the biggest problem was that there was a failure in recruitment.

I would say the big thing that makes the defensive performance at the spring game encouraging us that it was dominant but we also all know this offense is deadly. We all know that Bucky is going to break loads of tackles next year and that Franklin is going to beat his man in coverage regularly. But seeing the defense crap some of that down is significant.

I am sure this is happening in more places too. Sports gambling is big business and the prospect of a payday is hard to resist.

What is really interesting is that Lanning really does feel like a coach who is in the Duck continuity that was established for years. Brooks, Bellotti, Kelly, Helfrich, Lanning... They all feel like they were brought into the program as part of the continuity of the program... As all but Brooks and Lanning were continuity hires. Taggart destroyed Oregon's continuity, rightly or unrightly so. Taggart came in and declared Oregon a disfunctuonal rebuild and fired all the coaches. Were there problems within the program? Absolutely. But it's funny to also think that some of the biggest stars of Taggart and Cristobal years were those players who were brought in by Helfrich and his staff. Troy Dye, Justin Herbert, a large portion of the 2017-2019 offensive line, CJ Verdell (yes, signed under Taggart but committed under Helfrich). Along with many many others that I'd need to look at rosters to compile.

Oregon posted some good numbers and we don't have a flashy headline making new coach. So let's see how the season goes and how next year's spring game goes. I think we beat Colorado next year.

I would say this is a pretty accurate assessment of the program and fan base right now. Silently surging. We will let USC take all the limelight right now so we can make it all come crashing down for them later.

One other observation is that I had about the dline v oline is I don't remember a whole lot of sacks. Sure lots of defensive pressure that forced some errant throws but I don't remember a lot of sacks. Last year I do remember a lot of sacks. Nix also has the ability to leave the pocket and extend the play which I think is by design and just out of instinct as well. It will be fun to watch that's for sure. I feel both sides have upgraded from last year.

In past years when Oregon had an open practice in Portland the Ducks drew larger crowds.

Hardest thing to gage with a spring game like this because they mixed the groups. We didn't see the first string or the second string, we saw linemen just playing with those they really don't practice with. Last year's spring game looked similar in terms of offensive line play... Actually worse I think, and we had a great line once the season got going. I'm not worried at all and from what I've read about practice, we're in for another good line from the sound of it.

I think what's also telling, and unsurprisingly, is the draft highlights individual talent over teamwork. Oregon had one of the best offensive lines in the Nation last year. But that offensive line, those in the draft anyways, where individual trench monsters but worked as a fantastic unit. One or two were drafted in the end, I know Forsythe was, but as late round picks. USC has been able to get big individual talented players for years but has had few complete teams. It will be interesting to watch in future years as we get more talent and higher development out of this Lanning team.

With an effective pass rush I think our secondary looksiles better this year too. Gonzo became so important because he could maintain coverage for a very long time because the pass rush never got there. The secondary looked better as the year went on but without a passrush they always had to hold up in coverage far longer than they should have. Looking forward to seeing Lanning's Defense show out this coming season. They just looked so much more put together. It's obvious that between the experience in the system, the transfers and recruits and the coaching development that the defense should make a giant leep.

Yeah Ty looked better in the second half. But his first couple drives looked awful. Hopefully he continues to get more comfortable playing on the big stage because that's what I think is holding him back right now. I hear he is practicing well but I don't think that is translating to the game.

My biggest takeaway is that the defense played far more aggressive in coverage. We saw a good amount of man coverage and they put pressure on receivers at the line of scrimmage for the most part. Receivers struggled to get free as the coverage was solid. And that isn't a knock on our receivers because there were times they showed off their speed and abolyas well. Franklin is going to be a beast this year as he seems to be a bit faster than last year. He frequently got open on go routes. Tez Johnson and Kris Huston are going to be huge threats this year as well. Defense looked good and so did the offense. This Oregon team is going to be scary.

This is the abuse coaches can put out there to force players to transfer. Now in Sanders' case he is a first year head coach in his position so he can use the rule to cut unlimited players and they can stay on scholarship at Colorado. Many would like a shot at playing football elsewhere so they are in the portal, hoping to find a new place to play. I'm sure others would be happy to just be cut from the team and stay at the university with their scholarship.

And probably that one grad assistant they had... Lanning.

Glad they took him and gave us 8mil for the privilege. I'd say see them in the playoff... But let's get real that probably isn't happening... For them.

The PAC decided a season or two ago that all games on the pac-12 network would have a shorter timeout to shorten the game. The biggest problem about shortening the game is that is all about shortening the play time of the game (you know the actual product that is on the tv that we all want to watch). Rather than shortening the ad time, the thing we'd all be happy if it got cut but the corporations will never do that because that's their money. So we'll probably get a shorter game with the same amount of more ad time.

Great point and I would say there is an element at play that when everything is equal or close to equal that play calling and coaches making the right calls at the right time are the difference makers. In a lot of ways its the tie breaker. If talent and schemes are evenly matched then it comes down to the play calling to determine who will break first. I'm also a big fan of using an expansive playbook to force the other team to think. In football having players think on the field is a bad thing because they have to slow down to make a decision where if they know what they are supposed to do they just play fast and execute quickly. Having the right play calls can take highly talented players and slow them down with something they don't expect. I do think this is how Kelly and Helfrich managed to use the blur offense so effectively because not only did they go fast but they could often get the other team to second guess themselves and make mistakes because they are thinking. This can work great but the problem can come in when you play against better athletes who can afford to play slower or sloppier because they can make up for it with their sheer physical gifts. It is for this reason why a lot of highly rated players out of high school can become busts at the college level, all of the sudden they can't just rely purely on their physical abilities to make up for lack of technique or a deeper understanding of the game. I know at this point I am all over the place because I do feel that both play calling, scheme and players are all equally as important at the highest levels of the game. I also feel that Lanning and his staff also feel this way.

On the receiver side we also lost Devon Allen during the Rose Bowl game to a torn or strained ACL during a return. We also lost Pharaoh Brown against Utah with a life threatening injury. Then the previous spring we lost Bralon Addison to a torn ACL during Spring Camp. Moving Byron Marshall to WR in 2014 wasn't just cleaver to keep him on the field with the likes of Freeman and Tyner (who was also injured for most of the year) but also necessary because we were out of receivers.