Duckpop22

Great GIF, Oregon Reigns. Yes, a safe place in an online sea rife with barracuda. I will endeavor to keep my teeth un-bared. I used to work for The Big Fish and he made me wash his Escalades on Sundays if I got out of line.

I'm about to do something I don't like to do which is find fault with one idea, without offering up anything better. But gauging intent, in other words reading the mind of the player, is hard as heck to actually do. The targeting rule is a work in progress, and may be one for a long time, because there are so many variables in play. Strides have been made since the beginning where defensive players were making the Walk of Shame several times a game and being tossed for the first half of the next game! I hope improvements in the equipment will go a long way toward solving the problem, because I don't know if on-field legislation is even possible. Choices are being made in less than a split second, because this collision sport is being played by ever-faster, ever-bigger players who have as much courage as any generation of players before them. The officials are already at the edge of their abilities, but now we want them to read minds when they may not have been in position to see the hit in the first place. I guess I don't know if "you can usually tell" about malicious intent. I watch a lot of games, and malicious intent just seems to be a coin flip. Hence, my dilemma. It is a good, and necessary, conversation, though.

The point spread movement on this game has been remarkable. The Purple Nurples opened as a four-point pick, but the spread has swung all the way through zero, and the Tangerine Silly Boys are now a 2-2.5 point pick depending on the betting house you prefer. Personally, I think the You Wee Wees will win, but I would like the Silly Boys to prevail, because I live so close to Montlake that they have fried my brain. Besides, I once egged a frat house in Corvallis. Never had the honor in See Little.

Or here is an idea. Stanford loads the box, as The Big Fish suggested, but then we beat them anyway through the pure will of our souls and power of our Big Uglies up front! Soon, they bring up a ninth defender! They only have one corner and one safety deep. Who cares? Not 'Bama-Lane County! As the game goes on, three-yard-runs become five-yard-runs-become seven yard runs. Soon, the free safety is hurling himself into the maelstrom up front Do we care? Hell, no. Now our runs average nearly a first down with every carry! Touchdown Oregon! But better than the touchdown is the hangdog expressions on the Stanford sidelines. They were the smartest kids in their high schools. Did they sign up for this kind of physical whipping? Not at all. The major Silicone Valley companies don't want to hire people with gnarled fingers and ragged fingernails. At the end of the third quarter they hand in their scholarships en masse, yielding to a force greater than themselves. Let's hit somebody!

The end of the high-scoring era for the Ducks is something that isn't talked about enough. Are we suddenly recruiting "straight ahead, no fair dodgin' players", or has the scheme deteriorated the scoreboard that much?

"California has the most Pac-12 teams and there are remote places in that state with cheap rent..."

Is it too early for me to develop a man-crush on Ty? The combination of measurables, awards, and academic prowess lead me to believe that this kid may be someone special! Ty Thompson, QB1, Day One Cale Millen: Gunner Okay, I took care of offense and special teams. Someone else get the defense into gear and see how high we can go.

How is it possible that Oregon State is "not on the list?" That's the funniest thing I've heard since the howl of fear when Jeremiah Johnson torched the Beavs with his long TD run before the half. It's a list! Scroll down until you find Oregon State somewhere near Montana Tech. It's a list!

In the course of an hour today I read suggestions of Rick Neuheisel and Bill Walton. Neuheisel? Maaayyyybbbbeeee, but Walton is silly season stuff. Personally, I want them to ignore suggestions that media folks take the job, and hire some guy who has been in his basement for 15 years, hatching plans to take over the NCAA for the next 30 years. Someone none of us know, but that in seven years we will fear for his brain.

I appreciate Charles (Ya' big lug) and the time effort, and money that he has put into all of the Fish-ian projects that he has undertaken for lo these many years. It makes this a clean-smelling site, with maybe a hint of lavender or rosemary. That said, if someone steps over the line that many times, might I humbly suggest a different kind of discipline.

Breaking News: This guy still has TWO years of eligibility! (I love Napoleon Dynamite so much that the wife and I stopped in Preston, Idaho on the way home from Denver, went to Napoleon's high school, the place where the tether ball scenes were filmed, and ate lunch at the restaurant where Kip and LaFawnduh made eyes at each other. Yes, I am that big of a film nerd.)

AnotherOD, you just muddled me with facts. I read Chico's description of what the progression should be and thought, "How cool. Now we will know how to judge quarterbacks going forward forever!" Then you waltz in and tell us that each quarterback is an an individual young man who will progress at his individual speed. How discouraging to have to pay attention.

I always recognize Sarah Thomas as she hustles to mark the ball. Her blonde pony flies behind her. I understand she graded extremely high this season. How long until she referees a game?

Ty Thompson, QB1, Game One of the 2021/22 season. I think he will pop if we get a spring and fall practice and pop by Game Three if we don't. I said this an hour after the Fiesta Bowl, and I will say it again. Is there a contest like the score-picking game, Mr. Fish? A prize? I believe in my selection. Btw, my profile picture is my wife next to LaMichael James in his restaurant in Portland. I'm surprised I held the camera steady. I get star-struck. Probably why I have never met the Big Fish in person. I would be tongue-tied by his greatness.

I follow a few Huskies on Twitter and they are paralyzed by this. I liked the guy today who called his own Huskies "The Vanderbilt of the West."

Charles and I may have been sitting together when Reggie Ogburn ran the veer option my first year in school. He was great...until it rained. Too bad it never rained in Autzen Stadium that year.

I don't care how much we are paying the coach. It only tangentially comes out of my pocket, and putting it into every discussion obscures the real point. If you have read Our Fearless Leader's musings for the last four years they come down to this. Why are we running Bo Schembechler offense 14 years after Bo died? Our play calling does the best job of stopping our offense than any defense since Gene Chizik thanked God for blinding the officials to the fact that Michael Dyer was down. Here is what I want to see. Next year, when a mundane running play is called on 3rd and 6, I want the QB to go to the line, say "Omaha!" and throw the damn ball downfield to a highly-rated recruit for a 70-yard touchdown. If it won't be called by the staff, the QB should audible to it and win the game. I would buy that QBs jersey for my grandson that very day! Am I a little salty? Yes, I am. Perhaps I should stay off Twitter, where we are being eviscerated by the Huskies for our unhinged performance last Saturday.

Excellent article and the kind of piece that makes FishDuck such a valuable place to hang out. Almost every one of your suggestions made me think good thoughts about what could be. The headline did make me wonder if there was news I had missed, but I understand now, having once been a prized member of this self-same polished and powerful, prize-winning journalistic enterprise.

Everyday a new twist and something of value added to our beloved forum about the Ducks, about whom we love to learn, read, discuss, and argue about, in an oh-so-polite manner without ever saying s$%&*$rd, b@##@*d, or mo%$#@*$#$er. That should be your header, Charles!

Uncertainty at the most important position in all of sports gives me pause against a physical, well-coached team. We're creased by a better running back than we saw all year and fall 28-20.

Well, I guess that answers the QB question. Per Moseley Shough takes warmup snaps from Forsyth, and Brown takes them from Denis. Show 'em your best stuff, Tyler!

Great movie! Faye Dunaway was cold as ice and yet still sexy as...heck.

Maybe this will be worthy of being pinned when the unwashed masses arrive. I don't think I have ever had a post pinned before. The excitement is overwhelming. Anyway, the rules are these. You can't say "the Pick," or the first time we went to the Rose Bowl. What is your best memory as a Duck fan? Outside of Corvallis or Seattle, where did you go for your first away game, and what do you remember most about it?

The Big Fish and I were discussing this very thing on the phone (Yeah, I know the cool kids). I have heard such incredible things about Butterfield and Thompson that part of me wants to say, "Out with the old, and in with the new!" After all, once the look of real fear comes into a young QB's eye, can it ever really be expunged? But, experience is a real attribute in life and in quarterback play. So, I think the bowl game is key for Mr. Shough, and the offseason to come even more crucial. If I had to predict, I would say we will see a new QB1 come next fall, but I'm willing to be wong, and to be glad of it.