HappyToBeADuck

Boy there have been so many great comments the last few days on all the threads within this forum. Well done...... I have spent the last 25 years of my 50 year business career helping customers unravel the chaos and confusion that engulfs their business model. Working together with our customers employees to locate and identify the roadblocks that hinder operating a successful process. Working to get everyone on the same page with the same goals... Ask yourself, Do the remaining 10 PAC members share the same goal? Are they on the same page that would save the conference? IMHO, i am not convinced they are at this point. They may get there but as of now they aren't. Can they trust each other? Who knows........ If Oregon feels uncertain about their loyalty from other conference members then they have options. Its selfish but the Ducks need to look for options that protect their interests. OREGON FIRST........ 1. Sit down immediately with Phil and Penny and ask what they would like to see for Oregon standing alone as a football only independent. Also sit down with all big time boosters to see how the NIL money increases for the millions a 5☆ recruit will need to sign at Oregon. Its obvious if you want 10-5☆ players a year to sign then you need the millions necessary each year. Whether we go independent, salvage the PAC or merge, we will need 15 to 20 million annually for the 5 stars. If not we may be relegated to the best of a diminished conference. See× 2. Get on the phone with NBC or streaming services and see if a $75-$100 million TV rights package is available by going independent. They could go the Notre Dame route. Play 8 home games and dominate the 5 pm pacific/8 pm eastern time slot. For example a Oregon/Florida State game would be more appealing than USC/Purdue or UCLA/Rutgers. 3. Oregon would have a better option to create an exciting schedule for TV. The BIG cannot schedule USC/Ohio State type game every week. Also all the other sports can stay in a revised PAC or whatever survives. Oregon can have 8 home games and 4 road games a year. Not that much travel. They will have the flexibility to schedule some great games, both home and away. Afterall, Oregon is a National Brand, so act like it. 4.If this fails then be out front to create the first coast to coast conference with the top ACC, BIG 12 and PAC forming a 16 or 20 team conference. Create something that TV cant get enough of. 5. Or sit on the sidelines, piddle yourself and accept the left overs that come your way. Go make waves, create and chart your own course. A course where you create your own destiny. Where sniveling back stabbing, whining conference members have no say One last thing that will help the Ducks amid all this chaos: On Sept. 3rd 2022, beat Georgia! Then dont stub your toe along the way and get to the CFP. For good measure just win the Natty. The National Champion Oregon Ducks would not be ignored in the chaos. Its a roadblock that the Ducks can eliminate. Then repeat in 2023. Go Ducks.....

The PAC had its chance to deal from a position of strength. As many on this awesome forum pointed out, they failed to act. The 12 Presidents told GK to announce to the college sports world that the PAC was in a great position with its current membership. Well thst great position lasted less than 6 months! The 12 Presidents spurned the remaining BIG 12 members and thus placed the PAC in a vulnerable position. Hows that decision working out for the PAC members now? My Dad taught me long ago in the 1950's that opportunity and preparedness must meet at the same intersection at the same time. When Texas and OU made their decision to jump ship many doors opened with opportunities. The PAC must have been at the wrong intersection. Well the remaining members are at a crossroad now. Be interesting to see how the rats scramble off of this sinking ship. After all they sunk their own ship. Forum members i get the feeling the Ducks will be in a better place when the dust settles. Imagine a basketball weekend where the Ducks and huskies are traveling partners. Did that leave a bad taste in your mouth or what? GO DUCKS.......

Joshua that is a great question and thanks for the article....... Notalot laid out some solid reasons for instant improvement. Especially that MC will not be on the sidelines restricting the offense. Or making in game decisions. What a relief....... Only time will tell. Can Coach Lanning and his staff coach these players up and then execute the offensive game plan needed? Game in and game out........ Personally i will give the offense a pass against Georgia. Even if the 2022 Dawgs defense gives up an extra touchdown over the 2021 squad that would mean only 17.2 a game. Thats some tough sledding for any offense. 24 to 28 points against the Dawgs D in a hostile environment would be a solid number. However, after that the Ducks, with a solid level of offensive execution should put 40 plus on the board. Against every team. All the pieces are in place for the 2022 Ducks to light up the scoreboard. Nothing less than 70 against the lesser dawgs up north would or will be acceptable. GO DUCKS.......

sad big12 fan........ Welcome to the forum and please post often. Many on this forum have experienced a personal mini-nuclear meltdown over the pac 12 not expanding into Texas. There are many pros and cons about your expansion thoughts. I am strictly a pros kind of person, so here goes. I really like your 4 choices but i would add Baylor to the mix. Those 5 schools could form their own pod/division. They would travel no more than they do now amongst themselves. Their 3 OOC games could be played in the midwest and a toe dip eastward. That leaves 5 more PAC 17 games to schedule. Put AZ, ASU, Colorado and Utah in another POD and play at least three games against those 3. Again minimal travel. Then play one game annually against the Cal, Stanford, UCLA and USC POD and one game annually against the NW POD. Alternate home and away games. Basically the schedule can be fixed or adjusted so you would have just one long trip east or west each year. Or do like the NFL and each year you play all the teams from a particular division or POD. If we can travel to Columbus or Atlanta then travel from Eugene to Lubbock or Houston or vice versus is doable. What many people dont understand is if TT is playing Oregon, USC or Utah in a prime time slot then TV sets all across Texas will watch. Same with Houston or Baylor. More eyeballs equal more advertising dollars and more dollars for the schools athletic departments on the TV contract There are so many options and opportunities for games along with endless recruiting opportunities. How many Texas 4 and 5 stars would attend an Oregon-Houston or USC-Baylor game. Giving youngsters the in person, side line opportunity that is affordable. GEEZ........ Well i am going to come back to earth now. There is no room for dreamers who lack academic prowess in the PAC. Thanks sad big 12 fan for Allowing me a brief moment of hope for a better future filled with new conference members, players and fans. Gotta go. Time to take out the garbage........ Go Ducks.........

Regardless of whether they are tOSU Buckeyes The OSU Buckeyes or thee, though or the whatevers. The Oregon Ducks came into their house and beat them. The crowd was stunned and silenced. The Oregon Ducks owned the day, the field and scoreboard........

LaMarr thanks for taking the time to organize and present your article. I really appreciate it Butters definitely showed well in the spring game. He systematically moved thru his progressions. TT struggled at times with that within the snaps he took The forum members on this site and Duck fans have been starved for any pass play over 20 yards. So the QBS in the spring gave us a treat. How it plays out..... only time will tell. Looking foward to your future articles. Go Ducks.....

I sure love this site. Hats off to all of the great, subjective comments to Alex article. So much to ponder. As a near 40 year Duck fan it has been so much fun since "The Pick". The program used to open with Boise State or Michigan State in non con slates. Then stepped up to Auburn and LSU. Along the way the confidence grew to step up to challenge the true elites like tOSU and now Georgia. Is this great or what? I agree with all thats been said and would add that the Duck offense must keep that great Dawg defense off balance. Make no mistake that Dawg defense is going to be a monster. It will be no easy task... The Ducks offense has great talent in the skill positions. The O line is experienced and can produce points. Mix it up and play error free ball. Nothing to lose so have fun. If the Ducks were a member of the SEC this years defense would be the 3rd or 4th best in the league. So play like it and make the Dawgs offense earn every yard and every point. Big boy football on the big stage. There was no bigger stage last year than the national championship game. Coach Lanning had his D players up for that challemge. I am confident he will have his Duck team ready for this challenge too. GO Ducks.......

I agree with both Notalot and David Marsh, the talent is on this roster. The secondary took its lumps in the Spring game but turned in the type of plays that swing momentum. Key defensive injuries, soft cushions and overall schemes allowed teams to stay in games that should have been blow outs. Or take a loss to the referee assisted Stanford come back victory. (once again I threw up in my mouth) Key defensive injuries did allow many talented youngsters to gain valuable playing time. Hopefully they can gel together and mesh in the Coach Lanning system. It will be exciting to watch them grow as a unit. There will be painful moments, for sure....... May be this year with the throttle wide open and the shackles removed the offense can make those 3rd down conversions. The kind that close out games with a W. This years schedule features some potent offenses that will challenge our Ducks. Georgia (maybe twice), EWU, BYU, WSU, UCLA, Utah (maybe twice) possibly USC, and whoever we play before that rematch with Georgia for The Natty. (14-1 and a Natty is possible! Not likely but possible) The Duck D could play great and still give up 40 points to any of these teams. (Maybe not EWU). The Duck O will probably need to average 40 plus to win some of these games. Throwing reckless interceptions or pick sixes wont help the Ducks. And remember, Georgia plays defense at an A+ level. Utah plays D at an A level. The O needs to score big and force their opponents to play catch up. With up front pressure this secondary will get some easy interceptions. Only the D will keep us in the game against the real DAWGS and the Utes. Go Ducks. The day is drawing closer. Buy into Coach Lanning's system and execute your assignments. That will be the difference between 14-1 and 9-4.

In the Georgia spring game the first team offense ( led by Stetson at QB) went up against the 2nd team defense. Stetson threw pinpoint passes to wide receivers and urilized their impressive tight ends. The offense moved the ball but the 2nd team defense made them work for it. Our Ducks can too! If i recall Stetson thru 2 picks but drove the team downfield for the winning score. He was impressive, confident and has the Natty hardware to justify it. The other QBs had to move the second team offense against the first team D. It was a struggle but they scored points. That D caused alot of havoc that generated sacks and turnovers. This will be the best D the Ducks face all season. My take is that the Ducks can cover as long as the QB's minimize mistakes and hit their open receivers. Confident the O-line will provide the protection needed. The O cannot give the real DAWGS short fields and easy points. The line is too high. Should give the Ducks serious motivation. The Duck D, IMHO, is equal too or better than all SEC teams except Georgia and Bama....... Hold the Georgia offense to 27 points and we have a ball game. I get the feeling that bettings lines are influenced by the beat downs Utah gave us. As well as the first half of the Alamo bowl. Confident that Coach Lanning and his staff have moved the team past those nightmare games. Last years Baby Ducks were not intimidated in the shoe. This year they are seasoned and uber talented. They will not be intimidated in Atlanta....... This is a winnable game but requires flawless execution in all three phases of the game. Hard to accomplish in week one of the season. But nothing less than a win will be the goal for this squad. Go Ducks.........

Baylor and Michigan State had excellent 2021 seasons by utilizing the transfer portal. Meshing the experienced transfers to fill in the gaps. Quality coaching staffs dedicated to individual player development to shape and mold a quality team. These teams played and performed at a high level Can Oregon and/or their opponents coach up and develope their players is the question? Writers and talking heads can make assessments and judgements. However it all plays out on the field. Many variables go into a season. Yet the only thing that counts and tells the story is scoreboard. Go Ducks........

Great on field results start with great players being recruiting by a great coaching staff. So far Coach Lanning and his top notch staff are bringing in top notch recruits. And Coach Adams is truly on fire. Great on field results (wins) are achieved by great players being coached and developed by those great recruiters. I feel that Coach Lanning and his staff can and will be equal to the task. Go Ducks........

This should come as no suprise to anyone. Wish a handful of former SEC players (recruits) would validate this article. Especially a certain Auburn QB who helped the Tigers win a Natty. I have done my fair share of complaining about the P-12 teams lack of on field results over the years. If in fact the P-12 did not offer recruits money (no matter the reason) then i applaud them..... The toothless NCAA will never investigate any wrong doing by the SEC. But i for one would like to see some humble pie served on the SEC members. At least with NIL money the P-12 may be able to compete for recruits on a more level field.

Charles thank you for taking the time to compile and organize this article. Reading, then rereading the articles you previously wrote about Coach Lanning energized me again during this long winter off season. Once again your passion for the OBD is on display and in full force. You are amazing and just like this forum you created, "one of a kind". It is too early in Coach Lannings Head Coaching journey to draw any concrete conclusions. For me, many small steps or actions over a long period of time add to the yard stick of measuring a leaders performance. So far the small steps and actions look promising. As always the results on the field will be used by many to weigh and measure their judgements about Coach Lanning. Some will jump off the Lanning band wagon if the Ducks start 2-2 or 1-3 this fall. Others will be singing his praises at 3-1 or 4-0. In my 56 years as a member of the work force I have found that followers rarely understand what leaders go thru to build something special. I suppose many of those that followed Michigan State football were glad that Coach Saban left to coach teams in the SEC. After all his coaching record was not that impressive. Bet they wish he stayed. It was too early to measure Sabans performamce. Leaders learn and grow thru out the journey. It will be the same for Coach Lanning. So far so good. Looking forward to his journey. What a way to start, playing the defending national champs. Wishing and hoping for the best. How will you feel if the Ducks get blown out by Georgia? Win or lose then we will get our first glimpse of head coach Dan Lanning. It cant arrive soon enough.........

Thanks Charles for putting some perspective to what we witnessed yesterday during the spring game. Totally agree the game presented a mixed bag of good and not so good. However, IMHO Coach Lanning didnt expose that much of what the end result will be or what we will see against Georgia. He simply let the players play and have fun. He let the fans have fun, too......... This spring game appears to be the beginning of the end of the bad taste that MC left in our mouths. Not to mention our brains. No pistol! No 3 yards and the inevitable punt! Actual downfield pass attempts and actual completions. Once the starters are in place this summer the repetition in practice should pay dividends. There is a lot of talent on this team. The defense could be a monster to handle. The D will have its hands full against Georgia. I watched the Georgia spring game. DAMN...... Their receivers get open and the returning starting QB was impressive. Their D could not stop him. But they handled the back ups pretty well. Again it was a spring game. But our QB's need to improve their decision making and accuracy against the Dawgs. Or it could be a long day in the hot, humid South for the Baby Ducks. Hope not........ Just an observation but Thompson didnt always work thru his progressions. He honed in on 1 receiver. He made it easy for the D. Needs to improve his accuracy and stop trying to just run the play. Work the defense and kerp yhem off bslance. Butterfield did work thru his progressions and found the open receivers. Too many drops by those receivers hurt his numbers. But he appears to be ahead of TT...... Nix looked comfortable on the field. Soft, accurate throws and in command. But he is too far along in his career to make bonehead decisions. Hope he does a self check and starts to discipline his decision making. All in all, a good start. Some red flags? Yes...... Nothing that cant be fixed. Go Ducks........

Joshua, as always thank you and all the writers for taking the time to write and present these articles. Scoring more points than your opponents has always been the goal for football coaches. But that is easier said than done. IMHO it starts with assembling a great staff that believes in you as the head coach. A staff that supports your vision and plan for all 3 phases of the game. That staff best bring in top recruits and have a passion to develope those players skill sets. Then Coach Lanning needs to let his coordinators coach and execute the game plan. Win or lose, the players need to see the HC and staff on the same page. The previous HC often talked about scoring alot of points but throttled down his OC. The result was the near destruction of a well oiled, high performing offense. Charles sounded the alarm very early on..... So far Coach Lanning is making some good decisions. Good hires have brought in great recruits. Now we have to wait and see if the staff and players have truly bought in. After the game in Pullman we will have a good idea of how well the coaches can make in game adjustments. Also how well the players are being developed and whether or not the offense will attempt explosion plays. More importantly can the team execute those explosion plays and put points on the board. Lots of points. We wont really know for a few years whether Coach Lanning will be a great hire, an average hire or a bust. Its to early in his journey as a HC..... Be patient Duck fans because their will be ups and downs along the way. By all accounts Dan Lanning really appears genuine and humble. That in itself is a good start.......

Excellent comments. But Jon Joseph hit the nail square on the head....... It starts at the top. Ask yourself this question: Are the 12 PAC Presidents trained and qualified to be making these types of decisions? Their track record proves they are not. These arrogant knuckleheads kept King Larry around 5 years too long. They cost the schools millions in wasted expenditures. I may be breaking a rule here but their failure to expand membership to at least 4 schools will cost each school millions in future revenues. This leadership group moves too slowly. Ask yourself this question: Do all 12 of the presidents really love athletics? I dont think they care in the least. Change usually comes from people who care. People who have the passion to bring about change. True change....... Officiating, expansion or media rights need to be handled by those that care. Handled by those whose paychecks depend on it. Do the PAC 12 Presidebts paychecks depend on any of these items? Absolutely not..... Where is their motivation to change?

Kurt Rambis, great point about coaching or lack of coaching. Sir Charles, thanks for posting these numbers. On field results prove that some PAC teams are doing more with less. Since the end of the disastrous Alamo Bowl against TCU, the Oregon coaching staffs have underperformed. First, Helfrich in recruiting and social technology. He and his staff could coach lesser talent to great levels of achievement. They simply did more with less.......but recruiting poorly and created no depth. Then the snake and he who mastered useless coach speak started filling the locker room with talent. They brought in 5☆and top 150 talent. (Remember it wasnt that long ago that we couldnt bring in top 300 talent) But their player development skills and in game management adjustments were lacking. They truly did less with more quality talent. (In fairness to the snake, he kept his foot on the offensive throttle and scored points.) The offense wasnt broke so he didnt try to fix it. Unlike MC.......... The PAC is so soft that the talent at Oregon could win championchips and go to a few New Years 6 bowls. Inspite of the lack of development and lack of in game management skills. So here the Ducks roster sits with the most 4 and 5 stars in the PAC. Can Coach Lanning and his staff further develope this talented roster? Do the players want to be coached and developed? Can this staff build game plans and make adjustments to beat teams with lesser talent? Can this coaching staff and players aspire to put in the work and effort to become National Champuons? The opportunity is before them, will they meet that opportunity with preparedness?

Really nice words of praise from the Georgia fans. Coach Lanning earned their praise by his actions. As we know, actions speak louder than words. Coach Lanning earned his shot as a head coach and Georgia fans recognized that fact. Now Coach Lanning gets to cut his teeth as the Oregon Ducks head coach. Many on this forum expect a learning curve for Coach Lanning and his staff. That is reasonable and i hope Duck fans appreciate that ups and downs will occur. Coach Saban didnt win Nattys his first 5 years as a head coach. Check out his record at MSU and first season at Bama. IMHO Coach is laying the foundation and prepping this talented roster to learn, grow and improve daily. This preparation will serve the team handily. Whether they start up (3-1) or down (1-3) the roster will be prepared by the staff to handle it. Handling success is just as important as handling adversity. How Coach Lanning handles that will be part of his journey as a head coach. Just as Coach Saban did. The difference is that Coach Saban has more yesterdays on his resume than tomorrows. Arent you excited to be part of Coach Lanning's coaching tomorrows? Lets enjoy the journey.

You can see, hear and feel the passion from Coach Lanning and his staff. I dont jump up and down anymore but if i could i would be joining in. Well done Ducks staff. Coach em up and lets win the PAC 12 title.

Big time recruiting victory for the Oregon coaching staff........... Traveling on vacation this week in California has been grueling. $6.75 per gallon for fuel. $335 a night for hotels was taking the fun out of the trip. But true to form the 8 grandkids in Cali brought joy to my heart and a smile to my face . ....... Reading that we stole a top recruit from Riley, MC and the always smelly butt sniffers was, well, Not only priceless but icing on the cake!

Some recruits may be hesitant to committ to an unproven staff. They and their parents may not be sure of what they are getting into. A successful 2022 and a dominant 2023 season with a CFP appearance and top recruits will have a full vision to fit their talents into. Oregon boosters and the program may have to reconsider the NIL money available to future Duck recruits. Like it or not, Top 100 recruits are going to cost top dollar to land. Keeping top, proven players on your roster will be expensive. Think about it......... Coach Lanning and staff should have landed a few of those 5 star and top 4 star recruits. But they didnt....... It wasnt for lack of effort, lack of facilities, lack of brand. Why do youngsters who say that Oregon has always been their dream school go to schools who have zero chance at a Natty? Or zero chance at winning their conference title or division title? MONEY DRIVES THIS BUS....... Lack of top NIL money at Oregon may be causing these top recruits and transfers to get on a different bus..........

Jon, only those with extreme academic prowess and massive egos will keep a terminally ill sports network on life support. Everytime a golden oppoetunity arises these ego driven know it alls pass on it. Perhaps our educators dont, cant or wont recognize opportunity. Professional do nothing educators are rarely business minded forward thinkers. They are normally traditionalists. If you cannot recognize its time to make out of the box decisions then pull the plug and hold the funeral. The board members and trustees need to send out 12 pink slips or appoint snd create a Dean of Sports position. Bring in a successful business person to work with other Dean of Sports. With the goal of growing a sports based revenue stream for the schools. A 21st century plan to be a big time leading conference.

Drake, good point. Most big dollar boosters will want and demand results. Results or lack of results, over the next few years, will drive the NIL Pay To Play Bus. The crazy fanatic booster will keep paying regardless of the results. Coaches, not players, will get fired when the reality on the field doesnt match big dollar booster expectations......... Afterall only 1 SEC team can win the SEC Championship. And only 1 SEC team can win the Natty when they play each other again in the National Title game.... Besides, tOSU and Clemson, who outside the real conference of champions (insert SEC) will truly have a chance? Most all teams who get to dance at the CFP Party fall short. Nice payday but no slipper.

LuckeyDuck the fever is truly running wild. The need for a hard hitting, well played Duck game is driving many a fan right to the edge......... It doesnt matter if its Obi Wan, Yoda or the Ghostbusters. Who ever can get the ball on the tee ready for kickoff.... Go Ducks.........

Jon great breakdown, analysis and comment. This August the schools meet to decide the future of the divisions. And what rules to live by. The landscape and resulting fallout will make and break a number of schools. Just for arguement sake, lets say everything stays the same. Its possible as long as the SEC gets its way and can flex its God given muscle. At this point, i could see ACC schools jumping to a new conference. Getting out of a low paying media rights deal 10 years early could be appealing. I could see some BIG 12 teams leaving to join a conference thst includes heavy weights like Clemson, USC and Oregon. Those 3 schools being involved will automatically add dollars to the media rights. I could see the Networks in a bidding war to lock down eyeballs in Ohio to North Carolina to Florida. Eyeballs in the football monster that is the state of Texas to the 50 million plus eyeballs on the West Coast. And all parts in between. WOW! Football games from 9 am PST (Noon EST) to Midnight PST (3 AM EST) Over 100 million plus people. That potential would command big money. The contract should expire the same time the SEC and BIG media rights contracts expire. Position yourself to be a major player at the right time. Of course the only certainty in this is that the PAC 12 Brain Trust will want no part in this. Afterall the PAC is convinced it should just stand pat. Dumb...es