HappyToBeADuck

Charles and forum members Merry Christmas.......... And once again and always, thank you Charles, writers, moderators and contributors for this wonderful, safe haven. It's a one of a kind. I don't think I have a problem with being kind and considerate, so this forum and the rules are easy to follow and enjoy. I was raised by and taught from a national union negotiator. A master at seeing both sides of the discussion. Here's some of his advice: Always remember you are a guest in all doors you walk thru except your own. I consider myself a guest on this forum. IMHO, we are all guests on this forum. When I am invited to someone's home, as a guest, I am on my best behavior. I treat the host(est) and their guests with respect and kindness. I am not more important than anyone that was invited. Nor are my thoughts and opinions. There will always be more than one opinion. Usually multiple opinions... Listen intently with respect. You have 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason. Be informed before you speak. Openly admit when you are mistaken or wrong. I try to recognize that the party that is this forum is a house full of Charles guests. Multiple view points are expected and welcome.. I would never berate, belittle or try to show up one of his quests. We have the huskies and beavs for that. All opinions are worthy of thought and consideration. I hope that other forum members give me the same courtesy. The multiple view points have helped me change my opinions. Not just sometimes but many times I am wrong. That was easy. Most important advice was to never show or say anything in anger or too harshly. The world may look different in the morning. I never hit submit reply or send until I proof read my typed words. I respectfully take out any direct harshness directed to a writer or commentator. I don't have the right as a guest to purposely hurt the writer or guest. Nor would I ever touch the keyboard while drinking, excessively. More wisdom next morning even with a hangover...... Best advice as always came from my Mother. If you can't say something nice then don't say it at all. Does that need any explaining? There are so many sites to express anger and show one's superiority. This isn't one of them. IMHO.... Hope I never hurt anyone on this site. It's truly one of a kind. Yes there are membership rules, but don't we think they are worth it? Hope this post doesn't get banned?

The article was pretty accurate. As always, when's it's your turn, take advantage of the opportunity. It's exciting that even after all the departures and season ending injuries that most of the back ups are 4/5 stars. Stars mean nothing but these youngsters are talented. Very talented. Only 8 juniors and seniors are listed on the 2 deep roster. That means 40 plus youngsters will be playing in the Alamo bowl. That bodes well for the future. Hope Coach Lanning keeps the top talent coming to Eugene and they coach them up. I take one exception in the article. I just don't see where KT was dominant after his return. He had his moments but was not a dominant force. At times he was double and triple teamed. Something just wasn't right.......

Very strict rules or regulations have to be in play. Keep the 85 scholarship limit in place..... Then offer 6 special team scholarships for kicker, punter and long snapper. And as you pointed out those should be the only positions they can play. These young men have to come to work at specific days and time. They have to practice their trade. They need fair compensation. And the coaches need clear, concise and binding rules in place on these scholarships.

David thanks for shedding some light on the subject. After reading it again it chaps my ...... that those in power aren't fighting for a fair solution. Any player who is controlled by rules especially the rules of the coach should be compensated with a scholarship. If they step on the field, for just one play, and take any risk they should be compensated. In layman's terms if they have to show up for work (practice) and put in the time....they need to be compensated. IMHO, the schools president, AD and HC should have been up in arms against the NCAA to make adjustments to the scholarship rules....... All the schools should have been involved to facilitate a change. Why didn't they? All those in power constantly spout off what's in the best interest of the student athlete. If they even remotely cared they would have championed a change. Let me see if I got this straight...... Son, parents, we want your boy to come to our school. Practice all year long and then win us some games. Be the hero, show team and school spirit. We want him bad and for this great privilege it will only cost you this much money........WTH I get that rules are the rules. But if those in power truly cared they would fight for change. In this day and age, thru social media, any change can happen. But somebody has to get the ball rolling. Now that the NCAA has been effectively neutered this should be eady.

I wonder how many college football coaches wish they had a QB on their team like JH? What a gem of a hidden talent he was. Small town, Pacific Northwest diamond in the rough 7 years ago. How did all the great recruiters miss him? If I recall he was injured his junior year and fell off the map. But still........... Hope Coach Lanning and staff find a few more like Justin.

For me, it's always sad to see people or coaches leave or get the boot. Familiarity makes us feel comfortable. Maybe safe from the unknown... Wish nothing but the best for all the coaches in their future endeavors. As I look at the company, I founded 42 years ago, I see no one on the staff from 14 years ago. That's when I turned the company over to my youngest son. He was young, energetic, creative and fresh out of college with 2 degrees. He systematically eliminated the geritol staff he inherited from me. He hired like minded, young energetic, creative, workaholics to continue to build the company. He and his team do in a business quarter what my team did in a year. Here's to the new youth movement taking place on Oregon football. I wish Coach Lanning the same success my son has had. 35 years old is a great number. PS: Coach, during my son's learning curve he sought our my advice, often.

Alex thank you for taking the time to write the article. Whats been going on in the QB room at Oregon is truly one of 2 - 64,000 dollar questions. While there can be outside or inside situations that influence actual playing time during a game, it really boils down to a few things..... In the frenzy of recruiting have Oregon coaches been good at judging the potential talent of the QB position? Thru the numerous practices from spring ball thru the usual bowl game have the coaches developed that potential talent in QB room? I have no answers......... Since Marcus arrived on campus to this very moment theirs been very little back up QB success. A very talented, successful starter left the program because Marcus arrived. There wasn't even a chance for that QB competition to take place. After Marcus goes to the NFL Incomes Vernon, he gets hurt and we all know the painful outcome when his back up took the field in the bowl game. Incomes Dakota and as an experienced transfer he was in over his head. So the coach throws Herbert into the mix. Justin struggles a little with his chance but he grows with his in game experiences. You can see and feel his potential. Justin succeeds in spite of the coaches around him. Next season gets off to a good start then Justin gets hurt. Braxton plays his heart out but he was not ready. He was not prepared. The coaches had done little to help Braxton get ready. Fortunately, for MC and Oregon, Justin stays another season. In spite of coaching, Justin leads the team to a 12-2 season. I don't remember seeing a great deal of Tyler during that season, do you? But the coaches did......so they brought in Anthony. Another transfer. In fairness Tyler got his chance. He showed undeveloped promise and then the wheels came off. Whatever happened, Tyler lost his confidence and transferred out. Another transfer took the reigns. There were games that AB really struggled in and the back up should have been brought in. Not our coaching staff. No risk taking here. Or perhaps the back ups were not prepared by the coaches? Riley didn't hesitate to bench Rattler and take a chance on a freshmen. Do the coaches at Oklahoma prepare their back ups better than Oregon does? Don't know because coaches didn't take a chance. So here we go again, another transfer. Granted Bo and our new OC have a relationship. Bo should have an understanding of the schemes. But I hope that there is competition in the QB room right up to the Georgia game. The new coaching staff should develop at least 3 players as starters. Develop that unrealized potential....... Then one or 2 of our QB's will enter the portal. All that unrealized potential will play somewhere else. Such is the state of the QB rooms in college football. But one thing is certain, if Coach Lanning and his staff don't develop the QB's, we will be looking to the portal again........

Old mo is a fickled beast. Now you have it, now you don't....... MC has recruiting momentum. Like very few before him. Yet his teams rarely build and sustain momentum. No better example than the bowl game with TCU. Old MO was on steroids that night.

It's certainly possible more bowl games could be canceled. After almost 2 years it's part of the landscape. First hope all the A & M players and staff move thru this safely and quickly. Sorry the youngsters will miss out on THEIR bowl experience. Was looking forward to the game. Hope Wake can pick up an opponent......

Saint Puddles welcome. Post often and understand someone will let you know if you break the rules. Enjoy the forum. Kind of get the feeling that the amateur ship has sailed. However we will probably see an FCS type championship playoff with the have nots. When the insanity levels off there will be plenty of schools who will let the ship sail without them. And then offer a great amateur athletic experience for their student athlete. If you watched the FCS Semifinals last weekend you saw passionate players and rabid fans. Change will always come in many packages.

Jon one more thought about the Super League developing in the near future. IMHO, The PAC and its commissioner made a lethal mistake by not expanding. They could have ended the BIG 12 in one move. The PAC could have laid the foundation for a 18-20 Mini Super League. Not as glamorous as SEC, for sure. But positioned to cover 3 time zones, including Texas. TV money, lots of money, would have followed. ould have eliminated a CFP competitor. Hec the last 3 weeks, after the Utah loss the narrative was all about Baylor, OU and Oklahoma State and the. CFP.. .. 2 of those teams should have been invited to the PAC. I believe a 4 conference set up with 72-80 schools will come first. Test the waters first. See how rating meters move. TV is and will always be the cash cow....... The PAC could have made the first move. But didn't. Eventually 4 to 6 PAC teams will jump to a bigger pond.

Glad JM has recovered from surgery. Glad JM gets to go back home. Best wishes for he and his family at Akron. Hope he calls a great game in the Alamo...... Go Ducks.........

Jon that is some out of the box, forward, innovative thinking. Really enjoyed the article and is one hec of a ponder topic. All things are possible. One thing is for sure, it's 3:35 am and I am not gonna be able to go back to sleep. My little little sleepy brain is now fully engaged. What the Hec........ Here are a few thoughts and comments........... Although their are many pros and cons to a Super League, money will drive the bus. Good or bad, money will drive the bus....... Faculties will be overjoyed at the thought of separating themselves from athletics. After all, they know they are underpaid. Maybe more money for themselves. Whatever money the school needed to funnel into athletics could be saved an funneled for pay raises. Somebody, some schools, some players, their parents and non football athletes will potentially get hurt in the process.. Aka, damages.. Did someone mention damages? Let me introduce my self, I am a lawyer with the lawfirm................ Oh do you really think we can get some money from suing for damages? Why yes, and it won't cost you any money unless we win the law suit........ What do you mean I have to take a pay cut to coach? I don't want to make less money. I need to hire a lawyer. How much money will that cost me? Hello Mr and Mrs Smith does your son have an agent representing his best interests? I can make him alot of money..... The television networks will not want to be left out of this opportunity for more money. The Super League teams will want a a Pete Rozelle type commissioner to represent them in the TV negotiations. The league, it's shield and brand will command large amounts of money. Pete Rozelle was the commissioner of the NFL back during the formation of Monday night football. ABC Network was shut out of NFL football. NBC and CBS had the respective AFC and NFC broadcast rights. The bidding for MNF was fierce. ABC won out. The Nielson ratings for MNF were off the charts.. ABC had no competing games.. Unlike NBC and CBS who had competing games on Sunday. ABC paid more money for the broadcast rights, sold advertising spots for more money Interesting, turn of events happened when the rebids for MNF broadcast rights came open again. Roone Arledge, the producer of MNF, and the ABC executives offered the NFL less money. After all, NBC and CBS got 2 games each week and MNF got only 1 game. Why should they pay the same amount of money as the other 2 networks? Pete Rozelle was too sharp for that tactic. He told ABC, if you want the rights you pay the same amount of money for less games He mentioned that if ABC wanted to continue MNF broadcasts they would have to substantially increase the bid. Why? NBC and CBS had been allowed to enter the bidding war for MNF. They were offering more money than ABC. ABC ponies up and the rest is history. I wonder how many Pete Rozelle types will be involved in the potential formation of a Super League? The possibilities are too numerous to mention. Exciting, fascinating, complicated and maybe painful. Yes, Jon the landscape would change dramatically. Eventually, top to bottom, it will seek its own level and chances are money will drive the bus. Its now 5 am. I'm hungry. Sure glad some of the grandkids are here this week. Nana baked cookies.

Empty words, empty promises, coach speak.......??????? Hard to tell until they play the game and as a fan we have every right to be skeptical. I am a cup half full kind of person so here's what I am excited about: On the 2 deep roster listed for offense, defense and special teams, over 40 players are freshman, redshirt freshman, sophomores and redshirt sophomores Awesome Eight players are juniors or seniors. The future for Oregon and Coach Lanning is amazing. Most of these young players are seasoned now. Many played in the shoe. And they won 10 games. 10 games! I hope they get that 11th win. There accomplishments, in spite of massive, weekly injuries, sub par coaching and coaching defections, are truly solid. Win or lose, if they play with passion and fire, they all earned their stripes........and my respect.

And in future recruits living rooms.. A Georgia Natty puts sideline shots of Coach Lanning on TV multiple times ....... Face and name recognition in front of millions of fans and multiple 4/5 star recruits. That can be the difference between a top 30 or top 15 recruiting class for 2022. Maybe a few Georgia D players, who aren't off to the NFL, miss Coach Lanning and transfer to Oregon The street cred for Coach Lanning goes thru the roof. Oregons defensive footprint is about to change. Go Ducks...... Go Bulldogs........ Please put a frown on Coach Sabans face. Please.

Cyrus Moss is fortunate that Coach Lanning offered again. If this young man has NFL aspirations, can you think of a better coach than Lanning? Cyrus, just watch Georgia's CFP games or games. That's NFL ready talent courtesy of Coach Lanning.

Oregons foot print has changed so much that it can be hard to recognize. The landscape is different. I personally would like a team full of 4/5 stars. Why? Because inspite of a coaching staff that under performed in player development the talent on the field won 37 games. We could see the results of poor coaching during the games. Here's hoping that Coach Lanning and his staff can recruit at high level and coach them into a juggernaut. I won't settle for less....... Alabama, Georgia, Clemson and Ohio State recruit 4/5 stars and coach them up. The Natty runs thru those schools. Are we really hungry for the good Ole days?

It will be fun to watch how the USC and Oregon teams grow the next 5 years. Who will coach and motivate their teams the best remains to be seen. The HC experience that Riley has is an advantage. Shouldn't be over looked in the big picture. Riley has a few disadvantages to overcome, though. Facilities.......enough said! Also, the high priced talent at USC has seemed to quit on the season when their top goal(s) can't be reached. They lose interest. Duck fans experienced viewing this after the Utah loss. No teams, with this much talent, should get their hat handed to them twice in 2 weeks. By the same team. Whether it was coaches, players or both. Oregon looked disinterested. This happens most years at USC. Either way, these 2 programs need to dominate the PAC. Some years both should make the expanded CFP. Then get ready to lead a new expanded PAC or move on to a super conference.

Darren solid article and right to the point. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. The Oregon family of coaches and players grew the brand to a better level of football. Each member of the family brought something to the table to move the program forward. Phil and Penny invested in the future of Oregon sports. First class state of the art facilities. Designed to and for future Duck athletes. Flashy and innovative uniforms chosen by current players but designed to catch the eye of future players. But Chips forward thinking and creative offense moved the brand to the next level. Coupled with those gifted, high flying players you mentioned Oregon became a National Brand. Coaches, players and boosters moving forward to a better future. And fan support exploded. Recently, at a 50 year plus high school reunion, I spent a weekend of looking back. Wonderful and warm memories. As the first evening was drawing to a close a familiar face approached me. I had sat next to her for 3 years in homeroom. Just a wonderful girl who had become a doctor. She sat down and let out a long sigh. I asked her what's wrong? I was very surprised at her answer. I am a little tired of hearing about the past, doesn't anyone have plans for the future? I want to travel and try new things. Any suggestions? For the next few hours I shared with her great places and events that I have experienced in my travels. As she listened and asked questions I could sense her excitement for her future travel plans. Look forward, learn from others and make every day an adventure.... I hope Coach Lanning and his staff, with all their youth, bring the Oregon Brand a Natty. Recruit the 4/5 stars. But learn from the last 6 seasons at Oregon. These gifted and talented players need to be properly coached. Potential is nothing more than future possibilities............ What will you do with all that potential?

Yes time for George to lead The PAC will improve when all 12 schools are committed financially as Oregon and USC. And with more coaches like Shaw and Whittingham. Coaches committed to player development. Improvement will come with better scheduling. How often do Bama and Georgia meet in conference play. Set it up so your powerhouse teams meet less in conference play and more in the P-12 Championship game Profile will rise when the coaches and players take the Mountain West teams more serious. And win those games. Try beating BYU sometime. SEC schedules to win, recruits to win and coaches to win. It's life or death to them. It's not lip service. No explayers or alumni group is going to round table the profile up in the eyes of the media This conference needs more money, better TV exposure and the will to win. Coaches, players and fans included. Half full stadiums don't raise profiles. This is probably wrong to point out. But here goes. If I was the Cal AD, I would be looking for a new HC. Any coach who turns down the chance to coach at a high profile school that is all in to reach the CFP and win a Natty....... Well that coach just told me he is not interested in taking his current program there either. Doesn't matter if the offer was a low ball offer. I want a coach who wants to take a chance on himself. Win big and the contract offer increases Nothing against Wilcox but that's one of the reasons the PAC has an embarrassing profile. Cal AD and administration don't really care. They are just glad to have a coach.

Your point is well taken. Sewell played like a wrecking ball with passion. Flowe gave us a short glimpse before his injury. Bassa was a beast ..... The defense had so many players injured that continuity and trust was not established. Many played above their pay grade so I don't want it to appear that I am criticizing the young rookies. But the passion, the hair on fire after the game in the shoe was not present. Many players played their hearts out, all season on both sides of the ball.... But the schemes were just plain vanilla. How excited can you get as a receiver blocking on 50-60 plays and rarely touching the ball. How excited can you get on defense when we gave away the middle of the field. 3rd down conversions we are the DC, not the players. I hope next year these fine young men have coaches that they will run thru a wall for. It didn't seem like they wanted to after the shoe.

After listening to Joey Harrington on the John Canzano show explain why the players supported the letter, I came to 2 conclusions ...... First, their intentions were good. They meant well and wanted nothing but the best for Oregon. His words, filled with passion and emotion rang true. Don't know if Joey spoke directly to Mullrns about the letter. Either way RM was moved and followed thru. Thank goodness that Wilcox was the only adult in the room. Geez....... Second, nostalgia for home is a powerful emotion. Those players looked back and longed for those glory days. I felt that emotion as I returned home to Spokane for my 50th plus high school reunion. Wonderful memories rushed back that weekend. The players wanted that Oregon family feeling to return. The family program came so close to the Natty. The prize was within reach. Since 2015 the prize was seen on TV earned and given to others. RM and his choices were destroying their deepest memories of Oregon Thank you Coach Lanning. Build your staff and create a new Oregon family for players, former players and us fans. Let's get that prize. As for the non renaming of the the Civil War. If I expressed my thoughts, feelings and emotions...... Charles would ban me from the forum for life...... Go Ducks. Let's get a few more SEC players so the SEC honks can piss, whine and moan some more. Out here in the barren wasteland.

Consider that Bo played Bama, LSU and A & M , and crossover games in the SEC. The O Line was mediocre at best. So Bo's stats are against multiple players who are now or will be in the NFL ........Not a real comparison to AB's stats Oregon has a 2 deep powerhouse line in a weak as hec conference. That line will be learning a new system with multiple set schemes. Do you want rookies learning a new system or an experienced multi year QB potentially running the show? The Duck offense, barring transfers, has alot of skilled position players to compliment that beast of a line. Just needs a skilled leader who must cut down on lazy and careless mistakes ..... Young man has no quit in him. Just ask the Duck players from our 12-2, 2019 team. Hope Bo is the first of many SEC portal transfers. Coach Lanning and his staff have those connections. I for one am going to enjoy the first great new player move by our new coaching staff........ More than one way to build a CFP team.

The PAC teams continue to disappoint. You get to a bowl game for the first time in forever and have no passion. What???????? They got smashed in the mouth and wanted to go back home before half time. Another PAC team getting pushed around by a Mountain West team. Just another trash performance from the conference that others call a wasteland.

Bo knows and thrived his first year in this system. He can do it again. For certain our offense will be learning another new system. Glad to have a player who knows what the OC wants executed. Sure any of our young QB's could transfer out. Honestly they have proved nothing on the field. Bo may not be the only QB transfer.