Charles Fischer

Now if we could get them to say Eugene correctly? It is not YEW-gene, it is yew-GENE with the emphasis on the second syllable. No sweat, they'll get it down....in about five years!

No prob. We won't be punting anyway....

Oh, my orange-and-blue friend...this is one time that I politely disagree. We had physical football in the old Pac-12, but nobody watched us to see it, as the time-zone thing is real. (I think also Utah fans would take umbrage to being implied as soft, as an example) We did not toughen up; we were already physical, and simply blended in easily to win the conference. I see the scoring in the Big-10 is up already this year, and I would posit that the conference is adjusting to OREGON, and not the other way around.

Something I noticed at UCLA was a complete lack of pocket presence, and he stood flat-footed in the pocket, and thus between those two elements...got sacked easier. It appears he is not flat-footed in the pocket now, and I did not see any of the lack of pocket presence these last two weeks that I noted he had at UCLA. He might have felt quite a lot of pressure in Westwood to create something special, whereas the weapons he has here at Oregon would give anyone more confidence. In both Oregon games thus far, he has thrown the ball away when nothing was open, as opposed to forcing throws for the Bruins that created Pick-Sixes. As I ponder it...he looks completely different at Oregon than his UCLA days, IMHO.

I completely agree with this post; as quickness in a defender can be recruited and trained, but it can be slowed down by hesitation created from so MUCH preparation needed when facing Oregon. I am in the camp of running all the offense, but continue to add unseen elements out of the back of the playbook, as Helfrich did often as OC. Throw lots of stuff out there that requires defensive preparation, but pop new wrinkles on big 3rd downs.... Will our OC do that? This is a new element of entertainment to watch for in upcoming games. How much will be the same? How much will be new? You can score easily from tactical components, not just with raw talent, and we saw a ton of that last Saturday.

I sense that too, a much different approach than last year, where we, "did a slow-roll" of the offense as the season progressed. I believe he has made a tactical turn toward creating an expectation of scoring boatloads, using strategic formational and play variations to overwhelm an opposing DC in preparation. Then he pulls something else out not seen before... Perhaps they have embraced that this is the era of offense as you suggested, and thus need a high-powered offense to counter. Glad to see it, and glad to see all the entertaining permutations of plays off formations. Ha! You noted the Fly-Sweep from under center to Dak Moore zipping by....which resembles elements of the "Jet-Sweep" from the Shotgun under Taggart. I've seen more snaps under center in the first two games this year than entire seasons in the past, and I love it. (This might be part of following up on recruiting promises to prepare Oregon QBs for the NFL?) It seems that Stein has really upped his game, as has the rest of the team.

The depth at defensive back has been astonishing. They are all so fast, and hit hard whether they are veteran or a freshman. I actually think we have a touch faster reaction in the secondary this year, with more sure tackles in the first two games. If there is an injury--I feel much better about the backup coming in....since he is playing as much as the starter! Aaron Flowers, RS Freshman Safety

I lost all sympathy for them once they decided to steal 300 million from the departing 10 members... Phil did not join us until we went to the Rose Bowl and then the Cotton Bowl. We had to EARN his trust, as winners want to work with winners. Beavis has not earned it, has declined, and is worth much less now.

Perhaps a B1G championship showdown between our teams?

"Coach Gundy....12 new coaches are not enough."

Be prepared to see this often from a ton of fan bases...

Urban Meyer: "I haven't seen that in many, many years."

Speaking of blocking...

Agreed, but these are the games to get that experience...too bad he was not available.

Yes, I know it is a poor sample size, and we won't know for certain until we play Penn State...but both offense and defense....they seem tighter in performance than even last year. I had no complaints about last year, but it seems that blocking is a touch better, and tackling is 15% better. Many times first-downs were achieved on second effort on us by opposing RBs, but in the first two games--we see LBs and DBs closing fast, and maintaining the stop. I could not but help but wonder if anyone else observed this? Now THAT is a Running Lane! Photo by Scott Kelley

Because he can. It is easier for us old-farts to read, and everyone has the option up in the dashboard at the top of the post when you are creating it. This font size for a post is crazy-small, and will ultimately be increased.

Whew! This was close, as we won by a 66 point margin, (69-3) and two tied as the closest with a 50 point margin. Solar had 63-13, and VegasDuck had 59-9, so we had to go to the tiebreakers. The official stats show a tie between them with turnovers, but VegasDuck was closer with the sacks, and with the passing yards, thus VegasDuck is this week's winner! This is great fun, and it is nice to see so many get involved. Congrats to VegasDuck, and sorry to Solar, but his time is coming, I'm sure. Congrats!

Wowsa. Our Beloved Ducks moved up to No. 4 in this new AP Poll, thus the top four currently are three Big-10 schools? Whew! You will note some improvements, as the background photo that those on pad and desktop can see...is finally a photo from this year. The new platform did not transfer the prior customizations, and thus the web developer had to write new code, and it took a while. You will note that the posts are now numbered as before, and we need that for our Duck News Hunters, and our Moderators. More improvements are coming! (As long as the money holds out!) Peyton Woodard's Pick-Six!

We each can do that with the dashboard at the top of each post. The "T" with the up/down arrows, when clicked on gives you the option to increase the size of text that you have highlighted. It helps until we get the font size changed...

Yep, everybody can't wait to watch the games of the "New-World" Pac-12....