Charles Fischer

My FishDuck Friends, I am always concerned each year with receiving media-photo credentials to the home games and the individual ones on the road. I just got notification that I will be able to have a Photographer representing FishDuck Sports Community on the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the opener against Georgia. And we will have outstanding photographer Tom Corno there shooting photos for us. Last year he got us epic photos at the Ohio State game, and I cannot tell you have relieved I am. Now comes the nerves associated with the rest of the season--as approval does not always happen. The growing number of larger media can crowd us out... This was basking, years ago with photo, media and parking passes.

I believe I wrote that this would be coming...and then the cutting of sports...(from the article) How will the Pac-12 members stay competitive? Said one North Division AD: “Like we always have. We’ll just have to spend a larger percentage of what we receive on football and men’s basketball. We’ll make a larger investment, percentage-wise. That’s what UCLA was going to have to do if it stayed in the conference. That’s what we’ll all do — go heavy in football — because that’s where the biggest returns will always be.” We'll have seven sports eventually IMHO....Football, M&W Basketball, M&W Track, and M&W Cross-Country from our current 19. The only way my beloved Baseball remains is if Pat Kilkenny is willing to donate vast amounts...

I believe he will bring a title to the Ducks eventually....and then he won't have anything left to prove in the college game. Oregon has never won one, and he will still do it with disadvantages compared to the perennial Playoff contenders. He will dazzle the college scene with scheme and coaching, and then head off the NFL to see how he matches up with the best minds of football, IMHO.

I don't know who is having more fun...Drex writing or the rest of us reading! That one joke..."That wasn’t Zone Read football. It was Don Read." Oh, that was so perfect, and the only thing wrong with it is that I did not think of it! Between this community and the writers/editors of FishDuck...we have good times ahead!

This transformation has been going on for sometime, and only now are most of the Oregon fanbase realizing it. But FishDuck readers knew! Lanning Love: "Football is Fun Again!" FISHDUCK.COM When you have been managing a couple Oregon football sites for a decade with hundreds of contacts among all the readers, writers, photographers...

More than I can possibly list...how can be not be highly entertained this year?

I want Critical Analysis here, where we are not suck-ups/cheerleaders, nor are we Eeyore at every turn. We have sloshed a lot of candy in the direction of the football team this summer and both DZC and I will be doing more. Often times writers will create a piece that I flinch at because I disagree, but I want those articles. They make us better, more informed fans, and you won't see them at other sites. We haven't been Eeyore this summer at FishDuck...not with only one article.

To WickedGreen, Duck Fan 76 and the forum: I want disagreement, as the discussion helps us all become better fans. But what I see above are two posts that could have transmitted the same disagreement without a "put-down" tone within it. We do not allow that here. Again--disagreement is great, but disparaging a writer or a fellow forum member in the process is not allowed. On this forum you state your opinion, your facts or your line of reasoning; that is it. We do not get snarky, sarcastic, or mock a writer or a fellow member of the OBD forum. Do not respond to this post. You will be contacted by email and you can discuss it with me there. It was important that the rest of the site know that those kind of posts are not cool here.

You know...I am embarrassed to write that I did not even consider of what the young women and men who "cheer" think about it. Since they are out there doing it, I imagine they would like the additional coverage and exposure (a pun!) to their work. In the end, while they probably don't feel objectified--the decision process for me is all about the good people of this community...which is why I am asking.

It is harder than you would think. One time, years ago I called one of our photographers that had been at an Oregon basketball game shooting pictures for us. I told him, "there is a stretch of pictures that I cannot possibly use!" "What were you doing taking those pictures and sending them along?" He responded with, "if they are going to stick their butts out in front of my face....I'm shooting them!" After we both howled with laughter did I realize that in a way...it was his rebellion to the overabundance of over-the-top suggestive dance moves. Point made! (And no, not only did we not use them...I deleted them so as to not even allow writers the option to use them!)

We used to have cheerleader photos often, because as a writer...inserting pictures is harder than you would think. (And nobody gives it a thought except for the writers who are trying to figure out what to populate their article with) Sometimes you just need a photo to break up all the paragraphs of text, but anything general about the Ducks, such as a category I call, "gameday atmosphere" which is where the cheerleader pictures fit. The cheerleaders are part of the Oregon Brand, and adding pictures of them adds to a "football atmosphere" in an article. That is why we used them...

You are very kind, but as an old-fart, I am trying to navigate this difficult new world of what is correct. And no, I do not want to get into a discussion about "woke-ness," but simply stating that it is harder these days to not offend.

What are your views about cheerleader photos returning to FishDuck.com? Should they or not, and why? (I especially would like to hear from the female readers) In 2022....Do Cheerleader Photos Inspire or Offend? FISHDUCK.COM I am not looking to start a discussion that could go political, nor do I wish to offend anyone on either side of this issue. However we implemented a ban on...

They do not have player specs on GoDucks.com, so it is hard to know. ChileDuck keeps up on who is trending, but it changes, and yes--there is "best-guess" involved at times. But it is good to see the players at the different spots.

ChileDuck has his Oregon Football Depth Chart brought up to date, and it is right here. He explains below: "The Fall depth chart is up to date with the addition of the 41 (!!!) new players added after spring camp. There are a total of 129 players on the roster including the roster presence of Spencer Webb (85 scholarship and 43 walk-ons) and a whooping 54 are new incoming athletes for the Ducks. With so many new players, the depth chart positions should not be taken very seriously. Again, just look at the players at each position but don't mind the order just yet." We have it permanently here in the forum; where it is located is below... On desktop or pad: Click on "Repository" at the top of the forum and below the logo, (Red arrow above) and then click on the "ChileDuck Depth Chart." (Green arrow above) For mobile--there are three lateral lines at the top of the forum, (upper left) and you touch them, then "Repository" and then "ChileDuck Depth Chart." Here is what it looks like... There is no forum that has directions as the Our Beloved Ducks forum does, and if you take a few minutes and click on "Directions" below the logo--you will learn how to do everything easily!

Looks like he has the beginnings of a "Swim" move and the "Dip-and-rip" move already!

He is a 3-Star with Rivals and had offers from Michigan, Texas, and USC...so another player with great upside. (And the in-state schools of Arizona and Arizona State)

From a poster on another site... "Watch his game tape. He is a penetrator and disrupter from the DT position. Less of a space hog and more of a guy who can make negative plays and pressure the QB from the middle. Very quick. Slippery. Doesn't stay blocked. I like this guy. I hate to make such a grandiose comparison--but he's got a little Aaron Donald in his game." https://www.hudl.com/profile/14467707/MyKeil-Gardner

Nobody has attacked you; you are giving the impression that you are offended because so many disagreed with you? (Join the club!) That should not be a problem as we are all in a minority opinion at times, and mine about Cristobal was one for a couple of years, and I truly did get attacked on other sites. We do not allow anyone to go after another OBD member on a personal basis, and I do not believe I saw that or any violations of the rules. And disagreement is what I want; I wish to see all opinions on all topics. This wise community has changed my views tons of times with perspectives I never considered. The end result is that we become better, more informed fans as a result. This article and the posts are a perfect example of that. And I appreciate your thoughts as always DC.

A while back, I went to a large Auburn site and asked them for their honest thoughts about Bo Nix. This is the final post with these responses from Tiger fans; some great perspectives! "He throws deep balls of his back foot often. Bad habit good QB coaching can help break. Same with him leaving the pocket too early at times. The kid has plenty of talent and is a hard nosed competitor and an above average athlete. He can get himself in trouble trying to force plays or trying to make something from nothing. He also needs to mature mentally and as a leader; he has had a few completely out of line blowups on the sidelines with his both his coaches and with teammates on more than one occasion." "Bo is as hard a competitor as I’ve seen in my 39 yrs following AU football. He played for better part of a half on a broken ankle. Kid is tough and as good an athlete as I’ve ever seen at QB in all my years. Like most QBs given time he’s pretty dang good. He really protects the football (56TDs—16ints) which leads to his leaving the pocket a bit too early. I think Oregon got one helluva a kid and QB. I’ll be watching the Ducks a lot this fall pulling for Bo and y’all. Best of Luck." "The other few points to remember about Bo Nix is that WR coaching has been severely lacking for years at Auburn and offensive line recruiting has been a problem as well, at least partially due to the unique blocking schemes of the previous coach, so you might want to consider those things along with the many comments above. Then, when Harsin came to town, he made a very poor choice for WR coach, and last year started off bad, got a little better, then got worse, and a lot of those WR's chose to take their ball and go home at the end of the year. How does that reflect on Nix? I don't know, but I suspect he will have better coached WR's and a more competitive OL to work with out on the left coast." "Outside of the game against Oregon, ironically, he never really showed he could lead the team down the field and score the ball to win the game. Locked up in the red zone. Couldn’t make the play or the throw to get it in. Also, he can’t hit a wide open receiver running down the sideline. Good luck with that one. As one poster said, he has the arm, doesn’t have the touch. I echo all the things said about his personality and work ethic. I just don’t think he has the “it” factor to get you to the next level. Hasn’t proved he can make the big time throws when you need him to." "Bo can do some amazing scrambling. Of course, he had a lot of practice running for his life." "Saw plenty of great designed plays where he simply didn't execute. Hit the wrong receiver, underthrew the wide open receiver, held the ball too long, etc. Lost a handful of games simply by his own bonehead-ed-ness." "Bo works better in an offense where he can create plays or turn bad plays into good ones. He is quite the competitor. However, he was terrible at audibles, but Gus only allowed a few that I know of. Bo is NOT a pocket passer. That requires a great since of timing and a great arm. Bo has neither so that is why he runs around a lot. He is not effective on deep outs or crossing routes. Frankly, I thought Seth Williams bailed him out a lot. He is more successful in throws down the seam or in the middle of the field. The TE in the old offense was non existent, but he can throw there. Sorry to say, but he isn’t the kind of leader that EVERYONE will respond to. He can be and is a very polarizing figure with his team and the fan base alike. He is loyal almost to a fault, but he has a very bad habit of pointing his fingers elsewhere when he is better off thinking it through and doing it quietly. Its almost like he does a lot of good but he gets in his own way. Also, when he is good, he can be really good. But if he starts out slow or tails off in the middle of a game, he can’t get it back. This is probably due to his emotions. I won’t say he is immature but he can channel that excess energy in a more positive direction to get better results. This is probably too wordy and TMI. I wish him well. He did a lot of good things for us. I don’t think he and Harsin completely saw eye to eye, therefore the transfer."

A while back, I went to a large Auburn site and asked them for their honest thoughts about Bo Nix. This is the second post with these responses from Tiger fans... "Bo Nix was a very athletic QB who could make plays with his legs and his arm in a lot of ad-lib situations in High School. He was a legacy at Auburn who had huge shoes to fill long before he stepped on campus. He made those shoes a little bigger when he made a few plays late in that game against you guys in 2019. After that, he was the victim of a High School veer offense and a coach who refused to change his scheme to match the strengths of his offense. He tries too hard many times to make the great play...maybe that was due to the pressure here. Hopefully he can settle down and make a great QB in the PNW." "Full of raw talent. Thinks he knows more than college coaches. If a coaching staff can get him to shut his mouth and listen and learn then he has a shot to be an NFL QB." "He is a better athlete than QB. Biggest problem is he is a mental midget. Really folds under pressure (backwards spike!) not a leader. But I think he will do great there. He will be a better athlete than anybody on defense in the PAC and can run around and make it all about him." "As your offensive line goes, will Bo Nix go..." "Bo's problem was zero offensive line. You have to bail early when there is no pocket to work behind. Since there no pocket to work in, there also was no run blocking either. When you know the line is not man enough to gain one yard, the trend is to do stupid things. Last year was obvious that there were more internal problems than anyone realized. Bo showed sparks of the Quarterback he could be. It's too bad we didn't have the ability to back that spark up with true talent." "I saw him 2 times in HS and said...if he relies on athleticism to make a big play in college it won't work. I then saw him do those things in college and they worked very rarely. I thought he should have been a zone read QB from day 1. He's a good to great runner at the spot..." "A lot of natural talent with very little development over his 3 seasons at Auburn. His style of play reminded me of my high school team's quarterback in 1980. A weak offensive line meant he spent most of his time running for his life and inevitably made some bad decisions in the process. Showed a unique ability to make something from nothing at times." "He tends to overthrow (gets excited I guess). Which means he has the arm, but not the touch. I suspect he has more potential than our coaching staff was able to develop, though. We'll see if that suspicion is correct this season." "I think he has the chance to do well at Oregon. "Maddeningly inconsistent" is how I would describe his play at Auburn. Looked great for stretches, then would disappear. If he could have played in the offense Gus ran 8+ years ago, he probably would have thrived. But for some reason, Gus got away from what made him successful." "His deep balls were inconsistent. He often (from my memory) overthrew some open receivers deep. I think that ties into his emotional state when playing. He is not a calm and cool type of QB."

A while back, I went to a large Auburn site and asked them for their honest thoughts about Bo Nix. This is the first of many posts showing their comments... "Needed a better QB coach at AU. Great athleticism. Really good runner. Good speed. Decision making might be suspect. Pretty good arm. Left the pocket too quick, imo. Don't know the reason for that, but it happened. I lay the blame on lack of quality QB coaching." "On a team of athletes (like Oregon), he'll be one of your best." "Bo nix is great for 3 or 4 plays. Then he's going to make a stupid play that makes you go "Why would he do that?". Just hope the 3-4 good plays are enough to overcome running backwards 20 yards before being sacked." "57 TDs in 3 years and 16ints plus 4 fumbles. I’d say the good plays outweighed the “stupid” ones but everyone has their own opinion." "Most of his picks were just bad decisions, don’t recall many being off of deflections but plenty were rushed. He should continue to be one of the better rushing QBs but haven’t seen him since the injury." "Nix is one of those quarterbacks who is horrible under pressure, but when given some time by his offensive line he will produce as soon as he learns to calm down and go through his progressions." "My impression of Nix at Auburn is that he was able to get by in high school by sheer athleticism and he was successful in forcing things to happen. He never learned at the college level that athleticism only goes so far (because you are surrounded by superior athletes) and that forcing things to happen at that level often has disastrous consequences. He won some games that way in spectacular heroic fashion, but more often than not he created disasters forcing plays. He's got tools and he's got heart. If they can teach him teamwork and break him of trying to do it all himself he'll be a standout." "For one year in a new environment, especially with a program like Oregon—-a great opportunity. At AU he was High risk and high reward. Lots of heart but not necessarily a leader. His maverick side will win you games you don’t expect and lose you possessions you didn’t see coming. Had great moments at AU based on his athleticism. His overall body of work will forever be overshadowed by the perceived descent of his head coach. All QBs are under a microscope- Bo Nix was more so than most. In a new environment without the legacy pressure and all that he could lock in and really thrive." "Bo Nix was headed to State Farm Insurance once his days on the Plains were over. He made the best decision for himself, and moving to Oregon is an opportunity to get new perspective and perhaps put himself in position to be viewed as an NFL QB. Staying at Auburn, that wasn't going to happen. Oregon could possibly play themselves into the playoffs if Bo plays at his best. Oregon will give Georgia a run early but don't have the athleticism to play 4 qtrs against the SEC's finest. From there the media will fall in love with Oregon and their schedule plays out well to win 9 in a row or so. Bo will throw for 400 against E. Washington and some west coast bloggers will be drooling all over themselves to promote the former SEC kid as a Heisman front runner. The biggest questions are these. 1.) Will Bo win the locker room, and will he keep it through wins and losses or will he begin to blame those around him? (Remember this move out west was all about Bo). 2.) Will Bo, now married, alienate himself from the other leaders on the team? 3.) More of a statement than a question, I've always felt that is if Bo Nix's name was Johnny Morris, he would have been at NC State. Best of luck."

My friends, I told you DazeNconfused was going to bring you football, but not always what we want to read, but what we need to read. I did not like reading the facts at all, but I am grateful to have the information, and thus have more realistic expectations going into the season. This is an outstanding article, as the research and presentation has not been published anywhere like this. DZNC does critical analysis, and I am thankful for it. I also believe this is going to tell us a ton about how Dillingham is as a QB coach; the potential is there--can Dilly bring it to the surface?

Perhaps you missed the part in the article where DZC explained how it was Chad Morris who visited Oregon and installed the Oregon Spread at Clemson and began their Natty runs.