Charles Fischer

Jester wrote: "Let’s be the smart fanbase (confident we will be) that doesn’t rush to judgment after a few games." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Actually I came to a judgment of the Mario Cristobal offense after just his first three games into his four year stint. And, as everyone knows-it was quite accurate. We need to refrain from telling other fans how to think or react…as they just might be right. (And we want to encourage all opinions in this forum to be expressed)

How about a link?

Can he fail? Sure, but the probabilities are quite low, IMHO. I have gathering a ton of information about the Georgia defense for upcoming analysis articles, and a national podcast for coaches interviewed him that went deep into Xs and Os. The fellow had known Lanning and interviewed him while at Georgia, and does such interviews nationally. He went on-and-on about how this is the best staff he has ever seen a new coach assemble. Thus while Chip Kelly has a so-so staff at UCLA, Lanning has created something special--thus why I am convinced of long term success. Well, that and he is even more cerebral than Helfrich, yet has the outgoing personality like Taggart/Cristobal for recruiting that is needed. He seems to have it all....

Saturday GameDays are special enough, but now we will have the anticipation of Saturday mornings to read Alan's Saturday Spoofs! They will make the season that much more fun, and we are all grateful he is sharing his skills with us. Truly an epic article today, and one emotion I did not anticipate coming from an article from Alan is anger. He tapped into our feelings superbly about the Trojans, explained them as so few could. Thank you Alan.

You know the drill…

I think he should have gone the other direction and become a 4i defensive end in this defense, and he could become another Brandon Dorlus. I will get into these positions next week...

They are already talking about "Conference Semi-Final" games before a conference championship, as I guess the TV revenue would go through the roof.

We feel the same about "y'all," (and that is the first time I've ever written that!) and would ask you to send any other Oregon fans you run into to this forum. We have something very special here, but not enough Oregon fans know about it, and I do not have the budget for marketing and advertising. And Georgia fans...let's enjoy this next week together going into the game!

In the end....we want to sit at the "Adults" dining table at Thanksgiving, and not at the card table for kids. I think this is probably the basis of Phil's feelings?

I think then the coaches would be dealing with an inferno of questions from the media. From my point of view, learning the starters on gameday instead of before adds a lot of stress and analysis time during and immediately after a game. (I imagine that might be true for others in the media as well) I especially would like to know the starters on defense, as that tells me a lot about how Lanning is going to run his defense. And that is why when Lanning is asked....

Just a little take-off from the Twilight Zone. Things in the forum went funky over the last half hour, and once things get loaded back up in your computer--it should now be back to normal. We have conflicts going on within the different software platforms that we are attempting to make "play-nice" together. We have the original forum software with an absolute ton of modifications I've had made over the last 11 months, the moderation software overlaid the forum, and then the advertising software. First we had to test while all the necessary parties were available to find out the issues. Then screenshots and notes were taken and sent to the engineers to figure it out... So thanks for your patience!

OK...I have to get to work, but my mind is pondering all of the secrecy stuff, and then I starting thinking about many of the key players on the team, and the profiles that the new defense requires that I've learned about and will cover in next Thursday's analysis. The "Jack" position requires an almost freak athlete, and it is hard to get the right one. This player who is either on the LOS or on a slight overhang off the LOS must be able to set the edge, but also be superb in pass coverage as he will be called upon to cover the short-flat for a Cover Two in some defensive play-calls, or the hook area when an ILB blitzes. And yet he has to be a superb pass-rusher as well for many blitzes. DJ Johnson would be great at setting the edge, and pass-rushing. Coverage? I don't think so... Bradyn Swinson is superb at pass-rushing and has the speed for pass coverage. But setting the edge? Not so much yet... Mase Funa is the best at setting the edge, but he is barely adequate at pass-rushing compared to the two above. As for pass coverage? Forget about it. In this new defense, I think Funa is now the wrong body-type, and should be a defensive end, not an edge or "Jack," as many might have thought. He needs to bulk up to play inside, (in this defense--a DE plays inside the box) but instead he lost weight. I think he might be mis-cast at Jack? Or does Coach Lupoi have a surprise there? (Sorry, but I like to ponder!) Mase Funa

What gives me comfort is how the middle three of our offensive line are highly acclaimed and seniors. But that guy is good...

From another thread... shawnski asked...."Do you really think the defending Champs, from the SEC, playing on the home turf, are really concerned who Oregon's safety or db's are going to be?" Yep. I've spent quite a few hours prepping on the Georgia defense, and frankly have a long ways to go yet. There has been quite a transition on defense the last couple of years, and Smart began a change on the Georgia defense from lining up in reference to the boundary/field versus the formation strength. In fact the Mint defense at Georgia was a change from how Alabama does it, although the 'Tide made the change as well. Do you line up the Star position toward the passing strength, or to all the space of the field that can be exploited? It does make a difference in how offenses can attack defenses by understanding their alignment calls. But with all of that....not announcing starting lineups going into the first game of the year is....

Yep. I've spent quite a few hours prepping on the Georgia defense, and frankly have a long ways to go yet. There has been quite a transition on defense the last couple of years, and Smart began a change on the Georgia defense from lining up in reference to the boundary/field versus the formation strength. In fact the Mint defense at Georgia was a change from how Alabama does it, although the 'Tide made the change as well. Do you line up the Star position toward the passing strength, or to all the space of the field that can be exploited? It does make a difference in how offenses can attack defenses by understanding their alignment calls. But with all of that....not announcing starting lineups going into the first game of the year is....

Franklin/Thornton, or Cota/Chapman? I can make a strong case for both groups, but my gut says “newbies.” The vets come in for third and long because Cota makes the tough catch, and Chapman is fricken 6’6”! But it is the young-guns I want stretching the field…but talk me out of it? Caleb Chapman at A&M

Good gosh, some superb strength and skills there! (From the FishDuck Feed)

I am spitballing here as to why....Dan Lanning and Kirby Smart know each other well, and if Oregon is planning to surprise the Bulldogs--disclosing the positions up front would help Georgia's preparation. Are you starting a fifth defensive back? Or not? That tells them about the new defense, and the profile of player you put in that spot tells Coach Smart a ton as well. I understand the chess game, but it sure makes covering the team more difficult...and I think this is over-the-top.

Be sure to enjoy the incredible collection of articles curated for the FishDuck Feed, and I sure thank NJDuck for joining the team and killing-it. Below is crazy, and never been done at Oregon...ever.

Quite the preliminary discussion! While they had input into the tweet thread....I cannot get excited about any of them. Yet I know we probably need to join if I want my Beloved Baseball to survive... Your thoughts?

Amen Alex, as I agree completely. We have the talent, and our upside is only limited by the coaching and the willingness to go-for-it, and achieve our potential. No half-measures please!

The FishDuck Feed is the third leg of the FishDuck Oregon Sports Community within two free websites. To learn more about all three parts, read right here about them and the story of this unique community of Oregon fans. About the FishDuck Feed: Look for the Green Pinned Topic at the top of the forum, as that will be the day's Oregon Sports News and Articles, the FishDuck Feed. Can you help? Join our team of Duck News Hunters as anyone who wants to post an article is welcome to, but please do it in the reply posts below this first post. Just pop the URL of the article in the reply post and the article box should appear; if it does not...make sure there is a space above the pasted URL in the post. Please everyone...do not post any thoughts or responses about the articles in this thread as they will be deleted. We do not have room in this thread for all the articles, and the discussion that would ensue for many of the articles. We want discussion, but copy the URL of the article you want to discuss and start a new thread in the main forum area below. It only takes a minute to copy the URL of the article and paste it into a new thread, place a good title on it and put your thoughts in your post. (I've been told that people won't take the time to do that, but this is a very special community; do your part!)

If you look at the two articles in this thread, the disparity between the "Big-2" conferences versus the rest is going to be so large that Oregon really only has two choices, IMHO. Get into the B1G and be more relevant within the "Big-2" conferences, or stay in the Pac-12 and accept that you must cut most sports later. Oregon will need to spend the same amount on football as the big-boys, thus coming from a smaller revenue pie--sports will have to be cut, in my view. (19 to 7 sports eventually is my prediction if we stay in the Pac-12) So, for me to continue to watch Our Beloved Diamond Ducks...I have to root for an invitation to the B1G and be the final straw that breaks the Pac-12 back. I am not wild about either choice, but the old days are not coming back.

This is another superb article in the FishDuck Feed, and lays out all the variables that show how Oregon is a "no-brainer" to be invited to the B1G. I sure suggest both articles. Where Should The Big Ten Expand Next? We Crunched The Numbers. | FiveThirtyEight FIVETHIRTYEIGHT.COM Which schools should the Big Ten poach next?

This is very good information, and it shows again how being in the Pac-12 is really going to cost us vs. "The Big-2." Canzano: Geeking out on the media value of Pac-12 schools WWW.JOHNCANZANO.COM What are the members really worth? Good gosh....32 million a year now versus the 72 million B1G members will get? And in seven years the B1G members will get 100 million? This is stuff Oregon fans need to know...