Mike West

Had the defense been just solid all year, we're talking 11-1 hands down. A playoff beth, and a shot at redemption at the team that showed OBD what it takes the be a contender, and a champion.

I feel your pain. And it always seems like we're always going to be on the cusp, only to be forsaken. Winning a Natty is harder than winning a Super Bowl in my eyes. Despite the hard landing, we did better than I expected after watching Georgia mop us up like the dirtiest of floors. Think of it like this, our defense was worst than the Oregon defenses of the seventies at times, and we still were lucky bounces away from reaching the playoffs. Every year is going to feel like this. Until we win a Natty. Then the angst and fear will start all over again (but it sure would be nice to have a Natty lol).

Who would you have picked? Not a slam question either. I really had no idea who would be interested enough to deal with the challenge Oregon truly is. We are a tweener program. Not blue blood like Tennessee or Penn State, but in their very position. Taken seriously by opponents, but blue bloods always expect to beat us. Tucked away in what seems like Alaska or Hawaii. Still slighted and threatened by the Fuskies. Who always loom as the team players may go to (besides USC) to keep us where we are. We always have talent, but building talented depth is what kills us. How many coaches want that problem, than say revitalizing the Fuskies, USC, Penn State or Tennessee? Look at this year's team. A talented bunch that has the ability, but just can't seem to muster the chops to be a blue blood. Finally, how many Phil Knight type boosters do we need to sustain this? Quite honesty, that is the biggest challenge the Oregon program faces. How many established coaches want to take up that challenge? So, I'm asking honestly and with as much respect as I can put on paper, what established coaches do you think would take on the Oregon challenge?

I thought the defense would be dramatically better. Someone asked last night if Mario should still be blamed for this year ( awesome question). I can't say yes totally, but the defense , which is mostly Mario's players, was so up and down ( completely a Mario trait) that I want to blame him. I thought the defense would be a huge plus this year. Isn't it awesome we don't get penalized financially for being wrong? LOL I did believe Nix would be much better with an OL and WR set. I was more impressed than I imagined. I expected this team to be a playoff contender. They were, then they weren't. Then they were. Then they weren't. I do wonder what would have happened if Nix waited oh so little longer before he took off for the first down/ end zone at the end of the Fusky game. I know people are frustrated about Lanning going for it on that fourth down miss. Does anyone really believe our defense would have stopped Oregon State after a punt instead? I certainly don't. I repeat my fuming post from a couple of weeks ago: I'd be pretty mad if I was an opponent on offense against OBD and I didn't have a career performance. That OBD held Utah to 17 points is a bloody miracle.

I don't. I just think Mario's stamp is so dominant that this team just chokes. This is like the Stanford games, and the Auburn game. It's like watching boxing versus MMA. Boxers go to their corner when their opponents go down. MMA fighters just pound their opponents when they fall down. Mario is a boxer that recruited boxers. Lanning needs time to rid this mentality completely. He is a killer. He just has regular soldiers instead of special forces. He brought some with him. I think the transfer portal really helped this team because I don't think the team Mario left behind has the mental makeup to win the games this team has won this year.

This is what I mean by lack of killer instinct. A twenty one point lead leads to penalties and bobbled punt snaps that lead to 14 quick points. Mario hexed his players so bad, they still make mistakes well after he is gone. I think if DL was their coach four year ago, the upset in Columbus would have been a rout (like Michigan has done twice). You can't make up stuff like this. It's purely mental. This game was over ten minutes ago. Now we'll see what OBD are made of.

I think execution of the play was the issue. In my eyes, Nix didn't sell the pass to make it a QB Draw instead of a run up the middle. The formation was familiar for a run on that play, but the safety stayed in the extended box, anticipating the run. A simple delay, look to his right at the three receivers on that side would have frozen the safety enough to maybe get the first down. We don't know when players will get injured. That was as much a fluke as Justin Herbert's against Cal( it didn't even look all ike Herbert got hurt on the play). The call was the flip side of success. If Nix converts or scores a TD, we wouldn't be having this conversation. All plays are fifty- fifty chances of success ( a tribute to that is when the defense KNOWS the play,but can't stop it).

It's the pattern I'm talking about. Utah should be done. But plays like that show up out of the blue, andow and behold, the team OBD should kill, gets back in the game. That kind of play changes momentum far too much. And it was constant in the Cristobal era.

I really don't think that fumble touchdown was on the coaches. There just seems to be a too many players from the Cristobal era that are mental mush when it comes to killer instinct. I have never seen so many unforced errors as I've seen since Cristobal came to Eugene. How many changes in momentum will we see with his players?

I'm not really concerned about the offense. How many points does Utah want to score? Frankly, without Bo, it's a matter of how much they want to humiliate OBD. Usually I am verbose beyond patience. But OBD haven't been good in pass coverage since 2019. And it's not the coaches. These players are simply horrible. If I were a WR, I'd be mad at my QB/DC if I didn't get career stats against OBD.

Well, it's really hard to win 24 in a row. Didn't think about that until the game started. But to lose to the FUSKIES really sucks. And after all this drama, it comes down to a PAC12 ref( you know, the conference of champions kind of ref). Oh I really want this conference to die. Too many times refs have cost us titles, and playoff appearances.

Too many DCs are struggling with coverage rules according to the type of formation they face. LB coverage as a support to the secondary is not values enough. That's one thing Kirby Smart has been excellent at. He does have the players, but he isn't afraid to be aggressive against aggressive offenses. His safeties close natural windows pre snap. His LBs almost always close gaps because they are in position according to guess ehat- coverage rules and responsibilities. Safeties and LBs are pivotal is forcing QBs to hold the ball. A QB should not have quick options. LBs and Safeties make that happen. If I had time, I'd go through a plethora of examples. In fact, I'd send them to coaches. Too many coaches misuse their LBs and Safeties in pass coverage . Boy if I got paid for showing how to do it (I obviously have thought a lot about this).

One thing I Like about Dilly is he takes his time uncovering weaknesses in defenses. He felt out how UW's DL pressured Nix, and has adjusted accordingly. We've always known we can run in teams (Georgia didn't stop us), but it's the adjustment against Hurries that I'm impressed with. Passes are quicker, deep routes are timed better (something Nix and Dilly CLEARLY have worked on-and to Nix's strength -inside the hashes). On defense, I still think Dorlus is more of a force inside. Especially at pash rush. And if course, Hill just covered the wrong WR when he's supposed to force the underneath pass (the route he covered instead of bracketing the post route). Who teaches these guys cover responsibility? Safeties always focus on deep routes first. ANOTHER example of looking at the QB instead of the guy you should find and cover. The focus is taking away options, not guessing where the QB will throw the ball. Man, I should have studied football in college. There should be a degree for this since coaches are making millions.

So, I've said time and again linebackers need to cover the man, not the QB. #2 Johnson just demonstrated my point. He goes to the flat to take away an out route. The TE slides inside and Penix hits him for a 1D. If Johnson finds the TE instead, he takes away that option. I am not pleased with DCs that don't emphasize taking away options by getting their LBs to cover receivers. Nobody can watch the QB and find the guy they are supposed to cover.

I just don't get it. Sans the LA schools, their well know brands, UW and Oregon are going to pull national interest to the degree Ohio State, Michigan AND USC does? And thus Garner media contracts worth nearly 1Billion dollars a year? Or let's say, 750 million dollars a year. This, after ESPN offered far less? Where is the additional 35 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR going to come from? Now if we were talking about the turn of the century, when the conference still prioritized football as part of it's academic reputation (and the conference routinely had five schools hovering near the top ten in rankings and ability), this conundrum would be a no brainer. But alas, the conference of champions in sports that cannot finance athletic budgets (nor the Academic prowess the conference presidents fancy themselves as), figures they are viable and worthy sports icons. Sounds like those participation trophies academia has been passing out the past two decades. In the real world, you EARN your worth. We will certainly see what the conference has earned in value soon enough.