Mike West

Well!!! I gladly stand corrected. The defense is clearly taking care of Business. I can gladly retire from bad mouthing the safety unit

I believe the OBD Defense matter more in this game. I am astounded at the performance gap in comparison to the talent on the field. I believe the safeties (both of whom I'd provide splinters to instead of making them ride the bench-so they can stand up instead of sit down during the game) are horrible. I'm talking about Hill and Stephens. I, Fifty nine year old Mike West, feel more comfortable running in slow motion (in comparison to the players at their age) than trusting both of these safeties. My knees hurt, my hips hurt, and I STILL feel I can cover better than both of them. They don't recognize what WRs to ignore in coverage, when to shut down the tight ends, when to shut down those crazy crossing patterns teams feast on now (you know, the ones where two TEs run down and in routes and a WR trails behind one of them as a safety valve). They, unlike Georgia, sit twenty yards off the line of scrimmage to start plays. Can't cover a ten yard seam route from there, can't catch a WR on the other side of the field if he catches even a post route. I could sit at twelve yards off the LOS and shut down both. Just standing still (now I wouldn't be able to support a corner on a fade route, but he'd know that-and that is the point- force the QB to chose other routes on my side of the field). They don't tell the LBs what to cover based in formation. I've seen formations run by opponents that bug me because I know the Safeties don't know how to shut them down. That is why Bo Nix will not be a factor in this game unless those two players stop playing as if they don't even exist on the field. This success of this team hinges on pass coverage. For the rest of the year. I didn't like what I saw in the Eastern Washington game. We need new safeties. Any volunteers?

BYU 34-23 1 TO 0 sacks 250 passing yards

I don't think this is going to be up to Bo. BYU looks better. Film doesn't lie. I think BYU wins this game. ( sometimes I even surprise myself, in January there was no way I'd even consider Oregon losing, but I watched closely last Saturday. We look disoriented- even scoring 70 points).

I want to see a huge improvement in play at the safety position. They are my biggest concern. They made the LBs and CBs look really bad. If they have to start 20 yards behind the LOS they need to be replaced. We witnessed 100 mph safety play from Georgia. I'm seeing 80 mph play from our safety group. And they line up out of position and they read poorly. A safety is supposed to quickly asses if they have to cover a fade,post or corner route. They are then to shut down the seam if the area they cover is "clear" ( in other words those routes are not a threat). Same for the dig route (as secondary responsibility). TEs get open because OCs design plays to clear them out of the seam area they (safeties) naturally start from. If they sit on the seam route, they can cover pass and run lanes easily. Most especially if they have track speed. Our two most recent safeties (both NFL employees) we're excellent at reading pass schemes and closing to cover them quickly. Both of our current safeties have not learned to for three years now. I thought Bennett Williams had learned that role well. But he isn't playing in that spot anymore. I believe that is a mistake. Heck I want to suit up now. At least there would be a reason for looking so bad (and I'd get to play RLOL). Oh yeah, 72 points means the Ducks are expected to score 44 to 48 points. They better. Or we have a serious problem on our hands.

Let me tell you why I believe he threw that pass. I noticed Georgia sat on that seam route ALL DAY. This play was in the third series, and if you remember the first interception they weren't sitting in the seam route (yet). The safeties stopped moving backwards because they knew they could handle Oregon's speed by that time in the game. Secondly, OUR SAFETIES NEVER SIT ON SEAM ROUTES. This goes for practice as well. So "no Bo" never sees that (especially in practice). That pass is a timing throw. It requires releasing his throw a step before the TE or WR reaches the guy that is covering him. That is why Nix threw that pass so quickly. He hadn't seen a time in the game when the safety sat on that seam. Now here is another aspect to the whole thing. That safety knew to sit on the seam BASED ON OUR FORMATION and the type of play that formation naturally exploits. I don't have time to show it on film, but if you noticed, the defense didn't bite on the fake bubble screen. That's because they close extremely well. They know they can shut that down. So Georgia basically took away the next option on that kind of play: the seam. They probably knew it was coming based on film study. Now get this. In practice - and especially after watching our safety play all game, our safeties leave a ten yard hole on that play. Nix practiced against that all week. He was mentally drilled into thinking that open space would be there. Georgia is coached to adapt "in game". They already took away the deep outside pass at that point of the game. They started to squeeze natural open windows closed. Dilly hadn't recognized that yet. Neither did Nix. Dilly ( thus Nix) played right into that "trap". There are other aspects of Bo's game that are frustrating. But it is very clear to me " the rookies" as I call them aren't advanced enough to make the kind of adjustments Nix can. And if Nix develops a more keen sense of seeing the whole field, and stays patient enough to find his receivers by sequence he will flourish like the other two can't yet. TT and JB clearly don't execute like Nix does. It's been two years and two supposedly less talented QBs. Both coaching staffs feel that way. One last thing: our OL will protect him better than Auburn did. He needs to recognize that and stay patient. I hope everyone gets used to the fact Bo is simply better than his backups.

They are. It's already out there to most football experts. If either were as good as Nix they would have played yesterday. Two years running is a statement, not an opinion.

Somebody well versed in football said it. TT didn't see the game for a reason. He is simply not good enough to beat an "average" QB. It is truly that simple. Bo Nix needs to recognize his limits. He is forcing things he doesn't need to force. The play calling was excellent. Bo needs to see the whole field. I don't think he studies it. I think he makes snap decisions. Fortunately this IS coachable. Bo should reach out to Anthony Brown. Learn a few things. Bo seems to want to make the highlight reels. In my opinion you can score all day in Georgia, but they make you take your damn time to the point it is boring. Especially if you don't have the talent they have. I've studied them all summer. They take away all the natural gummies and offense can exploit. They are extremely fast closers of space. Their pursuit is unrivaled, and a good portion of that is coached. It's easier with that kind of talent. Back to Bo: he gets way ahead of himself. Against any team, a QB has to see it all, not just what he wants. That is Bo's problem. He is trigger anxious. But his sense of timing is flawless. What I believe he needs to do is map out the entire field, then assess what's really open, and what's next. Just my thoughts. If I get the time, I will spell out what I mean on film. It's already out there on Nix. I'd hammer that concept into his head because I see upside to his game I'f he'd become more of a student in that aspect.

First the original question: woodshed loss to the standard is good because you know how much work you have to do. If you've got any winner mentality in you'll want to eventually inflict that much pain on your opponents sometimes this season. As far as the lineman: we ran the ball well Saturday - so I'm am surprisingly please with the OL. Also NO SACKS. I am disappointed with the DL, especially because they were so undisciplined. They committed the most serious error as far as I'm in concerned: they did not set the edge. Obviously, they are not Bama or Georgia caliber. They did handle the running game well enough. No pass rush. No nastiness on in that group...yet The secondary was a disaster. For the life of me, you cannot make plays thirty yards down field. A wide out is either going to beat you on a fade or a post. You can't be that slow to run thirty yards past the LOS to cover those two routes. But back to the lineman, they don't bother me. This game proved the team doesn't have the mental aspect of the game down to play to their skill level. They are talented enough to annihilate every damn team they face from this point on, most especially BYU and Utah. They have two weeks to develop the mental aspect to beat up BYU. Most of you will disagree with my opinion. But remember they beat tOSU in their house, undermanned. Utah obviously didn't do that, and BYU will never do that. We did. And it's not just because we already have, it's "why haven't we play to our level of talent the past five games"? It's mental. These kids need to get their mental aspect correct. They're trying too hard. They're thinking too much. They're doubting themselves too much. This is a Zen thing right now. I truly believe that.

One of the most astute comments made this weekend. There are many moving parts in this battle to unwind Mario and install Lanning and company. There are many skill sets the players must learn (for instance in my opinion Nix is milea ahead of TT and JB, but all three must drastically improve execution according to their respective skillets as all three can really play this game-my opinion there). I actually liked what I saw of the offense. The lineman ARE that good (but not NFL good). Nix IS crisp, but he just does not stay patient and let the game come to him. TT DOES need to learn timing and be more accurate (same with JB). I believe Lanning stared it accurately, the players now see what NFL good is. They all have skillets that can develop into top notch COLLEGE GOOD. The players must Matrix their way into developing their skills because most of the work is MENTAL. I don't think the players get that yet. They are physically talented enough to play very, very well. They are not mentally developed enough to execute consistently. That is essential BECAUSE they don't possess the caliber of talent Georgia and Alabama have (they actually are about as good as Ohio State frankly, but Ohio State has the mental edge). Whittingham has his players there. I believe Lanning is along those lines as a coach. He gets it. And I believe he is going to eventually get there. I think the players believe their physical talent combined with strategy is all it takes. Championship caliber takes more effort than one really knows till they see it (like they saw Saturday).

Completely disagree. And Lanning will have to be successful here before he can leave. As far as Utah... They lost to tOSU, whom we beat, and if we had an aggressive coach, we would have beat handily. Had our head in the sand former coach been effective, we would have put the Utes' head on a platter. Anthony Brown proved that, McClendon ( I think that's his name) proved that. We aren't SEC ready. That's all. UGA and Bama are a class ahead of SEC ready. If Lanning can recruit like Belotti did, he'll be fine. Bellotti had to recruit to match Pete Carroll, and he brought NFL sized guys to the table. That's the task. Enough bubbas to handle the trenches, but the skill guys in to both backfields must be even better than Helfrich's 2015 running backs . The WRs and DBs gotta get bigger that 200. No more thin pancakes. Waffle thick, Bullet train big and fast. It's time to recruit an NFL archetype. Forget four star mid sized sedans. They can't handle Mack Trucks. That's why we got our heads handed to us. Mini Me doesn't cut it. And no Utah didn't out muscle us, they outnumbered us. I've got tape to prove it( and even Auburn did that to Georgia last year, so I really can prove it).

I respectfully disagree. He makes better decisions, and I loathe the thought of either "rookie" as I call them running the show against that type of team. I didn't like the play calls. Especially with the safeties sitting in natural "windows". It forced us into a much "shorter" field. Bo doesn't seem to be patient enough to drive the field over 12-18 plays, which is what that defense forced. The rookies absolutely cannot handle the concepts that defense used, and heck, they aren't exactly tearing up our "vulnerable " defense either. So in my opinion, Nix is decades ahead of them. They should have played yesterday, but they would have been embarrassed (and it might have shook their confidence). Bo displayed a better sense of timing than I've seen out of him to date. He also needs to grasp dealing with safeties taking away the seams, posts and dig routes, but he understood how fast he needed to release the ball. The rookies aren't even close to that level yet. Just my opinion of course.

Got to watch the game (stopped at 2nd INT). I concur. Players are way better. Especially the safeties, who in my opinion were the key to shutting down our passing game. They SIT at ten yards (while ours are practically 30 yards from the LOS). Their safeties make plays. Ours don't. Not even close. We did play into their scheme (they took away lots of routes using those safeties, and both safeties are fast enough to cover ground as good as their LBs). Their safety play was huge. Their TEs are a major force (and our safeties we're not effective or "in the game"meaning they either aren't taught well, or they don't understand coverage concepts - they were out of position ALL DAY). They are bigger and better, and coaching is part of that, but those dudes are NFL size. Our sides are college size.

And who cares who the QB is. I want that one mean too. Unafraid to make mistakes. Laser quick response, and unrestrained. I saw desperation today. From what I'm gathering, Nix has more moxie than "the rookies"(my new nickname for TT and JB). Somebody better step up in that room and "be a dog". It's lacking, and the team is right there with them..

I need to see this beatdown-I don't believe OBD are that bad. I see some mental issues here. As in "I'm going to learn how to kick your ass the football way" mental. Pardon the French. My thought today was if we get our butt kicked, UGA players should be sore all next week. I didn't see that kind of mentality out there. I did t see Mack Truck effort (and forget tackling mechanics, I didn't see full speed pursuit, or full speed movement in a dangerous looking fashion). You know, green light no matter the result, so to speak. They looked timid. And that was just the highlights I saw. I feel like making these players run full speed through paper walls, then polyester walls, until they are ready to run through brick walls. That's what UGA looked like today. An athletic Mack truck. I'll take a mini me truck for now, but I want that mack truck mentality first. Then worry about execution. Have I said I like dobermans, pit bulls, and German Shepherds? I need a few good dogs on OBD. They have enough talent as far as I'm concerned. I want to see mean and nasty effort right now. I want to see them drop a seven hundred giga ton bomb on EWU. Like our 2019 team did after losing to Auburn. If I see that, I'm not worried about this team.

UGA 33 OBD 17 I hope I'm seriously wrong.

I saw disappointment in his posture. He seems like a straight shooter and he expected a better performance. What I do like is he isn't a quitter. You can see the determination all over his demeanor. This team is going to improve week to week. But they're not ready for an elite team like Georgia yet. Lanning clearly sees that, and I'm sure we all know why. Cristobal did not develop his talented team. Physically, mentally, nor tactically. These kids are finally learning the game of football. Not just skill sets, but the game itself. I watched a lot of interviews today, and I gleamed the players believe in their talent, but they weren't led to maximize it. They don't just repeat Mario's mantra of physicality like they did last year. They talk about the game, chemistry, and they look as loose as they did before the Ohio State game. The coaches speak of accountability, especially when it concerns rising to the task of becoming elite. That's not what they say, but it's what both the players and coaches emit energetically. I can tell they are evolving into what they expected to be with Mario. Tactically, I'm hoping they recognize what they are now, so they can play within themselves against Georgia. It sounds like they are pressing to be elite before they grow into an elite team (hence the mistakes). I wish I could say all this succinctly. But it's difficult for me to explain without going into details. What I saw today from Lanning's interview is the players are doing everything they can to "catch up" to their actual talent level. For the first time, they're recognizing they have to play harder than they ever thought they could. That elite is a habit they didn't know they didn't have. And now they're pressing to get there yesterday. I believe they'll get there. The coaches demand it. And the coaches are realistic. I see the coaches expressing urgency and demonstrating patience. We're going to have to do the same. This team is going to be really good by the end of the year. They want it...bad. But they're going to have to go through the same process Kirby Smart went through. That takes time. They're not there yet. That sucks. But man do I see massive upside coming this year.

We're hoping for elite. As in Bryce Young and CJ Stroud elite. Butterfield and TT couldn't beat out AB or Nix. Hence we aren't going to get that from them now, or possibly never. I don't think TT or Butterfield would have led OBD to victory in Columbus. I just don't. I think Nix would have won by double digits. I'm probably wrong. What I have seen of Nix is defenses create Havoc, and he presses. It happened in the Spring Game. Outside of that, he shreds teams. Especially mediocre teams. I'm not sure TT or JB can do that yet. In my opinion, Nix hits the passes AB misses in both Utah games and we have a better shot of winning both. Not to mention I think AB would have had a more open offense with Dillingham (much like the Ohio State game). Again, I'm probably wrong. But we're going to find out because TT and JB are not Stroud or Young. Nix is closer to both, and now he gets a unit he can use(and like Brown, he is much better throwing while moving by design instead of under duress - like our Heisman man Mariota). If I'm Dillingham and Lanning, I play to those strengths. Hopefully we see massive improvement from "the rookies". I just don't see an upgrade from them that lends me to believe they're worth the risk. One last thing. Auburn never really opened their offense up while Nix was there. In my opinion, ALWAYS attack SEC DBs. I think they're average, and their respective front seven groups mask that.

I say absolutely not. One: We saw a huge difference this spring between Nix and " the rookies". Two: Butterfield seems more suited to handle UGA, but neither he nor TT look PAC12 ready, much less facing the defending Natty king ready. I just don't think the "kids" look like the starting QBs around the country their age. And I mean the P5 group. They're just not ready yet. Nix on the other hand, does. Is he Bryce Young material? No. But he has defeated an Alabama team that started a guy that leads the Patriots right now. Bo Nix is a cut above. And he's proven it on the field already. Don't let Auburn fans or SEC fans fool you. Nix is a very solid QB.

I've been thinking about this a bit. Yes, I think the conference Presidents dropped the ball. But football out West hasn't been excellent for two decades ( since Aaron Rodgers was at Cal). When Pete Carroll dominated the nation, even OBD we're a notch below ( and we had done very good talent at the time). So in essence, we haven't been a good football product out West for far too long. Combine that with a fan base - consisting of a huge portion of the country- far more interested in multiple alternative forms of entertainment - you have a perfect storm scenario that may explain why we're considered "irrelevant". People flock to excellence. West Coast football has not been competitive enough to compel West Coast fans to drop other forms of entertainment. And it doesn't snow in November out West except in the Mountain West ( not to mention NASCAR doesn't run their circuit all year, or in direct competition to cfb). Skiing and mountain climbing is popular out West. If Colorado sucks, fans aren't going to tune into ANY matchup unless they are football fanatics ( we remember those days, right?). West Coast people aren't bred to be football fans. There aren't enough WSU or OSU to pick up any slack, the Bay Area and Southern Cal have so much to do, and frankly, it's beautiful scenery and a prime vacation spot for even the residents of that state. 50 million people in three states have plenty of attraction outside of football on Saturday. Another 20 million in our conference footprint have the same. Counter that with a region that didn't even flinch when a pandemic hit our shores. There was absolutely no doubt football was on every Southern itinerary in 2020. And this was in May that year. Kevin Warren ( you know, our new snake), was heavily criticized for even contemplating cancelling football that year. Football isn't a priority out West. It's a disadvantage easy to exploit. I imagine most people out West won't even care the PAC12 disolves. They don't care about the conference now. I believe there simply aren't enough football fans out West to make a difference. Football costs nearly three hundred dollars to enjoy at Autzen. It's practically an all day event. Heck, I haven't been to multiple football games in one year since West Coast football was relevant. I love watching it in TV too much (and I don't have to endure the craziness it has always been when we get around 60,000 people). That's the backdrop here. Football isn't "must have" in our neck of the woods. Unless we become football zombies out West, we're apocalypse fodder for the football powers that be. I talk too much. But reading the astute observations on this lovely forum has stirred my brain to provide some perspective I hadn't thought of for awhile.

I'm a cfb fan through and through. I DO watch morning matchups. And yes, even though I despise the SEC hype, I watch those games. So yes, I will watch USC at Indiana. And I believe so will half the country. Now I do believe the SEC is playing this game smarter the the BIG10. But frankly, I see SEC fans watching the BIG10 very closely once the new formula starts Why? SEC fans are football fans. They will want to know who they are facing in the playoffs. So they will definitely pay attention to the BIG. And no doubt vice versa. We are stuck in no man's land BECAUSE we won't watch the rest of the conference games. Nor our own conference unless it's our team, or it's a damn good matchup. Who honestly watches Arizona State at WSU here? And given both teams are marginal, do you think the rest of the country cares either? Even at 3:30 EST? But I'm guessing until USC is out of the running, half the country will watch USC at Indiana just about any time of day. That's the disadvantage living in the West with far more to do than the rest of the country does for us. That's what I believe we are ignoring here. College fans are regionally centric. But East of the Rockies, they are football fans. I looked at the summary of what the BIG is doing. They will feature Wisconsin, Iowa, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, USC, Ohio State all year. When Indiana, Purdue and the also ran teams have good records, they'll be featured too. If Arizona is 4-0, the nation won't care till they play Utah, Oregon or Washington ( and only if the three also have good records). Why? We don't have football tradition like the rest of the country. Even the BIG10 has that in Indiana, Iowa and Illinois. Who is going to follow Utah this year before we face them? Cal? That isn't the case back East. Avid West Coast football fans will watch teams in the South and Midwest. Maybe more so than in our own backyard ( it's just better football at this point as well). TV execs know this. And the BIG10 , at least in my eyes definitely was looking to expand West beyond the LA market. And now, it's in their contract. I do believe SEC fans will watch Oregon at Penn State at noon Eastern. And I believe the BIG10 knows this. They certainly will watch UCLA at Penn State ( even though the Bruins haven't be relevant nationally since the eighties). That's what I believe we don't get collectively. Despite all this disruption, bigger budgets are going to produce better football. And college fans are going to watch it, especially if the playoffs expand. I think the players get it too. They realize they will face more scrutiny, and will be expected to perform at a much higher level. Because they are getting paid to. Do I want an eighteen year old hot dog like an NFL player? No. And fans will express that far more in this new era. Kids won't get to say they're kids anymore. Just like when we complain at McDonald's when they mess up our order. Now I've ranted for far too long. But the change we all hate is driven by some serious interest in college football in my opinion. I don't see as much attendance in the stadium, but I think we will see millions of eyeballs on a better product soon. And that product is going to look better than most think at present. Just my thoughts.

Big boy football starts by covering guys instead of looking at the QB on pass plays. One interception. In the conference title game at that. But the number of explosive plays because TEs virtually walked past linebackers was frustrating. Our middle backers are as fast as all three of those TEs. And if you watched George last year, even their outside linebackers closed on any pass catcher swiftly. Why? Because nobody got behind those backers like we saw routinely from OBD. And don't let me start talking about regular defensive formations inside our five yard line lining up against a goal line formation. Five TDs attributed to that one flaw. Utah didn't beat us, we didn't come to play and we surely gave them number advantages a G5 team could practically exploit. They don't do that in the SEC. I'll tell you that right now. Glad we have an SEC coach leading us.

Why does NIL exist? Because the players sued for the right to have it. That does not sound like the schools had their interest in mind to me. The "students " also clamored for the portal. Again, I do not see where the schools showed interest in the students. In fact, the schools and the NCAA fought tooth and nail to prevent it, as billions of dollars started funneling from TV contracts. Forgive me if I'm skeptical, but those two as actions alone toss that quote away. And I haven't even talked about the graduation rates. It took years to even discuss forcing schools to put effort into the graduation rates of the "student" athletes. So when did concern for student athletes become a focus exactly?

Sounds like Kliavkoff is blaming the players to me. The conference are making decisions based on the elephant in the room: players. What I'm seeing is a direct and immediate response to the fact players want to be treated like pros. I realize this is preaching to the choir, but it takes way more than twenty hours a week (the amount of time coaches get the players) to develop into an excellent player. In other words, it is a full time job. And schools used to sell a star's Jersey and pocket all the money. Coaches get paid better than NFL coaches. Billions of dollars are funneling through the schools. That being said, I was totally against NIL. But how could I justify telling players their $100,000 over four years was just compensation? It's not. No one reading this wouldn't consider options - including starting their own league with executives skilled enough to pull it off ( and someone might have). Kids pay the recruiting services to promote their skill level. Some families pay out of pocket to find the right fit for their kids. In other words, schools were getting far too much benefit at a "student's" expense. And we haven't even talked about the horrible graduation rates. College football is a minor league without the NFL having to pay. And the players figured that out. The NCAA did everything they could to stop the train from leaving the gate. But when a football player is great enough to win Olympic medals in another short, and the institution tells him he cannot earn money in that Olympic sport (and still earn a scholarship) something is very, very wrong. That, by the way, was the beginning of the end of the "exploitation" in my opinion. There is nothing just about preventing a young man seeking the best for his life by participating in two sports he loves. Or even find the means to afford the school he attends outside of basic expenses. Like I mentioned above, I've been against NIL. It might never have materialized had the schools simply treated the players like people, instead of dollar bills. Heck, they didn't even ensure the kids would be able to find avenues to succeed when they left school ( by making sure they had marketable skills when football was no longer part of their life). And the schools have plenty of money to do something that basic. NIL and the Portal are a direct response to these institutions thinking only of themselves. And now, our commissioner wants to lay blame on other conferences finally addressing what they should have addressed before the turn of the century. I'm telling you, this conference makes me see the with every word I read. They are not fit to lead these young men as they ( the students) seek the best for their future in my opinion. And I'm sure parents are paying particular attention to what's happening. I have a fifteen year old who fortunately isn't interested in football. If he were, how my beloved ducks respond from here would tell me if my kid would even consider the program (because I would not present any PAC 10 school as a solid choice based on Kliavkoff's comments- he is just an extension if how the Presidents feel).

The reason Clemson reached the playoffs multiple years is they could compete with the elite, and win. The most effective route to prove we belong is to continue scheduling the elite teams (if they dare to). The other route is to absolutlely drop fifty points s game on the mediocre. We are not Notre Dame, do we won't get the get out of jail card. I also believe this year dictates everything for OBD. Finish to ten in recruiting and go to the playoffs, we write out own ticket. We don't, the future is out of our hands. By the way, I am NOT afraid of the BIG. We would instantly compete for titles. Especially if we continue to recruit well.