Mike West

I could have handled an ugly win last week. But to see so much hot dog behavior and lackluster effort still has me fuming. Brown really can't deliver us a title, but his poor performance was minimal compared to the sheer lack of will to bury the Cardinal like we should have (despite his limited skills). Thoughts?

Here's the thing: it seems as if we're watching a train wreck in slow motion far too often. Darren Perkins called it:. We dangle the upset carrot in front of our opponents. I see way too much trash talking from the players. I want to see tackling and blocking that looks like a Mike Tyson punch ( or George Foreman for that matter). This team should have dominated Ohio State. I'm talking how the Buckeyes left Minnesota behind the week before. I expected Fresno, Stoney, Zona, and Stanford to waive white flags at halftime. I don't see fire in their eyes. I don't see a willingness to punish opponents for having the audacity to show up and play us. The Terminator. Remember that movie? Remember the relentless drive to finish off Sarah Conner? Noah Sewell, CJ Ferrell, Travis Dye and Justin Flowe are the only players with that kind of mentality. You know, even King Kong backed his chest thumping with a can of a** whupping. Ali would talk major smack, then put you on the canvas. I feel like I'm looking at a Stag show when I watch my Ducklings. And it isn't funny.

This goes beyond personnel. There is a QB in his second year in the NFL that is better than TT. His name is Justin Herbert. Many a person will disagree with my premise. Justin Herbert has a natural feel for the game that TT lacks. Despite my "belief" in the extraordinary JH, he struggled immensely under MC's tenure as HC. There is a "structural flaw" in MC's program. It's a mental aspect that so far is a constant factor one should consider as the reason Oregon has reached its peak as a title contender. You don't see that flaw in perennial championship caliber teams. Until that flaw is destroyed, the pattern we see emerge ever so consistently will continue.

My take? This is as good as it gets. Cristobal does not have the chops to build and maintain a title contender. Even when he had Ohio State on the ropes he cooled the jets. It's his MO. He talks about power. Champions Dominate. Huge difference. Cristobal might as well conduct Oklahoma Drills each and every practice. That's about all his strategy and philosophy amounts to.

I think MC started to. I just think we saw subpar performances from the players. Some say it’s coaching, but finding and throwing to an open receiver is the QBs job. Handing off or keeping the ball and running is up tot he QB. There were plenty of misses in that area. All year.

Charles, As usual it has been fascinating to observe discussion most wouldn’t dare to challenge objectively. As the Foo Fighters say... DONE, DONE, ON TO THE NEXT ONE. DONE I’M DONE I’M ON TO THE NEXT ONE!!!!! Until Fall... P.S. I watched the Cal game again. Can you believe MC actually let JM call plays(in my opinion)? I think Shough did a terrible job of reading runs and passes...just my take. We should have throttled the Bears. My parting shot. Ha ha ha

Charles, It will be a tremendous setback for thoughtful discussion about Oregon Athletics if FishDuck media disappears. I for one can take criticism, as name calling is not an argument, and there sure is a ton of name calling going on in Duck Fandom. What separates your sites from others is perspectives people not only respect, but actually learn from. It hurts to hear your head coach may not be the man to take us to the promise land. But the thoughts on why are fascinating at times. Will he is almost an afterthought to why (so or why not). I see some good stuff on the other sites. I see awesome info here. Info and perspectives worth discussing instead of getting bogged down on who is right or wrong (though it gets rough and tumble here, eating crow here is more satisfying if that even makes sense).

So I’m going to contradict myself. In the past, I said we don’t have NFL bruisers. I’d take Verdell and Dye any day over the best RBs in the conference. Not to mention, we actually have four that should get on the field plenty. We’re talking about Joe Moorhead here. If MC simply gets out of the way, those four will gash teams. They won’t beat them up, but they will slash and cut teams up. Haven’t we learned from the Auburn game yet? We were good enough to drop points on the Tigers like the best in the business. We have all it takes-right now to give every team in college football nightmares. Do you hear me Mario Cristobal? Do you see the words jumping off of this screen?

So, I’ve seen enough of the Fiesta Bowl to get a sense of my take on the 2020 season. I’ve scoured the roster, including the 2021 Class. I believe we have a sense of who our Head Coach is. So my question today is: As an overall organization, Coaches, players, administration-do we have what it takes to make a real run this year, next or 2023- when every player is a Mario Cristobal recruited player? I’m all about now. In 2018, I said we could beat Auburn. I said last year we could beat Ohio State. I say we have enough talent (coaches and players) to beat the Buckeyes for the first time in our history. So where do you stand? What is your vision of a true contender this year? Next, and 2023. Does MC have to get over himself and let his staff excel? Do the players have to play out of their minds with great direction from the staff? Do the coaches mold their respective scheme to the talent base of the players? Do we have the juice? If not, why not. If so, how could that be? And what do YOU want to see (scheme, talent, effort...whatever matters to you most)? I’ll share my thoughts once the posts pile up (I believe most of you know how much of a homer I am-I savor the brilliance you all bring to the table). Carpe Diem

Well, The SEC coveted him, and for good reason. The guy makes quick decisions, uses his feet well, and throws the ball the way it needs to be thrown. I’m intrigued by your comment about MC though. Does he recruit to suit needs, or just to get talent. Is he deploying the old USC and UCLA model of years past (keep talent away from others as long as you can)?

I believe Stanford is toast. They aren’t recruiting like they used to. I don’t believe the Coaching is up to par either. As far as tOSU, it hinges on MC. Is he willing to go for broke? He wins those games. Utah? Not sure. UCLA? Depends on their defense, and again MC(does the guy realize he needs to score 500 points to win?). Every week is going to be about MC. Does he unleash the hounds, or does he believe his dogs are fighting in a junk yard? Mario Cristobal has yet to figure out blowouts are the Obi Wan Kenobi of the PAC12. Even in his playing days Miami had to win shootouts. I think we need a coach whisperer.

I did misquote one fact however...Jalen Hurts reached the Natty, but didn’t win it. No matter. The guy played a full season as a backup, and got the team to the Natty AS THE BACKUP. Took Oklahoma to the CFP the next year. Is the probable starter at Philly next year(if Philly is smart...that remains to be seen). The transfer portal is actually a good thing...for the NFL. It’s basically an elimination evaluator. Players just don’t get that. There’s usually a valid reason guys are backups (politics aside-see Tom Brady at Michigan for instance). Every player has their shot, up until their Pro Day on campus. It is a coach’s job to fully educate his players on their options, including parents. Believe it or not, getting to the NFL is a team game now. Players can’t do it alone anymore.

I think you’re on point about them being salesmen. I believe Kiper used to be a pure analyst, but figured out the “game”. It’s all about hype. Controversy. Click bait.

The Spring Game (and hopefully two scrimmages we should get to see) will tell me everything I’ll need to know. Unfortunately, most coaches don’t change much. They just don’t know how to take the simple things about football, and beat guys that cling to their ego clad philosophy of football. Even Saban has weaknesses. He just adapts faster than everybody. Too many coaches believe they are the best thing life ever saw. I believe Saban is great because he shreds every weakness an opponent coaching staff has. Something I haven’t seen from Cristobal yet. The thing I like about Cristobal is he will open the floodgates if he believes everything is on the line. That’s what he did in both conference title games. He let it rip. Believing he had to try everything because his opponent was formidable enough that he needed to. He was willing to lose by putting everything on the line, and both times they dominated the game. Put that philosophy in a bottle MC, open it every week, and you just might go undefeated and win a damn national title.

Two things I see. First, the way we run the Pistol lends itself to failure. Moorhead installed his wrinkle, but it is obvious MC is just bent on telling everybody in the world what he is doing and dares them to stop it. Shough has limitations either JM or MC chose to ignore. Shough isn’t a deep threat passer UNLESS he releases his pass within two seconds. His arm simply isn’t strong enough. Ironically, Arroyo recognized that, and designed schemes to exploit Shough’s strengths (go back and look at Shough’s two Spring Game highlights-he was a beast). My conclusion is that Mario Cristobal handcuffs his coordinator. His version of the Pistol is for preserving 28 point leads. It is not suitable for any level of football (pee wee included) the way he wants to run it. So as things stand TODAY, Mario Cristobal’s ultimate success is in the hands of his ego. I would venture High a School coach can beat him if they have equal talent to work with. I hate to sound so negative, but the Snake utilized three styles of offense, got criticized, left, and the Vegas Bowl was a clear introduction to what Cristobal is willing to do with what arguably was the best talent he has had to date (this year he has some raw talent that can do major damage if they’re developed properly, but 2017 was a CFP team if JH stayed healthy all year). The future of Oregon Football rests on Mario Cristobal’s willingness to change.

Are you kidding? I don’t have to read or see any more from JM. That dude is better than two guys that are head coaches who demonstrated they are really elite coordinators. Sarkesian and Kiffin. Moorhead will always be his best as an OC. He is probably as good as Chip. Our boys are in good hands. They’ll be in better hands if one Mario Cristobal lets his OC deliver his (Moorhead’s) brand of MC’s physicality. That is the only X factor in this. I really wish I was savvy enough to have known how to coach (when I was young). I could take some regulars in this forum, and some of the writers and win a Natty for us myself. And it would have been a joy to turn some our fears and concerns into some butt kicking , statement making , and tough grind out type wins and victory campaigns. Lets hope Mario Cristobal prays for and garners wisdom some of us display in this forum. Until then, let’s enjoy our journey with him.

Do we really have to lose these top notch QBs? Matt Cassel never played a down of CFB. Jalen Hurts was replaced AFTER winning a Natty. Is logic forever gone? Does emotion rule everything? Ashford can build a baseball AND football career. Butterfield. That’s the wild card. Will he compete, or will he bolt? Does Butterfield have the character to build his skills to his best, let the chips fall where they may, and be ready as the best backup that could be a starter anywhere else. There is no doubt in my mind that the best QB in Moorhead’s system will be very lucky to play an entire season unscathed. Not to mention, there are plenty of strategic moves he can make to feature both the starter and an excellent backup every game. Dabo did it (still lost his starter to Trevor Lawrence, but that was a career killer for Kelly Bryant). Bryan Bennett not only didn’t enhance his NFL opportunity, he wasted a shot at a Natty as a D-1 backup the year Mariota lost to Stanford because Bennett wasn’t there. Those examples alone are selling points we all can embrace. There shouldn’t be any reason we lose an outstanding backup that has the character to be his best and stay prepared if he ends up number two. Too many kids expect to walk into greatness. Greatness is earned. Just look at one of the GOAT: Michael Jordan. He wasn’t the greatest until he was a second year pro(and he wasn’t a champion for several years into his NBA career). Greatness starts with handling disappointment. THAT is one of the best tools to measure someone. How do they deal with setbacks.

I don’t know how much longer football will be the most popular sport in this country. It will always be my favorite. Hence I DON’T CARE ABOUT OTHER SPORTS. Football players don’t come to Oregon to brag about Track Titles in Track Town. They come to hoist the ultimate college achievement: a College Football National Championship. I agree leveraging track and football is very smart. But I want football players. Now I believe it is wise for QB Ashford to pursue an MLB career. They make Waaaaaay too much money in MLB to overlook. I just hope he can juggle school, baseball and still thrive at football. That said, our conference gets regularly mocked for claiming to be the Conference of Champions. Football used to drive the revenue stream (we’ll see going forward given the pitfalls players and colleges have put in front of themselves). Nonetheless, pride and prestige nationwide comes from football titles. Bar none. It’s why I advocate title now, forget the future. The future is the very second you read this sentence. My mom always used to tell me “the past is present in the future “. I get it now. The 2020 Rose Bowl lost its luster after the spanking we should have avoided in the Fiesta Bowl. But right now, every second spent becoming the National Title winner THIS YEAR, is all that matters. Titles are won well before you step foot on the field the day of the game. We will earn the best recruits by what we are doing RIGHT NOW. Make no excuses. Blame no one. Make things happen. Win that damn title now. At least the Snake said and did some things to boost our shot at a title. Carpe Diem.

OMG 30, You are the only one to bring that up. One other thing, that year, TWELVE STARTERS WERE LOST TO INJURY, and we were down to our third string QB two games after Dixon fell to the ground in Arizona. THAT team was almost as talented (but not as deep) as Pete Carroll’s 2002 through 2006 teams. Somebody brought up luck...I believe Bama beats Joe Burrow’s LSU had Tua stayed healthy. Or even if Mac Jones’ pass was thrown properly in the end zone to bring Bama all the way back. Luck matters.

What if the coaching staff was NFL elite caliber. Could we win a Natty? What if we had our current staff and NFL caliber talent on every unit. Would we claim our first title? In my mind, Chip’s best teams were SEC elite caliber (all 3 of them). But Helf had better talent (sans injuries in the title game). What if we had every star aligned? Every planet in the solar system lined up. Would we win it all? What I’m really interested in knowing from this group of knights at the round table is: what is it really going to take to win a title? And what can make it happen this year?

Chip Kelly transformed the game of football....any ego smaller than our galaxy is an insult (lol). Seriously though, I’d put Chip Kelly up there with Einstein. Look at what he’s doing in Westwood (with a QB that can perform at the highest level). UCLA is two years behind Chip’s abilities. If he had a QB from day one at UCLA, Helton wouldn’t be at USC.

I just don’t know. I can say this...it was a team effort for sure. I didn’t see anybody out there, coaches included, that fumed like they did after they (lol we?-all of a sudden I’m distancing myself, ha ha ha ) lost to Auburn last year. I want to know if they are junk yard dogs. I want to know how ferocious they are. I want to see ruthless effort, punishing contact, and an aura that scares even the seasoned elite. Who is this team right now? Monikers mean nothing to me. Effort, commitment, fearlessness, and an effort to put it all in the line-second by second. A willingness to make mistakes, learn quickly from them, then punish those in their way. That matters to me. I don’t see that in this team right now. In fact, I’m getting that sick feeling most had when the Snake showed up in Eugene. Until I see unbridled intensity, I sense we’re being conned. I better see some exhausted coaches and players all year. Like there’s no tomorrow.

I love the sentiment BDF (“I love you man” lol). My emphasis: Now. There is no tomorrow. And while we don’t have a bruiser like Rolls Royce, we have an OC that knows how to get guys open in space. Our RBs are going to have to be receivers that can get those five to six yard gains agains speedy defenses. Our WRs, even if not hypersonic fast, or Michael Irvin dangerous, are with an OC that dials up explosive plays. We have a HUGE offensive line-and an OC that knows how to use them. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, if MC needs to take a walk off the field when the offense is on the field, so be it. So, a fully loaded QB room is the difference maker. And we need two, maybe three to rise more dangerously than Darth Vader did before he obliterated the Universe. That’s how I’d coach that unit. Be better than you ever dreamed you could be. Because even if you leave, you’ll have set yourself up to claim someone else’s spot at another school. And in the meantime, no injury will hurt us. Now the defense? Should be 2019 stellar. Best ever, with maybe the exception of 2010(that defense shut down and beat down an explosive Tiger team DESPITE gashing run gains-22 points!!! Half what Scam Cam yielded all year). We have more talent than any defense ever fielded in Oregon history. Even without a Buckner and Armstead tandem. It cracks me up that Superman Mario Cristobal wants to fight in a phone booth. The dude can fly to the edges of the Universe, and he wants to use 3 square feet! So...it’s either beat down the most explosive offenses college football has ever seen, or slow then down and outscore them. Either way, who cares about 2023. It is February 24, 2021. The NEXT title game is in 11 months. You know who is going to challenge without all the talent in place? North Carolina. So we BETTER stop making excuses. You win with the horses you have in your stable, not against the field they compete against. Make the elite play a perfect game. Believe you can catch lightning in a bottle. Our future is NOW. You must believe you can beat Ohio State before you play them. You must prepare for Bama, Clemson and LSU before you take the field. In fact, all preparation SHOULD be for that set, and the effect should net dominant victories against everyone else(if you can design game plans for that group, you SHOULD be able to 86 normal teams). All I care about is this: our boys give their all-every second for the next eleven months. Every cell, every drop of sweat, every breath of energy. The chips will fall much better if they give the effort of their lives to winning a title this year. And the same goes with “I did it my way” Cristobal. The six inches between your head make the difference between winning and losing. Carpe Diem.

Darren, I’ll rarely question your assessments because you’re very accurate. What drove me crazy in 2019 and 2018 was it seemed to me Arroyo could not only set defenses up to fail, but he saw how to do so three or four plays ahead. The Rose Bowl’s final drive comes to mind. It always seemed to me MC interrupted Arroyo’s flow. Arroyo always had an excellent opening drive, then it always seemed to fall apart from there. MC seemed to disrupt every single bit of momentum Arroyo started, and MA always took the heat for MC’s choices. Well I hope 2020 destroyed the notion Arroyo didn’t know what he was doing, because MC singlehandedly disrupted anything JM developed. The offense was abysmal this year. Horrific...pathetic...disgusting. I surely would love to have seen what Arroyo, and especially what Moorhead would do unleashed. I dare say we would see nonstop scoring...despite very, very subpar WRs. Anybody can get open with an effective design. Anybody. I’d love to take any defensive back’s strengths and turn them into weaknesses. Blanket cover CBs can be shredded. Using their strengths. Moorhead can definitely execute that kind of strategy. MC needs to go to the locker room when the offense is in the field. IMHO.

Man, What a great observation about Flowe. I’m missing out here because I haven’t seen much 2020 tape, and I’m not familiar with the new DC. If I get the time, I’m surely going to start a new thread on this topic and the overall defense. I believe Hill is a pure safety. I believe Jackson is the most “natural “ fit initially. Facing today’s offenses is more difficult because there aren’t many OLBs with natural coverage skills. Not to mention they aren’t used to seal the edges (my major pet peeve when it comes to defensive strategy period). There are no Ronnie Lott/Troy Palomalu safeties, and very few Ray Lewis/Dick Butkus MLBs. Nobody uses the 46 1984 Chicago Bears scheme-which is the best defense I’ve ever seen (because only Montana and Bill Walsh could attack it effectively). Im speaking concepts here, but in my (oversized ego) opinion (and I’m talking the size of those jumbo balloons at the Macy parade here lol), the best way to attack these offenses is dozens and dozens of attack schemes and very well masked back five coverages. I believe we already have two effective edge guys in Funa and Thibs. That Sam guy would be great support in order to seal the edges completely, and Hill is nearly the ball hawk Breeze and Holland were. So again, when it comes to concept, deceptive appearance and creating confusion is key here. QBs and OL personnel should always have to think about what’s coming their way. It’s fun to play what if. And in 2019 I believe Avalos really maximized his personnel. That’s why it is critical for a HC to be a concept guy, and hold his coaches to high standards of executing strategy, and using the round table method of maximizing performance. 2020 should have been an awesome year. The team is stacked, and it’s really about performance now. If I ruled the world...LMAO.