Mike West

I love Boettcher. And he might scale up to Simon’s level. If he is used properly. He’s a heat seeking missile. Now if he does exactly what he did to get his one interception this year (watch the tape-you know what I’m talking about), the only time a QB will go his way if he is a step slow like he was in that exact play. However, if he does cover the guy ‘properly’ like that, QBs will hardly throw his way because BB will take away that option. And he already has the instinct to cover well. He just need to keep his eyes off the QB. I thought BB and Jackson were by far our best LBs this year. Now we need four more with their skill level and performance ability. Tweak the defense to suit their strengths and voila, we’ll have a top five defense for real ( if and only if they straighten out their coverage rules-which Penn State and Ohio State exposed for the universe to see-those players are better than the instructions they are given to cover guys).

That 2010 team had something no other Oregon team in my opinion. Intensity, toughness and sheer force. Nobody hit as hard as they did, nobody exploded off the page as well. They were more balanced as an explosive team. You couldn’t stop them (not even Nick Farley could sack QB Thomas-Chip blew his shot at a blowout ). You couldn’t really score on them either. Auburn got two TDs and a FG on poor ref calls. They shut down the second highest scoring offense-from the SEC at that- down. Despite giving up lots and lots of rushing yards. That 2010 team was WAY MORE PHYSICAL than Auburn. Ask the first known NIL guy Scam Newton. Watch how much he limped off that field. He got his butt kicked!!! Not one SEC team did that to him. The 2012 team had more talent, but the 2010 got robbed. And I mean Billion Dollar. Robbed. I think you could take the mentality of that team and put it on any of the best Duck teams and that group of players-if they don’t get robbed-wins a title. Including beating the 14 NFL Draft laden Buckeyes. They were that “Talented".

He has the kind of size and speed we lack. Only Devon Jackson is close to this guy’s talent level and size. ‘’That is exactly why I don’t like the defense Lupoi and Lanning run. They don’t have the prototypes to execute that type of system. OBD LBs -played well this year. Especially for what they are expected to do. Better use of their skill sets would make them even more productive in my opinion. They are not capable of what this guy can do.

DTBE. I kind of like that.

I'll say this: I doubt any Duck player forgets that loss. Ohio State is going to replace Washington as our bitter rival. They may up being that damn team back east.

Kind of gets into that issue of winning. Two losses are acceptable. Kids are leaving because they want more snaps. DE Winston comes to mind. He contributed often, and still left. Offensive Line is a little different. I believe you can't go more than 8 or 9 deep. We did see a significant drop off on the DL though. Opponents scored often when the subs came in. .So is that lack of experience or lack of talent? It took Winston three years to really contribute. I believe DT Washington is also going into his fourth year. He started making big strides, and he looked ready in the Spring. Again, some of this is purely scheme. The Edges spill into the B and C Gaps way too much for me. I've talked to FD about this, and he believes it's a pick your poison against Spread offenses. I say attack like Ohio State did, with the Safeties AND Seal the edge. But they use a 4-3 scheme to execute it. Same with Penn State. We also did in 2019 and had one of the best performances in Defense ever. Hmmm. So is it coaching or is it philosophy on defense?

Yeah, I stopped watching very early. It was obvious five minutes into the game. Ohio State got the rout they expected in October. I so wanted to shut up Buckeye fans. But I'm rooting for them because I happen to really like Ryan Day. I hope he gets that stupid monkey off his back As to OBD, it was not only a bad look, but poor timing. I think OSU still wins if we had played them later. I would hope OBD were better prepared. But alas, I'm backing DL till the end of time. He has way more upside than flaws. If he never gives us a title, I believe he gets us to a title game for sure. So many things have to go right to win a title. We've got robbed for sure and that 2010 steal will always tick me off. Yet, I'm damn near certain we have the right guy to pull off what many blue blood programs don't want: an Oregon Duck football title. We are reigning B1G champs. I sure didn't see that happening this year. So the embarrassment doesn't sting as much for me. The lessons learned this year are all that matter now

That's unfortunate if it was the treatment, not the injury itself. Jon is right. Staying in the moment matters. Because it's the people that matter to you that count. I'll tell you what though. Life is beautiful. We are so blessed to live in this country.

As usual, very good takes about this topic. Everybody wants a title. We have the components I believe Lanning has done a masterful job of recruiting talent, and putting an elite squad on the field. He took over a team with decent, but not great talent, and went to work to get the type of talent he wants. We've seen improved performance every year. Quite a few in Duck Nation weren't sure about the offense last Spring . The first two games really scared the entire fan base. DL showed just how great he really is. He and Stein took their time to truly evaluate the situation/personell this year and took that unit to an elite level. It's a work in progress. DL is performing very well given he is new at it. The College Football landscape is in a major upheaval, and DL has done an exceptional job navigating it. He has the chops to get us up the mountain, and to raise a flag on the mountain top.

I recognize why Lanning signed him. Don't recognize why Sagapolutele came here expected to play immediately. We have a super stacked QB room. Three guys that can start anywhere. Right now. Sagapolutele showed me he misunderstood what he was getting into. Some of that may be ego. Who knows. What I do know was there is no way snow will survive hell, and he wasn't going to start in 2025. Somebody gave him some very bad advice.

I only watched the first quarter. Shut it off when I posted such. What I saw was there was no way I'd blitz knowing my Safeties were going to be at least ten yards off target. Jeremiah Smith made a beautiful catch against perfect coverage ( he muscled his way open). That pass should have been batted down by a safety. Smith caught another pass in traffic for the exact same reason. The safety was late to the play. Why? Guess Cover Two requires a safety to shut down fades, posts and corner routes. It's so simple, the GEICO Cave man can do it. That's it . Three routes. But if you're looking at the QB instead of getting your butt in position to cover those routes, a blitz absolutely guarantees an explosive play. That's why I shut the TV off. I've seen this movie before. I'll say it again. With the exact personnel in the secondary the past two years, DL wins a title if his LBs and Safeties take away options instead of looking at the QB. I'll say it one more time. Tua threw an overtime TD pass because the safety, in Cover two, didn't take away the fade route on his side of the field. That is exactly why Alabama beat Georgia for the Natty. Look at the film.. Film never lies.

I look at this stuff a lot. I love BB. But I would attack him and Bassa specifically. Because both are not only a step too slow, but they're practically frozen in time looking at the QB. What makes BB special is his instinct at defending the run. He reads RBs well, and has a very good feel for where the holes are. If I'm an OC, I'm drawing up pass plays to attack those two. Because both are a step too slow.

I have to disagree just a little. I think Ohio State played possum better than Lanning did. Wil Howard practiced those plays way before the Michigan game. Over and over and over again. Lupoi never saw them. Just three or four plays against Tennessee. Stein on the other hand, in order to win every game, exposed the entire offense. Every play Stein revealed yesterday was already on film. Lupoi didn't really face an explosive offense until Ohio State, and the Buckeyes didn't show even half their playoff set of plays. Ohio State had Stein 's ( and Lupoi's) entire sample. So essentially, Lupoi and Stein had forecast every response they'd have to multiple situations, while Chip Kelly didn't show why he had against Penn State or Indiana. And ESPECIALLY Michigan. They could've obliterated the Wolverines, but they chose to shelve those plays. I believe Ryan Day concealed his entire playoff playbook because he had enough talent to win just playing basic football. Combine my pet peeves and you have the perfect storm. I believe the most fundamental tactic to win a Natty is to forget about looking at the QB. That is a guaranteed ten win season all by itself. Ask Georgia fans. They'd have three modern Titles executing that one task. It's more complicated in general, but that specific skill will shut down most QBs, and force OCs to really earn their millions. My opinion of course.

Oh I believe DL has his hands all over that defense. They're looking for a prototype at each position. DL got it at Georgia, put his stamp all over it and made those boys beyond awesome. Lightening in a bottle. One in ten million odds. From my perspective, there just aren't enough players in college football to play the kind of system DL and JL want to run. I don't want them to stop their talent acquisition strategy though. I think they'll figure it out. DL is too driven. He's going to get that damn title.

One thing I'd like to say is this team was coached well enough and was talented enough to handle Ohio State. They proved that in October. Size and physicality wasn't the problem yesterday. I've mentioned why in another post. I've actually stated what some major flaws are for two years. Never abandon the edge on defense ( ever- give up something else, but seal those damn edges as if your life depends on it). The other flaw us a national pandemic. Coaches harp on eyeballing the QB. You cannot cover your man and look at the QB simultaneously. You'll always lose your man. Even if he's right next to you. One day, I'm going to post a thousand videos of exactly that. Yes, there are thousands of examples. That's how I know it's worse than any disease mankind has faced. On offense, were fine. Physical enough by far. The only reason I won't describe why is that the changes I recommend will never be implemented. It's not my offense. Heck, I'd hire Fushduck in a hot minute and challenge him to infinity in coming up with five hundred Sequential plays. Nobody would stop Fushduck if he has 500 Sequentials. But alas, Will Stein is pretty damn good. He'll learn from today. He will find conflict routes against the best damn Havoc causing defense eventually. It is possible. Just watch Joe Montana dismantle the best havoc generating defense ever,- the 1985-87 Chicago Bears. Winning a Natty is within our reach. Lots of things have to go your way though. It's just the nature of the beast

Overall I agree. One thing I'd like to say though is this team was coached well enough and was talented enough to handle Ohio State. They proved that in October. Size and physicality wasn't the problem yesterday. I've mentioned why in another post. I've actually stated what some major flaws are for two years. Never abandon the edge on defense ( ever- give up something else, but seal those damn edges as if your life depends on it). The other flaw us a national pandemic. Coaches harp on eyeballing the QB. You cannot cover your man and look at the QB simultaneously. You'll always lose your man. Even if he's right next to you. One day, I'm going to post a thousand videos of exactly that. Yes, there are thousands of examples. That's how I know it's worse than any disease mankind has faced. On offense, were fine. Physical enough by far. The only reason I won't describe why is that the changes I recommend will never be implemented. It's not my offense. Heck, if hie Fushduck in a hot minute and challenge him to infinity in coming up with five hundred Sequential plays. Nobody would stop Fushduck if he has 500 Sequentials. But alas, Will Stein is pretty damn good. He'll learn from today. He will find conflict routes against the best damn Havoc causing defense eventually. It is possible. Just watch Joe Montana dismantle the best havoc generating defense ever,- the 1985-87 Chicago Bears. Life is good in Duck Nation. Trust me.

That was my exact sentiment going into the Wisconsin game. I do think the CCG was a lesson though. The team's resolve was tested and they passed. I absolutely believe the layoff was a factor. There was no margin for error against an elite turn like Ohio State, and we suffered from the haze while they were in complete auto pilot. Ohio State expected to drill us like that in October. Nobody had shown the blue print for showing the Ducks down, and Stein attached exactly like I would have because the Buckeyes were not expecting the level of talent they were facing. This team was good enough to win yesterday. But flaws are flaws and I'm telling you right now, Cover Two is useless if the safeties are looking at the QB. Georgia fans can tell you firsthand because a Freshman QB won a Natty simply because their safety got caught looking into the backfield instead of shutting down that left side fade route. There isn't much I'd change from this year. OBD future is as bright as the sun.

I actually thought the CBs played well today. I believe the layoff hurt (the team was too slow to the Ohio State's speed - they weren't game ready for a full half and it was over by then). Will Stein did not prepare well for Ohio State's adjustments. One advantage the Buckeyes had was Maryland showed the blueprint, and only Ohio State had the personnel to execute it. Stein was ill prepared for dealing with the kind of talent capable of neutralizing the speed OBD have at WR. He'll learn from that lesson because WR screens and perimeter game will not suffice against the kind of talent t Ohio State has (and any team in the future with that kind of talent). Dan Lanning will win a Natty when he teaches his linebackers and safeties to take away the QBs options. READ CAREFULLY: DO NOT EVER LOOK AT THE QB. Josh Lupoi will win National DC of the year if he teaches his DEs/OLBs to forever seal the edge. No DEs sliding to the B or C Gap. Moses has spoken. The tablets have been thrown to the Israelites. The Red Sea has been parted. Ohio State had the one benefit OBD did not have: a set of teams that completely revealed how to slow down their offense. Maryland and Michigan showed how to use their secondary, and DL to slow Stein's offense to a crawl.

I guess I need to shut up. I might need to turn this game off. ‘’The End

Looks like OBD are shaking off cobwebs.

They blitzed and left Texas’ best WR in one on one. On 4th and 12. Unfortunate strategy. ASU had their shot though. Dilly is very impressive. Too bad it got away from them.

Can anybody tell me why kickers stopped kicking punts to the sideline when they’re trying to pin offenses inside the ten? Asking for a friend.

And quit looking at the QB. Reed covers that and probably intercepts that pass, or cuts off Smith’s route if he just looks at Smith/. My pet peeve violated already.

They ran that TD play against Tennessee. Poor situational planning there. And Lupoi has decided to go man to man. Bad choice. This defense absolutely must seal the edges and play zone coverage. Heck. Just stand still if need be. Let them run to you. Don’t chase them for crying out loud.

I totally agree. Would be a waste of time trying to stop him playing 1 on 1 against him. Better to force him to catch short passes all game. The guy is already NFL caliber. Muhammad (and Reed and Manning) are too small to handle his physical game.