DanLduck

Don't forget the year Darren Thomas was a freshman. He was 4th on the depth chart but had to come in against Boise St. in the 4th quarter. Almost led a total comeback!

The "stars" ratings don't measure intangibles like work ethic and desire. Too many kids work on physical skills that will yield higher measurables, thus a higher star rating. To me, 'ya gotta want it' often is more valuable than natural ability.

This is Jay B's 3rd year. Ty T, his 2nd. They know how to prepare and practice. They know these players better, so that's an advantage for route running. Bo has game experience, a key ingredient. The QB position requires leadership, thus maturity. I'm comfortable with any of these 3 leading us. Can't wait for spring game.

Thank you David. Great thoughts. Clearly you are so right about this simply being safety theater, like so many other things done these days. I was very disappointed when I read they weren't making any significant changes. My biggest gripes are 1. When the offensive player lowers his head 2. Incidental contact (like with KT) 3. And late hit flagrant fouls. They often throw a flag, but the guy stays in the game. Those also should be penalized like targeting. Those late hits often result in more injuries. Thanks again, great stuff.

Mariota had a no trade clause before resigning with Raiders last year. Does he still have the ability to say yay or nay to a trade? If so he wants to remain on west coast to be closer to Hawaii. So San Fran or Seattle are better chances.

Also a good place to go in motion from for a pitch in the backfield, thus becoming a running back.

Good for you. I'm just grateful to have the option.

Yes, we in my household are indeed celebrating the end of mandatory masking. We are planning going out somewhere every day next week to celebrate. It's been a long two years. I won't say we'll get back to "normal" because these past 3 years have continued to create "new normals" for us as we have learned to adjust to multiple life changes, so I'm not sure what "normal" is. We are grateful to no longer have to wear those things and more happy that are grandkids won't have to. And now spring football practice has started!! Can life get any better here in Oregon!

I sure would like to know where all the schollies are coming from...must be expecting more exits from our existing roster...asking for a friend.

Excellent point. Funny, too, he just wrote about Walton. Since the arrival of Cristobal he was less caustic, to me he seemed to have a real agenda against the Belotti's. And Chip never endeared any reporter. Guess he is branching out on his own and keeping the radio show, now moved to prime time 3-6. I will admit that if I ever agreed with him, I would reread the article, and rethink my opinion, just to be sure. I do think his stories about people were great, not so much about our Ducks.

Great questions JJ. Lots to ponder. 1. Mostly yes. These coaches are new as a team, but all have had valuable experience and have pretty good pedigree backgrounds. I see them being very successful, but still green as a team so errors will occur. Will it cost us a game? Possibly. I do think that coach Lanning is a true leader. Reading what I could of his past, it seems his friends and coworkers have always willingly followed his lead, going back to high school days. Being "the guy" is a big deal for a first timer, but if anyone is up to it, I believe he is. It may take a few years to truly develop into the next 'Saban' however. 2.&3. Yes. Next man up. As you pointed out, we have a very talented roster and they are young and ready. It's a positive that there is so much youth to go with new coaches and new systems. There will be less 'old' to forget. There will be growing pains that may cost a game, but I believe that this is the perfect time to start a new system on offense and defense. A huge key will be staying healthy. Huge 4. Ugh. Ready or not, the competition begins. Talk about your stress right out of the gate! Your point here is a good reminder that if for some horrible reason we start out less than 2-2 to start the year, we should not abandon ship and curse Lanning and Co. It is indeed a very tough start, and one I hope Mullens never puts us through again. That being said, we have talented players and coaches. We should anticipate success but temper expectations with reality. But our talented team should rise to the challenge and be ready to play 5. ???????????? Who knows. We have not seen enough of each player to know. For sure though, whoever does win the job will be talented. And for me, that's good enough.

A great take JJ. My only addition is that WSU will be sneaky good this year. They get Utah and Oregon at home and USC and Wisconsin on the road. They will score a lot of points. I see them challenging for the P12 Nth. OSU will become bowl eligible again, just. They should get better qb play, and Smith always seems to win games you don't expect. ( If they don't get bowl eligible I'm hoping it's enough to gain my grandson back as a Duck. He is only Beaver fan in the fam and we've been working on him for 10 years! He has moved to Idaho now and is a Bo Nix fanclub member. This is the year!) I expect Stanford to surprise also. Shaw is too good a coach. Cal will have another loser year making all us Duck fans sigh in big relief that he said no.

JJ, your points are solid from the perspective that college football is big business and the Pac12 is falling way behind in $$ and national perspective. Not everyone is ready to give up on the idea of 'student' athelete just yet. Most school leadership is not willing to admit that football is first. It may come to that eventually but what president can admit that out loud. The NIL and transfer portal have given players more power than ever. One of their big concerns is health, especially concussions. More games mean more contact. The movement today is towards fewer plays per game, lessen contact, practice, etc. Until there is some clarity about these issues, adding more games for a playoff is the wrong move. I also don't trust ESPN or the SEC. So voting against them is fine by me. I agree the Pac12 had more to gain with playoff expansion, but the long term health of the game requires some other questions answered first.

Taking Bo was a win - win situation. A new coaching staff with 2 highly touted freshman who were in reality unknown to the new staff, so you add an experienced starter who has familiarity with the OC. This gives the new staff some assurance of getting an offense going. While we as fans might be willing to give Ty a season to develop (lose some winnable games) the new staff wants best chance of winning right out of the gate. And both Ty and Jay still have a real shot at winning the starting job. Also, the "brass ring" is now what it is all about unfortunately. 'Natty' or bust. In Bo's case, he got a new coach that didn't recruit him at Auburn, so reuniting with Dillingham makes since.

It will be decided by QB play. Whoever becomes our starter will need to play well. If we can keep the score close... ...anything is possible.

Apparently, the Beavs are more of a football school! 😉

Went to Oregon, met my wife there. Her dad taught journalism and we have never been anything but solid Duck fans. Earliest memorable football game was beating Troy Aikman and UCLA.

I don't mind...I just don't know where all the scholarships are coming from. I thought we were full up. What about Conerly or the 2 brother's recently offered? I guess the coaches know what's what.

What a great story and design. I've always thought the design of our "O"(being a combo of Autzen and Heyword) made it the best in all of college. Now the baseball stadium and logo are just as cool. Oregon is the best!

To make the playoffs, and win a Natty, we have to win. We need to be able to beat really good teams. So with that in mind, a strong USC is good for us. For me, having USC throwing $$ at recruits is just fine. We don't need those type of players. We want team players. I believe we will win many, if not most, of our recruiting battles with them. DL and staff can and will hold their own. The latest coaching hire from Kansas City shows me coach Dan is thinking ahead, wanting a strong recruiting and teaching team. I personally would love to see us lead in every game by 30...it's easier on my heart! But all those wins when 'Joey and the heart attack kids ' played were very satisfying. So bring on USC. Bring on Utah. Bring 'em all on. Cuz one by one we'll knock 'em all down.

Aren't we setting the bar rather low?

This is a great tool for players to receive $$. I love that it will be split evenly amongst all players. Will it include walk-ons too?

I wouldn't say "actually nothing". The currency is over $3000 each which makes the starting bid about $38,000. That's a little out of my price range. Though in this instance, you actually get a real pair of shoes. Must be nice shoes.

There is no state income tax in FL. So that there is a big increase in $$.

That type of presence has gone the way of "pay me the money". That type of play requires a team first attitude. Like the pro game, it's all about padding your stats.