Haywarduck

I would put that as the definition of predictable. The next predictable outcome is the extremely poor outcomes of more of these student athletes. The negative impacts won't end there!

I am sure the Animal House experiences abound. A few times, if the truth be told.

As crazy as it seems, I expect nothing less, or more than an Altman miracle every year. We are truly fortunate to have Dana Altman as our head coach!

I would take whoever Dan picks up and see how it works out. I am flat out fascinated by Lanning and his ways. The coaches he has picked up are an amazing group of talented mentors. When Dan calls people not only answer they listen and sign up. That is an impressive thing for a young inexperienced, actually no experience, head coach. When you sign up up to coach under a head coach you are, much like in recruiting putting your future in his hands. Now we are watching him in action with recruits. I have a feeling he wants kids who are different than what Mario signed up. They may not be completely different, but I look forward to seeing any material difference in the types of kids he signs up. Mario talked about liking kids who couldn't live without football. I want to hear a description of what Dan looks for in a recruit. My hope is there is more of a potential outlook on his radar. We need athletes who have potential and character to develop and a willingness to lead and follow the path to greatness. They will just be names, locations and star ratings for now. I want to begin to hear what they are to Dan, the coaches and what they become as Ducks. Exciting times indeed!

I think we have all had some deeply religious experiences at Autzen, I suppose some more than others.

They will have to continue to call if for liability reasons, I would think. The penalty and way it is called can be adjusted. When an offensive players lowers his head that has to be taken in consideration. Too many times I saw calls that caused by the action of the offensive players. I also agree a full game suspension for many of the penalties is too harsh. The defenseless player calls need to continue though.

It is a potential mess and a potential amazing hand to play. The mess is the potential fan expectations with so much talent to direct. The culture also is muddled with little focus on winning week to week. If the fans can have some patience and Lanning knows how to create the culture he has been part of then all will be good. There is a big difference between seeing it done and being able to do it. Each coach has a different way of doing things with the student athletes and the coaches can react differently. We won't know how he interacts and leads for a while. Like I mentioned there is no tradition of how to create the culture needed. I will interested to see if Lanning has any tricks to create that winning culture. I contend a coach needs some methods to guide a large group the direction he wants them to go. He has definitely seen it done, but now can he do it on his own. The culture will be the creature he will have to nurture.

Being a slow week maybe we can share some Animal House memories. I for one did step foot into the Delta House, and a little more than a foot, no details. As most who went to Oregon, I spend time in many of the places where scenes were shot.

Troy and Justin carried us through some tough times. CJ and Travis endured a difficult time and we all benefited. Thank you to all who helped us through those turbulent times. Hopefully we are off to better era, and will always be grateful to those who brought us here. I wish all the best to CJ in his near and distant future! Thanks for the memories. The memories I will carry of CJ was he did what asked to the best of his abilities. That will serve him well in the future.

Whoever does will be a lucky man. This goes for the qb job and the receiver jobs too. The new offense is going to be exciting to watch and be part of, Go Ducks!

Much better writing, "Ending brilliance like Chiefs-Bills with an NFL overtime is like ending a Mozart symphony with a loud fart."

In soccer there is overtime, but no sudden death until 2, 15 minute periods of play, in the playoffs. If at that time there is still a tie then they go to the shoot out most Americans detest. In the NFL the playoffs are won or lost most likely with the flip of a coin in overtime. This is a travesty for the NFL's product. The Chiefs and Bills played a great game, that was basically decided by a flip of a coin. The rules need to be changed, especially after seeing one of the greatest playoff games end that way. In regular season if they want to decide it with a flip of a coin then maybe it is ok. In the playoffs let the game roll for another 5 minutes, and keep it rolling, no sudden death, ever!

I actually think Chip was pretty good at all three while at Oregon. With a little help in recruiting he could have taken us over the hump, almost did. The big item I am speaking to is being the CEO, probably the biggest job, if they can step away from being a control freak. I think this was the downfall of both Cristobal and Chip. They became control freaks and couldn't delegate important roles. I think the culture of the coaches, players and program is the most critical part. Taking control and then guiding the program strongly is the hidden part we don't often see. Chip did this very well, Bellotti did it very well for a long time, but it wained. We see this in corporations, schools and many places. The leader, whether quietly, or loudly can make or break an organization by how he/she leads. I am just wondering what dynamic Lanning will have with this element. What type of leadership will he provide with the Oregon Football Program and can he provide the strong leadership a program like ours needs?

Agree, if you stand still the competition just moves further away. I haven't seen too many moves by George to help shore up the conference. Fortunately Oregon and sc have done their part. One item I don't get is the obsession with starting our games earlier. The NFL has late games which have very high viewership. What we need is a quality product. I agree a diverse product would help too. Bringing in schools from Texas and other states would help. I do admit I don't get the whole tv contract structure. It would seem if the Pac-12 puts a compelling product on the fields the tv contract will be an easy sell.

What is it which makes the best head coach come game day? What type of coach can you count on to have his players ready to play every Saturday, and maybe even the second Monday in January. I ask this question because with a young coach it may be hard to establish the principles within a program to help them succeed. Most of us were fooled by Mario. He sounded like THE head coach. I remember people talking about how he just had the presence and said the right things, just felt like a head coach. As we know, words can be hollow and a look can be deceiving. He did have one of the elements, he brought the talent, recruited well. I think Chip Kelly defined himself as a great coach when he suspended Blount for the punch against Hout in the Boise State game. From that moment on the players new CK meant business and he was in charge. He would make the tough decisions and also had the best interest of the players in mind. They both feared and loved CK from that moment on. He also had the scheme and got some important talent to work with. That culture continued under Helfrich, but once the trained players were off the team, it all fell apart. Helfrich could certainly scheme, although his ‘go for 2 obsession’ was a flaw. The problem, he couldn’t recruit, and most importantly he couldn’t continue, nor grow the culture. It didn’t take long to see he wasn’t did have it, the ability to lead players, build the culture needed. Compare that era to Mario’s handling of the airsoft gun incident, and it is a stark contrast. Mario stumbled and just let DJ James and Jamal Hill back on the team with no evident program discipline. Even if it was symbolic, discipline coming from the top is incredibly important so the players know who is in charge, and what the expectations are. The team seemed to see that as a free pass to act and play on the field as they wanted. Not everyone, but the margin players see this and react accordingly. It then infects the whole program. The penalties, and mistakes under Cristobal were too plentiful. I remember in the OSU game in 2020 when there were missed blocks and nothing was said, or done to fix it. Same seemed to happen with penalties too often. There was the famous dressing down of Hutson, but that wasn’t the norm, and may have just been an indication Cristobal’s discipline was an achilles heal. You practice what you see on game day. Cristobal seemed too in love with being the student athletes friend, rather than the tough mentor, and creating the culture of winning. The big question is does Lanning have the behind the scenes act to instill that type of relationship with the players. I say behind the scenes because I fully admit I don’t know exactly what happens over 90% of the time. We get to see small signs and sometimes big events, but the culture of the team is formed over many interactions. Will Lanning grab this team by the heart and soul, and make them a great team? The Ohio State program tries to create a winning culture with their black stripe, actually an Urban Meyer tradition. The upper classmen teach the freshman how to act, and the freshman work to lose the black stripe. It is a much anticipated tradition within the program. It would seem Day isn’t instilling the same intensity with this tradition. Maybe he will, but maybe he is struggling with being a first time head coach. It is easy to see the relationship Saban and Belichick have with their players. The players both love and fear them. They know the coaches have their best interests in mind, but the players have to prove they have the best interest of the team each and every day. If the player doesn’t earn the trust of these coaches they don’t play. It is also a long, tough road to earn that trust. We may see the same struggle with Lanning, but he has no inherited tradition to help him instill the discipline needed to create a dominant program. Maybe he will have something he has learned along the way. Slick had the supposed earn a low number, but that was never really used. It will be interesting to watch what he does over the weeks, months and years of his tenure. Lanning seems to say the right things. Fortunately we have seen half of a team he has coached, The Georgia Defense, and they seemed to have had it. If what we see with the Georgia defense extends to what we will see on Rich Brooks Field, then all will be good. It will be interesting to see if his leadership of the bulldog defense extends to leading a complete program. That is the million dollar question, and could become the 8 figure question in the future.

I wrote a bit about this I may put it out there soon. I agree it is the culture a coach creates which is critical. The way a coach deals with the student athletes, the relationship he has with the players is paramount, and under appreciated.

Weren't the dawgs predicted to go undefeated last year, just saying. The proof of a return is still a ways off. The preseason hype, still there.

Seldom have I looked at the sc roster and not wondered, what if, quite a few had become Ducks. I have actually felt sorry for many of the players for their decisions to become trojans. If Hufanga had come to Eugene instead of going to Compton, it may have had a huge impact on our defense. Instead he didn't really develop and became part of a losing program. He did become an all-conference player in his last season, but all conference was singular award. The program didn't become all conference. The award was given for the raw talent he came to the program with. The trojans may again put together all conference talent, but can Riley harness that talent? I kind of hope he does until he meets Oregon and learns what a team of players can do as the season progresses. As they all come together to play like the Ducks of old and win, while the trojans, again, just sparkle as individuals, pound their chests, and wonder after it all is over, what if.

I want to see the Dana Altman Formula happens within the Football Program. Not only do we need to see development of student athletes, but we need to see a progression in the execution of the scheme. If Oregon loses early, and stumbles, what is important is they build as the season progresses. We can call for wins or point totals, but what we really want is to finish strong. The program will be built off of how we finish the season. Winning bowl games, and impressing recruits is where it is at. If we finish strong with multiple early losses I will be extremely happy. If we are erratic and never establish an identity then I will be disappointed. I would be pleased with the Altman Formula, but I really want to be excited about the Lanning formula. That formula will be exposed as the season progresses. The schedule will impact the play of the team. What I want to see is the impact of the coaches and the leadership on the field on the progression of the Oregon Football Program. I want to hear the pundits say you don't want to play Oregon at the end of the season. I also want to see more precision out of the players, and excitement for continued development of what we see on the field. The wins will come.

Your right, saves me the time leading up the award committee. Love what the family did for Oregon, but playing for the trojans takes them out of the running for an award with their name on it.

I will also say there are a lot of people who complain and make excuses. We don't want to give them too much attention or they will just keep believing the nonsense. The reason Jonathan Steward came to Oregon was because they were and are terrible. They need to take care of their own house, and can't. That is the root of the whole problem up north.

I hope he has a career day against the Ducks. The guy deserves to go out with a great performance. I would love to see a duck break into the trojan single season top ten rushing records, wouldn't that be a hoot! I will agree the rest of the trojans can rot in, well you get the idea.

He says he is going home, he should know he has two homes now. Oregon will always be his second home. I would also say he is going to work for the trojans. He went to college and graduated from Oregon, he is now moving on to make a life with his wife. Something many of us did. Thank you and best of luck with the next chapters in your life.

Seeing Tyner play against us as a beaver was like watching a cousin playing against us. Watching Dye as a trojan play against us will be like watching a son. I accept it, but don't like it, and I still love the guy!