Haywarduck

Did Drake enter the transfer portal ;)!

Thanks for sharing, the ultimate badge of honor, frustrating the top lineman in football. I doubt Donald does this to too many O-lineman, mostly just waves as he goes by and through them. Penei's play screams Pro Bowl, Hall of Fame type career at the NFL level, well done!

Every programs coaching hires are important. Every fan bases support for their coach is important. SC doesn't have an AD who knows how to hire a coach who can win in LA. The question will be does he fall into a great hire, because the lists and prospects aren't good. The other aspect is the AD and fanbase have made the job a very unattractive place to coach. Who in their right mind would leave a good, appreciated job to sit on a seat, which is already hot? They are going to have to hire somebody who wants to rebuild their reputation, end of story. That coach is then going to have to do a complete rebuild of the many aspects needed for a successful program, good luck with that one. This all adds up to a bonus for the Oregon program. I think, sooner rather than later, the top prospects are going to see through the glare coming off the program, and see it is coming off mirrors, a simple smoke and mirror show. It could be argued that is already happening. Oregon is The Program on the west coast, we win, still have a allure which hopefully we preserve, and build on as Cristobal's tenure continues to grow. The AD and fanbase need to keep fostering this growth, while understanding the process.

Interesting and spot on analysis of Chip's situation. We may want to say Cristobal is the most stubborn coach, and will be unable to get us to the National Title. His progression towards what he has stated is agonizingly slow. There is progress though and growth. I think Chip is the poster boy for a stubborn coach who will never take the steps need to reach even true success as a head coach. He was put into an enviable situation at Oregon he may never truly appreciate. He may end up at some high school back east coaching at a level where his genius is effective. Right now his genius is just annoying, what could have been! The backdrop photo says so much about Chip's coaching career.

The scheme was also what AB does well, with a few exceptions. I hope Joe also learns from this and keeps AB doing what he does best. AB is actually a very good qb when asked to pass the ball, it seems, no further than 10-15 yds down the field. It will be interesting to see a future defense play a press coverage and what AB can do. If I was an opposing coach that is what I would have learned. I would think between what AB does well and our running game we can score enough to win out. The question is the turnover game if AB gets slinging it. Oregon needs to stay in its lane and keep executing. Great analysis and thanks for all your hard work on the article, enjoyed it!

Best of luck to the young man. I think it is a sign the team is healthy when a walk-on O-lineman is starting, and a 5* O-lineman enters the transfer portal. You earn what you get when you come to Oregon!

Thought bubbles

Weren't they picked to go undefeated this preseason? The dawgs are the preseason darlings, much like the trojans down south, both at 3-4.

Yep, a picture is worth a thousand words, this one is worth a million!

This question begs the question, will a Saban type coach stay at Oregon or come to Oregon? I say this because it seems most fans know exactly what a Saban type coach looks like and they will only accept this type of coach. The discussion about questioning, it seems, Cristobal's every move, the dramatic changes needed under Cristobal, who would we hire next and on and on happen too often. The main question which gets bandied about is who should Oregon hire next. Do we really think we can pick and get the next Nic Saban? I hope Cristobal, better than most fans, understands he is undergoing a longterm project. The hope is he can put it all together and win a national title. I think he probably understand this better than most, but does he think he can survive, or want to survive this process in Eugene? He has said yes before, but is he still thinking this? We need to be critical in our analysis, I completely agree with this. I have been very critical at times, and frustrated too. We also have to be very clear in our support. Nobody wants to build something while it is continually being torn down. The last home game was, in my opinion, fans just tearing down the program. We need to be better than that, because we aren't doing better than what we got. If you look at most programs, we will undoubtedly do much worse with a new coach, and just be another program trying to find the quick fix. The trust and respect needed to build a program, we use to have, took decades, and was almost critically damaged in just a few bad moves. Brooks and Bellotti made lots of mistake on their way to building the program and learned a lot on the way. I hope we don't make the same bad moves other programs have, I doubt we will have the same outcome we did with Cristobal, so quickly.

I will also say when someone doesn't read something well and makes a mistake it is much easier to correct. It is when someone reads something perfectly and then can't do it, there is a problem.

Is there greater confidence in the passing game or greater delusion, stay tuned, the latter is my greatest concern going forward. We can win out, but we have to really know our strengths and weaknesses. AB is a good qb, but he isn't what seems to be becoming the understanding of those in control.

This morning there is a little technology issue with posting. The submit button next to the delete button has become transparent and you can either barely see it or maybe not at all. The button is still right next the delete button, on the right. Maybe if you try hard to see the submit you can, or just try clicking next to the delete until this issue is corrected. Thanks for your patience an operator will be with you shortly, fortunately not the case.

My fear is those around him and maybe AB thinks he is an NFL talent, and needs to show he can throw the long ball. I definitely don't know it all and he could surprise us all. I just don't want the surprise I am expecting to come to fruition. That won't be good for Brown, or the Green and Yellow. Anyone who saw Richard Pryor can put their own tagline on this shot. He, I think, expresses the look on Oregon fans faces when decisions are made which can best be called questionable.

He is like someone learning to drive who made it home a couple times and now a few around him seem to think he can take the sports car out, with a manual stick, and hit the highway. We need to keep him with an automatic transmission and just cruising around the neighborhood he knows well. I am not saying AB necessarily wants to go full bore with passing, but the coaches need to guide him and control his opportunities. We don't need to see him doing something the risk reward isn't heavily in our favor.

A 50/50 ball to our taller receivers is a great idea. The problem is the ball has to be thrown in a way both guys have a 50/50 chance of catching the ball. Against Stanford the DB, or was it a linebacker knew exactly what AB was going to throw and almost caught two interceptions. I have been surprised no other defense has been able to read the limited number of passes AB is able to throw. The pass to the sideline is AB's pass and a very exposed throw on its way across the field. A longer ball to our taller receiver has to be where our guy is. I don't think we can count on AB to make that precise of a pass down the field. What I am trying to do is live with AB as our qb the rest of the season. He has his limitations, one turnover against Cal and two against UCLA. I don't think AB can be counted on to win games like many of our previous qb's could. We need him to manage the game, hand the ball off, make the passes he is good at, and limit his mistakes, opportunities to make mistakes. I thought UCLA was AB's chance to show us he could pass. I just hope the game didn't make him and the coaches cocky he can now make any throw on the field, he can't, and if he does we will see even more interceptions and the games outcome at even more risk.

What I saw was a very good running team, the Ducks need to understand they are a run first team. We have Dye and others who can carry the load. If the Ducks run the ball 60% of the time and have AB throw short passes 40% of the time we just might win out. We can beat all the teams with this scenario and the team performing to their potential. The problem I see is Cristobal now thinking AB can make all the throws. We are going to see even more interceptions if AB throws more, and throws passes he isn't good at. This season hinges on the Ducks realizing their strengths and weaknesses. I think our Achilles Heal, going forward, will be the interception. AB had 4 last Saturday when he tried to light it up, 2 were called back. They may be halfway there but they need to realize what got them there and how to get the rest of the way, on the ground! If AB is our guy, then we have to realize his limitations, if not, we will be disappointed.

I am willing to wonder too. It would seem the coaches see AB throw the long ball at practice when the receiver is the only item to focus on. Come game time there are many more variables involved, along with the crowd and expectations. AB can often make a few of the passes and the right decision on running, but struggles with the extremely dynamic decisions on game day, like many of us would. Let's bring in Butterfield, who supposedly is the best passer on obvious passing downs. Let him fling it to Thornton who would probably outrun just about any DB in the Pac-12. If the safety is playing deep Butterfield can hit one of the crossing routes. Maybe I lack the football knowledge, but I can see AB just can't make these decision or throws, so we should give a try! Who knows we might just have a qb ready, or at least more ready next season.

Great topic, hidden in the stats, 4 INT's, not the 2 INT's the stat line shows. The stats that scream out to me are the turnovers, we have to beat teams with turnovers. We might be able to beat Colorado without a great turnover ratio, but not the others. If AB becomes a turnover liability it will be hard to keep him on the field, even at 7-8 and 1. Scratching the surface, just below the surface may be a place we don't want to go. Mario might see more potential, but he needs to keep his hands up or that potential will pop him in the face.

My takeaway, ponder point is I actually wonder if AB has depth perception issues. He throws a really good ball to the sideline, laterally. He also throws a decent ball on crossing patterns as the player is moving mostly lateral. AB's problem is when a receiver is moving down the field. When he looks downfield it almost seems like he has no idea where the defense is, which come into play a little on the crossing patterns. It also almost seems like he is guessing where the receiver might end up when he ends up throwing long. Mario hinted it was also the receivers not running routes well, but when a receiver runs long, it is about depth perception, and processing this information visually. It might just be the slower the receiver the better for AB? Maybe only throw long with the DB falls down and there is no safety? He had a very good game, but he didn't process the defense well in situations most qb's should excel at.

Interestingly no Pac-12 teams are in the running for any of the top ten RB's or DT's. I think Oregon is doing well, but we need a game changer at RB to break through. We also need a DT who eats O-lineman. I have to believe one of the qb recruits will break through, but we need some cream at these other two positions to really break through against the top programs.

The problem I see, the beavs take this game very seriously, want it bad. It could again mean everything as far as the type of bowl game each program ends up at. The Ducks need to take this as serious as the Smith led beavs do. I mean seriously, the game use to be so intense it had to be moved to a neutral site. Riots took place after games. I don't want riots, or a neutral site, but I do want Oregon to want this game more than the beavs do! This will be another test for this Cristobal team, can they play with passion and purpose and knock them out!

I look at the 2021 Oregon Football Team like the boxer with unlimited potential who can never put away an opponent, always going the distance, trying to win by the judges call. The 2001 team was the boxer who almost always got knocked down, but would come off the mat, and you could never count out. The main characters who portray the 2021 boxer are Anthony Brown with the jab which just isn't strong enough or fast enough to really set up the devastating hook, played by Thibs. Mario, of course, comes in as the trait this guy always drops his hands, gets hit, and puts the opponent right back in the fight. It wouldn't take much to keep the hands up, but maddeningly he can't learn that lesson. The rest of the team is just how amazing this fighter looks before and after the fight, he should put anyone away, win the fight, get the belt and be the champion! This team, like the boxer described, has injuries and self inflicted injuries, but it just keeps going. I would argue he isn't as fun to watch as the guy who you can never count out. He is the boxer we are watching and oh the potential, just keep the hands up!

Siberia is actually full of life. I would say he is headed to the Antartica of the NFL. He will be playing with a bunch of penguins and the occasional Leopard Seal. Penei and Thibs may be the only Leopard Seals on that team, sad.

I think you are hitting on the emotional roller coaster of this team. We have an offense which can't put the game away, actually often gives chances to the opposing team, while the defense isn't definitively dominant. Charles mentioned the 2001 teams comeback wins. Somehow I always believed that team was coming back, Joey would lead us. With this team I left the tv at the end of the Stanford game because I knew I didn't know what the outcome would be. I didn't want to experience the angst, 'what just happened' emotion.