Haywarduck

These programs which pay huge $'s don't always end up on top. I wish him well, health wise, but the guy isn't a sure thing. For some reason there is a love for all things Kiffin and Sark. They are the Todd Marinovich's of college coaching. They have some of the measurables, but it takes a lot to become a great head coach, or qb.

Vince Goldsmith was one of our greatest lineman ever. He was undersized and ended up in Canada. I don't put Jordon in Vince's category, but he seems more in line with the Canadian game than the NFL. I wish him luck, and am grateful for his time at Oregon. What would we have done without this under appreciated high school recruit?

Good for him, taking on a tough task, bringing back TT. I think I would have rather stayed around the talent at Oregon, but he decided to take on a bigger challenge, impressive. Best of luck and I hope the academics stays a priority for him.

Revenge...?, he should be asking for forgiveness for helping take down sc. The guy should just worry about taking care of himself. I wish the guy luck, and hope he can keep it together. The guy is a potential train wreck, revenge isn't a good look on the guy, he should be grateful.

The first question with Jordon was how did the #51 DT prospect in his class become our man in the middle, well done! The second question, I had, was he really 6' 1"? Going to the last question, can he return to what we saw at points in his career? I hope so, love the guy! I am left scratching my head with a lot of what happened last season. I am ready to move on! I think the team was maybe on the Ron Burgundy weight lifting program.

I will also say none of us know who is going to come out on top, not even the coaches. I have romanced the idea of Ashford coming out on top because of my bias's. I completely acknowledge that, and will be fine if one of the others becomes the starter. I just want to see a competition where one guy comes out on top. I also want to see the other guys valued, and ready to take over. This won't be an easy job with so many ego's and such an open spot to fill. Probably the toughest job is having so many qualified candidates, and being able to have each one think they got a fair shot. This will probably be the most important job as we need to have an elite back-up ready to go. If we are already saying Ty, JB, AB or Ashford should start I can only imagine the talk on the team. The toughest job will be to lead this team towards another leader gracefully.

"Thompson is undoubtedly the future of the program. It’s a matter of “when” not “if” he’ll start." I hope the coaches don't go into the spring thinking this way. It is bad enough when the NFL drafts a sure thing and puts the qb into the starters role too early. I don't want to see our program put Ty in just because the talent scouts say he is the highest rated qb on the roster. There will be a competition and we have no idea who will come out of top. I hope the coaches are evaluating everything going forward, and few of the stuff which has happened up to this point. We need the qb who is the best for this program, this offense and this team of players. We don't need the next in line, the most experienced, the highest rated or any of a number of metrics which some may look to. What we need is the guy who has proven he has the 'it' factor in our offense, with our players. We also need a couple guys who know they are next in line and have a real opportunity to lead this team. This has to be an open competition where everyone knows who wins and what is going to take to grow into that position.

Great question, has anyone ever asked Mario directly if he called the third and short up the middle, or was it somebody else? I would pay to see that answered by Mario. There would be follow up questions, but just getting that answered would clear up a lot of speculation.

If you could change one thing about Mario what would it be? Many lament our offensive output, how would you change what he is doing to correct that? Some complain about his clock management, what would you do to change that aspect? What is your beef with the boss? We are married to Mario, but just like with our spouse, there is room for constructive criticism which only makes the relationship stronger. I don't think any of us want a divorce, but what would make the bond more complete? My constructive criticism is the lack of speed on the team. We have, arguably, the best track program and facilities in the nation. We need to bring speed to the program so we can be like Alabama this past season and LSU the year before. When you have people nobody can keep up with you then have the edge. We are upgrading just about every position, but I still don't see the speed Oregon was known for in the past.

Much like the effort on the field, court and track, we all benefit from the achievements by the athletes when they put it on the line for our Ducks. Charles is our athlete, and his efforts allow us all to win, as he puts the Herculean effort out there and financial backing to get Fishduck online. A big thanks go out to the student athletes whose effort bring us joy, and a big thanks goes towards Charles who gives us this forum to discuss which furthers that joy. Without either of these pastimes our lives wouldn't be the same! Oregon sports are know for innovating and leading other programs. Charles also is a leader in creating this fan forum. I hope we all realize just how special this is. Charles has created something truly unique and innovative. With gratitude I say you deserve recognition for what you have created, thank you!

The reality of 2020-21 is that we have Cristobal for the longterm and, as stated, the team is one voice, one heart beat. Contrast that with what you see at sc and we are very lucky. Cristobal brings players in, keeps them moving forward and in tune. The other item is he brought in the best class we have ever had, and still has a chance at one of, if not the best player in the class. Top that with 3 4* recruits, already, for the 2022 class and pipeline to the playoffs is primed. I love the picture of Cristobal sitting on the field with his player. Contrast that with, what I remember was, Helton chasing after his players, tying to get them to behave and get off the field. This is Cristobal's team, program and family. We do indeed have a lot to be thankful, but questions do remain. There is plenty of time to discuss and answer those questions. This doesn't take away from our ability to be grateful, and still ponder those points. This is what is so nice about Fishduck, which we should also be grateful for. Thank you Charles, and bring on Spring Ball!

Great point, the whole Covid-19 thing has to help keep kids closer to home and lean toward smaller school populations, I would think, as a parent. Bama, and tOSU are bigger schools and, of course, further away. Would you want your child in a larger school further away, with this risk, not me. tOSU is closer to 50k students, Oregon is closer to 20k. This is all conjecture, but seems to make logical sense. Bring him, Cristobal!

All the indicators seem to show Oregon has done pretty well during this extended dead period. I would also say the questions he has with the other programs will go unanswered, so that helps the known, Oregon. The big question is can Cristobal seal the deal, we all know that answer. My bet, Oregon, sooner than later with the latest news.

I think the Herbert, Tua question is, does it makes sense to draft a college qb, who has NFL receivers, higher than a qb with little support? Tua, Burrow and Johnny Football all had guys who would catch anything and get open against anyone. This seems to be missed by the scouts every time. This also can answer the question about how important it is to recruit elite talent at WR. A qb can be made with top talent at TE and WR. A qb can also look questionable without support. We still don't have an unquestionable elite receiver on our active roster. Who is going to develop into one, or who is the freshman phenom? We need elite talent to help our new qb. Maybe JTT can be the go to guy for our next qb? The whole Brady to Gronk thing, in my opinion, is underrated. Every qb needs a go to receiver to help them, and make everyone else look better. In the NFL it always seems like the elite qb has an amazing TE. This position, in my opinion, is underrated in the college game. Most college teams, Oregon a perfect example, look at the TE as a blocking guy, who might catch a few. We need a guy who is a threat and that will change our O for the better. Great topic to ponder, thanks!

The defense has to come together and help the offense. If this happens then the offense can grow as the season progresses. The problem last year was evident in our game against OSU. Shough struggled and the defense wasn't there to help him out. Next year we need the defense to be there when our qb struggles. If this happens then next season could be a fun one. We could also have a qb rise and take over with authority. We could then have a season to remember. I am not counting on this, we need to the defense to lead next year in every game.

It is defense that holds a team together and wins games. Eugene had an off night, but was a force on the defensive end. This is what Altman teams do as the season comes to a close. Now if the offense comes alive and the defense stays tight, we might see a decent run. Monday's game will be telling. Can the Ducks put the O and D together against the top team?

Everybody has a lucky color, fortunately Oregon knows their lucky colors, green and yellow. Why would anyone, when you know you need luck, not where their lucky color(s)? I mean really, why would you go out of your way to wear, what many consider not even to be a color, grey. When I see Oregon line up for a competition without green and yellow I just shake my head. Who would try and win anything of value without all the luck you can get. You need science, but most importantly you need luck! I don't care about statistics, this is just common sense;).

I hope he also has a Master's program picked out. His strength and almost all players end game is academics. He also has this as a priority so he will undoubtedly end up well. I also wish him well on the field, unless he is playing against the green and yellow!

Another item is if you are a back-up to a dual threat qb, you are one play away from being the starter. The real question is do the athlete's think they are getting developed well at Oregon? In the past we have turned out a Heisman Trophy winner and the NFL ROY. If we see too many transfer's then maybe they aren't getting developed? I think the support is there, the competition is just getting more fierce. Also the O-line is extremely good, the RB help is improving, the WR's talent is elevating too. If I was an elite qb I would stay, and work hard for the opportunity. Something special is about to happen at Oregon!

I doubt too many 18 year olds are thinking about what is sustainable. They are invincible and the world is theirs for the taking. The wisdom you speak of comes from experience, and the saying goes, experience comes from bad decisions. I also applaud the young for taking the opportunity to take a chance and make some bad decisions! I would also say there is no experience like being the guy, qb, on a D1 team with a chance at glory. Just about every teen I have known is looking, maybe, at tomorrow, not the next ten plus years. Go for it, Mr. Ashford, live the life you dream about, no regrets!

I don't think Brock Purdy beating him for the 5th straight time helped either. I hope Tyler is able to move on from his high ratings and make the impact he wants. Oregon went with the highly rated qb, and let the scrappy kid go to another school. Actually most schools looked past Brock, Alabama wanted him to walk on as a preferred. They saw the talent, but Oregon just went with the ratings and didn't see the potential. Who is going to be the scrappy gamer out of who is left on the roster? We need somebody who has 'it.'

Nice article on how a student athlete who wants to play two sports is supported at the University of Oregon. He isn't the first and hopefully will joined by another two sport athlete soon! If you have a dream come to Oregon to make it come true.

Justin and Marcus should help in our recruiting. The Heisman and then NFL rookie of the year is a good track record for a program going after qb's. The question is does our recruiting of these two, 3* diamonds in the rough, help us in how we recruit. I would love to see us recruit a fastball throwing baseball pitcher, who is a 6' 2" point guard, that also lead his team to a unexpected deep run in the football playoffs for his high school. This is, of course, a made up scenario, but I love the multi-sport athlete, who plays under the radar, no recruiting camps. Can we find the 'Brock Purdy type,' who is a gamer, and doesn't have all the exact measurables? Do we recruit the kids who aren't highly touted anymore? There have to be plenty of Vernon Adams, Masoli's, or Josh Allens just waiting to be discovered, right? These are the kids who make every program better. We need the kids who outwork everybody and knows how to make everyone around them better, they are just gamers. Bill Musgrave was probably my favorite gamer, weak arm, not fast, but knew how to win. We need to at least bring in a gamer to push the elite crowd to new heights.

I hope he gains those tools elsewhere, but I agree with this assessment. The problem with some of these highly rated kids is they may not want to hear about their weaknesses, or those around him may not be able to see them. I hope he does and the Chris Boucher article would be a good one for any athlete to read to better understand what it takes to make it.

I look at the Chileduck depth chart all the time, love it, grateful!