Haywarduck

Number one and two is you have to work really hard because you can't recruit to Oregon, right? Competing against schools with elite talent in their backyards is a tough task and too hard for most staffs. I guess we have this one and now we have to wait for the kids to mature into a team. The next one is you have to have some consistency in staff. Oregon needs great coaching, but we also need time with the staff to instill their scheme and expectations. This season has a chance with a spring season, summer training and fall camp. Last season was a mess with new staff and little time to train together. I also think hiring our new DC and one of his old staff was brilliant. You not only have to get the players on board, but staff too. With Moorhead he inherited the pistol and had to incorporate this into his system. A coordinator needs control of the product. With the defense Cristobal seems to understand how it works, on offense, I am not so sure. Lastly the planets have to line up just right. I am not sure what the formation of the planets needs to be, but we haven't seen it yet, close, but the planets still need to move a little bit to make it work. Oh and the last item is an elite qb needs to rise up and take over. We can't win with this RB group, and a qb who isn't the man who can lead a team on the field. What I actually want to see is a qb who can audible. I want to hear the qb yell 'Omaha' at the line of scrimmage!

All you have to do to pick off a Husky verbal is.............. yell squirrel, right?

Good play, lead recruiter no longer at UW. The job Cristobal does is second to none. His teammate in high school is a 4* committed? to....... Washington.

I would be satisfied with the Alabama legacy, without the violations, but that seems like the SEC way. When Bryant left they stayed pretty strong for over a decade. It was the violations, and getting caught, which really killed that program. What is truly amazing is how quickly we have recovered from the CK days. It seems like, Cristobal is building another extremely strong program that may be resilient again. We do need to grow some strong assistants, internally, and have them ready to grow the program. We also need to keep the program clean of any violations, and it seems like Cristobal is all above board.

This team will only go as far as Duarte takes it. The good news is it looks like Duarte wants to and can take us a ways. Duarte is the real deal!

As 30Duck stated, interesting question, and one that has no exact answer. I do think it comes down to your goal, and your ability to meet that goal. Cristobal's goal is to win it all, and he has the ability to recruit to that end. Helfrich, on the other hand, was just trying to continue something, and he had little ability to meet that objective. Cristobal is the master at recruiting. This is true with student athletes and with coaches. He can identify and sell both groups at an elite level. Helfrich couldn't recruit either group. Cristobal has the connections within the coaching world too. He was at Alabama which gave him exposure to a level of coaches Helfrich could only dream about. Helfrich was left with hiring from within and then looking for somebody who was willing to take a risk. With the recruiting of student athletes like Cristobal has done coaches are lining up to help out. Who wouldn't want to coach Thibs, Sewell, Flowe and others? It does come down to who do you know, who can you sell and how aggressive are you? Cristobal checks all the boxes at the 10-11 level, Helfrich checked those boxes at the 4 level. Cristobal is also under the gun to win now, and grow the program. He didn't take over a program that was elite. Hiring from within when your program is still developing isn't the best option. I find it interesting that Cristobal seems to be interviewing by playing against coordinators and experiencing their ability. He lost to BSU and hired their DC, same with Cal. Not a bad way to go about the job of hiring. What I hope for is Cristobal to stay for a good long time, win it all and then pass the baton to a hotshot assistant who can expand the program. This is tricky, but when you have a system in place that works it is much more viable to hire from within. You almost need too because you don't want somebody to come in, and change a winning system. Bellotti kept a winning system going and allowed it to develop further. The problem was when we extended this to the next internal hire. The guy has to be head coach material, or coordinator material and have an ability to grow a program, not just hold on.

Lake took over for the guy that turned the program around, and gets credit for coasting through one season at home, no higher then 10 until he does something more than last season. J. Smith took over a train wreck and is given little credit for what he has done, at least 6. Putting Helton where he is for hanging on is also a joke, maybe 9. I think Chip Kelly is a hell of a coach, but he too is a coach who took over a well seasoned machine and leveraged the program in place when he was at Oregon. Since then his flaws have come out and rating him this high is also a joke, maybe 8. I do think Wilcox is proving he knows how to run a complete program. Shaw and Whittingham deserve their spots. Dorrell seems like a miracle worker, but we will see longterm. So the north has 4 pretty good coaches, while the south has one guy who knows how to run a complete program, Whittingham. Maybe Dorrell will give him a run, but more likely Herm will put something together. The big item is Oregon needs to live up to it's recent history and recruiting prowess or our coach should drop like a rock in the standings. Another interesting item is Lake and Helton would seem to be the only guys who can really find themselves on the hot seat after next season. Most of these guys will be given the benefit of the doubt. We can hope Helton hangs on again, and Lake is given another shot to keep pushing to break the 12 straight loss record against our Beloved Ducks

What I saw, fully accept I am not an expert, was Shough didn't see the dimensions on the field or have the skills for the college game. He could make the throws, which we saw, but he doesn't see the whole field or have the complete capability for this level. What I mean is Shough doesn't see how a player will be open over the top, or even as a player enters a zone. I also question whether Tyler can make the throws over a defense, let alone see the opening a receivers has once he clears a defender. This is what happened in the OSU game with that interception late in the game. A qb can get away with this type of play in high school. Tyler has a strong arm and can get the ball to an open receiver he sees. The problem is Tyler needs to have a repertoire of throws for the college game he doesn't have yet. This is why AB was brought in to finish the drive. Tyler doesn't have the touch AB does or the adroitness to let a play develop. I hope Tyler develops a more seasoned college skillset. If not he will struggle wherever he ends up. I hope he doesn't struggle, but from what I saw the game is too complex, quick and he doesn't have the skills, deftness needed. I will also say that was some good analysis in the video. That was a huge mistake to start the game against ISU. I would have loved to see him talk about the throws he needed to make in other games. Does Tyler see the whole field and can he make those throws?

That was my take and I will be looking for that intensity as the season progresses. Against sc it seemed like the Ducks were sharks that smelled blood in the water. Other times the team looked more like they were waiting for somebody else to do the tough work and then they could go in for the kill. The problem was too few were putting in that extra effort needed to bring down the winning trophy.

My fear exactly, 'our weight room is better than your weight room' so we should be able to beat you! That isn't how the real world works, it is the kid with a big dream, and the will to put a tough plan into action that wins. The video of Najee makes the statement, 'the SEC thinks the west coast is soft,' he went to Alabama to prove them wrong, 'show them otherwise.' Najee isn't just sitting in the beautiful weight room posing. The guy is putting in the work to win a National Title. I wonder, after last year, are the Ducks ready to do the same. Are these young guns ready to lead the program, or just enjoy all that they have with the Oregon Football Program? This question hasn't been answered for me yet.

The question I had, last season, was what went wrong, on the players side of things? Jordon said he lost weight, and others just seemed out of shape. Did the training program get lost in the pandemic, or was there just no leadership among the team of players? This then leads to the question of what can be done to make sure the team doesn't get outdone, buy lesser athletes? From players getting beat on the DL to injuries that seemed to be partly from a lack of conditioning, I wonder just how serious the players were about the 2020 season? I don't have any first hand information, please share if you do, but it seemed like the players weren't in the best condition going into the 2020 season. When you are getting pushed around and just beat by lesser talent, something is wrong about how you are getting prepared. What was the conditioning program last offseason, and what is it now? Did the Ducks sit around in the Duck lounge, more than the weight room before last season? What is being done this season to ensure we don't see our Ducks muddle through the early season and have injuries pop up too often? I can agree the coaches may not of had enough time to get the players clicking with the scheme they were trying to instill. What I wonder about was the dedication, that edge, elite programs have when the season starts. Do these young Ducks have what it takes to lead the talent level to the heights many expect? I think we can all agree Noah mainly needs to bring his energy and talents under control to reach his potential. Do too many of the other Ducks need a kick in the feathers, or was last season just an anomaly? Who on the Oregon Program is going to "show them otherwise"

Just wow

She does have a younger sister, just saying.....

I think you are talking about 3 different types of rehab.

They all had troubles at sc and they all left with a belief, still there for their skills. Marinovich was even a 1st round draft pick, ahead of Farve. I wish them all well, but a guy like Leavitt makes one mistake, and few want anything to do with him. Some people just have that 'it' where people want to believe they are everything and more, yet we have flaws which are hard to hide. Kiffin is probably the biggest charlatan. He has talents, but the coattails he is riding on are long and I just don't respect the guy. I think the guy has gotten the benefit of the doubt each and every step of his career. "Just ride along with Nick and you'll get another shot."

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!