Haywarduck

This leaves little doubt players are talked to about playing time and their future in the program by coaches. Players aren't just doing the math themselves if a players son is leaving. It also shows that if a player isn't seeing playing time coaches aren't behind the development a player is getting just through practice. Players need to get on the field if they are to advance in their sport. It would seem a coaches believe if you're not a starter by your sophomore season then you better transfer down. That is what I take from this transfer, maybe I am wrong? Makes sense if your thinking you want to make a NFL. Maybe it is also a position thing, he doesn't want to go where Lanning sees his talent at?

It will be interesting to see if Lanning had a Penix problem, not so much a DeBoer issue. We must remember Mariø beat DeBoer so the magic act isn't just the guy on the sideline. Last night Penix again proved he is the real deal. I also want to see if we need another Dye type player on defense. I mean a leader who has that magical ability to lead, will the defense to make those plays that seemed to sometimes elude us. Maybe a fully healthy Justin Jacobs will be that guy, or my pick freshman Brayden Platt. Oregon needs guys on the field who will a win, and others follow. A team needs a great coach and supporting cast of coaches who meld into a unit of leaders. I see this beginning to more fully happen. I believe this was one element holding us back. In the future I think we will see the systems and processes more fully integrated into a team firing on all systems under Lannings vision. The last element is going to be having another Nix type leader at QB, hopefully Dillon will be that guy. As mentioned we then need that same on field leadership on defense. I think that will happen too, and I won't even begin to talk about the special teams. Hopefully special teams gets gets it going as the other components have. We will need all things working. As we saw with Michigan last night, one part can potentially kill a great season.

I agree it is on the coaches to come out hot too. Jamey Chadwell is much like DeBoer, an up and coming coach most don't fully appreciate. Lanning hasn't passed the DeBoer test, and he now needs to pass the Chadwell test. The other element the Flames have going for them is they are playing for a higher purpose. A favorite O-lineman passed away earlier in the season and they have been playing like they have 12 men on the field since. I agree Oregon has to come out and show the Liberty team our coaches have a game plan that will shut them down and run them over. They don't have advantages, or those perceived advantages will only grow. I think this is a huge opportunity for Oregon and Dan Lanning. Can they rise up to this massive challenge. There are forces happening we need to shut down quick. If it looks like we are being out coached, or they begin to think they can beat us, it might be too late to come back. First quarter is key!

If you were a coach behind a guy, you knew well, and who had lost over 60% of his games coached you would probably stick around too, just saying. By the way, Mariø has a losing record everywhere but Oregon. Leavitt knew Mariø, and was probably blown away at his success at Oregon. Leavitt is a winner, and stuck around to watch the surefire train wreck coming down the tracks. The fact there wasn't a train wreck further proves what an amazing job Head Coach at Oregon is. I wonder how good Oregon would have been under Leavitt, especially compared to Mariø. Leavitt isn't an Oregon type head coach, but I bet he would have done much better than Mariø.

I always liked Leavitt, what a defensive turnaround he gave us. Leavitt just had too many skeletons in his closet, Mariø, on the other hand, has nothing in his closet.

There isn't a good reason Oregon should lose, but it won't be an amazing win. This is, potentially, a trap game, but what elements would we see if it does become a trap game. We may want to turn a blind eye to the possibility to losing this game, but that is exactly when it happens. The first obvious thing the Ducks could do is come out slow, once again. This isn't out of the question as Oregon has lost before because of this tendency. The second obvious thing which could happen is to lose the turnover differential. Unfortunately Liberty is number 11 in the nation in turnover ratio. The Ducks better take care of the ball. Liberty doesn't just rank high in turnover differential they also outrank us in yards per carry. If Liberty gets their rushing game going then their yds. per catch, which outranks us, will begin to hurt. Both teams score 40+ per game, but whose offense is going to get going early? While I agree Liberty doesn't have the Brock Purdy, Shough, Brown differential they need to be respected. The thing about Brock was he wasn't ever respected for winning, exactly what Liberty does. I think Oregon wins easily, but I am not as confident as I would like to be, and I hope the players and coaches aren't either!

The real deal, and may be the guy to bring back the title we won to begin it all.

I just hope we don't rely on team speed on defense too much. We need discipline and excellent tackling. If we rely on speed that may mean we are having to catch a guy in the open field. Speed to help on gang tacking I would love to see.

A recipe for disaster would be to come out flat and then give them turnovers. If that doesn't happen then I think the Oregon offense will be too much. Bo Nix and the rest of the weapons will be unlike anything Liberty has seen this season. That said they won't lay down, and Stein has to scheme for an all out assault out of the gate. Agree the offense Liberty has will provide a lot of challenges our defense has to be disciplined and ready for. This will be a challenge for Tosh and his players to show they aren't just highly rated, but ready for the test. Just wow on the effort and analysis by Charles! Thank you for providing the insights and expertise in knowing our opponent.

Thankfully Ryan Day can go home and relax in his chair, now that the Cotton Bowl is over.

Agree, but I think there are back-ups on our bench who have potential to be extremely special. A couple catches Holden made this season had elements I have never seen in an Oregon uniform. The size, speed and strength Holden has is special. If he continues to impress in practices I would think he could take over as a leading receiver on next years team. Jurrion also has the same build and if he can also put it all together our receiving group may become something even tosu is envious of. If Junior Adams develops as well as he recruits we won't be thinking about what if a Tmac had signed and become a Duck. What matters is our guys develop and perform, and I think they will.

Two statements stand out for me. The first was when he was noted early on saying 'so what now what' to Bo Nix I believe. It doesn't matter who it was it epitomized Lanning's mindset with players. The other was when he was quoted as saying statistics don't matter, it is performance that matters. This again gave us an ability to penetrate into understanding how he deals with players. The first statement gives us an awareness about how the players are expected to go about their tasks. Failure is expected and respected when learning and executing tasks. These is no fear on the team when moving up the learning curve. This is critical to the development of players. Too many people don't understand or live in a world where they aren't allowed to journey up the less than vertical path to their potential. When people aren't allowed to fail, or are just expected to be great they never reach their potential. Getting better is a messy process, and Lanning knows that and fosters a culture where that isn't just allowed, but respected. The other critical element is a focus on performance. While failure is accepted the outcome of all the failure is an ability to know what to do and what not to do. There isn't just a focus on statistics, but an analysis of performance to see if players are able to do their complete job, every component, down to the last detail. We see that after games where Lanning is asked about a great game somebody had, he wants to watch film. Just because somebody put up some numbers doesn't mean they performed all their tasks well. Some of the tasks don't have statistics, but are critical to wins and losses. So these aren't visual grains of sand, but verbal disclosures on the foundation of the program. Great article, actions and statements give us considerable insights into the Dan Lanning Program. The last, but most important element is Dan Lanning doesn't just talk the talk with these statements. From what I see in recruiting and output he walks the walk with how he deals with recruits, players and coaches. The future is bright when there is that kind of alignment and high expectations.

Seems like we are looking at a worst case scenario, every time the dawgs win is a worst case scenario, by the way. The best case scenario is the dawgs get drilled and the pundits start talking about how much better it would have been if the Ducks had played. This, of course would happen because the Ducks also drill the Liberty, Bells?, I don't know what they are called and don't care, and the conversation again is about how good Oregon is. The problem is we don't have the faith we had before we lost the first quarter again, and the game against the dawgs. Let's all regain that self worth and confidence we had before we lost in Vegas. I say that because we had better get it back soon because we aren't staying in this position. The dawgs are going right back to where they were before this season, a pathetic preseason favorite who almost always underperforms! Go lay down dawgs!

The only what ifs we should worry about are about the Fiesta Bowl. What the leg lifters do won't matter unless we dominate Liberty. What is Liberty, actually where I went to grade school, but never thought of going to college there, thankfully! Let's just make sure our landing is graceful, before we worry about what the dawg-doo does! I personally would love to see the dawgs-doo this.

Great stuff, and I love your statement about feeder schools losing stars, and power programs really only losing back-ups wanting more playing time to the portal. It is statements like these where you really give clarity to a new paradigm. I would only add the power programs are also losing those who are choosing to go into the draft, but fortunately Oregon has some playing and is able to reload. This paradigm might be a critical element to this game. Playing feeder schools in bowl games may be easier in this transfer portal times. I will add this game is a dangerous game as Liberty has everything to gain and little to lose. Oregon won't gain much from a win, but will look silly with a loss. This is a big test for Dan Lanning, going against elite coaching and needing to show he can win big games, and bowl games are always big.

Still the best,I'm trying to remember what they won? Do you remember them winning anything? I don't remember them winning anything? Repeat as necessary.

Agree and I will add hopefully 2024 will lead us to what we want in 2025. Most importantly health, wealth and happiness, not necessarily in that order, in the New Year. Also a very Merry Christmas to all.

Fortunately for us the decisions our coaches have made have been for attacking, not lacking the basic rules of football, and common sense. It is nice to know we have moved beyond the timeout to start the game. I completely agree all coaches and really the systems and processes that get set up between all coaches needs time to be incorporated throughout the program. This can't be emphasized enough what Chip inherited, and some head coaches bring takes years to develop. Kirby would be a very good example of an assistant taking over and it took 6 years for him to win it all. I am also very happy Lanning is winning the games he should and staying in all games, except the first big road game, an outlier in my book. I just think the talent he is bringing is going to scream next step, playoffs and big wins. We still have to wait to see if that happens, and how the fanbase reacts to more struggles. I am all in on Lanning struggles, or win it all next season!

And what is being offered up north? DeBoer is going to be a white-hot commodity, college and NFL. The $12.5 million buyout won't even be a hiccup in an elite offer. The guy can't recruit, the NFL has to be a very interesting prospect for this guy. Maybe another reason he can't recruit, everyone knows his days are numbered in college football.

Isn't this just the 2022 Alamo Bowl part 2? The dawgs came out strong and held on to win last years Alamo Bowl against Texas. Neither of these coaches has won a truly big bowl game. It could be argued Deboer has won in the little leagues, but the Sugar Bowl is another level. I would guess it will be won in the 1st quarter. You don't want to get behind against a Deboer led team. The 1st quarter will tell if Sark has the coaching chops to out duel the latest wonder coach. So far DeBoer owns Sark, can Sark do what Lanning couldn't do, beat this guy? I don't think so, but doubt DeBoer can get through the next challenge.

Great stuff, and I think you are right about the pressure on Lanning. Winning the games he should is wonderful, something we have demanded. Stacking the statistics up against lesser talent is solid, but winning the big games makes the difference between wonderfully solid, and elite. First off winning the recruiting wars is also excellent. You can't become elite without the army and Lanning is building an army. This isn't his problem, nor does it seem it will ever be. Lanning can recruit, there is no argument to be made against his ability or prioritization. Now then there is leadership of the players and coaches. I would say his leadership of his players is flawless so far. His ability to recruit the right guys and build a functional culture is without dispute. Players want to run through walls for the guy, and what he is selling is pure, and the players are disciplined as we have seen on and off the field. The final piece is his lieutenants and this is where there could become weaknesses. Every assistant can recruit, there is no question there, that has been shown and was a priority in hiring these guys. The question is can they coach, develop talent, create strong units, and manage those units come game day? I would say this is where Lanning will begin to see pressure as his job will never be in question. What happens when the defense doesn't rise up to elite level against the BIG teams we play? Will he be willing to look beyond the ability to recruit and prioritize what happens on game day? I think building a functional system Chip Kelly walked into and Debar brought with him takes years. One of the weaknesses of hiring an assistant as head coach is he can't bring that with him. The problem is he has to be willing to make game day wins the number one priority, not just recruiting. If there is a weak lieutenant will he be strong enough to make a move to hire a better game coach in whatever area that is? We don't know if that is truly a problem yet. Lanning has to be given time to develop his systems and processes with the coaches he has. I will say if the level of talent he is bringing in doesn't win the big games then he needs to start looking at his coordinators and question if they have what it takes. I want to win the big games, and that isn't just winning the recruiting battles.

Chip is that old girlfriend who brings back memories, but it was situational fun. You had no idea the train wreck that was coming and even though you have seen how bad it would have turned out you long for those memories. Time to let go and let Chip age into the great memory he still is, but that is all he is.

Just when you thought you had seen all the doodle types, two Santa Doodles!

Too funny, when I originally saw this topic I was afraid it would lead to hiding the thread. I am now in complete agreement, while respecting those that adore the pan while advocating for the stovetop. If there was ever a thread where we can agree to disagree it is this one! Well done, I mean a medium rare thread!

I believe that is an American Standard, and a fine example of American ingenuity!