Haywarduck

I tend to believe two things will be going on Saturday as far as perceptions go. Number one is Lanning has a chance to better define who he is as a coach, and what that means at Oregon. I also think the outlook on Oregon may not change, but a shift to realizing we aren't one dimensional, although we need to show that offensive dimension to keep that reputation. Lanning, so far, has lost some important games. I won't go into those games because we are all aware of them, but big games at home have to be won. A coach can lose big games on the road, but when you have a big game at home that defines you as a coach. Lanning needs show he has grown since that first season where he let himself and everyone else down with a big loss at home. The perception of who Lanning is as a coach, nationally, is on the line. How wily is Lanning in the big game. I think Lanning is looked upon as just a young and upcoming coach, but this game can get the rest of the nation to take notice. Dan Lanning has arrived, and is ready to win a Natty! As far as defense this is where Lanning's statement about creating chaos needs to come alive on Saturday. We may not dominate every down, but in the end we should win the turnover ratio, break up passes, and make their qb nervous. In the end the nation should say, wow, that is a defense that can compete against anyone, anywhere, anytime. That is the shift I want to see in the perception about Oregon. I do think another thing is Oregon needs to also show we still have an offense that can score and score lots of points, at least more than the nuts. If Oregon gets shut down that can potentially hurt our program more than just showing a decent defense. Oregon is defined as having an elite offense. We are playing against our old coach CK who helped define that. Lanning and Stein need to show we are still a lights out offensive scoring machine. Great article and perceptions about this young coach and his team will definitely come under the bright lights. It will be exciting to see just what that becomes, most importantly, for all of the loyal Duck Fans. Go Ducks!

One would think there would be a way to have sensors on the ball to locate where it ended up as the whistle blows. This also seems like technology that will come about. Seeing the random placement of the ball is often frustrating, and would seem to be ripe for making it technologically driven rather than prone to human error. Great idea to bring officiating forward, rather than seemingly backwards at times and few attempts to really bring it forward. What else would be a great move to bring officiating along, rather than negatively impacting the game we all love.

There is green, the one standard I have to have, at least green or yellow. I actually kind of like the black and silver. We pull one of Tosu's colors off and make it look cool. Went with all white at their place, going with black at our place, hopefully the same outcome.

Glad you mentioned OREGON and CK brought the blur offense. Without Oregon CK might have just been another mediocre coach trying something new, like he has been everywhere else since Oregon. The OREGON system CK was brought into is slowly getting the credit it deserved for CK's success. This weekend should give the pundits another data point to ponder on their love affair with CK. Tosu, where CK serves under his assistant, as an assistant. This is an interesting dynamic and one that doesn't always end well. Having an assistant as somebody who use to be your boss often backfires. With a guy with an ego like CK it might be something to watch. Another plot line is Ryan Day, even with a 2nd ranked team, is on the hot seat. If he loses to Oregon, and the offense sputters, it might be interesting to watch the pressure build.

It was overthrown a bit, but in the NFL you catch those. Hopefully Franklin continues to focus on upping his game to the NFL level. He has so many attributes needed at this level, but it will take some more hard work to reach that height. Bo Nix is proving he is at the NFL level as a rookie. He also shows he knows how to lead, and foster a team mentality. Kudos to both players for working on reaching their dreams!

Helton and Riley are both 3-2 this year, and Helton has a pretty good chance to get a better record this year. He just might turn Georgia Southern's football program around. There aren't a lot of coaches who are good fits as head coach of the spoiled children, but Helton is a pretty decent coach. At Oregon coaches leave and struggle, at sc coaches leave and do much better. Lane Kiffin is doing well at Ole Miss ranked #9. Orgeron went on to win a national title. Clay Helton is turning around Georgia Southern. Sarkisian is killing it at Texas, ranked #1. Maybe Riley would do well to hope he gets fired and can go on to coach a real program.

My bet, Pete is getting extremely comfortable teaching, I mean getting ready, to coach again at usc. Interesting article.... Professor Pete Carroll could teach many USC courses with expertise TROJANSWIRE.USATODAY.COM If you were in a USC classroom and could take a course from professor Pete Carroll, what would you choose?

As much as Chip says he just likes to coach, he likes to win. After Oregon he was stuck in mediocrity, and the buckeye move was an attempt to get back to winning again. Unfortunately for Chip he hasn't won while playing the Ducks since he left. I think that trend will continue as he comes back for his annual reminder he should have never left. As far as Gabriel, as Lanning says, so what, now what? What we are going to see now is DG continuing to figure out his receivers as the season progresses. My hope is that includes stretching the field with some Stein calls that he has held in his back pocket just for this game. One thing we saw this week is it is hard to win on the road. I think we will see that again with our Mighty Ducks. Alabama supported that observation while Miami shocked again with a win on the road, and a comeback, just wow. If the game is close Autzen will prove too much for the nuts. As much as I would love to see a shootout, I tend to think defense will win this game. Our defense is just now coming into its own. I see the turnover ratio deciding the game and our defense leading the way with creating mistakes. On the other side GB plays a clean game, with no mistakes this week!

My thought is Oregon has a long history of underutilizing TE's who have long careers in the NFL. Dante Rosario is the first to come to mind, but Mundt is another. Rosario could do so many things, but did them so little. I think Ferguson is pretty talented, but we will see how his career plays out. Just one guys opinion.

Helfrich went on to be OC with the Bears, and failed. He proved he didn't have the mentality for high level coaching. He probably could have gone back to college ball as an OC, but decided not to do that. He could have also worked on his craft and made another run at the head coaching position, but also decided not to do that. I too have no ill will toward Helfrich and respect his attempt at being a head coach. I would welcome him back to Autzen with a positive response, and respect his decisions. Mariø did his best, but was just never Oregon in heart or soul. He spoke of making what Oregon did better, but those were just hollow words. I also don't think the amount of time should be a metric. The big thing for me is what Mariø said and did while at Oregon seldom lined up. I won't even go there with Slick. Helfrich, Kelly and now Lanning always seemed to line up what they said with what they did, a metric I value. The integrity of a person is what I look at when thinking about the forever Duck, first family level evaluation.

Much like coaches, depends how long they stay, and how they leave. Is Mariø really a forever Duck, Slick a forever Duck, they left and most wanted the door to hit them on the way out. Helfrich probably had hard feelings, as did many of the fans. I tend to think most would welcome Helfrich at a pregame announcement and he would get a big cheer. As far as players is depends on how they leave too. Does a player go for more playing time, maybe money? Do they play with class, and with integrity? I do think all those who have given to the program stay part of the program. It is just some of them are distant relatives, and some are always invited to celebrate all things Ducks. And some are just the redheaded step child types, and will never be welcomed back, like Slick and now Addison has stepped into that category.

This is the look I want to see with Aiden,

The thing about Debar is he was at Fresno State longer than he was at Mont lake. Deboer wasn't the dawgs coach who they lost as much as he was just traveling through along to his next destination. He was associated with Sioux Falls for 10 years, Fresno State for 3 years, the dawgs 2 years. Deboer was like Mario, or Slick to us. He ran away from the dawg job faster than Peteresen, but if I was the dawg program I would start to have issues with coaches leaving, if they are any good. The only coach who wants to stay at uw is the losers they keep hiring. The only hand sign the dawg program should be associated with is.....especially any of the mens programs.

Washington has men's athletics in name only. The women are the only ones who can win the big one, the men always come up short. I think in the dog world it is called weak bloodlines. The dogs up north aren't worth much, merely mongrels.

Talking about safety, it is telling that a targeting penalty can be reviewed after the game to nullify it, but not to enforce it. If safety was the NCAA priority they would also review targeting and penalize after the fact. This is the perfect type of play to review and potentially penalize a player. The incompetent, and devoid of integrity NCAA continues underwhelm! Agree the Ferguson play may have led to Lanning's slowing down the Oregon train, because the system the NCAA has in place certainly won't protect players from players like Addison and teams like UCLA.

You questioned the programs ceiling, I question the floor. I keep seeing the potential and then see mistakes, lack of execution, and seemingly a lack of effort. I think the question is how low can our Ducks go with all this talent? We still know they can go to extreme heights, but if they keep playing this way we may see more losses than many have forecasted. So is the fanbase just replacing lofty expectations with a fear of a collapse against the coming travel and teams with more talent? The perceived unhappiness might just be a resetting of expectations so our heartfelt dreams aren't crushed! Let's just keep our hopes high that all that training Puddles did preseason gets used and he ends up exhausted. That will be my metric going forward, and so far Puddles isn't getting his workout. Like my dogs that makes for a very upset household!

My sincere condolences, and glad you have this place to safely share your pain. Once again, this shows just how unique this site is! My Dad had season tickets, section 11, since Autzen was first built. Many memories of times going to games with him. The memories never die, but sadly we all do. Keep living, and keep the love of the Ducks alive!

We are going to be in games where 4 quarters of well played football will be needed. So no I am not satisfied, as you need to practice executing for 4 quarters against lesser talent if you are going to do it against better talent. I am satisfied that we are getting better. I guess the biggest question is are our Ducks satisfied with how they played. If they are then I am extremely concerned. Fortunately I don't think the Ducks are satisfied and as long as they play better against MSU then I am closer to being satisfied. I will say that satisfaction will only come at the end of the season so just keep our eyes on the big prize! After using satisfied 7 times I'm out.

Loved the stiff arm from Jordan James, and want to see more of that. Just another player rising up as the season progresses, along with... Agree Traeshon is a force and would love to see him given more 50/50 balls, thinking he would win 95% of them. If he is in single coverage, throw him the ball! Also agree it was a coming out party for Burch and just in time for the meat of the season. Every team is going to have a hard time with JB if he keeps playing like that. As far as Ferguson, that was a concussion and hope he recovers from that soon. Also don't want to see him get another anytime soon. I hate seeing anyone laying like that on the field for any amount of time. I also think our offense needs a little more magic from the coaches and execution as the season progresses. I expect to see this as the weapons are there and Gabriel is the real deal. Charles's 40 point expectation isn't too much. We haven't peaked and I look forward to seeing where that peak will be!

Simple answer, 'not far enough,' and the more refined answer, 'not as far as they will after a real Mariø moment.'

The only reason I can be ok with a dawg win is it makes their coach a little more attractive to UF. When the coach looks more attractive they just might lose their coach and even more games. I can play the long game and see the benefits to some meaningless wins and then the big loss of a coach leaving again. That would make me even happier, as long as we beat the dawgs too. A little joy for the dawg fans as their coach plans his escape route isn't a terrible outcome..

Some have mentioned this factor, but for those who want to stay home, we don't have a chance. For the rest, they are interested and some plain want to get away from home, as it isn't a home. DAT wanted to get away and make a name for himself. Many young people need to get away as a right of passage. It use to be our young had the challenge of going in to the military and travelling. That opportunity made men of the young. I think too often the young who stick around their homey's, support system don't grow as much as those who choose to travel. That is a win win for our program. We get strong individuals who are looking to make new friends and teammates. They have no fall back, can't run home to mom, or their old friends. They grow up in ways the Miami kids, for example, don't. I think our weakness is actually a strength. While we still get the Boectther walk-on types. We also get the DAT's and others who have grown up and become something they wouldn't have at home.

I think this isn't a one legged stool, as they say. I think we all understand this but it should be discussed too. The Ducks need to recruit well, and they have. We also need to develop talent so these elite athletes know they can reach their dreams of playing on Sunday. It seems like Lanning is building this development system. This season should be fun to watch as we may have a bumper crop of elite level guys ready for the NFL. That will be something else to watch, the NFL draft list of Ducks each season. Lanning also has to create a culture that trains and executes both off the field and on. Players have to know they will learn to become part of a special team of men who beat teams from where they come from. So far it seems this is becoming a strength as the players who are sticking around is astounding, depth is a huge key. Also we are seeing this group come together, something we hopefully continue to see. I think it is also worth mentioning Lanning has kept the scandals away from the program and this will also have to continue. I propose these elements will lead to even better recruiting, and the level of talent we need to win it all. I do think we have a special coach, to win it all it takes a few unique players to get the team to rise up, and who know maybe this year? Can Lanning make it to the top of recruiting, I tend to think the other legs of the stool need to be firmed up first. I agree it is a tough sell when you are so far away, but Oregon is growing back onto what Brooks, Bellotti and Chip built up. We are again an offensive threat, an innovative force that is both creating curiosity throughout the country, and beginning to create some fear. Great topic, and something to watch!

So far, this year has been easy on the eyes, and staying true to the traditions of Oregon. I can only imagine there is something coming that will bring out the...... in all of us.

Lanning was right not to try the first time, I trust him this time too. Seems to further confirm Lanning knows who to pursue and who to let go. Not that we get everyone we want, but it is nice to know we aren't just chasing 5* recruits like we use to.