Haywarduck

It would seem only right those on 'fish' duck could come up with $'s to commission the Fishduck sponsored trophy.

Great point and there is competitiveness and then there is being cutthroat. You definitely need competitiveness and I think it complements curiosity very well. There is a hunger and a fire in a Noah Sewell you want. I am sure he is curious as to his potential, but he has an ambition that is almost palpable. That type of competitiveness is what makes a great team into an elite team. I also agree the competitiveness is something a team needs throughout. It is that last ounce of effort, both mentally and physically which will enable a team to beat everyone, and not let the bounce of that oblong ball affect the outcome of the game. As we have seen it also takes that mindset to make sure the zebra's don't impact the game too.

That would be a fun team trip. Get the football team fishing early at Diamond Lake for a biggest fish contest. A quick stop at Crater Lake and then finish the loop up I-5 back to Eugene. Of course they would have to stop at Junkyards Extreme Burger in Junction City before getting home. Now that would be a bonding trip.

As I work on my chosen sport for the day I pondered what does it take to develop talent. I am not an elite athlete, but I think it is a universal set of components needed to develop one to their potential. I also ponder this as I have invested a bit of money on my latest sport and will have to learn how to become decent at it before I can enjoy all that money I spent. I think the number one component it takes to develop talent is curiosity. If you aren't curious you will just languish with your god given talent and never dream of what you can become nor work toward unrealistic goals. This comes mainly from the athlete, does the athlete wonder just how good they can become or are they reveling in just how good everyone thinks they are already. The coach has to tap into that curiosity too. Whether it is asking the athlete if they want to work hard enough to make money or spark that latent desire to buy mom a new house. A coach also needs to see where the potential is, maybe a DB has RB potential or WR potential. Both of these have come about because of coaching suggestions at Oregon. They also have to ask the subtle and not so subtle questions of players at opportune times. I also think facilities are important, but Herschel Walker developed himself with hill repeats, pushups and pull-ups. You have to have god given talents and then put it to work and never let up. This is where the summer workouts are interesting to see the outcomes. Sometimes we see great gains in athletes, other times it seems players have slacked off. This is where a great weight room staff and food regimen is critical. Athletes need to be inspired, held accountable and fed well. With the NIL money will be interesting to see if athletes have too much money to spend of beer and pizza and not enough of the set diet for what they need. I suppose there are many more things involved in the development of potential. Curiosity is the key ingredient in most things in my opinion. Without you are just a pinball falling wherever you may. With curiosity you can keep driving and keep finding new ways to get better.

It will be an interesting development to watch evolve. For now teams averaged 10 players lost to the portal. An average of 5 of those players are still in the portal. It seems like the players will need to be a little more strategic going forward. Just because you are pissed you didn't get a starting role, or enough playing time isn't the best reason to enter the portal. Reminds me of the classic cop out for the could of, would of, should of been elite college athlete, 'if the coach didn't have an attitude and I was an inch taller I'm in the bigs!'

Agree after summer practices it may provide even more clues. So many transfers and mysteries as to how recruits will impact programs, all we can do is guess. It is like throwing darts with our eyes closed at this point. Once summer practices the eyes are open and they will know and see where the dart board is. It is hard not to wonder, guess and really just hope, dream of great things to come!

Time win up north and continue to get better. There is always hope with a Dana Altman team, but this team needs to get hot shooting the rock and they were cold last night. SC is a very good, disruptive team, but we may get another chance and it isn't over yet!

I don't know how explicit you state this, but you don't need more posters, but want more civil discourse. Posters need you more than you need them. People need to work harder, or want to be here more than you want them. Posters either need to fit right in, or be willing to work hard to fit in. I tend to fit into the second category, but enjoy the process. This isn't your average community, much like a gated community with homeowners association rules. Some don't want anything to do with that type of set up. Some just want the benefits and like the idea as long as the rules don't apply to them. Fortunately it isn't that hard to get rid of violators. I think you be extremely explicit this won't be an easy thing for most to belong too. If people want to work harder at this than you do then it will work out. A small minority will fit right in. I don't want to go too far down that rabbit hole, but I think our society tries to be too lenient with our laws. You don't need to, and if this becomes an exclusive club, the demand will actually skyrocket in my opinion. I actually think that is some of what is driving interest already. You offer an affable playground in a discourteous world. If people want to belong they will have take their shoes off when they enter, keep their voice down, and wait their turn as they think about what to say to add to the conversation. This is your home, and it is a refuge from the outside world, but there has to be a lot of effort for many to take part. The fact this is going to take an extreme amount of effort on many peoples part has to be explicitly communicated right out of the gate. Posters have to want to be part, not just feel empowered by the civility.

Confuse the defense, while taking advantage of what they are weak at and aren't ready for. I think you have to have all elements of the offense ready to go. The key will be if the OC and staff can have all parts of the offense ready to take what the defense gives us. The weakness of our offense in the recent past was we were predictable number one. The other weakness was we didn't have a complete repertoire to take advantage of and exploit all teams. It is no longer possible to be a predictable offense and dominate an opposing team, when you play elite competition. While Alabama has gone to the passing game, they still have a very good running game. We need to have an effective passing game and a running game that uses the whole field, not just the A gap, with an occasional B gap call. I want to see the jet sweep along with the kitchen sink called to take advantage of what the defense is doing. I can see one week we have a run heavy offense and the next pass heavy. That is what will drive opposing defenses nuts. Driving opposing defenses nuts again is what I want to see. We need opposing defenses playing whack a mole, and our offense to quit playing whack the same hole!

Time for a moment of pause for those families and friends who were impacted, and hope for the future!

Cal was ranked 49th best defense and he is taking over a defense ranked 88th. If he can show improvement, not a bad move. Arroyo job security seems tenuous at best, so probably a stronger move by Arroyo than Heyward. Taking risks always can be questioned, but it is what you have to do sometimes, good for Keith for stepping out of his comfort zone!

Great discussion and it does raise the question of do we have a Joe Burrow, or Tom Brady like talent waiting to get on the field or was it wise to bring in another transfer? Burrow and Brady languished on the sideline as other talented qb's played. Burrow transferred out after graduating, and seeing no end to bench time. I have little faith Cristobal was a good evaluator of qb talent, so I think we have a big question mark at qb going into spring ball and next season. I agree Nix may be an insurance policy against a complete meltdown against Georgia. He might also be a great leader for the young guns beneath him to learn from. Nix was probably a very shrewd move to help insure a smooth transition to better recruitment and development of talent at the qb position. Putting an inexperience qb in against Georgia is most likely a recipe for disaster. Nix should probably start the first game, and then maybe we can ease in the next great Oregon qb as the season progresses. My hope is we do see a transition to one of the young guys as the season progresses. A program needs to develop talent to sustain a healthy culture. Best case scenario is we, again, become a destination for great qb recruitment and development. I don't just mean 5* talent, we need to again, see the diamonds in the rough along with the highly touted and develop them! Transfers should want to come here, but we should no longer rely on this for our starter, just back-ups ready to take over if the injury bug hits. It will be fun to see if one of our backups really is the real deal. I think this staff may be able to figure this out, hopefully!

Genetic, but watching Prefontaine, and the Kamikaze Kids made it a way of life.

Great point and perspective on when it can happen. It was interesting to read about one of the greatest shooters of all time hitting his first game winning shot this year. I don't think anyone would say Steph Curry wasn't clutch, but he made his first game winning 3 in January of this year. There is time to make that clutch shot, and I agree Richardson is everything right about college basketball so he deserves to make the next one!

Runs track and has a stiff arm already, already love this guy. One of the most coveted prospects to come out of Southwest Florida in recent memory. A one-cut-and-go type of running back that’s powerful enough to get it done in-between the tackles. Excellent vision and overall feel for the position allows him to get up field in a hurry and attack holes. Outstanding contact balance combined with an effective stiff arm makes it extremely difficult for high school defenders to bring him to the ground. Has experience working out of single back, shotgun and pistol formations. Limited context when it comes to pass blocking, but should be able to chip away at college-sized defensive linemen given his size and physical nature. Track background shows up on Friday nights as he’s consistently pulling away from defenses. Catches the ball well and should be able to move the chains via the screen game, if those type of plays are on the call sheet. Wear and tear not much of a concern at this stage in his development as he’s averaged only 12 carries a game his first two years of high school. Likely to emerge as an impact player for a Top 25 program given foot speed and ability to shed would-be tacklers. Will be on the radar of NFL scouts one day if everything comes together. Also runs track. Ran an 11.14 100 as a sophomore after posting an 11.09 100 and 22.01 200 as a freshman. Posted a wind-aided 10.89 (3.3) as an eighth-grader. 2021: Totaled 1,755 rushing yards while averaging 9.0 yards per carry. Helped Lehigh go a perfect 3-0 in district play and make second round of Sunshine State's 7A playoffs. 2020: Appeared in nine games for a Lehigh Lightning team that went 5-5. Missed Florida's 7A state playoff game against Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas due to injury. Ended up carrying the ball 100 times for 980 yards and eight touchdowns. Eclipsed the 200-yard mark rushing twice (Riverdale, Sarasota). Entered the season Ranked No. 1 in The News-Press/Naples Daily News Big 15. 2019: MaxPreps Freshman All-American. Totaled 854 yards and six touchdowns on 111 carries for a Lehigh Lightning squad that won a district title.

Bold move, looking forward to more!

More likely is it will open up kids to loans from agents and owe agents more than their rookie contract by the time they leave school. Oh and, of course they will have spent all the NIL money. Call me a skeptic, maybe even cynical on this one, but that kind of money in most student athletes hands isn't going to end well. Kind of ironic, but I think many of these kids will end up owing money, with less education, and worse football outcomes after many of these NIL deals end. The idea of student athletes making a little extra cash is going to turn many colleges into Grand Lakes University. One of my favorite Rodney movies.

If my math is correct each player currently on the roster will get about $4k. Not the money an O-lineman will get at Texas, but a nice baseline for all players to be able to have some money for life as a college student. It also sets up a system where players are all getting some cash, which seems like the healthy thing to do for a program. When a freshman O-lineman for Texas comes in fat and slow with $50k from the program while other players are working their tales off, culture will be a problem. I'm grateful Oregon seems focused on how this will affect the culture of the program. Players need to know they are valued from the bottom up. Once there is output there can be more money available. It will definitely be an interesting thing to watch. So far I give our program an A, Texas a C-, and Texas A & M an F. Paying kids big money while at college before seeing any return is a recipe for disaster. I could, and have been wrong before, but I like Oregon's move on this.

NFL receivers drop Justin's passes, much like they did at Oregon, but at a lower rate. Justin also came on campus with talent which just needed to opportunity to grow into NFL skill level. Justin was like Josh Allen, a multi-sport athlete who didn't go to the camps, play football year round. Both of these guys should be studied by recruiters and scouts to figure out what they have been and continue to miss on qb recruiting, evaluation.

Going from a prevent defense to a havoc rate driven defense is an amazing step. I can only imagine selling student athletes on coming to play under that guidance is a much easier sell than the previous focus. A defender is hard wired to want to stop, destroy, dismantle, ruin the opposing offense. Being given license to create havoc with a definition and metrics has to fire up the players. I can only imagine being told to go out there and prevent, or go out there and create havoc. The new Oregon defense is going to be rockin, and players are going to be lined up to perform and take part in taking apart opposing offenses! Great article and something completely new to ponder as the season approaches. Now if we can only get rid of the prevent offense. I am sure that is on tap too. Maybe havoc rate on defense and explosion rate on offense?

Seems like Chase may have figured out Mario before anyone did. For that we can't blame him. He might also be one of the first to understand how amazing Coach Lanning's staff is. For that we may be grateful too. I like, agree with both decisions.

You could see what is wrong with the rating system by watching Brock Purdy against Tyler Shough. One guy looked like the prototypical NFL qb while standing still. The other looked like a dynamic college qb who can create, read a defense and make throws. The scouts loved the statue, and sold that to our program. The astute coach saw a player and built a program around him. We need a coach who can, again, see a player, not just the statue of a great player. Purdy and Shough are the perfect example because they played high school ball against each other. Purdy never lost to Shough, but that did nothing to quell the excitement over the measurables the scouts wanted to see, and knew they could sell to the top programs. Programs who are buying what scouts are selling rather than doing the work will continue to suffer. There are 5* players who we should be fighting for. This should never take the place of doing the hard work of figuring out who has the talent, potential and fire to lead a program.

Agree completely about the pay for stars route with QB's. This is why Herbert was a 3* but threw the prettiest ball from the get go. Herbert played basketball, and baseball, didn't even go to spring camp and lived in Eugene. I think there is more to a qb between the ears than the measurable the rating services tout. You almost need a guy who could pass the Seal Team test to be your qb. There are plenty of guys who can pass all the Seal Tests, but not The Test. Great, great subject and hopefully the new Oregon coaching team will be more adept at picking qb's who have 'it.'

I always look at it as what would happen over 10 games. In 10 games Oregon wins a few, there was a chance, a pretty good one with Joey leading the way.

Iron sharpens iron, but iron against iron dulls the blade. In the weight room and the practice field we want to see iron against iron. On the field we want to see that iron chopping wood. Break those opponents apart and set them ablaze with our sharpness. Every once in a while we can see iron against iron, but then you need time to sharpen the blade again. This is why an 8 game conference schedule is important. It is also why Alabama plays New Mexico State late in the season. They know you need time to sharpen the blade and going against top competition every week doesn't do it. I think the Oregon Program needs to understand better what it takes to sharpen and what it takes to beat elite competition. Playing Stony Brook was brilliant after the tosu game. Playing a 9 game conference schedule isn't so smart. If the Pac-12 wants to put one or more teams into the playoffs, and be successful there needs to be structural changes. Hiring great coaches and putting money into facilities helps. We also need strong, shrewd leadership from the commissioner, and I haven't seen too much of that, yet. The time is now to makes some moves, George!