latracey

The number of penalties against Oregon this season is alarming. It really comes down to discipline and focus. Coach Lanning continues to say that it will be addressed, but it continues to be an issue. The poor calls by officials are one thing, but most of Oregon’s penalties are in the indisputable category, such as false starts, illegal formation, and ineligible receiver down field. Oregon talks a lot about aiming to play a complete game, and eliminating unnecessary penalties plays a huge role towards meeting those ends. Lanning and his coaching staff have done such an amazing job in so many areas that it’s surprising to me, given that we know it’s a focus, that excess penalties continue to plague the Ducks. I’m hoping that they get a handle on it before it bites them in the tail feathers.

Instead of just taking the points from a chip shot field goal, Oregon State decided to try a fake field goal at the end of the first half that didn’t really have a prayer of succeeding. That came back to haunt them as they ended up losing to Arizona by 3 points.

A reliable kicker is as critically important as a talented quarterback. I agree with 2002duck that every effort should be made every year to get the best kicker available. Lewis certainly should have hit the game tying field goal, but Oregon’s coaching staff needs to learn that it’s better to take the sure 3 than to roll the dice on 4th down when you are playing a great team. The frustrating part about Oregon going for it on 4th down late in the game from their own territory instead of punting is that this is the second year in a row it was tried and failed against the same team. Both times the plays called were poorly designed and executed. I’m hoping Lanning can find the balance between being aggressive and making wise decisions. I’m also hoping OBD gets another shot at the Huskies this year.

Home field has proven, among the better teams in the PAC 12, to be a huge advantage this year. Rest assured, the music will be blaring the next 2 weeks at Duck practices to prepare for what promises to be a crazy atmosphere at Husky Stadium on October 14. I’m sure the Huskies will be favored in what will probably be the most challenging game yet for both teams. Both teams get a bye week to prepare. I’m hoping it allows Oregon to get a few of its injured key players back in the mix. I like Lanning’s attention to detail in preparing his players, and I like Oregon’s chances to beat Washington this year.

The whole thing was weird and had the appearance of being mismanaged by the officials who didn’t seem to explain the options very well to Sanders, whose team won the toss. Maybe it was their intention to start out with the ball, but I was really surprised to see them starting with the ball again in the second overtime, not to mention seeing them going for 2 before they had to. However, it worked out for them. Thanks for explaining the rules. I see now why Colorado started on offense twice in a row. I’m still wondering if they truly intended to start out on offense, or if they misunderstood what their options were. Maybe Coach Sanders realized their offense was in a groove and wanted to capitalize on that.

Love them, or hate them, but Colorado’s come from behind victory last night was one of the most amazing I’ve ever seen. The coin toss going into overtime seemed mismanaged and confusing, but I’m pretty sure Colorado won the toss and decided to take the ball first. They then went for 2 points to help seal the win before they had to. Gutsy stuff, but it worked for them. Colorado State demonstrated how undisciplined play leads to penalties that can cost you a game you should have won. That said, they exposed several Colorado weaknesses that Oregon should be able to take advantage of. As was mentioned last night, losing Travis Hunter is like losing 2 of Colorado’s best players and they are a different team without him. Still, Oregon will need its best game yet to beat them. I believe we are in for a great game next Saturday.

For those hoping that Oregon will not give Colorado anything to make the game “personal”, it’s already a done deal. Plan on Prime making a HUGE deal about Lanning’s comment “What has Colorado won?” When asked about what he thought about them leaving the PAC 12.

Lanning just signed his new contract, and isn’t the buy out something on the order of 20 million dollars? I’m not buying what James Watts is selling.

Feeling happy for our Ducks who were able to pull the game out in the end. Bo had good moments, but also made some critical mistakes that I haven’t seen in awhile. One was the toss to the end zone that, for the life of me, I can’t figure out what the replay crew saw that negated the interception. Players need to realize exactly what is going on in the game. When you intercept the ball with the lead and 30 seconds, take a knee. It’s hard to pass up a pick 6, but it’s the wise decision. The heart wrenching last possession by TT didn’t have to happen. The roughing the passer as Shough slid towards the end of the game should not happen, especially given how the officiating was going. A truly bright spot for me was the play of Cam Lewis. He was clutch in this game and greatly contributed to the Ducks’ hard fought victory.

This is largely a rehashing of a couple of other articles I’ve read. Interesting that USC’s Carol Folt seems to have put the skids on adding Big 12 teams which would have fortified the PAC, and then worked out a secret deal that resulted in USC leaving the PAC which was the beginning of the end. Also interesting that Phil Knight liked the Apple deal. Washington deciding to leave before Oregon doesn’t really matter. It’s clear that by the time Kliavkoff finally presented the Apple deal, the PAC was a teetering house of cards and the solidarity he believed he had didn’t truly exist.

My biggest surprise was the revelation that the PAC 12 presidents turned down an offer of 30 million per school by ESPN after USC and UCLA left. Instead of countering with something reasonable, they countered with the ridiculous price of 50 million per school. Their ignorance regarding the media value of The PAC 12 without USC and UCLA is a real head scratcher. Another surprise was not making league expansion a priority immediately after USC and UCLA left. Adding San Diego State and SMU, for instance, increases the overall media value of the league. Deciding to do this after a media rights deal was signed seems like it was a huge mistake.

FishDuck is definitely a place I visit every day to stay up to the minute informed on my beloved Ducks. Judging from the slow down in loading speeds during all of the latest things happening, I think a lot of my fellow Duck fans feel the same way. This place is buzzing 24/7! The articles and information are unparalleled, the analytics are top drawer, and the strictly enforced code of ethics are much appreciated and make for a wonderful experience. I can’t thank Charles enough for turning his passion for the Ducks into something we all enjoy, and for the tremendous time, effort, and money he has spent creating and maintaining this little piece of Duck fan paradise.

Bill Oram covers the Beavers and the Ducks. He took over John Canzano’s spot when Canzano left the Oregonian. That said, he tends to be a lot more critical of the Ducks.

This is as wild and crazy as I thought it would be. Apple setting time limits is hilarious. Although the details of their deal are vague, it sounds complicated on top of the fact that it relies on future variables that may, or may not pan out. I think The Kamikaze Kid has the timeline for how this is going to play out about right. I’ve really loved the PAC, but it’s not looking good for The Conference of Champions.

Frankly, it’s looking rather bleak for the PAC 12, but until another school bolts, there is still hope. As so many have written, Oregon is going to be fine regardless of how things play out. The same can’t be said for Oregon State and Washington State.

Tomorrow promises to be a crazy, crazy day indeed.

The point that the PAC 12 has some excellent coaches and is one of the strongest football leagues in the nation at this time is a great one. The problem is that George Kliavkoff is perhaps the worse in the nation at his job. The media rights deal should have been done months ago and had it been, we’d be looking at much different circumstances right now.

Captain Kliavkoff seems to have completely lost control of the ship and it’s every PAC 12 school for itself. It makes me wonder how close Kliavkoff truly was to closing the media rights deal; clearly, not nearly close enough. The next 24 hours promise to be interesting for we fans who hold the Conference of Champions near and dear to our hearts. I’m really hoping a way is found to save The Pac 12. It’s looking more and more like it’s going to take a real and true miracle.

Good for Justin!

Ducks Win !!!! Woo hoo !!!!

Ducks lead 10 - 1. Wow!!!

A good local newspaper weaves a community together. The Register-Guard was an absolute jewel; long time employees who were master craftsmen and truly gifted writers with their fingers on the pulse of what made Eugene special and unique. We are all at a loss now when it comes to getting local news. None of the local news sources are great and The Register-Guard is a complete waste of time.

Whether you agree with Daniel Kelly’s harsh analysis, or not, it’s clear that Oregon’s defense this season left a lot to be desired and the overall play at linebacker was not very good. The film that accompanied Kelly’s assessment, for those who needed evidence, backs his criticism. The linebackers are the heart of the defense and it’s one of the areas where vast improvement is needed. It’s hard to say how much adjusting to a new system effected Sewell, but he certainly wasn’t the beast he seems capable of being. It seems clear that staying another year would have helped him hone his skills and raise his NFL stock. That said, as Kurt Rambis pointed out, there is plenty of positive buzz supporting Sewell. He won’t be a first round pick, but he will get his shot at his NFL dream. I wish him nothing but the best.

DJ made an excellent choice. Although he seemed to struggle at Clemson, something tells me Jonathan Smith is going to have him playing lights out for the Beavers. Look out Pac 12.

One critical area I’d like to see Oregon improve on is the quality of their punters and kickers. Kicking the ball out of bounds on kick offs hurt the Ducks in several games. Punter errors contributed to losses. Great teams have kickers who consistently kick the ball in end zone on kick offs. Punter errors hurt us in the Washington loss and were instrumental in the loss to Oregon State. I know Oregon signed an Australian kicker who has never played organized American football and they are rumored to have a few others as preferred walk ons. Hmmmmm… Some aspect of the kicking game has been a thorn in Oregon’s side for several seasons now. It’s a critical aspect of the game as evidenced by the loss to Oregon State. I hope Lanning and his special team coaches make it the recruiting priority it needs to be.