Kurt Rambis

I really would like to know the full story with Klemm, however. The Steelers' line was awful when he was the OL coach there. Granted, some of that was lack of talent, but it made me nervous when he quit to take the same role at Oregon. It made me far more nervous when he left before the end of the season - that's almost unheard of. I always wondered why - why he wanted to leave before even finishing the year, and why the Steelers were perfectly fine with him leaving while the season was still going and they were fighting for a playoff spot. The Steelers' OL has been much improved this year - how much of that was a different OL coach, and how much was bringing in two free agent linemen? Three of the starters were on the team under Klemm when the OL was horrible. There's a story there, but I have no idea what it is, and with the Steelers and Mike Tomlin being one of the most stable franchises and staffs in the NFL, it really made me wonder. Now after just one year he leaves Oregon for the same position in the NFL. Seems like he just keeps moving sideways after a year, which raises doubts. I guess it's a moot point now, since he's an ex-Duck, but I really would like to know the backstory here.

Exactly. And this is how it should be. Which of us still working would turn down a chance at a promotion, more opportunity, better paycheck, etc.? Many years ago my old boss told me about an open position that would have been a promotion. I joked that she was trying to get rid of me. She looked at me very seriously, and said, "My responsibility is to the company and to my staff. It would be hard to replace you, and cause me a bunch of grief in the short term, but if it would be better for you, you should consider this. And I would be helping the company by helping someone qualified and competent get into a larger role. So my employee wins and the company wins. That's what a good manager should do." (I didn't apply for the role because it would have meant a move to Columbus. Ugh.) It seems Dan Lanning feels the same way (about staff, not necessarily about Columbus). Good for him. Staff getting promotions and new roles will also be a huge help in attracting good replacements. People want to work where they know they'll have a good chance of success.

Lots of reasons to criticize MC, but losing his DC isn't one of them. I would have to guess nearly every defensive coach in the land would think long and hard about getting to work at Alabama, and Steele knows Saban well.

I once had a client who quoted to me at length from a research study he said I had written. I told him I had never written that - in fact, my company had done research that directly contradicted what he just claimed I said. The best thing was when he continued to insist I was the author of that research - you know, because he would remember better than I what I had or had not written. You can't fix stupid. You can just tell it to buy a USC jersey so it's more immediately identifiable.

As a Ducks fan, it's nice to have a convenient vacation home inside the heads of USC fans. Tiny and cramped, true - but at least it's not cluttered with annoying things like facts or reason.

The amazing thing is to look at the top player from each of the top 10 classes, and how he turned out... #10: 5-star OT Josh Conerly (TBD, but looks promising) #9: 5-star Edge Canton Kaumatule (did nothing then took medical retirement) #8: 5-star RB Lache Seastrunk (Bueller? Bueller? Anyone?) #7: 5-star DL Arik Armstead (worked out well enough to be a 1st rounder in the NFL draft) #6: 4-star CB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu (awesome player for the Ducks but only a 7th rounder after a devastating knee injury) #5: 5-star LB Justin Flowe (couldn't stay healthy, then left) #4: 4-star OT Penei Sewell (I'd say this one worked out darn well) #3: 5-star Edge Kayvon Thibodeaux (good enough to be the #5 pick, but always seemed like there could have been more on the field) #2: 5-star WR Jurrion Dickey (TBD) #1: 4-star OT Kingsley Suamataia (left about as soon as he could) So out of 10 #1 recruits, including 7 who were five stars, I'd say 2 are TBD, 3 ended up as 1st round draft choices, 1 was a great player for us but got hurt at the very end, and 4 did nothing/next to nothing. So for all the excitement about Dickey, and all the disappointment about Harbor, keep this in mind...

This is like watching a former beauty queen get old, wrinkled, and chubby. MOST of us get old, wrinkled, and chubby, but since we didn't start out as beauty queens, we just deal with it. Some of the beauty queens simply cake on more eye shadow and try to squeeze their size 14s into size 6 pants, pretending they're still gorgeous and that all of today's actual beauty queens pale in comparison. "But...but...we're Nebraska!" "But...but...we're Florida State!" "But...but...we're USC!" Face it, kiddies: you're not the prettiest girl in the room anymore. But go buy more eye shadow and keep pretending, as it amuses us.

There is some availability of that type of thing. For instance, through my cable I can pay extra and get NBA TV (although I don't choose to). I do get NFL Gameday, so I can watch every NFL game live or in replay (live can be quite difficult as 4pm Pacific games start at midnight for me - and forget Monday Night Football). We do get a variety of channels like CNN, History Channel, and HGTV, but I don't have a lot of time to watch regular TV. I can stream whatever ESPN has on its website, but I haven't found their regular TV channel yet. Stuff like Roku doesn't work here. I can probably steam Paramount over here (I think that's NBC), but I haven't found the ability to stream FS1, for instance. Hopefully I'll retire in a few years, the kid will be off to college, the home remodel and move will be done, and I'll have a little more free time to explore that kind of thing. At least on YouTube I can get 30-minute highlights of most Ducks games, so there's that.

Will be curious to see where they end up but I'm not holding my breath on the decisions of a couple of teenagers who are being torn in endless directions by family, posse, "handlers," coaches, media, public sentiment, etc. These decisions would be hard enough for 30-year-olds.

You think it's hard to find Oregon games on the east coast? Try doing it on the WEST coast...of EUROPE. I have seen the Ducks play live exactly one time in the past two years - when I was in Nevada on business. I would LOVE a streaming option. Which proves the point I'm about to make: most of the comments here are only anecdotal evidence. I like cable...I cut the cord...etc. Which is fine, as each of us has a preference and a different way of consuming media. Technology advances pretty fast. Netflix nearly doubled in size in just three years. YouTube launched in 2005 and was acquired by Google only one year later, for nearly $1.7 billion. Global streaming revenue doubled from 2018 to 2022, and is expected to increase another $30 billion or so in the coming four years. Streaming isn't there yet for the sports world, but it will be soon. The question for the Pac-12/11/10 is when to jump in, and to what extent. I'm guessing in the next round of media negotiations, EVERY conference will have some sort of streaming element in the contract, but that is a few years down the road. Should the Pac-whatever pioneer that now, or wait until someone else does it? If I knew how to time the market, I'd have enough money just to have my jet fly me to Eugene for games.

For someone who was a marginal draft choice at best, not a good look. May have just cost himself a shot at being drafted at all. NFL teams will rationalize away something like this for someone with great talent (look at Antonio Brown, Ray Rice, Laremy Tunsil, Warren Sapp), but guys with average talent often kill their chances with stupid actions like this. Most of what he had going for him was character and leadership, rather than physical abilities, and now that's all in question. I'm guessing he just became a UFA. As I continually tell my teenager, it takes years to build a reputation, and seconds to destroy it. And yes, many younger people make foolish decisions...and some of them pay for those decisions the rest of their lives.

I'm guessing we never will. For players who weren't getting playing time or who transfer much closer to home, the reasons seem pretty obvious. For starters or regular players, I doubt many of the reasons would have a positive spin. Things like: I didn't really like my coaches I didn't really like the system I can get more NIL money at my new school I didn't get enough chances to be a star at my old school I saw some upcoming recruits or transfers who'll probably be taking my playing time While those are legit reasons in a world where every player needs to look out for himself, they probably wouldn't go over real positively with a lot of people. Same thing when we see a trade in the NFL - the coach and GM always say what a great player he was and wish him well on his new team. You never hear, "Well, he was a bad locker room guy, dogged it in practice all the time, and had an attitude problem. Plus we heard rumors of drug use. So we're better off without him."

The absolute best part of the article was when it stated that USC's bye week before the conference championship game isn't a true "off" week because it only helps if USC gets to the title game - but then that Oregon has an advantage playing the Civil War on Friday because that's an extra day before the championship game. So in Trojan math, 1 > 7. Interesting...

Exactly. If not this year, then next year or a couple of years down the road, but we can figure we'll have a variety of DCs, OCs, and various position coaches as long as Oregon is a top program. Already lost Dillingham and Powlege after just one year. Klemm played for Belicheat, and the Patriots are known to do some unorthodox things, so it wouldn't shock me to see him hired even though he's never been an OC anywhere. It often seems that they value loyalty and knowledge of "the Patriot way" more than specific experience. We'll see.

We can all name some scrub who wasn't supposed to do anything who ended up as a star, whether that's Patrick Chung at Oregon or Tom Brady in the NFL. And we can all name supposed "superstars" who flamed out and never amounted to anything. However, anecdotal evidence, no matter how appealing the stories are, pales next to actual numbers, and the actual numbers consistently say that the teams playing for the national title are the ones who have a ton of 4* and 5* recruits. If the kid is a PWO, then fantastic - maybe he turns into something unexpected, he's a holder on kicks that leads to more successful fakes, etc. I certainly don't begrudge him living out his dream. Even if all he is is a great scout-team QB, that's still valuable to the team. My original concern was that a scholie given to a tiny, light QB that basically no one else was recruiting is a scholie that is not available for a highly regarded, massive OT, a skilled WR, or a 5* edge. And yes, those highly rated guys may never amount to anything, but the percentages are better for a 4* or 5* coveted by Georgia, Texas, USC, and Alabama than for a 3* coveted by Portland State. Recruiting means you'll miss on guys you thought were going to be great, as well as on guys you never thought would be any good - but it's playing the percentages. Just because Chung was a great player as a 2* safety doesn't mean we should focus on recruiting 2* safeties. Just like in the NFL - it may be worth a flyer to draft a QB like this in the 7th round or sign him as an UFA, but teams that would drop a 1st round choice on him end up consistently being the Cleveland Browns. So the Ducks get him as a PWO, wonderful; they use a scholarship on him and I would have to question the decision because of the opportunity cost. That's all I was saying.

I'm trying to figure this one out. PWO? I hope. Look, maybe this guy is the next Bryce Young, but there would seem to be something odd about a scholie going to a tiny QB whose offers outside of Oregon are Navy, Portland State, Northern Arizona, Eastern Washington, and Air Force. It ain't 1979 any more...

Sedulous? Dang - don't think I've ever seen that used in a tweet before...

I dunno...given Riley's performance at Oklahoma, do we want him to leave USC? They might replace him with some guy that values defense and actually can win a national title... Guess it won't matter for Oregon in another couple of years when SC is being pounded by tOSU and Michigan (and maybe Wisconsin now that they have Luke Fickell), but still...

And that right there, plus his extensive injury history, is why I seriously doubt someone else chased him with NIL money. My guess is he ends up at a place like Nevada, Cal Poly, etc. Gotta respect the work he put into rehab and getting back on the field; best of luck to him, but I understand the decision (whether he simply wanted more playing time, wanted a change of scenery, or was advised it was time to clear a scholie for someone else).

As with almost any player, we don't know the backstory. Lots of speculation here (which is natural), and none/some/all of the postulated reasons could have some factual basis. Unless he directly states the reason(s), we'll never know. I used to get sad when a player I liked left - unfortunately now the system we have makes them essentially nameless, faceless, interchangeable parts. Hard to get too excited about a 5* recruit when he could be gone in a year. Good luck wherever you're going. Next player up. *sigh*

Thought it would be interesting to see what a variety of draftniks say about Sewell. I'm not a scout, nor am I trying to defend Sewell. I have no idea whether he'll be a great pro or a total bust. But I find it interesting that Daniel Kelly is so completely out of the mainstream of thought on Sewell. NFL Draft Network: "Overall, Sewell is a playmaking linebacker who offers excellent run-defending skills as a downhill box player but has limitations the further he gets from the box." (#61 player in the draft, #2 LB) Noah Sewell NFL Draft Scouting Report - Draft Network THEDRAFTNETWORK.COM Noah Sewell NFL Draft scouting report. Find out the NFL Draft ranking, background, college, height, weight, and more of Noah Sewell. NFL Draft Buzz: "He’s a high-motor player, and Sewell shows good enough hand use, as well as a tight spin move, to win as an edge rusher." (#6 LB) Noah Sewell Linebacker Oregon Scouting Report WWW.NFLDRAFTBUZZ.COM Rating: 87.4 Rank: #6 Forty: 4.58 Noah Sewell from Orem High School was rated a 4-star recruit by ESPN and handed a 5-star grade by 247 Sports. After high school, Sewell joined Oregon afte... Pro Football Network: "Sewell’s trigger, overall athleticism, stack-and-shed ability, and instincts are plus traits. But there’s one word that describes him best: explosive. Give Sewell a lane, and he’s running whoever is foolish enough to stand in his way." (#3 LB) Top 10 LBs in the 2023 NFL Draft Include Trenton Simpson and Noah Sewell WWW.PROFOOTBALLNETWORK.COM While there is a clear LB1 in the 2023 NFL Draft, the complete list of the top 10 linebackers highlights a diverse and talented class. Sporting News: "Noah is a terror for offenses as a tackling and playmaking machine. He still has room to grow his game while in coverage." (#16 prospect overall) NFL Draft prospects 2023: Updated big board of top 70 players overall, position rankings WWW.SPORTINGNEWS.COM Who are the 70 best college prospects available to make the jump to the NFL next year? Here's breaking down the top of the 2023 class that features Alabama teammates Will Anderson and Bryce Young and Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud.

All of this raises a serious question: if this analysis has any merit, why did Sewell continue to start and play big minutes for Lanning's D? Are the coaches cumulatively that utterly clueless about someone who is essentially being called useless at best; a liability at worst? Or is this analysis way off base? I certainly don't have that answer. But if Sewell gets drafted fairly high (4th round or above), that will tell us this writer is just a clown looking to make a name for himself at the expense of a college kid. If he falls to the lower rounds or doesn't get drafted at all, I'd say the writer has his stuff really together and is pretty insightful. The pro scouts know a lot more than you and I do (even if they miss on a bunch of prospects each year). If it's the former, that means potentially we have a long-term coaching problem on our hands - continuing to play guys who just aren't that good. Draft profiles always are filled with positives and negatives - even sure-fire prospects like Andrew Luck have lots of negatives from the scouts - so negatives from NFL Draft Buzz are expected. Every player has a bunch of stuff at which he needs to get much better in order to be a successful pro starter.

Couldn't happen to a nicer program!

One thing I would LOVE to see happen is for fans to accept that this is the new order of college football. I really have problems when we as fans start criticizing a player like Moore when he flips. Things like "He wasn't that good anyway" or "If he's not going to be loyal and keep his commitment he doesn't deserve to be a Duck" or "We'll just get someone better." But then we turn around and praise the qualities and wisdom of a player like Novasad when that player flips to the Ducks. Novasad just did to Baylor what Moore did to the Ducks. This is simply how college football works now, which is much closer to how the real world works. If I've accepted a job offer at Microsoft and Google swoops in at the last second and offers me $10,000 more, or the long-term opportunities are much better at Google, there's a pretty good chance I'm ditching Microsoft even though I "committed" to them. As a fan, I would love to see kids commit and keep their commitment, but that's just not how things work now. They're going to switch commitments, transfer, etc., just like their school is going to change staff, try to recruit an even better player at their position, tell them they need to think about leaving, etc. No "loyalty" on either side any more, so when a kid flips, we can be disappointed/elated, but IMHO it doesn't mean fans should criticize a kid because he didn't sign with their team.

What awful news to wake up to this morning. The first game I ever watched and understood was Super Bowl IX (Steelers/Vikings). Became a huge Steelers fan that day and it's been a lifelong passion. Guys like Franco Harris, Joe Greene, Mel Blount, and Jack Lambert were my childhood heroes. A few years later I started following the Ducks. Almost my entire t-shirt wardrobe is Steelers, Ducks, and Pepperdine. I hurts to see guys I followed so passionately passing away.