Washington Waddler

Smith is proving to me that he can transition from being an edge reliant, underdog mentality type coach into being a targeted program that continues to be successful. Deboer hasn’t gotten there yet.

Thought and action; cause and effect, are like the two sides of a coin: something like a marriage of opposites. You can’t allow one to get the upper hand on the other, or nothing seems to work right. Balancing scheme and execution is probably the most significant (and hidden) challenge facing any coach. Do that right, and everything seems to run smoothly. Let one get more important than the other, and you’re always scratching your head trying to figure what’s gone wrong. That’s why I think it’s important to understand who Stein’s comments were really directed at: his players. That’s his audience; not us. Oregon is undergoing a culture change based upon Lanning’s introduction of the Georgia ‘de-recruitment’ process. That’s a big installment requiring a tad more emphasis on the players’ responsibilities right now. It will eventually even out with scheme, but right now it’s all about getting in people’s’ faces.

Not sure why it’s so acceptable these days for some to cross the line between woofing at a rival school and taunting a fellow competitor by either demeaning them or exulting in their defeat. I can enjoy the student section chant of, “start your tractors” at the end of a C***l War game victory over the Beavers because I know the same fate of being made fun of is awaiting us somewhere down the line. I may be weary of hearing it’s open season on ducks, but I get it. I accept it. That’s Tradition. What I don’t get and will never accept is the infantile, insulting behavior of both Clark and Reese and any other present day athletes who’ve forgotten how to just play the game and leave the woofing to the fans.

‘Absence’ for the media always represents a time for panic. Since they can only deal in differing levels of hearsay, the image of reality remains inconclusive, and therefore exceedingly frustrating because what they desire is a definitive answer. That’s always the reality for those on the outside looking in. On the other hand, ‘absence’ for those responsible for creating that answer simply means accepting the time element required in order to arrive at an answer. So long as the PAC?? remains a work in progress, with the universities pondering potential dance partners, the potential media partners must suspend judgement awaiting that answer. How else can it be? No body likes it, but you can’t count your chickens until the hen has laid the eggs.

Like players, fans can be guilty of this as well. I’ve never understood the chant, “over rated!” when the home team is in position to defeat a higher ranked opponent.

As an Oregon fan, I feel an inherent responsibility to try and understand the double-edged sword that Nike investments in the athletic department have become. The good news it’s a phenomenal sales tool for coaches in the recruiting process. The bad news is it’s a phenomenal sales tool for coaches who may end up not knowing what to do with all these newly acquired riches.

Well said. At one time, the child’s world of self-directed desire on the playground (or the street corner) would meet young adulthood’s expectations in the world of organized sport’s obligation to treat your opponent with the same respect as you would yourself. Now it seems the inmates are running the asylum.

His attention to route sequence and end-of-play details (head/shoulder position, ball security and getting yards after catch) say a lot about what he is focused on: winning.

Understood. My view point is from that of being a disenfranchised purist; something akin to expatriates who can never stop dreaming of the old country? Like many old Nebraska, Colorado, and Missouri fans, my guess is Dodd harbors a hidden nostalgia for his origins.

For what it’s worth, Dodd appears to be firmly entrenched in B12 country. A graduate of Missouri as is his daughter, and his son attends Kansas. He currently lives in Kansas, has worked for the Kansas City Star and written two books; one on Missouri basketball, and the other on the formation of the B12. Draw your own conclusions.

It’s quite possible that college football’s sense of community, tradition and sense of territorial integrity are now beyond the point of being at risk in this Chicken Little climate of panic-stricken lunging for a spot at the table of $$. What is potentially gained or lost goes well beyond the survival desire of Beavers or Cougars. It has more to do with accepting the notion that college football as we have known it is dead. That may be the case. I’m just not convinced the answer is a mad scramble to shove yourself and all your toys onto an escape pod and jettison yourself towards . . . ? Fear (of being left out) is rarely the wisest foundation upon which to base decision making.

Don’t forget Corn Hole as the only game day party option

Agree, but the conundrum is he still need top players. Reaching for the stars (literally) is what any good coach should do; hence, Dana’s move to Oregon. But, the learning curve on who to select and how to coach-up these star piles that moving here has given him access to has been a real challenge. Before Oregon, you could say his recruits were like him: blue collar, motivated coachable kids who wanted both individual and team success. Now, he has to deal with talent that is often motivated by something other than love of the game. There are times I’m not sure that registers with him. Perhaps Dana needs to take a piece out of the Dan Lanning recruiting book and apply the de-recruitment theory to his new charges. Not sure that would translate well from the field to the court, but he does need to try something new.

It’s always been astounding to me how a team’s down year that equates into a dead-end recruiting-wise for us fans is so often viewed by recruits as the opening they’ve been looking for.

Welcome to ‘Selfie World’ where you celebrate yourself just because it’s you!

Listening to people wax nostalgic about Mac Court is like listening to people who want to clone their beloved dog with the expectation that they’ll get the same results. Life doesn’t work that way. It moves on and changes. No, Matt will never be Mac, but that doesn’t mean it can’t intimidate opposing teams. It can. We’ve seen it happen. It just takes more of us — and more effort. In other words, exactly what Dana was saying. Sometimes you just go because you’re a Duck and you support the team irregardless of how you feel about the current edition.

Dana did appear to try that at the end on defense, only to have his strategy to guard Chuck Hepburn ignored. Disciplined thinking has been a problem with this team all year. Teams that are on for one game, and then off the next as this team has so often been is just a sign of mental laziness.

Chagrin is a tough pill to swallow. Thought she had more class than that. Guess I was wrong.

The flip-side for student athletes who keep one foot in the room, but the other from allowing the door to close, is that they fail to grasp the importance of ‘the here and now’ by always looking to where the grass might be greener. Learning to accept, and living up to the commitment you’ve made is a big part of reaching maturity, and the portal; sadly - for all its advantages - has the potential to work like a masking drug on many student athletes who never allow this priceless time in their lives to teach them anything more than avoidance, and that they want their cake, and eat it too. That’s why for me - at at least at this moment - Nate Bittles is a damn good example of what being a student athlete is really all about.

Good system, good cast, and MM should now have developed the thick skin from his previous NFL stops to deal with Philly fans. Carpe diem Marcus!

You just gotta love one-n-done play-off time. It changes everything, and anything can happen. The players don’t even know what they’re capable until that urgency hits them in the face. Hang on Dana, and let your team ride this wave for as long as it lasts!

True, at least for the time being. What we are seeing is the unavoidable domino effect forced on west coast public institutions by the choice of one private California university. I wouldn’t be surprised if something similar is brewing amongst salons in Washington as well. The freedom of choice clock is certainly ticking for certain west coast public universities.

Pro-conference pundits are a hopelessly provincial lot; as they should be. You look at the names, then at where they were born, live and went to school, and 99.9% of the time that will tell you all you need to know as to whether or not they are for or against PAC 12 survival. What provokes them is the same energy and passion they feel when their team is driving into an opponent’s side of the field: destroying your opponent with more yards + bigger score = winning. In a game, this makes perfect sense, but does this same logic hold when applied to the bigger picture of destroying conferences in order to grow your own? What fuels the passion for football is the over-coming of your enemies in order to have a chance at grasping the brass ring. But, when you can no longer tell friend from foe because you’ve absorbed your traditional enemy into your conference, you begin to resemble something like the Roman Empire (which was partially undone by those same folk they thought they’d conquered). Unlike real life, games don’t lead to the possible gain of your enemy’s territory. You win or lose, and still go home. But many of war’s destructive principles still apply, primarily survivalism’s faceless immorality of ‘business as usual’ for the purpose of financial gain. That’s what destroys the game. But, it is also what leads me to the understanding that money and getting bigger can’t hold a candle to the power of territorialism. That same provincial force that drives the pundits is what - in the end - will likely at some point bring the PAC 12 back together again, and better than ever. It’s only a matter of time.

Good thoughts. While I agree that the priority here is to keep a finger on the Lanning culture change pulse which is best revealed by the early buy-in of his own recruits, I would also recommend keeping an eye on the development of below the radar seniors - the guys who’ve been grinding it out their entire Duck careers, and now see the chance to realize their own potential. My model for that player will always be Michael Clay.

After you’ve rocketed to the very top on the coat tails of a once-in-a-life-time player, it’s almost impossible to go anywhere but down once that star is gone. Sabrina (and supporting cast) was both the best thing and the worst thing to ever happen to Kelly Graves. Her unapproachable skill set delivered not only wins, but immediate legitimacy and credibility to a pretty successful lower division coach’s move into the big time, leaving him with an afterglow of someone who could do no wrong. Talk about the perfect recipe for a train wreck. I think Kelly is still the coach we want, and one of the best in our league. But, success can sometimes breed failure when nothing is learned from the fortunate circumstances and luck that engendered that beginning. Sabrina’s success dug a deep hole for Kelly to crawl out from, and he’s been playing catch-up ever since. Trying to rekindle that magic while at the same time fighting off 11 other teams who want nothing more than to reduce you to ashes has been the steep challenge facing him. He may never find that recruiting formula again; but, then again he might. All I know is I like the guy.