Washington Waddler

Charles, Groucho Marx had some good advice for what you have to deal with — “If the garbage man calls, tell him we don’t want any.”

True, but the coaches have bolstered youth with portal experience, especially at running back, wide receiver and corner. Bowers was one of my favorite players last year period. Your youth is as intimidating as ours, if not more so. How has Georgia played the portal? Is Kirby in love with it like some, or just as a needs be option?

You’re on to something David, and your comparisons are at the heart of it. Programs like ours that have grown out of being a ‘who we are’, rather than a ‘where we are’ must, as a result, succeed or fail based on adhering to that hard earned identity. Failing to do so, and we become lost. So, being a ‘who you are’ is a process. It requires coaches, players and fans to wake-up every morning and remind themselves of what it means to be a Duck. We know and feel what it is, but it’s fragile. It requires focused care, and a willing dedication to that vision in order to turn it into reality. ‘Who we are’s’ must create themselves on the periphery of wealth. ‘Where we are’s’ wallow at the center of that wealth. Our identity was established on, and grew from that reality. Because you came from being a have not, you had to try harder, learning that it demands working together (like ducks inflight?) and daring to fail: risk reaching for it. We can see the beginnings of that dedicated vision with Rich, and it’s fruition with Chip and Mark. They took that aggressive, willingness to risk to win, and turned it into an identity that has magnetized and inspired countless high school athletes from all over the country. They couldn’t wait to become part of the O. But, coaches who fail to grasp our origins (our identity) can lapse into habits created from being part of a ‘where we are’ culture. ‘Where we are’s’ tend to rely upon their wealth doing the work for them. And because they’re wealthy, they are conservative and don’t like to risk losing that wealth. Sound like anyone we know? Great programs require talent. But, they also require hard work and a willingness to risk it all to win. And, holding that together and making it work (the glue) is knowing who you are. We’re Ducks. We fly!

No, good drugs!

Top drawer strategizing Joshua. Thanks. Even with predictable Georgia, I’d like to see our defense expecting the unexpected. All the talk and focus on stopping their run game can set up their tight ends. Bennett may have problems when he’s forced to throw, but he won’t when it’s a designed play intended to surprise. Another advantage the Ducks have is the more mobile quarterback. While we don’t want to see Nix plowing into their D on option keepers, he could be the difference when necessary to keep our offense on the field in a tight game.

There’s a pretty big difference between walking into a locker room for the first time as a green-behind-the-ears freshman, and as a welcomed, seasoned veteran from a hated rival. Would be surprised if that feel good validation hadn’t greased all the wheels.

I’ll go with two picks. The receiver who works the hardest to create chemistry with his quarterback, and the running back who takes his O line out for milkshakes the most often.

An essential aspect of any great recruiter is the ability to connect with the most fundamental, psychological need of a teenage athlete: the safe passage from one home to another. The shiny tools of that pitch (a top program; the right fit; the chance to play right away; etc) are the lure, but the promise of good parenting, and the need to feel at home are the bedrock. Mario has that in spades. Where Mario has failed thus far is by not moving past the protective role and taking off the training wheels. At some point the best head coaches know they’ve got to relinquish control and let their players succeed or fail; let them grow up. So far, Mario has been afraid to let go of those reins.

Agree with HD and 30D. Mario started out like a full measure, but end up a half - if that. All you have to do is look at what AB is doing now to understand how he was as under-utilized as Justin.

Partial to the Coliseum and Rose Bowl where we kick ass.

Taking nothing away from Carter’s obvious strength and skill, IMO, the OL facing him in the video utterly lacked in good foot work and a strategy in how to use that to his advantage. All he needed was an additional 1/2 second to change that play, but instead played right into Carter’s arm move.

They’re foolish if they aren’t. They didn’t get to where they are by ignoring details. Kirby believes in playing by his last name; not in being stupidly smug.

Insecurity is the core definition for lots of football fan: they focus on the things that make them feel confidant, and ignore the rest. In that regard, Georgia is no different from Idaho State, or any place else. We got our share too. Toot the horn.

Like USC, Nebraska has gone way past the point of desperation in grasping for any remnant of their glory years. The Troylets’ latest B1G lunge is not available to them since they’d already played that card. Now it feels like they’re trying to embrace some form of a ‘do or die’ mentality reminiscent of an earlier age’s self-disregard in pursuit of toughness. I’m still a Frost fan. Satisfying that fan base? I feel for him.

You gotta do what you gotta do. We’re just glad you do!

Memory from 2008 Holiday Bowl. Sitting next to some Cowboy fans following JJ’s 70+ yard TD scamper. One of them turned to me and said, “Y’all not only got some good running backs, they also got the coolest names.” Oh what a feeling, thanks JJ!

Yup. Same old, same old. Uni prezes, chancellors, regents, boards of trustees , the whole pile of them: pay attention to what I say, not what I do. As always, follow the $$$.

That Dawg don’t hunt. But it’s damn good at whining. And they call us childish . . Here’s to another generation never to see more than two puppy wins!

Agree it’s not panic button time. Some OL recruits may see more opportunity at USC right now where the cupboard is not as well stocked, but that’s situational, and not necessarily a shift in recruiting prowess. As with all our new assistant coaches, it’s the time Klemm spends now with recruits that pays dividends down the road, and that’s crucial for OLs because the portal is such a poor and unreliable source for them. System-driven position groups that rely upon synchronized timing like OLs gain a playing time advantage the more time they spend together. They lose that when they enter the portal.

David, really appreciate your tenacity in following your thought down whatever rabbit hole it took you. The result certainly justifies the effort. Lots of good thinking here comparing the pros to whatever variation of them that different colleges/conferences may take. It’s worth noting here how MLB differs from all the other pro leagues in that it is inclusively self-supporting with its own professional minor league system. True, it does benefit from college ball, but does not depend upon it. Aside from the semi-effective NBA G league, the other pro leagues remain dependent upon colleges for development of their players. If the media-money halter in the hand of the NFL that’s firmly attached to B1G & SEC ‘haves’ nose rings were to follow down this MLB path, it could well kill the goose that lays the golden egg as it already has MLB where excess and greed without limits has taken over and alienated most fans by turning the sport into something so many feel no connection with anymore. We all know the high regard with which minor league baseball is held. Is that really where the Alabama’s and Der Ohio State’s want to end up? Good chance it’s already happened. Pathetic. Like watching a Roman orgy where the haves stuff themselves to the point of having to vomit, only to return to eat even more. Disgust - if nothing else - may end up saving college football from those who have lost their way.

Didn’t they have a thing for purple as well? Oh well, so much for my historical expertise!

Either way, you’re ending up on a throne? Interesting ‘tell’ that the video only shows the away package. Sending us a message? Apparently the bow-wow down crowd feels the purple hazy history of that color somehow rubs off on them, linking them to ancient Persia and King Cyrus whose identified as the first to reserve that color for royalty only. Persia? Weren’t they the ones who could barely handle 300 Greeks with an army of 300,000? Sounds worthy of being a Husky tradition.

I like it on one condition: we ram it down Stanford’s throat until they never want to see the play again.

As you pointed out FD, this is the only opportunity given DL and his OC to remain unknown prior to games putting them on display, so don’t look a gift horse in the mouth! Usually, withholding information earns better results than blowing too much smoke. Leave that for game time. At this time of year - as always - it helps to remember that every head coach standing before a microphone has numerous audiences in mind every time he answers a question; and, each one of those audiences imagines themselves to be the apple of his eye, and the most important.

While not every OL who aspires to the head job stays mind-locked in the trenches, Mario seems to be a classic example of that. The more competitive a game became requiring tactical agility and creativeness, the more he would put his head down and plow straight ahead. Mario seems to understand and believe that one thing, and that one thing only. From what I’ve read, DL appears to ‘see’ the whole game, to enjoy the anticipation of tactics and strategy like a kid with a joy stick, but one who knows where he’s going, and how to plan to get there. Best of all, he sounds like he never stops being a student of the game.