Washington Waddler

I think it’s easy to forget sometimes that before there was an internet and social media forums, these type of interactions were all done either face to face or on the phone where the other person could react immediately to strong opinions. And, you usually had to face the music, whether with a fist or a tongue lashing. Trolls seem to be a part of the human race that wants there cake and eat it to - the type that break windows and then run away. Responsibility for themselves is not their strong suit. They like to hide in their bedroom after they’ve made a mess. Like little kids, they giggle about the chaos they can create. All social media forums are to one degree or another an experiment in human behavior. In very basic term, there are two types with many shades of grey in between: those that exist to be a platform for utterly unfettered and uncontrolled emotional outbursts, and those that seek common ground and awareness of how we affect one another. I think we all know which one Charles is striving to create.

I think any time a program starts over with new head and position coaches installing new schemes and terminology, you’re kidding yourself if you don’t see our situation as a work in progress: hope for the best, but plan for a few bumps in the road. Patience is key. That said, our line backers should be on a par with any group in the country. Losing Thibs on the outside certainly creates pass rush questions that only game time situations will answer, but is somewhat mollified by increased strength in the interior. My biggest concern is the secondary where we lost both Verone McKinley and Mykael Wright to the NFL. Verone was our field general, so it’s imperative that a new leader emerge. There are excellent prospects including Bennett Williams, and the talent level is there. But they will require time in the saddle. Same question to you - how do you think your D performs this year? l

Good comments SGD - enjoyed reading them, but wouldn’t worry to much about any rabids finding our site. They’d end up in the pound before they had time to scratch a flea.

Probably not better choices for playing time. Both Alabama and Ohio State show eight tight ends and Miami has six. NILS and out of state opportunity more likely.

It’s good to hear a coaching staff that’s says it’s looking for the re-emergence of an Oregon Identity that use to slice through front sevens like butter, and kept secondaries on their heels and looking lost. You build that re-appearance on the sound, fundamental principles preached by DL and his staff and they will come.

Like to see them try and pluck Haloti.

Sometimes things just have to run there course. Our Brand’s identification with pushing the envelope of altered appearance hopefully hit the wall with Helfrich during the 2016 season. The two games where we used the ‘Webfoot’ and the ‘Duck’ were miserable losses, and it’s always seemed to me that those losses sent a message. Enjoy and celebrate who you are, but don’t forget: substance is still more important than style. I’m happy with those two uni’s in the rear view mirror.

Huge loss if she goes, but the pantry isn’t empty with Stevie Hansen entering her sophomore year.

Wow. What are we going to do then?

Glad to see at least a handful of states trying to address this issue; however, this one for me has to land squarely on the doorstep of the parents. I know it’s a different issue and circumstances, but something about this made me think of the Todd Marinovich story and how a parent’s influence (or lack of influence) can channel a kid down a rabbit hole that can exclude or greatly limit all the other very important things that need developing at that age. The excuse will always be the child prodigy - ‘the special talent’. But for every Carr or Marinovich, how many will there be that are left at the bottom of that rabbit hole without a ladder?

Lost in the rush to crown MC as the next great Hurricane head coach has been any attempt to compare him to those who set the bar. Other than in recruiting, has he exhibited any of the tactical gifts or abilities to shift gears and create on the run that marked the careers of Howard Schnellenberger, Jimmie Johnson and even Dennis Erickson? From what I remember, when things got tough for Mari, he didn’t get going, he’d hit his ceiling and call a time out. Rather than showing the adaptive creativity that always marks great coaching, you could sum-up MC’s coaching abilities from the directions on the back of a shampoo bottle: ‘wash, rinse, repeat’.

Dual meets were a big part of our tradition that seem to have disappeared. Miss the excitement of those against the Bruins and Cougars. That old fan-focused kind of event has given way to a more calculated, season long development of talent seeking to peak for the PAC12’s and NCAA. It’s still great, but I do miss those rivalries.

The great mystery is what have the Saudis really bought? Only time will tell.

Is that Seven McGee?

Thanks, went well with the morning coffee!

Like it says, from a Ute’s perspective. The only real purpose here is to scratch that itch that always wants to say other teams are good only because they have some of our locals.

Pretty sure we all have mixed feelings about any player who pulls the plug. In the case of Johnson, it’s not revisionist to acknowledge at the same time both his talent level and his past history of putting himself before everything else, including coaches and team mates. Altman has always been a ‘project’ guy who is willing to gamble he can get the best out of elite talent. Hasn’t always worked, but often enough to keep him trying.

Talented but seems guided by me first fickleness - can be a disruptive influence in the locker room. Probably for the best.

It’s difficult to say how much Mariu’s game day interference with his OC ‘s game plan played with AB’s confidence and trust in what they’d worked on, but Nix’s focus would certainly benefit by a lack of that stressful uncertainty.

Yes, something about those Euro poverty cars. Army uncle brought me back a 1949 Volkswagen Beetle following his post WWII tour. 36 HP - I swear the engine said Singer on it.

Does this mean we can’t say Fuskies anymore?

Duck’s NIL wait-and-see stance looks like the right path, if for no other reason than to watch how the QB bidding war plays out among the booster gambling addicts. QBs may prove to be ‘the canary in the coal mine’ when it comes to NIL dollars once a few of those high priced high schoolers have washed out. In the mean time, our current strategy of keeping a close eye on QB portal activity while searching for that diamond in the rough looks like the right choice.

While the toothless state of the NCAA certainly gives the impression of relinquishing any responsibility for the governing of college sports, I wouldn’t drop the entire blame on them. For me, it’s just another reason for SCOTUS to revisit their hasty decision to effectively remove the ‘student’ part from the ‘student-athlete’ equation.

Near the top of my all-time favorite games to be at: thank you Jeremiah and Legarrette!

A helmet should suggest what you think of yourself - what’s going on inside that helmet? So, if you like surprises, enjoy turning heads and embracing change, you’re going to like ours. If, on the other hand, you like things to be predictable, conservatively unimaginative and to always remain the same, you’ll like the blue bloods. Tradition is a funny animal.