Washington Waddler

Living as I now do in cur country, just the thought of the whelps going 15-0 . . . no, just can’t go there. Since a Husky will eat anything put in front of him, may have to hire someone in nahluns to supplement their training table with intestinal parasite-laced deer poop. These are desperate times.

Bless us ALL, everyone!

Limbing cedars with Lucy

I’d offer him 126 mil to stay away

Greener as in mildew and mold?

While I agree with most of the Washington assessments, it still remains nine points for three games. Is that a big hump? Yes and no. It remains a big hump until Dan finds that ‘gear’ he’s still searching for that gets him over the top. Chip and Mark hit the big game by being in the right place at the right time. Dan is not sneaking up on anyone. He’s doing it like Kirby, the old fashion way. My guess would be that the dirtiest word right now for him in the English language is ‘potential’

Italians do a pretty mean pan steak too, although I’m also pretty sure Mario uses a microwave.

Because of what he accomplished, I can never categorize Chip with the likes of Willie and Mario. But IMHO, his thoughtless exit places him on the margin of that because it created for me a lasting impression of how little concern he had for the future wellbeing of the program that gifted him the platform to become who he did. I’m not holding him responsible for striking while the iron was hot. That’s the nature of the business. What I do hold him responsible for is how little concern he had in not being thorough in his consideration of promoting Helfrich as his successor. It was too easy a call for him. Mark was his protege, his devoted pupil, a friend whom he undoubtedly wished success upon. Despite the qualities listed (great human being; devoted Duck; knowledge of the game; commitment to his players), I can’t help but think their time together would not have made him very aware of a temperament utterly unsuitable for the cold, lonely clarity required of a head coach. Chip’s call was probably inevitable. His interest was in the man and not the program. And it worked; for a while, until reality caught up with his protege. His was the classic case of how nice guys can so often finish last. Chip just wanted out the door, and he took the quick and sure route to that end. And, there was no doubt whoever he crowned would be his successor. But, should he have? Mark was Chip’s fall guy. How do you say no to your teacher’s unwillingness to not endorse, and leave the job open to the normal process? His legacy was more important to him than the program that gave him his start. Water under the bridge.

Back during those Kelly/Helfrich days, Nick Aliotti and I shared the same insurance consultant. One day during Mark’s 2nd season I was there for an appointment, and found the two of them chatting outside the office. Ducks were the topic, and Helfrich’s sideline demeanor and reaction to plays was the topic. What I remember best was Nick’s heated intensity (did he ever react in any other way?) describing and reacting to Mark’s response towards players coming off the field who’d just cost the team with their poor play. What was driving Aliotti crazy was that Mark was unfailingly positive and encouraging to these screw-ups in the heat of battle. Later on, in his office, maybe. But not no way NEVER during a game. Didn’t send the right message to the player nor the others watching the interaction; all it did was cause that player and the team to lose respect for the coach by not holding him accountable for what he’d just done.

SI’s interview indicates his move had a lot to do with Carlos. Stats and measurables aside, if CL is bringing him onboard, not too worried about his creds and potential. A bonus in my mind is his Div II background. Along with a star-sprinkled big name RB would come two seasons worth of a body being beaten on by power 5 defenses.

My wife and I were at every home game and quite a few away games during Sabrina’s years with the Ducks. I remember stretches of many of those games where I’d hone in on Graves, and just watch for his ‘live’ coaching style. After a while I just gave up because I couldn’t tell the difference between him and some fan who was fast asleep. At the time, it was easy to write that off to leaving well enough alone with a field general directing the emergence of the most exciting and successful team in women’s basketball, UConn included. Besides, not every coach pounds the line like Dana. Success breeds fan patience. Like many others, I was more than willing to cut the guy a lot of slack, and wait for the time when a Sabrina-less Kelly would finally put on display those coaching chops developed at St Mary’s and Gonzaga. I’m no judge of women’s basketball coaches, but as far as I can tell, it hasn’t happened. He’s still asleep.

Absolutely.

It all feels like some classic, messy who-gets-the-money divorce with the C***l War playing the child who’s shared between the two parents.

Like everyone else, love um when they’re yours; hate um when they’re not. What else is new?

That adage has always reminded me a bit of the difference between winning and losing. Similar to a strength, winning teaches you one thing: you like it. It is then your job to sustain it. On the other hand, weakness - like losing - teaches you everything else about yourself and what you need to do to improve on it. Sometimes, some people might just surprise you.

The flip side to this coin suggests playing the QB portal lottery on a yearly basis may slowly deplete not only the growth of young QBs within the system; but could - over time - erode recruiting efforts. What effect that may have on over-all team morale remains TBD, especially in those years when you strike out on your lottery choice.

A new program could be just the jolt TT requires to finally take charge of himself. Wish him well.

Even a Husky can spell ‘wow’ without screwing up.

True; however, wasn’t there also a time when our Ducks were most likely an overpaid have-not?

I wonder if the same question was asked last year on a USC forum between season tickets and the Tulane game.

Clearly, the calmer, wiser authorities at both schools (if there are any left who fit that description) need to call a time out and send both programs to their rooms, and let the dust settle before approaching the possibility of renewing the rivalry. Too much boiling over right now to access the bigger picture.

Getting him might also keep Stein focused on where he is.

Still not convinced we came out flat. I think we came out ready and got haymakered by a higher ranked, super-pumped 12-0 team that felt disrespected by being a 9-1/2 point underdog to a team they’d beaten twice in a row. If anything, we were sucker punched by the odds makers. As to Deboer, next season should be telling as to how much of his current success is do the coaching/system, and how much was Michael Penix. Will he be able to plug and play, or - like Bo - will he find that Heisman-worthy QBs don’t grow on trees

Except for older Ducks, you can mention the Don James era among today’s Oregon fans without getting much of a response. Mention Oregon’s 2004-2015 12 game win streak among Husky fans, and they’ll literally stop talking to you (as happened to me on Oct 14th waiting in line at their stadium). What once drove the engine for revenge among the Duck faithful has slowly faded into history, while the puppies are still livid with rage over how we mistreated them not so long ago. I think it still feeds their fire and we saw some of that on Friday. But, what goes around . . . string enough 3 point losses together, and guess what happens?

On the replay, looks like he had his eyes on something going on to his right, and only brought his attention in front of himself about the same time the ball arrived. Happens.