Drake

I choose not to get too concerned about the transfer portal. Seems to me that if players are being “unfairly forced” to give up their scholarships by abusive coaching staffs it would become a newsworthy event, and we would find out about it through the media. Until then, I can’t get overly worried about the things that I personally choose not to follow too closely.

Some players elevate their game during the playoffs. Dillon Brooks elevates his mouth. While I don’t want to see robot like answers to questions during interviews, I think you probably need to shut down LeBron a few times before before we take you seriously. Otherwise, you are just a bad actor on a traveling show.

Traeshon Holdon was dismissed, then definitely reinstated, after more facts of the incident that he was involved in were released. This team is talented. Realistically, for the Ducks to contend for a playoff spot they will need to stay healthy, and have a defense that probably ranks in at least the top 20. It is going to be a QB shoot out to get to our conference championship. Contenders for the championship game will need defenses that are solid in pass protection, and can pressure the QB often.

Perhaps Danny O’Neil. Performing poorly might be a bad characterization of his play, not sure I want to throw him under the bus. Initially he certainly wasn’t instilling fear to any opposing defenses. His QB rating started out relatively low, and by his third season he was definitely above average.

I am very impressed with the recruiting efforts. Having these players in at the same time generates excitement and momentum. We won’t be able to get all these players, but all of them should go home impressed with Oregon. Telling recruits that the your goal is to build a National Championship team is rather hollow if you aren’t getting the top players to at least visit. Getting the top recruits to visit at the same time certainly makes it look like you are on the right track. I also applaud the former players that make time and take the effort to return to Oregon. As an Oregon Alum and huge fan of our Ducks, I love it. This can only help Dan Lanning and his staff recruit the future stars of Oregon. It also looks like the weather this Saturday will ALSO feature an appearance of the sun….😎

I would love to see Ty thrive at QB for Oregon. At this level, you want a QB that thrives in the moment. Ty has not demonstrated that he can play at this level. However, not every QB thrives when thrust onto the stage. Herbert is always a good example. His first start as a true freshman was a lopsided loss at home against the Puppies. His first pass was an interception, and the score got lopsided very quickly. However, after that first pass interception, you could tell that he had the talent needed to play at this level. With Bo Nix starting, it will require Ty to have positive results any time he takes the field. I hope he thrives in his moments.

I was a student at Oregon when baseball was eliminated. That was probably around 1980. Phil and Penny Knight made a huge donation to Oregon athletics which helped to build the Matthew Knight arena. If I remember correctly baseball returned to Oregon shortly after that donation was made to the athletic department. Phil and Penny Knight’s generosity to the University of Oregon has reshaped the University. The return of baseball may very well have been a special request from Penny Knight. If it was her request, then somebody made sure it happened. I kind of like the idea that Phil would make a few extra phone calls to make sure that life at home was happy.

The PAC 12 will be very competitive this year. It will not be a cake walk for anyone to get to the PAC 12 Championship. They are crowning the Trojan boys as the top team. “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” It gives me a good reason to cheer for almost any team that plays against them. Autzen will be the place to be on 11/11/23. Oh my, that is also Veteran’s day.

Interesting rankings. While a degree from a prestigious University is an outstanding accomplishment, the combination of intelligence and work ethic towards one’s endeavors will always be the most reliable measuring stick of a person’s potential success. There are far too many people that have paid an enormous amount of money for graduate degrees thinking that the degree alone would pave the way to their future success.

It will be interesting to watch Stein settle into the OC job at Oregon. He has a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball, and he probably needs to put up a lot of points just to keep from being criticized because of that fact. There are questions that will need to be answered about Stein. Can he duplicate his previous success while having a talented Senior QB like Bo Nix? Will his offensive scheme get the ball into the hands of our talented players successfully? Can he develop young QB talent for the future? Can he recruit and attract QB talent to Oregon? Only time will tell.

We all know what needs to happen. The Ducks and USC will both need to be unbeaten for their regular season game. The Trojan boys get off to a seemingly insurmountable lead on national TV. Bo Nix methodically brings the team back in the late 3rd and 4th while Caleb Williams throws a costly interception late in the game. Oregon wins by 7. At 12 -0, Oregon then beats an 11 -1 USC team in the PAC 12 championship game. Bo gets the Heisman invite.

A veteran QB that has his sights on getting the most out of his last year in college, coupled with the new OC that had a prolific passing attack at his last stop. With solid talent at receiver, and at RB, I believe Stein slides into the role of the new young OC at a pretty good time. Toss in some decent luck staying healthy as a team, and we have the ingredients for an exciting season of football. Whatever he is telling the recruits, I hope the on field results exceeds many of our expectations.

Almost all of the mistakes can be attributed to Larry Scott, and the decision makers who allowed him to keep his job as long as he did. Owning the PAC 12 network, then allowing ESPN and Fox to broadcast the premium PAC 12 football games, makes zero business sense if you are trying to increase the value of property that you own.

When we watched MM win the Heisman the Ducks offense was a scoring machine. The offense averaged over 45 points and opponents around 24 points. Games against lesser opponents were over by halftime and MM was sitting on the bench for much of the 2nd half. For Nix to be a legit Heisman contender, his passing efficiency, total touchdowns, and the team’s average score will need to be amongst the highest in the nation. A high scoring offense will draw the needed attention. However, I also agree that Nix would need help from the defense. With the quality QBs in the PAC 12, the defense will need to improve. Otherwise, Nix’s Heisman campaign doesn’t gain very much traction.

For Oregon, going to the NIT is like the football team going to El Paso for a bowl game. There is a huge base of alums and fans in Portland. I know a lot of them were watching from home. Filling the seats for the NIT home game matchup perhaps is directly due to a lack of promotion in both Eugene, and Portland areas. If that is the case, then I fully understand why Altman is fired up. Love the team, but not the drive down and back. I also am not flying to EL Paso for a bowl game anymore.

Coach Stein has one of the better QBs in the country available to him to run his offense. Nix coming back is huge and Stein’s offense should put numbers on the scoreboard. Since we don’t have the “neutral site” game with the National Champions to break in the new coach this season, Stein, and the new OL gets one game, and subsequent film review to work out some of the inevitable kinks. Be nice to have Nix, receivers, and our RBs put up some big numbers this season. That would definitely attract the attention of the top recruits in those positions. Look forward to the Spring game.

I know that I would enjoy watching this move backfire on the LA schools.

While it would have been nice if our coaching staff held up longer than 1 year, at least there isn’t going to be a complete overhaul of the offense. Stein has a chance to make a name for himself at Oregon. Adjusting the offense to the players that are available, who knew? That idea seems simple, but there are many coaches that do not adjust very well. The adjustments I will be interested in seeing are when the offense struggles. Can he make some of the adjustments needed to neutralize a defense that has the upper hand? If he can make those types of adjustments, and recruit, then we have a very good one on our sidelines. Overall, I am optimistic about Stein making a name for himself.

Certainly increases the cumulative years of experience on our staff. Between he and A’lique Terry, close to 40 years of coaching experience. ; )

Not unexpected after all the charges were dropped. Glad the pendulum swings both ways when a young man is booted from the team for his alleged actions. I don’t mind Dan Lanning making an error in this case, as long as he is fair when he perhaps was too quick to be judge and jury.

I have only read about the charges in this incident. I have no knowledge of what happened and who started what. The DA dropping charges means to me that he was not menacing with a pistol in hand. Telling someone that you will get a firearm and shoot them is much different. However, threatening to get a firearm with the intent to shoot/kill someone is not a normal threat either. I would need to know more about what happened before making a decision that impacts his future.

I would like to see Bucky involved a bit more in the red zone. His abilities to gain yardage in a crowded space is at times uncanny. The playbook is also larger when he is on the field. Giving opponents footage of a wider variety of plays keeps them occupied in the film room, and at times may get a defender to hesitate momentarily because of what he has seen on film. However, if Locklynn wants to reward players for their efforts in practice with playing time, I really don’t have a problem with that at all. There are going to be games that may not be the best time to get a guy playing time if the outcome is still in question, but RBBC is probably here to stay.

In my experience when “A” type personalities work as a group there will be strained relationships. Apparently, Klemm and the OC were one of those relationships. Obviously, the general manager and HC decided to stand by the newly hired OC. Oregon certainly jump starts coaching careers. Time will tell if Klemm has the chops to maintain and further his career in the NFL.

These reviews are great! I am confident that Bo Nix will be successful and provide stability at the QB position with Will Stein taking over as OC. The biggest concerns I had when KD left was what type of offensive style would the new OC run, and did we have the personnel to plug into that style. Nix’s decision to come back solved a lot of concerns about personnel, and Stein’s offensive style leads me to believe that we can score a lot of points with a savvy QB, great RBs, and solid receivers. Wild card is just the OL and how quickly they can gel as a unit. Exciting stuff.

PAC 12 is going to be difficult to go through unscathed. If all the conference QBs stay healthy it is going to be a shootout. There could be 3 maybe 4 teams in the top 25, with possibly 2 in the top ten. I have to go with 10 wins as my optimistic forecast. My unrealistic expectation is that our defense vaults into a top 20 ranking and we win every game.