Mudslide

Two answers. No. And absolutely not.

Having looked at the WSU game highlights, I don't see them as a legit top 25 team...EVEN with their win over a (self-defeating) Wisconsin team. But what I do fear is their Air Raid attack. The Ducks' db's are not the team's strong suit. It will be up to TL to install a package to stifle that short passing game. The Ducks have traditionally sucked at defending the short passing game. Hopefully, this year reverses that trend. All that said, I can't wait for the game and I see it as a big, pick the 'over' bet for the Ducks in a shootout. Our offense is much superior to Wisconsin's and will score LOTS of points. (Charles will be happy with our team reaching the 45 point threshold.)

Normally I don't care for "What if..." questions. They bring little to reality. But this one of Charles had me pondering. I guess I agree with Mike West's analysis. I thought Taggart, for all his flaws, was a lot brighter than MC. And he was open to change that somehow eluded the stubborn Cristobal. All that said, thinking about these two goofy coaches makes me a little grumpy this morning. And it's a bit like comparing Stalin with Hitler. Which one would have been a better tyrant?

This is further proof that coaches DO NOT look at many other games' films. Nor do they have the time to. As David Marsh said, we won't see any accuracy of polls until later in the season when the true ranked candidates filter themselves.

Busted.

The Dawgies have a potent passing attack with lots of creative plays not seen last year. Penix and the new coaches could make a difference in PAC competition this season.

I carefully watched the BYU-Baylor game. It's my contention that both of those teams were overrated and neither could generate a consistent O or D. Plus, BYU lost a couple of D-linemen and were still going to be without Nacua and that other wideout. Ducks offense is clicking and the defense is coming around. Good job, boys...GO DUCKS! Bring some more Sunshine!

Heh heh. BEER!

DEAL...but next time you're in Lincoln City.

Okay, just call me Sunshine...... Ducks 42-21 2 3 311

'Twas a fabulous article, Alan. Many thanks. And thanks for the Pepsi that's still in my nose. As for factual matters...."Blue BYU", indeed! Everyone knows that's in Loosiana. There is a food for the day thought. "If you're happy and you know it, you're probably irritating someone who isn't." I hope the Bee Hive visitors aren't too miserable tomorrow.

Because I (unhappily) noted other issues of performance during the Georgia game, there was something I didn't notice on Nix's play start...that I did during the EWU game. This was a tell of a run or pass a brief moment just before the snap. If you'll look at the EWU game highlights (linked in the daily linked articles thread), you'll see Nix do one of two things an instant before the snap. If he bends into the snap, or slightly leans forward, it's a run. If he stands motionless or erect during the snap, it's a pass. Now if I were a D-lineman, I'd know at the snap to either gap/player contain or pin my ears back in a pass rush. (Note that screen passes could nullify this tip off advantage.) Also note that Thompson makes no such motion. I'm wondering if Georgia's familiarity with Nix enabled them to use this tell. Any pre-snap information on a play can certainly aid the defense on pursuit choices. Perhaps my weird, grey beard eyes are tricking me. Would someone with more qb knowledge than I verify this, please? I was able to call every run or pass before Nix received the snapped ball. And is there a defensive advantage gained in that quite short moment before (or during) the snap?

Too bad he's going to only get a few million to go away. Poor fellow. Welp, I guess you can't recruit to Lincoln, either.

I believe Georgia also has better coaches. Perhaps DL will learn his lessons and get rolling sometime soon. But holy smokes...the tackling was atrocious. That is a skill that should be enforced and reinforced daily in camp. The defensive scheme by our beloved Ducks also lacked imagination and activity usually associated with DL D teams. (Not so much Tosh L. Perhaps he should shoulder some of the blame for the humiliation.) Anyway, it's back to the drawing board. Let us hope that coaches and players learned a valuable lesson from Georgia about basic football techniques, power, desire, and scheme...and go forth with 12 straight wins.

Yes, and he also kept saying "It's time to eat!" Perhaps saying "It's time to play!" would have worked better.

Another fine article, DNC. Thanks. I do take a tiny exception with one thought that the db's were burned by Georgia's sophisticated scheme. That happened in the second half, for sure. But the first half saw primarily flares and sweeps. The D-line and backers were continually in the wrong positions. The obvious bugaboo that everyone saw was the horrendous tackling. What was giving them coaching on technique? I do hope DL owns the poor performance publicly and with the team. And his encouragement for the team to "EAT" didn't seem to do much. The players are better athletes than they showed yesterday. And in terms of improvement....it certainly can't get worse (I hope). Go Ducks. Gather up, learn, and have confidence. Flush this game like the bad nightmare that it was.

Along with many of you, I bought into the DL hype for an aggressive, active, potent defense. And it's clear that the back 4/5 is the weakest link...either that or their coaching. I'll give the man and team time to show improvement...remembering that this is a potent Georgia offense. Hopefully it all comes together next week. This game is in the books. Rats.

Georgia 28-27 1 4 311

Good luck (well, perhaps not tomorrow) and much good cheer to you great Georgia fans. You're pretty classy. And thanks for your great posts!

I'm probably one that you've seen who park a little shade on the OL. I agree with what has been said above. Better coaching and better scheme can certainly improve upon what was arguably average O-line performance last season. But I also agree with Charles that the linemen were stressed to some degree in confining strong rushes and rushers. I believe this especially holds true on pass protecting, particularly from the right side of the line. I noted a few too many ole blocks. To some extent, passing statistics reflect upon the linemen as well as the QB. We had a bit substandard stats in that regard. It's true that the starting lineup is a veteran group. But as has been suggested about Bo Nix, this year, with the new coaching and scheme, there may or may not be improved performance. And regarding the health of the line room....there have been multiple players missing from practice all through camp. That's true even to today. It's my hope that it all comes together for this group. They certainly have the potential to power up on Saturday and get 'er done. But they will be tasked by those monster Dawgs. If Georgia's heat starts burning the Duck's O-line a little, beware of screens, flares, dumps, and rollouts by our guys...quick plays to negate Carter and Crew. The Ducks are not going to overpower Georgia. Other methods for success will be employed. All in all, I believe it is going to be a closer game than most folks think. I hope for great play from both sides!

Concerning university prestige..... I went to Cal and had good friends attend Stanford, UCLA, and Yale. Those at Stanford and Yale will freely admit that they are baby-sat through college with little challenge. UCLA and Cal prided themselves on their high performance standards and regularly FLUNKED out over half of the incoming freshmen classes and some reservations for the following years. When one pays the exorbitant tuition of private schools such as Yale, Stanford, Harvard, USC, etc... folks naturally get passed. Entry requirements are steep. With public schools, performance requirements are steep. Private schools get the big names in the various disciplines. But the dirty secret is that these folks mostly write and research...and not teach. This admittedly is my limited take on things and is filled with generalizations. But my circle of student friends talked about this issue at length. With the possible exception of Stanford, I believe one gets a much better education at state schools. If one wants prestige...you gotta pay for it!

In these days of NIL and multi-million dollar signings, agents, portholes, and who-knows-what, it just might be the Benjamins that do the best recruiting....coaches be damned. It could be mighty hard for a kid from a poor home to put play style over a life far from poverty. I'd imagine that is particularly true of the blue chip recruits. Money matters over principle to many people. I hope the Ducks land this kid and he becomes the star he shows the potential of being.

My fear, too, is the OL turning to Swiss cheese against some fearsome D-linemen. Agreed that the scheme will be different this year...but the OL boys will still have to pass protect. There is a lot undeserved praise being heaped upon the OL this year...just because the group is quite experienced. But all the experience in the world will not stop superior and experienced talent...players like that monster number 88, Carter. Our QB will be running and throwing from heavy pressure....a lot I surmise. So it will be Bo Nix's burden to keep the Ducks rolling. Can he improve over previous years' performances? Knock off the head scratching plays? If not.......it could be a blowout, sadly. We'll find out in 6 days! Everywhere else on O and D, we have potential to do really good things against Georgia. Let us hope for potential-realized. Go Ducks! Go Bo! And my prayers out to (especially to the right side of) the offensive line.

I'm looking down the barrel of blast from the wideouts and backs. With good TE's and average OL, my money has to go with a QB who can dish to all the bullets AND scramble when needed. Of course it's a QB...but which one? I'll Nix for that one!

Ugh...and that play was run from the .... Pistol! I once hurt my leg slipping outside in the wet. After that, I had to use a dew-cane.