Smith72

Especially as the defensive coordinator! His career and expertise in passing defense will be appreciated. This in my humble opinion has been a Duck weakness since Aliotti left Oregon. Welcome to Oregon Coach Hampton!

Justin is a great young man on and off the field. Good read for Oregon Duck and Sheldon Irish fans. 'A silent killer with great hair': How Justin Herbert helped turn the L.A. Chargers around WWW.ESPN.COM He has always had the strength, but the third-year quarterback had to find another gear to help push a middling team to the playoffs for the first time...

Passing offense route concept. I think QB Nix will love this. The freedom to tell his receivers what route he wants. I also like Stein's run after catch philosophy!

I love everything you wrote in this article today, Charles. You hit the proverbial nail on the head! I agree with what you said about blocking angles. The angles not only make it easier for the offense, it creates mismatches and the defense is unsure who is coming to block them. That split second hesitation helps create an advantage. I liked the play calling by Georgia. You take advantage of aggressive linebackers by misdirection and counters. Georgia took advantage of TCU's fast and aggressive linebackers. The best line in your essay was,"What impressed me about Georgia when we played them, (and in the national championship game) is how 5-Star players were never on cruise-control. They played hard every down..." Teaching your players that the only way to play is 100% every second. Wow, does Kirby create that atmosphere! Here's hoping Coach Lanning is successful doing the same at Oregon!

Thanks Alex for another good FishDuck article! Lots to discuss. I always liked the effort that RB Dye gave the Ducks. He was going to be missed. I was pleasantly surprised by Irving and Whittington! What a major improvement! Coach Locklyn rocks! I thought we would really miss Pittman. Franklin and Hudson stepped up big time. We also got the return of the prodigal son, Chase Cota. Mr. Clutch! I am very thankful that Bo Nix chose to transfer to Oregon! He was definitely the key to a successful 10 win season. Bo is an outstanding QB and an amazing young man. The best surprise was the explosive offense brought by Coach Dillingham. No more boring Mari Prevent O! Good job of recapping the season Alex!

Thanks Coach Boles! Always nice to have the analysis articles you contribute to the Forum. I agree that this is the kind of play that QB Nix is good at reading. Learning more about Coach Stein will help make the time pass more quickly until Spring practices.

Jordan, your description of the ending is perfect. "The feeling is hard to describe — nail-biting, nerve-wracking, excited delirium. It’s games like these that football fans never forget." I agree, that's why football is the best! So many good things to celebrate in the off season as we get ready Spring practices. Go Ducks!

Chase and Chad provide Oregon historic legend. Fitting finish to an amazing story! Bill Oram: Chase Cota’s winning touchdown in Holiday Bowl a storybook ending for a famed Oregon Ducks family WWW.OREGONLIVE.COM The starting strong safety on Oregon's 1995 Rose Bowl team, Chad Coda on Wednesday watched his son give Ducks a win in the Holiday Bowl.

Can't help it, but wondering if recruit Moore is having any second thoughts of choosing Chip to get him ready for the NFL. DTR was tutored by Chip for 5 years. I don't see DTR as a high draft choice. UCLA never was a serious Pac-12 championship team. Don't see them winning the BIG when they change conferences. UCLA line seemed to allow a lot of hits on DTR during his career. Oh well, best of luck Mr. Moore!

Thanks Charles! Great game summary. The defense did surprise me in the second half; improving enough to keep us in the game. Bridges, I think, is the most improved player on the defense. Bodes well for next year. But you hit the nail on the head with, "Yet when the game was on the line–Bo made the throws." Yes, Bo's leadership and determination was the difference. We Duck fans are blessed with an outstanding quarterback!

Ugly! Why give up on the run game? When are we going to give up the bend don't break defense? Its broken! Insanity!

McCormick was TE. Bass with 2nd block and Cota with 3rd block. Bucky with excellent vision and breakaway speed.

Exactly Drex. I, too, will be watching for the coaching and adjustments. I want to see a good Duck football game. What's the point of playing a game if you don't want to win! I always enjoy reading your articles, thank you!

Great read DazenConfused! I can't wait to learn more. One of your last points gives me encouragement, "Duck fans can rest assured we will have a play caller that believes in not only attacking all parts of the field, but attacking the weak spot of the defensive scheme." Go Ducks! Win the Holiday Bowl! Come on Spring ball!

Another plus is the added depth on the o line will be with quality guys! I was pleasantly surprised that the road graders from the Cristobal era who couldn't pass protect led with so few sacks on Nix. They were also able to pull and move. Klemm was exceptional in getting so much more offense out of the line this year!

Great points to ponder David! I agree these 4 issues have turned into making bowl games less important. I also agree with your last comment. "Just a glorified scrimmage and not the adequate conclusion to a season that it should be." But I will be watching the Holiday Bowl. Love my Ducks!

I always said it's better to be the hitter than the hittee! Love this attitude from Donte!

I share the same excitement about the stars. Uiagalelei, Dickey, and Dowdell will shine. However, I'm most excited about the big guys on both lines! They have a look about them similar to Dan Lanning. "Don't mess with me. I'm going to bring the hurt." I think these guys are the beginning of the Lanning Culture. Can't wait for the Spring game and the 2023 season. Go Ducks!

Thank you Charles for today's article. Yes, Coach Lanning has proven he and his staff know how to recruit. His authenticity comes thru to recruits and parents! I was very pleased to see last season's improvement in the offense. An explosive entertaining offense was fun to watch. More of that will continue in 2023. It appears that with this class of recruits he is getting his type of player. He talks about changing the culture. I love the picture of him you chose for today's article. If that determined look, that I'm going to fight and nothing will stop me is the new culture, then I can't wait to see next year's team! Go Ducks! Bring it on!

Excellent points to ponder David. Thanks for giving us another good article to discuss while we wait to see the results of recruiting. I like your summary statement, "Have a little faith in this coaching staff, Duck fans..." Go Ducks!

Awesome news! Bo is like having a good experienced coach on the field calling signals and audibles if necessary. 2023 is definitely looking good now. His dad is a coach. When he is done playing wouldn't it be great to have him as an Oregon Coach. I think he could be a great OC or QB coach.

Thanks Drex for your insights into the Duck Women's basketball team! Your writing is a joy to read. I think you have hit upon the key to recruiting - choosing players to fill specific needs not just looking at their "stars". Going after players who will mesh together into your system is crucial!

DNC said, "What if Lanning and Lupoi made no adjustments because all we have installed is the base 4-2-5 scheme? What if they felt the players couldn’t switch from our scheme built for defending the spread offenses of today?" I can agree with this statement. Considering how bad the defense looked in the Georgia game - wide open receivers, and huge yards after catch - the weak Duck defenders were exposed. Considering three previous Defensive Coordinators and schemes I can imagine the teaching difficulty Lanning and Lupoi were met with. All previous Defensive Coordinators shared common 3rd and long failures. Some fans and coaches think "If I have better athletes then our team will roll over our opponent." Playing fundamental football is still important. Low man wins the block. Tackle the legs not the shoulders. Asking a D lineman to read two gaps makes him slow and stationary. Doing the same to linebackers makes him passive. I saw too much zone coverage with defenders guarding grass. Looking forward to seeing improvements in 2023. Thank you DazeNConfused for your great insights!

Thanks DazeNConfused! Much to discuss in your excellent article. If only we could have been a fly on the wall in the coach's office. I agree with your description of the Washington and Utah games. We did see Coach Lanning much more animated during the Utah game. I'm sure Lanning and Lupoi had civil discussions like you and Mr. FishDuck. I'm still confused why the defense couldn't stop the Oregon State run in the 4th quarter.

No matter what I think of his personality, he has my thoughts and prayers!