Smith72

Charles, thanks for writing what I have been thinking about for a couple of weeks. The whole list you stated at the beginning of your article have been excellent discussions. I totally agree with the negative posts! Yet, I began to avoid reading these. Scanning some to look for anything new. Avoiding most because it has already been said. I love football! "I want to learn more about this exciting new staff, our players, what the coaches have planned, the practices, the recruiting–all of it!" I love reading the excellent articles written by our OBD writers. The links to other articles save me time! I don't have to search the internet to gather info on OBD! I love Spring practice. I can't wait for fall practices to start. This is going to be a great year. Duck Football is back!

Great news! Thanks Hawarduck.

These guys are going to rock in year two for them. I'm EXCITED! I can't wait for the season to begin. It seems all the guys are excited to be practicing. Good vibes for the Dan Lanning era!

I don't think Fentress should be in the top 10,000 sports writers!

Thank you for an inspirational article on Oregon football. Spring is hope eternal. You gave us lots of things to hope for and watch as the Dan Lanning era begins on the practice field! The FishDuck writers add another great member to their group. Welcome Mike!

I would disagree with playing another school for the Spring game. My opinion is that teaching time in the Spring is more important than seeing a "live" or real game. The threat of significant injuries in an insignificant game is too much of a risk! We had many injuries last season. Those athletes will need a good healthy Spring without the risk of further injury. This year we will be installing a new offense.and defense. The learning curve for the athletes will be a challenge. Adding game prep for an opponent would make it even more difficult!

Thanks for the good article! "A can of worms" is correct. Players will be quicker to transfer when not seeing the field as soon as they want. The college football landscape has changed. At the same time I remember how impetuous I was at that age. Quick to make decisions and many not in my best interest. We have seen it with some athletes declaring early for the draft, and then being lucky to make a practice squad. We can hope that Oregon's coaches will be wise in their development of the player's athletic talent, and contribute to the player's maturity in becoming a better man!

Wow great information Charles! Thanks for another good insight into the Lanning era at Oregon. May I add a possible "third face"? The one inside the recruits living room talking with parents. Wow! The hope that is contained in the phrase Football is fun again! The reason we play any game. It's fun! The hope that the Coach is going to make in-game adjustments is exciting. Imagine being " football smart" to realize that your plan you made during the week isn't working. So you adjust and take advantage of what the opponent is giving you. Can we hope that players will be developed and taught before, during, and after the game? I can't wait for more Oregon Football! Go Ducks!

A very good friend of mine worked for one of the three Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Oregon. One of his last jobs before semi-retirement was to teach the company's new managers and top level employees the "Culture" of the company. In other words "what to expect" and the "company way" to do things. A very important task! The articles that covered the culture that Dan Lanning is bringing to the Oregon football team leads me to hope for his success. Those articles give me hope and something to look forward to as Spring practices unfold and we get to see the "Lanning Culture" developed and revealed! Go Ducks!

Nakobe Dean got in the face of Tindall, who then responded to the defensive leader by pinning the ‘Tide back. Every team can only hope to create a unique player such as Dean, but also have players who will react in a positive way to such leadership. Another example is when linebacker Nolen Smith explained… “I do exactly what he (Dean) tells me.” Great players will do great things for great leaders. Excellent article describing real leadership. Built upon trust and respect developed over hours and hours of working together "doing the right thing" for the team! The goal of every organization, group, and family is the love of each other for the common good. There's no greater feeling than being part of something that is greater than the sum of its parts!

"These Georgian conditioning runs were seemingly built to either break players, or create leaders who push and pull their teammates to the finish." Conditioning is tough! Doing it is hard. Without it you can't prevail. Talent and scheme will only take you so far. Against equal or better teams you have to be in great condition! You are correct Charles in reporting that some players may not want to pay the price. But the rewards are worth every second of gut wrenching conditioning!

Great second half with good ball movement and passing. Good effort on defense in the 2nd half. But what was the final free throw %?

Team building, connection, bonding - the secret to TEAM. I remember when Mike Bellotti turned around the Oregon team with a similar approach. Great article Charles! Kirby Smart's “return on investment showed up almost immediately on film, with the camaraderie and bonding between this squad.” You identified the key to success in team sports! Thanks for doing all the research talking with Georgia fans!

Thank you 30Duck for the updates!

Thanks McDuck for info on Buttetfield's comment! I wondered where he was.

Great pictures of coaches and players! Dan Lanning era begins on the field as Oregon Ducks open spring practice WWW.OREGONLIVE.COM The Ducks opened spring practice outside at the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex for the first of two helmets-only practices before a two-week...

Another excellent article Joshua! Football fans get ready for Spring practices and discussions here on Our Beloved Duck Forum. I'm looking forward to speedy open receivers, runners attacking the whole width of the football field, and an up tempo offense from Dillingham! The era of Dan Lanning Duck football starts tomorrow! Quack!

Darren, thanks for writing all these great articles! Another excellent piece today. You said, " When, in reality, the best thing you can do for your brand is to leave everything you have on the field. Otherwise, you are just putting the cart in front of the horse." I couldn't have said it any better! Let your actions on the field speak for who you are! There is entirely too much talk aka "self promotion" in the world today.

Thanks Hayward Duck! You hit the nail on the head concerning talent. God given talent isn't enough. You're correct in noting "curiosity" as very important to develop that natural talent. May I add to your excellent discourse by suggesting "competitiveness". It also is within an athlete. The desire to never quit until you have prevailed. I believe it can be helped by the right coach, teacher, or mentor. In high school and college I didn't have it - good but not great. For me it was a good friend who helped me to develop that competitive spirit. Nothing like an early morning handball court fighting for every point to turn up my " fire". An hour twice a week for months did it for me. I saw "it" watching my granddaughter during a gymnastics practice. The end of a 2 hour class culminated with a competition - who would be the last one hanging on the uneven parallel bars? I could see it on her face - no one was going to beat her!

Air Raid or Ground and Pound? Neither! Successful offenses can do both. They have to be able to do both. Balance and being unpredictable is the best. Keeping the defense confused, and scheming for mismatches preferred. Please no more "prevent offense"!

Attacking not reacting. Quick explosive not catching blocks. Creating havoc not playing soft waiting for an offense to eventually make a mistake! Sounds like a philosophy that our young guns will love to play! I will be excited to see this development in Spring drills! Thanks for introducing us to the concept Charles!

Cooper Kupp was slower than many in the draft. Speed is great but explosive cuts and knowing how to get open made him MVP of the Super Bowl! Cota's experience will help the Receiver room.

Chase Cota looks to be a competitor with good hands! An asset for the Ducks! Welcome!

The low scoring offense the last few years along with a head coach adverse to the risk of letting our talented backups get playing time was a problem. Hopefully a higher scoring offense under coach Dillingham will allow the backup to get live game playing time. This should help with future player development!

Thanks for another wonderful article Eric! You really did whet my appetite. I can't wait to see the improvement to Oregon's offense from Coach Dillingham. Imagine actual!y "scheming" instead of just being tougher! "...a balanced offense with plays that are built around its playmakers." "This idea of scheming an individual open actually extends to every eligible receiver on the offense. That goes for the running backs and every one of the wide receiver positions. Yes, there will be a progression that the quarterback goes through, but each play will be called to get a certain player open." WOW! Go Ducks!