EastBayDuckDad

So many positive vibes! Oregon 54-34 2 TO 4 Sacks 345 yds passing Add to that 255 on the ground for 600 yds total offense. Run it up, Ducks. Williams gets his but there will be enough stops through the first half and first part of the 3rd that he has to go hero mode and throws a pick or two.

Very sorry to miss the OBD get together as I really wanted to be there. Ditto the game. I'm relying on Jerry and Jorgy for the call. Ironically I am in Paris and today is Armistice Day, so I'll be around a lot of French flags. Not so great a battle standard at Agincourt, Waterloo or when the Nazis marched in along the Champs-Élysées, but Le République still stands. Vive la Résistance! Rome was great at one time but weakened by poor leadership (Emperor Lincoln "we don't review film"), internal division (Grinch out the door) and rot from within (sobbing QB), they fell to the invading hordes. Barbarians, thy names are: Dan, Will, Bo, Bucky, Troy, Tez, JPJ, Josh, Pancho, Ajani, TFerg, Dorlus, Rogers, Bassa, Jacobs, Burch, Evan, Kyree, Jalil, Steve lll and Tysheem.

Darren, thanks for the parallel thinking on 8-1 seasons, but I'm seeing apples and oranges in 2023 v 2022. Offense: 1. Healthy Bo running a more balanced offense that minimizes risk to him. 2. Improved WR skill and depth. 3. Near elite O-line making up in raw talent what they may lack in experience. 4. Noah W. aside, healthy offense across the board. Defense: 1. Significantly improved edge and LB play with more pressures, sacks and havoc. 2. Better interior play to stop the run and pressure the QB. Rogers, Taki and Dorlus (when he lines up there) are hard to stop inside. 3. A slight edge to DB and safety play, man on man skills and depth. Even with Gonzo gone, 4. Did I say depth? Looking across the Pac-12, defensive leaders nearly all have 10-25% higher snap counts and tackles than the Duck 1s. Especially true against U$C (see "Tale of the Tape" article). To me that means a lot less wear and tear late in the season for Oregon. Special Teams 1. Place kicking is an issue, yes. 2. Punt game dramatically better. Not saying all this adds up to easily running the table, but the 2023 Ducks have a healthy elite offense paired with a very good, deep and opportunistic defense. Oregon needs to play to capabilities, minimize penalties and avoid mistakes to win out. Starting tomorrow night.

Williams has had success throughout his college career. Winning the Heisman is great but if you buy into the entitled hype you will inevitably be disappointed. Getting the snot kicked out of you is what will happen to him in the NFL. Particularly if he gets drafted #1 next year to a team that tanked the end of the season to get him. Trying to QB a dumpster fire like Carolina, da Bears, or the NY Nyets will give you a couple of seasons of wanting a big hug from mama and your dog after every game. Get used to it. The $20+M signing bonus will help salve that ouch. Bo Nix had been beat up, dissed (Bo Pix!) and ridiculed at Auburn. Somehow he just keeps winning and leading his team, this Oregon team. Maybe head to head the NFL scouts think Williams is the better QB. I won't argue that. But Bo is the dude I would rather have at the helm. And I'm banking on Oregon sending Williams back to LA with a longing for his puppy, mom's home cooking and a resolution to take a pass on the Las Vegas Bowl.

Great advice from the other posters. Lots of good brewpub offerings, both grog and food in the Whit. I'll give my two bits for upscale resto food. Regrettably, IMHO, no longer any good Italian food in Eugene other than Osteria DOP on Oak St. Good wood-fired pizza. Better options for French/bistro: Marché, Bar Purlieu, Lion and Owl and Rye (great bar) Sabai and Ta Ra Rin for Thai Cafe Soriah for middle eastern

So glad he appears to be ok. I waited to share my bit of medical insight on this. I watched the film of the event a few times and the mechanism looked like one that could result in a concussion with (grade 2: less than 5 min) loss of consciousness. He gets hit from the front and his head snaps back when he hits the ground and not before. First thing he did was bring his hands up to his helmet then out to his side as the lights went out. No decorticate/decerebrate posturing like one sees in a serious head injury and nothing to indicate a spinal cord injury. Definitely got his bell rung by the FieldTurf though. It sure looked bad on the field and when they took him off on the cart in full spine immobilization. Lots of answered prayer for his family, teammates and coaches, the Duck sideline, 50,000+ in Autzen and those watching it on TV. Kudos to the Oregon crowd for the respect shown.

Grinch getting canned may give the U$C defense a temporary shot of juice and caffeine, but their fundamentals remain the same. Those are established in fall camp, along with discipline and cohesiveness. They may simplify the defense to avoid as many coverage and gap mistakes as they can, but you don't turn around a season of bad angles and tackling on a dime. The biggest risk for Oregon is and always has been Williams. And for all of our vitriol and ridicule of his superficial substance, flash and La La Land crib, Riley is a very good offensive mind. They will score points and beat Oregon's coverage a few times. But Williams will make mistakes if pressured and the defense will need to be as sound as they've been against lesser QBs to force him to make them. U$C put up 42 on Fusky and 32 on Utah, both good defenses. Only 20 on ND, so something clicked there that I'm sure DL and Lupoi have noted. Williams can keep $C in a close game but he has to have the ball in his hands and Oregon's running game should be able to control the clock and limit that time The line opened at -14.5 Oregon. That still seems about right. A semi-close game that the Ducks win by 17 or so. Being at Autzen gives Oregon that little boost over two TDs. I'll be curious to see what the line does over the next 48 hrs as Grinch vacates his office at McKay Center. Not that it changes what will happen, but it shows if money believes the Trojenz D will get better or worse.

Not sure this changes much. Can't install a whole new defensive scheme in 6 days. Players will not gain discipline in a week. I can't see them becoming gap sound and tackling better overnight. Seems to me there will be a week or two of chaos before the Trojenz defense begins to turn the corner. If they ever do. The Ducks need to play sound offense and defense. Bo will make his reads and execute the offense. The O-line will do their jobs. The defense will have the same match ups and reads. Williams is a very good QB and he will put a few scores up. Oregon will give up 30 or so, but the offense should score 40+.

Against those same three teams, Oregon's D gave up 307 on the ground and 2 rushing TDs. Looking forward to what Bucky & Co. will do. I think I'll rewatch Kenyon Barner putting up over 300 on the Trojenz in 2012 just to get in the right frame of mind.

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I'm sure there are legions of sub-par QBs out there. May the Ducks never be compelled to settle for one. How about candidates to transfer in that might work in the current system and compete with TT for the starting job? Moore (UCLA) Mendoza (Cal) Ewers (Texas) Van Dyke (Miami) I'm looking forward to seeing the in-house QBs compete for the job: Thompson, Novosad, Van Buren and Moga. And Akili ll in 2025. If DL and Stein bring in a transfer, that will be very telling about their faith in who they've got in that room. That said, I draw hope from what we saw from TT yesterday. No more deer in the headlights.

I can't even imagine what it would be like to have Justin-ll behind this line, with these skill players, coached by Stein, running his offense and with a DL-Lupoi run defense. Then again, maybe I can . TT may have all the tools but can he use them in real time and under pressure? Yesterday was definitely a step in the right direction. We'll know in the off season when the portal is active and hopefully not before.

It's the Tez and Bo brothers show! Nice to see they're letting Troy play too.

Tez has made up for that initial bobble that was picked. 115 yds and 2 TDs in the first half.

Zebras finally called that arm wraparound PI on a Cal DB. About time.

At least the defense is forcing FGs. Then again, they have a kicker that can. Somebody shake the bed and wake OBDs up.

Too entertaining for me. Oregon should be up by 3TDs if not for the mishaps. Time to settle down.

Good Lord. You'd think that Oregon had never seen rain..

Refs missing Cal penalties right and left. Two PIs, clock violations and Illegal motion from a guard due to the tempo.

Crazy! Let's just let the D stay on the field and give the O the night off.

3 TDs for Oregon. Credit for one. As weird a game a you could imagine. Then again, it's Cal. And Lewis shanks it again. Sheesh!

Cal could be tough, but hard not to be close to the spread. TOs and sacks will reflect them trying to get back in the game after Bo and Co. get them down by 2 TDs. Wet, windy and sloppy afternoon impacts the passing game a bit. Ott gets a couple of nice runs before Cal has to throw to keep up. Oregon 42-17 2 TOs 5 sacks 245 yds (with 200+ on the ground)

There has been rather sharp criticism of the upcoming 12 team playoff from some quarters of the sports media. A lot of it valid as in years past the top four teams (in spite of the SEC bias) have usually had one or two teams that were head and shoulders above the rest. An expanded field wouldn't have altered the outcome. 2023 is different. This year there appears to be more parity, without one team, like the 2019 LSU Tigers or 2022 UGA Dawgs, that looked destined to win it all. It is possible that an elite one loss team like Oregon could be left out of the current four team mix. SEC and B1G bias could select a one loss Alabama, Georgia (in the unlikely event that they lose to Bama in the SEC CG), Texas, Oklahoma, Michigan or tOSU over the Ducks. Oregon can only control what they do on the field. Continue to win and run the table through the Pac-12 CG.

What the 2022 team lacked was a solid top 30 or 40 defense. It was good against the run until that ghastly OSU game. It had its problems with teams that could wing it all year. The difference this year is a stingy, nasty and opportunistic defense that comes at you in waves with not a lot of drop off between the 1s and 2s. Stopping the elite arms and WRs in the Pac-12 is still a concern, but it has been for every defense. The only combination that got behind the Oregon secondary and swung a game was Penix-Odunze. A defense that held Colorado, Stanford and Utah to six points. Let that one sink in for a second. Two of three were away games. Those teams put up way bigger numbers on other competition. The key in each game was getting up by a few scores then forcing the opponent to play catch up. Into the teeth of a defense that simply shut them down. That is what is different from previous years, including 2014 and 2019. An offensive juggernaut paired with a stifling defense. Yeah, Oregon could lose to Cal. It would take a series of unfortunate events. A few turnovers, injuries to essential players like Bo or JPJ, blown assignments and coverages on defense or lightning striking the Oregon bench. The game should ultimately hinge on what almost every one does: match-ups and personnel. Oregon has the advantage almost across the board. The three and a half touchdown spread is an acknowledgment of that fact. The Ducks just need to do what they've been doing. Play in the moment, execute the game plan and continue this very special season.

Slick and Mari-no-O both came to Oregon with bigger fish they thought they could fry and dream jobs they wanted. Taggart got what he asked for and proved his own Peter Principle. Cristobal ditto, but the jury is still out on what he might do in Miami. The 'Caine fan base is quickly understanding that tough talk, press conference glowering and an occasional 'The Rock' sighting won't bring back a NC. DL seems to have no geographic agenda and if he takes the Ducks where he claims he will (I for one believe he can), then there will be very few programs that can lure him away. It's not like there is a lower Midwest team that would hold much appeal. A plum NFL job might be enticing, or being the heir apparent to an SEC powerhouse like Georgia or Alabama. Outside of that, I think he's here at least until his youngest is out of school. I'd be happy with that decade.