EastBayDuckDad

My wife has a more succinct way of describing it: Windbag

When the fat lady sings (with all the teutonic, viking helmeted, Flight of the Valkyries, operatic, body shaming, misogynistic implications of that) U$C gets to go it's own way because they are sleazeballs, and they can. UCLA gets to answer to the UC Board of Regents and California taxpayers.

Great observation on the technical in game coaching DL and staff are doing. Although the UCLA game wasn't cited, the Ducks scored at 6:34 in the 2nd qtr and spotted UCLA a FG at 3:00. Then they executed a near perfect drive culminating with a Nix to Franklin TD with 6 seconds left to go into the half at 31-13. After the early onside kick (huevos grandes, DL) and subsequent TD, that score as the half ran out was a gut punch to the Chipper and crew. The Bruins ate up six minutes at the start of the 3rd to yield only 3 points, then Oregon essentially put the game away on the next drive. Perhaps not specifically within that middle 8 time frame, but pretty damn close. The nod to that kind of coaching exhibited by the previous regime was a pistol plunge for the the last eight plays of the half, followed by the mirror image of it in the 3rd qtr. Somebody check my math, but I'll bet I'm not far off.

Folks can take issue with Walton and his Greatful Dead, THC fueled, Wavy Gravy, Ken Kesey, Furthur, Merry Pranksters, tie dye bike short wearing, one toke over the line sports commentary, but he was one helluva basketball player. The 1974 Mac Court win over #1 UCLA is famous in large part because Walton was on the floor. He bleeds baby blue and gold. Even when he was agonally torturing Dave Pasch and English language syntax, he was entertaining. Marginally. His take on UCLA bailing to the B1G, however, is spot on. Not that he'll be listened to. Kudos to Canzano for tweaking Walton to put his opinion out there for all to see. Love him or hate for his time at the Oregonian, my take is that he is a good sports journalist that puts out interesting content.

Does anyone know if 7 played enough games to burn a redshirt year? Could explain why he is leaving the team now. If he has already torched a year of eligibility, then leaving is a bit more problematic.

If I were interested in the top job at a flailing major company, I think the last thing I would do is take the top position at a place 3000 miles away with a lot of talent that had underperformed with the previous CEO. Then poach that flailing company's underachieving COO and turn him into a superstar. Turn the fortunes of your new company around. Earn the support and enthusiasm of your entire workforce and stockholders. Crush the local competition. Recruit outstanding talent nationwide. Earn the grudging admiration of the media and even the CEOs of your primary competition. Then chuck it all away to go to the very dumpster fire you have no history with, where you will always be looked at as second class compared to your rival cross state juggernaut. For a few dollars more. Oh yeah, and while repairing the damage done by turning their previous field general into something they could never do. Sounds like a recipe for success to me. Or something a desperate Fuskie fan thought was a great idea. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Sorry to see McGee leave under these circumstances. I think all were hoping he'd be the next DeAnthony. Never showed that insane shimmy and field vision that DAT had. Best if luck wherever he goes, but bailing mid season doesn't set well. Good group behind the current starters with some high value freshmen WRs coming in. Along with Dickey, 4☆ Cozart coming. I'll bet there will be some high quality transfer that will want to play in Dilly's offense. All were concerned when Dye went to U$C and CJ tried to land with the NFL, but that seems to have worked out ok.

That is a critical stat.. Nix is able to do what he is doing because the line is giving him time. Even when pressured he can look downfield and if no one is open, use his legs to get a 1st down or significant yardage. The big uglies are driving this train.

Oof, looks like Franklin strained/tore a hammy. Hope it's not bad

Oregon 41-24 2 TO 4 Sacks 260 pass yds

Thanks to NJ Duck for that fun read. Good analysis of why Nix ended up in Eugene and is having success with Oregon. And a little shade thrown at those war eagle guys to boot. We have forgiven freshman Bo for beating Oregon under JH in 2019. But we Ducks have long memories. Scam Newton. Chizik the jerk (now an defensive assistant at UNC, or something like that). And Dyer's knee was down.

Great article and observations, Charles. Alioti was never given enough credit for the flex defense he managed to pair with the CK up tempo minimal TOP offense that demanded it. The college football world was amazed then transformed by Kelly's offense a decade ago. Saban initially thought it was the devil and claimed there would be more injuries, real or (in Cal's case, ironically under coach Lupoi) imagined. Eventually even Saban and Alabama adopted some of the up tempo game. Defenses learned there were ways to slow it down and even defeat it. Even so it became a situational part of most offenses if not the sole weapon. The Oregon Kelly offense was literally lightning in a bottle that revolutionized college football but ultimately became a one trick pony. It could be overcome by fast enough bigger defenders that could stuff the smaller and athletic o-line and corral the skill players (see: Nattys: tOSU and Auburn) Even Kelly has evolved away from the 24/7 go-go approach. What is so impressive is how DL has taken a fast and creative offense under Dilly, added a bend but don't break defense and combined it with tempo, snail ball, creative clock management and smart situational football. He outcoached the Yoda (put big ears on Chip and tell me he doesn't resemble him a little) Jedi Master at his first crack and even threw in a pair huevos grandes ala the Chipster with that onside kick.

“I think you guys try to affect it more than anything. We have, from day one, made it very clear what we’re here to do and what we’re here to build. Our history has shown that we don’t sell a dream, we don’t sell any false hope. We sell the reality of a track record in what we’ve done, where we’ve been, and how we’ve done it,” said Cristobal. I believe MC actually borrowed this from a statement Napoleon gave to the press right before the battle of Waterloo.

I think that if Nix continues to perform at this level he'll get drafted. 2nd, maybe 3rd round. That lands him with a team likely as a back up. I believe there is no doubt that young man wants to go to the league. He certainly has the maturity and football smarts to compete, even if the talent level is not exactly that of a franchise QB. I can't imagine he came to Oregon thinking two more years of college life. Nor did his southern born and bred spouse. I do not believe another year of college ball would make a difference in his draft stock. At this stage you are what you are and Nix, in the right system, is a damn good college quarterback. Maybe even a decent pro one. Don't get me wrong, but as much as I love what he has brought to OBD, with a Dilly offense tailored to his skill set, you stick him behind a mediocre NFL o-line and the old Bo may well re-emerge. He is simply not a Justin H. type passer, able to chuck the ball 60 yds downfield on a dime. But he might end up being a Joe Burrow style qb, and that will land him in a decent place. My prediction is that KD stays at least another year to develop Moore or maybe Thompson as the next QB for OBD. Nix gets drafted. Maybe they look for another quarterback in the portal, but I hope someone in that room come next spring will be able to take the reins. Let's enjoy and ride the Bo train for as long as we can.

A brief comparison of coaching styles: DL: Lets his asst coaches do their jobs Manages tempo, alignments and game situations taking appropriate calculated risks. Keeps the opponent guessing Throttles up to put the game away without humiliating the opponent. Plays Oregon football, not up or down based on opponent Uses stern but caring admonishing for in game faux pas (see Troy F.) Post game "We'll coach this better and fix it" Manages the clock!! MC: 'My way or highway' to asst coaches Ground and Pound x2. Throw short. Punt. The defense doesn't know what's coming. Oh, wait. I guess they do. Offensive throttle stuck in idle for extended periods Play up for tOSU, down for Stanfurd Lights up player on sideline with ugly national attention (see Kris H). Post game "We're just not physical enough" "There’s how much time left?" Does anyone doubt that if MC was still in charge this would be at best a 5-2, or even 4-3 team with losses to UGA, WSU and maybe even UCLA yesterday.

Oregon 38-34 1 2 235 yds

No doubt those ribs are a problem, but Justin was running for his life and had to force passes several times. No Keenan Allen as your go to WR. No All-Pros Rashan Slater and Corey Linsley to protect his blindside and call blocking assignments and protections really hurt that Chargers offense. The o-line is like a sieve without those two and they were already weak at RT. Thankfully Austin Ekeler was full go and dependable as always, and the kicker Hopkins nailed four FGs including the walk off OT game winner, playing on a bad hammy. But man, that was an ugly game.

Get after DTR with pressure and hold the edge on the pass rush. The UCLA o-line is good but not elite and if DJJ and Dorlus can pressure him he will not always have the time to isolate out his primary receiver. Gonzo on Bobo in man, as he is the better athlete, forcing DTR to go elsewhere. Bridges, Manning, et al need to limit the damage from the other WRs and TEs I believe the interior of the Dline can handle UCLA's inside run game and Sewell-Flowe will make tackles if they play disciplined gaps. And be ready for the inevitable Chip tempo when it comes. No mistake, UCLA is the best offense, after Georgia, that Oregon will see this year. DTR outside the pocket may be the x-factor. The odds makers have Oregon -6 with an over of 70+, so it will likely be a high scoring affair. I believe that the Duck offense will do what it does as the Bruin defense is good but won't be able to stop the run. Oregon will outscore UCLA just enough. The defense will play just well enough to get a home win. Just thankful this is in Autzen this year.

Dear Coach Riley, The rest of the sporting world feels your pain and the immense injustice that the Pac12 refs inflicted on your team. Welcome to the club. From what the rest of us could observe, your team fought hard and played a great game. But the officiating was not the deciding factor. The grit, heart and determination of your opponent, in Utah, was. You had multiple opportunities to put the Utes away. You did not. The refs simply balanced the iffy calls on both sides of the ball You lost to the gutsier team and coach. You won the early game. Utah finished better. You have talented 5☆ transfers. Utah has committed 3-4☆ players that play for each other and their coach. You whine. Coach Winningham humbly thanks his players and praises their moxie. Quite simply, you don't have a big enough suitcase to carry Coach W's brass. You can now go back to your 17 million dollar crib, lick your wounds, and revel in the reality that the promised move from the Pac12 to your coveted BIG will occur. Then you can live with that move. Perhaps humility will follow in it's wake. PS: Watching the 2012 Oregon v USC game never gets old.

Ok, so that was fun. Love that #86 kid. A little Gronk and Kelce in him. It'll be fun when they come to Autzen.

Interesting parallels are the efforts of graduate students at major research and teaching institutions to unionize. Yes, they are students and are getting an education, but GA's in the hard sciences do most of the rank and file teaching of undergrads and are the buffer for the 'professor' They also perform most of a lab's research under faculty guidance and write papers for publication. Ditto for medical residents. They take the night call, do most of the procedures and are responsible for day to day patient care. In training, yes, but their labor value is far greater than the stipend they are paid. I trained in the days when residents worked 80+ hour weeks, took call every third (or other) night, didn't sleep and got the snot kicked out of them. We thought it was a rite of passage and toughness (a little like 'physicality'). Sometimes patient care was less than optimal as a result of fatigue. We never thought of unionizing, but it may have been an improvement over the traditional way of doing things. D1 level athletes (mainly football and basketball) are generating income for their schools far above the value of their tuition and room and board. NIL is a start and at this stage is a bit of a ham-fisted free for all. Unionization may be where this ends up with negotiations under specific guidelines. I'm not all that crazy about the whole NIL concept as I would still like to see some sense of amateurism in college sports. But there is too much money in the system and not yet enough fairness to let the old system stand.

Vegas may not always get it right, but it never does anything except set odds based on the money. I think Oregon will get the usual -3 for home field advantage. So it might be Oregon -3 or perhaps if the odds makers feel UCLA has shown enough to be a 3-7 pt favorite, either a wash or UCLA by -3. It'll be the o/u that is the most interesting as both offensives would be expected to thrive. A shootout might be predicted. Say, o/u of 65. I think it'll be Oregon -3 with an o/u of 65. Then we kick their heinies. I believe Chip no longer has a house on McKenzie View Dr. I understand you can see Autzen from there. Who ever lives there now will enjoy the view next Saturday.

Utah. Redemption for Utah after a rough start (except for a subsequent beatdown by the Ducks at Autzen, which is owed to them). Even if Oregon wins out and beats an undefeated U$C in the Pac12 championship game, getting into the CFP is a long shot given the 49-3 egg laid against Georgia to start the season. I'd rather see the troy-boys lose to Utah, win out, then get spanked by the Ducks in Vegas for a trip to the Rose Bowl. U$C to the Holiday Bowl. Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket....

One can cite the RB room's success after losing the vast majority of it's 2021 production. Or the creative use of the TE room in both run and pass offense, particularly in the 14-J package (love naming it after Josh Conerly, what a way to encourage high level recruits to come to Oregon). And of course the play of Bo Nix. Above all, I feel it's the coaching. Vast improvement in game management and offensive scheme over the last several years lead the list. Identifying problem issues and correcting them in practice follow that. The defense will come as Lanning installs more of his concepts. He certainly has the talent.

My wife says that I can, on occasion, be witty and funny. She also notes that most on my humor lands like a Caddyshack candy bar in a swimming pool. He did provide the building blocks for the success that Lanning's crew is bringing to fruition, and the 2020 Rose Bowl and 2021 beatdown at tOSU were games for the ages. Thanks, Mario. And thank you for jilting Oregon for your high school sweetheart. We'll be ok.