EastBayDuckDad

This one is a bit of a surprise, but maybe not. Homesickness, early season injury then minimal playing time all probably contributed to Bigby's decision but l wonder how much communication broke down between Graves and his players as the season drifted towards mediocrity at the end. And they had one critical assistant out for maternity leave entering the Pac12. Four former five stars transferring out is a bad look. I don't think that it was all over playing time. KG calling out the team as entitled and inconsistent may have been too much for a lot of them. Pao Pao and Rogers staying is huge (judgment on Prince is reserved) but the rest of the soph-jr class is gone and in spite of the #2 class in the country coming in, next year will be a rebuild. The Sabrina-Ruthy-Satou juggernaut took three years to build and had a leader that everyone could rally around, but GOAT players don't just fall from heaven fully formed.

That's how I was able to read it as well on my Google feed.

For those following the quarterback carousel, Thompson took 1st team reps today. Oregon Ducks practice observations: Ty Thompson takes first-team reps, Bo Nix second-team WWW.OREGONLIVE.COM The redshirt-freshman and fourth-year junior were followed by third-year freshman Jay...

Hosting the regional is big...tho I still remember losing in the rubber match to Rice a few years back. They go on to the CWS and we stay....home This team has better bats this year. Go Ducks!

I'm 6'7" and 325 lbs, a road grader in Nike cleats. Yes, that 6'3" 225 lbs guy is able to spiral a football thru a moving tractor tire at 25 yards. He'll get a better NIL deal in college and if we're both good enough to get to the next level, he will always get paid more than me. I've got to be ok with that, it's the nature of the game. It's my job to keep him upright. Not too many folks will ever know how important I am to his health and the overall well-being of the team, but he will. And I will. Football is a team sport and without me, he is running for his life. If I'm smart, I'll have a longer term plan that will outlive the cartilage in my knees. But until then I'm ok with being the big ugly up front that gets it done.

I want to encourage folks going to the spring game on the 23rd to wander across the parking lot to PK Park afterwards. The Ducks Baseball team hosts Wazzu at 3pm. Second game in a three game series. Great box seats at $10 a pop, GA for $7. I just bought mine.

My vote has to be the 2014 team. Oregon was loaded with talent but got devastated by injury that year, particularly heading into the postseason and championship game. If that team had been anywhere near full strength the natty outcome may have been different. Starters that were out. Bralon Addison Tyler Johnstone Johnny Mundt Andre Yruretagoyena Pharaoh Brown Ifo Ekpre-Olomu Devon Allen Darren Carrington (suspended for pot) Jake Fisher and Hronus Grasu were both injured and missed several games. Yet except for the stumble against Arizona, which was avenged in the Pac12 championship game, that team had a stellar year. Buckner, Armistead and MM all were 1st round draft picks. Ifo would have been if he hadn't destroyed his left knee. Fourteen other Ducks ended up playing in the NFL and several like Hill, Mundt, Brown, Hollins, Walker, Mondeaux, Jelks, Crosby, Grasu and Freeman are still there.

Marcus v Johnny Football. Yikes! Character issues are just the start. You couldn't have test tube designed a better fit for the Chip Kelly/Mark Helfrich offense than MM. Who would have been the better ambassador of the Oregon brand? No contest there. Would Manziel have played better than MM and guided Oregon to the National Championship in 2014-2015? I don't think so. Ditto if Tua had been recruited by Oregon. He wanted to come here. So Justin v Tua? Tua is certainly a much higher caliber person than Manziel for sure, but you put JH on that Alabama championship team and I argue he wins it all too. How would Tua have done with three different head coaches and OCs, and the three yards and a cloud of dust mentality of the MC era? We have been blessed with two high caliber QBs that are also great people. Makes me proud to be an Oregon fan.

Chargers are doing it right with JH. Draft a big, rocket-armed QB who has tons of potential that was underutilized in college. Realize just what a special talent you have when circumstances thrust your new QB into the battle sooner than you had anticipated. Have a coaching staff tailor an offense to him, draft a monster LT to protect his blindside and spend the next two years building a team around him that will let his skills shine, keep him upright (see Detroit Lions and the previous JH as an example of how to do it wrong) and give him a defense to protect those leads he generates. All the best for MM in Altanta. If they can create an offense that lets Marcus stay upright and gives him targets in space, it will be what we all want to see for him. Good luck though, with that depleted O-line and receiver corps. Still, we can hope..

And one of my personal favorite bits of Oregon v USC history. Chip Kelly's first year as OC in 2007 in a home game with Dennis Dixon at the helm. Oregon beat #9 USC 24-17. Some kids in the student section with a sign: "Your Trojans Can't Hold Our Dixon"

USC: University of Stupid Children University of Spoiled Children University of Scandalous Contributors Take your pick.

I am not a Dukie. I still chap at Coach K getting in Dillon Brooks' grill a few years back. From the guy who coached up bad-sport poster child Grayson Allen. Legendary coach, yes, but the entited hypocrisy, oy!. The only positive about their win over Texas Tech yesterday is that there is now one less game on the "Coach K Bad Hairdye*-Sourpuss Countdown". I would happily settle for Arkansas taking them out in the Elite 8. It would be even sweeter if it could be UCLA in the Final Four. Just don't want to see him cutting down the nets for his last game. * I know he says he doesn't color his hair, but c'mon man!

Arizona just got outhustled by Houston and their defensive energy. They kept Koloko, Tubelis and Mathurin controlled and chased guys off the 3 point line. The Cats also really missed a full go Kerr in the backcourt but I'm not sure it would have made much of a difference. Houston blowing Oregon out last fall in Vegas by 29 points was no fluke. I had 'Zona in my final four, too.

So Isaac Johnson just entered the portal. Start of the house cleaning that Altman implied?

So I'm guessing Arch Manning won't be following his uncle Peyton to UT now.

Don't forget Prince. Amazing how someone 6'-7" can become invisible for minutes at a time.

My humble opinion. No leader. Sabrina was a unique one off and there is no one to fill those shoes. Lots of skill and talent but iffy cohesion and leadership. And Sedona Prince. Don't know what to say about that

Axel is a man after my own heart. I just posted this on the other thread:

And Villanova just knocked those entitled tOSU Poisonous Warty Sac Horse Chestnuts out of the tournament. So while I mourn the absence of a Duck team late in the post season, this is a nice little consolation.

Getting a bit off topic here, but bear with me. Did a little research and a buckeye is neither an acorn nor a true chestnut. Most closely related to the horse chestnut which has little commercial value, a warty sac (not making this up) and no sane mammal (including horses) will eat them because they are toxic. They do however make for a larger target when directing a good strong kick.

Very nicely played, Axel. My only suggestion is to substitute "acorns" for "teeth" as befitting the school with some of the most smug and arrogant fans in the hemisphere.

Kepnang, Williams and Soares all had good games. Much better ball movement and defensive energy in the 2nd half.

Not to whizz in the cornflakes, but USU coach Odom was at UMBC in 2018 when they engineered a historic first round defeat of #1 Virginia as a #16 seed in the NCAA Tournament. So the guy can coach.

I couldn't agree more with the article and this take on PAC12 vs SEC officiating. The application of the existing rule is arbitrary, alters game outcomes and in the PAC12 it borders on virtue signaling by officials and the league office.

What I really want to see is the follow up blog from this troll after Oregon won in the Horsesh**(oe). Thanks for providing a brief return to.a Duck happy place