OhioDuck

The school tobacco built. Well one of several in NC. Seriously, a good school, great education, but I wouldn't root for their basketball team if they were playing literal devils (kind of what UNC used to be to this guy who grew up rooting for UVA). I really don't care who wins this, want them all to lose and not even be here. This is the ultimate of a blue blood final four. Yuk!

Yeah, thinking the same thing. Who is running with the first team will probably change often so all three get a chance to show what they can do, especially in the spring. We won't see just one guy until one starts to really separate from the others. May not happen at all.

The Ducks are really pulling in some great players on the basketball side of things. Get some good chemistry and hard work going, something special could be brewing.

All I know is both are way faster than I've ever been!

Sometimes not being the last visit is tough. Would love to get him, and still might. One thing is that I'm used to seeing crystal balls break for a school right after a visit. It may help Oregon that he's not making the decision the day after the visit. He has time to go home, sit with his family and talk it out. There is time to remember everything he thought was great about Oregon after visiting Eugene. In other words, even if he is a USC lean there is still time for him to change his mind.

Ducks football, VCU basketball fan here. We played St. Peter's earlier this season and won a close game with them. You could tell this team had some potential to be very good though. They are reminding a lot of us of our 2011 improbable final 4 run. Go Peacocks! This is what makes March so cool!

I have no problem with Nix starting if he wins the job. What I hope for is if he is not playing well, one of the other guys at least gets a chance. What was so frustrating last year was that sometimes AB was playing so poorly it was hard to imagine anyone coming in and being worse. So, why not give those guys a chance?

Yes, it's great when players enjoy playing. That usually also makes it more fun for us fans. Football is fun again may soon be applying to us as well! I'm ready for the season to start!

Thanks, this is such great and hopeful news. It pretty much confirms what I was sensing about Lanning, what I heard from some Georgia fans too. Lanning is the real deal.

Yeah, all the rule changes to open up the game and allow freedom of movement have gone out the window now. And I'm not sure anyone has taught a lot of officials the change with the principal of verticality on defense. They still call it the same old way. Offensive guy jumps into a defender just holding his position, offensive guy goes to the foul line.

I was wondering when someone would mention running backs. Cardwell has a great chance to break out. He has all the tools to be a great running back, I think we saw the tip of the iceberg last season and he won't be alone as a very talented running back this coming season. I'm wondering about Nix. I know it's maybe not a break out season since he's been starting since he was a freshman, but I think there is a sense that he has never lived up to his potential. Could this be the year and right situation where he lives up to that potential? If not he has some young guys on his heals who could be break out guys as mentioned above.

Admittedly I am not up on the Falcons at the moment, but I don't think their O line is a strong suite. I would share the concern already expressed that Marcus lands somewhere that his passing and running ability are taken advantage of as part of the plan, not just running for his life because of the break down of his blocking. I hope they have a plan in place to utilize his talent.

At some point there has to be some regulation of NIL. There is regulation of any business that balances the ability to make money with keeping it from harming others while doing it. To some extent I am wondering if this can be done by NIL being something that happens after you come to school, not promised before. It seems like what is happening right now in some (certainly not all) instances is a bidding war that has nothing to do with Name, Image and Likeness, but is a thinly disguised bribe to get kids to come play for whoever. I have no problem with someone being able to profit from their NIL, I've always thought for example when a jersey is sold with a players name and number in college, that player should get a portion of the proceeds. That's only fair. If they are able to market themselves, even if the school helps them in marketing themselves, great! But I don't think some of the offers we are at least hearing rumors about have anything to do with real NIL, it's just the same old corruption made legal.

Yes, coaches are important, but they never throw or catch a pass, run the football, throw a block or make a tackle. You have to have good/great players. You can also have the 5* players and not win championships. When players are playing for each other, getting better for each other, pushing each other to be better, then you have something magical. If you have that and 5* talent...

Yeah, Seven has the kind of explosiveness where you want to get him the ball with some room and then that speed can definitely make him a deep threat. If we need depth at RB he can always move back, positions are fluid as coach says. I imagine him in the slot, with the outside guy running a slant and Seven running a wheel rout behind him, who's going to cover that?

Great take Joshua! While there are questions going into a season where we have lost a lot of talented players and have a whole new coaching staff, what amazes me when I look at these questions is how many talented players are in the mix to answer them. In most cases it is not a question of do we have players to play at a high level at these positions, but which ones. A lot of fan bases out there would love to have the questions Oregon has. There's a lot that still has to come together right, but if they do this could be a very, very good team.

Yeah, when I lived in Portland, most people I knew were Seahawk fans. Only a few were Huskies fans. If Marcus goes there, there may be a lot more Oregon fans come on board.

I think there is a lot to be said for this. Get all these guys together, have them bond on campus at UO, and with current players. This could be a big, big weekend for Oregon Football! I know it means very little, but I have a really good feeling about this weekend that several of these guys will end up at Oregon.

If he were to go in and win games Husky/Seahawk fans would warm up very quickly.

I'm not that upset with the rule as it stands, just how it is enforced. Maybe just one simple rule for offensive and defensive players alike. You lead on a hit with the crown of the helmet, it a penalty. You do it on a player in a defenseless position it's flagrant. You do it launching at another players head it's targeting, you're out of the game. Wait, that is pretty much what it is now, except for the first part. In this case if offensive and defensive players both lower their heads to make a hit, they both get a penalty. The first attempts at trying to bring these kinds of hits under control were when I was in Jr. High (yes it was long enough ago to call it Jr. High). We were told the rule change was that you couldn't lead with the crown of your helmet. Why? Because players were breaking their necks doing that, it was to protect the hitter as much as the hittee. For an example of this see Marc Bouniconti. Now we know a lot of players end up with concussions and multiple concussions leave some players brains damaged for life. We need to take that seriously. Maybe a soccer type of yellow card, red card system. You get a penalty and a warning the first time. The second time, even in a later game it's a penalty and expulsion for a full game, even if that extends into the next game. A third time, let's call it a season. I know that sounds tough, but when the alternative is players with dementia at +or- 30 years of age, maybe it should be tough.

As far as Oregon playing WSU goes, I was thinking that Wisconsin might be the first example of a P5 level defense Ward has seen. It will give him a little experience anyway. I really don't see a shoot out with Wisconsin. The offense may not scare you, but defensively they make it tough on you.

Yeah, going up there is always a problem. On the other hand, we will have to see how Ward makes the adjustment to bigger, faster, stronger defenders, coming up from FCS. It may take him a few games. Oregon has linebackers faster than most of the defensive backs he has faced. Of course he will have faced Wisconsin by then, so he will have one big time game under his belt. He has all the tools, but that doesn't always work out. And BTW, I think Oregon got a better transfer QB than WSU did.

Thanks, some good questions to consider and good comments. Just a few of my own to add. I think the question of the coaching staff coming together is a common question with a new coach who brings in new people. It might take a little while (and of course with the first game next season we don't have very long). I also think there is a question of the new staff jelling with the players remaining from the last staff. That one may be more telling. Everything we read seems to be positive, but let's see what happens on the field. I'm not too concerned about the Nix staying 2 years thing and losing both Thompson and Butterfield. If he plays well, he'll have an opportunity to play for money (more than college NIL I think) the next year. If he's playing poorly, I cannot see Thompson and Butterfield not getting their chance to replace him. A big plus is we have a lot coming back on the O line. whoever the QB is and the running backs are there will be protection and holes. Wide receiver is young but talented. If everyone jells with Dillingham's system offense could be fun again! On D the linebackers have a chance to be spectacular! If the D-line is good and the D backs are good (don't have to be great) then the D will be good. I think with Lanning's/Lupoi's system unleashing those linebackers the D could also be very good. Will any of the good possibilities happen soon enough to shock the world in Atlanta in September? That might be a tall order. But I definitely think we can be 2-1 heading into conference play.

Bill Walton is a hoot! I mean that in a good way and a weird way (but I admit I often like weird). I know he's off the wall sometimes, but he often has some good insight and he's certainly entertaining! Put me down as a like!

Prayers for healing and wholeness for Coach Johnson. Hoping for courage, endurance and a return to a good quality of life.