GangGreen2

It seems one of the key issues here is trust . . . the players have to trust the coaches, and perhaps more importantly, the coaches have to trust the players, esp. the starting QB. There has to be a point at which your starter has enough knowledge and experience to check into or out of a play. If you don't ever have that much trust as a coach . . . what does that say about the player you recruited, or your ability to coach them up to their full potential? Ultimately, you want your starting QB (and even your backup!) to be a "coach on the field".

Thanks for the article! It's interesting to note that Bo has the best rushing stats through 6 games when compared with all of the great Oregon QBs on that "top 10" list. We'll see if those stats hold up through the second half of the season, when Oregon will be facing some statistically tougher defenses. He's definitely having a great season so far, and it's been a joy to watch him at the helm of Dilly's offense!

I love seeing Bo Nix at the top of this list . . . and it's interesting that the top 8 are all on offense. Thanks for sharing!

I have really appreciated Franklin . . . he seems to carry himself well on the field, and his celebrations and gestures are subdued/matter-of-fact and almost always involve him engaging with teammates. He has a great vibe about him . . . I like it.

You make some good points . . . Kepnang is an ever-present bundle of enthusiasm, whether on or off the court. As a guy who's played a lot of BB and watched it for years . . . not everybody brings that, and it's fun to see and be around. He is athletically gifted and raw . . . the ability and timing to block shots is there, he just gets a little over-eager at times, and can tend to get into foul trouble. Otherwise, I think he might get more minutes on the court. Against some of the more skilled offensive players, it can be tough for big men to avoid fouling when opponents drive into the paint . . . and big men can be a liability if the other team is loaded with good perimeter shooters. I think that's why we won't see too much of a "twin tower" lineup from Altman. As to the Ducks' inconsistency . . . the real issue here, I think, is consistent defensive excellence. Everybody has off-nights shooting. That can be mitigated by playing excellent individual and team defense, and rebounding well. The games where the Ducks have struggled, they played very poor defense for stretches, combined with poor shooting, and even worse, poor free throw shooting. When you get to the end of the season, and (hopefully!) into the Big Dance, you can't let that happen. I'm sure Altman and his staff are really getting on them about defense . . . after all, defense "travels". Altman's most successful teams had length (6' 8" or taller) at every position except PG, and really caused teams problems. When guys are locked in on the perimeter, getting into passing lanes, and then you have a great rim protector on the back end (think Jordan Bell), you've got the makings of a very good defense that will keep you in every game you play. Which leads me to the Dante/Kepnang vs Bell/Boucher comparison . . . could the former become like the latter? Perhaps. But this is where I would nitpick . . . Bell and Boucher set Oregon game and season/career records for blocked shots, they were a terror for teams who tried to take the ball to the rim (Boucher had a knack for blocking shots at the perimeter too). Neither Dante or Kepnang have reached their potential . . . and they are not (yet) in the same league as Bell and Boucher.