I Wonder How the "Meltdown" Fans Feel Now?

[Charles Fischer]

When Oregon lost to Washington last year, and then Oregon State....games we should not have lost, we had quite a few people lose-it over those losses.  We even had a great writer here who wrote just over-the-top stuff actually encouraging people to never support the Ducks again!  (He and I parted ways over it)

 

A number of others broke so many rules, and then not only had no remorse but tried to justify their behavior to me?  Sheesh!

 

After watching that incredible video of Dan Lanning Unfiltered and realizing how special he is--it got me to thinking about these people.   It was Dan's first year, and yep--he made some dumb errors. Yet unlike Cristobal--who did the same thing year-after-year...these people were ready apply the scorched earth treatment on a coach who did not have enough of "his" guys yet.

 

I thought the defense would be a three to four year rebuild, but he went out into the portal and solved our defensive issues immediately. In the nation top ten in both scoring points, and scoring defense? Who'd of thunk that a year ago?

 

But you have to have some faith as a true Oregon fan.  It is evident we now have a special year going, and I cannot help but wonder what all those people who melted down are thinking now?

 

Do they regret their over-reaction?

 

The door here is always open here for them, but more important--it makes me appreciate this community that much more!

 

These fans are true...

 

 

[Charles Fischer]

Junior Adams on Lanning, from ESPN

 

"Literally, he's the best at what it is, no knock on anybody I've ever been around," Oregon wide receivers coach Junior Adams told me this spring. "Dan Lanning does it all. He can coach receivers if he wanted to, he can coach the outside linebackers, he could probably call plays on offense, he can call plays on defense."

 

"And then he can sit at the head of the table and give you the practice plan, the philosophy, the structure of what he wants with the program, the culture, and then, boom, and then he can go here and then he can go recruit. It's pretty special."

 

Junior Adams Standing Next to Lanning...

[The Kamikaze Kid]

The UO detractors out there like to ignore the PSU results, say they barely escaped at TT, over powered an over rated CU and waltzed past a checked out Furd. Here, I'll go ahead and ignore PSU as well and pick up their string of scores beginning with the 4th Qtr at Texas Tech.

 

TT 20-3

UH 55-10

CU 42-6

Furd 42-6

 

Total 159-25

 

That is against three power 5 and one group of 5 schools with one of them ranked at the time and two games on the road. Also,13 of the 25 points the Ducks gave up in that span were in garbage time. I don't ever recall a stretch like that in Duck history. Something special is coming together this season. Can't wait for more.

[Jon Joseph]

Texas Tech. In the season's first 'real' game, the Ducks ended TT's 26-opening home game winning streak. And came back in a hostile road environment to do so. And this with the new OC. OL coach, and other newbies that DL hired. 

 

Kirby Smart early on made a bunch of not-so-smart in-game decisions.

 

DL is learning on the job, as we all had to do with most of us, unlike DL, doing so outside of the public eye.

 

In-game decision-making is critical. But from the get-go, DL has handled the other critical part of the job, recruiting from HS and the portal.

 

After a few faux pas, and despite Joey Harrington (a great Duck) and friends' concerns, Mullens made a terrific hire.

 

If I had been judged my first year on the job in the manner that some judged DL, I'd have been in the unemployment line.

[Nevada Dawg]

Just saw a stat on the Talking Dawgs site that only two Power 5 teams have thrown for 300 yards a game and given up less than 300 yards per game on defense through week 5: Georgia and Oregon. Can I pick my teams or what!

[Drake]

Through all trials and tribulations, I bleed green and yellow. While I don’t like to see the Ducks lose, it is just a college football game. It can break your heart, but there are too many other things that we all deal with that are far worse. 

With the turnover we have seen at HC, DL has reinvigorated a program that could have become a dumpster fire. How many teams take a dive with the type of coaching turnover we have seen.
 

I tip my cap to the man. 

 

[Mike West]

Pretty wild to me to be a fan for decades, and expect to defeat your heated rivals every year.  

 

Sure, some questioned Lanning's decision making, but did Dan decide that Nix would miss a wide open TE, then tell his punter to fumble to make the game interesting?

 

I personally thought Nix didn't look the Safety off before he ran the ball-he just ran the play everyone had scouted.  In my mind, he freezes that Safety- we go to the playoffs (to get obliterated again because let's be honest- last year's defense wasn't going to stop Sheldon or Marist last year).  

 

To win ten games with that defense... remarkable.  

 

Every loss stings.  Let's be real though.  Two teams in college finished the regular season undefeated last year.  Out of 130.  It takes NFL caliber talent, and a very deep roster of elite college football players to pull off an an unbeaten season.  DL did not have anything close to that- and lost to our rivals by three points despite several mistakes in both games.

 

That, my friends is called damn good coaching.  If I could take Churchill's defense (lol), and win ten games I'd be called a genius.  And yes, I think the defense was that horrible.  After all, Georgia made it look like OBD were pulling a Chinese Fire Drill all game.  

[DrJacksPlaidPants]

The season is still young, but when you have a reliable defense you don’t need to make desperate 4th down calls in your own end of the field. 

[HappyToBeADuck]

Those 2 losses last year (leg lifters and rodents) were emotionally draining.......

 

As a fan I was proud of  DL, the staff and players as they picked themselves up off the turf after that humiliating butt kicking in Georgia and won 8 straight games.

 

Said a great deal about their character, didn't it? Going into that uw game the thought of another shot at Georgia in the CFP was starting to shape up.

 

Then, for some, the home loss to uw brought the world to an end for a number of Duck fair weather fans. They spewed their vile disdain and floated away (some got banned) on angry gray clouds.

 

Then the Duck D shows up (for 1 game) Bo plays hurt and the team ekes out a hard fought win against Utah. The fairweather flock returned.

 

All was good again! Simply beat the upstart Beavs and its back to the PAC Title game. For 43 minutes the D showed up and dominated Beavus. Then for some reason, no one but the Beavers showed up for the 4th quarter.......

 

It was so emotionally painful and down right disappointing for Duck fans. Imagine how the coaches and players felt?

 

Then for some the anger couldnt be controlled. The moderators must have had the delete button kicked into overdrive. But when Charles says this is a safe, protected Forum, well he means it......

 

Most likely the Ducks will lose a game, maybe 2 between now and a potential CFP appearance. Some will not be able to contain or control their posts.

 

Before hitting send consider these thoughts:

 

1. There are other forums or posting boards who will welcome your angry posts. They are not safe from criticism directed back at you. But you can let it all out!

 

2. Many on this forum expressed their anger, frustration and disgust. They simply did not direct it at the coaches, players or other posters on this Forum. When i or others disagree we simply include in our posts " Thank you for your post and I can see your point however i politely disagree and here are my views". All views, when presented nice, are aleays welcome on OBDF.

 

3. Consider, after a 4 hour game or even during the game, depending on how many brews you have downed, that may not be the best time to post. Dr. Pepper has a great commercial about fans overreacting. Fun commercial.

 

4. Consider It is just a game and nothing more. As a fan, sports are part of the entertainment in our lives. I try to remind myself that it is not my life. Winning or losing a football game is not a matter of life and death..

 

Due to a medical mistake my wife nearly died early Sunday morning. Thankfully the ER team saved her. She now has a long road ahead to recovery.

 

That mistake was a life and or death situation. Now thats something to truly be angry about.

[bzduck13]

Thanks for the perspective, Happy. Here’s hoping your wife makes a swift and full recovery 

[DrJacksPlaidPants]

There isn’t a fan base in D1 football that doesn’t melt down from time to time. The higher the expectations from fans, the bigger the melt downs. Just listen to the Paul Finebaum show and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

 

A couple of years back I heard one caller tell Paul he had the paramedics show up and run him to the ER because he was having chest pains after Bama let Ole Miss jump out to a 21 point lead. Bama eventually came back but this dude got himself all worked up over a ball game. I guess it does mean more down there. 
 

I look at it this way. I made it through the 2015 Alamo Bowl, so I have built up quite an immunity mental strain caused by a football game.

[David Marsh]

On 10/6/2023 at 8:46 PM, Jon Joseph said:

After a few faux pas, and despite Joey Harrington (a great Duck) and friends' concerns, Mullens made a terrific hire.

I absolutely agree that the Ducks made a fantastic hire. And I also get why fans were like "who is Dan Lanning? And can't we get someone more high profile?" 

 

Admittingly I was a bit in that camp until I started to dig into who Lanning is as a coach and a person I was completely sold. 

 

I was actually thinking that Kiffin might be our best shot at getting the offense back. But I'm far happier with Lanning now than I'd ever be with Kiffin by a long shot. 

 

I also completely understand why program alumni and old timers wanted Wilcox or someone with deep connections to the program. We had gone through just losing two head coaches to schools in Florida. I think we'd still have Cristobal if it was any school besides Miami calling. Taggart was only a matter of time until he could return to Florida. 

 

Thankfully for the Ducks these two Floridians returning home gave us a nice windfall in money to help fund Lanning and his staff. 

 

But I get that there was a strong desire to not have to be in he market for a new coach in a few years. The truth is that we had a lifer at Oregon in Helfrich, this was his dream job and by the Bellotti standard Helfrich's record was plenty good enough to keep him around but the standard at Oregon has drastically changed. 

 

Lanning may oray not be a lifer but right now it feels like he probably is based on his comments. 

[Solar]

On 10/7/2023 at 7:30 AM, HappyToBeADuck said:

Those 2 losses last year (leg lifters and rodents) were emotionally draining.......

 

As a fan I was proud of  DL, the staff and players as they picked themselves up off the turf after that humiliating butt kicking in Georgia and won 8 straight games.

 

Said a great deal about their character, didn't it? Going into that uw game the thought of another shot at Georgia in the CFP was starting to shape up.

 

Then, for some, the home loss to uw brought the world to an end for a number of Duck fair weather fans. They spewed their vile disdain and floated away (some got banned) on angry gray clouds.

 

Then the Duck D shows up (for 1 game) Bo plays hurt and the team ekes out a hard fought win against Utah. The fairweather flock returned.

 

All was good again! Simply beat the upstart Beavs and its back to the PAC Title game. For 43 minutes the D showed up and dominated Beavus. Then for some reason, no one but the Beavers showed up for the 4th quarter.......

 

It was so emotionally painful and down right disappointing for Duck fans. Imagine how the coaches and players felt?

 

Then for some the anger couldnt be controlled. The moderators must have had the delete button kicked into overdrive. But when Charles says this is a safe, protected Forum, well he means it......

 

Most likely the Ducks will lose a game, maybe 2 between now and a potential CFP appearance. Some will not be able to contain or control their posts.

 

Before hitting send consider these thoughts:

 

1. There are other forums or posting boards who will welcome your angry posts. They are not safe from criticism directed back at you. But you can let it all out!

 

2. Many on this forum expressed their anger, frustration and disgust. They simply did not direct it at the coaches, players or other posters on this Forum. When i or others disagree we simply include in our posts " Thank you for your post and I can see your point however i politely disagree and here are my views". All views, when presented nice, are aleays welcome on OBDF.

 

3. Consider, after a 4 hour game or even during the game, depending on how many brews you have downed, that may not be the best time to post. Dr. Pepper has a great commercial about fans overreacting. Fun commercial.

 

4. Consider It is just a game and nothing more. As a fan, sports are part of the entertainment in our lives. I try to remind myself that it is not my life. Winning or losing a football game is not a matter of life and death..

 

Due to a medical mistake my wife nearly died early Sunday morning. Thankfully the ER team saved her. She now has a long road ahead to recovery.

 

That mistake was a life and or death situation. Now thats something to truly be angry about.

Hey it's 2023. You aren't allowed to be grateful and post about it online. Just kidding.

 

Best wishes for your wife's full recovery.

[OregonDucks]

Honestly, I was pretty dejected when Oregon lost to BOTH Washington and Oregon State to finish the regular season with Bo's injury, some head scratching coaching decisions and a porous defense. The team did finish on a positive note with a last minute, thrilling, come from behind victory against North Carolina in the Holiday Bowl.

 

I give credit to Dan Lanning and his staff for attacking our team's weaknesses in the offseason and, so far, learning when to be aggressive. The team appears to be much improved from last year (especially the defense) and I'm excited to see how they manage this brutal home stretch.

Edited October 8, 2023 by OregonDucks

[David Marsh]

On 10/7/2023 at 5:01 PM, OregonDucks said:

Honestly, I was pretty dejected when Oregon lost to BOTH Washington and Oregon State to finish the regular season with Bo's injury, some head scratching coaching decisions and a porous defense.

The defense was what really lost those games. Oregon was only able to win by just out scoring the opponent. The defense didn't give us any wiggle room last year. 

 

Nix's injury should not be repeated this year. I have already ranted and raged about the empty set and won't do it again... but Lanning and Stein aren't running Nix like he was last year. No where near as much which is a good thing. He is still getting some run time in but fewer designed qb runs.

[woundedknees]

Yup, Happy. I see your point.

 

Few years ago, my wife went in for "routine cataract surgery"... during the last pre-op exam our surgeon spotted something under that shook our world in ways no college football game has any comparison to.

She eventually lost the eye, after 3 years of treatment. The doctor found it, again, during what they thought was to be the final, triumphant, exam... looking back now, the surgery that scared us silly was the real triumph.

 

Thankfully , this time they got it right!

Those kind of victories are so far beyond the scope of any athletic event.

Sitting here sharing the joy of following OBD is a bonus we should cherish FWIW.

 

The fact we get to share it with those around us is the cherry on top!

BTW, my wife's name happens to be Cherri.

 

She loves OBD, too!

Let's celebrate our shared privilege and opportunity on this forum.

It's up to us to make it work!

 

 

[Mike West]

On 10/7/2023 at 1:07 PM, David Marsh said:

I also completely understand why program alumni and old timers wanted Wilcox or someone with deep connections to the program. We had gone through just losing two head coaches to schools in Florida. I think we'd still have Cristobal if it was any school besides Miami calling. Taggart was only a matter of time until he could return to Florida. 

 

The ultimate irony is those "dolts" both blew very realistic shots at a Natty- one each in fact.  

 

In 2017 " the Snake" had Oregon's best recruiting class ever ( combining a damn good defense with world class WRs Justin Herbert would throw to), and a virtually unstoppable offense. 2018 should have been our crowning moment.

 

In 2019, Crista bol had the best QB in the nation and a top 5 defense.  Mary neutered the offense, and lost to Oh No Bo, despite having a Defense that was capable of shutting down every elite offense that year( especially when they were motivated- which was when the offense shined).

 

Mary reverted to form last night ( despite mocking him I was actually rooting for the Canes to reemerge- that would be great for college football).  

 

Lanning, in my opinion would have two titles just keeping that Jet Flow offense ( and just think of what he could have done with that defense).

 

And yes, life matters a whole lot more than football.  But I'm taking Lanning any day of the week as our coach. After all, football is life for him, and he is already ahead of the curve in Eugene. 

[Charles Fischer]

On 10/8/2023 at 12:30 PM, Mike West said:

In 2019, Crista bol had the best QB in the nation and a top 5 defense. 

Oh....if we'd had last year's or this year's offense with that defense?

 

Natty time.

[OregonDucks]

On 10/8/2023 at 12:30 PM, Mike West said:

In 2019, Crista bol had the best QB in the nation and a top 5 defense.  Mary neutered the offense, and lost to Oh No Bo, despite having a Defense that was capable of shutting down every elite offense that year( especially when they were motivated- which was when the offense shined).

 

Oregon's defense was ranked #9 in points allowed per game (16.5 ppg).  Interestingly, first year defensive coordinator, Dan Lanning's Georgia defense was ranked #1 that year (12.6 ppg).

 

Dan Lanning knows a thing or two about great defenses...

 

2019 College Football Team Defense | College Football at Sports-Reference.com

WWW.SPORTS-REFERENCE.COM

---

Check out the 2019 College Football Team Defense and more about College Football at Sports-Reference.com

 

[OregonDucks]

On 10/8/2023 at 12:36 PM, Charles Fischer said:

Oh....if we'd had last year's or this year's offense with that defense?

 

Natty time.

 

Oregon's defense might be better this year than the 2019 defense, even if the stats don't show it because they are playing against more elite QBs and offenses this season...

 

I hope that your gutsy season prediction comes true THIS YEAR!

 

[Oregon's scoring defense is currently ranked #6 at 11.8 ppg]

Edited October 8, 2023 by OregonDucks

[Mic]

How do the "melt down" fans feel now, Charles asks?  For the most part they've melted themselves into the background. Gone dark. Disappeared.  For now....

 

Every Duck fan I know personally, including myself, were upset at those two losses.  But, only a very few (that I know) lost their perspective entirely.  To not have been disappointed would make one a rare bird indeed. A true fan wants his/her team to win every game and hopes for that.  A realistic fan knows even teams like Alabama, Georgia, Ohio St. have to come back down to earth eventually, and do.

 

And here we are!  Back on top (for now) and facing the very team that started he meltdown (for some) last year.  U gotta love College Football.  Has there ever been a better sport to evoke the wide spectrum of human emotions?