Much More about Dante Moore...

[Charles Fischer]

I was going to paraphrase, but instead I will just share the entire post at another site that YukonDuck wrote there, and he has some observations that might be of help...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Someone on here mentioned that Dante Moore sets us up for the next four or five years. Totally agree. If we can convince Moore and Akili Smith Jr. to stay for four years apiece with NIL money and a chance to be develop their craft, we will have a chance to win a national championship each of the next five years.

 

Dillon Gabriel will be the starter next year, but Moore will be a quality backup able to play if needed. With the new playoff format, teams can lose a couple of games, but if they get hot at the right moment, they can win it all. It's not the team with the most talent; it will be the team with the most depth.

 

After the announcement last night, I went back with an objective eye and watched an embarrassing amount of Dante Moore highlights. In my opinion, Moore has a Justin Herbert-type of arm. He clearly can make NFL-level throws, the type of throws that fewer than a 100 people on Planet Earth can make. I found the Utah highlights to be the most interesting. UCLA and Utah were both at 3-0 entering the game and, if UCLA had won, that probably would have changed the trajectory of the Bruins season and of Moore as a player at UCLA.

 

Moore lost that game on his first play with a pick-6. His stats weren't great: 15 of 35 for 234 yards, one touchdown and one INT. He lost a fumble on what looked like a scoring drive in the third quarter. But he threw some otherworldly passes, including one for 45 yards that was incredible in the fourth quarter, a type of pass why so many people on this board are so excited about him. Utah's defense also was as dominant as it looked all season.

 

Moore was sacked seven times and these weren't holding-the-ball-too-long sacks. These were sacks where Moore got the snap and someone was in his face. On the final drive, Utah DE Jonah Ellis took him down immediately twice.

 

 

Watching all the highlights including the All-American game last year, Moore's arm strength jumps off the screen. It's kind of like you can't teach height in basketball. You got that arm or you ain't got it. He can throw a 50-yard pass that will stretch the field and keep defenses honest. What he needs to do is make the routine passes, the six- or seven-yard passes, what the great Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin describes as making the routine plays routinely.

 

If he can develop in that area, then he could be an all-time great Duck. I don't think he'll ever be a running quarterback. I'm surprised, because he looks athletic. He probably needs to develop better movement in the pocket and sometimes, a quarterback needs to run for a seven-yard gain. He's got a better arm than Bo Nix, but Bo Nix is much more of an athlete when it comes to running the ball.

 

Another poster on this board compared Moore's stats with all of the other true freshmen quarterbacks in this class. Great perspective. Here's Moore's stats compared with the Bo Nix and Justin Herbert as true freshmen:

 

Dante Moore: 1,610 yards passing, 53.5% completion rate, 7.6 yards per attempt, 11 TDs, 9 INTs in nine games
Bo Nix: 2,542 yards passing, 57.6% completion rate, 6.9 yards per attempt, 16 TDs, 6 INTs in 13 games
Justin Herbert: 1,936 yards passing, 63.5% completion rate, 7.6 yards per attempt, 19 TDs, 4 INT, eight games

 

The numbers that I pay attention to when I look at quarterbacks are completion percentage and yards/attempt. (The best stat I think is processing speed, but I'm not sure who keeps track of that.) Moore's completion percentage ain't great. A 50+% was fine in the 1980s, but this isn't the 1980s. He's going to have to bump that up significantly or he and the Ducks won't do what they need to do. But Nix did. He improved his completion percentage significantly. In his two years at Oregon, Nix completed 71.9% and 77.2% of his passes.

 

 

If Moore increases his completion percentage by 20% in four years...wow. The other stat that I really value is yards per completion. I think 7.6 yards per attempt is great as a freshman. That's where Moore can really excel. If he can get it up to 9.5 yards/attempt like Bo Nix did his senior year, then we've got something. (By the way, Herbert's stats never really developed. By his senior year, Herbert was completing passes at 66.8% clip and only 8.1 yards per attempt. Thanks, Cristobal! Way to waste an All-Pro talent.)

 

If we're being honest, the players that you would want on your team just based on those stats alone would be Herbert first, then Nix and Moore last. Again, I think Moore wasn't in a great spot at UCLA. Not a great offensive line. That Utah game rattled him. Maybe Moore remains No. 3 on the list after his Duck career is over. If he's in their ballpark, we could still win a national championship.

 

Another way to measure quarterbacks: Moore was 3-3 in the games he started. Nix was 9-4. Herbert was 2-5. (One side note: Chip benched Moore after the Oregon State game when an anemic Stanford was on the schedule. Another chance for Moore to get better and feel better. Chip is a smart guy, as I'm sure he'll tell you, but that feels like losing the war to win the battle to me.)

 

Every year from here on out is all about getting to the playoffs. Again, depth will be key once you get there. That's why I always felt that Moore was the season's key recruit behind only Gabriel next year. Moore will hopefully get meaningful snaps against Hawaii and Idaho and several other games. If we need him against a Wisconsin or a Washington or a run in the playoffs, he's got the talent to win with the talent around him and if we develop him.

[kirklandduck]

On 12/19/2023 at 11:00 AM, Charles Fischer said:

Moore lost that game on his first play with a pick-6. His stats weren't great: 15 of 35 for 234 yards, one touchdown and one INT. He lost a fumble on what looked like a scoring drive in the third quarter. But he threw some otherworldly passes, including one for 45 yards that was incredible in the fourth quarter, a type of pass why so many people on this board are so excited about him. Utah's defense also was as dominant as it looked all season.

 

Moore was sacked seven times and these weren't holding-the-ball-too-long sacks. These were sacks where Moore got the snap and someone was in his face. On the final drive, Utah DE Jonah Ellis took him down immediately twice.

UCLA's OL was very subpar (I'm being nice, they were terrible), so he didn't really get much pass protection.  Under the same circumstances behind Oregon's OL his numbers would be visibly better.

 

On 12/19/2023 at 11:00 AM, Charles Fischer said:

I don't think he'll ever be a running quarterback. I'm surprised, because he looks athletic. He probably needs to develop better movement in the pocket and sometimes, a quarterback needs to run for a seven-yard gain. He's got a better arm than Bo Nix, but Bo Nix is much more of an athlete when it comes to running the ball.

That's surprising to me as well.  I would have thought he'd have developed at least some scrambling skills after starting all 4 years in high school.

[Pennsylvania Duck]

Austin Novosad says he's 'excited' for the opportunity to compete for 2024 playing time

 

Oregon freshman quarterback Austin Novosad told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that he was "excited" to compete with Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore for playing time next season...

 

Austin Novosad says he's 'excited' for the opportunity to compete for 2024 playing time

247SPORTS.COM

---

Oregon freshman quarterback Austin Novosad told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that he was "excited" to compete with Dillon...

 

 

 

[ThePondDuck]

On 12/19/2023 at 11:00 AM, Charles Fischer said:

I was going to paraphrase, but instead I will just share the entire post at another site that YukonDuck wrote there, and he has some observations that might be of help...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Someone on here mentioned that Dante Moore sets us up for the next four or five years. Totally agree. If we can convince Moore and Akili Smith Jr. to stay for four years apiece with NIL money and a chance to be develop their craft, we will have a chance to win a national championship each of the next five years.

 

Dillon Gabriel will be the starter next year, but Moore will be a quality backup able to play if needed. With the new playoff format, teams can lose a couple of games, but if they get hot at the right moment, they can win it all. It's not the team with the most talent; it will be the team with the most depth.

 

After the announcement last night, I went back with an objective eye and watched an embarrassing amount of Dante Moore highlights. In my opinion, Moore has a Justin Herbert-type of arm. He clearly can make NFL-level throws, the type of throws that fewer than a 100 people on Planet Earth can make. I found the Utah highlights to be the most interesting. UCLA and Utah were both at 3-0 entering the game and, if UCLA had won, that probably would have changed the trajectory of the Bruins season and of Moore as a player at UCLA.

 

Moore lost that game on his first play with a pick-6. His stats weren't great: 15 of 35 for 234 yards, one touchdown and one INT. He lost a fumble on what looked like a scoring drive in the third quarter. But he threw some otherworldly passes, including one for 45 yards that was incredible in the fourth quarter, a type of pass why so many people on this board are so excited about him. Utah's defense also was as dominant as it looked all season.

 

Moore was sacked seven times and these weren't holding-the-ball-too-long sacks. These were sacks where Moore got the snap and someone was in his face. On the final drive, Utah DE Jonah Ellis took him down immediately twice.

 

 

Watching all the highlights including the All-American game last year, Moore's arm strength jumps off the screen. It's kind of like you can't teach height in basketball. You got that arm or you ain't got it. He can throw a 50-yard pass that will stretch the field and keep defenses honest. What he needs to do is make the routine passes, the six- or seven-yard passes, what the great Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin describes as making the routine plays routinely.

 

If he can develop in that area, then he could be an all-time great Duck. I don't think he'll ever be a running quarterback. I'm surprised, because he looks athletic. He probably needs to develop better movement in the pocket and sometimes, a quarterback needs to run for a seven-yard gain. He's got a better arm than Bo Nix, but Bo Nix is much more of an athlete when it comes to running the ball.

 

Another poster on this board compared Moore's stats with all of the other true freshmen quarterbacks in this class. Great perspective. Here's Moore's stats compared with the Bo Nix and Justin Herbert as true freshmen:

 

Dante Moore: 1,610 yards passing, 53.5% completion rate, 7.6 yards per attempt, 11 TDs, 9 INTs in nine games
Bo Nix: 2,542 yards passing, 57.6% completion rate, 6.9 yards per attempt, 16 TDs, 6 INTs in 13 games
Justin Herbert: 1,936 yards passing, 63.5% completion rate, 7.6 yards per attempt, 19 TDs, 4 INT, eight games

 

The numbers that I pay attention to when I look at quarterbacks are completion percentage and yards/attempt. (The best stat I think is processing speed, but I'm not sure who keeps track of that.) Moore's completion percentage ain't great. A 50+% was fine in the 1980s, but this isn't the 1980s. He's going to have to bump that up significantly or he and the Ducks won't do what they need to do. But Nix did. He improved his completion percentage significantly. In his two years at Oregon, Nix completed 71.9% and 77.2% of his passes.

 

 

If Moore increases his completion percentage by 20% in four years...wow. The other stat that I really value is yards per completion. I think 7.6 yards per attempt is great as a freshman. That's where Moore can really excel. If he can get it up to 9.5 yards/attempt like Bo Nix did his senior year, then we've got something. (By the way, Herbert's stats never really developed. By his senior year, Herbert was completing passes at 66.8% clip and only 8.1 yards per attempt. Thanks, Cristobal! Way to waste an All-Pro talent.)

 

If we're being honest, the players that you would want on your team just based on those stats alone would be Herbert first, then Nix and Moore last. Again, I think Moore wasn't in a great spot at UCLA. Not a great offensive line. That Utah game rattled him. Maybe Moore remains No. 3 on the list after his Duck career is over. If he's in their ballpark, we could still win a national championship.

 

Another way to measure quarterbacks: Moore was 3-3 in the games he started. Nix was 9-4. Herbert was 2-5. (One side note: Chip benched Moore after the Oregon State game when an anemic Stanford was on the schedule. Another chance for Moore to get better and feel better. Chip is a smart guy, as I'm sure he'll tell you, but that feels like losing the war to win the battle to me.)

 

Every year from here on out is all about getting to the playoffs. Again, depth will be key once you get there. That's why I always felt that Moore was the season's key recruit behind only Gabriel next year. Moore will hopefully get meaningful snaps against Hawaii and Idaho and several other games. If we need him against a Wisconsin or a Washington or a run in the playoffs, he's got the talent to win with the talent around him and if we develop him.

This breakdown is incredible! Thank you.

[EzDucksIt]

Charles, 

 

Loved your breakdown.  Was written so a guy like me could understand it well.  I am hoping, those recruits who elect to give it their best are able to compete.  I love the Underdogs as Oregon, used to be one.  Happy to see the Talent finally make it's way to Eugene, a hard place to Recruit to.  Dan Lanning brings a different type of Management to Oregon.  He is a hard worker, I like what we are seeing and feel he has the Feathers to Make Oregon Fly.