This off-season feels different than previous years under Head Coach Dan Lanning. For the last three seasons, rematches have kept Lanning and the Ducks from a shot at their ultimate goal, and in the little media availability Lanning has had since Oregon’s loss to Indiana, it is clear Lanning is making some changes. Our Mr. FishDuck took a pause from ...

Is Change Coming to Oregon

Refine and sharpen the offense.. Improve receivers’ fight for the ball. Improve penetration and pass rushing skills. Emphasize tackling and ball stripping techniques.

After seeing Miami last night, pretty clear our pass rush was the biggest weakness this season imo. Mendoza with time = game over. Might have done it this year with more rush…I don’t know if it was scheme or an altered scheme reflecting personnel issues.

32 minutes ago, JabbaNoBargain said:

After seeing Miami last night, pretty clear our pass rush was the biggest weakness this season imo. Mendoza with time = game over. Might have done it this year with more rush…I don’t know if it was scheme or an altered scheme reflecting personnel issues.

Hard to say.... Matayo was definitely not as good this year that last year in terms of the stat sheet.

The backend of our defense felt pretty good for the most part... But was picked apart when QBs had time.

Thank you, David.

Whatever the secret sauce may be, I'm hoping next season ends with a bang and not a whimper.

Last night, the Good Guys advanced into enemy territory and won. Why not OBD? Please?

Thanks again, David, for the terrific article.

Competing for titles in college sports today certainly requires change -

On3

Adapt or Die: Systemic issues in College Sports demand fu...

There are real, systemic issues in college sports that must be addressed over the next three to five years.

2 hours ago, David Marsh said:

Hard to say.... Matayo was definitely not as good this year that last year in terms of the stat sheet.

The backend of our defense felt pretty good for the most part... But was picked apart when QBs had time.

With 5 DBs and 2 inside linebackers and only 2 big defensive linemen, the edge players have to do two jobs: be a defensive end when needed and be an athletic blitzing outside linebacker when needed.

It is a tall order. The inside linebackers need to be faster and react quicker, which would help.

When the edge players get locked up in a wrestling match with the offensive tackles, the QB has a lot of time to scan the field.

I think the key to winning games is having the best offensive tackles and edge players on your team. Which is why I feel that the 2019 team was such a disappointment because they had the best O tackle and best edge in all of college football that year.

A 3 man D line will not work because you always need a blitzer and option plays will pick that apart. Oregon needs to recruit to fill the prototype of the edge player because not many top edges make it to the portal.

I also think that aggressive DBs can help on the run game, taking some of the pressure off the edge players. Oregon edge players need to be sack machines.

Another interesting piece I'm seeing these days is the Jordan Seaton transfer portal recruitment. The Ducks sound like they are in it, for whatever that's worth and the number going around for his services is 3mil-ish.

That's as much as our two newly promoted coordinators combined (more or less) for one player.

In the past I think Dan would have given this a pass but I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the NIL budget might have been given a bit of extra juice after the last loss.

I hope defensive savant Lanning studies every play by Indy’s D and incorporates as much as possible. The balance between gutsy and disciplined was flawless.

I think this year’s plan of safe and smothering worked well against the BIG’s low octane offenses but didn’t generate near enough pressure on Indy. If anybody can figure out the safe but aggressive balance, Dan can.

The offense needs to play like they have dangerous weapons at every level because they do. Long methodical drives have their place for sure but relying on them too much invites something to go wrong.

Doubling Penn States yardage but being tied 3-3 or tripling Iowa’s and being behind needs to be a thing of the past.

OBD are the too early number one team already. They have the players to play like it. I just hope they have the coaches to be coached like it.

58 minutes ago, The Kamikaze Kid said:

Doubling Penn States yardage but being tied 3-3 or tripling Iowa’s and being behind needs to be a thing of the past.

I think some of that comes with experience. Remember we had / have a quarterback who has started less than 20 games! He's grown but we all know how many open receivers he missed and just didn't even see. Get Moore seeing the field better and that will help finish some of those drives. Seeing the field requires two things.. good offensive line protection and experience.

Then on the runningback side of things we are returning TWO incredible runningbacks who were freshman! Seriously... Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill were amazing runningbacks this year and they were freshman. Just wait to see what they can do in year two when they have continued to grow into their bodies and have a deeper knowledge of the game.

Not having Davison and Whittington in that last game really did hurt our chances because if he carried the ball I think he would have sustained a few of those drives. Harris was just too big of a step down. I'm by no means saying we win if we have both... but I think the game looks very different.

Also Davison is a BEAST pass protector.

While there’s no doubt Cignetti caught lightening in a bottle, and that the stars aligned in all those ways they must for a 200 to 1 shot to win, we can still learn from some things he did.

While you can’t duplicate the ways in which his team came together, his portal focus on unrecognized, but developing players has certainly opened the eyes of recruiters, and the desire to understand how he managed to assemble that many from beneath the radar, but with the same drive to prove themselves.

It may well be a talent Cignetti has that no one else does, but that shouldn’t stop us from studying and trying to incorporate what he does into our system.

1 hour ago, Washington Waddler said:

It may well be a talent Cignetti has that no one else does, but that shouldn’t stop us from studying and trying to incorporate what he does into our system.

The stars aligned for sure... He got lucky he didn't lose any critical players he didn't have a backup for. And it helps to have senior laidin team that isn't suspectable to transfer portal because they're out of eligibility.

That and his coordinators aren't going anywhere.

Oregon got burned back by the portal killing depth, bad timing on injuries, and coaches focus was divided. Too many things to go wrong... Not going to say we would have won if everything was perfect but all those together just broke the program.

4 hours ago, Washington Waddler said:

While there’s no doubt Cignetti caught lightening in a bottle, and that the stars aligned in all those ways they must for a 200 to 1 shot to win, we can still learn from some things he did.

While you can’t duplicate the ways in which his team came together, his portal focus on unrecognized, but developing players has certainly opened the eyes of recruiters, and the desire to understand how he managed to assemble that many from beneath the radar, but with the same drive to prove themselves.

It may well be a talent Cignetti has that no one else does, but that shouldn’t stop us from studying and trying to incorporate what he does into our system.

I politely disagree.

I don't think Cignetti caught lightning in a bottle, which, in my understanding, means he lucked out. Arguably, he lucked out with the transfer by Mendoza, but under the coaching at IU, Fernando improved greatly during the course of the season.

Mendoza improved, even though he was throwing to receivers not good enough to be stars coming out of high school, behind an O-line of mostly no-name recruits, and 'who are these guys' running backs.

Instead, I think Cignetti used years of experience playing and coaching football, coupled with today's rules and an adequate war chest, to assemble a group of players based on productivity and not potential, and he inculcated them into a system that wins football games.

His top D-lineman, statistically, went down after the win over No. 1 Ohio State, and other former no-star, one-star, two-star, and 3-star players stepped up, playing in a system designed to capitalize on the sum of the parts being greater than the whole.

He coaches his coaches, who at the OC and DC positions, have been with him for 10+ seasons. Extraordinary in today's CFB. His practices are focused and among the shortest in CFB. Corny but true, he recruits Football Players, guys who love playing football.

He has a process, and he doesn't deviate from the process. As he said postgame last night, he learned from his Hall of Fame coach, Father, and his other mentors, like Nick Saban, to play to win the game.

For many coaches, Mendoza's iconic 4th down TD run last night would have instead been a FG attempt. (Dan would have gone for it! 😁)

I believe that a plan executed by an experienced coach at the losingest program in CFB reached fruition last night. Cignetti was 62 years old when he was hired by IU, and he wasn't exaggerating when he said he has won everywhere he has been.

Danny and the Ducks are getting 'There.' In any walk of life, experience matters. And, you do need at least some luck, lightning if you will, to help you along the way.

Thanks, WW, for this and your other terrific comments.