What's Our Coach Made Of?

[Mic]

We all knew Dan Lanning was reputed to be one of the game's bright, young minds making his way up the coaching ladder like a comet.  But with this loss, in front of a National TV audience, I think we are about to see what kind of stuff this young man is made of.  He has big task in front of him - rally a demoralized and thoroughly beaten team to make them competitive again.  He has less than one week to do that it. He's not alone in the task but he's the Leader, the Head Coach.

 

Welcome to the world of Head Coaching, Dan Lanning.  We're all pulling for you and for our Beloved Ducks. Go get 'em!

[1Ducker1]

He certainly was not prepared for today, Fresno St would have faired better. I thought we had more talent than this.

I see a bad home loss to BYU coming up.

[David Marsh]

For the record Kelly lost to Boise State in his opener. 

 

If you count the bowl game Cristobal coached against Boise State as his first official game, he was interm at the time I believe, then he lost his opener.

 

Brooks post his opener... Against Georgia actually. 

 

You always learn more from losing than winning. I think coaches and players alike needed the kick in the pants on this one. 

[1Ducker1]

In truth we really wont know how good a coach Lanning is for several games.

I wasn't too happy about his presser though-seemed in way too good of a spirit after a humiliating loss on National TV.

[DuckCrazy]

The play today was utterly disappointing! We had major issues tackling, coverage and running routes.

 

I am and always will be a Duck faithful, but I was embarrassed for our team, school and conference today.

 

Bo Nix has a horrible record against GA well the SEC in reality, by the end of the first quarter when it was glaringly apparent that Bo still was not up to the task, why on earth did we not give Thompson the opportunity to show what he’s capable of?

 

I honestly did not expect a W today but never imagined a loss like this. I’m left scratching my head with more questions than answers.

 

I’ll be in my seat in Autzen to cheer on my Ducks hoping that we’ve figured out what went wrong and remember who we are…. GO DUCKS!,,

[FreddyD]

Ute fan reaching out to offer condolences to you Duck's. Tough day for both of our programs. Hopefully brighter days ahead. Btw I really love this forum you guys have got. It's a class act.

[Charles Fischer]

On 9/3/2022 at 9:27 PM, FreddyD said:

Btw I really love this forum you guys have got. It's a class act.

You are very kind.

 

In the end...we've assembled a group of very nice people who are also die-hard Ducks.  Thank you!

[Nautique Duck]

I hope Lanning focuses on game planning and coaching, which is what I suspect he will focus on. And maybe showing his boys a good example of resiliency and hard work in the face of adversity. 

[Nevada Dawg]

On 9/3/2022 at 6:58 PM, Mic said:

We all knew Dan Lanning was reputed to be one of the game's bright, young minds making his way up the coaching ladder like a comet.  But with this loss, in front of a National TV audience, I think we are about to see what kind of stuff this young man is made of.  He has big task in front of him - rally a demoralized and thoroughly beaten team to make them competitive again.  He has less than one week to do that it. He's not alone in the task but he's the Leader, the Head Coach.

 

Welcome to the world of Head Coaching, Dan Lanning.  We're all pulling for you and for our Beloved Ducks. Go get 'em!

My second attempt: the first vanished into cyberspace.

 

I stopped by this evening expecting a thread of this type and expecting some discouragement. In my humble  opinion, the last sentence of Mic's post  is what is needed at this point. CDL is young and all young, inexperienced HCs make mistakes, Saban, Smart, Dabo Swinney, all of them. In his first year, Kirby Smart blew a homecoming game, to  Vanderbilt no less, by poor  in-game decisions in the 4th Quarter. I had cautioned, all this talking  season against setting unrealistic expectations for this coaching staff.

 

I certainly have no right to tell you what to think. But, I am very high on CDL I am also of the opinion that you'll likely much feel better about "what your coach is made of" after he has learned from early mistakes, and recruited a couple more excellent classes building the kind of roster that can consistently compete with the elite programs of college football.

 

Sorry if I sound too preachy, but that's my opinion and I'm sticking with it. Go Ducks!

 

 

[SouthernDawg]

As a new member to your forum and who view himself as a guest, I want to thank you for letting me post here and give some perspective. I want to assure you that I recognize the class and dignity of this forum and I will abide by your rules to that T as a guest amongst (hopefully) friends.

 

I'm a lifelong Georgia fan but also a huge fan of college football in general and watch it analytically as well as anecdotally every year.  I hope that I can shed some light and positivity on the direction your program is heading, despite what is certainly a horrible bruising it took yesterday. 

 

I knew that as soon as the whistle blew after 60 minutes of ball yesterday, the chirping about buyer's remorse with Dan Lanning would start. That is absolute utter nonsense.  Let me first put your minds at ease - ya'll got a serious ball coach with Dan Lanning.  And in Lanning, you also got an elite recruiter and most definitely, that was the difference in the ball game yesterday: the players.

 

Oregon ran up against not only a defending National Champion, but a program that is recruiting at the highest level for the last 6 years.  There is no way that Lanning come in, wave a magic wand or quack at the right pitch, and bridge the wide gap in player talent in 8 months on the job between a program like Georgia and what he's working with right now at Oregon.  It's going to take time for him to recruit the caliber of player it takes to be relevant on the national stage.

 

I'm 100% sure that Lanning wanted to win that game, but knowing him and watching him closely for the last 4 years, I know that he'll use this humbling as a teaching tool and help the team grow from this loss.  Lanning is well aware of the caliber of player that is going to take at each position and he's going to go after them. 

 

Also, let's talk about Bo Nix. Having a Ph.D as I do in SEC football, I've watched Nix for what seems like an eternity.  Why is he the QB at Oregon right now and why didn't Lanning take him out for Thompson?  Best I can tell, Nix is at Oregon because despite having a million dollar arm and a 10 cent head, Nix has seen the gambit of what college football can throw at him and his strength is his mobility.  Nix is a Jekyll & Hyde QB.  Some days you'll get the Bo Nix you saw yesterday (ask any Auburn fan), and next week you'll get the Bo Nix that rushes for 100, throws 3 TDs and makes the highlight reel.

 

I've never seen a QB that sold his stock as high as Nix does. It baffles me.  That said, why is he starting? Why didn't Lanning pull him? Because knowing Lanning, he 's made the evaluation of all his QBs and truly believes Nix gives you the best chance to win.  That's the school he comes from in the Saban/Smart system.

 

A lot of times, we fans do not see or understand what the coaches see in practice each week, or what struggles a QB has in the film room when the OC & QB coach are grilling the QB on what he sees on film.  Nix has seen a truckload of defenses in his time, and that seniority amounts to a lot in football.

 

Why didn't Lanning bench him? That's easy - because that sends a message on week 1 that there is zero confidence in decision the coaching staff made in their starters. One horrible game doesn't make a horrible season, nor does it make a horrible QB. When it's time to pull Nix, he'll pull him.  But for the time being, he's going to ride with him until Thompson beats him out in practice. 

 

So I'm done with my novel post.  That said, hold your bills high. Brighter days are ahead for your program.  Everyone wants to win right now, but it does not work that way in college football.  It takes a lot of hard work and time to get to the top.  Just ask Georgia fans, we know all about it.

 

I'll post periodically on here because I really do want to see Lanning succeed and I know he will. I absolutely hated losing him on UGA's staff. 

[Smith72]

Criticism of your players by a coach is best done with the team in practice - not in front of a microphone to the world!

[47sgs]

SouthernDawg, thanks for your post and perspective of yesterdays game.  Despite the poor tackling and QB play, it was apparent early there was a huge talent gap between the two teams, as well as a disparity between the two head coaches. 

 

Watching Georgia's receivers against our DBs,  and especially their DB talent , it became more than apparent we were lacking. 

 

Every player Georgia had on the field was a 5 star, or at least high 4 star, and were being coached by a smart, wiley veteran coach. 

 

There wasn't much positive to take from this game as an Oregon fan, but it was refreshing to see a different offensive style from what we endured the last two years. 

 

I liked the diversity of plays and the attempt to increase the tempo of the offense.  We will see going forward just how well Lanning learns and adapts from the mistakes in this game.

[Jester]

Our friends from the south have been throwing us a bone, folks.

 

Take note to the number of GA faithful that have politely advised us to be patient.  It’s takes time to develop into the program we think we should be today.  If parity hasn’t gone the way of the dodo already, it’s right on the threshold.  The rich have made themselves richer and GA has an abundance of wealth. 

 

It’s tough not to pile on with negative criticisms first thing on overreaction Sunday’s but we're being counseled by others that have been down this path to, “Hang in there, you got the right guy”.  I'm sure DL and his staff are going to be critical of themselves and grow as a coaching unit as the team develops as well.  

 

I have my thoughts on what I would like to have seen differently during the game, but perhaps I’m better served by staying in my lane and by just being a good team supporter.  After all, right now, that’s what our team needs. 

[SoGaDawg]

It’s not fair to blame Lanning or even Bo Nix for this loss.  From what I saw, this was a talent issue.  You could have had Saban coaching and Tom Brady at QB and the outcome probably wouldn’t be much different.  I am surprised with the outcome, but it puts things into perspective.  Things will get better, all is not lost.

[Nautique Duck]

Unfortunately, it doesn’t help that the man who knows our defense best besides our coaches just gave the blueprint to our competition on how to attack them. Passes to slots and running backs on the outside and let our bad tackling take care of itself. Only had to sprinkle in the TEs for a little bit, though they obviously could have done much more based on those successful TE plays. We’d better hope a significant amount of this glaring vulnerability was not knowing assignments or communication so we weren’t able to play fast and go after people. 

[1Ducker1]

On 9/4/2022 at 7:58 AM, SoGaDawg said:

It’s not fair to blame Lanning or even Bo Nix for this loss.  From what I saw, this was a talent issue.  You could have had Saban coaching and Tom Brady at QB and the outcome probably wouldn’t be much different.  I am surprised with the outcome, but it puts things into perspective.  Things will get better, all is not lost.

IF the talent is bad as we all saw -that will take years to fix

[Augduck]

On 9/4/2022 at 7:56 AM, Jester said:

Our friends from the south have been throwing us a bone, folks.

 

Take note to the number of GA faithful that have politely advised us to be patient.  It’s takes time to develop into the program we think we should be today.  If parity hasn’t gone the way of the dodo already, it’s right on the threshold.  The rich have made themselves richer and GA has an abundance of wealth. 

 

It’s tough not to pile on with negative criticisms first thing on overreaction Sunday’s but we're being counseled by others that have been down this path to, “Hang in there, you got the right guy”.  I'm sure DL and his staff are going to be critical of themselves and grow as a coaching unit as the team develops as well.  

 

I have my thoughts on what I would like to have seen differently during the game, but perhaps I’m better served by staying in my lane and by just being a good team supporter.  After all, right now, that’s what our team needs. 

Very well said.  Kudos to you for your sage and wise words.

[NJDuck]

I agree with what the one news feed said from Recruiting News found in the FishDuckFeed.  A couple comments from this feed.

 

"Smart said. He's relentless.  They'll bounce back from this and he knows we have better players.  He'll never say that, but he knows we've got better players."

 

"When Lanning gets his players developed, you'll see the level of execution we didn't see yesterday.  That doesn't happen with just one offseason.  There's a reason why we had so many incoming transfers to Georgia's 1.  Duck fans have to trust the process here."

 

"He's not wrong, the talent is on another level but talent mismatch is more like 38-17, not 49-3.  Definitely hit quicksand yesterday but difference is his players have been in the same system for years.  Building a program HIS way takes years.  Smart was 7-5 1st yr, Saban 6-6."

 

What also is interesting found in the article in the FishDuckFeed titled "Kirby Smart comments on talent gap between Georgia and Oregon - "UGA HC Kirby Smart says he and Dan Lanning will talk privately soon and share ideas on what they can get better at."

 

I firmly believe we have a talented coaching staff that was hired to lead our football team.  Dan Lanning's life and what he's been taught, what he has gone through in life, who he is as a person, this team will reflect and take on that type of personality with the mettle and determination that take's to be successful.

 

Eastern Washington for sure I would've chosen to ease into the season with, not Georgia.  This team will correct mistakes, bounce back, and move forward to the next game.  The first game of the season gives you the real time game experience that shows where your team is at.  it will be the teaching tool to improve upon for the next game up.  This one, I admit, was a dozy!

[Mic]

On 9/4/2022 at 8:45 AM, NJDuck said:

"Smart said. He's relentless.  They'll bounce back from this and he knows we have better players.  He'll never say that, but he knows we've got better players."

 

Better players and a very strong familiarity with the type of defense Lanning runs.  It shouldn't have come to us as such a surprise.

Edited September 4, 2022 by Mic

[Jester]

On 9/4/2022 at 11:10 AM, 1Ducker1 said:

IF the talent is bad as we all saw -that will take years to fix

It just might, 1Ducker1. Just depends what our aspirations are.  

 

I’m wondering how much of the recipe for growing a champion is not just in procuring 4 & 5* players, but in hand-picking the right kind of players for a specific system you want to implement.  Even that’s a delicate process, as I’m sure coaching philosophies organically evolve with experience to which our head coach has a whopping one game under his belt. 

 

That may be the time-consuming part of building a winner.   As has been stated numerous times, Mario didn’t leave the cupboard bare, but maybe those puzzle pieces don’t quite fit together when going-up against big-boy football teams, or when trying to be placed into schemes favored by the current regime.  Of course, there’s always the simple fact that DL hasn’t even been the coach for the equivalent of a full-term pregnancy yet, so what did we realistically expect to be accomplished by now.    

 

Time will tell, and I’ll just be looking for small victories (within the game) in the next couple of games.  Months ago, I stated this team will start the season 1-2 and given our performance, and that of BYU’s, I’d say that prediction is right on schedule.  However, that doesn’t mean the season will be a wash, and I do expect to see this team progress throughout the season.  This early season schedule was anything but kind to a new coaching staff.  Go Ducks! 

[GODUCKS15]

If the Ducks had kept the game close like 10 pts or so no one would be clamoring about meaningless issues.

Give the guy a break. 

[Mic]

On 9/4/2022 at 9:36 AM, GODUCKS15 said:

If the Ducks had kept the game close like 10 pts or so no one would be clamoring about meaningless issues.

Give the guy a break. 

LOL.  I think the vast majority of us couldn't care less about "meaningless issues".  There were much more important fish frying at the moment!

[Desert Duck]

On 9/3/2022 at 6:58 PM, Mic said:

We all knew Dan Lanning was reputed to be one of the game's bright, young minds making his way up the coaching ladder like a comet.  But with this loss, in front of a National TV audience, I think we are about to see what kind of stuff this young man is made of.  He has big task in front of him - rally a demoralized and thoroughly beaten team to make them competitive again.  He has less than one week to do that it. He's not alone in the task but he's the Leader, the Head Coach.

 

Welcome to the world of Head Coaching, Dan Lanning.  We're all pulling for you and for our Beloved Ducks. Go get 'em!

Great comment. At least at Oregon, Chip Kelly displayed some sizeable coconuts and rallied his team after his opening game coaching disaster. And at least Coach Lanning doesn't have to deal with his starting RB punching an opposing player in the jaw on live tv. 

[Mic]

On 9/4/2022 at 3:25 PM, Desert Duck said:

Great comment. At least at Oregon, Chip Kelly displayed some sizeable coconuts and rallied his team after his opening game coaching disaster. And at least Coach Lanning doesn't have to deal with his starting RB punching an opposing player in the jaw on live tv. 

Correct.  It was our whole team that got punched in the face by Georgia. 

[Fathertime]

Lanning looked fine to me. Knowing my 36 year old son he was probably pissed off to the moon.

 

Thank God he didn't show it.That's pretty classy.

 

I just wish for two things:

 

1. Irving to catch the ball out of the back field

 

2. Please teach the defense how to tackle.

[Fathertime]

I agree with Jester 1-2 after BYU is probably right.

I've seen worse and I will always make the trip from Sacramento to Eugene to watch them play.

I'm picking wine grapes this weekend, but I will see you all on the 17th for BYU.

 

[Desert Duck]

On 9/4/2022 at 5:16 PM, Mic said:

Correct.  It was our whole team that got punched in the face by Georgia. 

If there was a mercy rule in college, it definitely would have been hauled out yesterday.

[Mic]

On 9/4/2022 at 7:30 PM, Desert Duck said:

If there was a mercy rule in college, it definitely would have been hauled out yesterday.

The AP reported this morning that the loss to Georgia marks just the 2nd time a Top 25 ranked team ever gave up 7 straight TD's without a punt.  You're right, Kirby very likely could have made it 8.

[woundedknees]

On 9/3/2022 at 9:37 PM, Charles Fischer said:

You are very kind.

 

In the end...we've assembled a group of very nice people who are also die-hard Ducks.  Thank you!

Actually, we're a bunch of genteel, but deranged maniacs... we love our Ducks, with class!

[McDuck]

On 9/6/2022 at 8:44 AM, woundedknees said:

Actually, we're a bunch of genteel, but deranged maniacs... we love our Ducks, with class!

The correct term is deranged idiots, just ask Gene Bartow.

[David Marsh]

On 9/4/2022 at 8:10 AM, 1Ducker1 said:

IF the talent is bad as we all saw -that will take years to fix

I feel the talent we have needed a wake up call more than anything else. 

 

Sure we beat Ohio State last year and that was a big deal. But Ohio State's defense last year was soft and awful. Georgia was a better program than Ohio State last year and is probably a better program than Ohio State this year. 

 

Complacency has seeped into the program. The losses to Utah and Oklahoma last year can be easily excused away by a variety of factors, injuries, coaching changes and whatever else out there. 

 

Additionally... Lanning wants to de-recruit his players. Those stars don't mean anything anymore as they have to earn everything they want out of the college game. That part of his culture just got a major lift because our players got smacked by Georgia hard. By the sound of it yesterday with the first practice after the game, players have taken that to heart and are working harder in practice now. 

 

The talent we have needs to buy in and learn the culture and sometimes it takes a really awful defeat to get them on board. 

[Kurt Rambis]

I've seen a lot of posts of utter disappointment on here, which is entirely understandable.  I haven't seen a lot of "buyers' remorse" posts on here, which is laudable.  Unless a coach does something idiotic like punch a player or start throwing equipment onto the field, there should be no buyers' remorse after one game.  

 

Just like had we won 49 - 3, we couldn't exactly crown him as the next Bear Bryant.

 

Smart loves him, UGA fans love him, so far his players seem to love him, and certainly a lot of recruits love him.  He'll need time to get his feet under him, get all the assistants onto the same page, recruit his kind of players, and install his team culture and schemes.  

 

The sun actually came out this morning - probably even in Eugene.

[Desert Duck]

On 9/6/2022 at 8:51 AM, McDuck said:

The correct term is deranged idiots, just ask Gene Bartow.

Gene Bartow... now there a reference for an old guy (and I'm the old guy) 

Edited September 6, 2022 by Desert Duck

[Jon Sousa]

On 9/6/2022 at 10:42 AM, Desert Duck said:

Gene Bartow... now there a reference for an old guy (and I'm the old guy) 

The poor guy followed the Wizard of Westwood... IN Westwood. He took the team to the final 4 but failed to win the championship.

 

The fan base wanted his head, and he was gone not long after.

[DrJacksPlaidPants]

I’m not worried about Dan Lanning or the staff. I’m somewhat worried about the mental state of the players. Mostly the ones from last year’s team. They’ve lost 4 of the last 5 by an average of over 30 points. I don’t know why it’s happened, but one blowout is problematic. Two or three is a trend. I expect that they’ll win this weekend, but BYU will be a good test of where the team is mentally.

[Mic]

On 9/6/2022 at 5:29 PM, DrJacksPlaidPants said:

I’m not worried about Dan Lanning or the staff. I’m somewhat worried about the mental state of the players.

No, the staff are only 0-1.

 

If you consider the two losses by Oregon to Utah and now this one, Oregon has scored only 20 points while giving up 125 in just three contests!

 

Something is definitely wrong with the Offense which makes a suspect Defense even worse.  I wonder if this might be one reason why Travis Dye fled the coup for USC?

 

[GeorgiaDogs]

On 9/4/2022 at 12:20 AM, DuckCrazy said:

The play today was utterly disappointing! We had major issues tackling, coverage and running routes.

 

I am and always will be a Duck faithful, but I was embarrassed for our team, school and conference today.

 

Bo Nix has a horrible record against GA well the SEC in reality, by the end of the first quarter when it was glaringly apparent that Bo still was not up to the task, why on earth did we not give Thompson the opportunity to show what he’s capable of?

 

I honestly did not expect a W today but never imagined a loss like this. I’m left scratching my head with more questions than answers.

 

I’ll be in my seat in Autzen to cheer on my Ducks hoping that we’ve figured out what went wrong and remember who we are…. GO DUCKS!,,

Your D is not trash, UGA has a obsolete ballers on the OL, RB and TE’s that will all play on Sundays, and a scrappy undersized walk on QB who has been overlooked by all including the UGA fan base calling for a different QB when he tossed an incompletion last season. 

[GeorgiaDogs]

On 9/4/2022 at 8:16 PM, Fathertime said:

Lanning looked fine to me. Knowing my 36 year old son he was probably pissed off to the moon.

 

Thank God he didn't show it.That's pretty classy.

 

I just wish for two things:

 

1. Irving to catch the ball out of the back field

 

2. Please teach the defense how to tackle.

20 missed tackles according to pro football focus. 

[woundedknees]

On 9/6/2022 at 8:51 AM, McDuck said:

The correct term is deranged idiots, just ask Gene Bartow.

I remember, but question Bartow's personal qualification to pass that judgement... 

[Desert Duck]

On 9/6/2022 at 4:43 PM, Jon Sousa said:

The poor guy followed the Wizard of Westwood... IN Westwood. He took the team to the final 4 but failed to win the championship.

 

The fan base wanted his head, and he was gone not long after.

I remember him well. After Oregon beat then #3 UCLA in Eugene, the Oregon fans were so wild that he was famously quoted as calling us "Deranged Idiots."

 

I think it was about the greatest compliment he could have ever paid Duck fans. Shirts and buttons were printed up with the quote. 

 

Obviously, it doesn't matter if God had come in after John Wooden to coach UCLA... It was the ultimate no-win situation. I just looked and Bartow went 52-9 in his two seasons as UCLA head coach... and was promptly fired. 

 

Bartow was a very good basketball coach too. Following his two seasons as HC at UCLA, in his 18 seasons as HC at UAB, he never had a losing season.

 

Edited September 10, 2022 by Desert Duck