Do We Judge Dan Lanning for This?

[Mic]

No, I'm not speaking of the tough loss last night.  

 

I'm speaking for the lack of performance we've witnessed from our backup QB's to this point in the season.  I know Dilly's the O.C. and (correct me if I'm wrong) QB coach.  Not Dan.  But what 'grade' do we give DL for what we all watched last night when TT finally got his chance, with the ball game on the line, to do .... almost nothing?  Is it a lack of preparation, mentally and physically?

 

This is not meant to be a personal attack on any of the men mentioned here, including TT.  I would never attack a Duck personally - it's not our right or privilege to do that.  I'm a huge fan of OBD and our HC & OC both.

[The Kamikaze Kid]

TT seems like a nice kid and I wish him good luck in life but out on the field, that's just what he looks like, a nice kid. I haven't seen the slightest spark of competitive fire. I've been a big fan of most of Lanning and Dilly's decisions but I think it's time to move on and give Butterfield a look.

[Flaps2]

TT has had plenty of time under two staffs now. He’s a bust. 

[Mic]

On 11/13/2022 at 3:35 PM, Flaps2 said:

TT has had plenty of time under two staffs now. He’s a bust. 

But the question is why is TT (or Jay Butterfield for that matter) not ready to step up when needed?  Remember, the Next Man Up mantra.  What has Lanning not done, if anything, to not have a backup QB with 5-stars affixed to his name ready to lead his team when needed?

[OceaniaDuck]

Having no backup at QB that is prepared to step in and play competently when the starting QB goes down has been the Ducks Achilles heel for as long as I can remember. I cringed whenever I saw Bo Nix being used constantly on QB keeper plays, and unfortunately our worst nightmare came true in the 4th quarter at a critical juncture in a close game. I was thinking to myself as I was watching the game that KD needs to limit using Nix on those types of plays as that increases his chance of being injured.

 

I'm not sure what it is that the Ducks seem to always have no prepared backup QB to call on when needed.  That's another vicious cycle that maybe DL can break as he makes his assessments when it comes to game planning and preparation. As for TT, I think his time at Oregon is done - maybe he just needs to enter the transfer portal and maybe a fresh start at another program may somehow rejuvenate the fire in that kid. Also time to give Jay Butterfield a look and see how he does in actual game situations. Also, hoping Bo Nix will be ok.

Edited November 14, 2022 by OceaniaDuck

[Flaps2]

On 11/13/2022 at 4:20 PM, Mic said:

But the question is why is TT (or Jay Butterfield for that matter) not ready to step up when needed?  Remember, the Next Man Up mantra.  What has Lanning not done, if anything, to not have a backup QB with 5-stars affixed to his name ready to lead his team when needed?

Perhaps he's not very coach able. Perhaps he simply doesn't have the "IT" factor the way 5 star Spencer Rattler got overtaken by freshman Caleb Williams at Oklahoma. Spencer is still a horrible quarterback at South Carolina after transferring from Oklahoma. 247 talent evaluators don't always get it right. If you go and analyze the recruiting rankings going back 15 years you will see plenty of 5 stars who never panned out.

[GODUCKS15]

I'm not going to judge DL on Ty's seemingly inability to light a fire to his own arse. 

 

I see nothing any different than what went on under Mario. I still can't figure Ty out. Is he overwhelmed or just really laid back?

 

What else could DL have done after being hired? He brought Bo in but could he of brought in another backup? Since he didn't that would tell me that in practice Ty must not be all that bad. 

 

It would be interesting to get an insiders opinion on what Ty really looks like in practice.

 

One thing for sure, we may find out in one of the next 2 games whether Ty's any good or not if Bo keeps running the ball.

[woundedknees]

It's not like Oregon never had a serviceable backup... There was a time when it was not unusual for there to be at least one decent backup/potential replacement on the squad under both Belloti and Brooks, but the ability to identify and keep those player around has gone downhill significantly over the time since Oregon became relevant in the upper echelons of FBS football.

[Mic]

We know Utah smells blood in the water.  We know Utah is a very good team and we know Utah beat us badly twice last year.  If Nix can't play at or near 100% then Ty Thompson has to Man-up and bring whatever game he has to try and help his team win what's going to be a real tough fight.

 

I'm not confident at this point that Lanning & Co. have him (or anyone else) ready.  If I'm wrong I'll be the 1st to apologize to the FishDuck forum & fans.  If I'm right, next Saturday could be a real ass-whooping at the hands of the Utes.  And then there's the Beavers waiting for the leftovers.

[JMac]

Super disappointed with TT. Loss wasn’t on him, but dude, the team could have used an ounce of effort. His downs were scripted, but that doesn’t mean he had to telegraph them like he did. Unreal.  

[Feathers]

The husky’s knew Ty was not gong to throw or run.  They did not need a script.

[Nevada Dawg]

My Dawgs had he same problem 3-4 years ago when supposed all-world freshman QB Justin Fields backed  up Jake Fromm and was not properly prepared to truly step in and lead the team. When he did get in, Justin's plays were limited to calls from the booth and the kid looked like a deer in the headlights, kinda like TT on Saturday.. In my opinion with  Justin, this was a coaching problem, not a player problem.

 

Justin saw the handwriting on the wall and transferred to Ohio State, where the very next year he played like an All-American. It could be that TT is a lot less talented than Justin Fields. But it also might be that the kid has to leave Eugene for a true chance to  display whatever talents he possesses. 

 

[Kurt Rambis]

HS to college is a lot like college to pro - drafting and recruiting are both all about projections.  A star in HS/college may not have what it takes to make the next level - mentally, physically, emotionally - or he may get distracted.  Scouts and recruiters are projecting that a guy has the chance to be really good, but it's nothing more than an educated guess.

 

A few weeks ago in another thread, I posted some research about the top 10 HS QBs for each of the past 5 years or something like that, and around half of them were either backups, complete flops, or struggling badly.  The NFL spends far more money on scouting than colleges spend on recruiting, and about half the first-rounders never pan out.  Heck, many of the guys in the top 3 - Russell Maryland, Ryan Leaf, LaMarcus Russell, Trent Richardson, Tim Couch, Tony Mandarich - end up being mediocre players or total busts.

 

If TT had been great under MC, then I think you'd have to look at what the coaches this year are doing or how they're handling/preparing him.  But what have we ever seen that gives us the idea he's our next starting QB?  It's pretty hard to blame the OC or HC for a player they inherited who has never shown game performance.  And it's pretty hard to blame them for not bringing in another QB in the transfer portal - I mean, really, who's going to come in when the pitch is "We need an experienced backup - never mind the two 5-stars and the one 4-star we already have"?   

[noDucknewby]

Lanning inherited this QB situation and brought in Nix, who has been an unqualified success this year.  It' a big ask to go from no serviceable QBs to a star and a good backup in one off-season.

[Mic]

On 11/14/2022 at 7:52 AM, noDucknewby said:

Lanning inherited this QB situation and brought in Nix, who has been an unqualified success this year.  It' a big ask to go from no serviceable QBs to a star and a good backup in one off-season.

Understand.  Agree.  But isn't it the duty of the Head Coach (in conjunction with the O.C/QB coach) to make sure there's at least ONE good backup ready to go with the full offense and not just bland, no-risk handoffs?  Clearly, UW seemed to know every play from TT was going to be a handoff to the back and they were ready and waiting.  The falloff from Bo to Ty was like falling off a cliff.  A high cliff.  The backup's play chart looks like it has 2 plays.

 

Still, I'm only asking the question.  I don't blame the loss on this.  The Pass Def is so dismal that O was going to be playing from behind most of the game.  And they were.  Then when they did get ahead, they couldn't stay there.

[Annie]

When Lanning first got here he said something along the lines of the bamboo plant, and how over time you'll water that plant every single day, and at times you don't see the growth. It hasn't come out of the ground. But at some point that plant breaks ground and it grows exponentially. And I think 5 years was mentioned as the time it would break the ground and grow.

 

Take away the GA game, and the Ducks started off exceeding that kind of expectation. I'm certainly hoping we'll still see good Duck football and more victories this year, but, really, I think the hope/expectation that the Ducks would make the playoffs Lanning's first year was always a bit over-optimistic.

[noDucknewby]

On 11/14/2022 at 7:59 AM, Mic said:

Understand.  Agree.  But isn't it the duty of the Head Coach (in conjunction with the O.C/QB coach) to make sure there's at least ONE good backup ready to go with the full offense and not just bland, no-risk handoffs?  Clearly, UW seemed to know every play from TT was going to be a handoff to the back and they were ready and waiting.  The falloff from Bo to Ty was like falling off a cliff.  A high cliff.  The backup's play chart looks like it has 2 plays.

 

Still, I'm only asking the question.  I don't blame the loss on this.  The Pass Def is so dismal that O was going to be playing from behind most of the game.  And they were.  Then when they did get ahead, they couldn't stay there.

Yeah it's a fair question, DL is being held to a high standard.  What I don't understand is why Butters hasn't taken a single snap in garbage time despite how poorly TT has looked.  Butters looked to me like he outperformed TT in the spring game.

[DuckFan93]

The 4th-down fail was entirely on the coaches.  If they were going to gamble, why NOT gamble with the play-calling and have TT run around the pile, instead of asking Whittington to slip up the middle?   So many mistakes in that Q4...

[Pennsylvania Duck]

It one was only looking at the stats, the 4th down play looked good. However, the problem was we had TT in.

Click to enlarge chart...

 

[Haywarduck]

On 11/13/2022 at 10:32 PM, Nevada Dawg said:

My Dawgs had he same problem 3-4 years ago when supposed all-world freshman QB Justin Fields backed  up Jake Fromm and was not properly prepared to truly step in and lead the team. When he did get in, Justin's plays were limited to calls from the booth and the kid looked like a deer in the headlights, kinda like TT on Saturday.. In my opinion with  Justin, this was a coaching problem, not a player problem.

 

Justin saw the handwriting on the wall and transferred to Ohio State, where the very next year he played like an All-American. It could be that TT is a lot less talented than Justin Fields. But it also might be that the kid has to leave Eugene for a true chance to  display whatever talents he possesses. 

 

Great perspective, I hope everyone reads this take. For some reason, much like the 4th down play, Ty isn't being given much of a shot at leading the team.

 

Every qb plays differently after a sprint out to the side and a run down the field and maybe taking a hit. They also play differently when they get a shot at  a fuller playbook. Ty was given a set of plays the dawgs knew all about.

 

I don't put this failure on Ty or Noah. It was either Dilly or Dan who went full MariØ mode on our offense when Ty went in.

[Mic]

On 11/14/2022 at 8:56 AM, noDucknewby said:

Yeah it's a fair question, DL is being held to a high standard.  What I don't understand is why Butters hasn't taken a single snap in garbage time despite how poorly TT has looked.  Butters looked to me like he outperformed TT in the spring game.

You're not the only one wondering why Butterfield hasn't seen the field yet.  We're trusting Dan Lanning to know what he's doing - but it's beginning to worry a lot of us.  What happens if Bo can't go?