FishDuck Article Administrator No. 1 Share Posted January 4, 2023 Dan Lanning had a strong first year for a first-time head coach, going 10-3. However, it fell short of what he can actually achieve, and there are some glaring holes in this Oregon program that must be addressed if this team is going to ever reach the College Football Playoff again to compete for a National Championship. Replacing Matt Powledge ... Building Lanning's Defense: Off-Season Problems to Fix FISHDUCK.COM Dan Lanning had a strong first year for a first-time head coach, going 10-3. However, it fell short of what he can actually achieve, and there are... 2 Two Sites: FishDuck and the Our Beloved Ducks forum, The only "Forum with Decorum!" And All-Volunteer? What a wonderful community of Duck fans! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Haulin No. 2 Share Posted January 4, 2023 By year 3, Lannings defense is going to be a force. We don't need the D to be Georgia next year. Just better than they were this year. With the offense Oregon will put on the field next year and marked improvement from the D, Ducks could easily find their way into CFP. Glass is half full. Lanning will be in year two as a HC. That alone will make him better. A lot of the players will be in 2nd year of defensive philosophy and scheme, again, better. Huge recruiting and portal success. I really enjoyed this year. Few bumps along the way were painful but this team exceeded my expectations. Love watching the process as Lanning "rebuilds" the Ducks is exciting. The Holiday Bowl performance has me excited for what is to come the next few years. Go Ducks! 2 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXDuck No. 3 Share Posted January 4, 2023 Excellent article by David! We all knew the team had some gaps (in some case truck sized holes) that needed to be addressed. I said in a previous post that Lanning didn’t have the players needed for his defense to be effective. That was a poor choice of words, I should have said “doesn’t have ALL the players he needs for his defense to be effective”. I think with the players he “encouraged” to leave and backfilling those opening with his style of players was the first step. He is making the moves needed to implement his vision of what this team should look like both on and off the field. We (I say that as if you all know and like me!) have to be patient with this rebuild. As fans and a society we want everything now, this just isn’t reality. We need to set high expectations but also realize that quality takes time and as long as we continue to see improvements and progress forward, that’s a win. Mario really came in like a storm and set some very high expectations. The problem was he never met those… he met his personal expectation of building a beast of an offensive line but treated the remaining players as bit players there to highlight his O line. I know you have all heard this before but it still rings true today “Rome was not built in a day” and Lanning is building a Rome quality program in Oregon. Did Rome eventually fall? Sure did, but it had one hell of a run to the likes nobody has again seen to this day. Lanning is making the moves and acquiring the parts he needs to both fill the gaps and build the team he envisions in his mind. We as fans need to give him room, support the crap out of him and enjoy where we’re going! I fully believe once we arrive (2023 or 2024) this will be an Oregon team we and the nation have NEVER seen the likes of! Go Ducks! 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 4 Share Posted January 4, 2023 The most important player on the field this season was Bo Nix. From the spring game on you could see he commanded the offense. He made everyone better, even Dilly. On the defensive side of the ball there was no Bo Nix. We had no Troy Dye, leading with heart, savvy, and guts. We just had unfulfilled talent galore. I hope most of that was too many players who weren't on board with Lanning, nor fit what he wanted on the field. With the turnover of players we should see a shift to what Lanning wants to see. The question of coaches is also an interesting one. It will be interesting to see how Lanning adjusts that too. There definitely seemed to be some disfunction going on from the sideline to the field. That is a challenge Lanning needs to show he is up too. I do want to comment on the picture I am looking at as background for my comment. There is a lot there, but it is superb with Cota waving emotional respect, love to the crowd, including Justin and Phil Knight. That is some great photography! 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Ducky No. 5 Share Posted January 4, 2023 Hayward is correct that our defense has been underwhelming since Dye left. Even with all the star power MarinoD brought in we seemed to regress on D and Utah exposed it rather emphatically. I can’t imagine what Johnathan Smith might have done with that talent, he has built a solid D with far less. With the group we have coming in and a talent laden secondary we have in place I expect DL will make this defense quite adequate to contend for at least the pack 1? Championship. The addition of a consistent pass rush, however, is imperative. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDuck No. 6 Share Posted January 4, 2023 The comparison to the beavers is a good one, their head coach is an offensive guy, his defensive assistants must be pretty good. They have recruited only a couple of players above the 3 star level going back years. We have far superior talent, so it must have something to do with coaching and player development. Mari showed over 4 years very little of the latter except with the O-line. Lanning just needs a year or two and recruiting his guys. As someone said above, Rome was not built in a day and I agree, and expect a big improvement on D in 2023! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 7 Share Posted January 4, 2023 Building some coaching consistency is going to be a big deal for Lanning to do over time. Right now he is only looking at two coaches leaving and two new hires as coaches which is a decent start. I think Lanning will have Stein for a few years before he goes off to pursue a head coaching job. As for Lupoi, it is difficult to say how long Lanning will hold onto him for, he doesn't strike me as a guy who has head coaching aspirations because if that was his goal I'm sure he could have gotten a head coaching job somewhere by now. But the new defensive coach coming in for Powledge is someone that it would be nice for Lanning to hold onto for a few years. During the Cristobal era there was too much turnover from year to year. Someone like Saban can get away with it because he is a veteran head coach and also perhaps the best college football coach of all time, he has a concrete vision of what he wants out of his teams and he knows how to hire the people to enable that vision. Cristobal, not so much on any of those fronts and it showed over time. Lanning needs to build some coaching consistency because with bringing in the talent that they are so far they can't afford for that talent to get wasted and the other big thing is to only expect a good portion of that talent to only want to stick around for three years before they go to the NFL. So there will be a constant churn of players (especially with the transfer portal) and it would be easier to ensure their productivity if the team has coaching consistency from year to year. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lownslowav8r No. 8 Share Posted January 4, 2023 The DL/ED recruits coming in are about 95% “blue chip.” If there isn’t marked improvement by mid-season next year then the problem is coaching and development. I admit to not being as optimistic as many of you. This year, even with players that weren’t optimal there should have been some improvement, which I didn’t see. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUCati855 Moderator No. 9 Share Posted January 4, 2023 As Haywarduck alluded to. There has not been a defensive "field general" since Troy Dye. I loved Noah. But, he was not a true leader IMO. He lacked understanding of the entire defense. Hopefully one of our returning players (or a transfer) can become the field general this defense needs. Obviously we need coaches to develop the young guys and teach the scheme. But, having a true leader out on defense would go a long way in getting this team over the hump from good to great. There is nothing like getting an earful while out on the field from someone you respect. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 10 Share Posted January 4, 2023 On 1/4/2023 at 7:03 AM, Haywarduck said: There is a lot there, but it is superb with Cota waving emotional respect, love to the crowd, including Justin and Phil Knight. Actually that was taken by the FishDuck photographer immediately after Cota caught the winning touchdown. It was more of his own personal celebration, but I don't have a problem with that. Over half the people who read this forum are on mobile, and do not see the background pictures I line up due to spacing issues on mobile. It is a shame, as there have been some dandy ones and will be more in the off-season. 2 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 11 Share Posted January 4, 2023 On 1/4/2023 at 9:01 AM, lownslowav8r said: If there isn’t marked improvement by mid-season next year then the problem is coaching and development. I don't think we will get that from freshmen; portal transfers--possibly, but I think this is a longer term overall then we would prefer. (But it will be worth it) I have some theories I will be writing about in the off-season... 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woundedknees No. 12 Share Posted January 4, 2023 Troy DYE, Michael Clay, Kiko Alonso, one player of that level and heart could have made a huge difference this season. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 13 Share Posted January 4, 2023 Trying to find a field general is going to be tough and I'm not even sure who is on the team right now who is going to step into that role. Usually a player like that steps onto the field and just takes that role without being asked. Maybe we see someone step up by spring. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Fan 76 No. 14 Share Posted January 4, 2023 On 1/4/2023 at 12:22 PM, David Marsh said: Trying to find a field general is going to be tough and I'm not even sure who is on the team right now who is going to step into that role. You said it right I think, trying to find a field general for the defense is tough so we might have to make them. We need a player on the defense that does what Bo does for the offense which is to diagnose situations, make adjustments and synchronize the offensive play. With Powledge leaving I hope the program sees an opportunity to find a coach that has a great defensive mind and excels in player development. Specifically we need a coach that can diagnose offensive adjustments and make the necessary counter adjustments. Sometimes the linebackers are the field generals but I happen to think the vision afforded to the safety position is best postured to make on field adjustments and synchronize the defense. I would love to see Oregon bring in a coach that can grow that skillset in our safeties... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake Moderator No. 15 Share Posted January 4, 2023 Shifting gears into a 4-2-5 defense created issues for the team this year. The defense has numbers inside the box, good for running plays, but it requires the OLB/S hybrid player. That position needs players with decent size, speed, and intelligence. The OLB/S hybrid position needs to be the field generals helping the defense make adjustments as the offense comes to the line of scrimmage. They should be some of our best athletes. Our defense will improve just by players being more familiar with running it next year. We are bringing in some defensive players that will have an impact, but it will take time for the new recruits to be game ready. When this defense finally has nasty DTs that require extra attention, outstanding edge players, OLB/S hybrid guys, tall and fast DBs, that’s when you start to have a “Georgia” type defense. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas Man No. 16 Share Posted January 5, 2023 Watching OSU obliterate us without a single pass in the fourth quarter was truly astounding. Numbers in the box did a little too slow down their rushing game. Contrast that with North Carolina making minor adjustments in the holiday bowl and our running game virtually disappeared. Go figure! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Haulin No. 17 Share Posted January 5, 2023 I remember last spring game. Popo Aumavae was an absolute Dude. He was on pace to become a Duck legend. Then he got hurt. Hoping Popo picks up where he left off before he got hurt. If so, he could be the game changer Ducks are looking for. As a 6th year senior he could fill part of the leadership role. If you have forgotten about Popo, Hopefully this spring he reminds us all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
