Mike West No. 1 Share Posted February 27, 2021 What if the coaching staff was NFL elite caliber. Could we win a Natty? What if we had our current staff and NFL caliber talent on every unit. Would we claim our first title? In my mind, Chip’s best teams were SEC elite caliber (all 3 of them). But Helf had better talent (sans injuries in the title game). What if we had every star aligned? Every planet in the solar system lined up. Would we win it all? What I’m really interested in knowing from this group of knights at the round table is: what is it really going to take to win a title? And what can make it happen this year? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 2 Share Posted February 27, 2021 No, I do not think an NFL coaching staff is needed, as the one the best staffs ever was under Bellotti/Kelly. The running back and offensive line coach outperformed what we have now and I would take both back in a heartbeat. If you want an NFL type coaching staff, go look into the bios of Arizona State right here. Very impressive, and yet...not so with success. A big part of success is talent and in the last three years....a period that Herm Edwards, Chip and Mario were working--look at the number of four and five star players recruited according to Rivals.com is as following: UCLA 10 Arizona State 15 Oregon 44 We will have the talent advantage maturing in the future, but Cristobal has a number of lessons he has to learn the hard way yet, and they will take the form of costly losses. (Losing the ASU in 2019 along with OSU and Cal in 2020 is not enough with his stubbornness) I believe Oregon can prevail when these lessons are learned. "Mario....do what you are good at ... be the CEO and let your assistants do their job." So no...there is not enough senior leadership at key positions, and at the most important position, QB. Coaching is still in doubt for a run in 2021, IMHO. And Mike....we may disagree, but it is great to see you posting again! Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake Moderator No. 3 Share Posted February 27, 2021 To win a championship will require talented players, solid coaches, and decent luck avoiding injuries to key players during the season. Perhaps a schedule where our most difficult competition has to face us at Autzen Stadium. I think coaching is very important, but you must have talented players to coach. On offense, we will need someone talented enough to be mentioned as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate. I am not sure we have that this year. On Defense, the coach needs to figure out how to unleash the talented roster he inherits. Bill Belichick (good coach) didn’t forget how to coach last season, he just didn’t have the personnel/talent to make a run into the playoffs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 4 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Number one and two is you have to work really hard because you can't recruit to Oregon, right? Competing against schools with elite talent in their backyards is a tough task and too hard for most staffs. I guess we have this one and now we have to wait for the kids to mature into a team. The next one is you have to have some consistency in staff. Oregon needs great coaching, but we also need time with the staff to instill their scheme and expectations. This season has a chance with a spring season, summer training and fall camp. Last season was a mess with new staff and little time to train together. I also think hiring our new DC and one of his old staff was brilliant. You not only have to get the players on board, but staff too. With Moorhead he inherited the pistol and had to incorporate this into his system. A coordinator needs control of the product. With the defense Cristobal seems to understand how it works, on offense, I am not so sure. Lastly the planets have to line up just right. I am not sure what the formation of the planets needs to be, but we haven't seen it yet, close, but the planets still need to move a little bit to make it work. Oh and the last item is an elite qb needs to rise up and take over. We can't win with this RB group, and a qb who isn't the man who can lead a team on the field. What I actually want to see is a qb who can audible. I want to hear the qb yell 'Omaha' at the line of scrimmage! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nogerO No. 5 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Until we figure out how to stop third and long situations regularly we never will. I can't even count the number of times I've said aloud, "well it's third and long, they've got us right where they want us. Absolutely intolerable track record in this regard. PRESSURE. PRESSURE, PRESSURE. Pressure on defense is the key to winning any game in almost any team sport you care to name. Stop the damned prevent defense in those situations and Blitz the hell out of them and make them throw it quickly. We have the people to do it. This getting to be a broken record. Anyway, GO Ducks!!! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie No. 6 Share Posted February 27, 2021 38 minutes ago, nogerO said: Until we figure out how to stop third and long situations regularly we never will. I can't even count the number of times I've said aloud, "well it's third and long, they've got us right where they want us. Absolutely intolerable track record in this regard. PRESSURE. PRESSURE, PRESSURE. Pressure on defense is the key to winning any game in almost any team sport you care to name. Stop the damned prevent defense in those situations and Blitz the hell out of them and make them throw it quickly. We have the people to do it. This getting to be a broken record. Anyway, GO Ducks!!! I'm probably just being nostalgic, but I do have fond memories of Aliotti's bend-don't-break defense. Yes, the opposing teams often seemed to zip right down to the 20-yard line--but then one of three things usually happened. 1) The Ducks would create a fumble and recover the ball. 2) The Ducks would intercept the ball. Or 3) The Ducks would hold the opponent to a field goal. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicoDuck No. 7 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Talent-wise the Ducks are not there yet. They're inching closer, but are still a ways off. The Alabama's, Clemson's, LSU's, Ohio State's of the College football world still win the Recruiting Sweepstakes year-in and Year-out. Talent matters. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck No. 8 Share Posted February 27, 2021 I'll have to disagree with the "What if" here. Oregon had the championship, and not only looking through green & yellow tinted lenses, in 2007, until their presumptive Heisman winning quarterback crumpled to the field in Arizona. Even winning the Heisman didn't make Dixon NFL caliber, Jonathan Stewart was. This was not a roster full of NFL talent. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake Moderator No. 9 Share Posted February 27, 2021 6 hours ago, nogerO said: Until we figure out how to stop third and long situations regularly we never will. I can't even count the number of times I've said aloud, "well it's third and long, they've got us right where they want us. Absolutely intolerable track record in this regard. PRESSURE. PRESSURE, PRESSURE. Pressure on defense is the key to winning any game in almost any team sport you care to name. Stop the damned prevent defense in those situations and Blitz the hell out of them and make them throw it quickly. We have the people to do it. This getting to be a broken record. Anyway, GO Ducks!!! Maybe something like this? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike West Author No. 10 Share Posted February 28, 2021 20 hours ago, 30Duck said: I'll have to disagree with the "What if" here. Oregon had the championship, and not only looking through green & yellow tinted lenses, in 2007, until their presumptive Heisman winning quarterback crumpled to the field in Arizona. Even winning the Heisman didn't make Dixon NFL caliber, Jonathan Stewart was. This was not a roster full of NFL talent. OMG 30, You are the only one to bring that up. One other thing, that year, TWELVE STARTERS WERE LOST TO INJURY, and we were down to our third string QB two games after Dixon fell to the ground in Arizona. THAT team was almost as talented (but not as deep) as Pete Carroll’s 2002 through 2006 teams. Somebody brought up luck...I believe Bama beats Joe Burrow’s LSU had Tua stayed healthy. Or even if Mac Jones’ pass was thrown properly in the end zone to bring Bama all the way back. Luck matters. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDucksFan No. 11 Share Posted February 28, 2021 5 hours ago, Mike West said: Somebody brought up luck...I believe Bama beats Joe Burrow’s LSU had Tua stayed healthy. Or even if Mac Jones’ pass was thrown properly in the end zone to bring Bama all the way back. Luck matters. The old saying "I'ed rather be lucky then good" is so true. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanLduck No. 12 Share Posted February 28, 2021 When you're good, you're lucky. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haywarduck Moderator No. 13 Share Posted February 28, 2021 I firmly believe luck is all about opportunity meeting preparation. That is why I loved CK's next man up mantra. Everybody has to be prepared to win. A good friend and amazing salesmen loved to say 'no' was a great starting point to work from. You don't look for and expect a yes, you work from failure and then work harder toward success. This is also why I want to see a tough qb competition where there are two guys who know they got a fair shot and are the next guys up. Mac Jones didn't just turn tail when he wasn't the starter. He held for field goals and worked his tail off. Our luck will happen when we have a strong team of players, starters and next men up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Charles No. 14 Share Posted March 1, 2021 Bad luck certainly played a part in denying the Ducks the National Championship in 2015. If Mariota, the best college football player in the country that year, had even a couple of his better receivers, I'm convinced we win it all vs. Ohio State. Before the season started, Bralon Addison goes out with a torn ACL. In November, the Ducks lose their best tight end Pharaoh Brown to a gruesome leg injury vs. Utah. Despite losing speedy wide receiver Devon Allen on the opening kick-off of the semi-final playoff game at the Rose Bowl to a torn ACL, Oregon annihilates an FSU team that hadn't lost a game in 2 years. Mariota's featured receiver in that game was Darren Carrington, who had 7 receptions for 169 yards. And the week leading up to the Natty? Darren Carrington failed an NCAA administered drug test and did not make the trip to Texas. Bleacher Report summed it up well: "Wide receiver Darren Carrington, perhaps Oregon's hottest offensive weapon, has been suspended after failing an NCAA-administered drug test and did not travel with the team to Texas. Now, without Carrington, who has 37 catches for 704 yards and four touchdowns this season, Oregon's wide receiver corps is very thin. The Ducks have been fighting an uphill battle all season long in terms of depth across their receiving corps. Oregon lost its most prolific returning receiver, Bralon Addison, in April to an ACL tear. In November, against Utah, the Ducks lost their best tight end, Pharaoh Brown, to a gruesome leg injury. Most recently, Oregon's most reliable and fastest receiver, Devon Allen, was lost for the year after injuring his knee on the opening kick of the Rose Bowl." I can't deny it, luck most definitely plays a part in winning a national championship, and bad luck most likely cost us one in 2015. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
