David Marsh

Let me just drop this in here... It's my rant from the off season about the SEC. https://marshduck.substack.com/p/the-secs-bluster-ignores-their-privilege?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=8foswi

The group feels like they are settling down and building chemistry. They get a bye this week to continue to build. I think building in more blockers at times helped stabilize them. It doesn't need to be a whole season thing but helping them get their legs is a big deal. Especially when other teams feel they can target that unit and rush them.

And if that's the case... Dan needs to go portal shopping. It's worked for us before so I am less concerned than I used to be about the matter.

USC has better athletes (probably more of their roster will go to the NFL) but UCLA is better coached for sure. In this case the better coached team is the more dangerous.

A little more Dylan Raiola love this Monday morning. Raiola Fits This Oregon OffenseDylan Raiola is the type of quarterback needed to run Dan Lanning’s efficiency based offense.

Puts their body in harms way... They'll be hit for sure. However, their head would be higher in the tackle and probably not hit.

Hmmm... Pass... I mean I wasn't a fan of the grateful dead ones last year but I respect the history they were paying hommage to. Maybe I'll change my mind if I know if these are connected to a theme.

This is something. Remember under the new targeting rules for the first infraction a player sits out the rest of the game (regardless of when it happens) and then is good to go in the next game. USC was backed into a corner over the behavior that they needed to get out ahead of this with a suspension. It's too little too late in many regards. If that sort of thing happened on this Oregon team I would hope Lanning would just kick that player to the locker room immediately for that kind of behavior. Riley let him hang out on the sideline. Remember targeting does not lead to ejection anymore as well. This was the least they could do to save face.... Or at least start to clean their face.

And there was supposed to be greater focus on unsportsmanlike actions this season. At least based on the rules changes where they said they would be focusing more on unsportsmanlike behavior. But I suppose that's optional.

I think the Oregon D stiffened up knowing that it was all going to pretty much be passing plays and they were unlikely to get the plays that were murdering them... the quick dump offs behind the LoS. Those dump offs were absolutely the thing keeping USC going.

You take the hit as it was and subtract the post hit celebration and it's just a hard hitting targeting penalty. We'd still be talking about it but not as much. It would be a "that's a brutal hit and it's football so that happens. Hope Dante is ok. That was clearly targeting" And that would mostly be the end of it. But with the celebration it also denotes some element of intent in the play. We still cannot prove it as I noted in my article... But the celebration towards the Oregon sideline, followed by the communal celebration on the Trojan sideline, I didn't see coaches talk to Stephens either but that comes down the cameras... All of those celebrations make it feel like this was intentional. That the drive was to hit Dante and take him out of the game. Hoping for the best for Dante.

The more I think about it and also the incredible points Mike West brought up earlier this week... I think a change in scheme could fix a lot of these problems. We saw some great flashes of player talent... We saw what happens when the Ducks rush 5! Good things generally happen is what! Four rushing need to fight off too many bodies to get to the quarterback. The back end struggled to keep contain for so long... Speed up the quarterback and the back end has a chance. Simplify some concepts and roles and make communication easier. There are a lot of specialized pieces in this defense for sure.

Some thoughts after the game. Enjoy! Quick Quack: Oregon v USCSome quick thoughts after the game.

That should be targeting and unsportsmanlike on the same player.

Because he doesn't... He doesn't go through progressions. He either predetermines where the ball is going pre snap or he dumbs it off for something short. Rarely is it anything else.

Dante still missing open receivers. Dak was past the chains and fairly open.

Thank you Mike, I think in large part it comes down to the Lanning bubble. Lanning has become comfortable with his coaches and what he wants. He promotes GAs from within instead of doing sweeping coaching hires. He promoted his two coordinators instead of doing a national search. He knows what he wants and isn't looking for new ideas. They play to their tendencies because that is what they can do and there aren't enough new ideas or experience in the room to do otherwise. I feel Lanning will be confronted with the need to make changes at the end of the season. I don't see how the Ducks this year can make it to the National Championship game if they stay the course. Now that's not to say the Ducks can't make the playoff, they have a ton of talent and that talent is why the Ducks were IN the game in the fourth quarter against Oklahoma State. If not for that talent it would have been a blow out because they got downright out-coached. It will be perhaps the hardest lesson Lanning will have to learn but if he can figure it out quickly it will be better for all of us.

The two positions were are absolutely LOADED with talent are at Wide Receiver and Runningback. BOTH were outside hires who were established position coaches, both are young but had track records of success before coming to Oregon. A'lique Terry on the offensive line was a grad assistant at Oregon who left for a position role else where and returned. I think we all have questions about Terry because on the one had we have this offensive line mess this year. However, he has also managed to put together a few Joe Moore award finalists at offensive line. There are some older guys as analysts on staff but the analysts tend not to stand on the sideline on game day. Again I'm not calling for anyone to be fired at this time but at the end of the season if the Ducks fail to make the playoff, get blown out and out coached in an important game, or just fail to reach the goal (which is a high goal of the National Championship). I do believe then these questions about Lanning's staff need to be answered by Lanning.

At this time I don't think we can have a full view of what the coordinators are capable of as our sample size is three. The system is still Lanning's system and I think it has some problems and needs a fresh set of ideas in it but we don't know enough yet to say who should stay and who should go... but I do feel at the end of the season these should be some real questions that need answers.

I don't think Lanning has ever fired a coach. Some have moved on, most of that initial coaching staff has moved on to greener pastures. Three are now head coaches! Which is great. I don't feel like this young coaching staff is going to get the job done for the end goal. I hate to say it but this year has/had a bit of a Natty of bust feel to it, rightly or wrongly. I think all these young coaches will grow this year and they will be better than where they started. But at the end of the day a first or second year teacher is not going to be nearly as good as an average 10+ year vet. I'm not calling for the firing of any coaches at this time but I feel Lanning needs to evaluate his staff at the end of this season. If we win a National Championship then he has done something incredible if we don't and there are questions that need addressing and at that point someone should probably be fired. We have been out-coached too many times in big games. Which is unacceptable for a place like Oregon. It's something to watch for and to think about. No one is getting fired this early in the season or even in the middle of the season.

Morning everyone and happy Monday, I teased this in one of the other forum threads over the weekend and here it is. Some Uncomfortable Decisions Are Coming at Season’s EndOregon demolished Portland State 84-0 on Friday night.

I still don't know how much information we have on how big of an OC issue we have. Ducks executed well... DM didn't see receivers on some plays. Not sure how an OC fixes that problem. I have some other thoughts that are in a bigger article tomorrow. It's in edit mode right now.

Use it as fuel Dan! No one believes in the Ducks and that means they have to prove it every single play. Crush the Trojans! And then keep on going.

The financials are too important to most FCS schools to stay afloat. If the FCS can get more televised games that might help. But the reality is that the only way tv can is if they play on a day that isn't Saturday or Sunday. Not many have interest to tune into a FCS game in the season when there are bigger FBS or NFL brands at play. FCS desperately need the money and these paid wompings don't just pay for their football programs but a large portion of their athletic budgets.

Get his hand out of the club for starters. The second string line looked pretty good. They are clearly hungry for their chance.