Haywarduck

I think this is a perceived idea, not necessarily valid. There is no question Mario is a hard worker, but it takes two ingredients to be a productive worker. You have to work hard and smart. Now Chip had the smart thing down, massive reps, whole practice scripted. Mario's team never felt like they would out execute other teams. There are a lot of coaches who work extremely hard. I would give Lanning the edge on this one after watching what he did while DC of the National Champs and running the Oregon Program from Georgia. The guy knows how to be productive, not just sound productive, and busy. I am reminded of a friends dad who worked at Boeing as an engineer for a while. He said he walked around with a clipboard, always carried a clipboard and everyone thought he was the most productive guy in his department. He left, and started his own successful company because that was one of the prerequisites, just look busy. Mario has the look, and sound busy thing down pat. That and the kitchen table talk, the guy can flat out recruit!

I am not going to make you eat that hat, but some didn't think Justin was all that good after a few years with Mario. I do think he has met his limits, but strangers things have happened.

Pretty sure one of these was filled up from what was coming out of that press conference.

It is interesting we used to have some pretty good TE who seldom caught balls, but were successful in the NFL, Dontae Rosario is probably the best example. Under Mario we seem to have had a whole passing game which didn't allow the talent to showcase itself, from Justin to AB, to the recent talent at WR. I think I was the first to speculate AB may have a career in the NFL and wouldn't that be interesting! Was Mario's mantra, just get the yardage, and don't throw unless you have too? I can agree AB didn't look like an NFL talent while at Oregon.

With Horace Bru McCoy, short for Bruiser, there would definitely have to be some due diligence done before any transfer. This would also seem to set up a test of Lanning's ability to manage questionable character type student athletes. It would also open the door to more reform type candidates, is that a component of the program Lanning is building? Bru is definitely an interesting candidate, 5* ability, to take our passing game to the next level. The guy will be a 22 year old redshirt sophomore. I would imagine there are enough guys on the team who have a pretty good take on the guy. Due diligence and talking to the team would seem to be prudent with this decision, to entertain the idea at least.

The only problem is his passion for blocking shots is illegal in the NFL. A player can't jump up and block a field goal barely making it over the goal post, little known fact for the day.

Dana's coaching and developing a team is like clockwork. He has them on a winning streak, and coming together as a team as the season enters the new year. The only thing we don't know is how good they will turn out to be as the season progresses. I wouldn't count this team out from making a decent run. With their bigs it could be an interesting one. I do remember watching Jordan Kent play basketball and wondering what he could do on the football field, he was just too fast for the court, with good hands. Watching Franck Kepnang and the way he likes contact makes me wonder how he would be as a Tight End. At the goal line or on 3rd down the guy would be unstoppable at 6" 11'. A little out of the box thinking, but basketball players have done very well as tight ends in the past. How about a Dana to Dan assist? It would show Oregon is willing to have athletes play two sports and support that endeavor. JTT at tosu seems to have backed off that idea.

The COL and the QOL don't add up, in my opinion. Good for Chip, be a pain to sc for us!

And now we know why Dan came, wanted to be number 1. He won it all, now he has it all, well done!

And so the Lanning bus is tuned up and rolling, this is news we can begin to sink our teeth into. It would be nice to hear about the latest Winston student athlete being back in the fold. Oregon needs to bring the home state products to Eugene. We have a cali flock, will we begin to see a southern flock, maybe a peach flock beginning to nest within the program?

Welcome to the big stage, KT, the lessons will be many and hard. He would be well advised to get some training on how to interact as his draft status is at stake. Everything is weighted when a team is deciding who to pick. Somebody who won't be welcomed in a locker room isn't as big an asset as someone who is. The top pick, last year made $6 million, the tenth pick 3 million. Each drop down the draft ladder costs you a big of coin, some peoples life savings.

If the portal is like tinder, then the recruiting circuit is like a bar scene late at night. Anyone eligible is getting hitting on non-stop even after they have made a decision on who they want to be with. Until there is a ring on the finger the pressure is relentless. I can definitely see why some recruits shut down their recruiting early. The student athletes who allow themselves to be propositioned endlessly actually make me wonder about their character. I get wanting to visit the campus and having an in home visit from a coach. Kids going through a relentless barrage of offers can't be healthy for anyone.

Agree, the Dye family has been the heartbeat of the Oregon Football Program for a while. Seeing any Dye in another uniform just wouldn't be right. I do agree recruiting is telling student athletes about the opportunities within the program. That opportunity is to compete against the others at your position. I don't get where the ultimate competitor isn't ok with that scenario.

Same with Dick Vitale, and I love the guy and his passion too. So many stories of Dickie V giving away basketballs to kids and even sending them to kids. T Recently the great John Madden, who also epitomized this passion in football passed away. It is important to embrace those you love when they are around!

Walton has been peddling this line for a while, it is a pretty funny, and a valid way of looking at it. Tinder portal and Dana Altman

I disagree. Football is all about working through distractions, just like my life is everyday. Many would look at what I deal with everyday as unnecessary hardships, but it is my job to try and mitigate that adversity. Like football players I could look at my pay as inadiquate, but I just work harder, and give more to my craft. In the end I live a very full life, which I am grateful for. Nothing has come easy, at least that was worth it. There are plenty of legal cartel type businesses where I live. Life isn't fair, and like Stetson said, you work through it. I hope our football team has his attitude. Those with that attitude will have the best results. Those with distractions, hardships, and are intrinsically motivated create amazing results. Those who live a distraction, adversity free life where money is easy often meet hardship, distractions and need motivation they just can't find. Thanks for the discussion, great stuff.

"Keep your mouth shut. Work hard. Life is tough. Work through it." I just hope more student athletes learn this lesson type of lesson as they work through the Oregon program. The lessons you learn from adversity are invaluable. With the portal and NIL money I wonder if working through tough situations is becoming rarer in college football. I suppose those who go into the portal without a plan are going to see life is hard. It does seem most successful programs have a tough situation they are working through. Utah was on a mission, incredible adversity. I can see Utah as still playing with a chip on their shoulder, a purpose next season. Stetson was definitely one of the engines who drove Georgia. What will it be for Oregon? Which uniform to wear next week certainly isn't a driving force.

I remember my sons coach saying these kids are too good for kids their age, needed more competition. He signed them up to play a group of older kids. What went wrong, the younger kids go injured. If you don't stack up size wise there is the potential to get hurt. I will be happy if we just don't get run over, demoralized and injured. I doubt there will be national champ let down, more like a hungry, healthy team ready to play in front of their crowd. Interestingly the last time Georgia won a national title in 1980 Cal came to Georgia to play them the second game of the 1981 season. The soon to be 2-9 Cal team played them decently and lost 27-13. I would be ecstatic with that type of outcome. In Georgia first game of 1981 they waxed Tennesse 44-0, yikes.

Knowing 'oregone is in the pac-10' is pretty good for the rest of college football. This may have been followed by the wife saying, 'don't they wear those cute uniforms?' An even more knowledgeable husband might have added, 'they used to be a pretty exciting team, I actually used to enjoy watching them.' I think most fans would ask, 'who decided to schedule Georgia in Georgia as your first game?'

Pretty realistic take, and I could see the record tipping either way a bit depending on the transfer portal, and how that oblong ball bounces as the season progresses. I do think the transfer portal is the biggest way to impact a team in the short term. It does seem Lanning has had his eye on the talent within college football. The first step was putting the coaches he wanted on the sideline. The next step will be going after the transfers he wants to see on the field next year. The Lanning recipe is coming together. What that recipe will look like, taste like to the fans is just mental nourishment, and hopefully palpable soon enough!

The kid has speed and the hops you can't teach. If Lanning thinks he still has raw ability and is coachable bring him on. Being from Texas, it isn't as far as being from Georgia. https://bulldawgillustrated.com/sports/uga-football-2/first-year-look-jalen-kimber/

The Ducks are flying above and beyond the rest of the Pac-12, who are just stuck on the ground much like a dawg, beaver, bear, cougar, buffalo, bruin or really any of the other mascots. It will be nice to see the Oregon Program again take flight under Lanning, that is where we should be!

The interesting thing about Mario is he wants to bring back the glory days of Miami, but his time at Miami was Dennis Erickson's time. That was a time of an over weighted passing attack. Mario isn't a Dennis Erickson disciple, at all. Mario seems to relate to the old Alabama teams where the big RB's would pound the ball. If he can recruit a Derrick Henry type running back, with Kamara as the backup he just might be successful. I don't think that is what he sold Miami on, and it will be interesting to see how his vision of football unfolds for the hurricane faithful. The other statistic about Mario that isn't analyzed is he took 6 years to get his bachelors degree. He wasn't the Josh Urschel (math genius) type of O-lineman. He was just the grinder who wasn't academically inclined, focused. Those two aspects didn't allow him to go too far in football. I think those two attributes have also, and will also hold him back in coaching. There is a disconnect between what he says he wants to do. There is also a disconnect with what he is capable of doing and what is expected. He is a good guy, but the line between the greats and the also rans is defined by really having a genius type ability both on and off the field. Those who merely grind can get lucky every once in a while, but they won't develop a program we wanted, nor what Miami intends to have. The question is will Lanning have that type of ability, a rare combination, stay tuned. Lanning is being sold as a grinder, and an incredibly smart football mind. Merely hiring great assistants has been seen before. A program excited about what they think they will see on the field has been experienced before. It is an exciting time, but the data to substantiate the excitement is just trickling in. There is nothing more exciting than the unknown which isn't quite in focus. You can create whatever you want, and are easily swayed toward what you want. I think the excitement is warranted, but the Lanning Affect has to be turned into the Lanning Effect. An affect is what we feel is happening, the effect will be what we see, and the data we begin to analyze as a real impact on the program we all hold so dearly.

I think it takes more than players and scheme. I wonder if Lanning and his team of coaches can create what is needed over time? We had the game plan, and not enough players. Recently we had the players, but didn't have the strategy. Is there something else we also need to really get over the hump? It is a complex dance a program must put together to win it all. I agree Lanning is a different candidate to move the program to the next level. The idea he has what it takes is a more multifaceted question than has been discussed so far. What are the elements, and what is most important? Is it just scheme and the top players we should be focusing on?

Interesting if you go to the article Oregon doesn't lose it's lead to sc, or anybody until you total 45 years. As somebody whose total years exceeds this amount I am shocked at how the totals add up. The Oregon Football Program is the dominant program over many, many decades. We really are the only program in the Pac-12 which knows how to fly! Time to take to the air again, and build on that lead!