Haywarduck

Another item is if you are a back-up to a dual threat qb, you are one play away from being the starter. The real question is do the athlete's think they are getting developed well at Oregon? In the past we have turned out a Heisman Trophy winner and the NFL ROY. If we see too many transfer's then maybe they aren't getting developed? I think the support is there, the competition is just getting more fierce. Also the O-line is extremely good, the RB help is improving, the WR's talent is elevating too. If I was an elite qb I would stay, and work hard for the opportunity. Something special is about to happen at Oregon!

I doubt too many 18 year olds are thinking about what is sustainable. They are invincible and the world is theirs for the taking. The wisdom you speak of comes from experience, and the saying goes, experience comes from bad decisions. I also applaud the young for taking the opportunity to take a chance and make some bad decisions! I would also say there is no experience like being the guy, qb, on a D1 team with a chance at glory. Just about every teen I have known is looking, maybe, at tomorrow, not the next ten plus years. Go for it, Mr. Ashford, live the life you dream about, no regrets!

I don't think Brock Purdy beating him for the 5th straight time helped either. I hope Tyler is able to move on from his high ratings and make the impact he wants. Oregon went with the highly rated qb, and let the scrappy kid go to another school. Actually most schools looked past Brock, Alabama wanted him to walk on as a preferred. They saw the talent, but Oregon just went with the ratings and didn't see the potential. Who is going to be the scrappy gamer out of who is left on the roster? We need somebody who has 'it.'

Nice article on how a student athlete who wants to play two sports is supported at the University of Oregon. He isn't the first and hopefully will joined by another two sport athlete soon! If you have a dream come to Oregon to make it come true.

Justin and Marcus should help in our recruiting. The Heisman and then NFL rookie of the year is a good track record for a program going after qb's. The question is does our recruiting of these two, 3* diamonds in the rough, help us in how we recruit. I would love to see us recruit a fastball throwing baseball pitcher, who is a 6' 2" point guard, that also lead his team to a unexpected deep run in the football playoffs for his high school. This is, of course, a made up scenario, but I love the multi-sport athlete, who plays under the radar, no recruiting camps. Can we find the 'Brock Purdy type,' who is a gamer, and doesn't have all the exact measurables? Do we recruit the kids who aren't highly touted anymore? There have to be plenty of Vernon Adams, Masoli's, or Josh Allens just waiting to be discovered, right? These are the kids who make every program better. We need the kids who outwork everybody and knows how to make everyone around them better, they are just gamers. Bill Musgrave was probably my favorite gamer, weak arm, not fast, but knew how to win. We need to at least bring in a gamer to push the elite crowd to new heights.

I hope he gains those tools elsewhere, but I agree with this assessment. The problem with some of these highly rated kids is they may not want to hear about their weaknesses, or those around him may not be able to see them. I hope he does and the Chris Boucher article would be a good one for any athlete to read to better understand what it takes to make it.

I look at the Chileduck depth chart all the time, love it, grateful!

I also think we are seeing this happen to multiple positions as the talent level rises. How are you going to keep Justin Flowe off the field? What if JTT signs on and wants to play TE? When the talent level rises, expectations increase and some just walk away. The receiver position is especially ripe for this happening. We have a lot of WR's and only a few are going to get the rock. We will see TE's and WR's walk away and look for an opportunity to play. The competition is going to be extreme, unlike anything we have seen in the past. The transfer portal offers a different opportunity than in the past. I hope they all turn out positive and this option is something which benefits the student athlete. I do think staying with your decision, and competing is the best lesson a guy can make longterm. I also know things aren't always the way you thought when you signed up for something. The transfer portal is a way for the student athlete to have more control, a good thing.

Interesting take and some say Bellotti did the same with Chip ready to take over. Seems like the Oregon way when there is somebody better, move on. Both the these situations led to some pretty good times for Oregon. While you hate to see a guy replaced, with this perspective maybe it is the best thing that can happen for Oregon. I do hope it works out better for Tyler than it did for DT. Tyler needs to find a situation where he can start over and be mentored better. I have a feeling, like with DT, the world is full of tough competition and it won't get easier. Neither of these guys has the pension Bellotti had to fall back on.

That is why they lace up the shoes and get between the lines, to show what you got when everyone wants the ball and only you, and the center are assured of touching it. The qb position is a reflection of almost every position at Oregon, full of promise, short on experience. Soon it will be time to lace them up, but until then the training, studying and relationship building will happen. Who will come out of that process with an advantage. I don't think there will be any time that won't hurt or help in this process if left unused. Can a kid just out of high school lead a team, some guys 4 years his senior? How about Butterfield, the under appreciated, talented player. Then there is the dark horse many look fondly toward, as he reminds many of a combination of many of the past greats, will Ashford win it? Stay tuned as guesses are free, but the competition will prove costly for those involved, should be fun to watch.

I think our schedule needs to be considered when thinking about who the starter will be. With Fresno State at home, as our first game, this gives us a chance to try out a new guy, and give him an opportunity to see what he has. Best case scenario is one of our new guys leads the team to a win against Fresno. If he struggles then AB steps in and leads the team into the game against tOSU. We then play Stony Brook, at home, this again gives us an opportunity to give a young gun some game time experience. Maybe AB leads all the way through fall, but I doubt it. I think somebody is going to get an opportunity to lead who hasn't started a D1 game. AB will be a back-up, safety valve in case the young guys struggle. This was the same thing that happened last year. I just hope we have a different outcome with our qb development. It is time for a new beginning at the QB position at Oregon, exciting times!

When the article stated, "The Ducks reached the Pac-12 title only because Washington couldn’t play" I about choked on my coffee. The dogs could claim they might have won the Pac-12 title because they didn't come to Eugene to play the Ducks, end of story. Washington only played games at home, and lost to Stanford at home. I love it when the pundits pick the dogs preseason, but they didn't reach the Pac-12 title game because they didn't play an away game, and didn't play our beloved Ducks. I am just glad they may have a Huard lining up at center again. Every time he throws the ball it and I hear, 'Huard steps back to throw the ball,' great memories will poor over me.

Ty has been on campus for just a few weeks and already multiple qb's have headed to the exit. Could be good news as it, often, becomes evident quickly when somebody is just a bit better. I do wish Tyler all the best. We didn't see just how good he will be in the future. We do need at least 3 good options, and hopefully we don't lose anymore.

Agree the data is incomplete and our evaluation of Tyler isn't anything close accurate. He is a young man whose future is a road yet to be traveled. I hope he reaches all his goals. The problem is most goals worth reaching are paved with failure. Most, I bet even he, agree he, at times had disappointing outcomes. The question is will this define his time at Oregon. I doubt it and wish him the best. I would argue that any rating of a players season in 2020 isn't consequential to their career. Time will tell who will lead Oregon and the league going forward.

If Marcus was the missing piece then maybe. Seems like NE is missing too many pieces for Marcus not to become another attempt to stop a death spiral for a once storied franchise. I am not sure what happened to the franchise and their cap room, but they didn't have the players last year. If Belichick is able to put together a formidable roster then I could see a Marcus trade. I just don't want to see him become another guy expected to save a franchise.

It is a what if poll. What if Oregon beats tOSU? What if Oregon plays up to their talent level. What if Oregon wins the Pac-12 again. You have to have the talent, play competitive teams, and have a decent track record to get into the what if poll, but we have those what if factors. I will say what if's don't matter one bit. You kind of get into the could have, would have, should have dilemmas when you get the preseason rankings. I actually detest programs that are preseason darlings and end up failing. I guess it is my Brooks era foundational fan mentality. I would rather have us work our way up and earn a spot based on what is, and what was, as we build a championship program. Throw the what if's into the garbage, along with the preseason hype of players and big games. Coach each player up to their potential and most importantly get them playing as a team. Going off of preseason hype is like going to a movie because of a great preview or trailer. Often you have already seen and heard about all the good stuff. What is left is just a let down.

It wasn't just the short passes that won the game. The fact that Brady has limited athleticism also wasn't a determining factor. The factor is the 'it' factor, and so far we haven't seen 'it' at Oregon. Brady has 'it' in spades and leads teams and men to victory. The invisible 'it' factor is something few can see, but is the most important item on the field, and off. Off the field Helfrich did't have it, he just wasn't a leader, and when Marcus left that was becoming painfully obvious. Cristobal has 'it,' kids sign on, and want to perform for him. What we saw last year was Shough, seeming to have a bit of 'it,' but when push came to shove he faded. It is not over for him, but he needs to toughen up and get it right. I look forward to seeing who is the next great Oregon qb. I hope Moorhead can develop and identify The Guy, with the help of Cristobal.

It all comes down to the qb and what the qb can do. If a qb only sees one dimension, what is right in front of him, you are limited. If the qb can't deal with the excitement of game time, even without a crowd, you are limited. We were limited by our qb play. A leader of a team, in any capacity has to see the whole game, what is developing and be able to play a game of chess when the opponent is playing checkers. We were barely playing checkers out there on offense. This was especially true once the defensive coordinators started studying tendencies. When a good defense played us, Cal, OSU, they had players, we got out gamed. USC had players, but they weren't a team and won't be under Helton. You don't tackle the punter, if your an elite player, when you have good coaching. I felt sorry for the guy, for a second, but he chose sc. What we need is a very good qb. Maybe one will develop, but more than likely he will move on to campus and take over. We also need at least one go to, NFL caliber, receiver. I am not sure we have seen one on the field in a while. If we get one, and the qb develops, then maybe, our offense can come alive. Until then we are just wishing Cristobal can do a magic trick. He is no magician, nor is he an offensive genius. We don't need either, just elite talent, and plenty of time to jell. Until then the O will be in prevent mode, more like unable mode. That is what the Oregon O needs, unless somebody has an epiphany, but those just don't happen too often, or often enough.

I will also add most here feel secure enough to share opinions and admit when they have been wrong. This is the beauty of opinions, they are opinions, not facts, they don't define you, it is just social discourse. I think the problem on other sites, situations, is opinions define a person and they get backed into a corner. Here you can express an opinion, adjust an opinion, or like me, sometimes, express an opinion to light up another way of looking at things.

I tend to look at Charles this way, and that is why Fishduck is such a great place, call them like you see them.

I stand with the mustache. It is time to give Katleman a scholarship, and forget about the touted, entitled, confused recruits who aren't the playa Henry is!

I would argue that it may not be the lack of coaching up, it may be the fact we are recruiting kids who have reached their peak. When we recruit kids who have only played football, and have gone to all the camps they may not have much upside. In the past we recruited more diamonds in the rough. Kids like Patrick Chung came in at 16, and few knew about him. There were plenty of kids like Patrick, but now we have the elite who everyone knows and the expectations are high. The qb position has been a poster boy position for this trend. We use to only recruit kids who had talent and they became great with coaching and scheme. We now have kids come in with the hype they should just take over. This then lends itself to disappointment and the we don't coach up kids thinking, my two cents. I will also say we are going to hit more homeruns with the elite talent. We just have to accept the flops and realize they just were over hyped.

And a picture of ace recruiter Scott Frost after signing Justin Herbert

If Herbert didn't end up at Oregon he probably would have ended up an Eagle, not a Tiger. No big program wanted Herbert, much like Josh Allen. Both of these qb's struggled because of coaching, but more importantly they struggled because of the receivers they had to throw to. Burrow won the Heisman, much like Johnny football, because he had the receivers who would catch anything. I support Cristobal's efforts at putting elite receivers in place to support the qb. I think we will see a better offense going forward, and the coaching will be just fine. With talent around him the qb will thrive, and a better running game will also help. The question I have is what would have happened to Herbert at EWU, a pass happy school? I think he probably would have been drafted about the same place. Herbert had all the tools when he came to Oregon. Another question is why did the baseball playing, talented qb's like Herbert and Allen fall through the cracks? One answer is they didn't attend all the elite camps where colleges are told who to recruit. The emphasis on this type of recruiting has to end. We need to get away from the one dimensional guys who have reached their peaks. Again I support Cristobal going after elite talent to surround our qb's. I just wish we went after more diamonds in the rough, maybe the last scholarship player on our depth chart is that guy. That is why I still believe in Ashford, and want to see more qb's recruited who play more than football, and maybe didn't attend all the elite camps. This is also why I get excited when I see some of our recruits were wrestlers, track guys, basketball players. We need guys who know how to play, and play in a broader sense than just the football field. This is also why I get extremely excited about JTT coming to Oregon, a true multi-sport athlete. My Sunday rant, thanks for reading.

Dane Sipo, a small town walk-on who always dreamed of being a Duck. The impact of these walk-ons is invaluable. No stars, no scholarship, no fanfare, but he has what every player needs, a dream, and the passion to make that dream come true. A sleeper in the true sense of the word, nobody believes in this kid more than he does.