Haywarduck

1. Will they be able to communicate the schemes with a new head coach and all new pieces in a coaching puzzle. This is the million dollar question. Lanning may become an amazing coach and the assistant may be everything we have been sold, but this is a new staff in every sense of the prefix, un.. untried, unaccustomed and I could go on. Patience on the side of the fanbase is critical. 2. Will the Ducks O be stronger without the destruction of our Offense? This is the most interesting and will be the most watched question. 3. Not too worried with the coaching talent on D coming in, but maybe this is the wildcard. 4. Huge test to start the season. If we get out of that 2-1 I give Dan an A, 1-2 a B-. What I want to see is a competitive team which is getting better each game. 5. Not too worried about the question at qb, as long as we get an answer, and development.

And Georgia's 340 lb. DT almost as fast as the receivers we had on the field. Can I say it again, we need speed! Georgia DT Jordan Davis, weighing in at 341 pounds, runs 40-yard dash in 4.78 seconds WWW.YAHOO.COM The Georgia behemoth would have been the eighth-fastest tight end at the combine.

Love his passion, and he was one of the greatest in his prime. When he rebounded the ball he already new where everyone one was, and who he was going to pass it to before he was half way back to the floor, legendary rebounder and passer!

A shooter never gives up. Will looks like he is resigned to being a role player, whose role isn't really known. He did score 2 points against sc, but 0 against the dawgs. He has to be asking himself what does he want to remembered by. The story hasn't been set yet, but this isn't he ending chapter anyone wants. You should accept what you deserve, the NIT is what they might deserve. If you don't accept it, you are just delusional. If the old guard has given up, give the new guys a chance to see what they can do at the NIT.

Anthony was also very good at throwing he ball, strongly I might add, to the sideline. This was to a set receiver, taking advantage of the db laying off the receiver. One now has to wonder why the db seemed to need to give our guys that much room. It all comes back to one of my wishes, the need for speed!

The best and baddasst!

Only good thoughts for this guy. We talk about the money these guys make and the passion for the game they have. Not often enough do we reflect on the hours and stress they go through. Hoping some Duck magic happens for Don over the coming hours, days and weeks!

I would put more money on the Akron qb becoming the Heisman winner, and he has zip chance of doing it.

Timeout, timeout, the evidence shows that Tyler Van Dyke may become the NFL rookie of the year, after college, but he won't look like a Heisman candidate any time soon. The interesting thing is Tyler was, like Justin, a top pitcher in high school, something to ponder. Maybe Mario fell into another pretty good qb. His this years recruit at qb sounds exactly like AB, so things should follow a similar trajectory once he gets his guy on the field. Until then expect, more timeouts, the prevent offense, and a qb playing way under his potential.

I had heard he was a Whizz, but wow!

Interesting question from the article. Bo Nix may be the veteran will all of the experience and more risk aversion, but if what Ty Thompson offers is a higher ceiling, but slightly lower floor due to an increase in risks, which player would you rather see take the field? Oregon Ducks’ QB competition draws national attention and intrigue SPORTS.YAHOO.COM Bo Nix, Ty Thompson, or Jay Butterfield? It's a question that the Ducks need to answer, and one that is piquing the interest of national media outlets.

The Balmer's have a focus on Families and Children, it would seem mainly from Connie's interest. This was a wonderful move on their part, and we should all be grateful! Kudos to Connie and Steve Balmer for their generous, selfless gift. Well done indeed on the master's, something Steve couldn't quite complete.

The last example it seemed the RB didn't observe the set gap the play was designed for. Instead of running straight into a wall of defensive players he shifted to the left into a gap which opened up. This would never have been acceptable under the previous coaches expectations. Hopefully we will see our RB's be given the latitude to look for the hole, even when it isn't where designed. That will be a refreshing change, maybe even a hesitation as the hole opens up too? Wow, the possibilities! These plays also seemed to be set up as RPO's and the qb made some nice decisions. A qb who plays with his head up and reads a defense will also be a nice development. A diversity of options and good decision making will move our program back to an offense feared, not just prevented. Go Coach Kenny, can he bring our offense back, I think so!

I was about the shortest kid in middle school. By the end of high school I was taller than many of the men of middle school. I think there are some kids who still have potential often overlooked by scouts who can't calculate kids still developing and those with what it takes deep inside. I have heard the poly players tend to grow in height and weight well into college. Their maturity comes later, Noah was 6' 1" coming out of high school and is 6' 3" now. I think it speaks to how many variables really should be looked at when recruiting. I just hope when kids are being recruited it doesn't just come down to this kid is a 4* ranked number 95 and this kid is only a 3*. There should be real discussion about a lot more than just the recruiting services take on kickers, all the way to the qb's.

It all worked out and Blount was a lucky man in the end. One would think he would be grateful, not hateful, too bad. Tough love is seldom appreciated, but often warranted.

I don't think we may be so much living the dream, as seeing the dream come true. Although we have been living the dream with our athletic department in high gear our football team may just make our ultimate dream come true over time. We won't truly be living the dream until we win the National Title, and that may come with what you offer as needed. A strong defense and exciting offense, in due time. Great job highlighting the difficulty of reaching 80 plays a game. This should be looked upon as the long-term goal, but not an expectation. I am probably one of the bigger Oregon homers, but I love these kind of reality checks. Goals are great, but it is a rough journey to get there.

Agree passion and curiosity are keys to taking talent to the next level. I also like how HappytobeaDuck highlighted passion can sustain that talent for decades. We have had some extremely talented kids come to Oregon and then flounder. The passion wasn't there, but the talent lit up the recruiting services lights, and got them a scholarship to a great school. Competitiveness, curiosity and probably most important is the passion for the game. I do find it interesting that you can destroy passion by incentivizing something which was, at one time, a passion. A child who is fascinated by the piano, and spends hours at it, shows real promise can lose that interest when a parent pays them to keep playing or to play more. At the same time passion directed is an amazing force. I do wonder if talent development an innate part of a recruit? Does a recruit come with curiosity and passion, along with competitiveness? Is that what we should be recruiting, almost as much as talent? A 3* with upside who can't be held back is a better recruit than a 4* with greater measurables? Is talent development part of nature or nurture?

A double, nice!

The cost of the trophy, and then of course the cost of the engraving each year. The cost of the trip, now that is big boy money. Great idea of Walton, as long as the bus didn't go by Mac Court, the stories would never end!

It would seem only right those on 'fish' duck could come up with $'s to commission the Fishduck sponsored trophy.

Great point and there is competitiveness and then there is being cutthroat. You definitely need competitiveness and I think it complements curiosity very well. There is a hunger and a fire in a Noah Sewell you want. I am sure he is curious as to his potential, but he has an ambition that is almost palpable. That type of competitiveness is what makes a great team into an elite team. I also agree the competitiveness is something a team needs throughout. It is that last ounce of effort, both mentally and physically which will enable a team to beat everyone, and not let the bounce of that oblong ball affect the outcome of the game. As we have seen it also takes that mindset to make sure the zebra's don't impact the game too.

That would be a fun team trip. Get the football team fishing early at Diamond Lake for a biggest fish contest. A quick stop at Crater Lake and then finish the loop up I-5 back to Eugene. Of course they would have to stop at Junkyards Extreme Burger in Junction City before getting home. Now that would be a bonding trip.

As I work on my chosen sport for the day I pondered what does it take to develop talent. I am not an elite athlete, but I think it is a universal set of components needed to develop one to their potential. I also ponder this as I have invested a bit of money on my latest sport and will have to learn how to become decent at it before I can enjoy all that money I spent. I think the number one component it takes to develop talent is curiosity. If you aren't curious you will just languish with your god given talent and never dream of what you can become nor work toward unrealistic goals. This comes mainly from the athlete, does the athlete wonder just how good they can become or are they reveling in just how good everyone thinks they are already. The coach has to tap into that curiosity too. Whether it is asking the athlete if they want to work hard enough to make money or spark that latent desire to buy mom a new house. A coach also needs to see where the potential is, maybe a DB has RB potential or WR potential. Both of these have come about because of coaching suggestions at Oregon. They also have to ask the subtle and not so subtle questions of players at opportune times. I also think facilities are important, but Herschel Walker developed himself with hill repeats, pushups and pull-ups. You have to have god given talents and then put it to work and never let up. This is where the summer workouts are interesting to see the outcomes. Sometimes we see great gains in athletes, other times it seems players have slacked off. This is where a great weight room staff and food regimen is critical. Athletes need to be inspired, held accountable and fed well. With the NIL money will be interesting to see if athletes have too much money to spend of beer and pizza and not enough of the set diet for what they need. I suppose there are many more things involved in the development of potential. Curiosity is the key ingredient in most things in my opinion. Without you are just a pinball falling wherever you may. With curiosity you can keep driving and keep finding new ways to get better.

Time win up north and continue to get better. There is always hope with a Dana Altman team, but this team needs to get hot shooting the rock and they were cold last night. SC is a very good, disruptive team, but we may get another chance and it isn't over yet!

I don't know how explicit you state this, but you don't need more posters, but want more civil discourse. Posters need you more than you need them. People need to work harder, or want to be here more than you want them. Posters either need to fit right in, or be willing to work hard to fit in. I tend to fit into the second category, but enjoy the process. This isn't your average community, much like a gated community with homeowners association rules. Some don't want anything to do with that type of set up. Some just want the benefits and like the idea as long as the rules don't apply to them. Fortunately it isn't that hard to get rid of violators. I think you be extremely explicit this won't be an easy thing for most to belong too. If people want to work harder at this than you do then it will work out. A small minority will fit right in. I don't want to go too far down that rabbit hole, but I think our society tries to be too lenient with our laws. You don't need to, and if this becomes an exclusive club, the demand will actually skyrocket in my opinion. I actually think that is some of what is driving interest already. You offer an affable playground in a discourteous world. If people want to belong they will have take their shoes off when they enter, keep their voice down, and wait their turn as they think about what to say to add to the conversation. This is your home, and it is a refuge from the outside world, but there has to be a lot of effort for many to take part. The fact this is going to take an extreme amount of effort on many peoples part has to be explicitly communicated right out of the gate. Posters have to want to be part, not just feel empowered by the civility.