WiseKwacker

Good posting, Principal Duck. Lots to think about regarding these recent changes in our beloved college football landscape. Personally, I always look at recent changes--or even proposed changes--and try to play them out as I can foresee them playing out down the road. I'm certainly no sage, or anything resembling that, but here are a couple of my thoughts on this as-of-now cloudy college football future. First, like so many of the bargaining agreements we've seen over recent years in pro sports, I think we'll see the NIL primarily benefit the top 1% of college athletes in only a couple of sports. Second, as this act of freeing athletes to gain pay for their performance moves the bar downwards on the age scale, I think the percentage of "potential" stars who don't actually develop into "real" stars will go up dramatically. Accordingly, how will some of those fizzled investments affect potential sponsors down the road? Third, when a team loads up on players who have basically been lured to that school because it--errrr, their boosters--offered the best financial deal, how will that translate to the players' motivation to give their all for the coach and school on the field? In other words, will there be a higher percentage of opt-outs during the season for such teams? Fourth, if my third point indeed comes to pass, will teams begin to strike NIL deals with players that are broken down into game-by-game financial incentives to motivate players to continue to "opt in?" Finally, as others have pondered above, as this plays out over the next few years, if the college football landscape becomes further stratified between those offering lots of financial incentives to lots of athletes vs those who aren't, will new divisions form? Man, I truly want to roll with the changes and personally evolve with the changing times, but, frankly, I'm still kinda pi$$ed about the Curt Flood decision. 😉

Two guys I recall fondly are Bob Berry and Chris Miller, who played for the Ducks about 20 years apart. Berry had a really solid career as a Duck under Len Casanova, and was named a 1st team All-American as a senior. As a pro, he was one of those guys--kind of like Dan Fouts later on--who was always gonna get beat out for playing time, but didn't. He hung around for 11 years, including three years as a full-time starter for the Falcons. Not a HOF guy by any means, but a real solid NFL career. Miller's career has some parallels to Justin Herbert's in my opinion. Both were Sheldon High School products. Both were excellent all-around athletes who were not highly recruited out of high school. Miller played on some mediocre Duck teams in the mid-80s, but he was a 1st round draft pick of the Falcons in '87. The Falcons were not very good for most of his seven seasons there, but he made the Pro Bowl in '91 as he led them to a first-round playoff victory. He retired after 10 seasons due to concussions. I think both of these guys are too often overlooked as guys with solid NFL careers.

Great trip down memory lane, WK. I was at U of O during the Russ Francis years. The guy was truly an athletic freak--in a good way. Surprised you didn't mention the thing that always come to my mind when Francis' name comes up: when Howard Cosell dubbed him "All World" on a Monday Night Football telecast. As was his wont, Cosell beat that moniker like a drum, and it stuck. Oh, yeah. Francis' dad was Gentleman Ed Francis, a pro wrestling legend.

Good for them. The PAC-12 is better when there are no weak sisters. The Ducks are better when the Platypus Punch-Out is a competitive game...with us winning, of course.

Okay, having read all the comments, replies and comebacks on my post above, I've gotta comment. Nobody wants to beat the Huskies more than I do. Hey, my greatest moment as a Duck football fan--dating back to about 1960--was the Kenny Wheaton pick. I just try to channel my energy into rooting FOR my team rather than AGAINST other teams...unless we're playing them head-to-head. Further, I guess I root in concentric circles, starting in Eugene. I want to kick the Beavers' a$$e$ in the Civil War--errrrr, Platypus Punch-Out--every year, but my animosity towards the buck-toothed brethren ends there. I root for PAC-12 North Division teams over South Division teams. I root for all PAC-12 teams over teams from other conferences--PARTICULARLY over SEC teams. So, when (or more likely, "if") the Huskies get into the Rose Bowl or CFB playoffs, I'll root for them over a team from another part of the country. I understand we all have our own way of sorting these things out, and, I'm sure many of you have a different way. That's fine. Obviously, our life experiences are all different. Just know that I won't "hate" on you; hope you won't "hate" on me.

"...we don't judge." 😉

Time will tell. Time will tell.

From my perspective, when Duck fans continually focus on the Fuskies with their hatred, it only reinforces the notion that Duck fans view themselves as the "little brothers." To me, it's much like the seething hatred I get from so many Beaver fans. I prefer to take the tack of, "Huskies? Which ones?"

You know, with all the recent discussions about players opting out of "meaningless" (to them, maybe) games, I think it's only a matter of time before schools/wealthy donors begin paying players on a per-game-basis to "opt in."

Love everything about Will's game EXCEPT his lack of quickness. That was never more apparent than in the Houston loss earlier this season. (Sadly, John Wooden used to say that basketball was "first and foremost a game of quickness.") I also really like what I've seen so far this year from Jacob Young--aggressive defense and smooth offensive player. Frankly, I've not been particularly impressed so far with Guerrier or Harmon. And, I've never been particularly excited about Williams, either. Hoping Dante and Kepnang continue to get playing time and develop; they can combine to give the Ducks a solid core to their defense. Among the bench players, though, I've been most impressed with Soares' all-around skills, hoping he develops a bit like Duarte. And, Biddle is beginning to show his 5-star talent. I'm hoping his minutes continue to creep up because you can see flashes of his star potential when he plays. I hope Don McLean is right about this being the starting point of what this team can do. With Coach Altman, there's always faith and hope that he can coach up players to get the maximum out of their talent.

He was a heady, ball-hawking PLAYER. He'll be missed. Not nearly as talented as Jevon Holland, but I think he'll make it as a pro.

Nice one! I'm laughing through gritted teeth.

"Danimal!" That made me laugh out loud. Reminds me of a nickname from a movie, but, for the life of me, I can't recall the specifics. Anyway, Googling the name only got me to this:

Nailed it.

Okay, here goes. I hate to be that old guy who's El Groucho, but... After reading that article--thanks for posting, Charles--I've gotta vent a bit. I agree with Neel in the feeling that the deep ball was there last night as a result of somebody else being absent. (Hint: his initials are M.C.) In addition--although I have no data to back me up--it seemed to me that the offensive play calls, and subsequent snaps, came in more quickly than in past games. While we can all acknowledge that the rapid-fire offenses of Chip from 10 years ago are no longer the weapon they once were, I'd argue that the extremely slow use of the play clock on just about every play under MC's leadership robbed the Ducks' offense of "flow" and, oftentimes, momentum. Now, a different point about what we saw last night. For much of the year, the primary criticism I've read about QB Brown has been his accuracy on long throws. I would argue that his primary shortcomings lie in several other areas that are interconnected. Addressing the long ball, yes, he missed on numerous long throws early in the season. Realistically, though, long throws are completed BY EVERYBODY at the lowest percentage of all throws. And, I think a factor in Brown's long-ball inaccuracy with the infrequency Moorhead/Cristobal included those plays in the playbook. The "shortcomings" I've been most concerned about are 1) his accuracy on short passes, and 2) his throwing motion. Throughout the season, Brown has been woefully inaccurate on crossing routes run 10-15 yards downfield. Last night, we saw several of these, including the interception that Andre Ware seemed to blame on Thornton. From what I saw, the ball was poorly thrown whereby Thornton had to reach for it. Brown has also missed badly at various times this season on short passes behind the line of scrimmage to wide receivers, tight ends and backs. These are the kind of passes that are usually simple flip passes for most quarterbacks. In both of these types of passes that Brown struggles with, I think his throwing motion is largely to blame. A.B. has a strong arm, but has a long windup before he throws. Virtually every top quarterback has not only a strong arm but a quick throwing release; Brown's release affects his accuracy. In addition, his footwork and pocket awareness aren't very good, either. But, I'll say it again: once he gets out of the pocket and decides to run, he's a damned effective runner. Having said all that, I watched that game AGAIN in frustration, waiting for the coach to put Thompson into the game for several series. At the start of the second half, the announcers even "teased" the idea that we would likely see Thompson play some in the second half. And, of course, if questioned, I'm sure McClendon would say that he kept Brown in the game because the Ducks had a chance to win the game with a comeback. No, they didn't. OU drove the ball down the field relentlessly, and only punted twice during the game, sandwiched around 8 consecutive scoring drives. Watching Stoops coach with a free-and-easy demeanor on the OU sideline, I wish Mullins would have done what the OU AD did. When Mike Bellotti offered to step in as the "honorary" head coach of the Ducks for this game, he should have said "yes." I'm betting Bellotti would have stuck Thompson in for a few series after that 30-3 halftime deficit. Oh, well. On to next year. It'll be interesting to see which kids--if any--choose to enter the transfer portal in the coming weeks.

Based on his photo, I'm thinking the new wide receivers coach is going to be one helluva recruiter.

Wonderful article on a not-so-wonderful topic, Jon. Hmmm...is it too early in the day for some of that leftover Christmas eggnog?

I'll say this about the guy: he's an incredibly effective runner. In my view, his effectiveness as a runner almost defies explanation. He's not the biggest guy; he's not the fastest guy. Even so, it seems like he always falls forward at the end of his runs. And, he consistently squirts through for an extra 3-4 yards just when you think he's down. His passing, on the other hand...

I feel ya...right down the line on numbers 1-5. Even so, I'll be watching. And, I'll be hoping for a good showing--for Duck pride, if nothing else. I just hope the players are more enthusiastic than many of us fans.

You know he played for Ohio State, don't you?

I don't see this transferring out process as such a bad thing. Frankly, I think it's inevitable that some kids will transfer out when there's a coaching change. Sometimes, I'm sure an incoming coach will give a kid a lukewarm reception at their first meeting and subtly nudge the kid into the transfer portal. (Not saying this happened with Jones. I wasn't there.) Regardless, I see no reason for not wishing the kid "good luck" at his new location--so long as it's not Fuskieville. I've always been of the opinion that if a kid doesn't want to be around here, I'd rather get rid of him and find somebody who DOES want to be here to replace him. And, if we should meet up again in the future on the field of play, punish him (and his new team) with a sound thumping on the scoreboard.

"Merry Christmas, Duck fans," he yelled, staring out at us with his (green and) yellow eyes. He had (green and) yellow eyes! SO HELP ME GOD, (GREEN AND) YELLOW EYES!

It was great to see him finally get some meaningful action last game. And from what I've seen, the kid's got some skills. Here's hoping Moorhead let's it fly in the bowl game, and that Crocker is the recipient of some of those passes.

Thanks, I guess, for leaving up my post. If nothing else, a deletion would have resulted in me harboring resentment for having wasted about 30 minutes of my precious retirement life on a response to your posting. Frankly, I'm guessing you couldn't delete only part of my response, so you decided to leave the whole thing. Regardless, I'd like to explain why I trod on "dangerous ground" by stating a little background on the Civil War game name change. Basically, I couldn't figure out a smooth way of making the point of the need for the development of a more transparent process for making major decisions without using that bungled process as a clear example. Sorry if I sent your blood pressure up a notch. I certainly appreciate this forum.

Hah! Hope you're right. Reminds me of the old Seinfeld episode about Jerry dating the girl who's "two-faced." She's a hotty one time you see her, and then, in different light, she's a real stinker.