Drake

The culture of a team, or business, can elevate production. It also can have the opposite effect. Therefore, culture is, and always will be important to the level of success a team can achieve.

Teenagers with more money than their parents could ever make. What could go wrong?

Aloha…lol.

Charles, I agree with you that Phil Knight’s generous donations can’t buy everything. If the man never donated another dollar the impact he has made on U of O is enormous. I always have optimistic expectations of our various teams. However, not all teams and players mesh together well. To me, Altman sounds frustrated with his teams work ethic. It sounds to me that the hard work and discipline required to play consistently at a high level as a team under his coaching style was amiss. Change will be necessary. What that entails is a big question.

There are over 500,000 “student-athletes according to the NCAA video played between games at the NCAA BB tourney that I attended yesterday. Not all of those athletes receive scholarships, but NIL will substantially change the financial landscape. University’s may potentially make decisions to eliminate some sports because of their ability to fund programs. The long term ramifications will go one of two ways…left unchecked it may eliminate many scholarship opportunities, or it will be managed sensibly so that sports can flourish and scholarship opportunities continue to be abundant. I am not overly optimistic at this moment.

The physical and mental demands of being pushed beyond barriers is not for everyone. However, most players will survive and many will thrive. The lessons young people can learn from pushing themselves to an elite level is invaluable. Most of our players will never play in the NFL. However, the lessons that they can learn about themselves will become part of the foundation they can use towards success beyond football.

Professional sports has a long history of good and bad decisions on draft day. So the guys that rank HS talent are in good company with good and bad evaluations. The NFL is a demanding place to work. Every team has highly ranked players. A 5 star player just out of HS has a long way to go to be physically, and mentally prepared to play professional football. Attrition from those highly ranked players is inevitable as they face stiffer competition in college. If 60% of 5 star players get drafted then that indicates that the rankings are far from perfect. So, that simply means that we need a whole lot more 5 star ranked players.

MC was pretty good at telling everyone what they want to hear. My impression is that Lanning knows that every introductory coach’s speech is filled with promises of a brighter tomorrow. He knows that he is willing to put in the time and effort to be successful, and is confident that it will show up on game day. He relates well to his players, and I think they will play hard for this coach.

No on the NIT. But, I am going to the NCAA tourney games in Portland.

Targeting rules in many cases will always be somewhat difficult. Safety and concussions are a real problem. Targeting just scratches the surface with player safety. The problem with concussion protocol in football is that most concussions are not diagnosed. Many players have a team first mentality and will continue to play through a concussion. It’s only a headache, or I only blacked out a short time is “just part of the game.” Perhaps when sensors are installed in helmets and then properly monitored will concussions be properly diagnosed. It may end up being rather alarming the number of players that sit out games under those circumstances.

Oregon is a dangerous team to play when one loss may keep you out of the CFP. I bet they won’t be calling us on the phone anytime soon asking for a rematch.

I don’t have enough knowledge to comment intelligently about NIL. However, it seems to me that a college education is still going to be more important to the largest percentage of “student athletes” in the long run. This subject reflects just one problem with the current structure of NIL payments. There are certainly many more scenarios that can potentially derail a “team” that has highly paid vs. non-paid athletes. Currently NIL is in it’s infancy and money is going to be thrown around haphazardly. Sustainability of NIL cash flows is probably going to be much more important than a one time lump sum payment to an individual. As it stands now, only a few teams are competitive for a National title. That is not going to change. However, some of the contenders might.

My thought is that he may prove to be a very solid Head Coach. I don’t believe he is describing this year as a growing year at all. I believe that part of his philosophy is that every day provides an opportunity for everyone to learn and grow. That is a solid premise for success in life. Molding personal growth into solid team play is never an easy task for coaches. So many personalities and egos on a football team. Some are better at it than others. I am hopeful we have a very good one.

Too bad the celebration doesn’t include the end of dumb decisions… I will leave it at that.

Lol…that would be more than Drew Brees, and Russel Wilson combined.

The only way to decrease injuries is to play less. What the definition of less looks like for college football will in large part be decided by the litigating attorneys. When you have 200 to 300 lbs bodies colliding at full speed it’s not if you will get injured, it’s when. I know that parents are more apprehensive about allowing their kids to play contact sports as kids get bigger and stronger as they specialize their bodies for a particular sport. Looking at the size and strength of many recruits coming out of High School I can fully understand why.

As long as the formation has a number of plays it can run while giving the same/similar looks, then I am good. It is when you run the same basic play from a formation that the defense starts to figure it out. Who knew?

They put up more of a fight in the fan forum than their players on the field.

I want to see the defense struggling to get into position when the ball is snapped. 80 plays really doesn’t matter. Maintaining constant pressure on a defense forces mistakes. That’s when you see offensive plays go for big yardage. Look forward to seeing how QB1 handles the new offense.

Anyone ever go to the rock slides by Triangle Lake? A hot spring day was always a good excuse to grab some beer, skip that afternoon sociology class, and head to the slides. Always crowded on a hot day, but still a lot of fun. (Denim cut offs recommended vs. a normal swim suit) Fishing, hiking, and camping are by far the best ways to experience Oregon.

Chargers allowed an average of 138 yards rushing which ranked 30th in the NFL. Their pass defense allowed 221 yards per game, and ranked 10th in the NFL. They need to identify the problems with their rush defense. If they can address those problems, then they will be capable of beating anyone.

Ignoring information (established rules/guidelines) gives someone an easy excuse for actions that are harmful. Whether the claim is true, or false is really not the problem. The problem is not enforcing the rules and guidelines that were ignored. Without enforcement chaos quickly follows. Thanks for your concerns, and to all that help maintain the civil nature of your website……Please keep up the good work.

I believe that all 3 of our backup QBs last year were capable of leading our offense. Perhaps better than AB. Playing tOSU early in the season ultimately sealed the QB rooms fate. MC’s grind it out offensive style is built around the idea that his OL will wear out the opposing DL by the end of the game (yawn). Not what I would call innovative by any means. AB fit into the grinder mold. With that style Oregon had one or two games where we had a comfortable lead, therefore nobody was able to let AB sit on the sidelines late in a game….that’s Cow Poo with the schedule we had. MC knew he was a prime candidate for the Miami job, and ultimately did enough to take his family back to Florida with a nice healthy raise. I am hopeful that the “pistol plunge” for a 2 yard loss has gone with him.

Grew up on the Oregon coast. My 2.8 HS GPA was apparently good enough to get accepted by the U of O in 1978. Old enough to have watched Steve Prefontaine run HS track in Coos Bay.

I kind of gave up on it awhile ago….still watch, but rarely watch entire game. Playing Fantasy football kind of ruined me on the NFL….started cheering for teams I despised growing up. All for a few more points for my fantasy team….lol