OT: 2015-2016 Oregon/Oregon State football thread

[JasonStern]

[The Sebastian Express]

Man. Tbh I'm not upset about Oregon State this year because it's rebuilding the program time. Just so happy to be rid of Mike Riley at this point. I.. I have no idea what's going on down in Eugene.

[JasonStern]

I.. I have no idea what's going on down in Eugene.

we lost a once in a generation coach, followed by a once in a generation quarterback. combine the Blazers' rebuild and OSU's rebuild, and this looks like a long year for Oregon's sports teams.

full disclosure: as a Ducks fan, I was excited to see Riley go until you pulled off Andersen. with Lossington getting Petersen, Wazzu getting Leach with patience, Cal getting Dykes with infinite patience, and Shaw being solid, there is a reasonable argument that Oregon has the least talent with respect to coaching in the Pac-12 north, especially being 12th in defense in the Pac-12 a third of the season through. as unrealistic as it is, I secretly hope that Chip Kelly gets fired after this season, just in time for Oregon to justify replacing Helfrich...

[Masterfully]

Oregon is giving up nearly 41 points per game! I understand that there are rules and stuff that make it so Mariota can't come back. But give me back my Chip Kelly!

[The Sebastian Express]

I.. I have no idea what's going on down in Eugene.

we lost a once in a generation coach, followed by a once in a generation quarterback. combine the Blazers' rebuild and OSU's rebuild, and this looks like a long year for Oregon's sports teams.

full disclosure: as a Ducks fan, I was excited to see Riley go until you pulled off Andersen. with Lossington getting Petersen, Wazzu getting Leach with patience, Cal getting Dykes with infinite patience, and Shaw being solid, there is a reasonable argument that Oregon has the least talent with respect to coaching in the Pac-12 north, especially being 12th in defense in the Pac-12 a third of the season through. as unrealistic as it is, I secretly hope that Chip Kelly gets fired after this season, just in time for Oregon to justify replacing Helfrich...

Oh, I totally get the Mariota loss. I didn't think Helfrich was that bad - but I don't follow your coaching very well, honestly. I did like Kelly, though. He was much easier to like than Bellotti. Is your defense just suffering losses from injuries/the draft or are they being poorly coached?

I really like Andersen!

Was Adams pulled today because of his finger or is Helfrich pulling a Katz-Mannion situation down there?

[JasonStern]

looking at the schedule:
vs Eastern Washington, W 42 - 61, 1-0
@ Michigan State, L 28 - 31, 1-1
vs Georgia State, W 28 - 61, 2-1
vs Utah, L 62 - 20, 2-2
@ Colorado - must win, should win. Colorado is bad. projected 3-2
vs Washington State - must win, should win. will probably be closer than it should as Wazzu torches our secondary, but it is a home game. projected 4-2
@ Washington - more talented than their record shows, could be the first time since the Saved By The Bell era that they beat us. projected 5-2 to 4-3
@ Arizona State - toss up. ASU has played as bad as us so far. projected 6-2 to 4-4
vs California - Goff is going to feast on our secondary, but Cal's defense is overrated, and it's a home game, so Oregon should be able to win if their offense finds a consistent rhythm. projected 7-2 to 4-5
@ Stanford - ugly loss. projected 7-3 to 4-6
vs USC - ugly loss. projected 7-4 to 4-7
vs Oregon State - must win, should win. there is still a big talent gap and the game is at home. projected 8-4 to 5-7

the good news is that Oregon has a back loaded schedule, so there is time to fix things. but I'm not seeing 9 wins, so that's the end of Oregon's streak of ten win seasons.

Helfrich can survive a bad year coming off of last season, but I can't see Pellum lasting if the Ducks end up at 7-5 or worse.

Rose Bowl = Pac12 South Winner (UCLA?) or Pac12 North Winner (Stanford)
Alamo Bowl = Pac12 South Winner (UCLA?) or Pac12 North Winner (Stanford)
Holiday Bowl = Pac12 South runner up (USC?)
Foster Farms Bowl = Pac12 South 3rd team (Utah)
Sun Bowl = possible bowl destination. ugh.
Las Vegas Bowl = my preferred bowl destination, especially if Boise State gets the Group of 5 bid
Cactus Bowl = possible bowl destination. ugh.

Is your defense just suffering losses from injuries/the draft or are they being poorly coached?

it's mostly coaching:

YPP allowed:
2013: 7th (Aliotti as DC)
2014: 64th (Pellum as DC)
2015: 103rd (worse than Sun Belt teams)

but Oregon also appears to have taken a couple of years off with respect to recruiting and developing players.

Was Adams pulled today because of his finger or is Helfrich pulling a Katz-Mannion situation down there?

there's a saying that when a team has two quarterbacks, they have no quarterbacks. I'm more cynical. I don't think Oregon has any quarterbacks. at least not with Adams' injury, which will persist throughout the season.

[Wizenheimer]

The Ducks have significant voids in talent at some critical positions. The defensive front-7 is probably the least talented it's been in 12 or 13 years. And it's a a group that is heavy with upper-classmen. To a lesser extent, that's true of the O-Line as well. And of course, the Ducks have struck out in lining up a good QB, at least that's true with Adams injured

this points directly at recruiting failures that occurred in the last couple of years of Chip Kelly's tenure....the coach many Duck fans still pine for, but who didn't want to be the coach any more. Kelly was always weak as a defensive recruiter. His best defenses were filled with Mike Bellotti recruits. The defenses progressively got weaker as the Bellotti recruits graduated

so, it's a team with a bad front-7 on defense and a young inexperienced secondary. But even as weak as the talent is, it shouldn't be such a horrid defense. There are consistently blown assignments all over the field. The LB's spend more time in the wrong gaps then the right ones. And the DB's give big cushions yet still get beat deep. And all this comes after the defense has been dumbed down. If the defensive coaches can't recruit well and can't coach well, there's a big problem

meanwhile, not only did Mariotta graduate, but the Ducks lost 3 long time starters on the O-Line at the same time. Their relacements so far are not doing well. They aren't opening running lanes inside and they can't seem to sustain a pocket. The Duck QB's are having a hard time making good passes while opposing D-Linemen are giving them chest and prostate exams

you have to expect down years sometimes, but it's going to be difficult to make a quick turn-around. The Ducks don't like to go the JC route much but they may have to if they want to right the ship by next year. And if the defense can't get it's act together, there may be some new defensive coaches next year. This year, the dumpster fire will likely continue

[JasonStern]

The defensive front-7 is probably the least talented it's been in 12 or 13 years. And it's a a group that is heavy with upper-classmen.

I disagree with the d-line. while the loss of Armstead is apparent, Buckner is elite and Balducci is solid. Mondeaux and Talia as a pair seem solid. but our linebackers have honesty regressed despite being arguably more important since we still run a 3-4 defense. ignoring the inability to tackle, Pellum has this tendency to sag the linebackers to basically help cover a **** secondary, which would be fine if he just committed to a 3-3-5 secondary and challenged opposing teams to run against us. instead, you get this messed up hybrid linebacker/safety defense where they are late to run defense, useless on pass defense, and, well, scoreboard.

To a lesser extent, that's true of the O-Line as well. And of course, the Ducks have struck out in lining up a good QB, at least that's true with Adams injured

yeah... Adams is slow as ish going through his reads, and his o-line doesn't buy him enough time. I truly believe that if Adams had graduated on time and not injured his index finger on his throwing hand, the Big Play V.A. experiment might have worked out, but that's not the case. Lockie and Alie are solid backups, but not ready for power 5 conference play. at this point, I don't even care if they play Adams or Lockie - or at this point, even Allie. but pick one and live and die by that decision. most concerning is that Mahalak who is not redshirting and was beaten out by a walk-on like a bust and Jonsen - my irrational hope for 2016 starting QB - is now injured, so we might be even worse off at QB next year.

this points directly at recruiting failures that occurred in the last couple of years of Chip Kelly's tenure....

this is Helfrich's third year. if he was able to deal with supposed recruiting failures that happened due to the NCAA sanctions last year, then losing Chip Kelly shouldn't cause this severe of a drop off. the team is still ranked 17th in composite recruiting, yet we're not even in the top 100 on defense. blame Chip Kelly all you want, but that doesn't explain Wazzu under an offensive minded Mike Leach holding opposing teams to less yards.

the coach many Duck fans still pine for, but who didn't want to be the coach any more.

outside of a few unnamed boosters that are not Phil Knight and thus irrelevant, that never happened. Mat Kearny even wrote a "Chip Don't Go" song. I remember catching a cold and staying home only to wake up to him leaving. Chip Kelly was appreciated. and for the record, 3 years from now, nobody wanted Mariota to leave.

Kelly was always weak as a defensive recruiter. His best defenses were filled with Mike Bellotti recruits. The defenses progressively got weaker as the Bellotti recruits graduated

check the yards per play. we were still solid under Allowalotti, even with Chip Kelly's "weak" recruits. we are now gawd awful under Pellum. I fully admit that I was on the "fire Allowalotti" bandwagon, and was warned to be careful what I wished for. and, yeah, I eat humble pie on that. but at the same point, we are talking about a historically horrific defense this year. again, our 5 year moving average recruiting level is 17th, yet our defense isn't in the top 100. if it was even in the top 50, then there would be more hope as we would at least seem competitive and get some benefit of the doubt from the media due to our glory years. but we don't have that. we got beat by a MSU team that has some glaring flaws and a Mountain West team.

If the defensive coaches can't recruit well and can't coach well, there's a big problem

recruiting and player development raises flags. look at Coach Neal's track record. wtf happened? he had Mitchell, Ifo, and Hill, so he decided to phone it in for several years? when was the last time Oregon had an NFL tier safety? John Boyett? Springs and Amadi have potential, but where are the junior/senior DBs and safeties to give them time to develop?

and this just pisses me off more when excuses about recruiting are made like the sanctions hurt us, or Chip Kelly hurt us. these are the same position coaches that have been around for years. if they could recruit well when we had weaker facilities and less of a reputation as being a top tier football program, they should be able to recruit fine now. something is flawed - either the recruits they are targeting, or their ability to develop the recruits they sign.

meanwhile, not only did Mariotta graduate, but the Ducks lost 3 long time starters on the O-Line at the same time. Their relacements so far are not doing well. They aren't opening running lanes inside and they can't seem to sustain a pocket.

true, but pre-Marshall injury, our receivers are elite and we have both Allen coming back and Carrington coming off of suspension in 1-2 games. we got a grad transfer in Hegarty to band-aid another "we have Grasu! we don't need to sign and develop another center!" f-up. Crosby has been a stud. Johnstone isn't looking first round NFL tier as many had him pegged, but should still play at that level. Royce Freeman is the most legit long-term NFL running back since Blount. how much more talent do we need before not getting blown out by nearly 50 at home isn't a talent problem, but a coaching problem?

as drunk Jason says, Jesus Christ himself could be Oregon's quarterback, and that won't fix Oregon giving up 478 yards a game on defense with an FCS and Sun Belt opponent in there to pad the stats...

you have to expect down years sometimes

tell that to Stanford, whose down years seem like development years - not collapse years. and that's a major complaint.

The Ducks don't like to go the JC route much

their best linebacker is a JUCO transfer who, no surprise, has regressed since then. fire Pellum!

And if the defense can't get it's act together, there may be some new defensive coaches next year. This year, the dumpster fire will likely continue

that's stupid. so we pull Adams after going 2-7 with zero turnovers because clearly it wasn't working, but we won't demote/fire Pellum and promote Neal mid-season because of bureaucracy? hell, I will coach the linebackers for free. "GO STAND OUT OF POSITION AND MISS TACKLES WHILE DEFENSIVE BACKS LEAD OUR TEAM IN TACKLES!" worst case, I'd be as effective as Pellum for zero dollars.

[PDXKnight]

The Ducks have significant voids in talent at some critical positions. The defensive front-7 is probably the least talented it's been in 12 or 13 years. And it's a a group that is heavy with upper-classmen. To a lesser extent, that's true of the O-Line as well. And of course, the Ducks have struck out in lining up a good QB, at least that's true with Adams injured

this points directly at recruiting failures that occurred in the last couple of years of Chip Kelly's tenure....the coach many Duck fans still pine for, but who didn't want to be the coach any more. Kelly was always weak as a defensive recruiter. His best defenses were filled with Mike Bellotti recruits. The defenses progressively got weaker as the Bellotti recruits graduated

so, it's a team with a bad front-7 on defense and a young inexperienced secondary. But even as weak as the talent is, it shouldn't be such a horrid defense. There are consistently blown assignments all over the field. The LB's spend more time in the wrong gaps then the right ones. And the DB's give big cushions yet still get beat deep. And all this comes after the defense has been dumbed down. If the defensive coaches can't recruit well and can't coach well, there's a big problem

meanwhile, not only did Mariotta graduate, but the Ducks lost 3 long time starters on the O-Line at the same time. Their relacements so far are not doing well. They aren't opening running lanes inside and they can't seem to sustain a pocket. The Duck QB's are having a hard time making good passes while opposing D-Linemen are giving them chest and prostate exams

you have to expect down years sometimes, but it's going to be difficult to make a quick turn-around. The Ducks don't like to go the JC route much but they may have to if they want to right the ship by next year. And if the defense can't get it's act together, there may be some new defensive coaches next year. This year, the dumpster fire will likely continue

I think talent is part of the issue but coaching on the defensive end is equally responsible. There are plenty of teams that exceed what they're supposed to do year in and year out on the defensive end of the ball. Sure the talent is raw but it's also regressed ever since we lost perhaps our best defensive minded coach we have ever had in Azzinaro and it regressed further when we made that switch from Alliotti to Pellum. (It's funny, people used to joke about "Allowalotti" defense but I can't tell if Pellum is garbage or if Allioti didn't get enough credit, possibly a combination of both?) I'd imagine Pellum will get another season to try to put things together but right now it seems like with our best defensive recruits we've had we are getting terrible results. Youth could quite possibly be largely responsible for that hence why Pellum won't nor should he be fired this season but if this kind of defense continues it's gonna make it hard to envision Oregon keeping Pellum much longer than next season.

Ultimately though I don't think its the end of the world just yet. We played like crap against Utah but Oregon had a pretty awful game against Zona last season (that one was at home as well) and went on to win the conference. It's a very hard act to follow when you lose a Heisman quarterback and it doesn't help when your only quarterback capable of throwing the ball has a broken finger and your only quarterback who knows the play book can't throw. Also, as you said, the O line is full of fresh blood and that's always gonna take a toll and to make matters worse the defense is playing underclassmen all over the place so it might be too much to expect them to pick up the slack for a very average offense. It's looking like a rebuild at the moment but the ducks have two games that should in theory be good chances to rebuild their composure. The North isn't looking phenomenal this season so who knows maybe the Ducks regain their composure these next two weeks and somehow pull a conference championship appearance out of their butts. I've seen crazier things happen in college football.

[Wizenheimer]

The defensive front-7 is probably the least talented it's been in 12 or 13 years. And it's a a group that is heavy with upper-classmen.

I disagree with the d-line. while the loss of Armstead is apparent, Buckner is elite and Balducci is solid. Mondeaux and Talia as a pair seem solid. but our linebackers have honesty regressed despite being arguably more important since we still run a 3-4 defense. ignoring the inability to tackle, Pellum has this tendency to sag the linebackers to basically help cover a **** secondary, which would be fine if he just committed to a 3-3-5 secondary and challenged opposing teams to run against us. instead, you get this messed up hybrid linebacker/safety defense where they are late to run defense, useless on pass defense, and, well, scoreboard.

here's a list of D-Linemen Chip had in his first 3 seasons that were on the roster when he was hired, almost every single one of them Bellotti recruits:

Will Tuakuafu, Terrell Turner, Brandon Bair, Blake Ferras, Zac Clarke, Simi Toeanai, Taylor Hart, Dion Jordan, Issac Remington, Ricky Heimuli

That's 10 guys for 3 positions. Deforest Buckner is the only current linemen who would crack that 10 deep. Every single one of those guys are better then Balducci (maybe not Ferras), Talia, and Mondeaux. And Heimuli is the only one who could theoretically be argued as a Chip recruit. But the reality is, Heimuli was an early commit who made the commitment before Bellotti stepped down

and IMO, in the last 4-5 years the only other Duck D-Linemen who would crack that 10-deep is Armstead

as far as LB's, same time period as above:

Casey Matthews, Spenser Paysinger, Kenny Rowe, Kiko Alonzo, Michael Clay, Bryson Littlejohn, Dewitt Stuckey, Brandon Hanna, Josh Kaddu, Boseko Lokombo

once again, 10 guys on the roster when Chip took over who I believe were all better then any they've had since. You could make an argument for Tony Washington and Tyson Coleman, but it's debatable

the point being that front-7 recruiting really dropped off under Chip. And it dropped off significantly (and you could even make a compelling argument that secondary recruiting dropped off as well, although maybe not so much in quality, but in quantity of quality, if you know what I mean)

I forget who the D-Line coach was before Bellotti left, but he was a good recruiter. Certainly better then Jerry Azzinaro. Now, Azzinaro was reportedly great at teaching techniques and connecting to kids when he coached. He knew defense too. He was a notorious hardass, which is perfectly acceptable in a d-line coach. But the chatter among Duck boosters is that Chip and Azzinaro were very close in one area: they both hated recruiting. And it showed in results on the D-Line.

(by the way, rumor is that Helfirch offerd the job of defensive coordinator to Azzinaro before he offerd it to Pellum, but Azzinaro wanted the NFL, just like Chip

this points directly at recruiting failures that occurred in the last couple of years of Chip Kelly's tenure....

this is Helfrich's third year. if he was able to deal with supposed recruiting failures that happened due to the NCAA sanctions last year, then losing Chip Kelly shouldn't cause this severe of a drop off. the team is still ranked 17th in composite recruiting, yet we're not even in the top 100 on defense. blame Chip Kelly all you want, but that doesn't explain Wazzu under an offensive minded Mike Leach holding opposing teams to less yards.

it's Helfrich's 3rd season, but he's only had 2 recruiting classes and one of them was when Chip left the program 2 weeks before letter of intent day.

and by the way, I'm not excusing the defense at all, nor am I making excuses for the coaches. They are responsible for both coaching and recruiting, and it looks like they've been failing in both areas

recruiting and player development raises flags. look at Coach Neal's track record. wtf happened? he had Mitchell, Ifo, and Hill, so he decided to phone it in for several years? when was the last time Oregon had an NFL tier safety? John Boyett? Springs and Amadi have potential, but where are the junior/senior DBs and safeties to give them time to develop?

they aren't there and that goes directly to what I'm saying. Those would be the guys that would have been recruited in Chip's last 2 seasons. That's the problem. And it's not a coincidence that those happened to be the 2 years when Chip was busy flirting with NFL teams

one reason I'm saying what I'm saying is that I was recently (last few months) told by a fairly heavy booster that he was told by a defensive coach that other schools were using the Chip-is-going-to-the-NFL all the time those last 2 years and it was effective. The coach believed the Ducks lost several recruits because of it. I wasn't told who the coach was but the deduction wasn't hard since supposedly, it was a coach still there who was also in place back at that time. That narrows it down to Neal or Pellum. Of course, both would have reason to point fingers another direction. The booster i talked to could have been full of it too, although I didn't get that impression and I have a fairly good BS detector, probably because I fling it at times myself....never with you though

and this just pisses me off more when excuses about recruiting are made like the sanctions hurt us, or Chip Kelly hurt us. these are the same position coaches that have been around for years. if they could recruit well when we had weaker facilities and less of a reputation as being a top tier football program, they should be able to recruit fine now. something is flawed - either the recruits they are targeting, or their ability to develop the recruits they sign.

the power of the facilities is a bit overrated, IMO.

I'll say again, Don Pellum was much better at recruiting LB's under bellotti then he was under chip. Maybe he lost his edge, but the same thing is true for Neal. Seems like a tall coincidence. The new position coaches at D-Line and LB might be turning things around...maybe some good recruits last year and decent ones the year before. But no D-Linemen yet in the current class. Unfortunately, there were several big time defensive recruits at the game Saturday....ouch!

it also probably doesn't help that Alioti started using the 2 gap scheme for the D-line when it became apparent that the Ducks were going to dramatically lose the time of possession battle. That turns D-Linemen into punching bags and few want to play in a system like that

[Wizenheimer]

I think talent is part of the issue but coaching on the defensive end is equally responsible. There are plenty of teams that exceed what they're supposed to do year in and year out on the defensive end of the ball. Sure the talent is raw but it's also regressed ever since we lost perhaps our best defensive minded coach we have ever had in Azzinaro and it regressed further when we made that switch from Alliotti to Pellum. (It's funny, people used to joke about "Allowalotti" defense but I can't tell if Pellum is garbage or if Allioti didn't get enough credit, possibly a combination of both?) I'd imagine Pellum will get another season to try to put things together but right now it seems like with our best defensive recruits we've had we are getting terrible results. Youth could quite possibly be largely responsible for that hence why Pellum won't nor should he be fired this season but if this kind of defense continues it's gonna make it hard to envision Oregon keeping Pellum much longer than next season.:

I had the 'give-Pellum-some-time' perspective last season

but the D has been so bad this year that I don't hold that view any more. Even though I disagree with Jason Stern (and worry about his liver) about the level of talent on the team, I agree with him that there is no excuse for the defensive performance so far this season. Pellum has dumbed-down the defense and the players still don't get it. The LB's miss gaps all the time, and there are blown assignments galore. At some point, the coaches are accountable

I can also relay that I've heard from a couple of people today that are much more connected then I am that there's a lot of anger among big-time boosters. My guess is that the heat is on Pellum and if the Duck D has many more games like yesterday, he'll be fired. Almost certainly not till the season is over, but if it gets bad enough, who knows

[Norm2953]

I'm neither a big Oregon/OSU fan but let's see how the coaching staff reacts this week to the first
real adversity since early in the 2009 season. Fall back on the fundamentals of blocking/tackling for
without their Heisman trophy winner, offensive tempo is not likely going to be a factor this season.
The coaching staff needs to get the team back first by playing a solid 60 minutes against Colorado.

[PDXKnight]

I think talent is part of the issue but coaching on the defensive end is equally responsible. There are plenty of teams that exceed what they're supposed to do year in and year out on the defensive end of the ball. Sure the talent is raw but it's also regressed ever since we lost perhaps our best defensive minded coach we have ever had in Azzinaro and it regressed further when we made that switch from Alliotti to Pellum. (It's funny, people used to joke about "Allowalotti" defense but I can't tell if Pellum is garbage or if Allioti didn't get enough credit, possibly a combination of both?) I'd imagine Pellum will get another season to try to put things together but right now it seems like with our best defensive recruits we've had we are getting terrible results. Youth could quite possibly be largely responsible for that hence why Pellum won't nor should he be fired this season but if this kind of defense continues it's gonna make it hard to envision Oregon keeping Pellum much longer than next season.:

I had the 'give-Pellum-some-time' perspective last season

but the D has been so bad this year that I don't hold that view any more. Even though I disagree with Jason Stern (and worry about his liver) about the level of talent on the team, I agree with him that there is no excuse for the defensive performance so far this season. Pellum has dumbed-down the defense and the players still don't get it. The LB's miss gaps all the time, and there are blown assignments galore. At some point, the coaches are accountable

I can also relay that I've heard from a couple of people today that are much more connected then I am that there's a lot of anger among big-time boosters. My guess is that the heat is on Pellum and if the Duck D has many more games like yesterday, he'll be fired. Almost certainly not till the season is over, but if it gets bad enough, who knows

Hmm that's an interesting perspective and I'd be interested to know who the big time boosters are (and namely if it's the big kahuna Phil Knight). I guess I find it hard to believe he'd be fired so suddenly personally but certainly if big time boosters are calling for his head you'd be right on the mark about this potentially being pellum's final season.

[PDX MM]

Who would have thought the Portland Vikings would be the best football team in the state of Oregon in 2015.

[PDXKnight]

Who would have thought the Portland Vikings would be the best football team in the state of Oregon in 2015.

Ha well this is a huge embellishment but they do have the best record.

[JasonStern]

by the way, rumor is that Helfirch offerd the job of defensive coordinator to Azzinaro before he offerd it to Pellum, but Azzinaro wanted the NFL, just like Chip

(pours salt on my open wound)

one reason I'm saying what I'm saying is that I was recently (last few months) told by a fairly heavy booster that he was told by a defensive coach that other schools were using the Chip-is-going-to-the-NFL all the time those last 2 years and it was effective.

which I completely believe. hell, Dontre Wilson publicly stated when he decommitted from Oregon that Chip Kelly lied to him about not interviewing with NFL teams and that he was committed to Oregon, just in time for him to back out on that commitment.

but where I still don't buy the "blame Chip Kelly for bad recruiting" narrative is this - players spend a majority of their time with their position coaches - not the head coach. even with the Chip Kelly drama, Coach Cam was able to keep the running back position stocked with both elite talent and promising prospects. so let's look at the other position coaches at our weak positions. quarterback? Scott Frost! linebackers? Pellum! secondary? Neal! all still here. the longevity of the assistant coaches was something Oregon seems to take seriously.

Oregon's classes ranked 13 in 2012, 19 in 2013, and 21 in 2014. so even if "Chip Kelly to the NFL" is the reason for a drop in recruiting, we're still talking about dropping 8 positions nationally - not 80.

the power of the facilities is a bit overrated, IMO.

no it isn't. when Phil Knight asked Bellotti what Oregon needed to take the program to the next level, what was his answer?

I live in Reno so I also follow Nevada, and everyone is excited that they are finally getting some facilities upgrades, including restrooms with plumbing. I'm not making that up. in 2015, they actually took the time to mention the restrooms will have plumbing. and guess whose defense is equally bad this year?

facilities are important. not an end-all be-all that makes Eugene a more desirable place for an 18 year old student athlete than southern California. but they can definitely be a difference maker when choosing between schools like Oregon and Cal.

I can also relay that I've heard from a couple of people today that are much more connected then I am that there's a lot of anger among big-time boosters. My guess is that the heat is on Pellum and if the Duck D has many more games like yesterday, he'll be fired. Almost certainly not till the season is over, but if it gets bad enough, who knows

On Pellum has been with the team too long. if anything, he'll be forced to retire, similar to Bellotti. my main fear is that instead of getting some fresh blood in the coaching staff, the Ducks would just officially make Neal the DC.

the O line is full of fresh blood and that's always gonna take a toll

which makes the QB controversy even stupider. instead of building some cohesion with the offensive line and one QB, we're switching it up on the fly which leads to unnecessary, drive-killing offsides penalties.

I'm neither a big Oregon/OSU fan but let's see how the coaching staff reacts this week to the first
real adversity since early in the 2009 season.

the first real adversity was the game at Arizona two years ago, where the Ducks just showed up expecting to win and got their butts handed to them after DAT's annoying "I guess a Rose Bowl would be fun for the young guys" quote. but that team had veteran leaders that were able to straighten the team out. all four of Oregon's captains from last year - Grasu, Mariota, Ifo, and Malone - are gone. outside of Buckner, I don't even know who the team captains are for the team this year, and I follow the team fairly closely. so I just don't see the leadership this season.

[PDX MM]

Who would have thought the Portland Vikings would be the best football team in the state of Oregon in 2015.

Ha well this is a huge embellishment but they do have the best record.

What can I say I am a flopper!

[Wizenheimer]

the power of the facilities is a bit overrated, IMO.

no it isn't. when Phil Knight asked Bellotti what Oregon needed to take the program to the next level, what was his answer?

I live in Reno so I also follow Nevada, and everyone is excited that they are finally getting some facilities upgrades, including restrooms with plumbing. I'm not making that up. in 2015, they actually took the time to mention the restrooms will have plumbing. and guess whose defense is equally bad this year?

facilities are important. not an end-all be-all that makes Eugene a more desirable place for an 18 year old student athlete than southern California. but they can definitely be a difference maker when choosing between schools like Oregon and Cal.

I didn't say it was important, just that it was a bit overrated

and I'll use your focus on recruiting rankings as an illustration:

in 2007, Oregon had it's highest rated recruiting class ever...9th (Scout). That was before the state of the art practice facility was finished and well before that bazillion dollar athletic center that got all the national headlines was built. It was even before the more recent upgrades to Autzen stadium including the relatively new giant screen monitors.

the biggest factor seems to be coaches that can connect to recruits. Facilities pale in comparison

oh, and it helps to have a team that gets a lot of media attention & coverage. Unfortunately, one thing that hasn't been covered lately is most of the field when the opponent has the ball

[JasonStern]

hypothetical - what if Chip Kelly actually was a great recruiter, but he suffered from the problem of being a terrible talent evaluator..? I mean, his moves as the Eagles GM support that...

[tweet]https://twitter.com/JB_Long/status/648575448801153024[/tweet]

well, that's not reassuring...

Even though I disagree with Jason Stern (and worry about his liver)

appreciate the concern, but if the Ducks don't kill me this year, a twenty-something win Blazers team probably will.

I didn't say it was important, just that it was a bit overrated

and I'll use your focus on recruiting rankings as an illustration:

in 2007, Oregon had it's highest rated recruiting class ever...9th (Scout). That was before the state of the art practice facility was finished and well before that bazillion dollar athletic center that got all the national headlines was built. It was even before the more recent upgrades to Autzen stadium including the relatively new giant screen monitors.

right, which means the facilities arms race is wasting money that could go to things that actually benefit society. but my point was more that there is a very distinctive difference between the "haves" and the "have nots", which is why what Utah has done - not just last weekend but in both of their BCS bowl seasons - is so impressive.

[JasonStern]

I really like Andersen!

when Mike Riley quit to take the Nebraska job, I was one of the few on the "you're gonna miss him when he's gone" train, as he really did do more with less. but when they hired Andersen... Andersen was a great coach at Utah State. he made a legit program there given a team with a similar talent market to Oregon that has to compete against BYU and Utah for recruits. Oregon State's talent cupboard is fairly empty now, but they should be competitive in a couple of seasons.

the Pac12 is gaining parity, which should be good. but given where Oregon was, and, at times, my BAC, I'm not looking forward to returning to every game being a challenge.