Mops

[ncduck]

Agreed, we could do a better job of recruiting. But, let's temper that a bit. When recruit X picks school Y, there are about 120 other schools who didn't land player X. Even if top players are interested in us, it will NEVER mean we get every single one. The big fish are tough to catch. That's why everyone has a big fish that got away story.

[duckgrad99]

Agreed, we could do a better job of recruiting. But, let's temper that a bit. When recruit X picks school Y, there are about 120 other schools who didn't land player X. Even if top players are interested in us, it will NEVER mean we get every single one. The big fish are tough to catch. That's why everyone has a big fish that got away story.

I agree, well said.

[pezsez1]

And the last time I checked. our defense sucks.

Wow, you should really go back and watch the Holiday Bowl. The defense started out slow, but they ended up winning the game for us.

[Pontius]

]For the last time, it's not all about the stars.

I'm not talking about the stars. You're getting sidetracked by the minor details of the posts. I'm comparing 2 players with the same rating to illustrate the original point which was...

Watching you all melt down over kids whose names you didn't know 8 months ago, just like you did last year and the year before that is a bit much.

Especially because we'll just get some other kid who'd probably just as good next time.

For every Rey Maualuaga there is a John Bacon. We lost three games this year. Until we start closing guys like Maulauga we will be ecstatic to only lose three games. I have higher hopes for the program. I want BCS games and MNCs. Sorry, if you don't see the correlation between recruiting and winning.

[Pontius]

And the last time I checked. our defense sucks.

Wow, you should really go back and watch the Holiday Bowl. The defense started out slow, but they ended up winning the game for us.

Hmmmm. Interesting take. I would hold that we won because of our offense scoring 42. Giving up 31 is not typically considered outstanding. It never has been. They did make some key stops and obviously had a hand in the game. But more than a lot it had to with their QB injuring his shoulder, and their dominating WR not playing much in the second half.

[duckgrad99]

And the last time I checked. our defense sucks.

Wow, you should really go back and watch the Holiday Bowl. The defense started out slow, but they ended up winning the game for us.

As a whole last year, the defense was very disappointing. I think we can all agree on that. I was at the holiday bowl, and the main reason Oregon won was because Oklahoma State couldn't stop our offense in the second half. The defense did get some key stops at the end, but Oklahoma State also had some key players injured. That's certainly not an excuse, I just think our offense really won us that game and the games during the regular season. We could still use some "shut down" players on defense.

[Pontius]

For every Rey Maualuaga there is a John Bacon. We lost three games this year. Until we start closing guys like Maulauga we will be ecstatic to only lose three games. I have higher hopes for the program. I want BCS games and MNCs. Sorry, if you don't see the correlation between recruiting and winning.

I won't respond to posts that veer off the topic like this. It has nothing to do with what I said.

Or have been saying? Yes, I think it does. Your telling us that we should forget about highly regarded recruits because we always have replacements. I showed you an example that disproves your claim. You can't even figure out what your point is.

[briarduck]

]For the last time, it's not all about the stars.

I'm not talking about the stars. You're getting sidetracked by the minor details of the posts. I'm comparing 2 players with the same rating to illustrate the original point which was...

Watching you all melt down over kids whose names you didn't know 8 months ago, just like you did last year and the year before that is a bit much.

Especially because we'll just get some other kid who'd probably just as good next time.

Well said and I agree with your above comments as well! I stopped reading a number of these threads because I'm so tired of the moaning and groaning!

pontuis...For every Rey Maualuaga there is a John Bacon. We lost three games this year. Until we start closing guys like Maulauga we will be ecstatic to only lose three games. I have higher hopes for the program. I want BCS games and MNCs. Sorry, if you don't see the correlation between recruiting and winning.

Come on man, while its frustrating we are NOT an elite program (yet) and we will NOT land these types of players regularly and that's OKAY! I thought we had Rey but it didn't happen but we did land Haloti and JStew so as others have said we won't get them all and neither do USC and tOSU!! Recruiting is just a game and you will win some and lose some but in the end you hope for a favorable outcome...a top 25 class!!

GO DUCKS!!

[RuhlandAsherBestEver]

All of this bickering back and forth about things we can't control is driving me insane. I think everyone of us would agree that losing out on a potential player that we have already chalked up as ours sucks but could we not take it out on each other constantly. With that said both sides have a point we can never have enough talent but we will never sign every player we want thus is the life of recruiting. Stay positive good things will happen....

[duckgrad99]

For every Rey Maualuaga there is a John Bacon. We lost three games this year. Until we start closing guys like Maulauga we will be ecstatic to only lose three games. I have higher hopes for the program. I want BCS games and MNCs. Sorry, if you don't see the correlation between recruiting and winning.

I won't respond to posts that veer off the topic like this. It has nothing to do with what I said.

Here is what I think the point is. You might think that it's not a big deal to miss out on 4 and 5 star players, but if you look at the teams that win national championships each year, they are usually the teams that pull in top 10 recruiting classes year in and year out. Now Oregon isn't an elite team, so maybe it's unrealstic for us to expect a great recruiting class. I think what we need is to put together back to back classes where we get most of the players we wanted instead of having to dig for fallback options at the end. Will that ever happen? I hope so, but who knows!!!!

[briarduck]

For every Rey Maualuaga there is a John Bacon. We lost three games this year. Until we start closing guys like Maulauga we will be ecstatic to only lose three games. I have higher hopes for the program. I want BCS games and MNCs. Sorry, if you don't see the correlation between recruiting and winning.

I won't respond to posts that veer off the topic like this. It has nothing to do with what I said.

Here is what I think the point is. You might think that it's not a big deal to miss out on 4 and 5 star players, but if you look at the teams that win national championships each year, they are usually the teams that pull in top 10 recruiting classes year in and year out. Now Oregon isn't an elite team, so maybe it's unrealstic for us to expect a great recruiting class. I think what we need is to put together back to back classes where we get most of the players we wanted instead of having to dig for fallback options at the end. Will that ever happen? I hope so, but who knows!!!!

But that's just it we are not elite we are not in a recruiting hotbed and all we can hope for is a top 15-25 class every year and every 4-5 years hope for a top 10 class. I love what we have to offer but we have a lot working against us...and that's okay because while we all want ALL 4-5 star players we can't all have all 4-5 star players and that includes the elite programs! And those top rated classes don't guarantee success they just increases your chances...look at our little bro OSU they do pretty well considering those lousy classes!

GO DUCKS!!

[Pontius]

I'm just tired of this notion that there is always next year. Sure, it's been a fun ride at times. Our offense has been unbelievable that past couple years. That said, not one major power would consider 19-7 over two years to be the ultimate step. I hold out hope that Oregon can one day become a national power where trips to BCS games are a regularity. I believe Oregon has the capability. And I believe the reason we have yet to reach that point is due to not closing the elite recruits. It's that simple. I've followed recruiting very closely since '98 and I've seen how far the program has come in recruiting. I've also seen how all the second place finishes for recruits has panned out. It is my judgment that most of our inconsistency as a program comes from our inability to close out recruits over the years. Sure, we've gotten some big time gems who in the past would've never come to Oregon. But it's now time to realize that we will never become a top-tier program until we stop relying on sleepers and projects, and instead start closing the big names with more consistency.

Our past two classes previous to this year have been outstanding. Yet, we've already seen the attrition. It's a must to recruit solid classes each and every year to maintain dominance. We will see how this recruiting cycle ends up, but if things things don't drastically improve by signing day this class will not be up to par.

[briarduck]

I'm just tired of this notion that there is always next year. Sure, it's been a fun ride at times. Our offense has been unbelievable that past couple years. That said, not one major power would consider 19-7 over two years to be the ultimate step. I hold out hope that Oregon can one day become a national power where trips to BCS games are a regularity. I believe Oregon has the capability. And I believe the reason we have yet to reach that point is due to not closing the elite recruits. It's that simple. I've followed recruiting very closely since '98 and I've seen how far the program has come in recruiting. I've also seen how all the second place finishes for recruits has panned out. It is my judgment that most of our inconsistency as a program comes from our inability to close out recruits over the years. Sure, we've gotten some big time gems who in the past would've never come to Oregon. But it's now time to realize that we will never become a top-tier program until we stop relying on sleepers and projects, and instead start closing the big names with more consistency.

Our past two classes previous to this year have been outstanding. Yet, we've already seen the attrition. It's a must to recruit solid classes each and every year to maintain dominance. We will see how this recruiting cycle ends up, but if things things don't drastically improve by signing day this class will not be up to par.

While I don't agree with the notion we will become elite program, at least not anytime soon, we can and will be better at recruiting some day! See Mops other thread on our past recruiting classes...while it may not change your mind its pretty enlightening considering our recruiting classes have improved!

Like you I have followed recruiting for many years and I would love to start winning more recruiting battles against the elite schools but I have learned that it is harder to do than most of us realize but our recruiting move nationally is a first step in bettering our classes!

GO DUCKS!!

[duckgrad99]

I'm just tired of this notion that there is always next year. Sure, it's been a fun ride at times. Our offense has been unbelievable that past couple years. That said, not one major power would consider 19-7 over two years to be the ultimate step. I hold out hope that Oregon can one day become a national power where trips to BCS games are a regularity. I believe Oregon has the capability. And I believe the reason we have yet to reach that point is due to not closing the elite recruits. It's that simple. I've followed recruiting very closely since '98 and I've seen how far the program has come in recruiting. I've also seen how all the second place finishes for recruits has panned out. It is my judgment that most of our inconsistency as a program comes from our inability to close out recruits over the years. Sure, we've gotten some big time gems who in the past would've never come to Oregon. But it's now time to realize that we will never become a top-tier program until we stop relying on sleepers and projects, and instead start closing the big names with more consistency.

Our past two classes previous to this year have been outstanding. Yet, we've already seen the attrition. It's a must to recruit solid classes each and every year to maintain dominance. We will see how this recruiting cycle ends up, but if things things don't drastically improve by signing day this class will not be up to par.

I think that's a great post, and a fair one at that.

[Duckxing]

Oregon hasn't ever been, or ever will be a national power because of one simple reason, LOCATION. Beleive it or not Oregon has about reached its pinnacle as far as being a national power. Oregon will always be in that second tier, and there is nothing wrong with that. Going from nothing to a Top 20 team is something that shouldn't be taken lightly.