Morning Quack Fix: DT position battle, Chris Harper speaks out

by jtlight on Jul 13, 2009 7:47 AM PDT in Morning Quack Fix

It was a very quiet weekend in the Duck world. Here is your post-weekend quack.

If you missed it, or just don't like scrolling down, BisonDuck wrote a great piece on the DT position battle Blake Ferras and Simi Toeaina. If you haven't already, make sure to check that out.
As noted by JConant in a fanpost, Chris Harper opened up with Rob Moseley last week, and cited his reason for leaving Oregon entirely on being homesick. He went so far as to say that he liked the coaching staff, and was becoming more comfortable in the receivers role. While I'm willing to take the kid at face value, some aren't. Take Bob Rickert, taking his crotchety old man schtick to new heights, by mocking the decisions of an 18 year old kid to whom he has little to no connection. Way to keep our fan base looking classy Bob. The comments (heck, it's Oregonlive) are even worse. Good luck to Chris, I hope he finds exactly what he's looking for.
According to Pro Football Weekly, Max Unger will be starting this year in Seattle, though his exact position is not yet known.
Nick Daschel at BusterSports ranked all 30 Pac-10 non conference games. Coming in No. 1 is Oregon/Boise State, just beating out USC/Ohio State. One things for sure, there will be a lot of great football this fall.
The boys over at OBNUG take a look at Boise State's linebacking corp, which could be a weakness, but hasn't received a lot of attention yet.
Lastly, I really like how this ends.

As always, comment away. GO DUCKS!

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Ted Miller runs down the scariest Pac-10 non-conference games...

Purdue/Oregon is listed. I can see that point, however, at home, Oregon should win by 3 touchdowns….

I’m much more worried about CMU/Arizona and Cal/Minnesota, as you can never trust Mike Stoops or Jeff Tedford with making our conference look good.

--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog

by jtlight on Jul 13, 2009 8:05 AM PDT reply actions

I’m more concerned with OSU at UNLV, though I like the Beavers in that game. UNLV’s win at ASU last season probably got the attention of the OSU staff. It could be the kind of game Oregon got when they went to Utah State a number of years ago…a win, but somewhat tougher than expected.

I think Cal will put it to Minnesota the same way Oregon will put it to Purdue.

I'm really tired of it not being football season.

by JConant on Jul 13, 2009 9:41 AM PDT up reply actions

Cal should...

but they also should have taken care of Maryland last year…they seem to not like those 9am PST games.

--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog

by jtlight on Jul 13, 2009 9:44 AM PDT up reply actions

Oh, that’s right. I forgot that’s a breakfast game for Cal. I’m going to assume Tedford adjusts for that and Best creates a whole new batch of YouTube highlight videos to make up for his now famous moment on the turf at Maryland.

I'm really tired of it not being football season.

by JConant on Jul 13, 2009 9:47 AM PDT up reply actions

have the Cal players never heard of coffee

Is that not what the rest over america uses to do work at 9 when they want to be sleeping. I understand they dont want to play at 9. I just feel it has become to big a factor. You have 12 games a year, wake up.

Sleeping under an avalanche with Cartman, wake me Sept 3.

by trumpetduck on Jul 13, 2009 9:50 AM PDT up reply actions

Is there any way that Washington plays a competitive game with LSU? I know the easy answer is an emphatic “no”. But the Dawgs gave a good BYU team all they wanted in Seattle. Jake is back, healthy and probably improved at least a little. The emotion of Sark’s first game will be off the charts.

The early line is LSU -16. Any temptation to take the underDawgs?

I'm really tired of it not being football season.

by JConant on Jul 13, 2009 10:16 AM PDT up reply actions

Not at all

UW loses by 3 TDs at least. This isn’t even my own bias against hating the Huskies, this is just not the year for them. Sark is going to bring energy and the team might come out fired up and even keep it close for a bit, but by 2nd half, talent, speed, athleticism, coaching, cheerleaders, fans, etc will take over and UW will be outmatched and outclassed

I support Takimoto in his effort to support Roger Kieschnick in his quest to becoming the best Kieschnick ever to play professional baseball.

by The VD Special on Jul 13, 2009 5:31 PM PDT up reply actions

Oregon/Boise St over USC/tOSU?

I just don’t see their reasoning. Do pundits really believe that USC is going to walk into Columbus and take out the Buckeyes convincingly? I know USC crushed them last year but Ohio State is always tough at the horseshoe. As much as I’m looking forward to the Oregon game, USC losing to Ohio State would have far more ramifications for the conference than Oregon losing. USC is the poster child of the Pac-10. If USC loses to the Buckeyes, it will be hard to garner respect for the conference, despite what everyone else does.

--Dominic, Addicted to Quack

Autzen Stadium is where great teams go to die." - J. Brady McCullough, The Michigan Daily.

by dvieira on Jul 13, 2009 8:45 AM PDT reply actions

Yeah, that’s questionable. No way the national college football audience sees Oregon/BSU as a bigger of the two games. UCLA at Tennessee might garner more national attention than Oregon at BSU…so many college football fans and pundits tend to live in the past.

I'm really tired of it not being football season.

by JConant on Jul 13, 2009 9:46 AM PDT up reply actions

I think that Oregon/Boise State will get a ton of press nationally. It will be the opening night of college football, between two top 15 teams. I think it will definitely be seen as one of the most intriguing games of the offseason matchups, especially since Boise State won in Autzen last season. While it doesn’t have the name of USC/OSU, I think that Oregon/Boise State will be one of those games that people just want to watch.

--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog

by jtlight on Jul 13, 2009 9:49 AM PDT up reply actions

true, if for nothing else being the opener of the season.

--Dominic, Addicted to Quack

Autzen Stadium is where great teams go to die." - J. Brady McCullough, The Michigan Daily.

by dvieira on Jul 13, 2009 9:52 AM PDT up reply actions

very true, but

ESPN will probably give the week of USC/tOSU some silly nick name and promote the shit out of that game. Its Big Time Super Showdown week, capped off by the biggest nonconference game of the year, watch watch watch! As much as I hate to say it, Dom is right that USC is almost all that matters for the Pac 10, if they are not good then we are not even viewed as a real conference.

Sleeping under an avalanche with Cartman, wake me Sept 3.

by trumpetduck on Jul 13, 2009 9:56 AM PDT up reply actions

Possibly, however, that game will be very easy to write off later in the season. Last season, everyone expected great things out of both OSU and USC. This year, not to the same degree.

--AddictedToQuack, SBNation's Oregon Ducks blog

by jtlight on Jul 13, 2009 9:58 AM PDT up reply actions

that is fair

You swayed me in one sentence, well done. Unless its a classic game.

Sleeping under an avalanche with Cartman, wake me Sept 3.

by trumpetduck on Jul 13, 2009 10:05 AM PDT up reply actions

Rickert's buffoonery

He finds a nut here and there, but he’s basically a less-insane OLive commentor. The phrase “spittle-flecked” comes to mind.

by grimc on Jul 13, 2009 1:18 PM PDT reply actions

I know it’s a lot to ask when jobs are measured in readership, but I wish O-Live columnists would try more often to raise the standards of their readers rather than stoop to the current, well-established level of collective idiocy.

It’s not hard to imagine that homesickness was the only, or even the primary, reason for Harper’s transfer. Still, what sense does it make to clown on a kid who may be trying his best not to publicly take shots at an Oregon program he’ll have to face down the road.

I'm really tired of it not being football season.

by JConant on Jul 13, 2009 3:47 PM PDT up reply actions

Yep. If it isn’t Rickert mocking a 18-19 y/0 kid for getting homesick, it’s Canzano baiting readers (and then having Goe write a piece scolding them when Canzano gets called on it).

I like Hunt and White, and Quick’s Blazer coverage is great, but the rest of the sports staff ranges from mediocre to outright lying hacks.

Whatever happened to Meehan, anyway? He still wasting ink there?

by grimc on Jul 13, 2009 7:41 PM PDT up reply actions

Another game that isn't really being talked about is Oregon State-Cincinnatti

While it doesn’t have the flavor or excitement of BSU/UO or USC/tOSU, it still pits two very competitive teams— Cincy was in a BCS game last year, and Oregon State, well, ahem, almost made one :’(. After the drubbing 2 years ago (Cincy over OSU 35-3) Oregon State will definitely be looking for revenge, at home.

I support Takimoto in his effort to support Roger Kieschnick in his quest to becoming the best Kieschnick ever to play professional baseball.

by The VD Special on Jul 13, 2009 5:33 PM PDT reply actions

I think the point was to look at games where the opponent might be overlooked. OSU wouldn’t overlook Cincinnati this year would they? I don’t think so. I do agree that the OSU/CIN game isn’t getting a lot of talk. It will…a good opportunity for the Beavs to exercise some early-season demons.

I'm really tired of it not being football season.

by JConant on Jul 13, 2009 8:25 PM PDT up reply actions