Hope you all had a good Father's Day weekend. If you missed out, we had some good discussions on the California schools' reaction to expansion, and also how the proposed North/South division split will affect recruiting. On to today's quack!
- The Ducks may be the deepest team in the Pac-10, but there's nothing wrong with adding to that. According to Ducks Attack, former Texas safety Marcus Davis will be joining the team. Davis was a 2008 recruit, but because of his transferring, it's not initially clear how much eligibility he'll have left. Davis transferred from Texas due to a DWI he received his freshman year. Oregon's been known to take chances on transfers with issues, including Onterrio Smith and Richie Incognito, though Incognito lasted about a week before getting kicked off the team. If Davis does commit, I'm sure Kelly will be expecting exemplary behavior, especially considering Oregon's recent legal troubles.
- Rob Moseley's piece yesterday was on Pac-10 expansion. Most of the article is for those that haven't been following this saga every minute, but Moseley also has some good quotes regarding UO's need for the additional money. While Oregon is sitting pretty financially, with costs always rising and the price tag for Matt Court coming due, the additional Pac-10 revenues (which could reach 14.5 million per school for television alone) will prove incredibly useful for the Athletic Department.
- Bill Moos continued the growing rumor that the Oregon/WSU game could get moved to Qwest Field in Seattle every year. WSU has proposed this to Oregon, and will propose it again once Oregon gets an AD in place. I'm still not sold that this will be a great money-maker for the Ducks, but if it is, I very much like the idea of not having to go to Pullman again. And while the recruiting advantages may not be significant, they'll certainly be better than playing in Pullman. But I still don't like the idea of losing a home game. What do you think?
- In some former player news, Baltimore WR Demetrius Williams may be on his way out. With frustration over a lack of practice time, he's now skipping practice, which is probably not the best move. Also, Jeremiah Masoli is weighing his options and may enter the NFL supplemental draft.
- A Pac-10 expansion note, while division angst is high for football, it won't be for basketball, as there will be no divisions.
- Lastly, Smart Football had some great links over the weekend. My favorite is one on Bill Walsh and randomization in football from Advanced NFL Stats (Chris also links to his own piece on randomization from 2007). We've talked a lot about unpredictability, especially with the moves Oregon has been making defensively. One of the advantages of the 3-4 is the ability to be unpredictable, but that can go out the window if you develop patterns. Bill Walsh's comments should be a warning to any defensive coordinator out there.
Got any other quack or opinions to share? Leave it in the comments below. GO DUCKS!