It was my fault. Dave asked me to do the Quack Fix this morning and I forgot about it. I take full and utter responsibility for it. I was so worked up over the recycled rumors going on yesterday that when it came down to actually doing the Quack Fix, I apparently decided that watching reruns of the Big Bang Theory was more important. I have no one to blame by myself...
- Fall camp with closed practices means 2012 season previews... lots and lots of previews. We have our own preview of Arizona State below this post. Make sure to check that out. Also, there is this up and coming local guy George Schroeder who has a preview of Oregon for SI which is pretty good. An interesting thing to note in the article is how Chip Kelly feels about playoffs and how they will affect the non-conference schedule of teams. I think the BCS in general favored power conferences to play weak schedules but the jury is still out for me on how this would translate to a playoff system. Afterall, you'll need to impress a selection committee and playing creampuff after creampuff doesn't seem like the way to prove you are championship material.
- Colt Lyerla is back with the team after (insert rumormongering here). Even though he's missed a few team workouts and practices, he apparently is looking to taking out M. Bison, Guile and the rest of the Street Fighter 2 crew with his new Zangief look. Brian Teague is also making a push for the starting gig according to the article but I think once Lyerla gets back in the swing of things, you have to think the starting job is his to lose. Of course, that doesn't mean we won't have both of them on the field at the same time.
- This Yahoo article points out that with all of the off-season distractions going on, at first glance, the Oregon program might appear to be in decline. If pre-season polls and media analysts are to be believed, nothing could be further from the truth. The heat on Oregon the last few years has been all about the offense. In 2012, we're all expecting big things from the defense and let's face it... breaking in a new quarterback is going to take some time and there will be a lot of mistakes. In fact, the Oregon roster has 65 freshman and sophomores on the team. Even though a lot of core people remain from the 2011 squad, i think we all need to be prepared for a dropoff as the depth comes together in the early part of the season.
- We're all curious about running back depth but it appears one freshman is starting to step up and make the most of his opportunities. With any new player, you have to be VERY careful about making bold predictions about what they will do on the field until they have some college experience but the future looks bright for Byron Marshall.
Again, sorry for the late Quack. Hope this little dose will get you through the day. Final thought. Twitter and other social media platforms can be great sources of information but they also can be horrible distributors of crap. The local media here in Oregon bust their butts to get things right and there are several of them you should follow. Their livelihood depends on being "right". Don't take rumors and innuendo as fact until you get the real story from one of them or here at ATQ.