I would be remiss if I did not explain some things about where the concept for this series began.

Kris Kristofferson died last weekend and I wanted to take some time to pay homage to someone who was – technically speaking – a genius. He was not just a genius a a songwriter, he was a literal genius. A Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, a future English Literature professor at West Point who had befriended poet Michael Fried while at Oxford, his wordsmithing would be how he became known.

As some know, prior to adopting our dog Fiji, I walked a lot more for stimulation than exercise. There is a lot of research about the value of walking in nature as mental exercise with as much or more value than the physical exercise. The picture in this series is from one of my longer Sunday walks. On those walks I would contemplate many things from philosophy of mind questions to the question of what reality means, and sometimes the more mundane.

One of those tangents led me back to what I will call my ‘adult youth’ which for me was the time after I got out of the Marine Corps and before my first child was born. On one of my walks the chorus came to me with the simple line that would define this space:

On the Sunday morning sidewalk

While it might be crazy to think this is in any way a definition of me – there was a time when the simplicity of life led to Sunday mornings just as described in the song. Saturday nights are full of friends, fun, and music. On Sunday mornings, those things faded into the background, walking alone on a sidewalk with a headache and faded memories.

As I decided I wanted to share some thoughts that were along the lines of the ‘morning after’ a football game, this line still seemed pertinent. I was sad to see Kristofferson pass. I am by no means a country music fan, but he offered a paradox. A brilliant Rhodes Scholar who seemed more comfortable far from the world, wandering along a sidewalk on a Sunday morning, alone, hungover, and reflective.

On this particular Sunday morning, I look not at what Oregon was in the game Friday night, but at what they have become. A year ago, there were plenty of people early in the season that accused Bo Nix of locking on to one of two receivers, of taking too many short passes and missing open receivers over the middle. But the other thing I think I saw a lot of was that Nix played ‘too safe’ in the passing game.

I will criticize the actual throws Dillon Gabriel made Friday night in the redzone because they were bad reads of what the defense was doing, but I think I am comfortable with the gambles Gabriel is taking because sometimes greatness is not a calculated field – it is a gamble. Being mechanistic and not taking chances might be something that wins a play in a game that was going to be a blowout, but there are times when you have to take a chance; to gamble on the unknown. Rob Mullens did that in December of 2021 and it worked pretty well. When Lanning gambled on Bo Nix – a player who many, many fans were sure was going to fail, and maybe be behind Ty Thompson – it worked out pretty well.

Gambles don’t always pay off. Lanning gambled on multiple occasions against Washington in three consecutive games. All three gambles did not succeed. The tough part of gambling is that it is high risk; but it is also high reward if successful.

I said it on the boards, the gamble by Gabriel on the two redzone passes would have been okay if he had read the coverage better and thrown the ball to a better place. The second interception was the prime example. The defender had inside leverage. There is a window to throw to in that scenario, but Gabriel threw as if the defender was out of phase and that the receiver had inside leverage. It’s okay to gamble but that was not a gamble – it was just a bad throw.

What I like is the willingness to take risks – we just need to see those risks be a little bit more calculated. Was that an example of not seeing the coverage? Not in that case – on the first interception it was absolutely not seeing the coverage on the under being in position.

I wonder this morning, though, if Dillon Gabriel is on that same mythical sidewalk with me contemplating the mysteries of life? Is he replaying those moments in his head the way I play out moments in my own head?

The thing is the play in the trenches by the Ducks gives some reason to believe that the Ducks still have their best football in front of them. Lanning admitted that this was the closest thing to a complete game the Ducks have played this season – and yet there are still so many areas which could be better.

Why is this a good thing? There is zero chance that this team is resting on any laurels they might have with a 5-0 start. This team should be focused still on cleaning up some self-inflicted wounds. The concept of Ducks vs. Ducks this week will carry weight.

And I think that is a good thing for a week which is sure to generate a lot of hype.

And somewhere far away a lonely bell was ringin'.
And it echoed through the canyons,
Like the disappearing dreams of yesterday.