Dan Lanning reveals criticism of himself following second scrimmage

As he enters his first season as the leader of the Oregon Ducks, Dan Lanning knows he’s far from perfect.

That’s why he’s being just as hard on himself as he is on his players in advance of the 2022 season. Speaking with the media following Oregon’s second scrimmage, Lanning revealed a criticism he has of himself that he’s looking to fix.

“I mismanaged an in the game situation here today where we could’ve got a clock play in that I want to get better,” stated Lanning. “Clock was running and we probably hurried to get a field goal. I would have gone back and done that differently. I think there’s still some stuff that I want to keep coaching myself on, and you only do that by creating those moments in practice.

“Again, the thing that I think is going to help me be successful is I have good coaches around me, and I can lean on those guys for moments of growth.”

At least Dan Lanning can look on the bright side, that the mismanaged situation came in a scrimmage and not during a game that actually counted. The type of self awareness exhibited by the first year coach will go a long way to improving his abilities, and it’ll help Oregon in the long run.

Dan Lanning criticizes offense following second scrimmage

Moreover, Lanning was not pleased with the way the Ducks offense took care of the ball during their second scrimmage on Saturday, and he was not hesitant to emphasize how the turnovers need to be cleaned up.

Despite moving the ball well, the offense threw four interceptions and put the ball on the turf multiple times, Lanning told reporters on Saturday. Beyond those specific plays, Lanning felt the ball was put in jeopardy too much.

“We did not do as good a job taking care of the ball today,” Lanning said. “You know, offense moved the ball really well early. And really kind of throughout the scrimmage. But we had a lot of self-inflicted wounds. Some takeaways, defense did a really good job of attacking the ball.”

While the bulk of the fault for the turnovers lies with the offense, Lanning did acknowledge the defense was on point to create takeaways.

“It’s a combination of both. You know, it’s a combination of both. Not catching it clean turns into a tip ball turns into an interception. Some poor decision making. Some taking advantage of an opportune moment and doing a good job attacking the ball. So I think it’s a combination. We gotta do a better job taking care of it, for sure,” Lanning said.