The time between spring practice and the season is always the most agonizing as the anticipation begins to build. Thought I would share some of my thoughts on the team now that I have some time.
First, the starting QB will be Bilbo and I feel confident that things will turn out on the positive side. The reason for my confidence is that as Bilbo has been given the opportunity he has also shown improvement. Is he playing like a veteran yet? No way, but he is better today then he was at the end of the season and he will only continue to improve as time goes by. Especially when given real game experience.
Second, the offense's success will be determined more by the offensive line then the QB position. If they can limit the mental errors and play up to their ability then I think the offense will be a more solid unit than predicted. They won't be the high-octane unit that we used to have but they will be more than enough given our defense.
Third, the defense will determine what kind of season we have. If they can play up to the hype then we will have a special season. If not, then it will be a bumpy ride. The real key, in my opinion, for this group is the ability to defend the pass. We must get pressure and the DBs have got to prevent the big play. In addition, I've got to believe the worm will turn this year and give us plenty of TOs and points on defense. We just had too many unlucky bounces last year so the odds are in our favor.
Finally, the special teams will be interesting this year given all the changes. From the looks of it we will struggle to win the field position game if our punting doesn't improve. This will be huge given our renewed focus on controlling the ball game. I honestly believe that our return roles will improve as we now have the ability to break one to the house. Our field goal unit will likely be worse this year which will again have a huge impact on our ability to play the way we intend.
Overall, I think we will have a good, maybe great year, with some huge upsets and some near misses. To predict more than 8 wins would be too optimistic (something I'm prone to do - ask me my prediction before our first game and I'll tell you undefeated) so I'll go with the 8 which will require playing better than currently projected. Special teams will cost us at least 2 games but our defense will win us at least 3 to 4. The offense will be tough to defend due to what I think is a very balanced attack, but it will also make some mistakes along the way. The one saving grace this year is that the offense has the potential to erase those mistakes with big plays.
So there you have it. One rambling man's opinion. I welcome any comments.
First, the starting QB will be Bilbo and I feel confident that things will turn out on the positive side. The reason for my confidence is that as Bilbo has been given the opportunity he has also shown improvement. Is he playing like a veteran yet? No way, but he is better today then he was at the end of the season and he will only continue to improve as time goes by. Especially when given real game experience.
Second, the offense's success will be determined more by the offensive line then the QB position. If they can limit the mental errors and play up to their ability then I think the offense will be a more solid unit than predicted. They won't be the high-octane unit that we used to have but they will be more than enough given our defense.
Third, the defense will determine what kind of season we have. If they can play up to the hype then we will have a special season. If not, then it will be a bumpy ride. The real key, in my opinion, for this group is the ability to defend the pass. We must get pressure and the DBs have got to prevent the big play. In addition, I've got to believe the worm will turn this year and give us plenty of TOs and points on defense. We just had too many unlucky bounces last year so the odds are in our favor.
Finally, the special teams will be interesting this year given all the changes. From the looks of it we will struggle to win the field position game if our punting doesn't improve. This will be huge given our renewed focus on controlling the ball game. I honestly believe that our return roles will improve as we now have the ability to break one to the house. Our field goal unit will likely be worse this year which will again have a huge impact on our ability to play the way we intend.
Overall, I think we will have a good, maybe great year, with some huge upsets and some near misses. To predict more than 8 wins would be too optimistic (something I'm prone to do - ask me my prediction before our first game and I'll tell you undefeated) so I'll go with the 8 which will require playing better than currently projected. Special teams will cost us at least 2 games but our defense will win us at least 3 to 4. The offense will be tough to defend due to what I think is a very balanced attack, but it will also make some mistakes along the way. The one saving grace this year is that the offense has the potential to erase those mistakes with big plays.
So there you have it. One rambling man's opinion. I welcome any comments.
