Speculating while waiting for football to start.................................

Football Insider Board
#1

…just one fan’s opinions:

  1. Of course we will be better this year. The problem is that we could be a lot better and still go winless in the SEC.

  2. Definitely better at QB. We have upgraded the talent and “experience with this offense” a lot. This will help IF they can get decent protection and find a center who won’t snap it over their heads frequently.

  3. In the offensive line, we have more depth with players coming off injuries and more talent with the JC recruits. But, Clary and Jackson may still be the starting center and left tackle. If that is the case combined with the loss of Froholdte, are we really going to be much improved in the line? Can we expect the huge overall improvement required to just get to mediocre?

  4. We should be better at running back. Boyd will be healthy and in shape, Devwah can be solid, and Hayden has talent.

  5. We should be a lot better at wide receiver. Huge talent upgrade in the receiver recruits and wideout is where freshmen can play early and well.

  6. Tight end should be improved. O’Grady is in his money year and should be really focused and Henry will provide a talent boost.

  7. Defense could be better if we can avoid injuries in general and at linebacker especially.

  8. There will be more speed in the secondary than we had last year. Not great speed compared to the rest of the SEC but better.

  9. The special teams should be better with some new kickers, more speed, and better depth. The shortage of linebackers really hurts on our coverage and special team blocking. I think Treylon Burks will be a terror on special teams. There is some talented depth at linebacker if he was willing to go to defense.

  10. Our goal should be to make it to six wins and go bowling. That would be a huge step up. If we could upset Ole Miss early and win out in non-conference, we might find another upset in the rest of the SEC schedule to go 6-6. I am thinking we beat Mizzou in the Rock to get to 6-6 and a bowl.

JMVVVVHO

#2

  1. Of course we will be better this year. The problem is that we could be a lot better and still go winless in the SEC. AGREED

  2. Definitely better at QB. We have upgraded the talent and “experience with this offense” a lot. This will help IF they can get decent protection and find a center who won’t snap it over their heads frequently. AGREED

  3. In the offensive line, we have more depth with players coming off injuries and more talent with the JC recruits. But, Clary and Jackson may still be the starting center and left tackle. If that is the case combined with the loss of Froholdte, are we really going to be much improved in the line? Can we expect the huge overall improvement required to just get to mediocre? I don’t know about huge overall improvement, but do expect improvement with everybody bought in this season and better chemistry.

  4. We should be better at running back. Boyd will be healthy and in shape, Devwah can be solid, and Hayden has talent. I think that is very good three-headed monster.

  5. We should be a lot better at wide receiver. Huge talent upgrade in the receiver recruits and wideout is where freshmen can play early and well. I think all four of the freshmen are in the rotation. They have talent, size and high football IQs.

  6. Tight end should be improved. O’Grady is in his money year and should be really focused and Henry will provide a talent boost. I also think Grayson Gunter and converted WR Chase Harrell add to a strong position.

  7. Defense could be better if we can avoid injuries in general and at linebacker especially. Definitely can’t lose depth. Steven Parker and Gio LaFrance could add so much here to go along with Harris, Pool and Henry. Zimos might have to play although he needs to redshirt.

  8. There will be more speed in the secondary than we had last year. Not great speed compared to the rest of the SEC but better. Agreed

  9. The special teams should be better with some new kickers, more speed, and better depth. The shortage of linebackers really hurts on our coverage and special team blocking. I think Treylon Burks will be a terror on special teams. There is some talented depth at linebacker if he was willing to go to defense. In no way should Burks switch sides of the ball. I agree he could be a good defensive player, but he is likely to become a great offensive player.

  10. Our goal should be to make it to six wins and go bowling. That would be a huge step up. If we could upset Ole Miss early and win out in non-conference, we might find another upset in the rest of the SEC schedule to go 6-6. I am thinking we beat Mizzou in the Rock to get to 6-6 and a bowl. I think Missouri is an 8-win team and think it might be tough to clip them. I think you have a better chance to beat one or both of the Mississippi teams.

#3

Kudos to Hogmodo and DD for a neat update and Q&A.

Adding…I think at least one SEC win would occur from significant improvement. I don’t believe we were not as bad last year as our last two games implied.

#4

Actually, we were as bad as all 12 games impled.

#5

I agree, I also agree with Hogmodo in that I believe we can be improved and still go winless in the SEC (I’ve actually predicted that a few times now).

#6

We also need to see improvement in on-field coaching this season. There were a few head scratching decisions last year. Think the CO St game. Also, too much sideline indecision (or slow decisions) at times. We certainly need player improvement too, but coaching decisions can also mean the difference between a W or L in a close game.

#7