This should be it
- By leeanderthal
- The Gobbler
- 12 Replies
2015 is shaping up as a better year on the field than prior years. We expect to win anywhere from 8 to 11 games this year because of the talent level of our team. Frankly, anything is possible with this team because there are many unknowns surrounding it. Here are some of the unknowns.
1. Will our O-line really be better? We have two replacements. I don't count LT because he started there for a year before. Our RT also has some starts but only a partial season. Center is a few plays from brand new.
a. Will everyone stay healthy because if they don't we are hurting badly for back-up?
b. Will our RT make the significant advance in his ability which will be required ? Remember he was sorely lacking last year because he didn't know the slot.
c. Will our center be able to do his job? He's green.
d. Is there enough talent on the line to be able to block for the run or protect for the pass? Last year we struggled to do both even though it did improve when Teller started to play regularly. Still, our line was pretty bad.
2. Will our QB be able to play through the season without getting hurt to the point that he cannot play and will he be able to lead this team to victory?
a. Last year he showed a lot of toughness but it became obvious that he could easily be taken out by the opposition if our line doesn't do a heck of a lot better job this year. He must quit running into unnecessary gang tackles.
b. He must significantly cut down on turnovers due to interceptions and fumbles? There is nothing yet to indicate this will happen or not happen.
c. He must be able to throw the long ball and do it accurately. This has not been shown anywhere from last years experience.
d. He has shown the ability to lead and understand his position.
3. Will our D-line be able to ward off the teams with big running QB's and RB's.
a. Currently our D-line is not very big. Adding Maddy is a tradeoff sizewise. He's very good at his position but his replacement did pretty well. We struggle with teams like BC,Pitt, the U and yes,even WF. Iknow that we also stopped WF but they had no offense.
4. Will our LB'ers be able to perform their jobs?
a. Our LB's are relatively small and that's OK with the spread but once again we struggle with the running teams with big backs.
b. This year we are counting on two new LB's. One is a Sr. and should be OK but the other is the one that has to really show up. He's very green in that he has started only a handful of games. We suffered during those starts. Will he be ready to go? Let's hope.
c. Depth could play an important part here also.
5. Will our KO's still be directed to land on our opponents 5 to 15 yard line?
a. I am not certain that this by accident but if it is our plan we need to relook at it because it gave our opponents way too much good field position. What we did as routine our opponents did as exception.
6. Will our O plays mirror what we called last year?
a. Last year people seemed intent that we should not run JC through the line on third down. We did seem to do this but I'm not certain how often. Actually, if you open a gap he can run anywhere.
b. No-one criticized it but should you continue to run Marshawn parallel to our line trying to go outside or even around the corner? Last year he was stopped behind the line or for little gain on a number of occasions because he is not a scat back and our protection just did not allow him the time to get this done. Why keep trying to do it? He did real well when he got decent blocking running right through the line.
c. Will we learn to plan our games not just by taking our opponent into consideration but also not being so obvious on what we are going to do on so many plays? What was our game plan for WF? Did we look upon them as a pushover and lay down on our job? It does no good for your D to shut down what was already a lousy O if you are not going to have a good O plan that addresses the team you are playing and have your team ready to play.
7.. Will coach Beamer be able to lead our team with a united coaching staff and a team ready to play every game.
a. There have been many occasions over the last years when people have doubted that we were prepared to play. This used to be mainly noticeable when went into a bowl game but lately it has been discussed on other games also. Was JMU one of those? WF?
8. Will our RB's be taught to pick up the blitzes and block them and will the QB get rid of the ball when he needs to?
a. A lot of the time our O-line takes all the heat for sacks but I would personally ask you to go back and review film . The O-line did allow way too many sacks last year but there were quite a number of sacks allows by whiffs or total not addressing of blitzes by others. It also doesn't help if the QB takes too long to unload the ball.
In short, we are asking for a ton of improvements from our team. We have a lot of great talent and I fully believe that our guys will play as hard as they can to be successful. There are a lot of unknowns here but if our coaches are doing everything in their power to bring this team out properly prepared to play every game we have an outside shot at having a very good team.
As to coach Beamer I hope that he can withstand the rigors demanded to do his job .
1. Will our O-line really be better? We have two replacements. I don't count LT because he started there for a year before. Our RT also has some starts but only a partial season. Center is a few plays from brand new.
a. Will everyone stay healthy because if they don't we are hurting badly for back-up?
b. Will our RT make the significant advance in his ability which will be required ? Remember he was sorely lacking last year because he didn't know the slot.
c. Will our center be able to do his job? He's green.
d. Is there enough talent on the line to be able to block for the run or protect for the pass? Last year we struggled to do both even though it did improve when Teller started to play regularly. Still, our line was pretty bad.
2. Will our QB be able to play through the season without getting hurt to the point that he cannot play and will he be able to lead this team to victory?
a. Last year he showed a lot of toughness but it became obvious that he could easily be taken out by the opposition if our line doesn't do a heck of a lot better job this year. He must quit running into unnecessary gang tackles.
b. He must significantly cut down on turnovers due to interceptions and fumbles? There is nothing yet to indicate this will happen or not happen.
c. He must be able to throw the long ball and do it accurately. This has not been shown anywhere from last years experience.
d. He has shown the ability to lead and understand his position.
3. Will our D-line be able to ward off the teams with big running QB's and RB's.
a. Currently our D-line is not very big. Adding Maddy is a tradeoff sizewise. He's very good at his position but his replacement did pretty well. We struggle with teams like BC,Pitt, the U and yes,even WF. Iknow that we also stopped WF but they had no offense.
4. Will our LB'ers be able to perform their jobs?
a. Our LB's are relatively small and that's OK with the spread but once again we struggle with the running teams with big backs.
b. This year we are counting on two new LB's. One is a Sr. and should be OK but the other is the one that has to really show up. He's very green in that he has started only a handful of games. We suffered during those starts. Will he be ready to go? Let's hope.
c. Depth could play an important part here also.
5. Will our KO's still be directed to land on our opponents 5 to 15 yard line?
a. I am not certain that this by accident but if it is our plan we need to relook at it because it gave our opponents way too much good field position. What we did as routine our opponents did as exception.
6. Will our O plays mirror what we called last year?
a. Last year people seemed intent that we should not run JC through the line on third down. We did seem to do this but I'm not certain how often. Actually, if you open a gap he can run anywhere.
b. No-one criticized it but should you continue to run Marshawn parallel to our line trying to go outside or even around the corner? Last year he was stopped behind the line or for little gain on a number of occasions because he is not a scat back and our protection just did not allow him the time to get this done. Why keep trying to do it? He did real well when he got decent blocking running right through the line.
c. Will we learn to plan our games not just by taking our opponent into consideration but also not being so obvious on what we are going to do on so many plays? What was our game plan for WF? Did we look upon them as a pushover and lay down on our job? It does no good for your D to shut down what was already a lousy O if you are not going to have a good O plan that addresses the team you are playing and have your team ready to play.
7.. Will coach Beamer be able to lead our team with a united coaching staff and a team ready to play every game.
a. There have been many occasions over the last years when people have doubted that we were prepared to play. This used to be mainly noticeable when went into a bowl game but lately it has been discussed on other games also. Was JMU one of those? WF?
8. Will our RB's be taught to pick up the blitzes and block them and will the QB get rid of the ball when he needs to?
a. A lot of the time our O-line takes all the heat for sacks but I would personally ask you to go back and review film . The O-line did allow way too many sacks last year but there were quite a number of sacks allows by whiffs or total not addressing of blitzes by others. It also doesn't help if the QB takes too long to unload the ball.
In short, we are asking for a ton of improvements from our team. We have a lot of great talent and I fully believe that our guys will play as hard as they can to be successful. There are a lot of unknowns here but if our coaches are doing everything in their power to bring this team out properly prepared to play every game we have an outside shot at having a very good team.
As to coach Beamer I hope that he can withstand the rigors demanded to do his job .
