01-23-2013, 05:49 PM
I think it will depend on the OL. Our OL this year wasn't as good as in the past couple of years, and I'm not seduced by the return of four starters. But if key young, highly talented OL mature quickly to the point of being able to get a better surge on the line than we had this past year, then our running game will be good enough to help compensate for our deficiencies at WR and inexperience (next year) at TE.
More specifically, Peat played in the Rose Bowl, including the fourth quarter, particularly on running plays. If he can get his pass blocking to the point where the coaches trust him to protect Hogan's blindside, he could slide in at LT and Yankey can move to LG. Throw in Garnett, all 325 pounds of him at RG. Maybe even Schuler at center, although I don't know if he has progressed enough to call the blocking schemes.
If our OL is better, our RBs are talented enough. This will buy time for the WRs and TEs to develop, and we certainly have enough recent WRs recruits on the roster. I'm not sure whether our problem with WRs is due to coaching or scheme, but a good OL and running game will help them, as all they will then need to be is decent or average.
More specifically, Peat played in the Rose Bowl, including the fourth quarter, particularly on running plays. If he can get his pass blocking to the point where the coaches trust him to protect Hogan's blindside, he could slide in at LT and Yankey can move to LG. Throw in Garnett, all 325 pounds of him at RG. Maybe even Schuler at center, although I don't know if he has progressed enough to call the blocking schemes.
If our OL is better, our RBs are talented enough. This will buy time for the WRs and TEs to develop, and we certainly have enough recent WRs recruits on the roster. I'm not sure whether our problem with WRs is due to coaching or scheme, but a good OL and running game will help them, as all they will then need to be is decent or average.