01-24-2013, 02:39 PM
I don't see next year as a rebuilding year at all. Nothing compared to last year and what we lost (Luck, DeCastro, Martin, Fleener, etc.).
On defense, I am very excited about what I think will be a nationally elite unit. Losing Brown surprised me. Carter is only a freshman and is showing signs of developing into an elite lockdown corner. I am hopeful that Wayne Lyons will be able to step up and play the other starting CB. I don't have the depth chart in front of me but I think we get Browning for another year. Also, I believe Usua Amanam will be back and he is a great nickelback. For our front seven, I am not sure what else there is to say except we are loaded at LB and I think our front seven will be one of the best in the nation.
On offense, I am cautiously optimistic. Our QB play should be much better next year. Hogan will get all of spring practice to take snaps as the first team starter. He shows great poise. While he clearly needs work on deep yardage passes, he is pretty accurate in the short-to-mid range game and avoids costly turnovers. Our offensive line should be an improvement. Like others, I am optimistic that Peat, Murphy and Garnett will all develop into starters next year and that Yankey can be moved to LG. Receiver and TE are brobdingnagian question marks, no question. Ertz was a big loss but, other than that, it is hard to see how we could be much worse than last year. For running back, my biggest concern is pass protection. Taylor was very good at that and I am not sure any other RB on our roster can block as well as he can. We have very talented running backs between Wilkerson, Young and (hopefully) Sanders.
All in all, I am very optimistic about next season.
On defense, I am very excited about what I think will be a nationally elite unit. Losing Brown surprised me. Carter is only a freshman and is showing signs of developing into an elite lockdown corner. I am hopeful that Wayne Lyons will be able to step up and play the other starting CB. I don't have the depth chart in front of me but I think we get Browning for another year. Also, I believe Usua Amanam will be back and he is a great nickelback. For our front seven, I am not sure what else there is to say except we are loaded at LB and I think our front seven will be one of the best in the nation.
On offense, I am cautiously optimistic. Our QB play should be much better next year. Hogan will get all of spring practice to take snaps as the first team starter. He shows great poise. While he clearly needs work on deep yardage passes, he is pretty accurate in the short-to-mid range game and avoids costly turnovers. Our offensive line should be an improvement. Like others, I am optimistic that Peat, Murphy and Garnett will all develop into starters next year and that Yankey can be moved to LG. Receiver and TE are brobdingnagian question marks, no question. Ertz was a big loss but, other than that, it is hard to see how we could be much worse than last year. For running back, my biggest concern is pass protection. Taylor was very good at that and I am not sure any other RB on our roster can block as well as he can. We have very talented running backs between Wilkerson, Young and (hopefully) Sanders.
All in all, I am very optimistic about next season.