[Brickcity]

Gotta say I'm more pessimistic than the consensus, though what I've seen and heard this summer make me a bit less pessimistic than I had been in the spring.  Still, we are gloriously thin at OL and our starters are anything but iron horses.  Maybe we'll be lucky, but odds are against it.  And it is hard to see a better defense than last year's, given the holes in the center of the field.  This really does seem like a seven win team to me.  Yes, some upside potential given some young talent at positions of need, but also a fair bit of downside potential.  Like, there is a very real possibility that with injuries at a couple key positions, the wheels fall off this team and we have a losing season for the first time in a while.

We could easily start 0-4.

BC

Sure, we have a brutal schedule this year. And, there's no doubt our offensive line is super thin. But, I'm not too concerned about the defense. Our new inside linebackers (top three) will make some rookie mistakes. But, they're all first rate athletes. My guess is that our front seven will be very good. 

I'm a little more concerned about safety. However, we kind of sucked there last year. I don't see it getting worse. I mean, the one starter who graduated (number 5, who shall go nameless) was one of the worst "tacklers" I've ever seen. Whoever his replacement is can't be worse. And, our corners should be much improved (Adebo with a year under his belt and Eboh apparently looking very good.) 

So, yes, it comes down to the offensive line. IF it can manage to stay reasonably healthy - a big if - then I think the offense - and thus the team overall - will be very competitive. With the schedule we play, not sure how many wins that translates to.

[Brickcity]

Gotta say I'm more pessimistic than the consensus, though what I've seen and heard this summer make me a bit less pessimistic than I had been in the spring.  Still, we are gloriously thin at OL and our starters are anything but iron horses.  Maybe we'll be lucky, but odds are against it.  And it is hard to see a better defense than last year's, given the holes in the center of the field.  This really does seem like a seven win team to me.  Yes, some upside potential given some young talent at positions of need, but also a fair bit of downside potential.  Like, there is a very real possibility that with injuries at a couple key positions, the wheels fall off this team and we have a losing season for the first time in a while.

We could easily start 0-4.

BC

Sure, we have a brutal schedule this year. And, there's no doubt our offensive line is super thin. But, I'm not too concerned about the defense. Our new inside linebackers (top three) will make some rookie mistakes. But, they're all first rate athletes. My guess is that our front seven will be very good. 

I'm a little more concerned about safety. However, we kind of sucked there last year. I don't see it getting worse. I mean, the one starter who graduated (number 5, who shall go nameless) was one of the worst "tacklers" I've ever seen. Whoever his replacement is can't be worse. And, our corners should be much improved (Adebo with a year under his belt and Eboh apparently looking very good.) 

So, yes, it comes down to the offensive line. IF it can manage to stay reasonably healthy - a big if - then I think the offense - and thus the team overall - will be very competitive. With the schedule we play, not sure how many wins that translates to.