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The Offense
RoadDawg55
Member Posts: 30,123
There was a great thread on the defense a week ago, so I thought we could talk about the offense. I'm doogin it up about the offense. It feels strange to be so confident about an offense losing a good QB, outstanding RB, a talented TE, and a good WR. It's not the best in the conference, but it will be damn good and capable of winning some shootouts should UW's secondary struggle in some games. Hopefully that doesn't happen, but some struggles are expected with such a young and unproven secondary. There is a lot of talent and experience for Petersen to work with. He has to be excited about what he can do with this kind of talent. Petersen is a huge upgrade over Sark. Hopefully Jonathon Smith can become a good play caller.
QB: I like Miles. I don't really trust the other two guys. Miles played well last year against UCLA and OSU. He's an accurate passer, good runner, and I think he's a smart QB. The game seems to come naturally to him. A good OL and strong running game should help out immensely.
RB: D-Wash is my guy. He's too big and fast to not be very good. He showed flashes last year. Coleman got some praise from Riva and Petersen today too. Callier and Cooper are decent back ups, and I'm excited to see what Shaq can do. I don't think they would put him at RB unless he was a difference maker.
WR/TE's: Ross has a lot of potential. We saw some of it last year, but that was just scratching the surface. Mickens is a good, solid WR. I don't think he's great, but he improved last year and had a nice season. Hopefully Kasen is healthy. I'd love to see him have a breakout season, but I expect him to start out slow after the injury. Other options at WR are Campbell and Taylor. Maybe a true freshman can get in the rotation. Probably not the best group in the conference, but there is enough to win. The TE's probably won't have huge seasons, but hopefully Perkins can be reliable for a few catches every game, and Daniels makes a few big plays. Daniels is a great athlete with size and speed. He's a guy to keep an eye on.
OL: I don't think any of these guys are individually great, but they were decent last year. I'm greedy and want much more from them though. We need them to be great if we have any chance of winning the North. Sark and Cozzetto are gone, another reason for increased optimism. There is no reason for this group not to be the strength of the offense. It should be expected.
Which side of the ball do you guys think is stronger? Imo, both the offense and the defense are top 4 in the conference. I think I give a slight edge to the offense. The DB depth is more alarming than any position on the offense. This is a talented team with great balance. Having an entire OL and front 7 returning is unique. It all starts up front.
QB: I like Miles. I don't really trust the other two guys. Miles played well last year against UCLA and OSU. He's an accurate passer, good runner, and I think he's a smart QB. The game seems to come naturally to him. A good OL and strong running game should help out immensely.
RB: D-Wash is my guy. He's too big and fast to not be very good. He showed flashes last year. Coleman got some praise from Riva and Petersen today too. Callier and Cooper are decent back ups, and I'm excited to see what Shaq can do. I don't think they would put him at RB unless he was a difference maker.
WR/TE's: Ross has a lot of potential. We saw some of it last year, but that was just scratching the surface. Mickens is a good, solid WR. I don't think he's great, but he improved last year and had a nice season. Hopefully Kasen is healthy. I'd love to see him have a breakout season, but I expect him to start out slow after the injury. Other options at WR are Campbell and Taylor. Maybe a true freshman can get in the rotation. Probably not the best group in the conference, but there is enough to win. The TE's probably won't have huge seasons, but hopefully Perkins can be reliable for a few catches every game, and Daniels makes a few big plays. Daniels is a great athlete with size and speed. He's a guy to keep an eye on.
OL: I don't think any of these guys are individually great, but they were decent last year. I'm greedy and want much more from them though. We need them to be great if we have any chance of winning the North. Sark and Cozzetto are gone, another reason for increased optimism. There is no reason for this group not to be the strength of the offense. It should be expected.
Which side of the ball do you guys think is stronger? Imo, both the offense and the defense are top 4 in the conference. I think I give a slight edge to the offense. The DB depth is more alarming than any position on the offense. This is a talented team with great balance. Having an entire OL and front 7 returning is unique. It all starts up front.
Comments
TL;DR: we're fucked on offense and won't be able to move the ball, especially on the road
I mostly agree with your thoughts on the WR and TE's, but out top 3 WR's are all good players. Ross has the potential to be a game breaker. We've seen glimpses. I think Kasen was misused under Sark. He was ranked wrong by Scout, but he's been a good player and made a lot of big catches. It might be a lot to ask for him to improve after the foot injury though.
I don't think Miles will be a superstar next year, but he's good. I'm curious what you saw last year that makes you doubt him. He played pretty well against UCLA especially considering the circumstances. He played well against Oregon State, although we would have blown them out with any QB. I remember him throwing some good deep balls last year. I will agree that he wasn't as good with the intermediate and short stuff. There was a big difference going from Price to Miles in that department. Miles has a somewhat long release, but I do think he is a mostly accurate passer with enough arm strength.
To me, Miles seemed confident and poised when he played. He wasn't rattled by the rush, and I think he makes good decisions. The 2 INT's against UCLA were both late in the game trying to make an unlikely comeback. At the least, he's more than capable of being a solid game manager with good running ability.
As I'd said a few weeks ago, I'd be disappointed if the offense is as similar to sarkball as some predict. CP's teams were fun as hell to watch, up until 2013. The "no offense, just plays" thing is unpredictable as a fan & as opposing DC. This team has more raw talent in one place than cp ever had at BSU. The difference is these guys are only benefitting from 9 months of his coaching instead of 4 years.
Still, I think top 4 pac12 offense is entirely reasonable and maybe higher if that 9 months really sinks in.
Stausser seems competent enough to coach both run-blocking and pass-protection, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a drastic improvement over last year. The OL at BSU gave up 26 sacks last year, but only gave up 26 in the previous 3 seasons before that.
It always hurts when you have to replace your starting QB and RB in a single year but I think the talent we had at those positions was good enough to where it won't hurt us too much.
I think they will be a top 6 offense in the Pac, but I also think they might be in the bottom 6, either way it will be interesting.
Oh, if Kasen is all that he should be we have thee second best WR group in the conference next to UA or CAL. If String didn't pummel a cunt, we'd have had the best group in the conference hands down.
The o line will be dominant at times and should have no problem pass blocking. Strausser's Oline' s don't give up many sacks
I am in LIPO mode with Washington but I think people are jumping the gun with him.