I have to agree with poopylove and say I don't really understand the Dwayne Washington hype here. He looks like he could be pretty good. He didn't do anything against meaningful teams. Had a monster game against OSU but so did Sankey and a guy who basically has 1 leg.
I am in LIPO mode with Washington but I think people are jumping the gun with him.
He didn't even get a chance against meaningful teams because of Sankey. He might be the best athlete on the team. He was top 5 in every category at the testing event awhile back. Some of the stuff Puppy said about his vision may be true. He's still raw, but with his size and speed he should be good provided he runs hard (which he does).
people also forget the 2 fumbles he had in the illinois game, that is definitely a cause for concern.
Remember Peterman was a big proponent of downhill power running at Boise so it's possible someone like lavon coleman could factor this season. Washington will get plenty of carries though.
If we can find the answer at QB before the stanford game I think we're in good shape, that being a big if
Washington has played behind Sankey for long enough, it's worth seeing the results of using him as the number one back against Hawaii. You have 4 games, mix in Coleman if necessary or just open it up between the remaining 3. I don't think it will come to that though. He's a physical back which I think will be successful against the type of defenses UW will face.
people also forget the 2 fumbles he had in the illinois game, that is definitely a cause for concern.
Remember Peterman was a big proponent of downhill power running at Boise so it's possible someone like lavon coleman could factor this season. Washington will get plenty of carries though.
If we can find the answer at QB before the stanford game I think we're in good shape, that being a big if
Assuming this isn't a whoosh, it's been addressed multiple times here as well. Both of those fumbles were half an inch from being down. We're one inch away from no one even remembering he almost fumbled a couple of times.
IMO we're going to have to see a lot more than that before I get concerned that he has a fumbling issue. And I believe in the coaching he's getting right now.
I agree Coleman could get in the mix, but Peterman as a fan of power running plays to Washington's strength as well, IMO.
The offense lost a lot on paper but lets remember that its output wasn't reflective of the sum of the parts. In other words, Petersen will get the most out of what he has while Sark did not.
I think by the end of the year Miles will be an upgrade over Price. Miles adds the run threat and will have a better OL than Price ever had and won't have the PTSD from being hit constantly.
I think ASJ will be more of a loss due to his blocking than receiving, in which he was quite underwhelming.
Losing String is big because it puts pressure on Kasen. However, Ross and Mickens give you good underneath guys who are legit deep threats. Campbell will add depth. It looks like the guys who were really hampered by lisfrancs were running backs. I think Kasen will end up being fine.
DW will be very good. I'm not sold yet on Coleman. He doesn't have the burst that Sankey had. I think Coleman will be good eventually but not sure the impact this year. There is good depth as we know.
Overall the offense can be as good as last season and perhaps better due to an improved OL and more efficient play from the skill guys. The loss of Sankey will be counteracted somewhat by DW and Miles' running ability.
I think the defense will be the strength. The only weakness is safety.
people also forget the 2 fumbles he had in the illinois game, that is definitely a cause for concern.
Remember Peterman was a big proponent of downhill power running at Boise so it's possible someone like lavon coleman could factor this season. Washington will get plenty of carries though.
If we can find the answer at QB before the stanford game I think we're in good shape, that being a big if
Assuming this isn't a whoosh, it's been addressed multiple times here as well. Both of those fumbles were half an inch from being down. We're one inch away from no one even remembering he almost fumbled a couple of times.
IMO we're going to have to see a lot more than that before I get concerned that he has a fumbling issue. And I believe in the coaching he's getting right now.
I agree Coleman could get in the mix, but Peterman as a fan of power running plays to Washington's strength as well, IMO.
Don't forget that one of those fumbles in the Illinois game was the result of him getting bent pretty awkwardly at the knees. When I was watching it live I though he might have been seriously injured.
The guy is a great athlete, that is for sure. I do have some concerns about him always having some sort of injury though. I think the front runners for the job are him and Coleman (from what Peterman and Riva said about him yesterday).
Defense is top three in the conference, offense is probably in the 4-6 range. I'm not as excited about it as you are. I think Washington will be another top shelf RB but I don't think we have a true #1 WR, tight end is a question mark and I'm not the biggest fan of Miles. His running brings a nice element we've missed of late but in my limited looks at him he doesn't throw a great ball. Hopefully this staff can coach him up some, but I'm not very optimistic about the passing game. I'm hoping we run, run run.
Agree about running the ball. The offense should be run oriented, and I think it will. The OL has always been pretty good at run blocking. No excuse for the running game not to be very good and open up the passing game. A strong running game is the main reason why I think the offense will be good. Add in Miles' legs and if the passing game is average, this offense will be more than solid.
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.
He throws a really soft ball for lack of a better word. He has nice touch on the ball but the ball just looks slow coming out of his hand. It was a small sample and I certainly hope I'm wrong, but his throws look like the kind that will get deflected/picked off with pretty high regularity. Lots of people wanted to make the lazy Lockner comparison because he wears #10 and can run but Jack's arm was about 10 times stronger than Miles. Obviously that doesn't mean he can't be better than Jack, but I'm not optimistic he'll be much better.
OTOH, Cody Pickett ended up much better than I thought he'd be after seeing him in a small sample, and Nick Montana and Casey Paus ended up much worse, so I'm not locked in on any conclusions on him. But I wasn't a huge fan of what I saw.
Even if he's pretty good I think the lack of a #1 receiver will hurt us. I just can't see KW finally putting it all together after the injury. But maybe he'll respond really well to better coaching too.
I also think the expectations for DW are premature. He's an impressive athlete with the tools to be very good, but he didn't prove it to me yet. I have high hopes though, and I'm confident that, if he disappoints, someone else will step up or the RB by committee approach will be more than adequate.
Miles still has to sell me. He seems to run the offense well but I always favor the guys with physical tools until proven wrong. Lindquist has a stronger arm and more quickness. Williams (reportedly) has the best arm. Miles seems just ok as both a runner and a passer but seems to have the inside track because of his game management which doesn't really excite me. No complaints though if he provides the best chance to win. Either way it'll be interesting.
WR concerns? Meh. Someone will go out there and catch balls and run fast with them. Stringfellow would have been awesome but they'll be fine. Mickens and Ross are sure to provide plenty of exciting moments.
You guys broke down the offense personnel wise pretty well. What about offensive philosophy and schemes? I took away a few points from Peterman's interview on the Pac 12 network: - The offense will be no huddle primarily. Not 100%. - The characteristic of Boise's offense was using unbalanced sets, pre-snap motions etc... He will try to keep that. - Peterman emphasized the importance of building depth. I take this as he won't let the starters on the field when we are plungering another team just to pat his stats. - That one's actually from Riva and I don't know how reliable, but it sounds like we will run quite a lot. - Speed, speed speed. This is the fastest our team will be in a long time. Ross, Williams, Timu, Callier, etc. The newbies will be inexperienced but will bring something that we haven't had in past seasons, speed.
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Remember Peterman was a big proponent of downhill power running at Boise so it's possible someone like lavon coleman could factor this season.
Washington will get plenty of carries though.
If we can find the answer at QB before the stanford game I think we're in good shape, that being a big if
IMO we're going to have to see a lot more than that before I get concerned that he has a fumbling issue. And I believe in the coaching he's getting right now.
I agree Coleman could get in the mix, but Peterman as a fan of power running plays to Washington's strength as well, IMO.
I think by the end of the year Miles will be an upgrade over Price. Miles adds the run threat and will have a better OL than Price ever had and won't have the PTSD from being hit constantly.
I think ASJ will be more of a loss due to his blocking than receiving, in which he was quite underwhelming.
Losing String is big because it puts pressure on Kasen. However, Ross and Mickens give you good underneath guys who are legit deep threats. Campbell will add depth. It looks like the guys who were really hampered by lisfrancs were running backs. I think Kasen will end up being fine.
DW will be very good. I'm not sold yet on Coleman. He doesn't have the burst that Sankey had. I think Coleman will be good eventually but not sure the impact this year. There is good depth as we know.
Overall the offense can be as good as last season and perhaps better due to an improved OL and more efficient play from the skill guys. The loss of Sankey will be counteracted somewhat by DW and Miles' running ability.
I think the defense will be the strength. The only weakness is safety.
The guy is a great athlete, that is for sure. I do have some concerns about him always having some sort of injury though. I think the front runners for the job are him and Coleman (from what Peterman and Riva said about him yesterday).
OTOH, Cody Pickett ended up much better than I thought he'd be after seeing him in a small sample, and Nick Montana and Casey Paus ended up much worse, so I'm not locked in on any conclusions on him. But I wasn't a huge fan of what I saw.
Even if he's pretty good I think the lack of a #1 receiver will hurt us. I just can't see KW finally putting it all together after the injury. But maybe he'll respond really well to better coaching too.
Kid has butter fingers.
It's why we didn't offer him.
Miles still has to sell me. He seems to run the offense well but I always favor the guys with physical tools until proven wrong. Lindquist has a stronger arm and more quickness. Williams (reportedly) has the best arm. Miles seems just ok as both a runner and a passer but seems to have the inside track because of his game management which doesn't really excite me. No complaints though if he provides the best chance to win. Either way it'll be interesting.
WR concerns? Meh. Someone will go out there and catch balls and run fast with them. Stringfellow would have been awesome but they'll be fine. Mickens and Ross are sure to provide plenty of exciting moments.
But remember he fumbled twice against Illinois ....
So what you're saying is Washington will be twice as good as Sankey?
I took away a few points from Peterman's interview on the Pac 12 network:
- The offense will be no huddle primarily. Not 100%.
- The characteristic of Boise's offense was using unbalanced sets, pre-snap motions etc... He will try to keep that.
- Peterman emphasized the importance of building depth. I take this as he won't let the starters on the field when we are plungering another team just to pat his stats.
- That one's actually from Riva and I don't know how reliable, but it sounds like we will run quite a lot.
- Speed, speed speed. This is the fastest our team will be in a long time. Ross, Williams, Timu, Callier, etc. The newbies will be inexperienced but will bring something that we haven't had in past seasons, speed.
Only way it doesn't happen is if he doesn't play.
Of course in this prediction I'm not for the fact that he probably has much better coaching now... so you could be right.
WOOF!