On a positive note...
The obvious question mark will be (shocking) the ability of the D-line to penetrate. In this conference, you have to ease the pressure on your CBs by giving the opposing QB VERY little time to throw the ball. He needs to feel anxious in the pocket. With Jamora's future in doubt, and some real question marks across the front, I'm not sure one way or the other. Yes, Shirley is small, but he has "beast" potential. Hudson is a question mark, and the others are really hard to get excited about. Lastly, it's difficult to get excited about incoming freshmen DLs since the position takes so long to develop (minus Jadaveon Clowney).
HOWEVER, I am very pleased with the turnaround last year under Wilcox, and I'm hopeful that Lupoi can teach these guys some techniques.
Comments
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Hopefully the pass rush will be better. I think Shaq can really help us there if the coaches chose to use him as a blitzer more frequently. I am worried about DT. We have Shelton and basically nobody. I guess Banks was okay, but he is small. He didn't look like an impact guy to me. The rest of the guys are terrible, especially Potoa.
Hopefully Mathis, Qualls, Farria, and Basham get in. I know we should not count on much from them next season, but we need them in the mix. It won't be that hard for them to pass Potoa, Tani, Finau, Turpin. -
The defense has a lot of talent on paper but is deficient at the key spots. The loss of Trufant could be huge considering his presence partially mitigated the lack of a pass rush. The frosh will help in terms of depth. It will be interesting to see if Wilcox can improve the defense further and especially given this deficiency up front.
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It comes down to Lupoi. Holt may have tried to ruin Potoae but a good coach can get the talent out of a player. Cal sent a lot of DL to the NFL so I am hopeful our DL can improve. Honestly it is the OL and offense that worry me the most at this point. I think we will likely field a respectable defense.
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Potoae sucks. That's all there is to it. I have focused on him many times and he plays patty cake and locks up with the guy blocking him. He is small and has put on very little weight since he got here. He's one of those guys who matured early and maxed out before he got here. He's had some injuries as well. He's not going to do shit this season.Mad_Son said:It comes down to Lupoi. Holt may have tried to ruin Potoae but a good coach can get the talent out of a player. Cal sent a lot of DL to the NFL so I am hopeful our DL can improve. Honestly it is the OL and offense that worry me the most at this point. I think we will likely field a respectable defense.
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They way Wilcox's defense ended the year, I'm thinking the hype around him is also bullshit. The Apple Cup was simply bad coaching all the way around. From Sark, to Wilcox, to the lawnmower cheer guy..plain bad coaching. And the Baylor game wasn't much better.
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I don't think it's bullshit, the defense played better and more consistently last year. But he has been over hyped for sure.
The WSU and Boise losses stemmed from one man: Sark -
That's the same logic that Sark's a good coach. He improved the team a lot. Went from 0 wins to 5 and then 7. They have played better since Willingham left. Wilcox took the worst D in the nation and made them average. Holt was the worst . AZ doesn't hang 52 on a good D. I think the Jury is still out on Wilcox. Just like with Sark, the tendency is to anoint the new guy the best coach in America before they actually prove it.DerekJohnson said:I don't think it's bullshit, the defense played better and more consistently last year. But he has been over hyped for sure.
The WSU and Boise losses stemmed from one man: Sark
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until we beat a spread team, our defense and defensive staff are fucking terrible IMO.
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Wilcox should have been fired after the Baylor game.MikeDamone said:They way Wilcox's defense ended the year, I'm thinking the hype around him is also bullshit. The Apple Cup was simply bad coaching all the way around. From Sark, to Wilcox, to the lawnmower cheer guy..plain bad coaching. And the Baylor game wasn't much better.
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HillsboroDuck said:
Wilcox should have been fired after the Baylor game.MikeDamone said:They way Wilcox's defense ended the year, I'm thinking the hype around him is also bullshit. The Apple Cup was simply bad coaching all the way around. From Sark, to Wilcox, to the lawnmower cheer guy..plain bad coaching. And the Baylor game wasn't much better.
HillsboroDuck said:
Wilcox should have been fired after the Baylor game.MikeDamone said:They way Wilcox's defense ended the year, I'm thinking the hype around him is also bullshit. The Apple Cup was simply bad coaching all the way around. From Sark, to Wilcox, to the lawnmower cheer guy..plain bad coaching. And the Baylor game wasn't much better.
I meant Boise smart ass.
