Things we know for sure + questions going into the '14 season

Gladstone said:

Too many shitty political and/or Super Bowl threads. Can we talk football a little bit?

Christ.

RoadDawg55 said:

The secondary is the only thing that truly worries me. After Peters, we have nobody who is proven. True freshmen are going to have to play, and they aren't the most heralded guys. Best case scenario, our secondary is league average.

A great DL can help alleviate this, but we need Kikaha (our best DL) to stay healthy and another threat to emerge at the other DE (Littleton, Shirley, Farria). A pass rushing DT would help too. It's not Shelton's game so hopefully Qualls, Mathis and Hudson can improve. Too many times, Kikaha would get good pressure from the edge, but the QB could step up in the pocket because no DT was getting any push. The formula is pressure up the middle AND heat from the edge. Our DL last year did not like abundance, there was heat from the edge, but little push up the middle.

LB's were a disappointment last year, but they do have a high ceiling. We should be getting more out of Shaq.

At QB, I think Miles or Williams will be good. I think it will be Miles. Petersen knows how to develop QB's and those guys have talent.

At RB, Washington is a beast. He had one game where he had fumbling problems, and on the 2nd one he was bent in half. Almost anyone would have fumbled in that situation. Callier is serviceable. Cooper could be much improved after knocking the rust off, but he also could tear his ACL again. Kim says Coleman is good, so I am guessing he sucks.

WR's are great. I hope Kasen isn't hindered too much from his injury though.

I just hope we have a good blocker ready at TE. I'm not an ASJ fan, but we sure could use him.

OL should actually be pretty good. I'm drinking the kool aid and thinking they will be really good without Sark and Cozzetto.

11 wins or the season is a disappointment. We have the talent to compete for the North.

Great write-up.

The three questions will be QB, DB and K/P.

Coons is going to be a huge loss. He was #1 in FG % and 4th in punting (IIRC).

I think Washington will be good. Both of his fumbles occurred a split second before he went to the ground. Also, Coleman will get his chance. Callier will provide depth.

The front 7 should be very good. The Kikaha-Shelton tandem will be outstanding. We need a safety and hopefully Jermaine Kelly can step in next to Peters.

Race has turned into Eldrick. He was once a legend but has now suffered to many embarrassing losses to MelloDawg, CollegeDoog and Fremont. He is no longer feared. Sure, he'll own a few threads that no one gives a fuck about but when the majors pop up he struggles.

allpurpleallgold said:

Race has turned into Eldrick. He was once a legend but has now suffered to many embarrassing losses to MelloDawg, CollegeDoog and Fremont. He is longer feared. Sure, he'll own a few threads that no one gives a fuck about but when the majors pop up he struggles.

I haven't seen any recent losses suffered to CollegeDoog by anyone on the board lately.

Gladstone said:

Too many shitty political and/or Super Bowl threads. Can we talk football a little bit?

What we know:

-- The OL is a seasoned, veteran group that can run block pretty well.
-- LBs should be solid at worse, tops in the P12 at best.
-- Shelton is one of the best DLs in the conference and, assuming he can stay healthy, should anchor middle of the D in a great way.
-- WRs are a nice mix of Speed (Ross, Mickens) and strength (Williams and others).
-- We finally have a non-fucktarded coach with a real work ethic and nearly unparalleled success at a lower level.

Questions:

-- QB: who will it be and how productive will he be?
-- RB: who emerges? I like Washington's game a lot but if he keeps fumbling he won't see much of the field. I don't like Callier's game, never really did. Insert Deonte 'not a dry eye in the house' Cooper joke here
-- 1 CB and 1 Safety need to step up and reinforce what we already have
-- Special teams, The Coon had a nice bounceback year and will be missed.

It's nice that the schedule is backloaded. Petersen will be able to work out some of the offensive kinks. I'm guessing we'll go with a pretty run-heavy approach to start. Defense should be pretty dang good as well.

I like football discussion even if it's just a little bit 2+days before the Super Bowl.

What I think I know and probably don't:
-- The returning OL sucks at pass protection blocking which will not do for the new coaching staff, especially the head guy. All OL positions will be put in competition with starting roles up for grabs.
-- LB crew should be better than UW has had for several years, but won't be as good as UCLA's.
-- Shelton is a slug who can't go hard for three downs without a blow. Lose 30 lbs big guy.
-- WR's should be strength and Stringfellow is poised for greatness. Can't count on Williams.
-- Coaching will be improved in ways we've forgotten about. BSU is not as low as doogs think.

There must be questions for the new coaching staff:
-- The new QB will have to have the best arm to make CP happy. This position is up for grabs.
-- RB is a concern with hopes on unknowns Washington, Coleman, McDaniel, and any new kid.
-- Fast DB development will be major challenge for new coaches. Here comes EWU early!
-- Kicker and punter are questions, but return game could threaten like we haven't seen forever.

From a season ticket buyer's perspective, the OOC schedule totally sucks with the EWU trap poised to challenge CP with potentially the biggest upset embarrassment in Husky Football history. This time, we won't have Trufant to save the day. Thankyou Woody! I really like the young talent returning on the 2014 roster and I'm looking forward to watching the new coaching staff's improvements settle into the program. However, Sark left the program with glaring holes or weakness in all phases of our game, defensive backfield, offensive line. kicker/punter, and possibly RB. This stuff can be fixed and made better than ever in reasonable time, but I'm not doogie enough to expect overnight perfection.

Gladstone said:

uh tequila

if we don't blow EWU out of the water then petersen isn't who we thought he was

We will, but it will be a good test for our young DB's to face a team that will throw it 50+ times. They should get better as the year goes along, but this will be an early test that shows what we got at the weakest spot.

I am high on Kelly, but you still have to wait until the games are played. We need to find a good nickelback who will most likely be a true freshman unless Dixon miraculously gets much better. Maybe John Ross will have to get some snaps here. Safety is another huge concern. Beaver and King are unproven, and didn't look all that great last year. I bet a true freshman or two will get playing time here as well. It would be one thing if these guys were 4 and 5 star guys with offers from the top schools. They are mid tier guys though. If Budda Baker comes to UW, I think it is highly likely he will start.

Sark didn't only fuck up OL recruiting. There should be better depth at DB too.