It’s 2017 again

LoneStarDawg · January 10

Can’t help but see the parallels between now and after the Peach bowl.

- UW just finished a miracle run bringing themselves back to the national conversation
- Our stars took us the distance but we saw how we need true depth and a couple more dudes to get over the hump
- Lingering questions if our brand/style of football is good enough to win it all
- Emotional/transitional core of the team is leaving, new leaders need to emerge
- We know we now have tier 1 coaches, need to see if we have tier 1 recruiters/org.

Kalen has the energy and drive to push the program forward in a way that Petersen just didn’t, but we still need to assess the coaches and broader org if it’s ready to consistently be here. NIL/recruiting needs to take a step forward and be an unquestioned differentiator not just try to keep up. We will not have enough talent fall on our lap through local or legacy guys year in year out. Not enough diamonds in the rough to be tier 1 in a crowded new conference.

2017-19 didn’t play out the way we wanted or expected, and the road forward is more daunting and unknown than it was then. Lets see how busy Kalen and the AD gets this offseason

Winners win in January they don’t take vacation

CFetters_Nacho_Lover · January 10

Someone else mentioned this but there’s a DeBoer article where he listed the 11 losses prior to Michigan. His first loss was a championship game. It was the one he probably described in most detail and saw the difference in readiness between his team and the winner.

DeBoer isn’t taking vacation anytime soon.

LoneStarDawg · January 10

I think part of the contract extension calculus with Dannen is the commitment to all resources required to win. Assistant coaching budget, NIL, athlete food/resources, etc. he won’t accept less than is required to win, and I hope he forces the AD to evolve.

dirtysouwfdawg · January 10

Who on the D staff would you consider tier 1? Can’t subscribe to that one but think you nailed everything else.

LoneStarDawg · January 10

Strengths are flipped, we have tier 1 offense, defense trying to keep up. In 17 it was a tier 1 defense and ultimately a clunky offense.

whlinder · January 10

Excellent poast.

Still never really figured out why the offense in 2016 and moving forward was so clunky; probably a combo of Pete philosophy and skill limitations. Definitely good players on that offense; the overall skill level of the offense in that time period I think was higher than the current skill level of our defense.

RaceBannon · January 10

Well 25 million people watched the Dawgs shit the bed so there is that. 2nd most watched game of the year. Michigan Bama drew a few more

The Huskies will get a lot more exposure in the B1G with the media deals and the potential big regular season games not on at 11PM EST

AEB · January 10

Having Courtney Morgan I think will prove to a big, positive difference from 2017. Great Athletic article about how he recruited the Michigan class (especially the DL) that beat us(?). He’s organizing the roster and targeting recruits across HS and the portal. With the higher profile will come better players.

WoolleyDoog · January 10

Big difference to me though was almost every key player and leader from this team are either graduating or leaving and it's such a crashing wave that it sounds like some of the glue guys might retire. The 2016 offense was extremely young and the future SEEMED bright there plus getting guys like Vita, Gaines, Rapp, and BBK back on defense.

I trust DeBoer a lot more and I think the portal changes things. I just have way more questions about the roster now than going into 2017.

FireCohen · January 10

We will be 8-4 next year

dnc · January 10

2017 had a lot more returning talent than 2024. If we can have a 2017 like season it will bode really well going forward.

WoolleyDoog · January 10

FireCohen said:
We will be 8-4 next year

I think next year depends on how much of a wizard DeBoer really is. I'm pulling for 10-2 as a realistic goal. I was cocky about UW's scheme being able to throw over and around the Big 10 but Monday has me really questioning that, especially on the road.

AtomicDawg · January 10

AEB said:
Having Courtney Morgan I think will prove to a big, positive difference from 2017. Great Athletic article about how he recruited the Michigan class (especially the DL) that beat us(?). He’s organizing the roster and targeting recruits across HS and the portal. With the higher profile will come better players.

Recruiting was not our problem with Pete after 2016. It was his shitty offense and tightness in big games. Recruiting seems to be a bigger issue now and it has more to do with money.

sinceredawg · January 10

LoneStarDawg said:
Strengths are flipped, we have tier 1 offense, defense trying to keep up. In 17 it was a tier 1 defense and ultimately a clunky offense.

Not sure this is a valid conclusion. We had more talent on offense, it seemed. But there were too many games where it was our defense that won it, or kept us in it.

biak1 · January 10

Next year is clearly a transition year whilst waiting for the Mack show. 10 wins is feasible but that comes down to KDB genius (or not). There are more pieces missing/being lost compared to the 2017 team. Not a lot of younger guys flashing this year. Germie and ?

PurpleBaze · January 10

FireCohen said:
We will be 8-4 next year

5-7

@MikeDamone

LoneStarDawg · January 10

Either way it’s a big show me season… try to bolster against regressing, see how we can leverage success into recruiting and KDB installing his program even further

After 2016 I’m sure none of us thought that was the Petersen high point, in hindsight it was. Let’s see how KDB takes the next step.

FireCohen · January 10

WoolleyDoog said:

FireCohen said:
We will be 8-4 next year
I think next year depends on how much of a wizard DeBoer really is. I'm pulling for 10-2 as a realistic goal. I was cocky about UW's scheme being able to throw over and around the Big 10 but Monday has me really questioning that, especially on the road.

I was on the same boat at 10-2, but that was with Polk returning. With Polk leaving 8-4 more realistic

dirtysouwfdawg · January 10

FireCohen said:
We will be 8-4 next year

Top 12 finish or GFYS deboner.

WoolleyDoog · January 10

I hate it but really feels like WE were in a much better place personnel wise going into 2017 and that's not even knowing how truly great Vita was gonna be. I don't think Deboer is burnt out like Petersen was though and he's not gonna ruin his QB the way that regime did with Browning.

LoneStarDawg · January 10

Agreed 17 had better pieces coming back and had a higher ceiling as a result.

My point is that it’s now program building time. We need to recruit at an elite level now. Petersen struggled to convert 2016 into consistent talent and depth, this is a big show me off-season for KDB and the staff. I expect results on the field taking a step back this fall, however are we putting the pieces in place to get back to this point and go further.

If Dannen tries to nickel and dime, KDB shrivel dicks in recruiting, and/or we try to make this current style of football permanent then TPIO.

We failed to convert 2016 isn’t blue blood zone, eyes are on Dannen and KDB to cash in this equity

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