How much better does the offense really need to be for us to win 10 games this year?

RaceBannon said:

pat_hm said:

Jake Browing had a strong first season and there are further components that lead me to believe he'll improve in his second year rather than regress. First off he's very accurate. You can't teach that. He is physically stronger and the undisputed leader of the offense going into his second season. He looked sharp this spring. I believe the deep ball criticism has been overhyped. His X receivers were stone hands Mickens and drop king Marvin Hall for christ's sake. Given the conditions of his true freshman season I'd say he performed exceptionally well. We knew there would be growing pains. But he got better throughout the year and arrow is most undoubtedly pointing up.

The bad news is the offense loses 1752 yards receiving, over half of Browning's production from last season. The good news is only departure of signficance is Josh Perkins who I thought played well. Renfro is gone. Mickens, Dwayne Washington and Hall were all wildly inconsistent players who were routinely out matched on the field. I'd argue the offense will become more efficient with their departures.

The addition of John Ross to go along with now junior Dante Pettis takes care of the outside and Chico will fill the vacated slot targets. I like him there. Andre Baccellia performed well this spring and should fill a role. Lenius is still an unknown but it's make or break for the guy. Sample and Daniels will share the tight end work. It's reasonable to determine that Browning's weapon arsenal has been upgraded in comparison to what he was working with last season. I believe that Browing's accuracy allows for a more pass friendly scheme and with Tedford apparently coming on board that should only grow.

Take it for what it's worth but Pro football Focus is very forthright in their fondness for Browning. They've got smart football people there and have written up several articles breaking down his game. Rosen got off to the faster start and received more hype because he's a rich OC kid who goes to UCLA but Jake actually finished stronger and posted positive grades in five of his last six games. Browning's accuracy percentage of 74.6 % ranked second among the nations true freshman. Strong quarterback play is essential and Browning is the best young player at the position UW has had in a long time.

Myles Gaskin was incredible and shows no signs of slowing down and taking his game to the next level. Among true freshman, Gaskin ranked second in missed tackles forced (51) and third in elusive rating (95.9). He averaged 3.65 yards after contact which not only emphasizes his raw talent but helps explain how he achieved such production behind an average at best offensive line. Hopefully that unit can improve. Lavon Coleman looked decent in the bowl game and would be nice for him to take 5-8 carries a game to help soften the defense. Despite his slight frame, McGrew will play the same role Chico did last season and will likely be given a handful of touches based purely on his speed. The wild card would be a player like Byron Murphy making the switch over to offense and helping to build the depth at wide receivers. I have no idea if that will happen though and would prefer to keep him on defense.

I saw that someone posted the average point differential on our loses last season was around 8.5 points give or take. I'll take the over. That's a touchdown and a field goal more a game than last season, not exactly a huge leap in my estimation given the factors stated above. As far as the hype goes, if it gets more people in Husky stadium and sets the expectations for the program higher I think it's a good thing. There are reasons to be optimistic for the first time in over a decade, however if UW is going to win the North they're going to need a lot of parts go their way. Building an offense around a intelligent, accurate quarterback and true talent like Gaskin isn't such a bad situation to be in given that the consensus strength of the team is the defense. That pendulum should tild a little more evenly in 2016, which in turn should lead to more wins.

Can you tweet this please?

pat_hm said:

TurdBuffer said:

Good post @pat.

Doog accusations forthcoming.

Thanks man. I just really don't understand all the hate towards Browning. It's insane. We're all bitter and pissed that we haven't been any good in 15 years but this actual time to be at least slightly optimistic. We have a good defense. We have a quarterback. Fuck. People hate it when you bring up actual statistics. "BUT REMEMBER WHEN HE MISSED THAT DEEP BALL WHEN MICKENS WAS WIDE OPEN AND HE DROPPED IT. BROWNING SUCKS."

He was better than Rosen last season and people on here still bitch and moan. It's almost like people don't want UW to do well. Makes no sense. And i'm no fucking doog, just optimistic for once given the situation UW football finds itself in 2016. I'll be at Husky Stadium for the Idaho game, bitches.