RepTheGables
Energy Vampire
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2012
- Messages
- 4,159
For this thread, I'd like to shift gears a bit (away from the ad nauseam skeem talk) and spew a bit of optimism about next season. I don't see the 2014 team as having an elite roster in any sense of the word. However, I do believe that the offense and defense will each see improvements in their consistency and results.
On the offensive side, we'll be losing Morris, Hurns, and a bevy of blockers. Ryan Williams isn't going to win a game with his arm. But he can hit short and intermediate routes, and from what we saw in the USF game this season, he isn't exactly chopped liver when it comes to tough throws. Hurns will be missed as a 3rd-down safety valve, but having a QB who won't miss wide open receivers on 1st and 2nd down will allow the team to get into manageable 3rd down situations. Linder we'll miss. Wheeler we'll miss. Henderson we'll miss (sometimes). Hagens we'll miss. This unit is certainly taking a hit, but our depth and recruiting at these positions gives me hope. At other positions, we'll see a Duke Johnson showing out for the NFL, a Stacy Coley with his freshman foibles exorcised, and an experienced (and healthy) Phillip Dorsett stretching defenses yet again. We'll have enough depth backing them up to put a consistent product on the field. James Coley was pilloried for his play-calling, but at every game I went to, I saw receivers running wide open. The perfect antidote to a good play-call is a poor pass. I'm not throwing Morris under the bus, but I feel that his 'feast-or-famine' approach doomed far too many drives.
On the defensive side, it's a bit more difficult to mine optimism. We lose an experienced workhorse in Green, two longtime contributors (albeit with mixed on-field results) in Porter and Robinson, and transfer plug-n-plays in Renfrow and Gilbert. If you want to include the inevitable move of Muhammad and McCord from the DLine to the linebacking corps, go for it. The middle of the defense, Jimmy Gaines will be gone. On again/off again starting safeties A.J. and K.C. won't be on the field for us (I'm biting my tongue with this part). And up-and-down guys like Tyrone Cornelius and Kelvin Cain are a thing of the past. Ultimately, that's a lot of guys who got serious minutes (for better or for worse). So, optimism for this section rests mainly with the projected improvement of key players. A healthy Bush will be huge for our often-beleaguered safety unit. As will a more experienced and mature Jenkins. With Tracy Howard and crew manning the CB position, I'm feeling a million times better about teams passing on us than I have been in seasons past. Artie Burns showed flashes of being an elite corner as a true freshman, and year two should see a lot more of him. As far as rising sophomores go, I'm also very excited to see more of Figueroa and Muhammad. And I would be remiss if I were to leave out the biggest defensive piece on the Canes' chessboard: Denzel Perryman. Thanks for coming back.
Thoughts on the personnel flux?
On the offensive side, we'll be losing Morris, Hurns, and a bevy of blockers. Ryan Williams isn't going to win a game with his arm. But he can hit short and intermediate routes, and from what we saw in the USF game this season, he isn't exactly chopped liver when it comes to tough throws. Hurns will be missed as a 3rd-down safety valve, but having a QB who won't miss wide open receivers on 1st and 2nd down will allow the team to get into manageable 3rd down situations. Linder we'll miss. Wheeler we'll miss. Henderson we'll miss (sometimes). Hagens we'll miss. This unit is certainly taking a hit, but our depth and recruiting at these positions gives me hope. At other positions, we'll see a Duke Johnson showing out for the NFL, a Stacy Coley with his freshman foibles exorcised, and an experienced (and healthy) Phillip Dorsett stretching defenses yet again. We'll have enough depth backing them up to put a consistent product on the field. James Coley was pilloried for his play-calling, but at every game I went to, I saw receivers running wide open. The perfect antidote to a good play-call is a poor pass. I'm not throwing Morris under the bus, but I feel that his 'feast-or-famine' approach doomed far too many drives.
On the defensive side, it's a bit more difficult to mine optimism. We lose an experienced workhorse in Green, two longtime contributors (albeit with mixed on-field results) in Porter and Robinson, and transfer plug-n-plays in Renfrow and Gilbert. If you want to include the inevitable move of Muhammad and McCord from the DLine to the linebacking corps, go for it. The middle of the defense, Jimmy Gaines will be gone. On again/off again starting safeties A.J. and K.C. won't be on the field for us (I'm biting my tongue with this part). And up-and-down guys like Tyrone Cornelius and Kelvin Cain are a thing of the past. Ultimately, that's a lot of guys who got serious minutes (for better or for worse). So, optimism for this section rests mainly with the projected improvement of key players. A healthy Bush will be huge for our often-beleaguered safety unit. As will a more experienced and mature Jenkins. With Tracy Howard and crew manning the CB position, I'm feeling a million times better about teams passing on us than I have been in seasons past. Artie Burns showed flashes of being an elite corner as a true freshman, and year two should see a lot more of him. As far as rising sophomores go, I'm also very excited to see more of Figueroa and Muhammad. And I would be remiss if I were to leave out the biggest defensive piece on the Canes' chessboard: Denzel Perryman. Thanks for coming back.
Thoughts on the personnel flux?
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