SI ACC Preview. They have us at 4-8

[AutoCANE]

That prediction is ridiculous. There is no possible way that I can see us losing 8 of these games.

@ BC - has to be a W. No way Al will allow us to lose this game.
@ KSU - probably going to be the toughest game on the schedule - L
vs BCC - W
@ GT - we'll win this game - W
vs NCSt - toss-up...Glennon is good and Amerson will make Morris' life ****
@ Notre Dame - there's not as good as everyone thinks - toss-up
vs UNC - should be a W
vs FSU - probably an L, but we'll be in it until the end
vs VPI - probably an L, but we'll be in it until the end
@ UVA - toss-up
vs USF - W
@ Duke - W

I see 6 wins, and 3 that I'm writing off as losses (but I think they'll be dogfights). The rest are toss-ups. Say we go 0-3 in the toss up / swing games and we're still 6-6.

 

[AbelsDadKANE]

i said 3-9, if we go 4-8 i will take it.

 

[bomb]

I keep reading the word "they."

Did anyone note the disclaimer?

"Note: The projected standings reflect the author's opinion, not SI.com's."

 

[Pennmed Canefan]

those W-L predictions are laughable. FSU 11-1...... LOL


I think a lot of the predictions you see are where they hope Miami ends up. I'm not a person that thinks everyone dislikes us but it is pretty **** close. They all know when Miami is running full steam and clicking on all cylinders the rest of the teams don't matter because they just can compete.

I don't think it's anything conspiratorial. I just think it's lazy.

Most of these publications just look at win/loss record, and see how many starters are coming back.

They see a 6-6 record, a bunch of guys leaving early for the NFL, a new starting QB, and think we're gonna regress.

It's not bad logic, but they're not factoring in things like culture change, strength & conditioning, familiarity with the scheme, etc...
They gon learn.

I say 7-5 at worst.

Its actually very good logic , culture change , s&c ect . cannot be quantified , no one knows how much positive effect these things will have on the team .

This is an excellent point worth reiterating. A point I've tried to make is that all you really know is what you last saw. Every team around the country thinks they've made some offseason leap because all their freshmen are great and they got some new coach and now they're on some organic diet and a lot of it just doesnt pan out. It's tempting to forget what we last saw. I think we're somewhere between what they think and a lot of the board hype. The only reason I see it better than them is that I think we've lost a lot of games recently due to complacency and I don't think we have enough proven commodities to be complacent

 

[Gamineal]

LMAO..reading what we lost, who we lost, you would have thought Spence was an all American he wasn't, JH was Andrew luck he wasn't....Vernon, Lamar and Washington are the three largest losses that would still be an impact...

There is nothing we can do about guys that are gone..but I can tell you who is here...Al Golden and the entire staff. These kids are young and are going to play as a team for the first time in years.

Who knows what our record will be, our hearts will be broken for sure, but we should win one or two that we do not supposed to, and I BET we win all the games we supposed to...this will me a mentally tough team and physically fit to play 12 games this year.....

Chick and Perriman both never really hit the wall last year and played a ton of plays, unlike the 08 class that went to GT and got rolled and we lost the last 4 games that year...I see this year as a team that will rally around each other and win 10 games.

But they have to take the ball away, run the ball and stop the run..sounds simple but if we can be 3-0 heading to GT we get to at least 8 wins.

To break down each game is fun, but foolish, injuries bye weeks , tuff win or loss the prior week more important game the following week weather etc....lets worry about BC and not what some rag that hates us puts in print...

 

[Problem2]

^You are crazy if you think Washington and Vernon are bigger losses then Spence

Spence wasn't an AA? No, but he was **** good

 

[Gamineal]

My thought.....BW would have been back at Guard his natrual position...he would have been a beast...OV on the edge was getting better and better...he would have given us much needed DL play...

my thought on Spence ( I love this guy, best player for us in 8 years) but he was a 95+ tackle guy a year..never a game changer I think DP can fill his shoes better than anyone can fill OV or BW...Spence will play in the NFL for a long time. But losing him will not effect us ( IMO) as much as a HUGE OL and Impact pass rush...I never mentioned TS or Benji either....we have WR and lost guys that can get the job done...

 

[DaU83]

if we we win the ones we're SUPPOSED to win.... that's 3.. if we win 3 of the "toss ups" that's 6 and if we win 1 of the "they shouldn't win these games" that's 7 wins.

 

[CaneAlmighty]

^You are crazy if you think Washington and Vernon are bigger losses then Spence

Spence wasn't an AA? No, but he was **** good

but he was also undersized. He also got blocked out of plays if he didn't hit the hole fast enough. And when he did hit the whole fast it left him vulnerable to cut backs.

Look I love Spence because of all the players the last handful of years he's been a model player. But he's not without his flaws. Looking at what we bring back with Perryman I see the same player and production with the possibilty of being better, not worse.

 

[JHallCanes]

We play in the ACC.

Just thought I would put that out there.

 

[CanesAreAble]

those W-L predictions are laughable. FSU 11-1...... LOL


I think a lot of the predictions you see are where they hope Miami ends up. I'm not a person that thinks everyone dislikes us but it is pretty **** close. They all know when Miami is running full steam and clicking on all cylinders the rest of the teams don't matter because they just can compete.

I don't think it's anything conspiratorial. I just think it's lazy.

Most of these publications just look at win/loss record, and see how many starters are coming back.

They see a 6-6 record, a bunch of guys leaving early for the NFL, a new starting QB, and think we're gonna regress.

It's not bad logic, but they're not factoring in things like culture change, strength & conditioning, familiarity with the scheme, etc...
They gon learn.

I say 7-5 at worst.

Its actually very good logic , culture change , s&c ect . cannot be quantified , no one knows how much positive effect these things will have on the team .

This is an excellent point worth reiterating. A point I've tried to make is that all you really know is what you last saw. Every team around the country thinks they've made some offseason leap because all their freshmen are great and they got some new coach and now they're on some organic diet and a lot of it just doesnt pan out. It's tempting to forget what we last saw. I think we're somewhere between what they think and a lot of the board hype. The only reason I see it better than them is that I think we've lost a lot of games recently due to complacency and I don't think we have enough proven commodities to be complacent

The thing is we're not relying on last year's bums to make quantum leaps. I'd say we're undoubtedly better in absolutely critical areas:

1. Familiarity -- The entire coaching staff is back, so guys should have a better understanding of what they're supposed to do.
2. S & C -- Last year only 11 guys on the roster could bench 225 pounds 20 times. Now we have 41 guys who can. We had zero guys benching 225 pounds 30 times. Now we have 11. Everyone also passed the off-season conditioning test. I have no idea how much that will translate to wins, but we're empirically stronger and better conditioned.
3. DT depth -- Last year our DT rotation for the bulk of the season was Regis, Smith (out of shape at 360 lbs), Ojomo (playing at 268 lbs), and some undersized true freshmen (Pierre and Grimble). This year Porter is back (hopefully), Smith has slimmed down to around 320 lbs, Pierre has put on 30 lbs, and supposedly Luther Robinson had an excellent off-season. I don't know how we're not better here.
4. CB depth -- Last year we had Mike Williams (5th-year Senior who got beat out at Wake Forest), Brandon McGee (big disappointment), JoJo Nicholas (5th-year Senior who converted from Strong Safety in the Spring), Lee Chambers (5th-year Senior who converted from RB in the Spring), Thomas Finnie (true Freshman), and Keion Payne (he may not even exist). Brandon McGee is one of the few sucky guys from last year that we're counting on not to suck this year. Gunter played very well at the JC level and seems to have locked down a spot. Between Finnie and the talented true Freshmen (namely Howard), we need one or two guys to step up and be able to play. I feel a lot better at CB here with guys who have at least played the position prior to the Spring of their 5th years.


Even if we remain stagnant everywhere else (worst-case scenario IMO), the improvements in these key areas should go a long way.

Good coaches usually take a big step forward in year two. If Golden's real, we should be able to win 7 in a mediocre ACC.

 

[zone3cane]

^You are crazy if you think Washington and Vernon are bigger losses then Spence

Spence wasn't an AA? No, but he was **** good

- I think Vernon was our biggest loss, out of those three, simply b/c we have no depth at DE.

- Spence is a bigger loss than Washington b/c we have more depth, on the O-line, to make up for Washington, than we have at LB.

- If we had Spence and Perryman on this team, the amount of pain they would've caused, would have been historic .... smh

 

[Canesfan1899]

I see us as an 7-8 win team. There are a number of games that could be toss-ups, and those all seemed to go against us last year, so I'm, expecting to see improvement.

 

[LexCane55]

^You are crazy if you think Washington and Vernon are bigger losses then Spence

Spence wasn't an AA? No, but he was **** good

- I think Vernon was our biggest loss, out of those three, simply b/c we have no depth at DE.

- Spence is a bigger loss than Washington b/c we have more depth, on the O-line, to make up for Washington, than we have at LB.

- If we had Spence and Perryman on this team, the amount of pain they would've caused, would have been historic .... smh

Vernon didnt do anything last season. He had a sack and 18 tackles. I dont see how we have any production to replace

If you can give me 3 of the uys that left I'll take them in this order

1. Spence
2. Lamar
3. Streeter

 

[dk72]

those W-L predictions are laughable. FSU 11-1...... LOL


I think a lot of the predictions you see are where they hope Miami ends up. I'm not a person that thinks everyone dislikes us but it is pretty **** close. They all know when Miami is running full steam and clicking on all cylinders the rest of the teams don't matter because they just can compete.

I don't think it's anything conspiratorial. I just think it's lazy.

Most of these publications just look at win/loss record, and see how many starters are coming back.

They see a 6-6 record, a bunch of guys leaving early for the NFL, a new starting QB, and think we're gonna regress.

It's not bad logic, but they're not factoring in things like culture change, strength & conditioning, familiarity with the scheme, etc...
They gon learn.

I say 7-5 at worst.

Its actually very good logic , culture change , s&c ect . cannot be quantified , no one knows how much positive effect these things will have on the team .

This is an excellent point worth reiterating. A point I've tried to make is that all you really know is what you last saw. Every team around the country thinks they've made some offseason leap because all their freshmen are great and they got some new coach and now they're on some organic diet and a lot of it just doesnt pan out. It's tempting to forget what we last saw. I think we're somewhere between what they think and a lot of the board hype. The only reason I see it better than them is that I think we've lost a lot of games recently due to complacency and I don't think we have enough proven commodities to be complacent

The thing is we're not relying on last year's bums to make quantum leaps. I'd say we're undoubtedly better in absolutely critical areas:

1. Familiarity -- The entire coaching staff is back, so guys should have a better understanding of what they're supposed to do.
2. S & C -- Last year only 11 guys on the roster could bench 225 pounds 20 times. Now we have 41 guys who can. We had zero guys benching 225 pounds 30 times. Now we have 11. Everyone also passed the off-season conditioning test. I have no idea how much that will translate to wins, but we're empirically stronger and better conditioned.
3. DT depth -- Last year our DT rotation for the bulk of the season was Regis, Smith (out of shape at 360 lbs), Ojomo (playing at 268 lbs), and some undersized true freshmen (Pierre and Grimble). This year Porter is back (hopefully), Smith has slimmed down to around 320 lbs, Pierre has put on 30 lbs, and supposedly Luther Robinson had an excellent off-season. I don't know how we're not better here.
4. CB depth -- Last year we had Mike Williams (5th-year Senior who got beat out at Wake Forest), Brandon McGee (big disappointment), JoJo Nicholas (5th-year Senior who converted from Strong Safety in the Spring), Lee Chambers (5th-year Senior who converted from RB in the Spring), Thomas Finnie (true Freshman), and Keion Payne (he may not even exist). Brandon McGee is one of the few sucky guys from last year that we're counting on not to suck this year. Gunter played very well at the JC level and seems to have locked down a spot. Between Finnie and the talented true Freshmen (namely Howard), we need one or two guys to step up and be able to play. I feel a lot better at CB here with guys who have at least played the position prior to the Spring of their 5th years.


Even if we remain stagnant everywhere else (worst-case scenario IMO), the improvements in these key areas should go a long way.

Good coaches usually take a big step forward in year two. If Golden's real, we should be able to win 7 in a mediocre ACC.

Your first point is an excellent one that many posters on here, and many sports writers and "analysts" seem to be completely ignoring as they only focus on personnel. We have coaching stability for the first time in a long time. That makes a HUGE difference. J. Harris and the rest of the offense had to learn new offenses every year. Although our big playmakers from last year are gone, we have a number of kids on the offense who played substantial snaps, and now are doing so under a stable coaching situation.

Additionally, players like Streeter and Miller did great, but they were one-year contributors. They were "new" starters last year, just like Dorsett, James, Morris, and Hurns are "new" starters now, but those new starters have a lot of game experience. We lose nothing in Benjamin that we don't replace with Dorsett. We lose speed and height in Streeter, but we compensate with a deeper, more athletically-gifted wide receiver corps with some potential outstanding freshmen. We lose Miller's production, but we replace it with greater RB depth..and variety, with a now healthier, faster, and fitter James, Clements, Crawford and of course Duke.

Inexperience and depth issues will no doubt bite us in the *** at some points during the season, but the team also has the talent to make some noise. It will be an up and down season, with lots of excitement, frustration, pleasant surprises, and head-shaking moments. I would not be the slightest bit shocked if we beat FSU and/or VT. Also wouldn't be the slightest bit shocked if we lost to BC and/or Duke.

 

[zone3cane]

^You are crazy if you think Washington and Vernon are bigger losses then Spence

Spence wasn't an AA? No, but he was **** good

- I think Vernon was our biggest loss, out of those three, simply b/c we have no depth at DE.

- Spence is a bigger loss than Washington b/c we have more depth, on the O-line, to make up for Washington, than we have at LB.

- If we had Spence and Perryman on this team, the amount of pain they would've caused, would have been historic .... smh

Vernon didnt do anything last season. He had a sack and 18 tackles. I dont see how we have any production to replace

If you can give me 3 of the uys that left I'll take them in this order

1. Spence
2. Lamar
3. Streeter

Yeah Vernon was definitely a selfish player who just wanted to save himself for the NFL draft... but keep in mind he did get suspended for like 6 games last year.

My posts was based solely off of experienced depth... that is all. I would take Spence over anybody who left 1st.

I agree w/ your top 3, but we really don't need Lamar, this year, over Streeter... our O-line is going to dominate in the trenches and make our Running game effective, regardless, this year. IMO.

1. Spence

2. Streeter

3. Lamar

 

[CaneAlmighty]

I'd say we're undoubtedly better in absolutely critical areas:

1. Familiarity -- The entire coaching staff is back, so guys should have a better understanding of what they're supposed to do.

Your first point is an excellent one that many posters on here, and many sports writers and "analysts" seem to be completely ignoring as they only focus on personnel. We have coaching stability for the first time in a long time. That makes a HUGE difference. J. Harris and the rest of the offense had to learn new offenses every year. Although our big playmakers from last year are gone, we have a number of kids on the offense who played substantial snaps, and now are doing so under a stable coaching situation.

Continuity in coaching staff doesn't only benefit players. It benefits the coaches as well.
Last year this staff didn't really know who they had until later on. They surely made some personnel decisions that if they had more experience with would have decided differently.
Now going into year 2 they have better grasp of who is who, who can do what. Who responds and how. That is a huge in coaching and will pay off dividends this year.

 

[jakeman1]

Spence, Olivier, Brandon Washington, Benjamin, Streeter, Ray Ray, Lamar, Fortson....Everyone of those players were the best at their position and we lost them...

Spence is a legitimate loss, but we're better everywhere else in the LB corps.

Vernon was suspended for 6 games, and did jack **** when he came back.

BWash was mediocre at best at tackle.

Benjamin and Streeter were productive, but I expect some other guys to step up (we had to replace Hankerson last year).

Ray Ray missed 4 games, and sucks.

Lamar was a gamebreaker, but he wore down as the season went on. Plus Duke is a dynamic player.

Forston played like 3 games last year, and he played them on roller skates.

all those reasons is why we sucked 6-6 last year.....

Ray Ray sucks and yet is the best tackler we had at safety
Bwash was mediocre and he was all acc b4 the season and iof he came back would be a starter and best on the team
Fortson played 3 games and he was still hands down better than any dt we had..he was the strongest on the team last year
OV did ****? lol he went 2nd round..dude was the best against the run better than chick..

All this and the team is stronger this year. There's at least some depth at DT now. Vernon would have been a loss, but he was lost for most of last year already, so he doesn't count.

Spence is the big loss. Streeter and Benjamin are replaceable.

The OL should be better with players playing where they're supposed to play, instead of having to plug in Washington at tackle.

IMO, the key is whether Morris will be able to punish teams for stacking the box without making mistakes. A lot of that will depend on Fisch.

Even though there are questions at DB, they're still an upgrade over last year and they've been in the system for a while now, so the defense can at least disguise some coverages.

I think the only way the team goes 4-8 is if Morris gets hurt and they have to rely on Williams.