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What position group will see the most improvement from the new Scheme?

Although will be tough to discern, if Lashlee's scheme gets the ball out in .00001 seconds, the OL will receive heaps of "look at how much better they are" love. King's scrambles will also mask to a degree.

Won't be convinced on OL until we see consistent push on run plays, especially short yardage "gotta have it" situations. Justice needs time to bring in a whole new crew.
 
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Empirical Cane said:
Although will be tough to discern, if Lashlee's scheme gets the ball out in .00001 seconds, the OL will receive heaps of "look at how much better they are" love. King's scrambles will also mask to a degree.

Won't be convinced on OL until we see consistent push on run plays, especially short yardage "gotta have it" situations. Justice needs time to bring in a whole new crew.
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To me there is no question whatsoever that this scheme is going to take a lot of pressure off of the OL. I see the primary factor here being that Lashlee/Justice and their system don't ask the OL to repeatedly do things that are beyond their limitations and abilities. This as opposed to Don **** and his goofy retro scheme which basically just assumed that the OL could function at the level of the 97-98 Denver Broncos. Imagine actually having an OC(Lashlee) that runs a system geared to the players strengths and abilities while simultaneously deemphasizing their weaknesses. What a concept huh?

While I certainly feel that the OL group needs to be upgraded and infused with more talent, I don't think that Justice necessarily needs to bring in an entirely new crew before he can field a good competent OL. There is much to be said about the ability of a quality coach to quickly affect positive change in a position groups performance. There is some very good talent already on the roster and it's up to Justice to maximize and develop that talent. Yes we do need to add more talent and jettison the dead weight but I think Justice will get the talent we do have to perform at a significantly higher level. Now add a huge talent upgrade on OL after 2 more classes and Justice being a quality OL coach and what you get is something the college football world is literally petrified of. A UM program with a consistently strong offensive line.

This scenario however, is contingent on the assumption that Justice will turn out to be a high quality OL coach here. I think that Justice is going end up a very good coach for us but this is obviously just pure speculation on my part.
 
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OL. If you aren't Alabama, you can't expect these kids to hold blocks for 5 seconds on slow play action pass plays. Just that alone is going to pay dividends
 
jw410 said:
I honestly they will be our worst group. Too many unknown commodities and variables. Steed looks slow
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This is a well debated topic and understandably so. I'm of the opinion that this group will be very good by the end of the season. With the healthy return of Jennings and Steed to go along with 5th year Senior Zach McCloud we have a modicum of experience returning. Although Jennings and Steed have little real game experience between them, what they do have is experience in and extensive knowledge of the system.

Athletic freaks Avery Huff And Sam Brooks are young but their ability is hardly in question. These two along with true freshman Tirek Austin Cave are the future of this group. True freshman Corey Flagg and redshirt sophomore Patrick Joyner round out the group.

I think we have a decent blend of a little experience and freakishly athletic youngsters who will grow as the season progresses. We will most likely see Bradley Jennings and Zach McCloud begin the year as the starters at Mike and Will respectively with Huff, Brooks and possibly Austin-Cave right behind and ready to overtake the starters at any moment. Waynmon Steed could also factor in with his instincts and high football IQ. Patrick Joyner has the physical tools but has been an enigma to this point. True freshman Corey Flagg is a bit undersized and not exactly a speedster but is a hard worker and high character kid who has great leadership skills to go along with a knack for finding the ball through elite diagnostic skills, high football IQ and a non stop motor.

It's tough to predict how all this shakes out. One thing that I find comforting is the fact that we have a ton of competition for what essentially amounts to 2 positions Mike and Will. I can't overemphasize the importance of getting Steed and Jennings back at 100% as this provided much needed guidance and competition for the young kids like Huff and Brooks. I don't know how many players that Diaz/Baker want in a rotation but a good bet would be a top 5 consisting of McCloud, Steed and Jennings to go with Huff and Brooks.

To me there are basically 2 main questions here.

1. What level of play can we expect to see from veterans McCloud, Steed and Jennings to start the season with?

2. How long will it take Huff and Brooks to claim the starting spots?
 
The question is “which position group will benefit most from the new scheme?”. Not sure how linebackers benefit from a change in offensive scheme. I mean besides not having to go back on the field tired after back to back to back three and outs by the offense.

The most benefit will be for the offensive line. Everything will be easier for them. Lost in the struggles last year was that the line was actually decent run blockers. The running backs, as a whole averaged over 5.5 ypc. It’s just that they surrendered so many sacks it made the running game look horrible on paper. In addition to quicker passing plays and a quarterback who has escapability they now get to take advantage of run blocking against a spread out defense. If you play in a phone booth, you HAVE to get a hat on a hat every time or the play will fail. You have all your defenders bunched up around the line of scrimmage so you have to physically create a hole in a pre determined area of the field. One guy misses a block, the play gets blown up. When you spread defenses out, you’re immediately removing guys from being able to make a play against the run before even snapping the ball. On most plays, you’ll have your five linemen and a TE/HB against 6 in the box defenders. It’s a zone scheme so there isn’t a predetermined hole. If one guy gets beat, it isn’t the end of the world. The running back has options. If he sees linebackers start to scrape in one direction, he can cut it back against the grain. Adding the versatility of a QB run threat makes it even easier as at least one defender will have to account for the QB every play. The whole offense is basically a numbers game and you alter your play calling to the advantage the defense inevitably has to surrender. Want to load up guys in the box? We’ll attack you on the outside. Want to play man coverage? We’ll run our quarterback until you’re forced to commit a spy or play zone. One way or another the offense will find ways to have a numerical advantage where the defense can’t account for every player on offense.
 
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FrancisSaywer said:
This is a well debated topic and understandably so. I'm of the opinion that this group will be very good by the end of the season. With the healthy return of Jennings and Steed to go along with 5th year Senior Zach McCloud we have a modicum of experience returning. Although Jennings and Steed have little real game experience between them, what they do have is experience in and extensive knowledge of the system.

Athletic freaks Avery Huff And Sam Brooks are young but their ability is hardly in question. These two along with true freshman Tirek Austin Cave are the future of this group. True freshman Corey Flagg and redshirt sophomore Patrick Joyner round out the group.

I think we have a decent blend of a little experience and freakishly athletic youngsters who will grow as the season progresses. We will most likely see Bradley Jennings and Zach McCloud begin the year as the starters at Mike and Will respectively with Huff, Brooks and possibly Austin-Cave right behind and ready to overtake the starters at any moment. Waynmon Steed could also factor in with his instincts and high football IQ. Patrick Joyner has the physical tools but has been an enigma to this point. True freshman Corey Flagg is a bit undersized and not exactly a speedster but is a hard worker and high character kid who has great leadership skills to go along with a knack for finding the ball through elite diagnostic skills, high football IQ and a non stop motor.

It's tough to predict how all this shakes out. One thing that I find comforting is the fact that we have a ton of competition for what essentially amounts to 2 positions Mike and Will. I can't overemphasize the importance of getting Steed and Jennings back at 100% as this provided much needed guidance and competition for the young kids like Huff and Brooks. I don't know how many players that Diaz/Baker want in a rotation but a good bet would be a top 5 consisting of McCloud, Steed and Jennings to go with Huff and Brooks.

To me there are basically 2 main questions here.

1. What level of play can we expect to see from veterans McCloud, Steed and Jennings to start the season with?

2. How long will it take Huff and Brooks to claim the starting spots?
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2. I think is the answer to a lot of what I am concerned about. I don't trust guys who are oft injured. I think it's hard to rely on them especially in such a difficult season. However, I am optimistic enough to hope they alleviate my concerns and show out. I think anything is possible and I hope guys you mentioned in question #1 have successful years.
 
@OrangeBowlMagic is the only one with the yarbles to say it:

Our WR room isn't up to snuff. Sure the new scheme will put them in a position to succeed, but unless someone comes out of nowhere there's not a draft-able WR in the rooster as of today.
 
Secondary . . . solid returning group with a year of experience, decent depth and two second-year corners to push for playing time.
 
it had better be the O line, this group is difference between a special season and a 3-4 loss season.
if they perform we can all games except for Clemson.... were not there yet
 
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rok said:
@OrangeBowlMagic is the only one with the yarbles to say it:

Our WR room isn't up to snuff. Sure the new scheme will put them in a position to succeed, but unless someone comes out of nowhere there's not a draft-able WR in the rooster as of today.
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There is your answer! Draft isn't today so that means there is more time f4 the wr to get better! And, with da extra year just added im encouraged that likens will get them where they need to be.
 
rok said:
@OrangeBowlMagic is the only one with the yarbles to say it:

Our WR room isn't up to snuff. Sure the new scheme will put them in a position to succeed, but unless someone comes out of nowhere there's not a draft-able WR in the rooster as of today.
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Not sure if serious
 
Although I have initially thought WR. And still believe they will improve, I actually think QB and OL play will be most
 
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