Fall Camp is over and the season starts in less than a week, so I thought I would give my thoughts on the coming season. Full disclosure, I am expecting some pretty big things out of this team, in fact, I would consider anything less than 11-1 and at least a South Division title a disappointment. But for my season preview, I want to focus on what to look for at each position that will determine how much better this team has gotten. Certainly we need a lot of improvement at certain positions over last year if we want to compete with Oregon and UCLA, so my preview will focus on those things.
1) QB- Look for Cody Kessler to throw less TD's and more INT's than last year, but be a better QB. We need him to take a few more chances in the passing game, which will probably tick up his INT's a bit, but that won't necessarily be a bad thing. More aggression will suit this offense with all these playmakers. I could see a 35 TD, 10 INT season that produces better results and puts him in New York. We dont need him breaking TD records against Colorado, we need him completing 3rd and long in the seam against UCLA. I expect to see more of that this year. I also expect to see Max Browne more than last year. Getting Max some snaps is more important than getting Cody a record in a blowout.
2) RB- Look for the health of Madden and Davis. If these guys can't stay healthy, and neither has a good record of doing so, than we are looking at throwing a couple of talented freshman into the fire. I don't think anyone wants to depend of RJ or AW to pick up blitzes from ASU on the road. If Madden and Davis can't stay healthy, we could have some issues. Not so much running the ball, but my concern is pass protection. That said, we should be EXPLOSIVE on passes coming out of the backfield, no matter who we use. The freshman (Jones and DD) could make some noise on swing passes, wheel routes, and screens. But if Madden and Davis do stay healthy, we could have a tough running game running behind our big Oline. So I would look to their health as a barometer at this position.
3) WR- JuJu, Mitchell, and Adoree are game breakers. Get these guys the ball and explosive things are going to happen, we all know that. But what I want to see improvement on this year is blocking. We have HUGE WR's. JuJu in particular. We should be destroying DB's in the blocking game, particularly on bubble screens and flat passes. Oregon does an amazing job of blocking at the WR position, with smaller guys, so I'm looking to see improvement in this area. If JuJu can wipe out the corner when we bubble screen Adoree, that could be a TD every time. It might be a TD even if he misses the block, but I would like to see us engage and punish defenders from the WR position. We just werent good at that last year.
4) TE- I honestly dont expect much from the TE position. Without Bryce, I don't see Cody targeting the TE much this year. We barely used the TE much in the passing game last year, so this year I don't expect much of a change. Not a huge deal, but I expect with all of the playmakers on Offense, the TE will probably be open a lot.
5) Oline- Personally, I think they should have moved Toa to Center and Max Tuerk to Right Tackle. I don't know what the issue with Banner has been this fall, but it doesnt sound like they have a lot of confidence in him. He still struggles with the speed rush. and that could be a problem. For my money, you put your best guys on the field, and to me, thats Wheeler, Mama, Toa, Viane, and Tuerk. That's a stud Oline. That's an Oline that could gel and be consistent. That's an Oline with few weaknesses. I think we are more than likely to get Wheeler, Toa, Teurk, Viane, and Banner, leaving Mama to rotate. I personally dont like rotating Oline because having consistency is so important. Pick your guys, let them gel together, and go with it. Rotating Oline never made a ton of sense to me. Seems counterproductive.
One other note on moving Teurk from Center. I think he's too tall for the position. Something to watch for is how Dlineman get under him because of his length. I like shorter, more stout guys in the middle who have better leverage against their counterpart on the Dline. That seems to fit Toa, and quite frankly, Toa is smart enough to make those calls in Year 2. As good as Teurk is, Defenders do get under him and give him problems. Watch for that when we play Stanford.
6) Dline- Look for these guys to tie up blockers and keep them off our LB's. We don't have LW, but if these guys play their role, they will be very effective in this Defense. Townsend has been a surprise this Fall, so any disruption he can provide would be a plus. But we don't need miracles out of these guys, we just need them to eat up blockers and hold their ground. Dont get pushed around and let the LB's clean up plays. This Defense works if these guys can get stalemates on the Line. And with better depth and rotation, they shouldnt be gassed in the 4th Quarter. If they are, then there is a real problem here.
7) LBs- Simple watch here, can they contain the edge and make tackles. We got destroyed last year at the OLB spot. We werent very good and werent very athletic. That changes this year, so we need these guys to seal that edge and not miss tackles. I would also expect a lot of pressure from this spot, as most of our sacks will come from our LB's. Will anyone be able to block Gustin? We will see. Expect a ton of tackles from Dawson and Cam Smith. Sua should also be pretty free to roam around and make plays. I have high hopes for this position group as we are deep and athletic. If someone isnt getting it done, there is a pretty talented guy behind him to take his place.
8) Secondary- look for aggressive man and press coverage. Good cover guys, so we should see a lot less of the soft zones. More blitzing will put a lot of pressure on this group to play tight coverage. I expect a lot of INT's this year from the pressure created by the LB's. Im very excited about this group, but if there is something to look for, its how aggressive they are allowed to play.
9) Special Teams- Can we please get some kickoffs to reach the end zone this year! And not just in September. If November rolls around and we are only getting kickoffs to the 10 yard line like last year, changes need to be made. Seems like every team in the Conference has a kicker who can get it into the endzone but us. Look for that improvement this year. Other than that, Adoree runs at least another 2 kicks back for TD's this year.
10) Coaching- what has Sark learned? Well, we already know he learned at least one thing by giving up playcalling. That's a very GOOD sign in my mind. Now we need to see if he has the confidence to stick with No Huddle and put teams away. He has a lot to improve on from last year, and quite frankly, his growth is the key to this season. Look for how different things are when he's managing the entire game now, not just the Offense. Im very encouraged so far, I didnt think he had it in him to give up play calling. On defense, Wilcox needs to let these dogs loose. Simple as that. Let the playmakers make plays. If he does that, this Defense could be special, very special!
So for me, this is an 11 win team, a PAC 12 Championship contender, and a playoff threat. The schedule is tough, but honestly, I look at games one week at a time. It's not like you have to play Stanford, ASU, then Notre Dame all in the same day. You play one at a time, beat one at a time, then prepare for the next one. One game, at Oregon, USC will not be a favorite. I would expect wins in every other game or I will be deeply disappointed because something bad went wrong. I also expect us to go up to Oregon and win, but predicting 12-0 seems a bit to homerish. Week 12 against UCLA could be for all the marbles. I like our chances this year. They are not quite as deep as people think, especially on the Dline, and our guys are hungry. The streak ends at 3 on our way to the PAC 12 Championship over Oregon.
1) QB- Look for Cody Kessler to throw less TD's and more INT's than last year, but be a better QB. We need him to take a few more chances in the passing game, which will probably tick up his INT's a bit, but that won't necessarily be a bad thing. More aggression will suit this offense with all these playmakers. I could see a 35 TD, 10 INT season that produces better results and puts him in New York. We dont need him breaking TD records against Colorado, we need him completing 3rd and long in the seam against UCLA. I expect to see more of that this year. I also expect to see Max Browne more than last year. Getting Max some snaps is more important than getting Cody a record in a blowout.
2) RB- Look for the health of Madden and Davis. If these guys can't stay healthy, and neither has a good record of doing so, than we are looking at throwing a couple of talented freshman into the fire. I don't think anyone wants to depend of RJ or AW to pick up blitzes from ASU on the road. If Madden and Davis can't stay healthy, we could have some issues. Not so much running the ball, but my concern is pass protection. That said, we should be EXPLOSIVE on passes coming out of the backfield, no matter who we use. The freshman (Jones and DD) could make some noise on swing passes, wheel routes, and screens. But if Madden and Davis do stay healthy, we could have a tough running game running behind our big Oline. So I would look to their health as a barometer at this position.
3) WR- JuJu, Mitchell, and Adoree are game breakers. Get these guys the ball and explosive things are going to happen, we all know that. But what I want to see improvement on this year is blocking. We have HUGE WR's. JuJu in particular. We should be destroying DB's in the blocking game, particularly on bubble screens and flat passes. Oregon does an amazing job of blocking at the WR position, with smaller guys, so I'm looking to see improvement in this area. If JuJu can wipe out the corner when we bubble screen Adoree, that could be a TD every time. It might be a TD even if he misses the block, but I would like to see us engage and punish defenders from the WR position. We just werent good at that last year.
4) TE- I honestly dont expect much from the TE position. Without Bryce, I don't see Cody targeting the TE much this year. We barely used the TE much in the passing game last year, so this year I don't expect much of a change. Not a huge deal, but I expect with all of the playmakers on Offense, the TE will probably be open a lot.
5) Oline- Personally, I think they should have moved Toa to Center and Max Tuerk to Right Tackle. I don't know what the issue with Banner has been this fall, but it doesnt sound like they have a lot of confidence in him. He still struggles with the speed rush. and that could be a problem. For my money, you put your best guys on the field, and to me, thats Wheeler, Mama, Toa, Viane, and Tuerk. That's a stud Oline. That's an Oline that could gel and be consistent. That's an Oline with few weaknesses. I think we are more than likely to get Wheeler, Toa, Teurk, Viane, and Banner, leaving Mama to rotate. I personally dont like rotating Oline because having consistency is so important. Pick your guys, let them gel together, and go with it. Rotating Oline never made a ton of sense to me. Seems counterproductive.
One other note on moving Teurk from Center. I think he's too tall for the position. Something to watch for is how Dlineman get under him because of his length. I like shorter, more stout guys in the middle who have better leverage against their counterpart on the Dline. That seems to fit Toa, and quite frankly, Toa is smart enough to make those calls in Year 2. As good as Teurk is, Defenders do get under him and give him problems. Watch for that when we play Stanford.
6) Dline- Look for these guys to tie up blockers and keep them off our LB's. We don't have LW, but if these guys play their role, they will be very effective in this Defense. Townsend has been a surprise this Fall, so any disruption he can provide would be a plus. But we don't need miracles out of these guys, we just need them to eat up blockers and hold their ground. Dont get pushed around and let the LB's clean up plays. This Defense works if these guys can get stalemates on the Line. And with better depth and rotation, they shouldnt be gassed in the 4th Quarter. If they are, then there is a real problem here.
7) LBs- Simple watch here, can they contain the edge and make tackles. We got destroyed last year at the OLB spot. We werent very good and werent very athletic. That changes this year, so we need these guys to seal that edge and not miss tackles. I would also expect a lot of pressure from this spot, as most of our sacks will come from our LB's. Will anyone be able to block Gustin? We will see. Expect a ton of tackles from Dawson and Cam Smith. Sua should also be pretty free to roam around and make plays. I have high hopes for this position group as we are deep and athletic. If someone isnt getting it done, there is a pretty talented guy behind him to take his place.
8) Secondary- look for aggressive man and press coverage. Good cover guys, so we should see a lot less of the soft zones. More blitzing will put a lot of pressure on this group to play tight coverage. I expect a lot of INT's this year from the pressure created by the LB's. Im very excited about this group, but if there is something to look for, its how aggressive they are allowed to play.
9) Special Teams- Can we please get some kickoffs to reach the end zone this year! And not just in September. If November rolls around and we are only getting kickoffs to the 10 yard line like last year, changes need to be made. Seems like every team in the Conference has a kicker who can get it into the endzone but us. Look for that improvement this year. Other than that, Adoree runs at least another 2 kicks back for TD's this year.
10) Coaching- what has Sark learned? Well, we already know he learned at least one thing by giving up playcalling. That's a very GOOD sign in my mind. Now we need to see if he has the confidence to stick with No Huddle and put teams away. He has a lot to improve on from last year, and quite frankly, his growth is the key to this season. Look for how different things are when he's managing the entire game now, not just the Offense. Im very encouraged so far, I didnt think he had it in him to give up play calling. On defense, Wilcox needs to let these dogs loose. Simple as that. Let the playmakers make plays. If he does that, this Defense could be special, very special!
So for me, this is an 11 win team, a PAC 12 Championship contender, and a playoff threat. The schedule is tough, but honestly, I look at games one week at a time. It's not like you have to play Stanford, ASU, then Notre Dame all in the same day. You play one at a time, beat one at a time, then prepare for the next one. One game, at Oregon, USC will not be a favorite. I would expect wins in every other game or I will be deeply disappointed because something bad went wrong. I also expect us to go up to Oregon and win, but predicting 12-0 seems a bit to homerish. Week 12 against UCLA could be for all the marbles. I like our chances this year. They are not quite as deep as people think, especially on the Dline, and our guys are hungry. The streak ends at 3 on our way to the PAC 12 Championship over Oregon.
