- Joined
- Apr 29, 2003
- Messages
- 3,282
- Reaction score
- 686
Offense:
QB - This is the biggest negative, right now, imo (some will argue the OL is); That said, I think the presence of Frerotte who is not that old (34) and who knows the offense, will help. I think he'll be the starter b/c Saban has no reason to promote Feeley beyond his talent (which is inconsistent). At the least, Frerotte can give us two-three solid years. The major plus here? Better coaching - VASTLY better coaching.
RB - I personally think Ricky will be a big positive. He won't be the Ricky of old, but people need to stop comparing him to that. So what?! If he's 3/4 Ricky, he'll be fine. He may not have the same power, but he will be very quick (and he was surprisingly fast two years ago). Plus, he has until October to regain his weight and be in shape - that's three and a half months. At the same time, the nice thing is that Ricky will not be relied upon to be a star. Ronnie Brown and whoever else makes it into the lineup will give us a MUCH improved unit over last year.
WR/TE - If Boston can stay healthy and keep his weight down where it is - this could be a surprisingly good unit. I was not high on it from last year, but I think there will be some surprises here. McMichael will be solid. The real challenge will be finding #2/3 TE's who can block really well.
OL - A big question mark but with the better coaching and the youth - we'll be much better. They got smashed last year but they have youth (which means lots of room for improvement at every position) more talent than many think, hunger, and the best coach in the business. This unit won't be Denver or Pittsburgh, but it will be much improved.
This offense won't be great, mainly b/c of the QB spot and some other question marks. But, it will be much better than the 4-12 offense of last year - good enough to get us 4 more games, imo. I see a slow start but lots of improvement - so be patient.
Defense:
DL - We have a lot of good size and speed here. The only question is Chester. If he can't go, we could be weak up the middle. He and Traylor are the real X-factors. Nevertheless, the overall talent level is much improved from last year. The other factor that will really help the D is the fact that we won't be the MOST PREDICTABLE DEFENSE in the WORLD as we have been the last 5 years, Dave W!!! Even the Pats got away with 5 LB's quite often. I think Saban may have to do some smoke and mirrors to protect the DT's if the Big guys aren't healthy. But, he'll be solid.
LB - Another improved position, though not tremendously so. We still need some size here. The key will be Seau and Zach remaining healthy. Their smarts and the new schemes should really play into their hands. Of course, if Channing Crowder is healthy and gets a lot of PT - with the use of Bowens and JT - this position could be very good - much improved.
DB's - The injuries really hurt after the loss of Surtain. However, the style of D Saban will play will not put quite as much pressure on the CB's to line up man-to-man, like Wanny's D did. Hopefully, Madison and Tebucky will be able to lead the group effectively.
Finally, this team has too many question-marks to really succeed this year. Certainly, some of those Q-marks will be answered positively. But, when you have that many, the odds are they won't all get answered. Nevertheless, I see us improving to 8-8, surprising a few teams, and finding out where the weaknesses are so that Saban will be able to build those next year. We may not start fast, but I don't think this team will finish poorly (barring late season injuries).
I feel good about the team. Hopefully Mueller will find us a good QB in the next year or so, around whom the team can build.
QB - This is the biggest negative, right now, imo (some will argue the OL is); That said, I think the presence of Frerotte who is not that old (34) and who knows the offense, will help. I think he'll be the starter b/c Saban has no reason to promote Feeley beyond his talent (which is inconsistent). At the least, Frerotte can give us two-three solid years. The major plus here? Better coaching - VASTLY better coaching.
RB - I personally think Ricky will be a big positive. He won't be the Ricky of old, but people need to stop comparing him to that. So what?! If he's 3/4 Ricky, he'll be fine. He may not have the same power, but he will be very quick (and he was surprisingly fast two years ago). Plus, he has until October to regain his weight and be in shape - that's three and a half months. At the same time, the nice thing is that Ricky will not be relied upon to be a star. Ronnie Brown and whoever else makes it into the lineup will give us a MUCH improved unit over last year.
WR/TE - If Boston can stay healthy and keep his weight down where it is - this could be a surprisingly good unit. I was not high on it from last year, but I think there will be some surprises here. McMichael will be solid. The real challenge will be finding #2/3 TE's who can block really well.
OL - A big question mark but with the better coaching and the youth - we'll be much better. They got smashed last year but they have youth (which means lots of room for improvement at every position) more talent than many think, hunger, and the best coach in the business. This unit won't be Denver or Pittsburgh, but it will be much improved.
This offense won't be great, mainly b/c of the QB spot and some other question marks. But, it will be much better than the 4-12 offense of last year - good enough to get us 4 more games, imo. I see a slow start but lots of improvement - so be patient.
Defense:
DL - We have a lot of good size and speed here. The only question is Chester. If he can't go, we could be weak up the middle. He and Traylor are the real X-factors. Nevertheless, the overall talent level is much improved from last year. The other factor that will really help the D is the fact that we won't be the MOST PREDICTABLE DEFENSE in the WORLD as we have been the last 5 years, Dave W!!! Even the Pats got away with 5 LB's quite often. I think Saban may have to do some smoke and mirrors to protect the DT's if the Big guys aren't healthy. But, he'll be solid.
LB - Another improved position, though not tremendously so. We still need some size here. The key will be Seau and Zach remaining healthy. Their smarts and the new schemes should really play into their hands. Of course, if Channing Crowder is healthy and gets a lot of PT - with the use of Bowens and JT - this position could be very good - much improved.
DB's - The injuries really hurt after the loss of Surtain. However, the style of D Saban will play will not put quite as much pressure on the CB's to line up man-to-man, like Wanny's D did. Hopefully, Madison and Tebucky will be able to lead the group effectively.
Finally, this team has too many question-marks to really succeed this year. Certainly, some of those Q-marks will be answered positively. But, when you have that many, the odds are they won't all get answered. Nevertheless, I see us improving to 8-8, surprising a few teams, and finding out where the weaknesses are so that Saban will be able to build those next year. We may not start fast, but I don't think this team will finish poorly (barring late season injuries).
I feel good about the team. Hopefully Mueller will find us a good QB in the next year or so, around whom the team can build.
