(04-22-2017 06:25 PM)HtownOrange Wrote: What I saw was a vanilla offense, faster defense and very quick plays. There were too many penalties for the offense to get rolling, indicating the line play is not yet where it needs to be, but better than last season. Considering the O-line changed the most drastically over the season and suffered heavy injuries, I am not surprised that they are not quite where we would want them as the personnel have not yet worked together enough.
Philips was out and Ishmael's number was not called as much as it will be in a game. This indicates to me that HCDB wanted to see what others could do more than showcase the best case scenarios.
I am pleased the defense has everyone healthy and there is depth, with experience. Defense should be decent this fall, though, Clemson and FSU probably will not be shaking in their boots. LJ should be better contained this fall compared to last fall; more experience, depth, faster, stronger players and guys are flying to the ball (that said, if LJ has great receivers he may be containing himself more and more in prep for his future Sunday game).
The QB depth is now reasonable to respectable. Dungey is healthy, Mallone is more comfortable with the offense, Culpepper had some nice throws and Devito arrives this fall (though he may red shirt, depending on how quick he picks up the offense). The walk on kid has work to do, but this system is designed for to help a QB once he learns it, who knows.
The running game will be improved. Moe Neal can run and catch but not built to carry the team as a running back. We have one big back and another coming in the fall. Not as deep as I prefer but probably enough to get through the season.
The LB corp should be very good, with the MLBs one of the better tandems in the ACC. The D line looks better and deeper, though I hope Stephen Clark is able to return, he has been very good to the D line, even though it was very thin last season.
The kicking game was not on display today, no comments on kick-offs, field goals, extra points and punting, nor on the corresponding coverages, other than to say that we now have a good coach that can coach the special teams. We should see some improvement.
In my opinion, a bowl game is a reasonable expectation, in spite of this year's schedule. HCDB says it takes a season and a half for the offense to fully click, we should see improvement over the season and then some really good games in the second half of the season.
After what I saw when I watched the game just now on WatchESPN I dunno if I would be confident enough to make that statement. Got to watch the whole thing since the wife is feeling sickly due to an overabundance of oak tree pollen.
Your OL was unable to generate any push in the run game on a sub-par DL. After the first three games you stand a good chance of your next six opponent's DLs eating them alive.
Your #1 RB Strickland would be in a dog fight to start anywhere in the lower half of the conference, and Moe Neal would be a role player at best and probably what Clemson evaluated him as....a DB. Your only running option that should cause an opposing DC pause is Dungey and the past two years he's shown that he's made of glass so I question how much y'all are going to want to run him. You best hope the young RB coming in catch on quick or else opposing DCs are going to learn quick to sit on your horizontal passing game.
At WR you had better hope that you have a freshman coming in this summer who can take the top off a defense because the number of teams on your schedule this fall that you'll be able to dink and dunk effectively against are few and far between, and I think you are going to struggle to throw the ball vertically because of the limitations of your WR Corps. As it stands you don't have a WR on your current roster that a DC has to gameplan around. For that matter I don't believe there is a WR on your roster who would make the two deep at Clemson. Watching this game and knowing the personnel that Clemson has I honestly don't see a situation where Clemson would have to consider dedicating extra help to a DB to cover one of your WR. I imagine in the future this shouldn't be a problem considering that the kind of WR friendly offense that Babers has should attract some better talent but that's little solace for this year. I foresee a lot of gameplanning on your part to try and get your WR open this year.
Despite being a junior Dungey still makes freshman mistakes reading coverage. Perhaps it's partially because he's missed so much time the past two seasons being injured, but he made some horrible coverage reads in this game.
Don't be shocked if the walk-on Hasan isn't the #2 QB coming out of the fall. Granted, he came into the game late and wasn't playing against the best of talent but IMO he made the best reads of any of the QBs today. Culpepper might have the better physical tools but I believe Hasan has a better mental grasp and will take better care of the ball.
I like some of the younger back seven players you have on defense. Armstrong is going to be a baller and All-ACC before all is said and done.
There isn't an obvious win on your conference schedule. Out of your OOC I would put CCSU and Central Michigan as wins, LSU as a loss, and while MTSU should be a win they do have an offense capable of hanging with you in a shootout so they aren't necessarily an automatic. In the conference I would put NCSU, Clemson, FSU, and Louisville as losses with the rest as toss-ups. I can already see the protests on NCSU but IMO it would not be shocking if at the end of the year NCSU has the #2 DL in the country behind Clemson.
With the schedule you have this year you could have the same record and still be improved. For all of the talk Babers does about a year and a half and his offense I don't think it's going to matter when you are at such a physical disadvantage. Scheme can only do so much, and honestly it's not like he's running anything too terribly different than the rest of the conference.