Step Forward/Step Back

[SidewalkJacket]

At which positions do you think we will take a step forward or step back in 2014?. I gave it a shot on offense, however speculative and premature it may be. Just looking for more fodder for discussion.

Step Forward
QB: I say this only due to the assumption that JT will be committed to the option components of our offense, which I believe makes the other parts more successful.
WR: No real losses here, and more experience/depth.
LT/RT: I think it could only get better to be honest.
LG/RG: Mason is obvious, addition of Devine.

Step Back
BB: We're all excited about Custis, but dang... ONE experienced BB in Laskey. We're thin here. I hope this is a step forward, but I can't say that yet.
AB: Lots of potential here, but unproven.
C: Again, potential. Most important position on the line. Burden and O'Reilly will need to be as smart as they are big and strong. Our best centers in CPJ's time here have been very sharp.

 

[techman78]

I think we take a step forward at BB-Laskey is in his 3rd season playing this position, Snoddy will see some action there as well also in his 3rd season. Custis is the big ???? here. Think about it like this, whenever CPJ came in 08 Dwyer had no prior experience at BB, in fact he had to make the transition as basically and I formation guy and he blew up. Not saying that Custis is Dwyer but the potential is obviously there with more quickness and possibly better decision making at QB the BB should see better running lanes. Im cautiously optimistic about this position.

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

I think we take a step forward at BB-Laskey is in his 3rd season playing this position, Snoddy will see some action there as well also in his 3rd season. Custis is the big ???? here. Think about it like this, whenever CPJ came in 08 Dwyer had no prior experience at BB, in fact he had to make the transition as basically and I formation guy and he blew up. Not saying that Custis is Dwyer but the potential is obviously there with more quickness and possibly better decision making at QB the BB should see better running lanes. Im cautiously optimistic about this position.

So much running success hinges on both the offensive line and improved reads and ball handling by the quarterback. I could not agree with you more that the decision-making of the qb is paramount. Now the question is: how good is Justin Thomas going to be? Is he an upgrade over Vad? Hopefully he has a great spring and we jell on offense and allow the defense to have a couple of months to continue to improve.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

qb: step up
bb: step up
ab: step down
wr: step up
OL: even

DL: even
LB: even
DB: step up

 

[RamblinCharger]

qb: step up
bb: step up
ab: step down
wr: step up
OL: even

DL: even
LB: even
DB: step up

Yep, my thought exactly.

 

[DTGT]

qb: step up
bb: step up
ab: step down
wr: step up
OL: even

DL: even
LB: even
DB: step up

How many wins does this translate to in the regular season? In conference?

 

[Rodney Kent]

dressedcheeseid: I can't argue against the rating at each position according to the manpower. However, until I see Roof making some adjustments on the short passes for first downs which keeps the opposition's offense on the field, we will lose some games we should win. Personally, I was not enthused with the defensive efficiency last year. I really don't care about the ranking of the defense according to the national rankings, I go by the actions on the field during the games.

 

[Ggee87]

This is the year that ive been waiting for our team to break out. Not only do we have a pretty favorable schedule, a huge majority of our opponents will be breaking in young/inexperienced QBs. I wasnt projecting us having the same issue, but i am overly confident that JT or whoever else will be much better than Vad was this past year. Laskey @ Bback will be a huge breath of fresh air for me. If Custis earns the starting.job , were in for a productive year from the position. WR is gonna be another year better and deeper. I believe we take a step back from the AB position after losing.Godhigh. Oline as a whole takes a step up, not sure about each position. D line takes a step back and the DBs take a step up. LBs will be a wash IMO. STs will be better i hope.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

How many wins does this translate to in the regular season? In conference?

It's hard to account for excessive injury and inexplicable regression, both of which plagued us last year. If we have a lucky year on the health front, I predict a 9 - 10 win season. A normal injury situation puts us still around 8. Another catastrophic year to injury and we're looking at 7.

I expect JT to be the real deal at qb. Our OL will be young but talented and our schedule is soft early allowing them to play their way into a solid unit. Wr's will be the best we've had depthwise and very close to the production we had with Bay Bay. Smelter will continue to get comfortable and Waller started to come on towards the end of '13. Add Jeune, Autry and Summers to the mix to push the first two.

The DL will lose Sneezy, but that will be mitigated in large part by the continued development of Gotsis and the arrival of Whitehead. Throw in the possible light bulb coming on for Kallon and the unknowns of the redshirts, especially Commissiong and we might be better on the DL or at worst, no worse off.

I think the LB corp is solid and will benefit from another year of Roof's tutelage. I hope Hunt-Days lives up to the hype and proves '13 a fluke.

The defensive backfield loses a good one in Jemea, but we gained a lot in getting our young guys experience last year. Add in the return of IJ and Golden and the addition of true frosh Step Durham and think we'll be solid in the back 4.

ST's will be the best we've ever had on the flats in the CPJ era.

 

[thwgjacket]

I think the improvements we see on ST's are being underrated. Jamal Golden will be back, healthy and as explosive as ever. Butker with another year under his belt should be even more consistent.
JT may not be a step up from Vad in some areas but at least we don't have to watch Vad run around the edge and cower down with his back to the defender after 3 yards anymore.

 

[SidewalkJacket]

Completely agree on STs. I posted another thread just like this about defense, and added a section on STs. The quality depth of athletes we've been adding at DB helps this big time.

 

[GTBillyJosh]

QB: Even
Last year we started a Redshirt Sophomore. This year will be the same. It feels the hype meter for JT is similar to Vad a year ago. He won't light the world on fire, but I expect him to be effective.
BB: Even
Laskey should be fine (5.8 yds/att last year), and anything Custis can provide is icing on the cake.
AB: Even
Too much depth here to miss Robbie too much.
WR: Step Up
Autry is back, and Summers got some valuable experience last year.
OL: Even
We will miss Jackson, Beno and Finch. But DeVine, Roberts and Griffin should be serviceable.

DL: Step Down
losing 3 senior starters on the DL (including one to the NFL). We're still not sure who will replace Jerry (hope it will be KW, but he is unproven). We have NT wrapped up with Gotsis, but DT is still a big question mark. Too many ???? to stay the same.
LB: Even
Exit Brandon Watts, enter Paul Davis full time.
DB: Step Up
Isaiah and Jamal are back. Gone are Louis Young and Jemea Thomas. Overall, we have some depth here.

Overall, I'd say we make a slight step up on offense, and stay around the same on defense.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

qb: step sideways or down. You don't lose a starting sophomore QB and expect better (unless the coach is incompetent).
bb: step up. Custis will do fine.
ab: step down. RG was able to more than anyone else in a while at AB
wr: step up, ASmelter experienced and Autry back
OL: step up due to fewer injuries likely

DL: Down to sideways given who we lost.
LB: Up to sideways. More experience and not much lost
DB: step up as long as Golden is healthy

So overall about the same. Finish 3rd in Coastal.

 

[alaguy]

OFF-
QB-even,get a better runner but worse passer esp if OL slides
Bb-even- unless Cutis breaks out
OL- no better than even,how to expect so much youth to improve the line when exp is so important in this OFF
WR-better,if OL performs it will help a lot
Ab-down a tad ,has potential but it seems every big play was made by Godhigh

 

[BainbridgeJacket]

Step up:
BB - It can only get better, we're adding talent and the talent we've had will get a chance to prove itself. I think our coaches overvalue blocking ability at this position, not because it's not important, but because all of our guys have been marginal at best.
OT - I'm excited about Griffin and think someone will either get better or beat out at the other tackle spot.
OG - We return Mason and either upgrade or bring experience back at the other position.
WR - Only bringing back players, they'll get better.
S - returning our two starters from injury and have guys who were forced into action returning.

Step down:
AB - I see no playmakers on the current roster. Hopefully some of these guys can get out of the CPJ doghouse that all too many of our ABs have found themselves in.
C - I think we have better guys than Finch on the roster, but they're too inexperienced at this point to be reliable and there's not much depth if something happens.
DE - Really need someone to step up
LB - Brandon Watts was more important than most think. Might have to shuffle players to get the best on the field, and I hate people playing out of position.
CB - This is gonna get ugly next year unless Step can come in and be a lock down field corner right away.

 

[AE 87]

Step Forward
QB: regardless of experience, a QB who's bought-in will taking coaching better, imo. I like JT's throwing motion better than Vad's. So, I'll say a cautious step forward.
WR: Returning players from 2013 will be better, excited about talent not seen in 2013, Autry, Jeaune

I'm not sold that we'll step back in any area, but I'm more concerned about A-Back, but I don't think it'll be a big deal.

 

[thwgjacket]

Step up:
BB - It can only get better, we're adding talent and the talent we've had will get a chance to prove itself. I think our coaches overvalue blocking ability at this position, not because it's not important, but because all of our guys have been marginal at best.
OT - I'm excited about Griffin and think someone will either get better or beat out at the other tackle spot.
OG - We return Mason and either upgrade or bring experience back at the other position.
WR - Only bringing back players, they'll get better.
S - returning our two starters from injury and have guys who were forced into action returning.

Step down:
AB - I see no playmakers on the current roster. Hopefully some of these guys can get out of the CPJ doghouse that all too many of our ABs have found themselves in.
C - I think we have better guys than Finch on the roster, but they're too inexperienced at this point to be reliable and there's not much depth if something happens.
DE - Really need someone to step up
LB - Brandon Watts was more important than most think. Might have to shuffle players to get the best on the field, and I hate people playing out of position.
CB - This is gonna get ugly next year unless Step can come in and be a lock down field corner right away.

I disagree on the secondary as a whole. While the corners may not be as good with the loss of Jemea I think the secondary as a whole will be at least equivalent to last year. Getting Johnson and Golden back are upgrades in my opinion. I also like DJ White. He made some Freshman mistakes last year but I think he has a high ceiling. I think the bowl game might have been an indication of what is to come with him. 12 Tackles and a pick. May have recovered a fumble too.

 

[DTGT]

qb: step sideways or down. You don't lose a starting sophomore QB and expect better (unless the coach is incompetent).

From Vad's play, I thought he had given up on GT pretty early last year. Hard to win when your starting QB isn't all in... just sayin'

 

[SidewalkJacket]

From Vad's play, I thought he had given up on GT pretty early last year. Hard to win when your starting QB isn't all in... just sayin'

I think the question of whether or not this is true will haunt GT fans for a long time. I don't think we'll ever know the answer.

 

[MGTfan]

QB - up
BB - up
AB - down
WR - up
OL - down

DL - down
LB - up
DB - down

Also for anyone who doesn't think we have a playmaker at AB, Dennis Andrews is going to be that guy. He will be the best AB we have next year. Though, still may not be as good as Godhigh overall.