Since it’s June, and since I read M.O.B.’s great post, (Which I mostly agreed with) I thought I would break things down into a little more detail as to our 2015 Rebel squad.
I decided to compare each unit to last season’s and judge them as follows:
+2 Significantly Better
+1 Marginally Better
0 About the Same
-1 Marginally Worse
-2 Significantly Worse
DEFENSE
Defensive Line: +1.5
With virtually everyone returning and what seems to be some pretty good depth, means this has to be the correct response, right? If the DL wasn’t so good last year, I might give this one a +2. Possibly the best D-line in the SEC.
Linebacker: -1
On first glance, one might be tempted to go a bit lower here, but with our defensive line eating up most of the other team’s blockers, our LB’s just about have to be at least solid if they can tackle at all. And if they can’t tackle we need new LB’s period.
Defensive Backs: +0.5
To me, this is all about the play of the new corners. The safety position looks to be in good, if not very good, hands. Senquez was a playmaker no doubt and won’t be easily replaced, but again our pressure off the line would make even average cornerbacks look pretty good, so Tee and Bridges should be solid at worse, with the potential to be much more than that. I’m honestly tempted to go to +1, but I’ll be conservative here for now.
Overall Defensive Score +1 Marginally better than last season but that was just the best scoring defense in the nation. Needless to say, I feel very good about our defense. Barring several injuries of course.
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks: -.5
Here is where things probably get interesting. I think Kelly is going to be a good QB for us… at some point. Maybe better than just good towards the end of the season, but I do worry early on. I liked Bo Wallace for all the same reasons others who supported Bo liked him, but I also recognize he had his faults. IMO, the biggest of those was his lack of arm strength. Much of that wasn’t his doing of course, as he had shoulder issues, but it was a problem. We could not throw a deep out, and most every long throw was an adventure. At times, he probably earned his derisive title of “Captain Bubblescreen”. He locked into receivers with his eyes, and he wasn’t the most accurate passer around. Not hating, just being fair. Chad Kelly? Personally, despite his lack of SEC experience, I think Kelly and his superior arm will make us a more dangerous team passing wise. We’ll be able to stretch the field vertically, which should open up the running lanes more. Now, again, he will have his struggles, especially early on, and I think he will throw his share of picks. And he’s not much of a runner like Bo was that I can see. We may well see a lot of passing TD’s and a lot of INT’s. Buchanan? Meh. I like the kid personally, and I think he has the brains and heart, but he simply throws too sidearm for my taste. Wouldn’t be such a big deal if he was a strong runner and could press the edge, but he’s not. At all. Okay as a backup however. Am I being overly optimistic? It’s possible, but I actually think I’m being a tad pessimistic. We’ll see.
Offensive Line: +1.5
Unlike some, I put a lot of stock in multiple returning starters in a position group like O-line. Experienced O-linemen, even if they aren’t super talented physically, seem to make up for such deficiencies by playing particularly well as a group. Plus, the thing is, we do have some talent there. Tunsil obviously, is a stone stud, but Patterson and Taylor were very highly recruited OL, and Cooper is looking strong this offseason. Just getting some of these guys into better shape alone should make us better. I’m not saying the line will go from a liability to a top 20 unit nationally, but I do believe it will be much better than last year. A very solid unit. Caveat: There isn’t a lot of experienced, quality, depth, so a couple a key injuries (Tunsil and one more) that keep them out for a long period of time and this all goes kind of flat.
Running Backs: +.5
I’m going with this score for two reasons. One, it would be difficult to be worse than last year. Two, I think the O-line and the deep passing game will make for a better running attack. It would nice if one guy stepped forward to be the “number one” RB, but I don’t see that happening in 2015. Committee approach like last season, but with better results and production.
Receivers: +.5
Everyone returns. Lots of talent, in actual production and on paper. The likely starter at QB has a stronger arm. Treadwell and likely EE will be looking for big NFL paydays. Lots of quality depth. Best receiving group, top to bottom, in the SEC? I say yes. I really want to go +2 here but again, I’ll be conservative.
Overall Offensive Score +2 Significantly better. I have to believe the play of our O-line will be much improved. I see the runners and receivers as slightly better (Mainly due to better play by the line) than last year’s versions. QB I see a mixed bag. The lack of SEC experience is a tough thing to overcome on the fly, especially early on, but Kelly has a much stronger arm than Bo, which should lead to some additional quick strike touchdown passes. Again, better line play and a better running game (Less Bo’s contribution to that part of it) should even things out a lot.
Final Tally: Based on all of this, with the caveat of not a lot of crushing injuries, and I see us a legit SEC contender. I see this as a 10-2 squad, and with a little luck 11-1. Frankly, 9-3, while not embarrassing given the schedule, would be a bit of a disappointment.
I decided to compare each unit to last season’s and judge them as follows:
+2 Significantly Better
+1 Marginally Better
0 About the Same
-1 Marginally Worse
-2 Significantly Worse
DEFENSE
Defensive Line: +1.5
With virtually everyone returning and what seems to be some pretty good depth, means this has to be the correct response, right? If the DL wasn’t so good last year, I might give this one a +2. Possibly the best D-line in the SEC.
Linebacker: -1
On first glance, one might be tempted to go a bit lower here, but with our defensive line eating up most of the other team’s blockers, our LB’s just about have to be at least solid if they can tackle at all. And if they can’t tackle we need new LB’s period.
Defensive Backs: +0.5
To me, this is all about the play of the new corners. The safety position looks to be in good, if not very good, hands. Senquez was a playmaker no doubt and won’t be easily replaced, but again our pressure off the line would make even average cornerbacks look pretty good, so Tee and Bridges should be solid at worse, with the potential to be much more than that. I’m honestly tempted to go to +1, but I’ll be conservative here for now.
Overall Defensive Score +1 Marginally better than last season but that was just the best scoring defense in the nation. Needless to say, I feel very good about our defense. Barring several injuries of course.
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks: -.5
Here is where things probably get interesting. I think Kelly is going to be a good QB for us… at some point. Maybe better than just good towards the end of the season, but I do worry early on. I liked Bo Wallace for all the same reasons others who supported Bo liked him, but I also recognize he had his faults. IMO, the biggest of those was his lack of arm strength. Much of that wasn’t his doing of course, as he had shoulder issues, but it was a problem. We could not throw a deep out, and most every long throw was an adventure. At times, he probably earned his derisive title of “Captain Bubblescreen”. He locked into receivers with his eyes, and he wasn’t the most accurate passer around. Not hating, just being fair. Chad Kelly? Personally, despite his lack of SEC experience, I think Kelly and his superior arm will make us a more dangerous team passing wise. We’ll be able to stretch the field vertically, which should open up the running lanes more. Now, again, he will have his struggles, especially early on, and I think he will throw his share of picks. And he’s not much of a runner like Bo was that I can see. We may well see a lot of passing TD’s and a lot of INT’s. Buchanan? Meh. I like the kid personally, and I think he has the brains and heart, but he simply throws too sidearm for my taste. Wouldn’t be such a big deal if he was a strong runner and could press the edge, but he’s not. At all. Okay as a backup however. Am I being overly optimistic? It’s possible, but I actually think I’m being a tad pessimistic. We’ll see.
Offensive Line: +1.5
Unlike some, I put a lot of stock in multiple returning starters in a position group like O-line. Experienced O-linemen, even if they aren’t super talented physically, seem to make up for such deficiencies by playing particularly well as a group. Plus, the thing is, we do have some talent there. Tunsil obviously, is a stone stud, but Patterson and Taylor were very highly recruited OL, and Cooper is looking strong this offseason. Just getting some of these guys into better shape alone should make us better. I’m not saying the line will go from a liability to a top 20 unit nationally, but I do believe it will be much better than last year. A very solid unit. Caveat: There isn’t a lot of experienced, quality, depth, so a couple a key injuries (Tunsil and one more) that keep them out for a long period of time and this all goes kind of flat.
Running Backs: +.5
I’m going with this score for two reasons. One, it would be difficult to be worse than last year. Two, I think the O-line and the deep passing game will make for a better running attack. It would nice if one guy stepped forward to be the “number one” RB, but I don’t see that happening in 2015. Committee approach like last season, but with better results and production.
Receivers: +.5
Everyone returns. Lots of talent, in actual production and on paper. The likely starter at QB has a stronger arm. Treadwell and likely EE will be looking for big NFL paydays. Lots of quality depth. Best receiving group, top to bottom, in the SEC? I say yes. I really want to go +2 here but again, I’ll be conservative.
Overall Offensive Score +2 Significantly better. I have to believe the play of our O-line will be much improved. I see the runners and receivers as slightly better (Mainly due to better play by the line) than last year’s versions. QB I see a mixed bag. The lack of SEC experience is a tough thing to overcome on the fly, especially early on, but Kelly has a much stronger arm than Bo, which should lead to some additional quick strike touchdown passes. Again, better line play and a better running game (Less Bo’s contribution to that part of it) should even things out a lot.
Final Tally: Based on all of this, with the caveat of not a lot of crushing injuries, and I see us a legit SEC contender. I see this as a 10-2 squad, and with a little luck 11-1. Frankly, 9-3, while not embarrassing given the schedule, would be a bit of a disappointment.
