I advised during the season to enjoy it because I saw a drop to a 6 win season and said so. Also warned that injuries could easily make for a losing season.
1. YSU has NO QB with abilities to replace the 4 yr. starter
2. 4 of 5 OL starters are gone. The cupboard ain't bare but its young, untested and not well stocked
3. The D was awful and has problems on the DL, the LB now have lost the starting MLB and the secondary is thin. The new DC will have a new system, doesn't have much depth to work with and has players who were pushed around at will.
4. Spring ball will be a time to get to know the players better and try to develop the underclassmen. Will the coaches look to new systems to match player abilities or keep it the same and risk failure with lots of new starters, young & inexperienced ?
5.I look for depending more on a ground game and less on a pass game. The QB had better make good decisions and not try to make plays. He , whoever that maybe, needs to play within himself and not makes errors and mistakes. If not a losing record is in the cards.
I pretty much agree with all of this. I won't go so far as to say the QB's don't have abilities...we got too little look at who we have. I can't slam these guys based on what they did against NDSU that's a tall task for anyone. We have some options but it will be interesting to see if they plug this QB into the system Hess ran or if they develop a system to play to the new QB's strengths. Or do they simply run Ruiz 30+ times a game?
I think those who wanted a run-heavy offense will get their wish this year.
The defense is in shambles...not much returning, new coordinator, leading tackler gone. Great chance for guys to stake their claim to starting spots but do we have enough good players to make a difference. We all saw those last games and how outclassed we were. I don't think the shortcomings were adequately addressed so far....risky counting on transfers at this point but we better hope for a couple.
Don't underestimate the loss of Liste. He won field position for us almost every game.
This will be a good test for the coaching staff. I can tell you one thing for sure, there will be less margin of error for the constant clock management, delay of game, illegal participation and wasted time out issues. Great way to lose games.
