Tweet
Re: GVSU 2018
Personnel-wise, I think we are fine at a minimum for OL. It could be argued that we actually have some really good players at the position. For me, the key is this: I am given to understand that Morrison is a VERY good O-line coach. Seeing as his attention will now be undivided and devoted exclusively to this position group, it becomes a logical inference that they will be at least "serviceable". I'd like to think they could be very good.
In total, I am actually leaning toward "bullish" as my opinion on this team as a whole. Learning from last year (and the past in general) is a MAJOR factor...the team we had last year was actually pretty damn good and had the pieces to go the whole way. This is the second time GV has stayed at home with an 8-3 mark during the MM era with a team that had what it needed to go the whole way. Both of those teams lost games by small margins when they had chances to win. FINISHING tough games needs to be this team's hallmark this year, and we have to believe that the staff is leveraging these learnings.
So, we've talked about how OL should be good. We have a 4-year starter at QB...hard to put a price on that. He doesn't suck, either, which helps. Despite the pieces missing at RB, I think folks will be surprised at what we still have brewing in that group...keep your eyes open. WR's will have some new guys contributing, but some of these new guys are better than people think...and, having a healthy Dodson will be REALLY big...don't think people remember just how good he actually is. TE's will be better than average.
For me, the D is a big part that gets overlooked. The last couple of years the D has been far better than people realize. No TD's allowed in a first half until week seven or eight in 2016; seven opponents last year held to seven points or less (with a couple of shutouts), and I think only two teams scored 10 or more against us in a first half. Our D is REALLY well prepared every week, so it's hard to ignore the work the staff is doing on that side of the ball. DL is going to be REALLY good, and pretty much everyone is back in the secondary. LB's might have some coming along to do, but we're not empty.
Like I said, I'm bullish. I think if the O starts executing more consistently, particularly EARLY in games, the game scripts become much more favorable to us. Can't wait to see what Ginn is going to do with things. I doubt it's an overhaul, but we don't need that...a few tweaks and the ability to adjust more effectively on-the-fly will (IMO) be all the difference we'll need.
Originally posted by dvaara
View Post
In total, I am actually leaning toward "bullish" as my opinion on this team as a whole. Learning from last year (and the past in general) is a MAJOR factor...the team we had last year was actually pretty damn good and had the pieces to go the whole way. This is the second time GV has stayed at home with an 8-3 mark during the MM era with a team that had what it needed to go the whole way. Both of those teams lost games by small margins when they had chances to win. FINISHING tough games needs to be this team's hallmark this year, and we have to believe that the staff is leveraging these learnings.
So, we've talked about how OL should be good. We have a 4-year starter at QB...hard to put a price on that. He doesn't suck, either, which helps. Despite the pieces missing at RB, I think folks will be surprised at what we still have brewing in that group...keep your eyes open. WR's will have some new guys contributing, but some of these new guys are better than people think...and, having a healthy Dodson will be REALLY big...don't think people remember just how good he actually is. TE's will be better than average.
For me, the D is a big part that gets overlooked. The last couple of years the D has been far better than people realize. No TD's allowed in a first half until week seven or eight in 2016; seven opponents last year held to seven points or less (with a couple of shutouts), and I think only two teams scored 10 or more against us in a first half. Our D is REALLY well prepared every week, so it's hard to ignore the work the staff is doing on that side of the ball. DL is going to be REALLY good, and pretty much everyone is back in the secondary. LB's might have some coming along to do, but we're not empty.
Like I said, I'm bullish. I think if the O starts executing more consistently, particularly EARLY in games, the game scripts become much more favorable to us. Can't wait to see what Ginn is going to do with things. I doubt it's an overhaul, but we don't need that...a few tweaks and the ability to adjust more effectively on-the-fly will (IMO) be all the difference we'll need.
Comment