Prior to the beginning of spring camp. Rank to position groups in two factors. 1-overall strength of the group(strongest to weakest), 2-level of concern/worry(most to least)
Overall strength of the the Position group
1. Offensive Line
2. Wide receiver/TE
3. Linebacker
4. Running Back
5. Quarterback
6. Dline
7. Secondary
Position Group of Concern
1. Secondary
2. Linebacker
3. Quarterback
4. Dline
5. Wide Receiver/TE
6. Offensive Line
7. Running back
On quibble, you have linebacker as #3 strength, but #2 concern. To me, LB and secondary are concerns 1a and 1b, especially with the offenses we will see in the South. Hell, throw in DL as #3. I haven't been this concerned with the D for years until now. The lack of proven returning talent is a concern.Originally Posted by Jarid in Cedar
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"You can do a lot in a lifetime, if you don't burn out too fast. You can make the most of the distance. First, you need endurance. First, you've got to last." - Neil Pert
That is the difference. I see the linebackers as one of the more talented groups on the team, but the overall performance last year gives me anxiety that they will pull it together.
If our OL is the part of the offense that is the least worrisome, we are winning 8+ games this year. I hope you are right.
If our OL is our strength and our QB is the third best position, we are winning 10 games.
In all honesty, there is not a single group that has proven itself capable to play consistently well. I would say that WR and LB have the most returning experience as a group and Wilson has almost a season of starting under his belt, but I think most of us would agree that the WR's and LB's underperformed a year ago and Wilson did not get to the point at anytime last year where I felt that he was the difference maker. York showed that he can be a pretty good RB but nobody behind him has much experience. Rowe and Blechen have had solid seasons but the unknown at corner is scary because the ability to man up on the outside is critical to the defense. The other groups have more unknowns then knowns. This could be a very tough year unless the returning players with experience take a significant step forward and we get some production from some untested players.
I am curious to see how others rank the positions
I will just rank them based on my concerns:
1. QB
2. OL
3. LB
4. DB
5. RB
6. WR
7. DL
I never worry about the DL with K-Dub. This year may be a relatively weaker unit. But again that is all relative. I ranked QB and OL as high as I did because I think those two positions groups are always the most important win it comes to W's. LB and DB are huge question marks as well.
I'll bite:
Overall strength of the the Position group
1. Wide Receiver/TE
2. Offensive Line
3. Linebacker
4. Quarterback
5. Running back
6. Secondary
7. Dline
Position Group of Concern
1. Dline
2. Secondary
3. Linebacker
4. Quarterback
5. Running Back
6. Offensive Line
7. Wide Receiver/TE
Dline- The success of Utah's defense always has and always will hinge on getting pressure on the qb and hence, the defensive line. In its most dominant years, we have had an active dline that wreaked havoc on opposing offenses. Last year, despite returning the nation's top d-lineman and lots of experience, we struggled. You don't just get better the next year after losing Star and both Kruger boys, Leota looked like the candidate to step in at end and now he's gone too. I'm not sold that Riley can be an every down D-end and while Fakahafua is talented, I don't trust that he's physical enough to dominate.
Secondary- Rowe is the strength of a unit that lost its 3 best corners. With Blechen likely moving to LB, there will be some growing pains. Especially the Dline can't generate a pass rush. We have a history of plug and play at corner and someone always steps up. I can only hope that will be the case this year.
Linebacker- Our thinnest unit from last year and it struggled with the speed to cover sideline to sideline. That ASU game really exploited their lack of speed. Moving Blechen to LB will add speed and athleticism to the unit. Of the 3 defensive units, this is my least concerning, we return all the talent of last year, with a year of experience under their belt.
Quarterback- We saw glimpses of what Travis can become last year. Erickson had success using a player of Wilson's stature at ASU (Osweiller). I am hoping DE will use a quick passing game to get the ball into the hands of playmakers in the open field. With a year under Wilson's belt, this position group starts in a better position than it did a year ago.
Runningback- We don't return a starter at this position. But York showed me he can be a dependable back, and behind him we have several talented players that can step in and contribute. I'd like to see a guy like Lucky Radley or Jarrell Oliver get a chance to contribute. I wouldn't be surprised to see a runningback by committee approach this year.
Wide Receiver/TE- I believe this to be Utah's most talented position group. Kenneth Scott and Jake Murphy are going to be all conference type performers. Behind them there is plenty of talent to go around: Dres, Lewis, Pedroza, McLellon, Allen and several freshmen burners coming in.
Offensive Line- Last year was a disaster and we had to turn to several players to fill holes to injury and lack of production. Like I said before, this position group can't be in a worse situation than it was at the beginning of last year.
I think we'll see a lot of improvement on the d line this year with coach Chad at wisconsin. I've heard "Coach" Pease has been working with Tuiaki and things will be better next year
In order of concern...
1. D line
2. Linebackers
3.O line
4. Secondary
5.QB
6.RB
7.WR/TE
http://www.corbettreport.com/
www.infowars.com
I do find it interesting that myself and several others have more concerns about our defensive units than the offensive ones. Esp given our offense the last 2 seasons. Personally, I feel that way because I think that our offensive woes can be tied almost exclusively to poor quarterback play(with the exception of the OLine play the first 4 games in 2012). If our QB moves from being bottom 5% nationally to ranked around 55th nationally, we will see wholesale improvements in every aspect of our whole team. If we had that margin of improvement last season, we were very likely an 8-4 team, and possibly better.
My rankings are as follows:
#1 Offense
#2 Defense
I appreciate threads like this and it's what i enjoy most about this site. I am no where near as knowledgeable as many on this site, thanks for sharing!!
I agree with this list.
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