Now that most people have stepped of the ledge and can actually have a rational conversation about football, I wanted to lay out some things I think we can look forward to. These are reasons I think next year will be a better year in football, but also some counter points that will have me concerned.
Drew Barker is the starter: No QB controversy should exist going into next season. Drew knows, today, he is the starting QB. This gives him all spring, summer, and fall leading up to the season to study, practice, and build a 1st team relationship with this offense. To me this is huge, and could lead to a vast improvement in the performance of this offense. However, he has had the chance to win the starter role and failed twice before. Why? Was it loyalty to Towles, or something else? We also will have the same receiving core we do now. Will they step up and give Barker the lift he will need? We will find out.
Shannon Dawson has a year under his belt: I know everyone wants to pile on Dawson and wants him out, and trust me I get it. I can't say I would be against moving on from him, AS LONG AS his replacement has a pen an inch away from the paper before Dawson is let go. He does however have his system in place. The players know it, can mature in it, and Dawson can learn from the shortcomings of this season to become a better play caller. But is that system actually a good one? We saw what it did this year, and it was anemic. Was that a product of inexperience, or a product of a bad offensive game plan. Strong running game at times, but never consistent. I for one think Dawson should get another year, because the OC coaching carousel can't be good for players psyche.
The defense isn't as bad as some think: I might get torched for this, but aside from the obvious issues against a mobile QB (i.e. MSU, UT, UofL) this defense was at times very strong. The problem was they couldn't stay off the field long enough to catch their breath. The secondary is primarily freshmen, and we all saw some very bright spots there. Ware is a absolute beast, and I think will leave here in higher regard than Bud did. With that said, that read option issue isn't going away over night. Smart OCs will look at this season and take every advantage they can against us. So can Elliot and Stoops make the necessary adjustments to shore up this problem. That's the biggest question mark of the off season IMO.
Drew Barker is the starter: No QB controversy should exist going into next season. Drew knows, today, he is the starting QB. This gives him all spring, summer, and fall leading up to the season to study, practice, and build a 1st team relationship with this offense. To me this is huge, and could lead to a vast improvement in the performance of this offense. However, he has had the chance to win the starter role and failed twice before. Why? Was it loyalty to Towles, or something else? We also will have the same receiving core we do now. Will they step up and give Barker the lift he will need? We will find out.
Shannon Dawson has a year under his belt: I know everyone wants to pile on Dawson and wants him out, and trust me I get it. I can't say I would be against moving on from him, AS LONG AS his replacement has a pen an inch away from the paper before Dawson is let go. He does however have his system in place. The players know it, can mature in it, and Dawson can learn from the shortcomings of this season to become a better play caller. But is that system actually a good one? We saw what it did this year, and it was anemic. Was that a product of inexperience, or a product of a bad offensive game plan. Strong running game at times, but never consistent. I for one think Dawson should get another year, because the OC coaching carousel can't be good for players psyche.
The defense isn't as bad as some think: I might get torched for this, but aside from the obvious issues against a mobile QB (i.e. MSU, UT, UofL) this defense was at times very strong. The problem was they couldn't stay off the field long enough to catch their breath. The secondary is primarily freshmen, and we all saw some very bright spots there. Ware is a absolute beast, and I think will leave here in higher regard than Bud did. With that said, that read option issue isn't going away over night. Smart OCs will look at this season and take every advantage they can against us. So can Elliot and Stoops make the necessary adjustments to shore up this problem. That's the biggest question mark of the off season IMO.
