Next Year

[loyolacat]

Recruiting is over and we are closing in on Spring Ball. So what is next year going to look like? Will are strength be offense or defense?To start the discussion I am going to say that our defense on paper looks stronger than the offense and will dictate a conservative offense. I say this because on paper and if McEvily comes back strong the defensive line looks better that the offensive line. As well as the uncertainty of the qb situation on offense. But I am also thinking that if we go conservative on offense does that make us lean towards Alviti as the qb emphasizing the run?
Just to throw something else around I thought Zack Oliver looked solid in the 2nd half other than that incredibly poor pick in the 2nd half. He has a strong arm and I think will want to make up for the U of I game.

 

[Turk]

If Thorson isnt starting then imo it wont be because of oliver but rather thorson needing more development. I have little hope in oliver. He simply is too slow for our ol and his legs wont take any pressure off of a continually fragile ol that fails to protect its QB.

 

[Deeringfish]

I think the D will be similar to last year and that was solid. I don't know anything about McEvily except he is always hurt and I have come to the opinion that some guys simply can't manage the stress of the weight and power that comes from the training at this level. It's like blowing up a balloon at a certain point it becomes so big it is fragile. If McEvily comes back strong I think the D will be really great but I wouldn't count on him.

The Offense has to find it's identity and a system that suits the QB and the line. When Trevor lost his wheels he was a sitting duck because our line was recruited for the spread and not a pro set. I wouldn't mind going back to the 2 QB system if Alviti and Thorsen are up to it. Some how Oliver just never caught on. He should have been able to come in to spell the broken TS all season but the coaches didn't trust him so he must not be able.

So to me next year comes down to reclaiming a productive offense because the D will be at least OK. We also have to figure out the return punting game. We beat Wisconsin because we controlled field position he whole game, the return team is a big pat of that.

 

[Fitz51]

5-7

 

[phatcat]

Sadly I cannot argue with that. something like 2-6 B1G and 5-7 overall. Maybe sneak a 6th win.

 

[stpaulcat]

If we have to place all of our hope in ONE GUY, forget it. This is a team and a coaching effort. Okay, I was so impressed with tOSU this year and their ability to respond in spite of QB injuries and while they may suffer from an embarrassment of riches, their coaching is responsive, hands on, and totally involved, whereas ours is less so.

I thought McCall was the guru of QB development--am I thinking about something else.

My wish 7-5 or better, being generous 6-6, reality 5-7 (unless we see improvement in QB play and in game coaching, since I don't see how anything to do with player development is going to change in this short period of time with the same cast).

 

[Turk]

I always thought that mccall developed qbs nicely and plenty quick. And he used to do a solid job with moving past in season injuries. Developing persa, colter and trevor in their early years can not be denied. But all 3 fizzled badly their senior years. It could b that they got eaten alive so bad that they had rubber legs by the time it mattered. Our ol offered no protection so other than the bigger bodied kafka, every other qb that mccall developed had a cruel and painful farewell lap.
The exception of qb development was last year. And that is troubling. Oliver simply is not developed enuf after 4 years to look comfortable imo. Alviti is struggling overall.

 

[Katatonic]

Originally posted by Deeringfish:
I think the D will be similar to last year and that was solid. I don't know anything about McEvily except he is always hurt and I have come to the opinion that some guys simply can't manage the stress of the weight and power that comes from the training at this level. It's like blowing up a balloon at a certain point it becomes so big it is fragile. If McEvily comes back strong I think the D will be really great but I wouldn't count on him.

The Offense has to find it's identity and a system that suits the QB and the line. When Trevor lost his wheels he was a sitting duck because our line was recruited for the spread and not a pro set. I wouldn't mind going back to the 2 QB system if Alviti and Thorsen are up to it. Some how Oliver just never caught on. He should have been able to come in to spell the broken TS all season but the coaches didn't trust him so he must not be able.

Improvement in the D will come from whether the DT position is better able to stop (or slow down) the opposing run game.

Don't exactly buy the spread vs. pro-set/power O-line argument.

dOSU runs the spread and yet once their O-line got in shape (an O-line, mind you, that was made of young or players converted from other positions), it was able to physically dominate the D-lines of UW, 'Bama and Oregon.

 

[Katatonic]

Originally posted by Turk:
I always thought that mccall developed qbs nicely and plenty quick. And he used to do a solid job with moving past in season injuries. Developing persa, colter and trevor in their early years can not be denied. But all 3 fizzled badly their senior years. It could b that they got eaten alive so bad that they had rubber legs by the time it mattered. Our ol offered no protection so other than the bigger bodied kafka, every other qb that mccall developed had a cruel and painful farewell lap.
The exception of qb development was last year. And that is troubling. Oliver simply is not developed enuf after 4 years to look comfortable imo. Alviti is struggling overall.

As I stated before, think McCall's so-called development of QBs is overblown.

Bacher started off w/ a bang b/c he was a pretty polished passing QB coming out of HS.

Same thing applied to Siemian.

Persa and Kafka clearly saw improvement in their passing game where they relied more on their arm than their legs, but their development may have had more to do w/ the off-season work-outs w/ Baz - which they have given a lot of credit for their development.

Colter was a basically a RB playing the QB position in his 1st couple of yrs (so don't see how one can say McCall developed him) and even in his upperclassmen yrs, while improved, was hardly a passing threat (some had opined that Colter just needed more time and experience, but despite that, we never saw him being a passing type of QB).

Too early to come to any definitive conclusion about Oliver, much less Alviti, but the O-line and receivers haven't done the QB position much favor recently.