September will be here before we know it ... Just one key to the season

[GOUNUII]

Sure we lose Lowry and Gibson and Smith and VanHoose. But the defense should be plenty good enough to beat the teams we need to for a successful season. What will help the defense the most, IMHO, is for the offense to carry some weight in 2016. And no matter how I slice this, I keep coming back to the obvious. Will our passing game improve to the point where defenses will need to respect it? For that to happen, I think the OL and QB play will be good enough. Will the WRs? That's my single key question for the season.

For that to happen newcomers to the offense will have to step up and make some plays. Will we get legit down field abilities out of Vault, McShepard and Lees? I see those 3 WRs as having the speed and overall athleticism to be a legit threat in the down field passing game. Will Vault adapt to the pressure of being a key target? Will McShepard make the transition well enough to contribute in our bigger games? I give him the edge over the other 2 in overall athletic dynamics, but would feel better if he had any college WR experience. Will Lees make the jump from HS to Power 5 football fast enough and well enough to make some plays with his speed and wiggle? Will we see him in jet sweep situations or as a Wildcat QB? I think all 3 have the tools to make plays. Hopefully, they can get coached up in a hurry. Making just enough big plays in the passing game to force defenses to defend more of the field would go a long way to improving our offense ... with all the benefits a better offense brings to the defensive side of the ball. I will add John Moten to this list of newcomers with the potential to help our passing game. I believe he can catch the ball. And I know he can make defenders miss ... and/or outrun them.

Will Taylor and/or Vitale add a jumbo rumbler to the passing arsenal. I have no idea whether Vitale will remain at superback. But if he does, will one or the other or both be able to lend balance to the passing game? Since we are unlikely to have even 1 consistent "go to" scoring threat at WR, having 3 to 4 options (outside WR, slot WR, TE/SB and RB) is probably the best we can hope for. Capable receivers at multiple spots would be a large improvement and likely be more than enough to energize the 2016 offense.

And how about a shout out for WR Charlie Fessler? I would really like that kid to make some plays in 2016. He too has the physical and mental tools to compete. Surprisingly quick feet for a jumbo sized 6-5+ receiver. Will he be able to outreach defenders in the red zone?

Carr and Nagel should be solid WR contributers in 2016. But will 1 or 2 or more of the above newcomers materially improve our passing game? I think they'll have to for the Cats to compete for the West Championship.

Your thoughts?

GOUNUII

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Sure we lose Lowry and Gibson and Smith and VanHoose. But the defense should be plenty good enough to beat the teams we need to for a successful season. What will help the defense the most, IMHO, is for the offense to carry some weight in 2016. And no matter how I slice this, I keep coming back to the obvious. Will our passing game improve to the point where defenses will need to respect it? For that to happen, I think the OL and QB play will be good enough. Will the WRs? That's my single key question for the season.

For that to happen newcomers to the offense will have to step up and make some plays. Will we get legit down field abilities out of Vault, McShepard and Lees? I see those 3 WRs as having the speed and overall athleticism to be a legit threat in the down field passing game. Will Vault adapt to the pressure of being a key target? Will McShepard make the transition well enough to contribute in our bigger games? I give him the edge over the other 2 in overall athletic dynamics, but would feel better if he had any college WR experience. Will Lees make the jump from HS to Power 5 football fast enough and well enough to make some plays with his speed and wiggle? Will we see him in jet sweep situations or as a Wildcat QB? I think all 3 have the tools to make plays. Hopefully, they can get coached up in a hurry. Making just enough big plays in the passing game to force defenses to defend more of the field would go a long way to improving our offense ... with all the benefits a better offense brings to the defensive side of the ball. I will add John Moten to this list of newcomers with the potential to help our passing game. I believe he can catch the ball. And I know he can make defenders miss ... and/or outrun them.

Will Taylor and/or Vitale add a jumbo rumbler to the passing arsenal. I have no idea whether Vitale will remain at superback. But if he does, will one or the other or both be able to lend balance to the passing game? Since we are unlikely to have even 1 consistent "go to" scoring threat at WR, having 3 to 4 options (outside WR, slot WR, TE/SB and RB) is probably the best we can hope for. Capable receivers at multiple spots would be a large improvement and likely be more than enough to energize the 2016 offense.

And how about a shout out for WR Charlie Fessler? I would really like that kid to make some plays in 2016. He too has the physical and mental tools to compete. Surprisingly quick feet for a jumbo sized 6-5+ receiver. Will he be able to outreach defenders in the red zone?

Carr and Nagel should be solid WR contributers in 2016. But will 1 or 2 or more of the above newcomers materially improve our passing game? I think they'll have to for the Cats to compete for the West Championship.

Your thoughts?

GOUNUII

You mention 9 potential targets so if we don't have some huge step ups within this group we are in trouble. Hopefully we get 3 break outs here. You didn't mention Cam Green who I think can be useful on third down. He is a big body and hopefully can fill the Prater role. I wouldn't burn Lees shirt unless he gets at least 4-5 targets a game. We also need to find a useful way to get the ball to Jelani Roberts in space. We seemed to have 1 play for him last year.

 

[Overly_Invested_Cat]

And don't forget Dickerson the younger at SB. Re-watched a few games from last year and came away thinking he definitely is more than a run blocker. He catches the ball in 3rd and 8-10 yard situations.

 

[PURPLE Book Cat]

Dickerson is the real deal at SB. Should be a starter and potential game breaker, filling in the role of Vitale nicely.

Vault is the man. I worry about our X and Y receivers though. We really have no-one proven.

 

[phatcat]

I think it is nearly as important that Thorson learn the read option better. He is a big, fast kid, and I could envision him and JJTBC becoming as big a dual running threat as #2/#5. Surely he also needs to improve his passing (and the receivers - their hands), but I think you are more likely to see guys like Vault open deep if we sell the read option better.

Watch Barrett do it. Like Colter, he rides the tailback like a rodeo cowboy until the defensive player commits, then, poof.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

I think it is nearly as important that Thorson learn the read option better. He is a big, fast kid, and I could envision him and JJTBC becoming as big a dual running threat as #2/#5. Surely he also needs to improve his passing (and the receivers - their hands), but I think you are more likely to see guys like Vault open deep if we sell the read option better.

Watch Barrett do it. Like Colter, he rides the tailback like a rodeo cowboy until the defensive player commits, then, poof.

Thorson isn't as good as the conference's best Heisman candidate? Never would have guessed.

 

[phatcat]

Thorson isn't as good as the conference's best Heisman candidate? Never would have guessed.

well, considering the hype he got coming in, and the fact that he's now in his 3rd year in the program, I was hopeful that HE would be the conference's best Heisman candidate by now :-0

Let me know if you think this is an area for improvement for him.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

well, considering the hype he got coming in, and the fact that he's now in his 3rd year in the program, I was hopeful that HE would be the conference's best Heisman candidate by now :-0

Let me know if you think this is an area for improvement for him.

Pretty much everything is an area of improvement for Thorson as a second-year starter.

 

[Hungry Jack]

I don't think there is just one key, but the crux is probably the ability to make more plays in the passing game to sustain drives. There should be little doubt that opposing teams will attack the edges of our defense in the run game with unproven starters at DE and AWalk patrolling the middle. Our LBs are going to have to be very good in run support (I think they are capable of it) on the edges.

So Thorson and co can take pressure off of the defense by sustaining drives, winning field position, and scoring a few more points. I think we will be able to run the ball effectively against most teams, but CT, the WR corps and GDick all have to take a big step forward in the passing game. Dickerson had some bad drops last year. CT has to improve his reads. The receivers have to get open.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

I don't think there is just one key, but the crux is probably the ability to make more plays in the passing game to sustain drives. There should be little doubt that opposing teams will attack the edges of our defense in the run game with unproven starters at DE and AWalk patrolling the middle. Our LBs are going to have to be very good in run support (I think they are capable of it) on the edges.

So Thorson and co can take pressure off of the defense by sustaining drives, winning field position, and scoring a few more points. I think we will be able to run the ball effectively against most teams, but CT, the WR corps and GDick all have to take a big step forward in the passing game. Dickerson had some bad drops last year. CT has to improve his reads. The receivers have to get open.

In Hank's schemes, the safeties are probably even more important as the force players against the run game. The scheme is largely predicated on "spilling" runs to the safeties to clean up. Fortunately, I think Igwebuike has a chance to be outstanding and Queiro has the physical skills to do the job.

 

[Hungry Jack]

In Hank's schemes, the safeties are probably even more important as the force players against the run game. The scheme is largely predicated on "spilling" runs to the safeties to clean up. Fortunately, I think Igwebuike has a chance to be outstanding and Queiro has the physical skills to do the job.

What are the LB assignments on the outside?

 

[MRCat95]

Pretty much everything is an area of improvement for Thorson as a second-year starter.

Per phatcat's point, Thorson was pretty terrible at running the zone-read. Nobody expects him to suddenly be Kain Colter, but he should at least learn to do a decent fake and to make better pull/handoff decisions. This does not require any raw talent to be competent at it. It just requires practice.

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

Per phatcat's point, Thorson was pretty terrible at running the zone-read. Nobody expects him to suddenly be Kain Colter, but he should at least learn to do a decent fake and to make better pull/handoff decisions. This does not require any raw talent to be competent at it. It just requires practice.

Couldn't agree more...more zone-read, less speed option is for me.

 

[mybrotha]

Have not seen Roberts mentioned here. Jelani displayed decent hands last year, but clearly is a very small kid. However, if used correctly he could be dynamite. We have the potential this year to put some really fast kids on the field for the first time in a long while. Anderson, Roberts, Lees, Vault, Moten etc. are all 4.4 to 4.3 guys. The key is to get these guys the ball in space and simply let them run! We have very good backs in JJ, WML and Moten and if our passing game can just average 200 yd. game which s very modest by today's standards, JJ and the gang should tear it up! This coupled with a stout defense could lead to a strong year. I see no reason why we cannot go 8 and 4 to 9 and 3.

 

[Deeringfish]

Have not seen Roberts mentioned here. Jelani displayed decent hands last year, but clearly is a very small kid. However, if used correctly he could be dynamite. We have the potential this year to put some really fast kids on the field for the first time in a long while. Anderson, Roberts, Lees, Vault, Moten etc. are all 4.4 to 4.3 guys. The key is to get these guys the ball in space and simply let them run! We have very good backs in JJ, WML and Moten and if our passing game can just average 200 yd. game which s very modest by today's standards, JJ and the gang should tear it up! This coupled with a stout defense could lead to a strong year. I see no reason why we cannot go 8 and 4 to 9 and 3.

IMO the problem with Roberts is that he is so small that his blocking ability is limited. Perhaps he will be a year older and a year stronger this year but when he is on the field you know that it is a designed play with two options 1) the ball is going to him or 2) he is a decoy and the ball is going the other way. He is never going to be the lead blocker or seal off the backside and he will always be going to open space because he will be held up too easily in traffic. There are reasons why football players are big.