Small improvements in a lot of different areas will add up to a couple more Big 10 wins next year. Here are some areas where I expect impovement.
Philip Nelson will be a little bit better than last fall. He will be a year older and will have another spring practice and fall practice and the 4 non- conference games to improve. I thought he was fairly accurate last year when he had the time. The game should slow down for him a little bit this fall. Not as much as it will his Junior or senior years but, for him, the game should seem slower than last year. He will also be physically stronger than last year – better able keep from getting worn down.
The offensive line will be somewhat better. I thought last year was a fluke injury wise. This year I expect the line to be mostly intact and better - perhaps a lot better. This should result in a better passing and running game and help the defense. Perhaps one of the red shirt linemen will blossom.
The passing game will be a little better partly because of one and two above but also because I think Crawford-Tufts, McDonald, Harbison and perhaps Carter and Jones can all get down the field which opens up a lot of space underneath for guys like Wolitarsky, Engel and Fruechte. Because the game will be slower for Nelson, and he will have a little bit more time I expect Nelson to be more accurate. Last fall there were times when the QB and the receivers were using different play books. I expect that to be greatly reduced this year.
The running game will be a little better because the line will be better. Williams and Kirkwood will still be slammers and perhaps a little bit better. Somewhere between Edwards, Cobb, Wright, Gillum, and Maye we could and should find the shifty game breaker that we need.
Limegrover can put in more of his offense. If you remember the bowl game, Minnesota ran the “Maryland I” with Henry, a tight end and running back lined directly behind Nelson. In two seasons I don't think we had ever seen that before and in the first half TT was very ineffective in trying to defend it. I know some of you don't think much of Limegrover but in every game I can remember he has had wide receivers running free. No matter what AJ's mom's best friend thinks, he was not running free because of his great speed. He was open because of the scheme. The fact that it happened in multiple games, if not all, shows that Limegrover was calling plays specific to the team they were playing. Some teams, like Michigan had such great secondary speed they were able to quickly recover but the receivers were still open for a little bit. Also because the running game will be a little bit better the play action pass should work a little bit better as well.
The defense might be better. I am a little worried about linebacker but... we will see. I think the D line will be better and the coaches seem to think they will be fine in the secondary. Coach Claeys mentioned that he felt if the defense had played a little bit better the team could have won two or three more games. He didn't mention what games but my candidates would be Iowa, NW, and Texas Tech. All coaches are optimistic so lets assume that if the defense had played better they could have won only one more game. Claeys seemed to think they would play better next year.
Miscellaneous After the bowl game Kill said he was proud of how hard the team played. They were finally getting it. Apparently many/most of the team got right back to work after the bowl game. I think this is a big deal. If you remember the Northern Illinois game where they beat us, that NI team played hard from start to finish Once they got ahead they didn't let up and in the beginning when they were behind they did not let up.
The team will understand the offense and defense better which allows the coaches to make adjustments at halftime that the players understand. In the bowl game the team adjusted at half time and shut down several TT drives which they had not been able to do in the first half. We can talk about 5 star players all we want but having a 2 star in the right place at the right time beats having a 5 star way out of position.
Maybe the punting will be better and more consistent.
Maybe the kickoffs will go into the end zone every time.
Bottom Line Small improvements in a lot of areas will make a big difference next year. I think the offense will improve enough to win one more game and the same with the defense. Final record 8-4 with wins over Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Indiana and the 4 non conference games. Maybe we get lucky and have an upset as well for a 9-3 season. We are due!
Discuss.
Philip Nelson will be a little bit better than last fall. He will be a year older and will have another spring practice and fall practice and the 4 non- conference games to improve. I thought he was fairly accurate last year when he had the time. The game should slow down for him a little bit this fall. Not as much as it will his Junior or senior years but, for him, the game should seem slower than last year. He will also be physically stronger than last year – better able keep from getting worn down.
The offensive line will be somewhat better. I thought last year was a fluke injury wise. This year I expect the line to be mostly intact and better - perhaps a lot better. This should result in a better passing and running game and help the defense. Perhaps one of the red shirt linemen will blossom.
The passing game will be a little better partly because of one and two above but also because I think Crawford-Tufts, McDonald, Harbison and perhaps Carter and Jones can all get down the field which opens up a lot of space underneath for guys like Wolitarsky, Engel and Fruechte. Because the game will be slower for Nelson, and he will have a little bit more time I expect Nelson to be more accurate. Last fall there were times when the QB and the receivers were using different play books. I expect that to be greatly reduced this year.
The running game will be a little better because the line will be better. Williams and Kirkwood will still be slammers and perhaps a little bit better. Somewhere between Edwards, Cobb, Wright, Gillum, and Maye we could and should find the shifty game breaker that we need.
Limegrover can put in more of his offense. If you remember the bowl game, Minnesota ran the “Maryland I” with Henry, a tight end and running back lined directly behind Nelson. In two seasons I don't think we had ever seen that before and in the first half TT was very ineffective in trying to defend it. I know some of you don't think much of Limegrover but in every game I can remember he has had wide receivers running free. No matter what AJ's mom's best friend thinks, he was not running free because of his great speed. He was open because of the scheme. The fact that it happened in multiple games, if not all, shows that Limegrover was calling plays specific to the team they were playing. Some teams, like Michigan had such great secondary speed they were able to quickly recover but the receivers were still open for a little bit. Also because the running game will be a little bit better the play action pass should work a little bit better as well.
The defense might be better. I am a little worried about linebacker but... we will see. I think the D line will be better and the coaches seem to think they will be fine in the secondary. Coach Claeys mentioned that he felt if the defense had played a little bit better the team could have won two or three more games. He didn't mention what games but my candidates would be Iowa, NW, and Texas Tech. All coaches are optimistic so lets assume that if the defense had played better they could have won only one more game. Claeys seemed to think they would play better next year.
Miscellaneous After the bowl game Kill said he was proud of how hard the team played. They were finally getting it. Apparently many/most of the team got right back to work after the bowl game. I think this is a big deal. If you remember the Northern Illinois game where they beat us, that NI team played hard from start to finish Once they got ahead they didn't let up and in the beginning when they were behind they did not let up.
The team will understand the offense and defense better which allows the coaches to make adjustments at halftime that the players understand. In the bowl game the team adjusted at half time and shut down several TT drives which they had not been able to do in the first half. We can talk about 5 star players all we want but having a 2 star in the right place at the right time beats having a 5 star way out of position.
Maybe the punting will be better and more consistent.
Maybe the kickoffs will go into the end zone every time.
Bottom Line Small improvements in a lot of areas will make a big difference next year. I think the offense will improve enough to win one more game and the same with the defense. Final record 8-4 with wins over Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Indiana and the 4 non conference games. Maybe we get lucky and have an upset as well for a 9-3 season. We are due!
Discuss.
