They would have been, with Donnell Greene, Tyler Johnson and Carter Coughlin maybe? But Greene hasn't looked that great.
Emmitt Carpenter might be the best player on the team.
What changed that Greene hasn't been as effective compared to last year?
Coming into the season would Brooks, R. Smith, and A. Winfield all be in the top 5 spots for best players on the team?
Coming into the year, I think TJ might have been a top 5 from an importance standpoint, but the WR's we have (and his drops) have lowered his importance.
Rodney Smith is undoubtedly the best player on the team.
I think most people would put Winfield at #2.
I personally would've put Brooks at #3, but as someone else mentioned his loss wouldn't have been as painful had Rodney stayed healthy.
So yeah, I'm going to say our best 3 players are hurt. Which obviously sucks. And which obviously kills a team with little depth. Depressing.
Others have all been mentioned, but I'd say TJ, Coughlin, and Greene are the obvious next tier. Oh, and Carpenter. Little drop off after that, but Barber, Weyler, and Bateman are probably the next tier. After that you've got below average B1G players at most positions. Guys like T. Smith, CAB, Annexstad, Andries, etc. won't always be below average, but I think most B1G coaches would keep their starters at those positions over our guys.
What changed that Greene hasn't been as effective compared to last year?
To be fair to our tackles and particularly Greene the Maryland defensive ends Aniebonam and Cowart are high level college players. Cowart was the #3 overall recruit coming out of high school and the other had 9 sacks his prior season.
Personally I’d argue Brooks would *possibly* be a better three down back and more explosive than Smith but he has to be healthy for longer than a few games and that has been a major, major issue with him for years. He may never make it back?
Cashman is an impact player. TJ same. Winfield - yep but throw him in the glass jaw category with Brooks. Great freshman season and then trouble staying healthy. From a pure talent standpoint Bateman may rise above them all and he’s just a freshman. I love Coughlin, he brings that edge. He’s had a few personal foul penalties but maybe we need to play a little more aggressive and with some emotion at times.
Two of the plays with the most pressure were also blitzing LBers beating our TEs.