Off-Season Things To Look At

[KJ3]

Originally Posted by papabear

yeah 10 sacks for a DT would be absolutely huge. I think if anyone has expectations like that they are setting themselves up for disappointment. DT is one of those positions that tough on a player in regards to popularity with the fans. Not that that really matters at the end of day, but people expect a lot from high first round picks....a DT can have a great game and have it go unnoticed by the fans. Okoye is still on his honeymoon so to speak, and he did show flashes last year, but if he can just get 6-8 sacks and do his job in the middle against the run then he's done a good job.

yea, i just looked at mario's improvement (from 4.5 to 14.5 i think) tripling in one year and figured it would be sweet for okoye to double his. but you guys are right, 10 from a DT is over stating amobi especially because of mario being there too. but the possibility of this line being a hellraiser is high. weaver might even get a sack hahaha...

Originally Posted by kravix

3) Does a CB tandem of Petey Faggins and Jacques Reeves have you thinking about marmalade?
Not so much. One - Bennett will start over one of them. Two - I think Faggins is better than most give him credit for.. I have no idea what his deal was last year though. Three - I think that Reeves' performance last year was a product of a scheme that didnt fit and horrible S play from Roy W., whom it arguably the worst S in coverage ever.

i gotta say man, faggins is exactly as bad as i think he is. reeves has a shot to turn his physical abilities into something here, but he's got to prove what he is before i start praising/slamming him.

arguably the worst S in coverage ever? who is arguing that? hahahahaa...

2. Can Brandon Frye impress Alex Gibbs enough to make Weary a back-up? Imagine, 2 Hokies on the OL!
I think the question is can he beat out Brisiel or Studdard. Weary is backup if he makes the team at all IMO.

forgot about spencer already?

5. How potent can the passing game be if we keep AJ, JJ, AD, and Matt Schaub healthy?
I would have to argure that OD is way more integral in the passing game than JJ is, baring injury. I think AJ is the key though, not that the passing game sucked last year (It was better than we have seen in a long time) but the other two are not even close to AJ in terms of what he brings to the table.

indeed. OD's pull in kubiak's offense is going to be greater than jj's unless jacoby cracks into the 2 spot which i'll file under "possible". OD is a consistently open target with good hands......GOT to fix the oopsies though. kubiak almost got thrown under the bus for letting him play through a couple of key fumbles in a row last year. i'm not worried about it though, OD is a man's man.

[NBT]

Petey was never fast, but last year he lost his confidence, something a CB cannot do without. When he got pulled it really seemed to crush him. Reeves on the other hand, we really don't know that much about. Before I call him marmalade, I will have to see how he performs in Hokes secondary.

[NBT]

"arguably the worst S in coverage ever? who is arguing that? hahahahaa..." Nope the worst safety ever (at least for us), was Matt Stevens.

I think this secondary, with the addition of coach Rhoades to help coach Hoke, could be scary good. I don't worry so much about the CB's, they will come around, especially with Dunta spurring them on, the question is with the safeties. C.C. Brown started to come on a little last year. If Earl can regain his form he will help out, but Demps, Dominique Barber, the two Brandon's, and the rest of the wannabe FS's, will tell the tale, IMO.

[kravix]

CC Brown looks to be the starter atm. With Earl playing second team. While I think Earl is the better safety, I kind of like the fact that he wasnt pugged back in as the starter and is having to work for it.

What that does tell you though is that their drop off in talent is pretty small and that neither of them are better than a good player. You cant have superstars at every position though.

I think the Brandons have just become the odd men out. With Demps, Brown, and Earl sitting at the top it only leaves 1 more spot at most. I would think that Barber gets edge on them and I doubt that we carry both on the PS. Ferguson is in there also somewhere but his shot to make the team is pretty small IMO.

[papabear]

Originally Posted by kravix

I think the Brandons have just become the odd men out. With Demps, Brown, and Earl sitting at the top it only leaves 1 more spot at most. I would think that Barber gets edge on them and I doubt that we carry both on the PS. Ferguson is in there also somewhere but his shot to make the team is pretty small IMO.

Ferguson is going to get cut. My guess is that Earl and one of the Brandon's(I seriously can't keep them straight) makes the team as the back-ups with Demps and CC starting....at least initially. I think unless Barber has a huge camp and pre-season he could end up on the practice squad. If Earl still has any lingering affects from the injury he could have hard time making the team.

We have a lot of depth at Safety. We just don't quite know what the quality is going to be like. Hopefully one of the young'ins becomes a stud though

[KJ3]

Originally Posted by papabear

Ferguson is going to get cut. My guess is that Earl and one of the Brandon's(I seriously can't keep them straight) makes the team as the back-ups with Demps and CC starting....at least initially. I think unless Barber has a huge camp and pre-season he could end up on the practice squad. If Earl still has any lingering affects from the injury he could have hard time making the team.

We have a lot of depth at Safety. We just don't quite know what the quality is going to be like. Hopefully one of the young'ins becomes a stud though

agreed, especially the italicsized. excellent post. i want to add though that if c.c. wants the spot he going to have to show kubiak who the "best of the rest" is.

[Arky]

Originally Posted by papabear

one of the Brandon's(I seriously can't keep them straight)

The way I remember it is this:

1. Harrison comes before Mitchell alphabetically ("H" before "M"). Harrison came first (was drafted 5th round) and Mitchell came post-draft (undrafted).

2. We drafted the Stanford guy (Harrison). We picked up (UDFA) the Ohio State guy (Mitchell).

Clear as mud, eh?