I've been pretty high on Petersen, but the ASU game really put a damper on things for me. PGOS had a poll before the game that asked what a loss to ASU would mean. I said it was a crucial game to win to reach the 10 win goal, which was my barometer for a successful season, but that long term it didn't mean much. The good news is year 3 and 4 could be a lot better, but that's a long time to wait and a lot can change between now and then. This year has been another case of, "He will change." I have beaten woman syndrome. I still hope we can win out or win 4 of 5 to have something to feel good about, but I have doubts.
Unless the offense gets a lot better, we could have a losing record next year. Counting on Browning or another savior is probably a stretch. There haven't been many successful true freshman QB's and Carta-Samuels was the least regarded of the whole bunch at QB. He may be good, but he was a late addition to the class because there wasn't a QB committed and we needed one. Having an average Pac 12 offense would be a success after what we have seen this year. The OL isn't good, but losing 4 starters is generally not a good thing. We will be young on the OL and we all know that games are often won up front. Average on offense probably won't be good enough when you factor in the defense.
The whole DL graduates, 2 LB's, and Peters. The whole myth about only 4 good players on defense is bullshit. The 4 top guys aren't just good, they are borderline great. It pisses me off that Kikaha and Shelton won't be rewarded by playing on a great team. Those guys are championship caliber DL. Andrew Hudson had 10 tackles and 2 sacks on Saturday. He's not a star and he is undersized, but you don't have that kind of game against a team like ASU if you aren't a good player. He was good as a sophomore on a pretty decent defense. Timu is another guy that isn't a star, but he was a 4 year starter. He's two dropped pick 6's from having 4 defensive TD's like Shaq, and possibly being mentioned with the other 4 guys. Yeah, if my aunt had a dick she would be my uncle, and he deserved to be bashed for those game changing drops, but I still think he will be missed. Add Budda Baker and there is 7 good players on defense. The only guys that aren't very good are King/Walker and possibly Evan Hudson.
Anyways, we will be young and defense and there isn't any doubt we will be significantly worse. Losing four legitimate stars and two other good players is never good. The secondary is young and Baker is/will be a star. The LB's might be okay with Bierria, Littleton, and Feeney. However, the DL will likely be a disaster, even if the young guys are good. They are all either young or unproven. Weak OL and DL's mean equal bad teams. Both units will probably need at least a year, probably two until they are above average. It's not like the secondary or RB where you can plug in a young guy and see rapid development. Most young lineman lack strength and their technique often sucks because in high school they were way bigger and stronger than everyone else.
I feel like this was the year to win 10+, get momentum for the program and start the Petersen era off with a bang. A losing record or even a 7 or 8 win season next year will sap most of the remaining excitement out of the program. Not to mention TBS. Winning means better recruiting. Recruits want to win and play for championship caliber programs. We have been shitty or average for so long that nobody wants to dig a little deeper. Fuck perspective.
Unless the offense gets a lot better, we could have a losing record next year. Counting on Browning or another savior is probably a stretch. There haven't been many successful true freshman QB's and Carta-Samuels was the least regarded of the whole bunch at QB. He may be good, but he was a late addition to the class because there wasn't a QB committed and we needed one. Having an average Pac 12 offense would be a success after what we have seen this year. The OL isn't good, but losing 4 starters is generally not a good thing. We will be young on the OL and we all know that games are often won up front. Average on offense probably won't be good enough when you factor in the defense.
The whole DL graduates, 2 LB's, and Peters. The whole myth about only 4 good players on defense is bullshit. The 4 top guys aren't just good, they are borderline great. It pisses me off that Kikaha and Shelton won't be rewarded by playing on a great team. Those guys are championship caliber DL. Andrew Hudson had 10 tackles and 2 sacks on Saturday. He's not a star and he is undersized, but you don't have that kind of game against a team like ASU if you aren't a good player. He was good as a sophomore on a pretty decent defense. Timu is another guy that isn't a star, but he was a 4 year starter. He's two dropped pick 6's from having 4 defensive TD's like Shaq, and possibly being mentioned with the other 4 guys. Yeah, if my aunt had a dick she would be my uncle, and he deserved to be bashed for those game changing drops, but I still think he will be missed. Add Budda Baker and there is 7 good players on defense. The only guys that aren't very good are King/Walker and possibly Evan Hudson.
Anyways, we will be young and defense and there isn't any doubt we will be significantly worse. Losing four legitimate stars and two other good players is never good. The secondary is young and Baker is/will be a star. The LB's might be okay with Bierria, Littleton, and Feeney. However, the DL will likely be a disaster, even if the young guys are good. They are all either young or unproven. Weak OL and DL's mean equal bad teams. Both units will probably need at least a year, probably two until they are above average. It's not like the secondary or RB where you can plug in a young guy and see rapid development. Most young lineman lack strength and their technique often sucks because in high school they were way bigger and stronger than everyone else.
I feel like this was the year to win 10+, get momentum for the program and start the Petersen era off with a bang. A losing record or even a 7 or 8 win season next year will sap most of the remaining excitement out of the program. Not to mention TBS. Winning means better recruiting. Recruits want to win and play for championship caliber programs. We have been shitty or average for so long that nobody wants to dig a little deeper. Fuck perspective.
