Sundodger may be real or not but...

[HFNY]

Not going to listen but my guess is that he's an older guy who really means what he says and if accurate, I simply disagree with him.

The fan-base has been more united since anytime after the surprising holiday bowl win in 2010.

The D sucked in 2011, the O sucked in 2012, and the 2011/2012 recruiting classes outside of a few guys was subpar (especially on the OL / DL). 2013 was when it was all supposed to come together but we were shockingly embarrassed by ASU, lost to Oregon by 3 scores, and sloppily turned the ball over 4 times in a winnable game @ UCLA.

Already losing two games sucks but I'm not totally surprised we lost to Stanford and Oregon again because we were +8 at home vs. Stanford and +20.5 @ Oregon. However, we're just +3.5 against ASU so this is a big game that should say a lot since this is supposed to be more of an even match.

Until we show we have a legit starting QB, more speed at RB, a better OL, and less holes on D, we're just not going to compete for the Pac-12 North. We lose some experienced OL and some top-end players on D but we should be more well-rounded in 2015. Unless the Huskies show otherwise this year and as DJ said, it is what it is.

 

[Houhusky]

I fully expect to be worse next year... we are going to lose 4-5 Defensive players to the early rounds of the draft. We are going to have to replace nearly the entire offensive line and replace them with mediocre players that weren't highly recruited. There isn't anyone in the pipeline at RB, QB, WR, or TE that looks like a huge play maker that just needs time to develop.

Maybe Petermen can get one of those sum is greater than the parts years from great coaching but, individually, the talent wont get better next year.

 

[HFNY]

You're probably right, I'm only saying we'll be more well rounded in that the O will be better and hopefully the D only takes a half step back.

If I had to project a starting line-up next year:

QB: Williams or KJCS
RB: Coleman / Washington with with Dotson providing more speed as a RS-FRosh
WR: Lenius / Pettis
WR: Mickens
LT: Eldrenkamp
LG: Charles
C: Tunfunga / Crane
RG: Brostek (think he's redshirting this year so he'll be an RS-JR next year) or Kirkland
RT: Coleman Shelton (already has 6 starts)
TE: Perkins or Daniels
WR: Ross

DE: Dissly or Mathis
NT: Qualls / Vea / Gaines (recruiting JC DT Deontae Reynolds too)
DT: Tupou or McGary
Buck: Finau or Jaylen Johnson (recruiting JC pass-rusher Claude George)

OLB: Feeney
ILB: Lawyer or Victor
OLB: Littleton

CB: Sidney Muthafuckin' Jones
CB: Jermaine Kelly, Hale, Gardenhire, or Brandon Lewis (have heard good things about him, redshirting due to knee injury)
S: Baker
S: King

Considering it already feels like we've lost Riva, I see us taking a step back at LT and possibly C on O. On D, I see us taking a step back at NT, Buck, OLB, one corner spot, and maybe ILB. Is that such a disaster, especially on O? Even if we returned everyone on D, I doubt we'd come within 10 points of Oregon if the O doesn't possess the ball and forces the D to defend 83 plays again (94 @ ASU last year).

I fully expect to be worse next year... we are going to lose 4-5 Defensive players to the early rounds of the draft. We are going to have to replace nearly the entire offensive line and replace them with mediocre players that weren't highly recruited. There isn't anyone in the pipeline at RB, QB, WR, or TE that looks like a huge play maker that just needs time to develop.

Maybe Petermen can get one of those sum is greater than the parts years from great coaching but, individually, the talent wont get better next year.

 

[MisterEm]

Good points HFNY.

The team will be cleaner all around next year but expect a major drop off in defensive talent and probable attrition in the off-season of pressing.

Doogman could get interesting again. Thanks RD55 for the login after BimmerDawg got the banhammer.

 

[RoadDawg55]

We should be better on offense. The guys in the QB competition will be a year older and have another year in the system. They can't be much worse.

At RB we may be counting on a true freshman to help give them a spark. That's actually a position where that is possible. I haven't seen anything out of Coleman or Washigton to be very optimistic about.

WR will be much improved. I think Pettis is going to be a stud. Mickens is not a #1, but he's decent. Ross is obviously someone to be excited about.

OL will be young, but the guys playing now have never been very good.

Defense has a ton of questions and you can feel good about Shelton, Kikaha, and Shaq needing to be replaced.

 

[HFNY]

I like Coleman, he has everything you want except top-line speed. But I'd like to see how he looks against a Pac-12 team that isn't geared to shut him down while daring the QB to beat them (Miles vs. the Pac-12 competition so far). It's tough to break tackles when there are no holes and 2 or 3 defenders getting to you.

Washington has a ton of attributes but if a RB isn't instinctual by the time he's a RS-Soph, he probably will never be.

The OL has been the most disappointing to me. Sure Riva has been out, but I thought the left side with two RS-SRs and 1 RS-JR (Hatchie, Charles, Tanigawa) would create more holes even if teams put 8 in the box. Atoe will probably get benched soon. Coleman Shelton may be good but he's having to play at least a year early with Riva out.

The new staff went after JC OT Miguel Machado (now at Michigan State) and I have to wonder if he would've been starting at RT with Riva out (listed at 6'6" 306 lbs as a true Junior rather than 6'4" 281 lbs that Coleman Shelton is).

The only way the D doesn't take a step back is if we get better production from the Hudsons spots (DE and DT). No way our new NT and Buck will match Shelton and Kikaha's 2014 numbers.

But again, if the O improves and can move / possess the ball for longer, the D won't have to defend so many plays and wear down. Todd Graham is a great coach so if our offense sucks it up like last week, the D will lose steam if they have to defend 80+ plays again since DL and secondary depth is not good this year. I hope we can land Deontae Reynolds and Claude George to add to competition / depth for 2015.