Redux
Assistant Coach
Looking over the 2020 schedule and I'm honestly just gut punched by it. I'm so incredibly fearful that next year will be like Mike Riley's 2nd season. We start hot and get to 7-0 only to get slammed back to reality. That 2016 season was awful. We were winning games, but it was clear we were skating by on a ton of luck. We finished 9-4 that year, which by today's standards sounds like cause for celebration. Take a gander at this pud schedule, then the gauntlet that follows:
Now I don't know about anyone else, but I see no current reason to be hopeful those last 5 games don't look like a giant goose egg. At best we start 7-0 and then find out what we are made of. Worst case, we go 3-3 in the first half and the second half feels like this year, wondering if we will ever play in a bowl again.
Right now we have plenty of QB depth, but it doesn't mean squat if the starter continues playing the most uninspiring football he possibly can. RB should be a little more sorted out, but we don't have a brekaout rusher to head into next season with. WR is still Spielman and whoever can step up that week, we need another consistent threat....but that comes back to QB play. The Line may be improved just because they got smacked around for a full season so they will at least be battle scarred. Defensively we can hope Frost fires Chinander or we can be realistic and accept this is who we are for another year. We lose a lot of experience, I'm not excited about this unit next year. Kicking...we can't get any worse so that'll improve by default. The rest of ST are hot and cold week by week so I would expect that trend to continue. And of course turnovers and 3 and outs were a plague this season, a smidge of improvement would go a long way.
Right now if I had to call it, I expect some of that year 2 jump to happen in year 3....hopefully. But I wouldn't expect much more than 7-5 or 8-4. I'm numb to this season, it can't end soon enough. Just saying that makes me a little sad. I'm tired of being terrible. I'm tired of not being excited for Football. I'm tired of saying "Next year". Lets just hope something clicks between now and September 5th 2020.
Now I don't know about anyone else, but I see no current reason to be hopeful those last 5 games don't look like a giant goose egg. At best we start 7-0 and then find out what we are made of. Worst case, we go 3-3 in the first half and the second half feels like this year, wondering if we will ever play in a bowl again.
Right now we have plenty of QB depth, but it doesn't mean squat if the starter continues playing the most uninspiring football he possibly can. RB should be a little more sorted out, but we don't have a brekaout rusher to head into next season with. WR is still Spielman and whoever can step up that week, we need another consistent threat....but that comes back to QB play. The Line may be improved just because they got smacked around for a full season so they will at least be battle scarred. Defensively we can hope Frost fires Chinander or we can be realistic and accept this is who we are for another year. We lose a lot of experience, I'm not excited about this unit next year. Kicking...we can't get any worse so that'll improve by default. The rest of ST are hot and cold week by week so I would expect that trend to continue. And of course turnovers and 3 and outs were a plague this season, a smidge of improvement would go a long way.
Right now if I had to call it, I expect some of that year 2 jump to happen in year 3....hopefully. But I wouldn't expect much more than 7-5 or 8-4. I'm numb to this season, it can't end soon enough. Just saying that makes me a little sad. I'm tired of being terrible. I'm tired of not being excited for Football. I'm tired of saying "Next year". Lets just hope something clicks between now and September 5th 2020.
