Soft schedule, so I'd be awfully surprised if we don't crack ten wins, and eleven is definitely feasible.
A lot of it depends on how well the young kids play on defense. I'm still just amazed at how much discussion about this year ends up on Martinez and the offense in general.
The defense was clearly our first, second, and last problem in 2012. I already think Santos is better than Fischer or Whaley. If Afalava or Brown or Rose, one of those guys, can step in an cause the havoc that Fisher and Whaley were incapable of unleashing, we might see some improvements on that side of the ball.
But, as always, it all starts with the line, and we all know the situation there. Can McMullen come in as a rFR and get in the backfield? Ankrah is serviceable in the run game, but that's about it. He and Rome were two recruits I was wild about when they signed, but thus far, if we're being honest, they haven't been game changing players thus far by any stretch of the imagination. Our line needs to improve dramatically. I've heard good things about Curry and Valentine, and we signed that big juco kid (name eludes me but there is a real chance he might even break the starting lineup.) The problem with that position, when it comes to guys like Valentine and Curry, is that it's pretty rare for those guys to hit their potential until they hit 20, 21, when they've fully matured.
So with that logic, maybe Rome is a different player next year. I sure as hell hope so, because our front four did very little in the way of blowing up plays, disrupting offensive cohesiveness. I know about the "amoeba" strategy and all that, but I sure remember guys shredding O-lines and just eviscerating people behind the line in '09. You can't tell me our plan is to have our D-linemen get stood up and held in place while the offense has enough time to screen the movie Ghandi while going through progressions. Young LBs can come in and make an immediate impact. The line is traditionally the domain of the upper classmen, and we ain't got seasoned vets who've shown they can take a game over. So someone needs to step up, and maybe we'll get lucky through the juco route again and find a bonafide hellion in the middle of the line who will create some consistent breakdowns in play development by pushing guys into the backfield. (Gregory. That's the kid I'm thinking of.)
It's possible. We really could see an influx of new blood that gives the D some teeth. The secondary has a glut of guys that can hold down their end. The front seven need to do their part for us to make the next step. Hinges on the line. I think we've stocked the LB position over the last two years with some legit play makers. Compton was kind of a one man army last year, and before that, he was dinged and Lavonte was basically the only guy roaming the middle with any gunpowder. If we can have some edge guys with some speed and a little violence to their game, we might look a whole lot better. Fischer will be a hell of a Dr. and he's a great kid. But we need a serious upgrade over what he brought to the field. Whaley too. Kid played as hard as he could, but he just didn't have the wheels. Seems like we've really upgraded there. So...line? Make us doubters look like idiots and do...pretty much the opposite of what we did the last two years. (Minus Martin.)