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2018 Season


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Just a general discussion thread.. 

Allen mentioned tonight that Dameon Willis would be playing this coming season. I didn't think originally he was going to. Always good to have more SRs, especially with who we're replacing at LBer. 

3 grad transfers plus bring back 3 5th years SRs (at least, Timian, Watercutter, and Willis). 

That 5th year SR number is actually a lot higher but those were rumored to not return. 

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I can't wait for the season to start.  I feel more confident in Allen by the day.  Wasn't sold on returning QB play, so we brought in a 4 star QB and a grad transfer.  Struggling line, brought in a grad transfer.  Special teams had a couple terrible games and helped cost us the Maryland game, gets a dedicated special teams coach.  Had too much on his plate trying to be head coach and defensive coordinator, so he moved Hagen to be assistant defensive coordinator to help with that.  Struggled with fatigue and injuries, brings in a couple top notch strength and conditioning guys.

I think Dawkins is a perfect fit for what we want to do on offense.  Debord wasn't creative enough to help out the struggling O-line and running backs with a QB who wasn't mobile.  His system works if he has a QB who makes plays with his legs, so I think Dawkins will help our line and our RBs.

Ellison had a decent season for a freshman, and he should come back, stronger and faster than last year.  Throw in Gest and Walker, and I think we'll have a solid backfield.  Being paired with a more experienced line and a mobile QB will only help things too.

We lost Cobbs, but I think our receiving group might be even better this year after getting Westbrook and Hale back.

Having Ball back will be a huge boost to the defense.  As crazy as it seems, he just turned 19 in March.  Ballou is really working on the team's speed, so he'll probably having Ball playing even faster.  I think Ball is in for a big season.

Our secondary should be good enough.  Crawford and Riggins are back along with some good young talent.  I loved Fant and all he did, but hopefully we can replace him with somebody who can catch a ball.  Fant could lock some guys down, but he missed a ton of interceptions that could have changed games.

Linebacker is going to be tough to replace what we lost in Scales and Covington, but hopefully a healthy Ball helps cover that up a bit. Being able to find a couple good linebackers might be the difference between 5 and 7 wins this year.

Defensive line should be good this year, and has the potential to be excellent down the road.

Whitehead is still pretty raw after not playing American football until a few years ago.  He was fantastic getting kicks downed inside the 20 and 10, and hopefully he'll keep adding more distance.  I think Campbell will be serviceable this year and will eventually turn into a stud for us.

The biggest thing we'll have going for us is not having last year's schedule.  That schedule looked like it completely kicked our butt.  We played our last 10 games straight without having a week off.  Throw in a reasonable week off this year and improved conditioning, and I think we'll see a lot better 4th quarters and a lot better games the last half of the season.

I'm definitely a glass half full guy, but it isn't unreasonable to think we could start 4-1 or even 5-0 if we can pull off an upset of MSU at home.  That would be a heck of a way to get some momentum going for the rest of the season.

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Been doing some film watching here recently. 

We have never had this type of talent at Safety before. Especially when you talk about the depth of it. Crawford is as good as we've ever had, Fitzgerald and Burgess (on film) are going to be so good and the coaches have alluded to that. I like what Bryant gives us depth and experience wise and Devon Matthews could end up being the best of them all.. love his size at 6'2 205 right now. 

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46 minutes ago, btownqb said:

Been doing some film watching here recently. 

We have never had this type of talent at Safety before. Especially when you talk about the depth of it. Crawford is as good as we've ever had, Fitzgerald and Burgess (on film) are going to be so good and the coaches have alluded to that. I like what Bryant gives us depth and experience wise and Devon Matthews could end up being the best of them all.. love his size at 6'2 205 right now. 

Crawford is a good one. What are your thoughts on your corners? 

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50 minutes ago, Stlboiler23 said:

Crawford is a good one. What are your thoughts on your corners? 

I’d say mostly raw but an athletic and more talented crop that we’ve had.

Andre Brown and A’shon Riggins are experienced guys and are decent.  I wouldn’t call either a shut down corner but they are solid.  Brown has a very short memory which is crucial.  He won’t back down and knows how to play.  

Raheem Layne is an aggressive and physical guy who showed some ability to impose his will on receivers.  I think he will play a lot.  LaDamion Hunt, I’m not as sure about but he’s played some.  

There are some young prospects including all Indiana star Reese Taylor and  well regarded Jaylin Williams from Tennessee.  As true freshmen, I think they are more in the pipeline than anything else.  But, a guy like Riggins played right out of the chute so you never know.  

Overall, most are more reasonable athletes than IU has had historically.  Hopefully they will hold their own this year, but in a year or two, this could be a very strong group.  I’d say raw but talented.  

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On 5/31/2018 at 10:58 AM, Leathernecks said:

I can't wait for the season to start.  I feel more confident in Allen by the day.  Wasn't sold on returning QB play, so we brought in a 4 star QB and a grad transfer.  Struggling line, brought in a grad transfer.  Special teams had a couple terrible games and helped cost us the Maryland game, gets a dedicated special teams coach.  Had too much on his plate trying to be head coach and defensive coordinator, so he moved Hagen to be assistant defensive coordinator to help with that.  Struggled with fatigue and injuries, brings in a couple top notch strength and conditioning guys.

I think Dawkins is a perfect fit for what we want to do on offense.  Debord wasn't creative enough to help out the struggling O-line and running backs with a QB who wasn't mobile.  His system works if he has a QB who makes plays with his legs, so I think Dawkins will help our line and our RBs.

Ellison had a decent season for a freshman, and he should come back, stronger and faster than last year.  Throw in Gest and Walker, and I think we'll have a solid backfield.  Being paired with a more experienced line and a mobile QB will only help things too.

We lost Cobbs, but I think our receiving group might be even better this year after getting Westbrook and Hale back.

Having Ball back will be a huge boost to the defense.  As crazy as it seems, he just turned 19 in March.  Ballou is really working on the team's speed, so he'll probably having Ball playing even faster.  I think Ball is in for a big season.

Our secondary should be good enough.  Crawford and Riggins are back along with some good young talent.  I loved Fant and all he did, but hopefully we can replace him with somebody who can catch a ball.  Fant could lock some guys down, but he missed a ton of interceptions that could have changed games.

Linebacker is going to be tough to replace what we lost in Scales and Covington, but hopefully a healthy Ball helps cover that up a bit. Being able to find a couple good linebackers might be the difference between 5 and 7 wins this year.

Defensive line should be good this year, and has the potential to be excellent down the road.

Whitehead is still pretty raw after not playing American football until a few years ago.  He was fantastic getting kicks downed inside the 20 and 10, and hopefully he'll keep adding more distance.  I think Campbell will be serviceable this year and will eventually turn into a stud for us.

The biggest thing we'll have going for us is not having last year's schedule.  That schedule looked like it completely kicked our butt.  We played our last 10 games straight without having a week off.  Throw in a reasonable week off this year and improved conditioning, and I think we'll see a lot better 4th quarters and a lot better games the last half of the season.

I'm definitely a glass half full guy, but it isn't unreasonable to think we could start 4-1 or even 5-0 if we can pull off an upset of MSU at home.  That would be a heck of a way to get some momentum going for the rest of the season.

I am more cautious and less sanguine on Allen.  I like his defensive mind and his ability to identify the right kind of players in recruiting and seal the deal.  He’s done well in Tampa obviously, and Miami more and more.  He’s been smart about hitting the south hard and getting, frankly, better overall talent than you could get in Indiana.  His LEO thing seems to resonate well.  

I like the man too.  He’s a good man.  

But, I am reserving judgement at this point.  I think Wilson would have been bowling with that hand we were dealt in 2017.  Every tough situation that came down to the wire we pretty much lost.  If he does that again in 2018 I’m going to be unsure.  He’s got to convert some 50/50 situations into victories and not go oh-fer.  

I like the man and his values and really hope he succeeds.  If he doesn’t, then I’d hate to lose all the continuity and momentum we have built up.  It’s time to convert some victories against good competition.   

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18 minutes ago, Stlboiler23 said:

I liked Fant and wonder how much he’ll be missed this year. 

Yeah, his experience and speed will be missed.  On the plus side, we can get more physically strong and tougher out at corner as Fant bench presses pillows.  If I had to put money on it, I’d bet we are a year away from having corner be a true strength but hopefully they can be steady this year.  

If these young athletes develop, there can be some impact players out there but it may not be this year.  

Tyler Green transferring was a blow since we sunk so much time developing him.   

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35 minutes ago, BobSaccamanno said:

I am more cautious and less sanguine on Allen.  I like his defensive mind and his ability to identify the right kind of players in recruiting and seal the deal.  He’s done well in Tampa obviously, and Miami more and more.  He’s been smart about hitting the south hard and getting, frankly, better overall talent than you could get in Indiana.  His LEO thing seems to resonate well.  

I like the man too.  He’s a good man.  

But, I am reserving judgement at this point.  I think Wilson would have been bowling with that hand we were dealt in 2017.  Every tough situation that came down to the wire we pretty much lost.  If he does that again in 2018 I’m going to be unsure.  He’s got to convert some 50/50 situations into victories and not go oh-fer.  

I like the man and his values and really hope he succeeds.  If he doesn’t, then I’d hate to lose all the continuity and momentum we have built up.  It’s time to convert some victories against good competition.   

One of the few things I've been disappointed in was his selection of offensive coordinator, but I think that will be better this year due to having a mobile QB that can make up for a predictable offense.

Hopefully Debord is ready to sail off into the sunset after this year.  Allen has made some really good hires, so I think if he were to hire a new OC, he could catch lightning in a bottle.

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22 minutes ago, Stlboiler23 said:

I liked Fant and wonder how much he’ll be missed this year. 

He will definitely be missed because he could lock down some pretty good receivers, but he couldn't catch to save his life.  He left a lot of takeaways out there over his 4 years.  I don't think we'll have anybody who can cover as well, but hopefully we'll find somebody who can make some big plays instead of just getting deflections.

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1 hour ago, Leathernecks said:

 

One of the few things I've been disappointed in was his selection of offensive coordinator, but I think that will be better this year due to having a mobile QB that can make up for a predictable offense.

Hopefully Debord is ready to sail off into the sunset after this year.  Allen has made some really good hires, so I think if he were to hire a new OC, he could catch lightning in a bottle.

Agreed.  Debord reminds me of my offensive coordinator from high school who thought water breaks were for pussies, made us crab block, and called fb dives on 3rd and long. 

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52 minutes ago, btownqb said:

Guys... DeBord from last year is NOT what he has been over his career, especially when he was at Tennessee. Tennessee's offense the last two years he was there was awesome and high powered. 

Is the talent on offense for you guys this year comparable to what he had at Tennessee though? 

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30 minutes ago, Stlboiler23 said:

Is the talent on offense for you guys this year comparable to what he had at Tennessee though? 

Doesn't really have anything to do with it. We had a FR QB year with no back up for him and an ungodly amount of injuries to our best 2 OL, 3 of our top 4 WRs, best RB, and best TE. 

Everyone fails to remember that. We played Michigan to an OT game, gave MSU all they wanted on the road for 4Qs, and blew a game at Maryland and people want to pretend it's on the OC. Dumb. 

Only time we could have been frustrated was the OT calls vs. Michigan  

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