In terms of the shoes they leave to fill, who are your Top Ten seniors in order (1 is Most Significant). Here's my go. 1. Brett Helms, C (leadership, experience, talent) 2. Colt David, PK (consistency, reliability) 3. Herman Johnson, OG (experience, size, talent) 4. Quinn Johnson, FB (blocking, replacement?) 5. Darry Beckwith, LB (experience, speed, replacement?) 6. Tyson Jackson, DE (experience) 7. Kirston Pittman, DE (experience) 8. Marlon Favorite, DT (experience) 9. Curtis Taylor, S (experience, hitting) 10. Ryan Miller, OL (experience, depth) Notes: OL over DL because I think the DL has more experienced backups based on the rotation (Nevis, Alem, Woods, etc.). D Byrd left off because I just don't think we're going to miss him next year. He had the potential, but it didn't materialize with our QB issues. And I have a feeling Toliver and Chris Mitchell and some of the new guys (Dixon, etc) will fill his spot adequately. Curtis Taylor would be higher but I honestly think Chad Jones and Danny McCray are ready to step up, plus some of the new guys look very good as well. QJ is up there because, unless they move Theriot or play the new freshman commit Allen, I'm not sure we have a true FB left on scholarship. Ridley looks like a TB to me. Beckwith has been disappointing. I expected to rank him higher. In truth, the entire defense has left me a bit p!ssy. Guess it shows. I didn't even rank Tremaine Johnson. Alexander was hurt and too limited. I think had he been luckier with his health, he would've been an amazing DL. Brady Dalfrey? Too inconsistent. Had a few good games, though.
im glad beckwith is leaving, he is love child of cameron vaughn and luke sanders. kirston pittman, man i had high expectations of that kid eh or grown man this year, and he underachieved. marlon favorite is replacable, and hasnt lived up to his weight. Curtis Taylor needs to ride the pine the rest of the way out, i will be glad when he is gone too. I totally agree with cajun punk about 1-4 and the rest down. Tyson Jackson is still a great player but he hasnt lived up to the pre season hype.
I think a lot of people will agree that most people on the defensive side of the ball did not show up this year. Do we think that is due to the coaches/scheme or the players themselves? The OL, for being as talented/experienced as they are failed to show up for some halves this season. Why? Our OL coach is one of the best in the business. What happened to them?
I don't think Colt David will prove more valuable than Herman Johnson. What he gave us at OL can't easily be replaced. I'd slot Colt at 5 and move Darry, Quinn and House up. For curiousity's sake: why are people so down on Beckwith this year? I hadn't really noticed him out there this year, which certainly ins't a good thing to say about an MLB, but considering how thin we will be at the Mike next year I'd think we'd be sad to see him go. Injuries have affected his performance somewhat this year but he is still going to be tough to replace next year, IMO.
I agree. He just punishes people on blocks. If you watch him when he's in the game, he likes to seek and destroy, especially safeties. I think he has a shot to play on Sundays.
In my case, I'm not necessarily down on Beckwith. But, I didn't really notice a huge dropoff when he was injured, nor a huge improvement when he returned. And, in fact, if Baker plays MLB, I'm not sure we won't see better play in some situations. He looks promising, to say the least.
Baker knows how to find the ball and lay the wood, for sure...but the Mike has to able to do MUCH more than that. He's the QB of the defense. He calls the audibles neccessary to match what he thinks the opposing offense is doing. We also don't know how well he'll do in coverage. I'm not calling for him yet...although he IS fun to watch.
