I'm not buying the hype, sorry!

[Storm Of Spurs]

Originally Posted by johnmcclane

I dont have a reputation for being overwhelmingly negative. And I do think the OP makes valid points. Could someone convince me that A&M's O is not going to torch our secondary? I really want someone to convince so that I can sleep Wednesday night.

SMDH.

[peterlemon]

Originally Posted by johnmcclane

I dont have a reputation for being overwhelmingly negative. And I do think the OP makes valid points. Could someone convince me that A&M's O is not going to torch our secondary? I really want someone to convince so that I can sleep Wednesday night.

They are starting a quarterback who has never started a college game in his life. If this was at their stadium I would worry about him a lot more, but it is going to be really loud in our stadium with a very inexperienced QB. This is no cake walk, but this QB is in for huge challenge going on the road in the SEC for his first start.

[airborne09]

It also may be reverse psychology.

[eatlighting]

Related thought: a lot of people are worried about the drop off in mobility from Shaw, but a lot of people last year said Shaw ran around and took off too much without throwing the ball. So which is it?

Heck, it might be a good thing. I'm a Shaw fan, but there were times when he took off too early. He said so, Spurrier said so, Mangus said so, and it could be seen on TV.

I think this is just going to be a "Let's see what happens" kind of year. I'm actually optimistic. Thursday night will tell the tale quite a bit.

[Carolina4Life]

[b381l]

The reason people post negative things like this is because it's a win - win for them. If they are right, they can say I told you so, if they're wrong then they can say I'm glad I was wrong. Plus they lack confidence in themselves which carries over to the team the support. It's easy to try to point to things or players that may not be as good as last year, but other than Clowney, I think we are better or even at every position.

[garnet_black215]

Originally Posted by johnmcclane

I dont have a reputation for being overwhelmingly negative. And I do think the OP makes valid points. Could someone convince me that A&M's O is not going to torch our secondary? I really want someone to convince so that I can sleep Wednesday night.

I wish I could convince you but unfortunately I share the same concerns.

[El Cid Ranger]

Originally Posted by Carolina4Life

I'd rather not spend the week before the game getting ready to jump off the Ravenel Bridge with some of y'all, take a step back now it's only week 1....

[johnmcclane]

Originally Posted by peterlemon

They are starting a quarterback who has never started a college game in his life. If this was at their stadium I would worry about him a lot more, but it is going to be really loud in our stadium with a very inexperienced QB. This is no cake walk, but this QB is in for huge challenge going on the road in the SEC for his first start.

solid point. but an inexperienced QB surrounded by monster athletes can hide his inexperience. i'm mostly nervous about their athletes in space against ours, not so much a their QB laser cutting our D.

Originally Posted by eatlighting

Related thought: a lot of people are worried about the drop off in mobility from Shaw, but a lot of people last year said Shaw ran around and took off too much without throwing the ball. So which is it?

Heck, it might be a good thing. I'm a Shaw fan, but there were times when he took off too early. He said so, Spurrier said so, Mangus said so, and it could be seen on TV.

I think this is just going to be a "Let's see what happens" kind of year. I'm actually optimistic. Thursday night will tell the tale quite a bit.

i tend to think Dylan will surprise for this reason. i wonder if many of the 3rd downs Shaw stole last year would have never been 3rd downs had he not taken off on 1st and 2nd for a gain of 3 or 4.

[kevhugh]

Not saying I agree with the OP but there are a lot of question marks for many of the top teams in the country.

For us, I think it hinges on two things on offense:

1) How does the loss of Connor's mobility change our offense? Does it hurt us in 3rd down situations or does Dylan's arm and a veteran O-line make up for it as an earlier poster suggested?

2) Who steps up to be the guy that makes the catch you absolutely have to have. (Two years ago it was Ace, last year it was Bruce). Each time we had a crucial passing down that could make or break or season, Ellington stepped up. Now it's time for someone else to step up. (Roland or Jones perhaps?)

And defense once again comes down to the secondary but that horse has been beaten to death in the offseason.

[Goofyboy]

Originally Posted by b381l

The reason people post negative things like this is because it's a win - win for them. If they are right, they can say I told you so, if they're wrong then they can say I'm glad I was wrong. Plus they lack confidence in themselves which carries over to the team the support. It's easy to try to point to things or players that may not be as good as last year, but other than Clowney, I think we are better or even at every position.

Other than the psychoanalysis and the "better or even" statement, I can find some validity here, especially the first claim.

[scfanz]

There may be some inexperience here and there, but we're loaded with talent this year. My garnet crystal ball is predicting 11-1 or 12-0.

[b381l]

Originally Posted by Goofyboy

Other than the psychoanalysis and the "better or even" statement, I can find some validity here, especially the first claim.

name a player that we are worse this year than last year....

[sanford]

Originally Posted by b381l

name a player that we are worse this year than last year....

are you asking to name a player who is not as good as the one he is replacing in his respective position?

[b381l]

Originally Posted by sanford

are you asking to name a player who is not as good as the one he is replacing in his respective position?

yes, other than Clowney....thanks for the clarification....

[sanford]

Originally Posted by b381l

yes, other than Clowney....thanks for the clarification....

I would say Dylan for starters, but this has been argued into the ground even amongst Gamecock fans. the sole reasoning for me is the mobility loss from Shaw to Dylan. if nothing was there downfield Shaw had the legs to get positive yards as the line began to break down and the pocket closed up. that kept drives going and was a big plus. I just see Dylan having to throw it away in most of those situations or take the sack. either way would be drive killers.

I also don't see any cornerbacks who will perform as well as Hampton and Legree. at least not right away. I think it will be a minimum of mid season before the new blood gets to that level, if then.

other than that I would say whoever is replacing Kelcy Quarles isn't going to match his production from last year.

[Order 66]

Originally Posted by sanford

I would say Dylan for starters, but this has been argued into the ground even amongst Gamecock fans. the sole reasoning for me is the mobility loss from Shaw to Dylan. if nothing was there downfield Shaw had the legs to get positive yards as the line began to break down and the pocket closed up. that kept drives going and was a big plus. I just see Dylan having to throw it away in most of those situations or take the sack. either way would be drive killers.

I also don't see any cornerbacks who will perform as well as Hampton and Legree. at least not right away. I think it will be a minimum of mid season before the new blood gets to that level, if then.

other than that I would say whoever is replacing Kelcy Quarles isn't going to match his production from last year.

I get the top few arguments, but the last one I don't get. We are loaded at DT with experienced depth. We aren't counting on freshmen, these are 3rd-4th year players in our system and several of them former highly rated recruits. I have no concerns at DT.

[sanford]

Originally Posted by Order 66

I get the top few arguments, but the last one I don't get. We are loaded at DT with experienced depth. We aren't counting on freshmen, these are 3rd-4th year players in our system and several of them former highly rated recruits. I have no concerns at DT.

yeah, I get what you are saying. I'm not saying the d line will suck. just saying a guy who put up 10 or 11 sacks is unlikely to be replaced by someone who matches that production.

[Goofyboy]

Naming a position with a dropoff, I would say Hampton, Quarles, Shaw, Ellington, and Patrick. I think every replacement (including 2 deep at a couple) may likely be better than their predecessor at some point later, but the dropoff will be felt. I do think, however, we have the depth to perform even better as a team. On DL, the no-namers could be a real force with specialists moving in and out. We might be able to just wear out good teams by throwing a wave of quality, hungry players at them. At LB/spur, we have a strong battle going on across the level with an improved MLB being passed by a player with some game experience last year. At DB, the battles are also intense. At QB, we'll see pretty soon. AT WR, no one player offers what Bruce did, but the top 4 look really good, and we have 6 or 7 who can already play - with 3 freshmen grinding to learn the system.

[b381l]

Originally Posted by sanford

I would say Dylan for starters, but this has been argued into the ground even amongst Gamecock fans. the sole reasoning for me is the mobility loss from Shaw to Dylan. if nothing was there downfield Shaw had the legs to get positive yards as the line began to break down and the pocket closed up. that kept drives going and was a big plus. I just see Dylan having to throw it away in most of those situations or take the sack. either way would be drive killers.

I also don't see any cornerbacks who will perform as well as Hampton and Legree. at least not right away. I think it will be a minimum of mid season before the new blood gets to that level, if then.

other than that I would say whoever is replacing Kelcy Quarles isn't going to match his production from last year.

without beating this anymore than it already has, Dylan can't run as well as Shaw, but he's a better passer......so that's at worst a tie.....remember Dylan running against Clemson in 2012.
Per the CB comparison, Williams as a CB is probably at least as good as either than Hampton or Legree and either Harris or McWilliams are pretty good as well, so I see the combination of the 2 CB is even. Remember Hampton played out of position a ton until Whammy finally sat him. We'll see how the position plays out.
Kelcy was good last year but Dixon is pretty good too......plus our depth at the DT position is better this year than last year.