Wishing for Spring Football to Hurry Up

[Harry]

Hey, that's a great idea for a movie!

LOL

[foutsrouts]

We have all heard the stories of J Pierre-Paul and such, but those are freak athletes. Honestly if you never played a sport before and you couldn't or didn't have the drive to play in HS, what makes you think you have what it takes in division 1 football. This isn't little league buddy. Not everyone gets a participation ribbon like you did in little league soccer.

Some guys were rebels in high school and don't grow up until they're closing in on 20, and some guys have family and environmental situations that make it very difficult to play organized football. Plenty of guys slip through the cracks for one reason or another. Probably not NEARLY as many as slipped through the cracks a generation ago, but still quite a few. On the other hand, this could be the alias Elvert playing more of his fun little off season games.

[GrayEagle]

I really think we will be okay @ RB. I have high expectations of Mr Byrd

I like Byrd too, but I don't think that he can carry the team by himself. I think that running back will be a little more by committee this year. Whitfield has a little more speed and Jimmerson has power but may be too similar to Byrd. Jeremy Brown is similar to Whitfield; good speed but a little small. I'd like to see what Lewis can do as well but I'll have to wait until fall for that.

[The Fake Lonnie Finch]

I don't think you can count McCoy as Ak's replacement, as he was already a starter last year on the other side. I think the question is, can one of the back-ups from last year step up to starter level. It will be hard to replace the pressure AK put on the opposing QBs, but it will be needed with a new secondary. Alex Lincoln had a few nice plays. Bellazin has nice size. And since we know Mac will play the best he has regardless of classification, a couple of these big kids we recruted at DE should be considered as well.

I was thinking in terms of leadership and production. As far as the younger guys stepping in, I'm not sure they pass up Bellazin and Obi. I liked Daryl Mason the little bit he played last year. We've got pretty good depthh at DE and having McCoy back is gold for us. I'm more worried about the DT depth than I am about replacing Akpunku.

[UNTLifer]

I hear you TFLF, but we didn't lose any of our depth from the DT position.

[UNTLifer]

Will ABBE, Cantly, Alexander or Sir Calvin Wallace take Boutwell's spot on D-Line?

By the way, Abbe and Cantly played alongside Boutwell, who was our best DT overall last year. Why do you think his position is up for grabs? I would like to see Abbe and Cantly improve to the level of Boutwell.

[mean green d]

I'm interested to see how the running back position pans out. I think

the young guys coming in will push Byrd and others. I like Byrd, but I am

just not sold that he is an every down back. He has the build, but I do not

think he has the speed to break the long one. It could be very interesting.

GMG

[H-towngreen]

We've got pretty good depthh at DE

We haven't been able to say that for a long time. At DT it'll be really interesting to see what Boutwell weighs in at come Spring ball.

The RB battle should be an interesting one to follow. There are several canidates to watch. Byrd has already gained the experience which might give him a leg up. Although I've heard Jimmerson and Whitfield both looked solid last year. And don't count out this years incoming recruits.

[Voice of Reason]

By the way, Abbe and Cantly played alongside Boutwell, who was our best DT overall last year. Why do you think his position is up for grabs? I would like to see Abbe and Cantly improve to the level of Boutwell.

I really don't think that Boutwell's position is up for grabs but again, I don't think that anyone should be comfortable. In watching the Winter workouts progress on Facebook, I would say that Boutwell is taking care of business and ABBE is certainly improving his status.

[SilverEagle]

I like Byrd too, but I don't think that he can carry the team by himself. I think that running back will be a little more by committee this year. Whitfield has a little more speed and Jimmerson has power but may be too similar to Byrd. Jeremy Brown is similar to Whitfield; good speed but a little small. I'd like to see what Lewis can do as well but I'll have to wait until fall for that.

Byrd is strong and has good speed, but he tends to be too North-South. I don't remember seeing Whitfield carry the ball. I was VERY impressed with Brown last spring, but he seemed to disappear until the last game against MT, when he was put in for a series or two. He has the quickest acceleration after the first step of any of the returning RB's. He also has better peripheral vision than Byrd.