CFN - "SMU Should Be Better Than Last Year"

[Cheesesteak]

Spring Preview 2006
The 20 big questions ... 14-20
By Pete Fiutak - February 15, 2006 - College Football News

Spring ball has already begun with North Texas kicking off its off-season sessions on February 13th and with Texas, Auburn and UCLA starting soon. Here are twenty questions heading into this important time to keep you going during this brutally painful time before March Madness. (Questions 13-7 coming Thursday, 6-1 on Friday.)

20. What's the one sure thing going into 2006?
It's going to flat-out stink compared to 2005. I'm college football boy and enjoy watching even the lowliest of Sun Belt games, but even I can't [deleted] Vitale-promote this upcoming season into anything more than a major downer considering everything that happened last year. If 2005 wasn't the greatest year in college football history, it was a close second to a season that I couldn't find in any research.

We had a great bowl season with four fantastic BCS games topped off by a national title game that not only lived up to the unattainable hype, it blew past it. We had a resurgence of Notre Dame, Alabama and Penn State and saw JoePa and Bobby Bowden square off in a coaching matchup for the ages. We had all-timer players like Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Vince Young playing at a high level all season long. We had Texas-Ohio State and USC-Notre Dame, which each were among the better regular season games of all-time. Come up with any scenario to beat last year. It can't be done because you can't come up with the wire-to-wire momentum started from the moment Leinart said he was coming back for his senior year.

19. Fine, so this year is Blink 182 coming on after Nirvana. Is there anything to get really excited about?
Of course. First of all, the field is wide freakin' open. You name the halfway decent BCS league team and it has a realistic hope of catching lightning in a bottle and finishing up in the BCS Championship Game (more on that later). Texas is probably the nation's top team, but it has a ten-mile-wide hole to fill at quarterback (much more on that later). Ohio State, USC, Florida, Georgia, West Virginia and any other good team you can name has issues, which is a good thing if you're hoping for someone to come up with a 2003 LSU-like out-of-left-field run to a national title. In other words, there doesn't appear to be one absolute killer like there was last year with USC.

Second, the Heisman race should be a blast. If Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson isn't the front runner, than it might be Ohio State's Troy Smith, but he's not going to win it. Let's just stop that talk right now (he simply won't have the numbers to win, but that doesn't mean he can't be a finalist). That means this could be one of those crazy seasons like 2002 when Carson Palmer, Brad Banks, Larry Johnson and Willis McGahee came from nowhere to battle for the top individual prize.

Third, there are a lot of really, really good non-conference games like ...

18. 25 non-conference games to get really, really excited about are ...
Along with the always great conference rivalry games, there appear to be more good non-conference games than ever. If these don't give you a few special feelings, you're reading the wrong publication.
25. Oregon State at Boise State, Sept. 9
24. Oregon at Fresno State, Sept. 9
23. Minnesota at California, Sept. 9
22. Marshall at West Virginia, Sept. 2
21. Utah at UCLA, Sept. 2
20. Notre Dame at Georgia Tech, Sept. 2
19. Washington State at Auburn, Sept. 2
18. Maryland at West Virginia, Sept. 14
17. Louisville at Kansas State, Sept. 23
16. Iowa State at Iowa, Sept. 16
15. Georgia Tech at Georgia, Nov. 25
14. Arizona State at Colorado, Sept. 16
13. South Carolina at Clemson, Nov. 25
12. Colorado at Georgia, Sept. 23
11. California at Tennessee, Sept. 2
10. USC at Arkansas, Sept. 2
9. UCLA at Notre Dame, Oct. 21
8. Oklahoma at Oregon, Sept. 16
7. Miami at Louisville, Sept. 16
6. Michigan at Notre Dame, Sept. 16
5. Florida at Florida State, Nov. 25
4. Nebraska at USC, Sept. 16
3. Penn State at Notre Dame, Sept. 9
2. Notre Dame at USC, Nov. 25
1. Ohio State at Texas, Sept. 9

17. What BCS changes do we have to deal with this year?
There are three big ones, and they're all positives if you're a fan of the non-BCS league teams and if you're hoping beyond all reasonable hope for a playoff before your time runs out.

1) Fox is taking over all BCS games other than the Rose Bowl, which ABC will hang on to until 2014.
2) Fox also gets the rights to the fifth BCS bowl game which will be the national title game played in Arizona this year. The national title game will rotate among the four traditional sites with a second bowl added. For example, the 2010 Rose Bowl will be played like normal, and then there will be a second game for the national championship played later in Pasadena. This extra game isn't a playoff, but it does potentially make for an easy transition to being a playoff game after the bowls. But that's for way down the line.
3) Like before, the champions of the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 10 and SEC will get an automatic spot in the BCS. Starting this year, one champion from one of the other leagues (Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt or WAC) will get an automatic spot if it's ranked among the top 12 teams in the final BCS standings or is ranked among the top 16 teams in the final BCS standings and ranked higher than the champion of one of the BCS conference champions. That means that TCU would've been in the BCS last year.

16. Considering the new changes, which "mid-major" will likely be in the BCS?
Remember, it's not automatic for a non-BCS conference school to get in, but it's more likely to happen on a regular basis. TCU has a very nice team returning and has a great chance to finish in the top 12 of the final BCS rankings if it wins the Mountain West title again and beats Texas Tech early on. BYU and Utah are other strong possibilities from the Mountain West. The Cougars are going to Arizona, play 2005 Conference USA champion Tulsa, and go to Boston College, while the Utes have a chance to make a national splash at UCLA in the season opener. Boise State has a better chance than Fresno State out of the WAC since the Broncos have two tough non-conference games against Oregon State and at Wyoming. The Bulldogs have to play Oregon, at Washington, Colorado State and at LSU. No one from the MAC appears to be BCS worthy, but that can change in a big hurry if RB Garrett Wolfe and Northern Illinois can win at Ohio State and at Iowa. Conference USA doesn't appear to have a BCS-caliber team, and forget about anyone from the Sun Belt.

15. Yeah, a non-automatic BCS conference team might make the big show, but are the "mid-majors" going to be any better than last year?
Not really. Conference USA still hasn't recovered from the loss of Louisville, TCU, Cincinnati and South Florida, but the league should continue to be competitive. East Carolina, Marshall and SMU should be better than last year, and UTEP, UCF, Houston, Tulsa, Southern Miss and Memphis should be at least as good as they were in 2005. However, the league, as a whole, still isn't close to the big six.

The Sun Belt had the best race of any league last year, but it'll be one of the shockers of the season if there's a win against a BCS league team. The MAC doesn't have a killer team, but Northern Illinois, Miami, and Toledo won't roll over and die in the better non-conference games. The WAC might be pushing Conference USA, at least as far as the top teams, for national respect with Hawaii's offense sure to be scary-good again, Nevada as strong as it was last year, and Boise State and Fresno State being like they normally are. The Mountain West is easily the seventh best conference in college football and if there's going to be a BCS team from the non-BCS conferences, it'll likely come from here. However, the league has to make more statements like Utah made against Georgia Tech and TCU made against Oklahoma. Even with the good mid-major teams here and there, the overall division between the top six leagues and the other five appears to be widening.

14. Which conference will be the best in 2006?

11. Sun Belt - It'll once again be one of college football's most interesting races all eight teams having a shot. 2005 newcomers FIU and Florida Atlantic should be better, while North Texas will find its groove again after struggling with its offense last year. The best team should be ... UL Lafayette

10. MAC - The star power isn't there with the loss of Bowling Green QB Omar Jacobs and Toledo QB Bruce Gradkowski, but NIU's Garrett Wolfe will be among the nation's rushing leaders. The division races should be fun with Ball State and Western Michigan sure to challenge NIU and Toledo in the West and Ohio sure to be better in the East. The best team should be ... Northern Illinois

9. WAC - It's a top-heavy league with Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada good enough to hang around with anyone in America, but the bottom is really bad. Even so, New Mexico State and Utah State can't be worse while San Jose State has the potential to be much better. The best team should be ... Nevada

8. Conference USA - This is potentially the most even league in the country. Remember that UCF was coming off a winless season and still came this close to winning the title. If that can happen, then SMU and Tulane should have a ray of hope. Fine, so Rice won't pull a UCF, but the other 11 teams should wage a fierce war with a few upsets over BCS teams sure to happen. The best team should be ... UCF

7. Mountain West - All talk of being better than the Big East should be put to rest after this year, but this is still a solid league with TCU, Utah and BYU as good as any mid-level BCS conference team and New Mexico, San Diego State, Colorado State and Wyoming sure to be competitive. Air Force and UNLV should be better. The best team should be ... TCU

6. Big East - All Big East bashing was well warranted last year; the league, as a whole, was awful. While the conference is still on an island ranking far behind the other five BCSers and comfortably ahead of the Mountain West, it should be better. Cincinnati and Syracuse can't be worse, Pitt and UConn will rebound, Rutgers and South Florida should be at least as good as last year, and Louisville and West Virginia should be national title contenders. The best team should be ... West Virginia

5. Big 12 - Texas should be the preseason number one and Oklahoma is close to being Oklahoma again, but there's still too much mediocrity. Nebraska is coming off a huge bowl win against Michigan and Missouri had a nice victory over South Carolina, but is the North really any better? Oklahoma State and Texas A&M should be more completive and Texas Tech is becoming more of a player, but this should be the fifth best league in the pecking order. The best team should be ... Texas

4. Big Ten - The conference should take a step back this year. Everyone seems to be blowing off the loss of the stars in Ohio State's defensive back seven, Michigan might really be that mediocre, Penn State isn't going to be the same without Michael Robinson, and what you saw out of Iowa last year is what you'll get this year. You know what you'll get out of Minnesota, Wisconsin will overachieve before getting blasted by a good team, and Northwestern will be worse without Brett Basanez. On the plus side, Purdue and Michigan State will be better. The best team should be ... Ohio State

3. ACC - I've been the Grand Marshal of the ACC-is-top-to-bottom strongest parade, but not anymore. Is Miami down, or is it a case of having problems playing in a good conference? I really like Florida State this year, but is this going to be the year the ship completely turns back around? The rest of the league (cough, Virginia Tech, cough) is way too flaky. While Boston College, Clemson, Maryland, NC State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia are all good, are any of them great? Clemson might be and Georgia Tech has potential, but the league is third ... for now. The best team should be ... Florida State

2. Pac 10 - It's far better than you think. USC might not be the juggernaut of the past few years, but it's not going to fall far. Cal should be incredible, Arizona State's offense will be unstoppable, Washington State should be one of the year's surprise teams, and UCLA and Oregon should be bowling. Arizona and Stanford will be much better, and Washington isn't going to get any worse. The best team should be ... USC

1. SEC - Vanderbilt showed last year that it can be competitive and Mississippi State should have a killer defense. Ole Miss will be better in Ed Orgeron's second year, and Kentucky will be decent, even if the record doesn't show it. Everyone else is really, really good. Even though Georgia should take a step back, the league is amazing with Florida, LSU and Auburn national title contenders and Alabama, Arkansas and South Carolina good enough to beat anyone in the league. Tennessee should be one of the year's top turnaround teams. The best team should be ... Florida

[Sam I Am]

The Big 12 South will keep furnishing BCS bowl finalists. SMU might have a winning season. It's a long time to September.

[McClown27]

Next year will be interesting. Everything hinges on the play of our QB.

[SMUstang]

Duhhhhh

________________

Abe Lincoln for A.D.

[Stallion]

we have a lot more holes than QB. We are thinner at LB than at just about anytime I ever remember-a couple of injuries there and it could get out of hand defensively. We also, are breaking in 3 new secondary starters including two new corners although I would hope we've got some good athletes at CB that should be able to grow into the position. But right now the entire defensive LBs and DBs can only be considered a huge questionmark with only one player Sturdivant who has proven to be an established quality starter.

[mrydel]

I am worried about the secondary also but less so since it appears we began to develope a pass rush with Haywood, Rogers and Muse toward the end of the season. A good rush can make those CBs a lot better.

[Mustangs35SMU]

Uh oh...if they're saying we're gonna be better than last year, that means we're gonna be 0-12 again.

Last two years they've picked us to go 1-10...

[CalallenStang]

Uh oh...if they're saying we're gonna be better than last year, that means we're gonna be 0-12 again.

Last two years they've picked us to go 1-10...

If you really read it, it doesn't say we're going to be better than last year...it just says that CUSA is so balanced that even SMU and Tulane will compete for the title.

[SMUstang]

[quote="Cheesesteak"]Spring Preview 2006

15. Yeah, a non-automatic BCS conference team might make the big show, but are the "mid-majors" going to be any better than last year? Not really. Conference USA still hasn't recovered from the loss of Louisville, TCU, Cincinnati and South Florida, but the league should continue to be competitive. East Carolina, Marshall and SMU should be better than last year, and UTEP, UCF, Houston, Tulsa, Southern Miss and Memphis should be at least as good as they were in 2005. However, the league, as a whole, still isn't close to the big six.

[/b]

[Mustangs35SMU]

Uh oh...if they're saying we're gonna be better than last year, that means we're gonna be 0-12 again.

Last two years they've picked us to go 1-10...

If you really read it, it doesn't say we're going to be better than last year...it just says that CUSA is so balanced that even SMU and Tulane will compete for the title.

That even ruins our chances of being good.

[Sam I Am]

As I recall, Bennett has been able to red shirt some player the last two years. Is this beginning to pay off yet? I remember Ron Myer once saying that the starting linemen ought to be seniors every year. He implied that a good program has such depth that eventually the players have to wait until their senior year to be on the first unit, although they would be getting experience along the way. But that was then, and this is now.

[DallasDiehard]

Absolutely. We're not at the point yet that we'll be trotting out a line of all seniors, but all of the freshmen except Givens and Handy redshirted last year. So we have a full class of newcomers with at least a year of practice and a college strength program under their belts. Clearly some of them will have to contribute this year .... but hopefully not that many right away.

[Charleston Pony]

If next year's SMU football team is in fact improved, it will be primarily because we have FINALLY matured in the trenches...on both sides of the line. What I expect to be a pretty solid DL is going to take a lot of pressure off some inexperienced LBs and CBs. Likewise, a veteran OL should make for an improved running game and should take some heat off the QB. I really think we've got enough skill guys to be improved...but I've been waiting for YEARS for the OL & DL to have more 20-21 yr old guys in the 2 deep and we are FINALLY there. If any RS Fr linemen crack the starting lineups, those are going to be pretty solid guys

[Cheesesteak]

Spring Preview 2006
The 20 big questions ... 4-6
By Pete Fiutak - College Football News

Spring ball has already begun with North Texas kicking off its off-season sessions on February 13th and with Texas, Auburn and UCLA starting soon. Here are twenty questions heading into this important time to keep you going during this brutally painful time before March Madness.

6. The unknown players you'll know about by the end of 2006 are ...

10. Keynovis Bouie, LB FIU
While he's a safety-sized 217 pounds, Bouie is a fierce tackler with great speed to the ball. In only nine games last year he made 118 tackles with 18 stops against MTSU, 18 against Troy and 19 against UL Monroe. He also made 14 against Kansas State.

9. Chase Daniel, QB Missouri
You don't replace Brad Smith, but Daniel is a solid all-around quarterback who shouldn't have a problem keeping the Tiger offense going. He completed 38 of 66 passes last year for 347 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions, and he ran for 58 yards and a score.

8. Amir Pinnix, RB Minnesota ...
... or Gary Russell. With Laurence Maroney bolting early for the NFL, the plum job of being the featured ball-carrier for Minnesota was supposed to go to Russell after rushing for 1,130 yards and 18 touchdowns. But the potential junior had problems with his eligibility and withdrew for school. He can reenroll in the fall once his grades get back up, but in the meantime, it'll be up to the quicker Pinnix to be the main man until someone else emerges. The junior-to-be ran for 467 yards and a touchdown last year with a 206-yard day against Michigan State.

7. Rafael Little, RB Kentucky
The SEC's best all-purpose back in 2005 was Auburn's Kenny Irons, right? Nope. Darren McFadden of Arkansas? How about Alabama's Ken Darby or Mississippi State's Jerious Norwood? Not even close. Kentucky's Rafael Little ran for 1,045 yards, caught 449 yards worth of passes, returned 355 yards worth of punts and 133 yards of kickoffs. He had 124 rushing yards, 122 receiving yards and four touchdowns against Auburn and tore off 198 yards and three scores, along with 86 receiving yards, against Vanderbilt.

6. Micah Andrews, RB Wake Forest
Chris Barclay ran for over 4,000 yards with 40 touchdowns in his Wake Forest career, but Andrews will step in and be just as productive. Andrew ripped off 254 yards in the opener against Vanderbilt and 142 against East Carolina, but was used sparingly the rest of the way. He'll be one of the ACC's leading rushers.

5. Allan Evridge, QB Kansas State
Thrown to the wolves midway through his freshman year, Evridge was sensational at times highlighted by a 357-yard, three touchdown passing day against Texas A&M. He showed off his running skills with a 138-yard, two touchdown day in the 27-25 loss to Nebraska. He'll be the main focus of the Ron Prince offense early on.

4. Josh Williams, LB Arkansas State
It's not a stretch to say the nation's best linebacker might be in the Sun Belt. Williams was a terror as a freshman with 110 tackles, but was booted off the team last summer. He's being allowed to walk on and appears ready to take full advantage of the second chance. Word is he's working out like a madman and will be even better.

3. Graham Harrell, QB Texas Tech
If you're the starting quarterback for Texas Tech, you'll put up huge numbers. Harrell was just this close to being the starter in 2005, but he broke his leg in summer practice. Now he's expected to be the triggerman for the attack for the next few years, or at least until top recruit Taylor Potts is ready.

2. Steve Levy, QB California ...
... or Nate Longshore or Joe Ayoob or Kyle Reed. Longshore was the 2005 opening day starter until he broke his leg. Ayoob was way too inconsistent after taking over the job, and Levy stepped in and was fantastic over the final three games completing 30 of 45 passes for 387 yards and three touchdowns and an interception in wins over Stanford and BYU along with mop-up time against USC.

1. Chauncey Washington & Desmond Reed, RB USC
Don't shed any tears for USC over the loss of Reggie Bush and LenDale White. Washington has first round talent, but he has to keep the academic side of things straightened out. Reed is a poor man's Bush, but he has to get healthy. If those two don't work out, incoming freshmen Emmanuel Moody, C.J. Gable and Staphon Johnson will keep the ground game going.

5. The pain in the butt in each conference race will be ...

ACC - North Carolina
If the quarterback situation stabilizes early on and there's a home upset or two over Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, John Bunting's crew has the talent to be a thorn in the side of the Coastal Division powers.

Big East - Connecticut
Call 2005 a transition season with an injury to starting QB Matt Bonislawski and preseason problems with the defense keeping the Huskies from getting back to a bowl. That'll change this year as they could ruin West Virginia's dream season in Storrs on October 20th in a nationally televised game.

Big Ten - Purdue
All together now ... there's no Ohio State or Michigan on the schedule. Again. The Big Ten road games are at Iowa, Northwestern, Michigan State and Illinois. Winning three of four is very doable, while winning all three tough Big Ten home games against Minnesota, Wisconsin and Penn State is possible.

Big 12 - Oklahoma State
Mike Gundy's program is at least a year away from being a player in the Big 12 South, and more likely two or three after his fantastic 2006 recruiting class has time to mature. Even so, his Cowboys showed some heart last year beating Texas Tech and scaring Texas for a half. Texas A&M, Nebraska and Oklahoma have to go to Stillwater.

Conference USA - East Carolina
If Skip Holtz's team could've just played a little bit of defense, it would've finished with a winning season. The offense should be one of the best in Conference USA making up for more defensive deficiencies. It'll all come down to a three week span against East favorites Southern Miss, UCF and Marshall.

MAC - Ball State
The Cardinals weren't all that bad last year once they got through with their suspensions. QB Joey Lynch might be the MAC's best quarterback good enough make BSU a deep sleeper in the West.

Mountain West - San Diego State
For the 19th straight year, San Diego State is supposed to turn a corner. That might actually happen in Chuck Long's first year at the helm as he gets to take advantage of some great recruiting classes from the past regime and star RB Lynell Hamilton.

Pac 10 - Stanford
Walt Harris had his down moments in his first season on The Farm highlighted by a loss to UC Davis, but there were good battles in losses to UCLA and Notre Dame along with wins over Washington State, Arizona State and Oregon State. Everyone in the Pac 10 will be taking the Cardinal lightly, but the Harris offense is good enough to pull off a few shockers.

SEC - Arkansas
With an opening day game against USC and SEC home dates against Alabama, Tennessee and LSU, Houston Nutt's club should make plenty of noise in the West. The SEC road slate isn't horrible thanks to trips to Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.

Sun Belt - FIU
The Golden Panthers won four of their final five games in 2005 and should be even better this year. Defending Sun Belt champion Arkansas State has to come to Miami, as does UL Monroe and UL Lafayette. FIU's final four games, all against Sun Belt teams, are at home.

WAC - San Jose State
Don't expect miracles in [deleted] Tomey's second season, but the Spartans should be even more competitive than last year when they finished the season with a two game winning streak. 5-5 speedster Yonus Davis is a nice running back to build around.

4. Who are some of the already known players who'll go nuclear in 2006?

Rhett Bomar, QB Oklahoma
Dogged after struggling early and without Adrian Peterson to count on over a stretch, Bomar got better as the year went on against a nasty schedule. He's a superior all-around talent who should grow into his prep hype this year.

John David Booty, QB USC
Or Mark Sanchez, but more on that in a moment. It was Booty as a 17-year-old true freshman who was supposed to take over for Carson Palmer, and then Matt Leinart turned into a legend. Booty has first round NFL skills along with the nation's best receiving corps to throw to.

Alley Broussard, RB LSU
The star of the LSU backfield late in the 2004 season, Broussard missed all of last year with a knee injury. He won't be back at 100% for spring ball, but he should be the focal point of the tremendous Tiger offense by opening day.

Colt Brennan, QB Hawaii and Davone Bess, WR Hawaii
When it comes to Brennan, think Timmy Chang with talent. He threw for 4,301 yards and 35 touchdowns in his first year, along with showing off some good mobility, and now he has a more experienced receiving corps to work with. Head coach June Jones has said Bess, a true sophomore going into this year, is the best receiver he has ever been around. Bess caught 89 passes for 1,124 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Jamaal Charles, RB Texas
Overshadowed by Vince Young, Charles should be the star of the nation's top team after a 878-yard, 13 total touchdown season. While all the other great Longhorn backs could dip into the numbers, 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns won't be out of reach.

Calvin Johnson, WR Georgia Tech
He'll be a top 15 pick in 2007. Johnson finally started to use his size and strength last year catching 54 passes for 888 yards and six touchdowns, and now he should make a huge jump in overall production with QB Reggie Ball experienced enough to be more accurate.

Sam Keller or Rudy Carpenter, QB Arizona State
Until he got hurt, it could've been argued that Keller was the Pac 10's best quarterback throwing for 2,165 yards and 20 touchdowns, along with nine interceptions, in just over seven games. Carpenter came in and finished as the nation's most efficient passer throwing for 2,273 yards with 17 touchdowns and only two interceptions while completing 68% of his passes. If one of the quarterbacks plays the entire year, 4,500 yards and 40 touchdown passes are possible.

Marshawn Lynch, RB California
Dinged up for most of the year, Lynch still finished with 1,246 yards and ten touchdowns capped off by a 194-yard, three score day against BYU. Justin Forsett will certainly be a factor in the Cal ground game, but Lynch might pull a J.J. Arrington and could hit 2,000 yards if he can stay healthy.

Sidney Rice, WR South Carolina
Rice became unstoppable with six 100-yard days in the final seven games highlighted by a 12-catch, 191-yard, one touchdown day against Missouri. QB Blake Mitchell will have a year of experience under his belt and will be even better at getting his star target the ball.

Zac Taylor, QB Nebraska
The light bulb went on as last year went on, and now Taylor should blossom in his second year as the starter. He has good receivers to work with like Nate Swift and Terrence Nunn, so a 3,000-yard, 25 touchdown season has to be expected.

Drew Weatherford, QB Florida State
Did anyone else realize that Weatherford was hung out to dry as a freshman? With no running game, a depleted offensive line and lousy play-calling from the coaching staff, Weatherford still led the Noles to the ACC title throwing for 3,208 yards and 18 touchdowns. If he can cut down on his 18 interceptions, and develop more of a rapport with top target Greg Carr, Weatherford should be in the hunt for ACC Player of the Year honors.

[EP Pony Fan]

The defensive line had better be sensational next season. The lack of experience at LB and DB is scaring the hell out of me at the moment. Even if the offense picks it up a notch, our defense REALLY needs to come of age in a hurry.