Best team ever

[Brad]

Quote

It's frustrating that we have potentially our best team ever this year and even if we go undefeated, we will probably not break top 10 due to the weak schedule. 

 

Quote

This season, unfortunately, is the worst OOC schedule we have had in a long time. It just sucks that it coincides with the best team we have had in a long time (and possibly ever). 

I pulled these quotes from another thread where the quality of OOC opponents current and future was being debated.

I can't get my head around how this team could be considered (potentially) the best ever.  Potentially is the key, I know.  Yes it could happen.  But what's the basis of the argument? Just to be better than last year, we have to somehow compensate for losing two greats in Mack and Adams.  That's a big ? in my books.  When I think best ever, I think of teams from the past that were significantly better defensively than we were last year.

I wrote last season that Flowers/Mack/Adams may have been the best QB/RB/WR combo ever, and now it's gone?  Addition from subtraction?  Lot of people banking on DJ, The Strong Defense along with a more regularly contributing MVS and McCants.  

I'm not really able to assess whether this is potentially the greatest team of all time.  I'm still concerned with whether it's improved over last year's squad.

 

[dabull80]

The never ending of comparing teams of the past with teams to come.

[Flowers4Heisman]

Yes, of course, this was our best team ever.

[The Sheriff]

Going to say it right now... this is the best team we've had on paper in a long time. Rodney Adams was a great receiver, but in my opinion, I played with two receivers that were better than Adams back in 2000 (DeAndrew Rubin and Scott McCready). Adams is replacable. I personally think DJ was the best back on our team. I liked Mack a lot, but not as much as DJ. If Flowers can continue to improve similar to how Blackwell, BJ and Grothe improved, then our defense is the wild card.

Personally, I think our biggest gain was in coaching. I liked Taggart for two reasons - he could recruit the Bay area and he didn't think twice about playing 60 minutes of football (especially against a school like UCF). I still enjoy thinking about him throwing it deep in the last minute against them. I still don't think Taggart was an X's and O's type guy - just my opinion based on the entirety of his body of work for his tenure here. Most people won't agree with me - but hey, it's an opinion.

Anyways... the horrible schedule coincides with the best team we've had to date. At least it makes booking the Peach Bowl hotel rooms and flights more affordable as we know where we'll be playing on 1/1/2018. 

[jasonb56]

Well said Sheriff...

[Brad]

5 minutes ago, The Sheriff said:

this is the best team we've had on paper in a long time

So better than last year's but not ready to be compared to team's from your era and forward?

No doubt last season was the first good season in years.  

[Calibull]

2 hours ago, Brad said:

 

I pulled these quotes from another thread where the quality of OOC opponents current and future was being debated.

I can't get my head around how this team could be considered (potentially) the best ever.  Potentially is the key, I know.  Yes it could happen.  But what's the basis of the argument? Just to be better than last year, we have to somehow compensate for losing two greats in Mack and Adams.  That's a big ? in my books.  When I think best ever, I think of teams from the past that were significantly better defensively than we were last year.

I wrote last season that Flowers/Mack/Adams may have been the best QB/RB/WR combo ever, and now it's gone?  Addition from subtraction?  Lot of people banking on DJ, The Strong Defense along with a more regularly contributing MVS and McCants.  

I'm not really able to assess whether this is potentially the greatest team of all time.  I'm still concerned with whether it's improved over last year's squad.

 

I agree.  I'll add a one caveat, last season the defense was so bad because they were always out of position.  Woodie didn't know what he was doing, the defense did what it did last season off pure athleticism.  They never put 3 quarters together more or less 4.  I think the coaching on the defensive side of the ball will be huge.  I also agree on the losses of Adams and Mack.  Adams was good but there were younger guys more talented, just not ready.  As explosive as he was, I think VS, Salomon, McCants, Dukes, Antione, as well as a couple of others are better pure WRs.  The same way we saw Adams step up to being the man, I expect others to jump at their opportunity and I think we saw flashes of that in the spring.  

For this offense, I think Johnson is much better suited than Mack.  This is more an inside out game.  There will be a lot of between the tackle stuff and Johnson is a better inside runner than Mack was.  He has that low pad level and breaks tackles.  Also he is the one of the best pass catchers on the team.  I think he's poised for a big season.  I don't think it's throwing all our apples into one bag, I'm just looking at how he's played in games.  Each season he has shown significant improvement and would have been starting for most teams last season, but we had Mack, too.  

I also don't think Taggart was a huge X and O guy.  He didn't want to be.  He kept hiring OCs for a reason, he wanted to try and concentrate on the big picture... but he never found an OC who could run his offenses so he called the plays.  Gilbert will be in the booth looking down, he'll have a complete picture of the game he's calling.  I think the offense can be better and I'm sure the defense will be.  Schedule sucks, but win the games we play and we get to get to the place we want to be.  

Talent wise this team is the best we've ever had.  Now they just have to go play like it.  This I think they'll do because of the ease in transition.  Similar defenses but this one is based on attacking and pressure.  I think CJM will have those guys playing out of their minds.  

[raptorcj]

3 hours ago, Brad said:

I'm still concerned with whether it's improved over last year's squad.

QF has earned my faith and his drive will take the offense a long way, and the defense SHOULD be significantly improved from last year, but yeah, whether or not the paper translates to the gridiron is something I need to see. I think they'll be good, but I don't know if they'll be great.

[Vinsanity8404]

I think you guys are spot on with a lot of this stuff. But let's just be honest with ourselves right now, we may have 'better' WRs (route running and going up for the ball ability), but nobody is as fast as Adams. And I don't remember anybody else who was as fast

[Orlando Bull]

IMO, Flowers is the offense. Doesn't matter too much about the other parts, they will be OK because QF is rock solid. I want to see an improved defense. QF may not put up the numbers he did last year as a result of losing Mack and Adams, but, I still think he wills us to wins with the pieces he has. If the defense can be a little better, we should be in good shape.

I think the season has potential to give us the "best results ever". I still have a hard time with thinking that you can line this team up against the 2007 Bulls and win. Results for back then had a lot to do with playing a number of ranked teams and needing to be at our best week in and week out. When you only have to "get up" for a couple of games per year, it's a little easier to get that intensity.

There are a number of players that I loved as a fan, Blackwell, Grothe, Allen, Selvie, Ean Randolph, etc... but, none for me have been as special as QF. If he improves even a little bit, no matter what happens, Bulls football is going to be fun this year.