No surprises here. Maldonado was never really all in. He didn't seem to gain weight from offseason lifting programs and he took some personal time off. It's hard to win playing time when you are a 275 lb. one tech and are competing against guys 320 lbs. and 340 lbs. And, no one wants to play scout team their whole career. As to Will Craig, despite his athletic gifts, he never seemed to enjoy the game and was often injured. Maybe he was going to lose his starting job and saw the writing on the wall. My take away is that the losses will have next to zero impact on our performance. I know on CAL Bears Maven they wrote an article about their worry with our team only having 8 returning starters. I see it as opportunity. We have upgrades in talent across the board and I believe a lot of our new players will surprise people as they rise to the occasion. I've also read a lot about Plummer being the leading contender for the QB starting spot. My take is that the best QB will play, but my desire is that Kai Milner throws the ball around as well or better than the other QB's because ultimately he is a better athlete and has some wheels. We'll have some early growing pains for sure, but I'm gonna pump some more sunshine because my Bears are Golden in my eyes.
I said last season that the two biggest areas of concern were OL and ILB. I think defense will be legit this season. The offense is going to struggle all season long, regardless of who starts at QB. I hope it is Milner but I doubt it.
I listened to both Wilcox's and Cindric's interviews and as a result I don't share the same concerns as you. Replacing Cameron Goode won't be easy, but with Brett Johnson back at a 5 or 6 tech, we may not need to worry about an OLB pressuring the QB, as Johnson the Destroyer will do the damage. And Kuony wasn't a factor last year anyway. As to the O-line, listen to Cindric's interview. I think he is right and I think we will have 10 guys who can play this year, and our depth will be the best it's been since Wilcox has been here. My burning question is whether Angus can solidify them as a group. In any event, when I look at our talent, it's better than before. Sure we lost Craig, but he did not play that well last year and was injured a lot for practice and games. Despite his talent I just don't think his heart was in the game anymore. In that case better to get some young fired up talent to step up. Other than QB, I think our offense will be at least as good as it was last year. I think our defense will be better with Johnson back and some new studs at ILB and Edge, plus our one techs are BIG and have a year of game experience. If we can find a solid starting QB we'll likely have a decent year.
I am not concerned about defense and I agree with your assessment and everything you wrote about the defense.
I just don’t see the talent on offense. People kept mentioning all this “talent” on offense but we kept on trotting out the same senior players at the skill positions. I hope I am wrong but the combination of breaking in 3 new OL, all new WRs, new RBs and and a new QB means we will be taking a step back, especially early in the season.
I think our O-Line has better talent than ever before under Wilcox, but my big question mark is Angus. If he can get them on the same page they should be solid. Neither Will Craig or Valention Daltoso did a decent job on pass pro versus speedy defenses. I think our younger guys will be better. Our inside three should see no drop off. This year big 4 star Jermaine Terry should show his gifts at TE and Keleki Latu should be an asset in any shorter jump ball routes. Sturdivant, Hunter and Christakos are a solid core of the receiving corps. I'm not too worried about lack of burner speed. The key will be great rout running and getting open. Speed is always better, but we can be ok without it. Our RB room is solid. If out O-line blocks effectively for our run game and does a good job with pass pro, then all we need is a solid QB. My number one concern for our offense is QB play. As to coaches, Angus needs to prove to me that he can effectively coach up a solid O-line. Musgrave will need to do a solid job all year with his schemes, but I'm confeidant he can deliver. I'm good with our defense.
But, I like the stadium photo shot looking East from the West side, and showing the roof of the club level. Makes memorial look slightly more contemporary. And the faint mist over Strawberry Canyon, yeah. 151 days until opening kickoff.
No surprises here. Maldonado was never really all in. He didn't seem to gain weight from offseason lifting programs and he took some personal time off. It's hard to win playing time when you are a 275 lb. one tech and are competing against guys 320 lbs. and 340 lbs. And, no one wants to play scout team their whole career. As to Will Craig, despite his athletic gifts, he never seemed to enjoy the game and was often injured. Maybe he was going to lose his starting job and saw the writing on the wall. My take away is that the losses will have next to zero impact on our performance. I know on CAL Bears Maven they wrote an article about their worry with our team only having 8 returning starters. I see it as opportunity. We have upgrades in talent across the board and I believe a lot of our new players will surprise people as they rise to the occasion. I've also read a lot about Plummer being the leading contender for the QB starting spot. My take is that the best QB will play, but my desire is that Kai Milner throws the ball around as well or better than the other QB's because ultimately he is a better athlete and has some wheels. We'll have some early growing pains for sure, but I'm gonna pump some more sunshine because my Bears are Golden in my eyes.
I said last season that the two biggest areas of concern were OL and ILB. I think defense will be legit this season. The offense is going to struggle all season long, regardless of who starts at QB. I hope it is Milner but I doubt it.
I listened to both Wilcox's and Cindric's interviews and as a result I don't share the same concerns as you. Replacing Cameron Goode won't be easy, but with Brett Johnson back at a 5 or 6 tech, we may not need to worry about an OLB pressuring the QB, as Johnson the Destroyer will do the damage. And Kuony wasn't a factor last year anyway. As to the O-line, listen to Cindric's interview. I think he is right and I think we will have 10 guys who can play this year, and our depth will be the best it's been since Wilcox has been here. My burning question is whether Angus can solidify them as a group. In any event, when I look at our talent, it's better than before. Sure we lost Craig, but he did not play that well last year and was injured a lot for practice and games. Despite his talent I just don't think his heart was in the game anymore. In that case better to get some young fired up talent to step up. Other than QB, I think our offense will be at least as good as it was last year. I think our defense will be better with Johnson back and some new studs at ILB and Edge, plus our one techs are BIG and have a year of game experience. If we can find a solid starting QB we'll likely have a decent year.
I am not concerned about defense and I agree with your assessment and everything you wrote about the defense.
I just don’t see the talent on offense. People kept mentioning all this “talent” on offense but we kept on trotting out the same senior players at the skill positions. I hope I am wrong but the combination of breaking in 3 new OL, all new WRs, new RBs and and a new QB means we will be taking a step back, especially early in the season.
I think our O-Line has better talent than ever before under Wilcox, but my big question mark is Angus. If he can get them on the same page they should be solid. Neither Will Craig or Valention Daltoso did a decent job on pass pro versus speedy defenses. I think our younger guys will be better. Our inside three should see no drop off. This year big 4 star Jermaine Terry should show his gifts at TE and Keleki Latu should be an asset in any shorter jump ball routes. Sturdivant, Hunter and Christakos are a solid core of the receiving corps. I'm not too worried about lack of burner speed. The key will be great rout running and getting open. Speed is always better, but we can be ok without it. Our RB room is solid. If out O-line blocks effectively for our run game and does a good job with pass pro, then all we need is a solid QB. My number one concern for our offense is QB play. As to coaches, Angus needs to prove to me that he can effectively coach up a solid O-line. Musgrave will need to do a solid job all year with his schemes, but I'm confeidant he can deliver. I'm good with our defense.
Another season of the OL being on the struggle bus.
Not sure I agree....or disagree. We have talent, it's up to Angus to deliver results.
Hope not, but probably true.
😞
But, I like the stadium photo shot looking East from the West side, and showing the roof of the club level. Makes memorial look slightly more contemporary. And the faint mist over Strawberry Canyon, yeah. 151 days until opening kickoff.