http://irish.nbcsports.com/2014/05/02/sp...rice-owls/

I think it will be interesting to see if Christian Covington goes back for his senior year. He is ranked the #2 DT and is a beast. Who knows, he may declare for the draft after this season. Let's hope we have him for 2 more seasons!

This is starting to get fun. 2014 is supposed to be a "rebuilding year," but most see us as a bowl lock and a possible CUSA West winner. Thank God for the depth. If not for that, we'd be at the beginning of a protracted rebuild, as in the past. Lets go win a bowl game.

Hate to be a party pooper, but lets not get ahead of ourselves. Our quarterback situation is tenuous at best. If we don't have a good QB, then we've got serious problems, I don't care how good everyone else is. The spring game was not encouraging at all. I'll wait and see how that position plays out before I make any predictions.

(05-04-2014 01:32 AM)tramile12 Wrote:  Hate to be a party pooper, but lets not get ahead of ourselves. Our quarterback situation is tenuous at best. If we don't have a good QB, then we've got serious problems, I don't care how good everyone else is. The spring game was not encouraging at all. I'll wait and see how that position plays out before I make any predictions.

Not debating the importance of the QB, but I find it hard to believe that whomever gets the call for us will be worse or more inconsistent than the QB we had last year for our CUSA championship team.

(05-04-2014 08:36 AM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(05-04-2014 01:32 AM)tramile12 Wrote:  Hate to be a party pooper, but lets not get ahead of ourselves. Our quarterback situation is tenuous at best. If we don't have a good QB, then we've got serious problems, I don't care how good everyone else is. The spring game was not encouraging at all. I'll wait and see how that position plays out before I make any predictions.

Not debating the importance of the QB, but I find it hard to believe that whomever gets the call for us will be worse or more inconsistent than the QB we had last year for our CUSA championship team.

This is my thought exactly. So long as we can find a serviceable QB, we won't see a drop off from that position as compared to last year. And if we can find someone who steps up and plays better, we should be looking at a high quality team.

The biggest lose, IMO, is leadership, which means we need some players, like Callahan and Covington to continue to lead by example and take some younger guys under their wing and show them the way.

Agree with previous two posts. McHargue was not bad, but it's not like he carried the team. DJ has the potential to be as good or better, and German does too.

(05-04-2014 11:27 AM)Buho00 Wrote:  Agree with previous two posts. McHargue was not bad, but it's not like he carried the team. DJ has the potential to be as good or better, and German does too.

Potential was never the problem with McHargue.

I agree that his replacement could possibly be better (and that in that case, the Owls should rack up the wins against this schedule). But his replacement could also possibly be worse. It's a concern.

This time last year there was a sizable contingent here who wanted Bailiff to automatically promote DJ over McH, on pain of losing his job. Well, now they get their wish.

I hope we see 14 games of AFA DJ. Not betting on it, though.

I do feel relatively good about the back ups. All of them bring something to the table other than a warm body. I am cautiously optimistic (pun ignored) about the 2014 campaign.

(05-05-2014 11:27 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  I am cautiously optimistic (pun ignored) about the 2014 campaign.

Cautiously Optimistic Owl just doesn't have the same ring ...

(05-05-2014 11:48 AM)Orange County Owl Wrote:  

(05-05-2014 11:27 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  I am cautiously optimistic (pun ignored) about the 2014 campaign.

Cautiously Optimistic Owl just doesn't have the same ring ...

Almost a contradiction in terms, isn't it?

I wrote that, then saw the pun, decided WTH.

(05-05-2014 10:37 AM)Gravy Owl Wrote:  

(05-04-2014 11:27 AM)Buho00 Wrote:  Agree with previous two posts. McHargue was not bad, but it's not like he carried the team. DJ has the potential to be as good or better, and German does too.

Potential was never the problem with McHargue.

I agree that his replacement could possibly be better (and that in that case, the Owls should rack up the wins against this schedule). But his replacement could also possibly be worse. It's a concern.

This.

I thought to add that I would call it a "potential concern", but the play on words in using potential made me rethink it. A "possible" concern . . . . . In the end, we'll see . . .

(05-05-2014 11:27 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  I hope we see 14 games of AFA DJ. Not betting on it, though.

AFA DJ was as good as anyone has played the position since Chase Clement.

Was it the CFB equivalent of Philip Humber's White Sox perfect game?

(05-05-2014 12:30 PM)MemOwl Wrote:  

(05-05-2014 11:27 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  I hope we see 14 games of AFA DJ. Not betting on it, though.

AFA DJ was as good as anyone has played the position since Chase Clement.

Was it the CFB equivalent of Philip Humber's White Sox perfect game?

I don't know how to compare those, but I think DJ has more AFA games in him, I just don't know how many to expect.

(05-05-2014 10:37 AM)Gravy Owl Wrote:  Potential was never the problem with McHargue.

I agree that his replacement could possibly be better (and that in that case, the Owls should rack up the wins against this schedule). But his replacement could also possibly be worse. It's a concern.

Agree, McHargue certainly had weaknesses (and I've probably commented on them many times more than I should), but we did win 10 games and CUSA with him at the helm. He made a number of plays and did a solid job in protecting the ball to help make that happen. It's certainly possible we could take a step back, and the OC situation and the shaky Spring Game performances, make that a justified concern. And this comes when we will probably need more from the QB position to make up for the loss of Ross (or Gaines on D).

(05-05-2014 11:27 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  I hope we see 14 games of AFA DJ. Not betting on it, though.

Anyone else think we have unfair expectations of DJ because of the AFA game? To my eyes, that game was much more about Jordan Taylor than either DJ or McHargue.

(05-05-2014 12:30 PM)MemOwl Wrote:  AFA DJ was as good as anyone has played the position since Chase Clement.

Too bad McHargue had to play so banged up the last few years. When he was healthy enough to really run the ball a lot, he made some amazing plays with his feet. But it seemed like that element of the offense was often under-utilized because of concerns that McHargue would exacerbate injuries or re-injury himself. Thinking specifically of some of McHargue's runs against Marshall in the 2012 game that Rice lost in overtime. Both Clement and McHargue had some seriously impressive scrambling ability.

(05-05-2014 12:54 PM)At Ease Wrote:  

(05-05-2014 10:37 AM)Gravy Owl Wrote:  Potential was never the problem with McHargue.

I agree that his replacement could possibly be better (and that in that case, the Owls should rack up the wins against this schedule). But his replacement could also possibly be worse. It's a concern.

Agree, McHargue certainly had weaknesses (and I've probably commented on them many times more than I should), but we did win 10 games and CUSA with him at the helm. He made a number of plays and did a solid job in protecting the ball to help make that happen. It's certainly possible we could take a step back, and the OC situation and the shaky Spring Game performances, make that a justified concern. And this comes when we will probably need more from the QB position to make up for the loss of Ross (or Gaines on D).

I'm sure we'll take a step back, but this team should win more than seven games and end up in a bowl it can win.

(05-04-2014 01:32 AM)tramile12 Wrote:  Hate to be a party pooper, but lets not get ahead of ourselves. Our quarterback situation is tenuous at best. If we don't have a good QB, then we've got serious problems, I don't care how good everyone else is. The spring game was not encouraging at all. I'll wait and see how that position plays out before I make any predictions.

I'm concerned about the DEs more than the quarterback. There will be growing pains, but whomever gets the job at QB isn't going to be asked to do everything. There's talent all over.

With our offense, the issue does not simply hinge upon who the starter is. Our current offense predicates heavy involvement in the run game by our QB. This opens the door for annoying injuries such as bum shoulders or sprained ankles. We needed Driphus to play in 2012/2013 because McHargue was hurt. We have to remember that Driphus was relatively healthy in 2012, but hurt most of 2013. While it is correct to say that Jordan Taylor had a big hand in that bowl victory, remember that Vance McDonald and Sam McGuffie made some huge catches in that game as well. I think that if the coaches give Driphus the opportunity to throw the ball, he will well. He looked pretty good against A&M in 2013 running and throwing.

But the real issue is who is the #2. Who is coming off the bench to spell Driphus, just like Driphus spelled McHargue against A&M. Spring didn't clear that up.

The next question (for me) is how well will our team thrive under S&C Coach Yoxall. I hate to be a cool-aid drinker, but if Coach Yoxall does for Rice what he did at Auburn, we will dominate CUSA every year. Part of my shared concerns at DE is that we are young and growing. If we go from 6-3 / 235lb to 6-3 / 265 lbs, while maintaining speed and improving in scheme, our front four will be terrors for opposing lines.

(05-05-2014 02:19 PM)mrbig Wrote:  

(05-05-2014 11:27 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  I hope we see 14 games of AFA DJ. Not betting on it, though.

Anyone else think we have unfair expectations of DJ because of the AFA game? To my eyes, that game was much more about Jordan Taylor than either DJ or McHargue.

Yes, most definitely. The quick glance suggests DJ was great, when if you watched the game, not as much.

(05-05-2014 12:30 PM)MemOwl Wrote:  AFA DJ was as good as anyone has played the position since Chase Clement.

McHargue had a few games that were sharper than AFA DJ...

Too bad McHargue had to play so banged up the last few years. When he was healthy enough to really run the ball a lot, he made some amazing plays with his feet. But it seemed like that element of the offense was often under-utilized because of concerns that McHargue would exacerbate injuries or re-injury himself. Thinking specifically of some of McHargue's runs against Marshall in the 2012 game that Rice lost in overtime. Both Clement and McHargue had some seriously impressive scrambling ability.

I think our expectations are unfair of Jackson. He played really well in one big game, but his receivers also did an extraordinary job going up for the balls he threw that day.

The exciting thing about Jackson is that he has speed and raw athleticism, like Bert Emmanuel. He can make big plays happen with his feet. If he can get some good playing time in and can develop average passing ability, he could be an enormous weapon. If he can't throw it consistently, he'll just be average.