It was a new system this year also. What's your minimum expectation if 6-6 would make you thrilled next year?
Anything less than 6 in any year is a dissapointment and I would expect that next year as I did this year.
Exactly - a new system just like last year. It won't be any easier to learn this year either. As a matter of fact, it will be more difficult because both offense and defense will be new.
New terminology, new blocking schemes, new passing trees, new protections and new positions for several players. AND in order to operate properly, the offense has to go fast, very fast, which is more difficult to do when learning a new system. Mistakes will be more frequent just because of the speed requirement alone.
We also do not have the players for this system. We do not have the 4 wide receivers we need to run the system properly.
This is not an additive deal. You can't just take last year's production and add yards and points to it.
The ACC is improving as well. Wake Forest, Pitt, Virginia Tech and even Boston College will be better. South Florida, Notre Dame and UCONN are in the front end of the season when we will be weakest.
Lastly, the heaviest demands will be on the QB. Dungey was not very good at going through his progressions in Lester's system and it will be more difficult with Dino's system. He will only be a true sophomore whose learning curve will have to start over again. Sure not 100%, but substantially.
I find myself in the strange position of tempering expectations for a system I have advocated from the very beginning. However, the fact remains that we have a difficult transition year ahead of us and we probably have only a 40% chance of getting to 6-6 and a bowl. With our young defense also learning a new system, all it takes is a couple of injuries at the wrong time to spill us over to a 3-9 season.
Year two? Go crazy and I will join you, but not year one.
