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Message: [QUOTE="Louie&Bouie, post: 366470, member: 310"] Here's what I see: Offense--much improved. Nassib is better than people here give him credit for. He'll never be a great runner, his touch always seems to rear it's ugly head at the most inopportune times, but man do I wish he had another year to give us. Our running game continues to be an "issue", but it is clearly going to play second-fiddle in this offense. Morris isn't ready, or he would be out there. Smith and Gulley are both proven, if unspectacular in their ability to change a game. WR's and TE's have played very well. Sales is the guy that can change a game for us. IMO, we need to take a couple more shots per game with him, preferably against heavy pressure. He does a nice job after the catch. Line play has been disappointing. Pugh's return should help immediately. I hope that it helps most run-wise. I'd give them a score of 75 out of 100 to this point, with the expectation that this number will improve. Defense--the number of new faces, combined with positional shuffling, has made this unit underperform in some areas. DL play has been fairly solid, but I have concerns about stretches of games where they look tired. Thought we would see less of that, but the loss of Raymon has certainly hurt. Bromley is a stud. And others have the potential. LB has been a disappointment. There are times when our starters look overwhelmed and overmatched. These guys have to become playmakers in this defense. And fast. DB's need to improve, particularly in one-on-one situations. It feels like we lose way more of those battles than we win. The defense as a whole has been handed the reins in some really crappy situations, and has risen to the challenge. I'm hopeful that they continue to grow as a unit. I'd give them a 60 or 65. Specials--has been ok. Krautman has me concerned but he has earned the right to work through this. K/O coverage is far better, punt coverage a disappointment, absolutely. Punt returns remain a significant point of frustration. We must have a horrible yard-per-return ratio. I understand some of it is pressure up front, but my god can we ease back on the fair catches? I'd give them a 55 on the scale. Coaching--puzzled by some of the play-calling. Situational calls need to improve. No way we don't go on 4th and 2 against USC. Penalties need to improve. This new offense is fun to watch. 70. Overall I thought we'd be 2-2 at a minimum. Breaks have not gone our way. We need to make the breaks, particularly on D. I thought we could go 7-6, with an outside shot at 8-5. Hard to see us getting past six now. 65 overall, thinking the overall number will improve. Pitt will show us a lot. [/QUOTE]

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