Boy, we have a lot of roster holes.

[CougPatrol]

I was reading through our depth chart today, and I came away more concerned than I have been in several seasons.

We have significant question marks at QB, as we’ve already discussed, but the WR position has been gutted. Patman, Arconado, Winston, Tay, Woods, Fisher. That’s a huge attrition hit. We’ve got some speed at the position, but they’re all pretty small.

Rolo is going to have his hands full this season on offense. We’re going to need a big season out of Dickert and his new defense if we hope to stay competitive, and I think we can take a step forward on that side of the ball.

 

[FnuLnu]

I was reading through our depth chart today, and I came away more concerned than I have been in several seasons.

We have significant question marks at QB, as we’ve already discussed, but the WR position has been gutted. Patman, Arconado, Winston, Tay, Woods, Fisher. That’s a huge attrition hit. We’ve got some speed at the position, but they’re all pretty small.

Rolo is going to have his hands full this season on offense. We’re going to need a big season out of Dickert and his new defense if we hope to stay competitive, and I think we can take a step forward on that side of the ball.

Last (and only) winless season was in 1898. They didn't start play until November also and Frank Shivley's team didn't score a point that season.

You have no idea the damage Robert R. Galley left behind.

 

[etowncoug]

The QB challenge was expected and I'll give Rolo a lot of slack here. The depth hit at WR has been brutal. Who knows what happened with Fisher. Kassidy Woods decided to get woke and go broke. Tay Martin decided to be closer to his family and try to speed up his trip to the NFL. Mike Pettway, who seemed like a great fit for the R&S, headed out as well.

The only upside is Rolo runs a shorter rotation than Leach who used 8 each week. Rolo uses 6 or so. Calvin, Bell, Harris, and Jackson should take most of the reps. Gray can take a few reps as well. Ollie, Pospisil, Hobert, Wilkerson, and Pellum should be able to pick up any additional load without causing a huge drop off.

Question #1 on the offense is whether or not Jamire Calvin has been able to heal up. We need him ready to go or else we might have on field performance start to suffer as a result of the lack of depth. FWIW I don't see it as a bad thing that Harris and Jackson will probably see more balls this year. Those guys are electric after the catch. I also don't think Leach would have maximized their potential production.

 

[BiggsCoug]

I think Harris is a pro. That helps. These kids all came to WSU to catch balls. Now’s their chance.

 

[79COUG]

I think for this year at least the Run and Shoot will be more run than shoot. Max will be the bell cow of course. I hope he has a tremendous year because we're going to need it out of him.

 

[COUGinNCW]

I was reading through our depth chart today, and I came away more concerned than I have been in several seasons.

We have significant question marks at QB, as we’ve already discussed, but the WR position has been gutted. Patman, Arconado, Winston, Tay, Woods, Fisher. That’s a huge attrition hit. We’ve got some speed at the position, but they’re all pretty small.

Rolo is going to have his hands full this season on offense. We’re going to need a big season out of Dickert and his new defense if we hope to stay competitive, and I think we can take a step forward on that side of the ball.

I’m more worried about the D.

 

[BleedCrimsonandGray]

I think for this year at least the Run and Shoot will be more run than shoot. Max will be the bell cow of course. I hope he has a tremendous year because we're going to need it out of him.

Not sure the sets Rolo runs, but Max could line up at an H back or split out. Rolo has to figure out ways to get him the ball.

 

[cr8zyncalif]

We have a lot of WR, but many are unproven. WR is a position where the R&S and AR differ; WR's see coverage and react. Being on the same mental page with the QB is the most important thing, by a mile, because (unlike the AR) the WR is not running a set route. The QB can't automatically assume that he knows where everyone is going, unlike the AR, though a look at the DB's will give a good clue. Advanced "film" study of the other team will also reveal DB tendencies, and that also helps. If you are concerned that we don't have 6 guys to play WR, don't be. I'm even going to suggest that lack of experience will be no stumbling block in terms of learning to communicate with the QB, which is the most important thing. I've even had thoughts that at least some of the transfers were not confident in their ability to do what a WR needs to do in the R&S, and that was part of their decision to leave. The R&S is the most radical offense for a WR...and that is only a good thing with a confident and smart WR.

I expect the first game to be a bit of a circus, because not only is it the first game in a new system, but the WR's and QB can't possibly be fully on the same page yet. Almost as important is the lack of film for the O staff to parse, looking for what to expect from the coverage. We will throw balls away due to mis-communication; hopefully most of those will not be interceptions. It will be critical to use Borghi as much as possible. On the flip side, I expect a good start from the D. This staff has a clue, and I'm pretty sure last year's D staff would not have recognized a clue if they tripped over it.

The first game will probably have 2 or 3 turnovers by our O, as well as more explosive plays by our O than we saw last year. But we will also have a D that helps us, and good special teams. And if we are smart, more running plays. All in all, I expect that first game to be close, and whether we win or not probably depends somewhat on who we play.

 

[jarvis1981]

Yes if things go the wrong way it could be a very bad season.
Just keep in mind that only the UW will still own a 0-12 season after this one.

What I want to see before the end of the year?
A QB who takes charge and becomes a leader.
Effective running attack with what seems to be a trio of decent backs.
Coaching decisions that don't cost the team games.
Improving defense via personnel changes or schemes.

It's a crap shoot this year and WSU losing depth hurts a lot more than LSU losing a bunch of players.
That said I don't see the Coug's going winless.