The Positives--
-Dez proved that he can play the QB position effectively and provide veteran leadership in that role.
-The 3 headed running game of Des, Fenroy, and Wallace is unstopable when it clicked in the first game.
-Oline for being young looked good, and created good holes for the RB's to work with
-Defensive Backfield (our achilles heal on defense last year) Had flashes last night with an interception (we almost forgot what those were like last year) and a few batted balls and one that should have been an INT. Overall, appears to be the MOST improved part of the team.
The Negatives -
-The ability to throw the ball down the field is what will ultimately take this team to the next level. The intermediate pass routes are nice, but we need to be able to go downfield as we did on the play to Derrick Smith down to the 2 yard line (on 3rd an 25 I think it was).
-The defensive backs played well, but can only do so much if the Dline and LB's dont get more pressure in the QB's face. I look for a better pass rush next weekend.
-3rd down and long Defense, I saw it again last night, Just like we did last year. We CANNOT allow this many 3rd and long conversions. After such plays, the players look deflated almost every time a strong drive will ensue.
The Inbetweens -
-The WR's showed flashes of improvement, but didn't legitimately have a shot to show true improvement as all pass plays were for very short gains. The positive was when they were thrown to them, they caught. The unknown comes from being able to say for sure if they have the ability to be a home run threat.
The Tuffguy random thought goes to.
"Where the heck did USC find a kid that can kick 1000 yard, every single kickoff was 5 yards deep even after they moved the ball back!"
Tuffguy