I'm not quite sure I'd say we'll be "improved" over last year's squad, but rather we may be just as good by the end of the season as we were at the end of last season.
To me, the key is avoiding the "slow start" we had last season. Now, you'd think that since our two losses last season were caused by the offense taking time getting back into sync because of Smith coming in late, we would be better since we'll have him from day one...which should be the case. Still, to avoid any stumbling, the defense will have to come out with guns blazing, young or not. Here's how I see our defense:
DL: I think we shift Patterson down to tackle along side Pitcock, and have Wilson and Richardson at the ends. I'd like to think that P&P would be just as good in the middle as Pitcock and Green were last year. I think Wilson will be nearly as good at the start of the season as Kudla was at the end of this past season. Richardson was rotating in for Patterson at the end of last season, so I think he'll be as good as the start of this season. Thus, I think the DL can be at 90-95% of our Michigan and Fiesta Bowl game DL right at the start of the season. We'll definitely need that in Austin.
LB: While Laurinaitis won't give us the flexibility that Carp did (both LB and rush DE), he'll be close to what Carp was as a LB...he played well in The Game and the Fiesta Bowl, so not really that much of a dropoff. D'Andrea may take a game or two to get spun up, but if he remains healthy he could even be an improvement over Schlegel (keep in mind D'Andrea was the starter over Schlegel in 2004 before getting hurt). Lastly, while Freeman can't possibly replace Hawk, he won't be that much of a dropoff...he's so good that the staff was trying to get him on the field any way they could before he got hurt. Our LB corps may take a few games to get warmed up, but by the end of the season we'll again have the best LB corps in the conference.
CB: Jenkins will be a significant improvement over the hip-pointer Youboty and about 98% as good as the pre-hip pointer Youboty. Amos will be an improvement over Everett. I'm thinking by the end of the season they could be the best CB duo in the conference.
S: Here's the biggest mystery on the defense. Mitchell should be a starter, but who will be his deep running mate? O'Neal? Patterson? Welch? To me, this is the area that could end up biting us in the ass the most on defense. If our safeties turn out fine, then this defense will flat out rock...if they don't, then we'll have some problems.
We don't even have to cover much about the offense. We do lose two big-time starters in Mangold and Holmes and another good starter in Sims, but I think we'll manage fine there. I also think that whoever steps in for Hamby at TE will be an upgrade (Frost and B. Smith played quite well). Our WR corps will be excellent, with Ginn and Gonzo along with whomever is our #3 (Hall, Dukes, Lyons, Robiskie, Hartline, etc.). And nothing needs to be said about a backfield of Smith, Pittman, C Wells, M Wells, and Haw.
No matter what record we finish with in 2006, it's going to be one hell of an exciting season. I'm drunk and tired, so I don't know how this is going to read...I guess I'll find out in the morning.
