The rest of the conference preview is available at: http://bozeman-www2.bozemandailychronicle.com/bobcat-blog/?p=3566#more-3566
Not sure if I agree with his opinion of our offensive line, but it's hard to argue with the rest.
3. Eastern Washington (my pick) / Montana State (conference’s pick)
Offensive MCP: Taiwan Jones - He’s impossible to tackle and may be the best offensive player in the FCS
Defensive MCP: J.C. Sherritt - He’s a tackling machine and may be the best defensive player in the FCS
Last year I made a big stink about how overrated Eastern Washington was coming into the year. So of course, the Eagles went out and finished second in the conference and almost won a playoff game. No, crow doesn’t taste like chicken. But as the owners of one of the toughest schedule in the conference and large question marks at some key positions, I will once again say that Eastern Washington comes into a season with too many unknowns to get my vote at No. 2, even with two of the most talented players in the country on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
Why they’ll win
1. Talent on offense: Say what you want about losing an All-American quarterback and replacing him with a guy that has just five months in the system, but the Eagles landed on their feet with SMU transfer Bo Levi-Mitchell. This kid could very well be the next Matt Nichols. And say what you will about losing your top three receiving threats, the Eagles are pretty well-positioned with Nicolas Edwards and Brandon Kaufman, both of whom caught over 20 passes last year, along with redshirt freshman Greg Herd. Those three could make the Big Sky sweat for the next three years. We won’t even get into Jones.
2. Talent on defense: As I said earlier, the Eagles might be the best defensive team in the conference. They have seven starters returning, including an all-conference player (in some cases two) at every level of their defense. Having beaten out Buck Buchanan candidate Christian Clark for a spot on the preseason all-conference team, it’s easy to understand why people believe nose tackle Renard Williams is a beast. Getting 2008 first team all-conference linebacker Zach Johnson back from an injury that kept him out the entire 2009 season might make the EWU linebacking corps, which includes Buchanan favorite J.C. Sherritt and returner Paul Ena, one of the best in the FCS. And in the secondary looms one of the best ball-hawking safeties in the conference in Matt Johnson, who had six picks a season ago.
Why they’ll lose
1. Death march: In this writer’s humble opinion, no one in this conference has an tougher schedule than the Eagles. They play the conference’s top six teams in succession to begin their conference schedule with no bye weeks in between. Get a load of EWU’s first four games: vs. Montana, at Montana State, at Weber State, vs. Northern Arizona. Coming off a four game swing like that makes the next contest - a long trek to Northern Colorado - almost seem like a trap game. We’ll know very early on what kind of team the Eagles are. But in reality, they may be luckily to make it out of those first four games at .500. And that’s not a great way to set the tone for the season.
2. Glaring holes: As talented as EWU is, I think there are some very important roster questions they are still trying to answer. First and foremost is the offensive line. Jones often times passed the century mark a year ago despite the group that returns three starters this year. But it’s not Jones who the offensive line will affect the most, it’s Levi-Mitchell. The transfer is less mobile than Nichols so will likely need better play out of a group that may not be ready to give it. Furthermore, and once again unlike Nichols, Levi-Mitchell won’t have a safety blanket at tight end with the graduation of Nathan Overbay. Outsiders don’t understand how huge Overbay was as a check down receiver, in the red zone and even as a blocker. His replacement, Matt Martin, has been a backup for three years.
The other key hole is on the defensive side at corner. EWU struggled to find the right mix there for the majority of the 2009 and were the worst pass defense in the conference because of it. Senior Dante Calcote and sophomore Domonic Sheppard both got spot starts last season and will likely man the two spots in 2010 but both are shaky at best. And in a passing conference, that’s a big problem waiting to happen.
Not sure if I agree with his opinion of our offensive line, but it's hard to argue with the rest.
3. Eastern Washington (my pick) / Montana State (conference’s pick)
Offensive MCP: Taiwan Jones - He’s impossible to tackle and may be the best offensive player in the FCS
Defensive MCP: J.C. Sherritt - He’s a tackling machine and may be the best defensive player in the FCS
Last year I made a big stink about how overrated Eastern Washington was coming into the year. So of course, the Eagles went out and finished second in the conference and almost won a playoff game. No, crow doesn’t taste like chicken. But as the owners of one of the toughest schedule in the conference and large question marks at some key positions, I will once again say that Eastern Washington comes into a season with too many unknowns to get my vote at No. 2, even with two of the most talented players in the country on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
Why they’ll win
1. Talent on offense: Say what you want about losing an All-American quarterback and replacing him with a guy that has just five months in the system, but the Eagles landed on their feet with SMU transfer Bo Levi-Mitchell. This kid could very well be the next Matt Nichols. And say what you will about losing your top three receiving threats, the Eagles are pretty well-positioned with Nicolas Edwards and Brandon Kaufman, both of whom caught over 20 passes last year, along with redshirt freshman Greg Herd. Those three could make the Big Sky sweat for the next three years. We won’t even get into Jones.
2. Talent on defense: As I said earlier, the Eagles might be the best defensive team in the conference. They have seven starters returning, including an all-conference player (in some cases two) at every level of their defense. Having beaten out Buck Buchanan candidate Christian Clark for a spot on the preseason all-conference team, it’s easy to understand why people believe nose tackle Renard Williams is a beast. Getting 2008 first team all-conference linebacker Zach Johnson back from an injury that kept him out the entire 2009 season might make the EWU linebacking corps, which includes Buchanan favorite J.C. Sherritt and returner Paul Ena, one of the best in the FCS. And in the secondary looms one of the best ball-hawking safeties in the conference in Matt Johnson, who had six picks a season ago.
Why they’ll lose
1. Death march: In this writer’s humble opinion, no one in this conference has an tougher schedule than the Eagles. They play the conference’s top six teams in succession to begin their conference schedule with no bye weeks in between. Get a load of EWU’s first four games: vs. Montana, at Montana State, at Weber State, vs. Northern Arizona. Coming off a four game swing like that makes the next contest - a long trek to Northern Colorado - almost seem like a trap game. We’ll know very early on what kind of team the Eagles are. But in reality, they may be luckily to make it out of those first four games at .500. And that’s not a great way to set the tone for the season.
2. Glaring holes: As talented as EWU is, I think there are some very important roster questions they are still trying to answer. First and foremost is the offensive line. Jones often times passed the century mark a year ago despite the group that returns three starters this year. But it’s not Jones who the offensive line will affect the most, it’s Levi-Mitchell. The transfer is less mobile than Nichols so will likely need better play out of a group that may not be ready to give it. Furthermore, and once again unlike Nichols, Levi-Mitchell won’t have a safety blanket at tight end with the graduation of Nathan Overbay. Outsiders don’t understand how huge Overbay was as a check down receiver, in the red zone and even as a blocker. His replacement, Matt Martin, has been a backup for three years.
The other key hole is on the defensive side at corner. EWU struggled to find the right mix there for the majority of the 2009 and were the worst pass defense in the conference because of it. Senior Dante Calcote and sophomore Domonic Sheppard both got spot starts last season and will likely man the two spots in 2010 but both are shaky at best. And in a passing conference, that’s a big problem waiting to happen.
