Too Early 2015 Big Sky Guesses

[EWU98]

what did we lose on offense that's going to set us back so far to not win a Big Sky title?

Uhh... back to back Payton runner-up quarterback. So good that a Pac-12 team actively recruited him out of our school. Quincy Forte, arguably the Big Sky's best 2015 running back and an absolute monster. Jake Rodgers, NFL hopeful offensive tackle. Shout outs to Brown, Butorac, and Mitchell as well. We lost some very good players on offense. It's very possible we take a step down this year. But it's way too early, just my humble opinion.

Couldn't agree more with this. To pick EWU to win the Big Sky with all those personnel losses is simply put, being a HUGE homer. EWU will have an uphill battle this season. I think a top 5 Big Sky finish is probable, but to say you have them winning the conference based on a GREAT WR and a nice complimentary WR or 2 is kind of a joke.

Also, not sure why we think the Defense is now going to pull their weight?? They also had some HUGE impact players graduate. Hamlin and McDonald were probably EWU's best 2 defensive players last year. So losing both of them, from an already suspect Defense doesn't bode well. Just curious why you think the D is fixed all of a sudden? What did I miss? Did we get some FBS transfers I didn't hear about?

HOMER? CHECK! TO BE THE MAN/TEAM YOU MUST BEAT THE MAN! EWU FOR A 4-PEAT

 

[LDopaPDX]

what did we lose on offense that's going to set us back so far to not win a Big Sky title?

Uhh... back to back Payton runner-up quarterback. So good that a Pac-12 team actively recruited him out of our school. Quincy Forte, arguably the Big Sky's best 2015 running back and an absolute monster. Jake Rodgers, NFL hopeful offensive tackle. Shout outs to Brown, Butorac, and Mitchell as well. We lost some very good players on offense. It's very possible we take a step down this year. But it's way too early, just my humble opinion.

Couldn't agree more with this. To pick EWU to win the Big Sky with all those personnel losses is simply put, being a HUGE homer. EWU will have an uphill battle this season. I think a top 5 Big Sky finish is probable, but to say you have them winning the conference based on a GREAT WR and a nice complimentary WR or 2 is kind of a joke.

Also, not sure why we think the Defense is now going to pull their weight?? They also had some HUGE impact players graduate. Hamlin and McDonald were probably EWU's best 2 defensive players last year. So losing both of them, from an already suspect Defense doesn't bode well. Just curious why you think the D is fixed all of a sudden? What did I miss? Did we get some FBS transfers I didn't hear about?

Who are we really losing that was elite to the point of being difficult to replace? Vernon and McDonald, and that's probably it. Butorac and Rodgers were great, but there are great guys behind them. Hamlin didn't seem at his best last year, nor did McCarthy. Zylstra should have been at DE all along.

The coaches have brought in a lot of talent, and I suspect a couple more guys will be joining between now and September.

 

[ewueagle2010]

A huge homer pick huh? Well, that's your opinion I guess and soon you'll see that you highly underestimated this coaching staff and the players on this years roster.

Was Tiawan Jones irreplaceable? How about Bo Levi Mitchell, JC Sherritt, Nicholas Edwards, Greg Herd, Brandon Kauffman, TJ Lee...? Shall I go on? Prior to Vernon, Forte, Butorac and Rodgers, EWU won Big Sky Titles and a National Title. I'm not trying to take anything away from any of those former players, and they will be missed but saying this years team is going to be a middle of the road Big Sky team is outrageous. The players on D will be improved and I think the coaching staff shifts will also play a part in the improvement of the D. Let's be honest, they can't be worse than they were at times last year.

 

[Rjones61]

Was Tiawan Jones irreplaceable? How about Bo Levi Mitchell, JC Sherritt, Nicholas Edwards, Greg Herd, Brandon Kauffman, TJ Lee...? Shall I go on? Prior to Vernon, Forte, Butorac and Rodgers, EWU won Big Sky Titles and a National Title. I'm not trying to take anything away from any of those former players, and they will be missed but saying this years team is going to be a middle of the road Big Sky team is outrageous. The players on D will be improved and I think the coaching staff shifts will also play a part in the improvement of the D. Let's be honest, they can't be worse than they were at times last year.

I'll have to respectfully disagree with this post. There are many players on this list that were irreplacable.

1. Taiwan Jones: Our run game was atrocious the season after TJ left. Even two years after he left it wasn't very good. We didn't just slip a runningback in for TJ. Forte finally came to fruition three years later, but never ever reached TJ's level. Listing Taiwan Jones is a perfect example of how we did NOT reload after a player left.

2. TJ Lee: Isn't cornerback cited as the weakest spot on the 2014 defense?

3. JC Sherritt: Our defense went in a downward spiral after JC Sherritt graduated. Hamlin has been a very good linebacker for us, but one thing our defense was missing was that side to side run coverage JC Sherritt played brilliantly. We have yet to find a solution to this 5 years later.

 

[clawman1]

One of the intangibles we lost with Sherritt, Taiwan, and lets not forget Tyler Jolly, is leadership. They kept Renard on the top of his game and elevate the entire team. So IMO they were irreplaceable in that sense.

 

[ewueagle2010]

I should have been more clear in my statement and asked if those players were so irreplaceable that the team couldn't achieve the same level of success as a team. Meaning, Big Sky Championship and deep playoff run. Jones was definitely a one in a million type talent, but one could point out that losing 4 out of 5 starting linemen in 2011 also had a lot to do with a struggling running game.

Forte was also a great player for EWU, but I'm not too worried about the running game in 2015. Barring major injury, the line should still be deep and experienced. What I think we'll see from EWU running backs is a different style than the finess, quick guys like Jones and Forte. Moore and Wilson are physical, down hill RB's, but still very talented.

At the QB position, we all know what we lost and the replacement (likely West) is talented but less mobile and less of a threat to pull the ball and run like Adams. I believe this will equate to less explosive, but still very efficient offense. BB is a magician at playing to the strengths of each players ability.

I think we can be confident that this team will be right in the mix for another Big Sky Championship this season. Who knows, maybe if nothing else, the D will benefit from a slower working offense.

 

[MTGriz]

I got

#1 Weber
#2 Northern Colorado
#3 UC Davis
#4 ND
#5 PSU

I'd put MSU @ #1 but Ash said they will pull a Houdini, produce an amazing D & leave the BigSky by such a margin it can't be measured ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Rjones61]

I got

#1 Weber
#2 Northern Colorado
#3 UC Davis
#4 ND
#5 PSU

I'd put MSU @ #1 but Ash said they will pull a Houdini, produce an amazing D & leave the BigSky by such a margin it can't be measured ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Solid

 

[kalm]

One of the intangibles we lost with Sherritt, Taiwan, and lets not forget Tyler Jolly, is leadership. They kept Renard on the top of his game and elevate the entire team. So IMO they were irreplaceable in that sense.

Nice mention of the other TJ :clap: Couldn't agree more.

I'm as excited about this year's defense as I am to see the changes on offense. We have a ton of kids on D that saw loads of action last year as freshman and rs freshman and they will be a year older, bigger, and stronger going in.

We should be able to hold our own up front and get a little more pressure on the QB. Plus the LB's won't be caught out of position as much trying to compensate. We're young but perhaps as talented and athletic as we've ever been in the secondary.