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SEC Improved or Regress from 2016
Posted on 1/11/17 at 6:51 am
Posted on 1/11/17 at 6:51 am
How do you all see the league next year, will most teams improve or will the regress. Seems to me like most teams have a good shot at improving.
(this is not a predicted order of finish)
West
Alabama - Flat - Offense should be better but defense may just slightly regress
LSU - Improve - Ed O/Aranda/Canada have a good shot of leading this team to a 10 or 11 win regular season.
Auburn - Improve - With the transfer of Stidham they could have a big year.
A&M - Flat - They lose a lot, but there is still plenty of talent to get 8 wins.
Arkansas - Flat - Just don't see how they rise up in the West much past 4th in the division.
Ole Miss - Improve - Nowhere to go but up and Patterson looks legit.
Miss St - Improve - Offense should shine even brighter.
I think the SEC West will be back to the best division in FB next year, hard to find a "bad" team in the bunch.
East
Georgia - Improve - Young team, Eason should be much better, top recruits coming in. I don't see Georgia putting together any type of championship run next year but I think a 9-10 win regular season is likely. 2018 should be a title run year.
Tennessee - Improve - There is no way the defense can sustain the type of injuries they did this year. 2nd year of Shoop bringing in his assistants will improve there significantly and all the young guys who played due to injury will benefit in 2017. Guarantano at QB will be the real deal and having the entire OL back basically will be a boon for the O. I see 9 regular season wins in 2017.
Florida - Flat - I see the offense finally coming around next year but still not sure who the QB will be. But the run game looked great in the bowl and AC is going to have a ALL-SEC year. The D will regress some IMO which is why I see another 9 win season.
South Carolina - Improve - This team may make the biggest jump of all. I think Muschamps coaching and recruiting really start to show on D in 2017. I also think Bentley is a special player and he will correct a lot of the lingering offensive issues. They will surprise and win 8 games.
Missouri - Improve - They obviously can't do much worse and Lock is a special talent. I seem to keep talking about QB's, looking forward to seeing some great QB play in the SEC in 2017. Missouri goes bowling.
Vandy - Flat - I think Vandy follows up a great year by matching it and getting back to a bowl in 2017.
Kentucky - Regress - Probably the one team I see regressing a bit. I think they barely miss a bowl and may be the ONLY SEC team not bowling in 2017.
Thoughts?
Sorry for the novel, just excited to see the league have a better year next year!
(this is not a predicted order of finish)
West
Alabama - Flat - Offense should be better but defense may just slightly regress
LSU - Improve - Ed O/Aranda/Canada have a good shot of leading this team to a 10 or 11 win regular season.
Auburn - Improve - With the transfer of Stidham they could have a big year.
A&M - Flat - They lose a lot, but there is still plenty of talent to get 8 wins.
Arkansas - Flat - Just don't see how they rise up in the West much past 4th in the division.
Ole Miss - Improve - Nowhere to go but up and Patterson looks legit.
Miss St - Improve - Offense should shine even brighter.
I think the SEC West will be back to the best division in FB next year, hard to find a "bad" team in the bunch.
East
Georgia - Improve - Young team, Eason should be much better, top recruits coming in. I don't see Georgia putting together any type of championship run next year but I think a 9-10 win regular season is likely. 2018 should be a title run year.
Tennessee - Improve - There is no way the defense can sustain the type of injuries they did this year. 2nd year of Shoop bringing in his assistants will improve there significantly and all the young guys who played due to injury will benefit in 2017. Guarantano at QB will be the real deal and having the entire OL back basically will be a boon for the O. I see 9 regular season wins in 2017.
Florida - Flat - I see the offense finally coming around next year but still not sure who the QB will be. But the run game looked great in the bowl and AC is going to have a ALL-SEC year. The D will regress some IMO which is why I see another 9 win season.
South Carolina - Improve - This team may make the biggest jump of all. I think Muschamps coaching and recruiting really start to show on D in 2017. I also think Bentley is a special player and he will correct a lot of the lingering offensive issues. They will surprise and win 8 games.
Missouri - Improve - They obviously can't do much worse and Lock is a special talent. I seem to keep talking about QB's, looking forward to seeing some great QB play in the SEC in 2017. Missouri goes bowling.
Vandy - Flat - I think Vandy follows up a great year by matching it and getting back to a bowl in 2017.
Kentucky - Regress - Probably the one team I see regressing a bit. I think they barely miss a bowl and may be the ONLY SEC team not bowling in 2017.
Thoughts?
Sorry for the novel, just excited to see the league have a better year next year!
Posted on 1/11/17 at 6:57 am to Ericvol2096
quote:
Ole Miss - Improve - Nowhere to go but up and Patterson looks legit
there is a where to go "Death penalty"
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:02 am to wrecking crew
Yea, my list isn't really factoring that in. More about on field likely performance.
I think even if they get hammered with sanctions and can't go bowling in 2017, they still are a better team on the field in 2017. JMO.
I think even if they get hammered with sanctions and can't go bowling in 2017, they still are a better team on the field in 2017. JMO.
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:13 am to Ericvol2096
quote:
they still are a better team on the field in 2017
True dat....lol
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:14 am to Ericvol2096
quote:
I think the SEC West will be back to the best division in FB next year, hard to find a "bad" team in the bunch.
No worries. Arkansas.
A&M - built again for a top 10 ranking and an October meltdown.
UT will probably take a slight step back but really without big expectations could do better and actually win the East.
Agree mostly with your points though.
This post was edited on 1/11/17 at 7:15 am
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:20 am to Ericvol2096
You think Vols improve despite losing all the production from their offense? Without Dobbs and Kamara they do nothing. Kamara was the #1 weapon on that team. By himself he made every 3rd down manageable.
I know Vol fans think their defense should have been better due to injuries, but even when healthy that defense always under-performed. Shoop is middle of the road as a DC. Vol defensive stats were better before he got there and Penn St played better after he left.
It would be one thing if Vols were replacing a bad QB, but I doubt the first year guy will be better than Dobbs in his first season as a starter. Vols will take a step back in 2017 but 2018 could be a big step forward (maybe). Can't forget that Butch Jones lost that team at the end of the season. I don't think he got them back either - I think the leaders like Barnett and Dobbs et al., decided not to go out losers.
Vols thought they were going to beat Bama, the Patriots, and the NFL Pro Bowl team this year. If you think next year is supposed to be an improvement then heaven help us all in the off season.
I know Vol fans think their defense should have been better due to injuries, but even when healthy that defense always under-performed. Shoop is middle of the road as a DC. Vol defensive stats were better before he got there and Penn St played better after he left.
It would be one thing if Vols were replacing a bad QB, but I doubt the first year guy will be better than Dobbs in his first season as a starter. Vols will take a step back in 2017 but 2018 could be a big step forward (maybe). Can't forget that Butch Jones lost that team at the end of the season. I don't think he got them back either - I think the leaders like Barnett and Dobbs et al., decided not to go out losers.
Vols thought they were going to beat Bama, the Patriots, and the NFL Pro Bowl team this year. If you think next year is supposed to be an improvement then heaven help us all in the off season.
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:21 am to ColoBama
East will actually be good football next year IMO for the first time in a while. It won't be on the level with the West but with SC, Missouri and Georgia improving significantly, TN and Florida being about the same and Vandy and Kentucky not showing signs of regressing it could be much better.
Not sure who to predict to win it as schedule plays so much into it and UF has a nice advantage there.
Tennessee
@Florida
UGA
SC
@Bama
@UK
LSU
@Mizzou
Vandy
Florida
Tennessee
@UK
Vandy
LSU
A&M
UGA*
@Mizzou
@SC
Georgia
Miss St
@Tennessee
@Vandy
Missouri
UF*
SC
@Auburn
Kentucky
TN seems to have a big disadvantage in West schedule next year.
Not sure who to predict to win it as schedule plays so much into it and UF has a nice advantage there.
Tennessee
@Florida
UGA
SC
@Bama
@UK
LSU
@Mizzou
Vandy
Florida
Tennessee
@UK
Vandy
LSU
A&M
UGA*
@Mizzou
@SC
Georgia
Miss St
@Tennessee
@Vandy
Missouri
UF*
SC
@Auburn
Kentucky
TN seems to have a big disadvantage in West schedule next year.
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:26 am to Ericvol2096
quote:
Tennessee - Improve
Do Tennessee fans really believe this?? Losing everyone y'all do, and you think you will improve?? I mean, it could happen, but I just don't see where.
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:26 am to UF
TN returns all of their offense beside Dobbs, Kamara and Malone. So 8 of 11 starters. I would also argue that Kelly is the best pure RB for this offense that we had all year. Throw in Ty Chandler who looks like another perfect fit for the offense and the running game looks great. Especially returning 9 of our top 10 OL, adding Trey Smith to that rotation, ect.
Dobbs will be tough to replace in ways, but he will be easily replaced in ways. He obviously could make something out of nothing at times, but he also turned something into nothing a lot with horrible inconsistent throwing. It will be a give and take, but I think certain parts of the QB position could be better.
WR returns our entire line up which was very young besides Malone, who did take the top off defenses so we will have to replace that. But we have tons of talent at WR.
TN lost its "big names" but will have its most experienced roster under Butch and has boatloads of talent left over. The idea TN missed their only chance this season was always a misnomer and I have been preaching that since the summer.
Dobbs will be tough to replace in ways, but he will be easily replaced in ways. He obviously could make something out of nothing at times, but he also turned something into nothing a lot with horrible inconsistent throwing. It will be a give and take, but I think certain parts of the QB position could be better.
WR returns our entire line up which was very young besides Malone, who did take the top off defenses so we will have to replace that. But we have tons of talent at WR.
TN lost its "big names" but will have its most experienced roster under Butch and has boatloads of talent left over. The idea TN missed their only chance this season was always a misnomer and I have been preaching that since the summer.
This post was edited on 1/11/17 at 7:29 am
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:27 am to Ericvol2096
Auburn flat at best. All D playmakers gone.
UT will be down. They would have to over perform to simply match this years disappointing season.
Florida will be down. No O. Losing a ton of D.
Agree with the rest.
UT will be down. They would have to over perform to simply match this years disappointing season.
Florida will be down. No O. Losing a ton of D.
Agree with the rest.
This post was edited on 1/11/17 at 7:30 am
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:34 am to WorkinDawg
People have been saying UF will be down now for 2 straight years and they won 9-10 games and won the east both years.
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:36 am to WorkinDawg
Not sure I agree with your post.
TN went 8-4.
TN @ Florida would probably be a pick em.
UGA @ TN would be probably a pick em.
TN will be significant dogs @ Bama
Tn will be a slight underdog vs LSU.
TN will be a favorite in every other game.
I say just putting it all on the table 9-3 is about what our roster and schedule would project. So how does that mean we will have to "overperform" to just match 8-4?
TN went 8-4.
TN @ Florida would probably be a pick em.
UGA @ TN would be probably a pick em.
TN will be significant dogs @ Bama
Tn will be a slight underdog vs LSU.
TN will be a favorite in every other game.
I say just putting it all on the table 9-3 is about what our roster and schedule would project. So how does that mean we will have to "overperform" to just match 8-4?
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:37 am to slayerxing
I certainly thought FL would have a 8-4 type win season this year and I was pretty close but they continue to find ways to win under Mac.
So you have to think that is more then just blind luck and start giving them respect.
You also factor in the favorable schedule next year and I def see Florida being right in the mix with a 9ish win type season when everyone will be predicting a big drop off again.
So you have to think that is more then just blind luck and start giving them respect.
You also factor in the favorable schedule next year and I def see Florida being right in the mix with a 9ish win type season when everyone will be predicting a big drop off again.
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:40 am to Ericvol2096
quote:
A&M - Flat - They lose a lot, but there is still plenty of talent to get 8 wins.
That entire sentence is contradictory. Kevin Sumlin is still the head coach
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:42 am to Ericvol2096
quote:
TN will be a favorite in every other game.
I say just putting it all on the table 9-3 is about what our roster and schedule would project. So how does that mean we will have to "overperform" to just match 8-4?
They were huge favorites against USC and Vandy. I think it's safe to assume that Butch will find a way to lose one or two like that every year.
I wouldn't mind another 6-6 from Vandy but I honestly think there is a 7-5 season coming in 2017 with how much they have coming back.
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:43 am to UF
quote:
I know Vol fans think their defense should have been better due to injuries, but even when healthy that defense always under-performed. Shoop is middle of the road as a DC. Vol defensive stats were better before he got there and Penn St played better after he left.
Holy uninformed overreaction
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:45 am to WorkinDawg
quote:
Auburn flat at best. All D playmakers gone.
AU proved in 2010 and 2013 that with a good/great QB that they don't need a great D to excel. Not saying it is going to happen, but without Monty or Carl Lawson, AU can win more games than this past year.
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:46 am to Ericvol2096
Georgia and Florida have far easier SEC schedules than Tennessee. UT isn't winning the SEC east with that schedule, IMO. Missouri actually has a very easy schedule as well, with UT and Florida going to Missouri. I would not be surprised if they are much improved and challenge for the east with that schedule assuming their defense actually improves.
Tennessee is losing 3 of their top 4 rushers, 3 of their top 4 receivers, including the top guy at both positions, their top 3 sack guys, 3 of their top 4 TFL leader, and their 3 year starter at QB who had 39 total TDs last year and is really the only reason they won 9 games instead of 6.
Their defense should improve, especially in the secondary based on the experience coming back, but I don't see them actually improving overall, simply because it looks to me that Jones has lost the confidence of his players. Time will tell I guess.
Georgia is the team I see improving the most. They return their QB who had a decent season as a true freshmen, they return the two best RB in the conference who rushed for 2000 yards combined last year, and they return just about everyone that means something on defense. The only weakness I really see is at WR. If Smart is a decent coach they probably win the division next year.
Tennessee is losing 3 of their top 4 rushers, 3 of their top 4 receivers, including the top guy at both positions, their top 3 sack guys, 3 of their top 4 TFL leader, and their 3 year starter at QB who had 39 total TDs last year and is really the only reason they won 9 games instead of 6.
Their defense should improve, especially in the secondary based on the experience coming back, but I don't see them actually improving overall, simply because it looks to me that Jones has lost the confidence of his players. Time will tell I guess.
Georgia is the team I see improving the most. They return their QB who had a decent season as a true freshmen, they return the two best RB in the conference who rushed for 2000 yards combined last year, and they return just about everyone that means something on defense. The only weakness I really see is at WR. If Smart is a decent coach they probably win the division next year.
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:50 am to Ericvol2096
Florida's schedule does work in their favor as well. Once again, UT is screwed in that area. Georgia's may be even easier than Florida.
Posted on 1/11/17 at 7:52 am to Ericvol2096
I think all teams except Carolina stay the same and Alabama gets better in the west
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