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Old 05-07-2010, 10:28 AM   #1
swg
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Big East Rebuilding Offenses/Defenses

In need of repair

1. Louisville: Steve Kragthorpe took over as his own offensive coordinator last year with pretty disastrous results. The Cardinals averaged only 18.1 points per game, their lowest total in more than a decade, while finishing last in rushing offense. They were particularly brutal in the red zone, where they left a lot of points on the table.

2. Syracuse: The Orange offense did come on late in the year, scoring 31 points each against Rutgers and Connecticut. Before that, however, Syracuse had totaled 26 points in its previous three games, all losses. The mid-year dismissal/defection of receiver Mike Williams stymied the passing attack for a while, and Syracuse had the worst turnover margin in the league.

3. Rutgers: The stats say the Scarlet Knights finished fourth in the league in scoring at 28.8 points per game. In reality, they benefited by pouring on the points against the weaker opponents on the schedule (and there were a lot of those). Rutgers also had a lot of scores either produced or set up by its defense and special teams. But the offense lacked a powerful running game or a lot of big threats in the passing game outside of Tim Brown.

Fastest road to recovery

1. Rutgers: This is a team that has a lot of pieces to be a good offense, starting with quarterback Tom Savage and receiver Mohamed Sanu. The wideouts as a group have greatly improved this spring, and with either an improved Joe Martinek, De'Antwan Williams or some incoming freshmen this summer, coach Greg Schiano hopes the running game will become more explosive. It will all rest, however, on how well a rebuilt offensive line comes together.

2. Syracuse: Head coach Doug Marrone has take over the reins of the offense after letting Rob Spence go. Marrone was the offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints before getting the Syracuse job, and there were whispers that he had a bigger hand than usual in the Orange's last two games last season, when they broke out some new tricks to get back on track. Syracuse has strong running backs and some emerging receivers. The Orange need quarterback Ryan Nassib or Charley Loeb to become a real leader.

3. Louisville: The Cardinals' offenses looked pretty good at times this spring, but it was also going up against a patchwork defense. New offensive coordinator Mike Sanford is installing a Florida-esque spread attack, and while Louisville has good tailbacks, the receiving position is full of mostly unproven guys outside of Doug Beaumont. Adam Froman and Justin Burke are still battling to win the starting quarterback job, but neither of them has shown to this point that they are at the elite level. The Cardinals should improve on that 18.1 points per game average, but the question is how much.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast
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Old 05-10-2010, 02:20 PM   #2
swg
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Now for the defensive side..

In need of repair

1. Syracuse: Though the Orange definitely made strides defensively under first-year coordinator Scott Shafer in '09, they still finished last in the league in points allowed with 27.9 per game. That includes giving up 56 points to Connecticut, 37 to Pitt and 34 each to West Virginia and South Florida.

2. Louisville: The Cardinals were solid at times defensively, but the final numbers left something to be desired: 26.2 points allowed per game, second-to-last in the Big East in total defense and last in rushing defense. They also seemed overmatched against some of the most explosive offenses on their schedule.

3. Cincinnati: The Bearcats had one of the nation's top statistical defenses for the first half of the year, but we all know how things went downhill as the season progressed. Cincinnati ended up last in the conference in total defense (374 yards allowed per game) while surrendering an average of 39.4 points over its final five games.

Fastest road to recovery

1. Syracuse: I think the Orange have a shot at being a pretty good defense this year, if the rest of the league hasn't figured out Shafer's schemes already. Syracuse should have a standout linebacking corps led by Derrell Smith and Doug Hogue, plus solid experience and talent in the secondary. If the defensive line holds up its end of the bargain, the defense should come around in 2010.

2. Cincinnati: There are questions again about the defense in Cincinnati, even as the Bearcats switch from Brian Kelly to Butch Jones and back to the 4-3, which may suit the personnel better this year. The defense boasts some frontline players like Derek Wolfe, JK Schaffer and Walter Stewart. Depth remains a concern, however.

3. Louisville: New head coach Charlie Strong is a defensive guy who will do everything he can to get the Cardinals toughened up to stop people. In time, he will build a fearsome defense in Louisville, just as he did in Gainesville and other places he worked. Right now, though, the talent is down, especially up front and in the secondary. The full recovery may take a while.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigeast
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