• Have something to say? Register Now! and be posting in minutes!

2019 Season Review

Mac_Bridger

Well-Known Member
1,367
291
83
Joined
Aug 29, 2013
Location
Morgantown, WV
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
Now that 2019 is over, and Neal Brown has a season under his belt, what are your thoughts? Did this season meet your expectations? What are our strengths and weaknesses headed into next year?

For me, I wasn't sure what to expect. With Dana, and everyone returning, this was a 6 win team at best. Dana left, as did many players who would have filled starting roles. Expectations were no longer existent. I then had only "hopes" for wins. 5 wins pretty much exceeded those hopes. I was happy to see most players progress and improve throughout the year. Despite the obvious struggles on the O-line, the unit did improve. I'm not saying they were good, or anywhere near where they need to be. I'm just saying that the unit was better in game 12 than in game 1.

So what about next year?

We lose three starters from our defense. Washington, Bailey and Donahue are all graduating. Everyone else is back on a pretty good defensive unit. Dante Stills should step in nicely for Donahue. The secondary is harder to judge, but with how well they were coached and played this year, I think we're going to be ok there.

On Offense we lose two starters in Wickline and McKivitz. These two are huge losses. This line is undoubted our biggest questionmark and/or weakness heading into next year. We have plenty of young talent everywhere else. If we can get something of a line pieced together, this should be a very good unit.

This was a very young team guys. With everyone who's coming back, I can't see anything less than 8 wins next year. If Neal is the real deal, 10 wins is not out of the question. I think it's all going to hinge on what kind of offensive line he can cobble together in the off season.

So what do you guys think?
 

Slaton10

Well-Known Member
2,649
1,255
173
Joined
Sep 18, 2013
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
Now that 2019 is over, and Neal Brown has a season under his belt, what are your thoughts? Did this season meet your expectations? What are our strengths and weaknesses headed into next year?

For me, I wasn't sure what to expect. With Dana, and everyone returning, this was a 6 win team at best. Dana left, as did many players who would have filled starting roles. Expectations were no longer existent. I then had only "hopes" for wins. 5 wins pretty much exceeded those hopes. I was happy to see most players progress and improve throughout the year. Despite the obvious struggles on the O-line, the unit did improve. I'm not saying they were good, or anywhere near where they need to be. I'm just saying that the unit was better in game 12 than in game 1.

So what about next year?

We lose three starters from our defense. Washington, Bailey and Donahue are all graduating. Everyone else is back on a pretty good defensive unit. Dante Stills should step in nicely for Donahue. The secondary is harder to judge, but with how well they were coached and played this year, I think we're going to be ok there.

On Offense we lose two starters in Wickline and McKivitz. These two are huge losses. This line is undoubted our biggest questionmark and/or weakness heading into next year. We have plenty of young talent everywhere else. If we can get something of a line pieced together, this should be a very good unit.

This was a very young team guys. With everyone who's coming back, I can't see anything less than 8 wins next year. If Neal is the real deal, 10 wins is not out of the question. I think it's all going to hinge on what kind of offensive line he can cobble together in the off season.

So what do you guys think?

I think 8 wins is overly optimistic at least at this juncture, we still do not know how many more kids will decide to enter the transfer portal, how the recruiting class ends up shaping up or how many kids HCNB gets from the JUCO route.

This team IMHO is still incredibly thin in several key areas including skilled positions..just like you believe Wv will be better next year, so will the entire Big12 conference with the exception of possibly OU ...they lose a lot. I believe this program needs two more years to turn it into what HCNB is looking for.


For the year candidly what I witnessed at the Spring Game which was a total disaster especially on offense really didn't see much improvement as the year went on...some bright spots like #13 but overall...Meh...and finishing 118 in total offense and #113 in scoring supports my view....HEY DAD ...DANA no matter what would have NEVER finished this abysmal with this team...

The Special Teams...not really so special this year....seems that no matter who Coaches these units it never gets any better...


The Defense was the highlight....I loved how they improved and evolved each week...VK did exactly what you would hope...get the best talent on the field, coach up the #2's and re-mold or re-shape the schemes every week...literally going from a 3-2 defense to a 4-3 by years end....AWESOME STUFF...

BBW asked me what is Wv going forward...IMHO I think they are going to look like TCU a few years back...WV becomes a DEFENSE first identity....
 

WVUDAD

Well-Known Member
3,692
560
113
Joined
May 26, 2013
Location
Ohio
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
I think 8 wins is overly optimistic at least at this juncture, we still do not know how many more kids will decide to enter the transfer portal, how the recruiting class ends up shaping up or how many kids HCNB gets from the JUCO route.

This team IMHO is still incredibly thin in several key areas including skilled positions..just like you believe Wv will be better next year, so will the entire Big12 conference with the exception of possibly OU ...they lose a lot. I believe this program needs two more years to turn it into what HCNB is looking for.


For the year candidly what I witnessed at the Spring Game which was a total disaster especially on offense really didn't see much improvement as the year went on...some bright spots like #13 but overall...Meh...and finishing 118 in total offense and #113 in scoring supports my view....HEY DAD ...DANA no matter what would have NEVER finished this abysmal with this team...

The Special Teams...not really so special this year....seems that no matter who Coaches these units it never gets any better...


The Defense was the highlight....I loved how they improved and evolved each week...VK did exactly what you would hope...get the best talent on the field, coach up the #2's and re-mold or re-shape the schemes every week...literally going from a 3-2 defense to a 4-3 by years end....AWESOME STUFF...

BBW asked me what is Wv going forward...IMHO I think they are going to look like TCU a few years back...WV becomes a DEFENSE first identity....
I agree that last year's coach would have had a better offense, I think the overall result would have been similar or worse, as the defense likely wouldn't have been as good down the stretch. Also every year, the now Houston coach had a drop off in effort and results the last several games.
 

Anotherwvufan

Well-Known Member
1,601
639
113
Joined
May 5, 2013
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
Our offense was hard to watch this year. Defense was most likely better than we have had since before HCDH. Maybe Neil can hire him after he gets canned at Houston next year.
If Dana were still here and in charge, I have no doubt that we would have had an offense. What we really needed this year was a couple of JC transfers for the OL. We were very bad at compensating for the OL issues this year. Against NC State, we did a very good job of attacking the outside and ran the jet sweep with James with success. I don't understand why we did not stick with that the whole season. Against Texas we passed on most every down early and it kept us inteh game. For some reason we went away from our successful plays and tried too much to run up the middle. I would about puke every time we ran up the middle on third and long. I was not impressed with how the coaches adjusted to our weaknesses through the year on offense.
Defense, was quite the opposite. I have no doubt that Gibby would have let more points on the board. Vic did a great ob of adjusting to what we had. As we ran out of Lbs, he changed the defense to use more Safeties and Lineman. The progression of the Freshman in the secondary was great to watch. When Norwood was lost, seemed like the secondary did not miss a beat.

For next year, hard to tell. If we keep Darious, I think our D will be stiff once again. Watch the OL recruiting closely as this will really define whether we can produce on offense. Even though this looks much like Stew's offense, if we can run, we will be successful.

The transfer portal changes everything. Dana made a living on getting transfers to come her and play for 1-2 years. The field has grown with the portal and coaches who can take advantage of this have the opportunity to immediately upgrade talent. If we continue with this group and new recruits, I do not expect significant improvement next year. Come Spring, I expect this team to look much different. We currently have 15 recruits with space for more. This leaves HCNB with some space to upgrade with transfer talent. We could see a major turnaround and become CC with a few Bama/Clemson/OU transfers. Rebuilding a team now can take only months instead of years. We will see if HCNB takes the fast route with transfers or the slow route by building from the bottom with Freshman recruits.
My prognosis for next year depends on how HCNB decides to build. If he goes the Freshman route, I expect at least another year before we become respectable.

Without any great transfer portal additions, we will be lucky if we can win 7 next year. With the right additions, the sky is the limit.
 

Slaton10

Well-Known Member
2,649
1,255
173
Joined
Sep 18, 2013
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
Our offense was hard to watch this year. Defense was most likely better than we have had since before HCDH. Maybe Neil can hire him after he gets canned at Houston next year.
If Dana were still here and in charge, I have no doubt that we would have had an offense. What we really needed this year was a couple of JC transfers for the OL. We were very bad at compensating for the OL issues this year. Against NC State, we did a very good job of attacking the outside and ran the jet sweep with James with success. I don't understand why we did not stick with that the whole season. Against Texas we passed on most every down early and it kept us inteh game. For some reason we went away from our successful plays and tried too much to run up the middle. I would about puke every time we ran up the middle on third and long. I was not impressed with how the coaches adjusted to our weaknesses through the year on offense.
Defense, was quite the opposite. I have no doubt that Gibby would have let more points on the board. Vic did a great ob of adjusting to what we had. As we ran out of Lbs, he changed the defense to use more Safeties and Lineman. The progression of the Freshman in the secondary was great to watch. When Norwood was lost, seemed like the secondary did not miss a beat.

For next year, hard to tell. If we keep Darious, I think our D will be stiff once again. Watch the OL recruiting closely as this will really define whether we can produce on offense. Even though this looks much like Stew's offense, if we can run, we will be successful.

The transfer portal changes everything. Dana made a living on getting transfers to come her and play for 1-2 years. The field has grown with the portal and coaches who can take advantage of this have the opportunity to immediately upgrade talent. If we continue with this group and new recruits, I do not expect significant improvement next year. Come Spring, I expect this team to look much different. We currently have 15 recruits with space for more. This leaves HCNB with some space to upgrade with transfer talent. We could see a major turnaround and become CC with a few Bama/Clemson/OU transfers. Rebuilding a team now can take only months instead of years. We will see if HCNB takes the fast route with transfers or the slow route by building from the bottom with Freshman recruits.
My prognosis for next year depends on how HCNB decides to build. If he goes the Freshman route, I expect at least another year before we become respectable.

Without any great transfer portal additions, we will be lucky if we can win 7 next year. With the right additions, the sky is the limit.

Like the recap...totally agree....

So you mentioned the NC STATE game...when you run the edges all day ..with gimmick plays at that.. its not sustainable...and HCNB knew it...it was a band aid...you have to establish the A and B gaps presence and just like a downfield pass set the edges when you suck the defense inside..NC STATE just sucked and couldn't adjust..candidly ts wussy football to try and run the edges...basically saying your team has no balls..teams will adjust ..drop a safety and set the outside backers on the tackles outside shoulders to string it out..
 

bbwvfan

Well-Known Member
5,446
1,689
173
Joined
Aug 29, 2013
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
No... this season did not meet my expectations. I thought we’d have a good defense as I had looked at VK’s resume and was quite impressed with him.

But, the offense was historically bad. And, it cost us a few games. I predicted an 8 win season. We easily could have achieved that. Every team in our conference except BU was down in production from last year. And, BU was so bad on offense last year... I expected to beat them this year.

We should be better next year. I agree... 8 wins should be the expectation.
 

Slaton10

Well-Known Member
2,649
1,255
173
Joined
Sep 18, 2013
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
No... this season did not meet my expectations. I thought we’d have a good defense as I had looked at VK’s resume and was quite impressed with him.

But, the offense was historically bad. And, it cost us a few games. I predicted an 8 win season. We easily could have achieved that. Every team in our conference except BU was down in production from last year. And, BU was so bad on offense last year... I expected to beat them this year.

We should be better next year. I agree... 8 wins should be the expectation.

So let me get this right...what we saw in the Spring game led you to believe that team would win 8 games?:scratch:
 

bbwvfan

Well-Known Member
5,446
1,689
173
Joined
Aug 29, 2013
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
So let me get this right...what we saw in the Spring game led you to believe that team would win 8 games?:scratch:

I knew the offense couldn’t be as bad as it looked that day.

I was wrong...
 

Anotherwvufan

Well-Known Member
1,601
639
113
Joined
May 5, 2013
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
I knew the offense couldn’t be as bad as it looked that day.

I was wrong...
We could only amass 8 wins with Grier and several other players drafted or playing in the NFL. We were loaded last year, this year we were on empty. I thought I was pushing it when I said 5 wins wold be a good season for this team as we were only favored to win in 2 games.
Try to keep your expectations realistic and dont be surprised if we are not in the playoff next year.
 

Slaton10

Well-Known Member
2,649
1,255
173
Joined
Sep 18, 2013
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
We could only amass 8 wins with Grier and several other players drafted or playing in the NFL. We were loaded last year, this year we were on empty. I thought I was pushing it when I said 5 wins wold be a good season for this team as we were only favored to win in 2 games.
Try to keep your expectations realistic and dont be surprised if we are not in the playoff next year.
:harbaugh:
 

bbwvfan

Well-Known Member
5,446
1,689
173
Joined
Aug 29, 2013
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
We could only amass 8 wins with Grier and several other players drafted or playing in the NFL. We were loaded last year, this year we were on empty. I thought I was pushing it when I said 5 wins wold be a good season for this team as we were only favored to win in 2 games.
Try to keep your expectations realistic and dont be surprised if we are not in the playoff next year.

Yeah... but last year we didn’t have a real coach. This year... we were supposed to...
 

DCWV4life

Well-Known Member
2,700
424
83
Joined
Aug 15, 2013
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
I picked 4 wins and we got 5, yeah so happy.

Lol

Recruiting class was solid, let’s see how they grow.
 

Slaton10

Well-Known Member
2,649
1,255
173
Joined
Sep 18, 2013
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
I picked 4 wins and we got 5, yeah so happy.

Lol

Recruiting class was solid, let’s see how they grow.

Still some adds to make from the Transfer Portal...wouldn't be surprised to see this class grow to 27....maybe 30?
 

bbwvfan

Well-Known Member
5,446
1,689
173
Joined
Aug 29, 2013
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
Still some adds to make from the Transfer Portal...wouldn't be surprised to see this class grow to 27....maybe 30?

Hard cap of 25 LOI’s per year. Could have some blue shirts or PWO’s. We’re down to 22 because we used 3 from the ‘20 class on late add-on’s this past summer.
 

Slaton10

Well-Known Member
2,649
1,255
173
Joined
Sep 18, 2013
Hoopla Cash
$ 1,000.00
Fav. Team #1
Fav. Team #2
Fav. Team #3
Hard cap of 25 LOI’s per year. Could have some blue shirts or PWO’s. We’re down to 22 because we used 3 from the ‘20 class on late add-on’s this past summer.

.I guess I was thinking walk ons as well....
 
Top