Improvements I've seen this year.

[HawktimusPrime]

-Facilities paying off, (showing in the recruiting and the player development)

-Uniforms, though there weren't any MAJOR changes, the yellow shoes are a nice touch and do A LOT to add some flash to them.

-Kinnick Atmosphere, little more electricity in the air, shortened the entrance and better choices of music in between plays and quarters.

-More movement on offense, but the O-line is making and breaking the offense big time this year.

-RB stable is solid, despite what happened with NDSU

-CJ is on point big time, despite the running concerns, he's looked great this year in the passing game despite drops and lacking real big receiving threats. Scheel, where ya at?

-Kirk looks reinvigorated, at least physically this year, where is the gum though?

Feel free to add what you've seen or noticed and feel free to add negatives as well.

 

[InsHAWK]

Kicking game seems to be huge upgrade. Also attendance.

 

[HawktimusPrime]

Kicking game seems to be huge upgrade.

Yes it does, the punts have been good and I don't believe any FG's or extra points have been missed this year. Plus both the punter and kicker appear to have huge legs.

 

[HawktimusPrime]

Oh and Stanley, despite CJ being the clear number one and the key to this season. Stanley has impressed me with his poise and play so far. Came in against NDSU and walked us right down the field. HUGE upside so far with him. Especially since he overtook Wiegers in just his first year here. That's huge.

 

[David1979]

Yeah kicking game was a major concern and so far it has been great although Duncan hasn't been tested. But getting Coluzzi was huge. he is the best punter they have had in years.

 

[HeRKeYHoPeFuL]

Add in CB depth. I was impressed last year with Joshua Jackson in limited opportunity, and Rugamba has already passed him. Leaves me feeling a little bit better should one of our starters roll an ankle, get ejected for targeting, etc.

I think overall depth seems to be improving. OL depth is certainly a concern after last week, but that may just be a by-product of expectations after seeing Reiff, Bulaga, Scherff going in the first round and not having the next guy that is a sure-fire 1st round pick. We'll see how they develop throughout the year.

 

[David1979]

Add in CB depth. I was impressed last year with Joshua Jackson in limited opportunity, and Rugamba has already passed him. Leaves me feeling a little bit better should one of our starters roll an ankle, get ejected for targeting, etc.

I think overall depth seems to be improving. OL depth is certainly a concern after last week, but that may just be a by-product of expectations after seeing Reiff, Bulaga, Scherff going in the first round and not having the next guy that is a sure-fire 1st round pick. We'll see how they develop throughout the year.

I don't think Rugamba has passed him really. Jackson had off season surgery and also wasn't fully healthy during camp and still trying to get to 100%. He was out last week.

OL depth is a concern definitely. I think they have talent behind the 1's but they are young and inexperienced.

 

[hansenhawk]

Coaching.

Oh, wait....

 

[MeetTheFerentz]

Our regular season FBS opponent winning streak is still 13!

 

[Hawk68]

Our safeties have played far below average along with our outside linebackers. We need to put a nickel package in on passing downs and blitz more than we do. I also don't see the team chemistry we had last year.

On the other hand, the O-line will get better each week. However, our FB is not as good as either of the two last year.
Our three RB's are good, but CJ only has confidence in one WR.

 

[24 so far]

Yeah kicking game was a major concern and so far it has been great although Duncan hasn't been tested. But getting Coluzzi was huge. he is the best punter they have had in years.

I posted on a few occasions earlier when people were wondering who was leading the Punter race, and my comments were that some Gopher fans I work with (I know, I know......) said Coluzzi was the player of the game in their Bowl Game last year. That's saying something when you notice a Punter like that. So I figured we were in good hands, and so far that assessment seems to be 100% dead-on. Unfortunately we're only gonna see him for one year. He's damn good.

 

[Hawkfan_08]

Yeah kicking game was a major concern and so far it has been great although Duncan hasn't been tested. But getting Coluzzi was huge. he is the best punter they have had in years.

I agree but I don't think Duncan has a big leg. He struggles in warmups from 45.

 

[ft254]

-Facilities paying off, (showing in the recruiting and the player development)

-Uniforms, though there weren't any MAJOR changes, the yellow shoes are a nice touch and do A LOT to add some flash to them.

-Kinnick Atmosphere, little more electricity in the air, shortened the entrance and better choices of music in between plays and quarters.

-More movement on offense, but the O-line is making and breaking the offense big time this year.

-RB stable is solid, despite what happened with NDSU

-CJ is on point big time, despite the running concerns, he's looked great this year in the passing game despite drops and lacking real big receiving threats. Scheel, where ya at?

-Kirk looks reinvigorated, at least physically this year, where is the gum though?

Feel free to add what you've seen or noticed and feel free to add negatives as well.

Kirk is deferring rather opting for receiving. Seems trivial but it was part of last seasons team's persona. It is an indicator he has morphed into his predicable, conservative mode and though it is early in the season, it seems apparent in his both his offense and defense's lack of adaptability to situations.