things that could effect the season, both positive and negat

[moehler]

alright guys, I know its early, but, with all the bullshit that I have read on other boards for the last 4 months, I need my football fix, starting to get the shakes, so I pose this question to you, give me a couple of reasons, either positive or negative that could drastically effect the upcoming season. I'll start, one positive that I think will play a major role this upcoming season, is the conditioning of the players. Iron Mike by all indications, has performed a small mircle, last year at this time, this team, from what I heard was not in good shape, Mike and his staff, has got them in the best shape of their lives, this should really help with injuries, and of course, conditioning during games. Negative, the special teams, one of the worst in the country last year, and I cant imagine we will see a significant turn around in such a short time period, yes, we have some positives, the new RB coach is also, from what we have heard a good special teams coach, and the freshman kicker, hopefully will help, but its too early to know what he can do, I think we still are going to struggle in this dept.

[APPdiesel]

Positive - winning attitude. We have it. Winning is a mindset, and coming off 6 wins I think we're in a great place mentally. Last year we went into the Michigan game feeling VERY unsure and it showed. Should we handle Howard the way we're supposed to, we'll be going into death valley with a lot of confidence, week 1 jitters gone, and ready to perform.

Negative - BROOTAL schedule. We got gipped this year - not with regard to who we play (we showed we can handle that last year) - but when we play them. Two Thursday night games in 3 weeks, one being against perennial contender Arkansas State, the other being a rivalry game against the defending champion, is a complete back door job from the conference schedulers. I could see it if our bye week were in the middle. That said, winning all three of those games would prove unequivocally that we're a tough team and deserve a bowl.

Concerning special teams. We absolutely stunk at this last year, but many schools play freshman kickers. It's nothing new or unique. The only place we can go is up.

[mountaineerman]

The biggest thing I can say that would affect both pos an neg would be, young satterfield has to show this team how to start a season. We cannot lose two of first three and then start to play. This is my biggest ? For this team.

[DaphneUrquhart]

Last night, Coach Ledford referred to a conditioning test done at the beginning of each season and noted that every player "passed" this year (not the case in prior years apparently). Since all the players were on campus in summer school all summer under Iron Mike's tutelage, the beginning of the season conditioning is much stronger than in previous years. Coach Ledford is truly excited about this season!

Being able to use scholarships to fund summer school for all 85 scholarship players is a nice benefit of going FBS. Of course, it also means we need more Yosef dollars to get that done.

[MAD Doctor]

I'm thinking the Clemson game could be a huge positive OR negative. If we are competitive and keep them from blowing it completely open, and no one gets hurt, we can leave feeling pretty good about the rest of the season.
If it turns into Virginia Tech, or we get really banged up, it could have bad residual effects.

[EastHallApp]

Positives:

- 20 returning starters, including 14 freshmen and sophomores.
- greatly improved S&C
- something like 19 RS freshmen + 4 jucos should mean more depth and better special teams.
- We're done with the transition period of not only losing, but having older players replaced in the lineup by younger ones.
- balance on both sides of the ball. I don't think we have a weak position group.

Negatives (potential)

- can we adjust to being the target? Last year wins like Troy and Ga. State were reasons to celebrate, while A-State and ULL were huge upsets. This year, beating the former will be fully expected, while the latter will be counting us as one of their biggest games. Can we get up for all the big games AND avoid slipping up against the also-rans?

I will say that I don't think the schedule is bad at all. We have extra rest for four games, and nobody gets extra rest before playing us. (The two Thursday opponents have the same short week we do, plus they have to travel to us.) I'm not thrilled that we get a short week to prep for Southern's offense, but that's about the only downside I see.

[DoubleA]

Fortunately, we start the season with tremendous momentum from our strong finish in 2014. This should go a long way towards giving our young team confidence and belief in the program as they start the season. I'm excited that we get to kick off the season at Clempson (don't forget to add the "p") and have the opportunity to walk into Memorial Stadium and make a statement - ASU football can play with anybody and is a force to be reckoned with.

Well I won't back down, no I won't back down. You could stand me up at the gates of hell, But I won't back down
Tom Petty

[AppState89]

Positive: Labor Day weekend is almost here. Game #1

Negative: Doesn't start this weekend


We will be fine this year. Bigger + stronger + deeper = WINNING

Go Apps!!!

[asutrnr81]

Positives:

Stable Coaching Staff
Better Depth
Better Conditioning

Intangibles:

Is there carryover from 6 straight wins? (Cocky or Determined) (Negative or Positive)
Are we really good at QB
Can we play disciplined defense? Penalties!

Negatives:

What will our DL really look like?
Can we run with people? (speed)
Was there something up with Foster's departure that will affect this team?


My general thoughts:
We are deeper at Running Back than people know.
Our tight ends need to be a bigger part of the pass game....and we may not end the season with whom we start there.
Our kicking problems were more due to injury than anyone talked about or than we knew. Unless it is for kickoffs....we will NOT see our freshman recruit hit the field.