No they weren't... talk about stupid comments. BG had a QB with a excellent arm who was young. The year after UM left, they won the MAC... something I don't think he accomplished there.
Utah had Alex Smith as a young QB coming up... hardly an "empty" cupboard there.
And the point is? They didn't have Ainge and McNeil and had spent all spring working on the physical part of the game.
Harrell didn't play and Mapu is far more talented than McBride. When the D failed last year, it failed because of poor DT play. That will be improved. Yes. I realized that months ago. However, I still think you're absolutely wrong... so we'll see.
These comments go hand in hand in hand. You don't "think" something therefore nothing will dissuade you from believing the rest of the stuff you posted... I seem to remember you being pretty negative with various players UT ended up landing as well, right?
Your negative bias simply isn't the realism you claim.
I'm optimistic and maybe too much so. I see some weaknesses and some obvious pitfalls. Some of the more important things won't be know until the first game next year concerning leadership, team gelling, and how the ball will bounce. However this is a team with championship caliber talent and coaches that have won games and championships... then I compare them with other teams in the SEC and what they've lost as well as schedule strengths.