I'm your huckleberry. I'll drink the Green Kool Aid here.
This is the best LB corp we have had, period. This is one of the top 3 defenses we have ever had. Soon I feel it will be the best. This team IMHO could play with just about any team in the country, matching up of course better against some than against others.
The '99 D was about playmakers. Derricott was quick but slow. Beckett played in the League for awhile. Ditto O'Neal. Yates was a solid CFB LB, but nothing special. I feel our current D is comparable. The loss of Dozier and a few others hurt, but things happen. Marshall has a saying, "Next man up." Not a novel concept but apropos. Our D is getting that swagger ( another poster: SWAG ) now.
Doc and Legg are trying the K.I.S.S. philosophy, with a D like ours, it works. CL has a streak that wasn't broken: 130+ attempts in a row with a pick ( after putting it up for grabs in the endzone at NCSU ). We've got weapons on O. Numerous ones. We don't turn the ball over we should win out. It's almost that simple. I think we're compettive right now against the Top of the AAC. Maybe not quite beat UCF's team more than 3 or 4 out of 10 but I think UCF gets the Access Bowl this year.
I think we're still better than most give us credit for. Just don't turn the ball over a bunch of times in a game and we should grind out the wins.
p2m