The Victors

Underwood was supposedly improving, looking much better, but in case he couldn't translate it to the field, the coaches had a break glass in case of emergency plan to use him as an option QB. Check.

Defensive line as the strongest unit on the team, especially defensive end? Check.

Buchanan as freak/matchup nightmare? Check.

Linebackers surprisingly competent? Check.

The main negative buzz was the tight end position, and that was always hard to understand -- we had two returning players, Marshall and Hoffman, who had performed well -- yet that has played out, too. It really seems like one of the most important challenges we face is getting production from the 4th and 5th skill player, and figuring out the balance of personnel to deploy there.

One thought I have is that we need to increase our use of pony personnel. There simply aren't enough carries for Marshall and Hiter to worry about overuse -- we're putting Kuzdal on the field just to keep him happy. You can't use pony 100% of the time but I would consider using it maybe as often as 50% of the snaps. If Hiter and Marshall can both block second level defenders, and Hiter is a terrific receiver, put them out there.