Another 2010 Preview

Phil Steele's magazine is in stores and if you've never seen it or heard of it I suggest you pick one up for the upcoming season.

The online previews are beginning to appear with this edition put out by the Sporting News.

Why we know we're right:
The Black Knights continue to trend up—and yes, No. 79 is a step in the right direction for this program—thanks to a return to its roots. An option offense that finished 16th in the country returns four offensive linemen, and a solid defense brings back eight starters led by end Josh McNary (12.5 sacks in '09). A soft schedule, plus solid special teams, should leave Army in position to build on its 2009 performance.

A short, sweet writeup which projects Army as a 6-6 team in 2010.

I get that Army draws from a smaller talent pool than other FBS teams, but it kind of seems like a deadline had to be met after reading the section Why we might be wrong:

After making a talking point of Trent Steelman's passing ability the subject turns to Army's defense.

The defense needz more muscle inside and again could be susceptible to strong rushing teams.

If you ask me, the defense looks to be one of the strengths of the team next year, and outside of Navy, Notre Dame and maybe Rutgers' Joe Martinek. Army should outrush every team on the schedule.

But hey, I don't get paid to write about football - and I don't have any deadlines to obey, so I guess I'll just leave it at thanks for the writeup. #79

It's great to have in the back pocket, but I hope I don't have the need to utilize the catchphrase: "The defense needz more muscle".

Back to Phil Steele, Army finally appears on one of his preseason lists.

Based on last year's offensive numbers I don't think it would surprise anyone to see Army on PS's list of Most Improved Offensive PPG.

Rank Team

1 Rice
2 South Carolina
3 Nebraska
4 Ball St
5 Georgia
6 Miami, Oh
7 Army
8 Tulsa
9 San Jose St
10 Washington St
11 New Mexico St
12 Oklahoma
13 Wisconsin
14 San Diego St
15 Ohio St

There's Army at #7. You would like to think this mention points to a better season for Army, but the ranking is relative to the team's 2009 offensive stats, so Army isn't expected to be a top ten offensive team... but they should be significantly better than 2009's offensive #s.