LOL. You guys have certainly cornered the market on Dawg pessimism lately. :-)

I'll tell you why Kirby should win 10 or more games. If he doesn't then I'll be seriously concerned, because he SHOULD. A lot of future recruits who are buying into the "G" hype will be concerned too. This isn't runaway optimism, it's just trying to assess the current data.

Fans tend to focus on one or two key issues when determining the future. "If Eason doesn't become world class, we can't win." "If our OL isn't championship level we can't win championships" etc.

The reality is that team improvement comes not from one or two major upgrades but from a host of small improvements that ripple through the entire organization. If we win, we will win by a thousand cuts, not because our line is miraculously better. (although I do expect them to be "significantly" better) Here's a list of small improvements across the board that should add up to a significant sum:

1) A brand new coaching staff gets a year under their belt working together and learning the players abilities.

2) The team gets a year under its belt with a new staff and system

3) Our two, star running backs get a year under their belt away from injury

4) The OL gains 20 lbs in weight and another year under a new strength and conditioning staff, as well as several top tier frosh prospects.

5) A freshman QB gets a year under his belt and becomes slightly faster at reading defenses and releasing the ball, thereby reducing the load on an improved OL.

6) A defense gets a year under its belt in a somewhat new system, but more importantly, loses only ONE player off the starting lineup. Several promising freshmen DL's are now sophs. Name me one other SEC school that returns 10 of 11 on defense.

7) The addition of 25 new players who are considered the third best class in the nation. Even if only a handful of them are ready for collegiate play, that's an addition to a team that lost very few difference makers to graduation. In fact, all the guys you would expect to leave for the pros decided to return, with the exception of one player. Georgia had the same number of top 100 players as the rest of the SEC East COMBINED.

8) Chaney gets an offensive assistant to help him "freshen up" his offense with the addition of Jay Johnson, the former offensive coordinator at Minnesota.

9) The addition of 3 new kickers to compete for better long distance field goals and kickoff touchbacks.

All these incremental improvements add up to a lot of improvement with very little loss. Most teams lose a lot of talent every year to graduation, but Georgia lost ALMOST NO ONE to graduation that negatively affects the team. (with the exception of one player)

And remember, we were only a couple of touchdowns away from being 10-3 last year. All those incremental improvements should easily add up to 2 more games won. If not, then Kirby is a total dud as an x's and o's coach.