Louisville Cardinals Football: Previewing The Strengths And Weaknesses

There are just 48 days until the first game for the Cardinals kicks off. Charlie Strong will no doubt have the team prepared for this upcoming season, but he will also have to help the team improve in some aspects of their game. I’m here today to talk about what the strengths and weaknesses will be for this 2012-13 Louisville Cardinals football team.

Strengths:

Let’s start with our first strength for this Louisville Cardinals football team, which is hailed at the quarterback position by Teddy Bridgewater. Teddy Bridgewater was named  the Big East Freshman of the Year in 2011, and still has a lot of room to grow. He through 12 interceptions last year, which is a number that has to be down if he wants to have any success this upcoming season. Bridgewater is the real deal and will be the best quarterback in the Big East, regardless of his experience.

On another note, The Cardinals secondary will likely be the best in the Big East conference. Hakeem Smith returns to Louisville for his junior season which is huge. Not only that, the Cards had two other in the secondary that were named first team all Big East last season. Our secondary will definitely be something we can pride ourselves on, this upcoming season.

We also will have a very strong and intimidating defensive line which returns three starters from the 2011 season.

Weaknesses:

I reluctantly have to say that running will be the thing we need to improve on this upcoming season. Victor Anderson was our team’s best runner last year, but he graduated. We need to establish a much better running game if we want to have a decent shot at the Big East. We averaged just around 122 rushing yards a game last season, which is sub par to say the least.

The linebacker position is also a question mark for this football team after losing Dexter Heyman,  who racked up 90 tackles last season. We have some solid players at this position, but they are inexperienced. A few guys are going to have to emerge from this group.

Bottom Line:

It is safe to say that we are heading into the right direction while being led by Charlie Strong. He is also a contributing factor that is making us recruit a lot better than what we were in previous years. We are loading up in the present and the future, which is always good to be a part of. We have a fairly easy schedule to go through this season, and I expect the numbers in the win column to stack up. This Louisville Cardinals football is going to be the preseason favorite in the Big East, which is well deserved.

Are you pumped yet?

Comment below and tell me your thoughts on this team.