It's Coming Down To it: Are we Cracking Up or Coming Together?!!

I'm getting that "queasy feeling" too--and it seems we're far from alone, at least here at The Envy...I've got a 'scrip for some pretty damn powerful analgesics (shattered kneecap--long, stupid story), but the suspicion here is that they just won't be enough to deal with the kind of pain that may well be in store for all of us once we hit the SEC-portion of our schedule. Again, REALLY hope I'm wrong, but the signs and portents suggest otherwise.
We should be IN most games with a good, perhaps even great defense; however, will we have a passing game on offense? If we can get by with the bare minimum of healthy receivers at WR and TE, none of them tested at this level and no one backing them up now (thanks to injury, transfer and general attrition), and our QBs are able to get the ball to them on both precision routes and the occasional stretch-the-field bomb, I believe our running game may turn out to be a reliable strong point and things won't turn out so badly after all--but that's a lot more "ifs" and a whole lot less maneuvering room than we expected to be working with even a few weeks ago.
Oh well--no use whining 'bout reality: Gotta deal with it. I'm just less certain than ever what that will mean, in terms of results, and whether things really ARE that messed up--or worse!

@Leakfan12, et al
Muschamp has said he'd name the starter this Monday, but again, I am told that with Driskel still not quite 100% (but still matching, at times even outplaying Brisset), they'll be named "costarters", that the tentative plan, at least currently for public consumption, is that they'll both get similar in-game reps--not a straight-on, alternate-between-plays set-up, but rather each with a series or a portion of a drive, depending on position, circumstance, and so on. Again, the secret hope is that this will work "well enough", and either turn out to be a solution in its own right, OR Driskel will seize control as he returns to full health (Again, the hope for a third option, that Brisset responds to competition and opportunity and takes control himself, has faded greatly over the last few weeks: the feeling is "He's had his chances--and while talented and fairly steady, lacks the fire"...more and more he is being viewed as a really fine back-up, a viable alternative who MIGHT still slowly reach the next level, given time and patience--they'd still really like to keep 'em both, obviously, so all this will never be admitted publicly, but that's supposedly the current take on our QB-situation).

@Escambia94
Yeah, that's about how I see it, and would play 'em, too--and pretty well amounts to how Pease is going to use them entering the season, with Muschamp (whom, as I say, really DID hope to see one of them TAKE the job--and STILL hopes will ultimately resolve the situation) having by now pretty well out-of-necessity signed off on things, at least for the start and early portion of 2012.

...Worth noting as a not-so-side-issue that has quietly risen to "make or break" status for us is the importance of Gillisley, who has apparently seized the feature-back role by dominating the competition at RB thoughout the spring and summer. If we turn out to really HAVE an inside/outside back who can single-handedly keep the defense guessing, that could really make a difference, especially in the early going while we find ourselves reliable options and playmakers elsewhere in the offense, especially in the passing game.

Hope you're right--also, though we're thin at WR and TE, the guys we have there ARE looking good in practice lately, and we're still strong on defense, the O-line, and if Gilly turns out to be as quick, tough, and versatile at game time as he's been throughout spring and summer "behind closed doors", we may be able to weather the first third or so of the season until we get some key people back, build back depth and flexibility, turn the corner and finish strong without having lost TOO much headway in the early going after all. Personally, I'm inclined lately to take a "wait'n'see" approach regarding our team and its prospects until we actually see them play 2 or 3 games...until then, I reserve judgement on what they may or may not be capable of. I'm tired of "official word", "back-channel reports", AND "informed opinion": Now more than ever, it's gonna come down to what kind of TEAM we have this year, how far they'll automatically go for the sake of that team, for each other. There's no doubt that we are stocked with talent, with more and more on the way in the weeks, months and years ahead...right now, we'll need guys to move around a bit and make various kinds of temporary sacrifices to fill some late-developing gaps--but if we turn out to have the kind of group who unhesitatingly, even enthusiastically makes those kinds of mutually supportive adjustments now, the kind of TEAM that just gets it done for each other 'cause that's what's required at a given point in time, imagine what that team can and WILL be able to accomplish as it returns to health and depth, and steadily resumes its ideal configuration. Combine that strength and balance with the kind of innate trust that will have long been proven and accepted as a given amongst those teammates and you'll have a unit whose top-end potential will be limited only by its collective goals and determination. Together, they'll comprise a force to be reckoned with.

@Escambia94
Funny you should put it that way--More and more lately I am trying to get back to a more "clean-slated" view of our team and its component parts going into the season...as you imply, between fully pre-evaluated ratings and profiles, and the pre-formed expectations of over-heated fans regarding over-hyped players (kids still, really), pre-packaged and presented for our approval and supposed bottom-line value by a bunch of self-important, self-appointed "media personalities", all filtered through the "spin control" of a program staff whose main concern with respect to PR is limiting the flow of information, the theory being that the less ANYONE outside the team knows about "what we've got", good or bad, the better. Once reality intrudes to pile on life's inevitable imperfections and unforeseen pitfalls (like injuries, transfers, imperfections and misbehaviors), it's far too easy to find yourself buried in chaos, confusion and overwhelming pessimism. So here I am, trying to get back to that unhindered, unobstructed "clear-eyed" view of our team as the season actually begins--let all the collection and weighing of data, intelligence, opinion and talent evaluation slide away for the moment, and let my right-brained intuitive side take over. I don't know if I'll get a "BETTER" look this way, but it's likely to be a purer, more telling one...and if we win, probably more enjoyable. It's easy to forget sometimes that "having fun" is better than "being right".