At 0-6, there is not much this Owl football team can be happy about. But this is mid-season, so let’s grade the team.

Quarterbacks:

Jared Allen and Garret Jahn have both been inconsistent so far this year.

Allen has retained the starter’s job through six games after been benched in the first three. His quarterback rating of 121.43 is a bit exaggerated.

Allen has throw for 4 touchdowns and five interceptions in six games. He has gained confidence in the last three games since the coaching staff has left him in the game to lead the team from start to finish.

In FAU’s last game against Youngstown St, Allen broke his team from behind in the fourth quarter almost tying the game at 24. Allen will continue to improve, but he will be hampered by the tough schedule ahead of him.

Jahn is a comfortable backup. When he was thrown into the game to replace Allen, he started hot but seemed to cave under the pressure.

With Allen and Jahn at quarterback, FAU can expect great performances next year but will have to settle for average this season.

Grade: C

Running Backs:

This unit was decimated at the beginning f the year with the losses of Dekolan James and Doug Parker due to academics.

The inexperience has shown through the first half of the season as the remaining backs have only run for 258 total yards and is ranked dead last in Division I-AA.

Anthony Jackson took the starting spot and sputtered inn his attempt before blowing his knee out against Nichols St. Before the injury, Jackson average 3-yards a carry but could not find the end zone.

Daveon Barron is replacing Jackson and after one game he has shown that he can create excitement. Barron ran for 89 yards against Youngstown St and showed why teammates have nicked named him “Blink” with his speed around the corner. Barron has the only two touchdowns scored by a running back this season.

Eric Harper has struggled as the blocking back ion this formation so we can expect to see more of Alex Sanchez at the fullback spot.

Grade: F

Receivers:

Brittany Tellis has made the receivers unit of this team the most impressive unit thus far this season.

Tellis ignites energy every time he touches the ball averaging 21 yards a reception. He leads the team in receptions and yardage with 532. Many scoring drives this season have been due to long catches by Tellis and he has found the end zone twice.

Thomas Parker, Larry Taylor, and Matt Prudenti have been strong behind Tellis.

All three receivers have averaged more than 8-yards a reception. With more passing involved in this offense these receivers can shine.

The receivers account for 5 of the Owls 10 touchdowns this season.

Grade: A

Tight Ends:

Dantson Dareus began the season as a promising threat with this offense, but grades have kept him from contributing now in the middle of the season.

Ben Coker has taken over and has decent numbers. With 8 receptions for 43 yards and a touchdown Coker is fourth on the receivers list. His blocking has improved, evident of Barron’s outside running but can still get better.

Grade: B

Offensive Line:

With three of the starting lineman out for the season with injury this unit has taken a beating. Primarily responsible for the lackluster running game the offensive line has not created holes for the running backs. Blocking has been a problem even though off-season workouts had made this unit stronger, they are still smaller than most of their opponents.

Pass Blocking has also been a problem for this line. Yielding 29 sacks is not what is expected from an offensive line after 6 games. Allen and Jahn have been running for their lives all season

Grade: F

Defensive Line:

The defensive line has been dominated at times and at other times like a sieve.

While this unit has contributed to the 17 sacks that FAU has tallied in the first six games, it also has yielded some big rushing numbers.

Opponents have rushed for 1094 yards against this line and in some games won the game at the line of scrimmage.

On the other hand, yielding yardage against Nichols St and Bethune-Cookman is not as bad as it sounds. Letting Nichols run for over 200 yards is less than any other team this season.

Also in their last game, this line shut down Youngstown St. leading rusher in the second half of the game.

Improvement is warranted, but not the worst part of this team.

Grade: C

Linebackers:

This unit has come to play in every game. All three linebackers lead the team in tackles. Chris Laskowski and Todd Potier have been solid. Their ferocious hits have sparked this team plenty of times in this short season. Also contributing to the sack total these two have played their hearts out.

Grade: B

Secondary:

This was the best part of FAU’s 2001 team. This year injuries have hurt them. Mauratae Johnson has been hurt since the first game and will miss the remainder of the season with Post-concussion Syndrome.

Taurian Osbourne has filled his shoes and even returned an interception for a touchdown.

On the down side for this unit, it gave up two touchdowns to Nichols St who primarily runs the ball. To get a good grade here you cannot give up the second and third touchdown pass from a team all season.

Grade: C

Special Teams:

While Mark Myers fields goals have been plenty and Andy Rosas is 15th in the country in punt average this unit has had problems.

Blocked kicks have been an area of dismay as one was returned for a touchdown.

Grade: C

Coaching:

The coaching staff has done an all right job this season.

Considering all of the injuries this Owl team has been in every game except against USF. The coaches has gotten this team to believe in their never give up philosophy. The coach’s loss a grade for not sticking with Jared Allen earlier in the season, something that might have cost this team at least one game.

Grade: C

These grades are just one person’s view of how this team has been for their 0-6 start. Some people would even rate them lower.

What is to be kept in mind is that this team has 6 losses, 1 to a Division I-AA team, and then to the 9th, 19th, 24th, and 26th ranked teams in the country.

The schedule gets no easier as they are on the road next for two Division I-A schools and then play the 4th ranked team in Division I-AA.