I think 2001 is the worst offensive team we have had under Snyder during the DOD + Part 2. In 2011, we really had no idea what we had with CK and the rest of the offense and we put up a pretty good amount of points.
Three things:
1. While I whole heartedly admit we are short on talent at receiver, all it really takes is one or two people to step up there and we can manage. Klein, Cook and DB should all be solid enough to catch things that are thrown at them. Also they are all big enough to handle blocking (which I assume we will be running the ball much more this year). If either Andre Davis can live up to his 4 stars (probably won't) or we can get a contribution from Goolsby or Heath on the outside that would help a great deal. (probably won't from Heath, Goolsby probably redshirt).
2. Special teams will be extra important. Having Walsh and McCrane (stud) will help a ton with field position. We should be among the best in the conference on ST again this season.
3. In regards to the running back position, I'm a firm believer that the RB is a product of the OL. The OL should be one of the better units in the conference (4 returning starters). But I've been disappointed with how under Dickey the last few seasons the OL has seemingly gotten worse. We can't run the ball against a good run D and we can only run marginally against a bad run D. I'll allow that the change in offensive philosophy to a more pass oriented offense has something to do with that but this year we will have to be a much better running team.
I don't mind the talent at the RB position, it's not great, but I think with improved OL play the lack of a stud RB will be minimized.