Baylor Football: Bears Will Get Huge Wake Up Call Without Robert Griffin III

So what happens after a season where you finish in the Top 15 in the nation, get a school their first bowl win in 19 seasons, produce a likely first-round NFL wide receiver, get a running back into the top half of the NFL draft, nab a Heisman trophy and a probable second-overall pick in April?

Well, if you're Art Briles, you look around and try to pick up the pieces, because all that was good and great just a season ago is gone from Waco.

The top-two rushers; Terrance Ganaway and Robert Griffin III are gone. The top pass catcher, Kendall Wright, is gone. The best player in school history, reigning Heisman winner and all around Mr. Everything, RG3, is gone.

That means it starts with replacing him as the Bears prepare for life in the newly revamped Big XII.

Nick Florence is the senior at the spot, a kid who started the bulk of 2009 after RGIII went down with a leg injury to end his season early.

The team went 4-8, but the kid got some experience, completed 62% of his passes and had moments where he seemed capable. Since then, he's thrown 24 total passes and has not been instrumental in the Bears' recent successes.

Logically, the elder statesman, Florence, would be thrust into the spotlight, except rising redshirt sophomore Bryce Petty is probably the more talented of the two.

He's taller at 6'3", and is capable of making most of the throws in Briles' scheme. While he is not RG3-athletic Petty is better equipped than Florence. The big kid from Midlothian, Texas brings in a bigger arm, a bigger body and he's comfortable throwing the ball on the run.

Replacing Ganaway and Wright is no small task either, but the beauty of Briles' system is that, much like the Air Raid ran by other teams out west, you can plug pieces in and get quality results thanks to the schematics of the offense.

Jarred Salubi finally has to step up at the running back position, while guys like Terrance Williams and Tevin Reese will get their moment in the sun, as Wright's departure means more targets for the two receivers.

Williams and Reese combined for 1,854 yards on 110 catches a year ago; just 191 yards and 2 catches more than Wright posted on his own.

While the offense will get a forced face lift from a season ago, the issues in the spring for the defense are still the same; don't be awful like last year.

In 2011, for all the Bears offensive firepower, their season on the defensive side of the ball will be immortalized by their 56 points given up to Washington in the bowl game. A game that showcased horrible defense, and offenses really just having their way with the opposition.

This year, without RGIII, the Bears can't exactly afford to give up 37 points a game, and that push to decrease the points given up starts with the addition of JUCO guys, Eddie Lackey and Joey Searcy.

Help in the front seven is a start, but the real key is going to be Baylor getting their defensive backs from being the team leaders in tackles. Four of the top-five guys in tackles returning is normally a good thing, except, for the Bears, those four guys are defensive backs.

Phil Bennett, who quite honestly I'm amazed has a job after last season, needs to figure out how to maximize the talent he has on his roster.

No, he doesn't have Texas or Oklahoma or Texas A&M or TCU-type talent on the tough side of the football, but that is no excuse.

Get guys in the right spots at the right time and good things happen. Guys can't make plays if they aren't around the football, and getting eleven hats to it, making proper run fits and taking precise zone drops should be the Bears' main focus on defense in spring 2012.

This is going to be a "hello, reality, it's me Baylor" kind of year for the folks in Waco. They can thank RGIII's efforts for the new Jetson's inspired stadium.

But, once the whistles start blowing, this team needs to be hoping to get to the six-win plateau, and that building for a third straight bowl starts with fixing the defense and the holes on offense this spring.