It didn't really feel a whole lot different from the previous week, even though the Buffs did overcome an 11-point deficit and get a win on the East Coast. I want to be positive and happy for a win, but it is just not possible with this level of play. MacIntyre said that they dominated the second half and could have scored sixty. In fact, if they had actually scored 60, and not given up five touchdowns to a much less talented team, he would have been correct, but it is disheartening that they had to overcome anything against this team.
For every positive, there was at least one or more negatives. The defensive line was again awful, and there is not really even a positive to go along here. The secondary got its first interception (Tedric Thompson off a Chido tip) but made uncountable mistakes: Crawley had himself a day to forget, at one point over the course of four snaps, was called for offsides on a kickoff, missed a tackle that would have been for a five-yard loss, gave up a first down catch and then called for a face mask when he couldn't make a clean tackle; and when Akhello Witherspoon or John Walker came in, it wasn't any better. The offense was able to put up some points, but the line was still terrible, letting Sefo get harassed quite a bit and never opening up any big holes for the running backs. Nembot is scary bad and regressing, may have lost confidence. The RBs did show some flashes, but Michael Adkins was ineffective (ankle?) and no one broke anything, Tony Jones getting the longest carry. Shay Fields continued to make plays, including his first TD, and will almost certainly shatter most freshman receiving records, but showed his froshness when he allowed the UMass DB to rip a ball out of his hands for Sefo's only turnover of the year, setting up a Minutemen TD. While Nelson Spruce also continued to shine, seniors DD Goodson and Tyler McCulloch (hate to say I told ya so) both dropped multiple balls. There was a Bryce Bobo sighting, but absolutely nothing from the TEs. Darragh O'Neil was once again stellar punting the ball, but no one can kickoff and no one seems to be able to cover the kickoffs. That's just a few of the main problems this team is still facing.
Oh yeah, and remember, this has all been against lower level opponents. It shouldn't even be a question but UMass matched up well in terms of talent and coaching. They haven't even begun conference play yet and that is a scary thought. It could get very ugly against 16th ranked ASU next Saturday night and most of the rest of the season. Even Hawaii has put of a fight against Washington and Oregon St and will come in here thinking they can win (again-this season is starting to look way too much like 2012).
Looking forward, there still need to be some changes made. Another redshirt was burned off DT Eddy Lopez' (didn't really notice his play) back and teammates Michael Mathewes and Jase Franke should follow shortly. S Evan White got some defensive playing time and looked good-I wonder if they don't just move Chido to corner and bring in White full time at safety. We have yet to see senior captain Terrell Smith even get a chance on defense (coaches decision), nor Yuri Wright, nor Marques Mosley (injury). A change could also come on the offensive (feel free to pronounce either way) line, most likely at right tackle. I would still like to see more of Phillip Lindsay. It might be time to unveil Lee and Walker as well. Something has to give on kickoff coverage-I don't understand how they can be soooooo baaaaaaad with a dedicated coach. It looks exactly like the first few games last season and ASU will almost certainly score on special teams.
Here is a short preview of my ASU preview from later in the week: The Buffs are going to get killed in all phases of the game and it will be a black and blue blowout at Folsom.
Yo David,
ReplyDeleteI share your pain and analysis. I shudder to think what the score will be like this Saturday if the Buffs continue to play like they have the first two weeks. My thinking is that the Sun Devils will have that 13.5 points covered by the end of the first quarter.
If we can't get the ball through the endzone on kickoffs, or tackle guys before they get back to the 40 yard line, maybe we should just kick it out of bounds. I think they should just tell Gonzalez that he is the man on kickoffs and let the chips fall where they may. Maybe the coaches making a decision and sticking with it will give the young man a chance to get over the mental aspect of "wondering" when his name will be called. At the very least, it provides an opportunity for the Buffs to get a touchback, which certainly isn't happening now.
For all the talk this staff has done about giving other guys a chance to play and show what they can do on the field, they certainly have not done very much of it. I could say that our tackles on the O-line have been less than stellar, but the reality is that their play has been consistently bad. I've been harping about Nembot for two years now, but considering all the talk we've heard about Irwin while he was injured, I expected much better from him. The coaches described him in camp as a "tenacious" blocker, but I haven't seen it from him or his brother the tight-end either.
More and more, I'm coming to the conclusion that the coaching and the offensive schemes are to blame. Our coaches need to use schemes that our players are actually capable of doing. None of those guys on the line is the caliber of a Nate Solder or an Andre Gurode, or even a Heath Irwin. Heck, I don't think any of them are as good as David Bakhtiari. That being the case, the coaches need to go simple.
As for special teams, get the starters off the kickoff crew and give the backups a chance to show what they can do. Whoever replaces Crawley on kickoffs will not be five yards offsides. These guys (players and coaches) need to get their heads in the game.
Sorry for the rant. But you know how it feels.
Mark
Boulderdevil