We have reached the almost halfway point of
the season, with a bye week to ponder what could have been and what could still
come to pass, as well as a little peek into the future. The Buffs sit at a paltry 1-4, although they
are even at 1-1 in the Pac-12. However,
no one is kidding ourselves that prospects for the near future look bleak at best,
as the slate of upcoming difficult matchups are actually are worse than the
midseason gauntlet the team went through in the middle of 3-10 last year. They have yet to come anywhere near putting
in a complete game where they give four full quarters of effort. And it ain’t getting’ any easier! After the
Thursday night game vs. ASU, the Buffs go on the road to both USC and Oregon
(as if the results in Folsom weren’t bad enough), before coming home to face
Stanford to kick off November. Although
many had hoped or even expected the win-loss number to be reversed right now,
that was probably unrealistic to expect, and this reality just did not seem
conceivable either. Did we overestimate
the talent? Or the coaching? Underestimate the competition? Probably all, with a heavy dose of the
middle. As it stands right now, the team
is extremely young and desperately needing the experience they are getting
early and on the fly. This can only bode
well for the future as they will actually return a heavily game-experienced
lineup next season, only losing a few contributing seniors. Meanwhile, after a few tough days, the
players are getting a couple of days off while the coaches hit the road
recruiting.
Kyle
Ringo of The Camera was able to find
a few positives from the dismal beginning to the season, and I have to admit he
has some good points, although they don’t make up for the shortfalls we have
had to witness.
Trying
to keep Kyle’s positive attitude inmind, here is a snapshot of the team and each
position group, where they stand for the rest of 2012 and how they might
project moving toward 2013.
§
Burn the
Redshirt: The Buffs have played 13 true freshmen, and barring injury, that
number should remain constant. However,
those 13 have played large roles, earning 15 total starts, including CB Kenneth
Crawley in every game, and FB Christian Powell taking over the tailback
job. All 13 have contributed in multiple
ways as well, most playing special teams with Crawley returning (or fair
catching) almost every punt so far, and CBs Marques Mosley and Jeff Hall have
shared kickoff return duties with RB Donta Abron. On top of that they have also played 8 more
redshirt frosh, including WR Nelson Spruce and RT Stephane Nembot. This group
should provide a solid foundation for the future, but will still need
additional talent around them.
§
2013 Verbal
Commits: CU has 14 committed recruits for next year, including the recently
committed 3-star DE Marcus Loud, who shunned Missouri and had offers from
across the country. While none of them
are huge names, QB Sefo Liafu and TE Mitchell Parsons (is still talking to
other schools though) have been given 4-stars, and many of the rest are highly
rated 3-stars that the coaches are trying to stock the roster with to provide
general depth. Supposedly, Sefo is looking great so far as a senior, is firmly
committed to CU, and has been working on Parsons to stay with the Buffs.
§
In addition to those three, they have also received
verbal commitments from 2 wide receivers, 2 DBs, 5 more offensive linemen (you
can never have too many big bodies), an RB (Denver East’s Philip Lindsay) and the
first LB in awhile. Unfortunately, Loud is the only defensive linemen commit so
far and that is still a definite position of need (although they do have DE
Kisime Jagne greyshirting). Hopefully
this class will not be counted on quite as much next year as their two
predecessors have been, and this year’s frosh and sophs (next year’s sophs and
juniors) will make up the majority of the playing roster for 2013.
§
Game Captains: Embree started the year saying he
would name weekly captains, however, it now appears that they have settled on
Sr. DE/DT Wil Pericak, Sr. S Ray Polk, Jr. LT David Bahktiari and Jr.LB Derrick
Webb, each of whom have been captains for four of the first five games, and for
the last three.
§
Major Depth
Chart moves: Outside of injuries, the biggest roster move was Christian
Powell opening the Sacramento St. game as the tailback. T-Fr. DT Josh Topou’s play allowed Pericak to
move outside and DEs Kirk Poston and Juda Parker have moved up and down the
depth chart there, but it looks like Poston is settling up top and getting more
playing time than the nationally recruited all-star Parker. Otherwise, injuries
have caused numerous shifts on the offensive line and in the secondary.
§
Injuries:
Twelve players were held out of practices this week, and Embree said most of
those probably would not have played if there was a game Saturday. However, he also said that the team will be
as healthy as they have been all season going into the ASU game next Thursday
night. S Ray Polk’s high ankle sprain
early in the second quarter of the csu game left the already shaky defense in
disarray and they could reeeeeaaalllly (pleeeeeeeassssse!) benefit from his
return. We would have thought that we
would miss Doug Rippy more, but he was never really healthy to start the year,
so he will only be a boost now. C Gus
Handler was hurt, then his backup Brad Cotner, leading to Daniel Munyer (last
year’s center to start the season) moving in from RG and everyone shifting
over. All of these moves have of course allowed
many others to gain valuable experience.
At this point it appears that everyone is almost back to 100%.
§
The CU Offense
has had a few drives where it looked like a well-oiled machine, but those
moments have been fleeting, and have only shown up once a game or so. More often than not, the offense has given us
three-and-outs (haven’t read the exact number but it has got to be high),
especially after a big play by the defense, when they have rarely capitalized. The struggles are numerous and there is no
single position or group to point the finger at and all must improve
drastically if the team is to show any progress improvement in their record.
§
Going into the season, QB was the most up in the
air position but transfer Jordan Webb grabbed control of the reins quickly, and
although there have been some tough times and lots of criticism, he appears to
be their best option and neither Connor Wood nor Nick Hirschman seem to have
what it takes to succeed, and if they haven’t done it yet, it is unlikely that
outside of mop-up duty and injury relief, either will ever play much in a Buff
uniform (which is disappointing, especially in the case of Wood). Webb should be the guy next year and will be
backed up and followed by one of the young guys, either current redshirting
frosh Shane Dillon or verbally committed 3-to-4 star Wasshington product Sefo
Liafu. This position is definitely a
question mark for the future in asking how good can Webb lead the team for two
years and how will his successors do? Or
is Colorado still going to go a few more years with slightly above mediocre
play as the best to expect from its QB?
§
Part of the problem at QB is the offensive line,
which was expected to be a relative strength, returning a lot of experience, if
only one senior. So far they have been
overmatched and outplayed by every defensive front they have played, allowing a
ton of sacks and a ton of other hits on the QB.
It is a wonder Webb has been able to take as many snaps as he has. They have not been much better in the run
game, even Powell’s performance was mostly his doing and not the holes that
were opened for him. On top of all the
problems, injuries at center have forced some juggling and nobody knows who
will start at center (Handler or Munyer), which leaves the RG waiting for
Munyer or Jack Harris, and the LT looks like it may have been taken over by
R-Fr. Stephane Nembot (who hopefully won’t ever relinquish it). They do have depth here and return everyone
but super sub Ryan Dannewitz, along with a solid frosh in Jeromy Irwin and more
recruits committed for next year. It
seems like this group has a decent amount of talent and a lot of potential, but
Steve Marshall’s coaching ability is definitely to be questioned.
§
Another position that affects the QB is the WR,
where we are just not fielding a Pac-12 caliber corps, especially in the speed
department. Our best receiver (until
P-Rich returns next spring) is Nelson Spruce, who has good hands and runs nice
routes, but would be only a fourth or fifth wideout on almost any other team in
the conference. T-Fr. Gerald has some
potential, but has not yet grasped the entire offense, does not yet run crisp
routes and whose speed is probably just a little above average in the Pac-12,
but maybe things start to click in the second half of the season. Tyler McCulloch has the size you would like
to see, and some decent number so far, but has been woefully inconsistent on
routes and catching the ball, and has yet to really be as big of a factor in
the redzone as he was expected to be. Nobody
else is really contributing that much. Ebner
is a nice story but that’s really about it, Keenan Canty has disappeared in his
new number 12 jersey, and that literally is everyone else. They need a serious upgrade here and the two
greyshirts and a few other true frosh will certainly be in the mix next season.
§
TE is becoming a pleasant surprise, with a few
guys finally starting to catch on. Sr. Nick Kasa has been an overall
disappointment but he is making a solid contribution as a senior. He is backed up by So. Kyle Slavin and T-Fr.
Vincent Hobbs, who both have great pass-catching skills and are getting better
at the rest of it, hopefully to become a dynamic duo for the next couple of years. Scott Fernandez provides some size for the
Jumbo formation with three TEs and will sneak a TD catch at some point this
season I think. They also have two
redshirting who could help in the future as well as one wavering 4-star
in-state prospect that they need to keep in the fold (Parsons). Embree has got
to be generally pleased with what he sees here.
§
It is hard to truly judge the RBs (although we
can probably say there are not fantastic) because of the way they rotate and
their inconsistent performance so far, which are at least in part due to the
line’s inadequacies. Christian Powell
and Tony Jones offer a nice one-two change of speed combo, but nobody
understand EB’s reasoning behind who is out there and what plays he is
calling. They seem to have a lot of
solid number two backs, but no one who is that every week game breaker that
teams fear. Part of the problem here is
that their position coach is too busy worrying about the problems on the rest
of the offense and cannot possibly gives his RBs the time they need with his
experience and expertise.
§
“It might be charitable to say the Buffs are
struggling defensively,” wrote Kyle Ringo of The Camera, about the group that has
been equally as disappointing as the offense, making some nice plays on
occasion, but rarely the big stop (and even the few times they have, the
offense didn’t back it up). They have also given up way too many plays over 20
yards, including some ridiculously long TDs like those in the Fresno St.
debacle. We don’t even want to list the
statistics and conference or national rankings.
§
Although being out of position has been an
ongoing issue for many of the young players, missed tackles and weak technique
has been the biggest culprit, leading to a large percentage of team’s total
yardage. Running to the ball, taking the
correct angle, wrapping up the ball carrier and sound technique across the
board (hips, shoulders, eyes, head up) have most certainly been the main areas
of focus, practice and coaches’ yelling this week in preparation for ASU.
§
The line has also been the biggest liability on
defense as everything starts in the trenches and offensive lines are generally winning
this battleground, picking rushing yardage when they need it, and giving ample
time to their QBs to find open receivers.
Of the four main DTs, three are true freshmen (Josh Topou, Tyler
Henington, Justin Solis), and of the five main DEs, two are sophomores and
another is a true frosh (Samson Kafovalu).
They have a lot of potential, but outside of Topou, they all need to put
on some weight as well.
§
Sr. Wil Pericak is the unquestioned leader of
this line and defense and has moved outside most of the time, opening room for
the frosh DTs. Jr. DE Chidera Uzo-Diribe
is coming into his own and drawing a lot
more double teams while he has still picked up five sacks. Jr. DT Nate Bonsu is finally healthy and
taking up space, if not making huge plays, in the middle. So. DE Kirk Poston has been a pleasant
surprise, especially the last two games, however Juda Parker has been
disappointing and has not progressed enough to get on the field much. They still have a few more linemen red or
grey shirting, but only have one committed so far. This group is a little thin still and makes
me wonder if they can develop enough to compete without Pericak next year.
§
The linebackers are a puzzling group, in that
they are very deep and have a lot of talent, but I am not sure if they have
figured out how to get the most out of them as a unit yet. They have by no means been bad, but they have
not shown up as the leaders of the defense, controlling the middle of the field,
and making up for some of the youth and deficiencies in front of and behind
them. Frankly, the secondary has had to
make way too many tackles; we really shouldn’t know how good of a tackler
Crawley is because he should not have to have done it so much while he is
trying to learn his general assignments and cover fast wideouts. Doug Rippy should return for ASU and you would
think that is a major plus, but they have been rotating five linebackers a lot
already (Jon Major, Derrick Webb, Brady Daigh, Kyle Washington and Paul Vigo)
and I am not sure how they mix him in as well.
Vigo played out of mind against WSU, but maybe was affected by a
concussion against UCLA, as he was not nearly as effective. He and Washington, both former safeties, give
them an added dimension in pass coverage but they give up a little size. There is a lot of depth here and they are
coached by Cabral so it will remain a decent to strong group no matter what.
§
Although the group of four freshmen in the
secondary has played admirably, at times no one really knew what was going on
and safeties Parker Orms, Terrell Smith (both juniors) and So. Jered Bell just
don’t provide the knowledge, experience or leadership that Sr. Ray Polk can and
does. His return should increase the productivity and intensity of the entire
defense as well as allow Orms to concentrate full-time on the nickel slot where
he is most effective. This position is
in decent shape, will return a lot of experience next year and Mosley played
well and had an interception in his time and should be a solid contributor for
the next few years.
§
The cornerbacks are all extremely young but are
learning on the fly and performing quite well.
The veteran of the group, So. Greg Henderson returned from his ankle
injury and made some plays against UCLA.
Crawley has been improving each week, starting every game and tackling
well; I just don’t think he has had to rely on much technique in his high
school career and is trying to take it all in now. Fellow frosh Yuri Wright played well in his
time filling in also and I would expect to see more of him as the season goes
on. Jeff Hall hasn’t palyed nearly as
much on defense yet, but this foursome will only get better as they gain
experience against the best wide receivers in the nation.
§
Special Teams: Unfortunately, this remains
a relative strength of the team so far, mostly because it hasn’t been plagued
by the high number of gaffes it committed last year or that the rest of the
team has so far this year. It is way
better than it has been since the Barnett days, but cannot be considered an
actual “strength” that teams need to be prepared for like the punters of Mac’s
days, returner likes Deon Figures or Ben Kelly, or a kicker like Mason
Crosby. They do have a lot of solid players,
but no known difference makers.
§
Punter Darragh O’Neill is the most impacting
special teams player we have, with his booming leg and tenacity in covering his
own kicks, and should be named the team MVP.
He has made two touchdown saving tackles, in addition to some really
nice punts that have bailed them out or pinned the opposition. However, he is still very young in football
years and is prone to many mistakes, including some really low kicks and a
couple terrible shanks out of bounds. By
his senior season he will really be a force.
§
True frosh CB Kenneth Crawley has done an
admirable job on punt returns so far, increasing our average hugely over the
past few years. After the one muff
against csu, he has learned from it and become very dependable since. He has not broken one yet, but does show the
fearlessness and moves to pull it off in time.
This also could become a strength down the road.
§
Kicker Wil Oliver is fine, but I am not really
satisfied with “fine”. He has missed a
28-yarder this year and I will forgive that one-if
it happens again it is a problem. He
says he is comfortable from 57 yards, but Embree has been much more reluctant
to kick and has opted to go for it on fourth down when the FG would be 45 or
more yards; however, I think this is more due to EB and Embree wanting to take
the risk more this year.
§
Kickoffs have not been fine, with the duties
split between Justin Castor and Oliver, and neither one making the endzone very
often, allowing for many returns, and Oliver even had one out of bounds
again?! Why can’t CU, at this altitude,
recruit kickers who can take advantage of it?!
§
Coverage of both punts and kickoffs have been
shaky at times and they have allowed some big returns on both.
§
Kickoff return has been the weakest of the
special teams areas with the team starting inside the 25 yard line more often
than not. Three other true frosh (not
Crawley) have shared the duties so far, with RB Donta Abron and CB Jeff Hall
pulling duty for UCLA. S Marques Mosley
had some less than favorable returns and was demoted, although he had returned
a 100-yarder in a scrimmage. Everyone
was wondering how teams would deal with the new rules and I have been surprised
how many teams across the country have been trying to return balls kicked into
the endzone, costing the team 5-10 yards (or more) of field position after each
kickoff. Embree and Brookhart started
out with this philosophy, but seem to have tempered their aggressive tendency
and will likely take the 25 going forward.
Unfortunately, they have shown teams that they are not adept at the
return and teams with good kickers will drop it short, inside the 5 and force
us to desperately try a return.
§
While they are better this year, special teams
units still have a lot of work to do to reach an acceptable level of play in
order to help this team compete for four quarters.
Overall, the Buffs have a long
way to go. Although there are a few pieces of silver lining across the roster,
there are gaping holes that need to be mended.
This team could grow and improve a great deal without winning another
game this season. From the outset of the
Embree era, we always said that 2013 and 2014 would be the years that this team
would really start to resemble his vision.
We just didn’t think the interim would be this grim and that we could
work so much on our personal patience.
No comments:
Post a Comment