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Unleash's CU buffs 07 preview

Unleash Hell

Well-Known Member
OFFENSE 9 starters returning

Last season the Buffs went through one of their worst seasons ever offensively, mainly due to the fact that they could not find a QB that could get the job done. The bad news is Colorado is still looking for a QB going into the 2007 season. Last years QB Bernard Jackson has been moved back to WR/RB and returner, and the QB chase is clearly between Cody Hawkins and Nick Nelson, with Hawkins having the slight lead coming out of spring ball. The buffs must find their man shortly after fall practices start so the team can start to gel around him.
The buffs also need help at WR , were the talent level is down. There were three very talented WR’s taken in this years recuiting class, and they are expected to make an immediate impact which would be a huge boost as well.
At RB, the Buffs signed the top RB coming out of Junior College in PT Gates. The only problem is it might be hard for Gates to qualigy academically. Gates currently says he is on track to be in Boulder and on the field this fall, but the proof will be in the pudding in August. If Gates gets in, he should provide an immediate spark and help to Hugh Charles and Demetrius Summler.
The Buffs must get the breaks on the O-line as weel. They did not even have enough O-linemen to field at times during spring ball. Hawkins is recruiting more O-linemen, but this is a position that you rarely see immediate impacts from freshmen in the college ranks. The buffs are gonna have to pray for no injuries on the line this fall.


DEFENSE 7 starters returning

The D is what kept Colorado in all their games last year. If the Colorado defense had better support from the offense, they could have possibly won the five games they lost by five points or less. Colorado also trailed OU 10-3 going into the 4th, and had Nebraska tied at 14 late in the third, before the defense just couldn’t take it anymore.
The buffs were tough against the run and expect that to continue with a solid D-line and LB core. The area CU needs to improve are on D is the passing defense. The buffs allowed a 66 percent completion rate last year.

SPECIAL TEAMS
The best placekicker in school history is now gone to the NFL. However Kevin Eberhart is still an accurate kicker, he just doesn’t have the power in his leg to consistently hit FG’s from 50 and 60 yards like Crosby did.
Matt Dilallo is one of the best punters in the Big 12 and he should continue the tradition of great punters at Colorado.
The return game must improve from last year, expect Bernard Jackson and possibly one of the speedy incoming freshmen to help oit Stephone Robinson.


OVERALL

What do Bob Stoops, Jim Tressell, and Urban Meyer all have in common? They all won national titles in their second year of coaching their current programs.
Don’t expect Dan Hawkins to join that list, but do expect a more fundamentally sound and improved team in Boulder for the 2007 season. However a much tougher schedule will make it difficult to see a flip flop in the record like you saw in 2000 and 2001, 6-7 wins and a bowl game should make buff fans happy and would be a great improvement and set momentum for the ’08 recruiting class and season, where I’m calling for Colorado to really start to make some noise in Hawkins third season.


2007 schedule

CSU W
@ Arizona St. L
Florida St. L
Miami, Oh. W
Oklahoma L
@ Baylor W
@ Kansas St. Toss up
Kansas W
@ Texas Tech L
Missouri Toss Up
@ Iowa St. W
Nebraska Toss up
 
Gates was quoted as saying that he might redshirt. He has been studying hard and has not been able to work out so he is out of shape.
 
Gates was quoted as saying that he might redshirt. He has been studying hard and has not been able to work out so he is out of shape.

I don't care, just as long as he gets here! I hope to see if the Reggie Bush similarities (minus the free house for his peeps) are true!
 
Man I just hope we win the 5 games on there and get one of th etoss up games done
 
Man I just hope we win the 5 games on there and get one of th etoss up games done

Me too, I hope we win every game!:thumbsup:


Last year we could have easily been 7-4 with just a little better offense. 4 Games we lost by 5 points or less. I said 5 earlier, but it was really 4 games. MSU beat us by 9.
 
with some luck and if a few guys emerge, the Buffs could win 7 games this year. i'd be pretty happy with that after last year.

i think the defense may fall back a bit, but hopefully we see a lot better play from the qb and the ol.

and, our special teams were ABYSMAL last year. any performance close to as bad as that was and i will be screaming for a coach's scalp (and i typically don't do that). we need to see some competence in special teams.

GO BUFFS!
 
with some luck and if a few guys emerge, the Buffs could win 7 games this year. i'd be pretty happy with that after last year.

i think the defense may fall back a bit, but hopefully we see a lot better play from the qb and the ol.

and, our special teams were ABYSMAL last year. any performance close to as bad as that was and i will be screaming for a coach's scalp (and i typically don't do that). we need to see some competence in special teams.

GO BUFFS!

I'm not drinking that koolaid just yet. We will be on our 3rd QB in three years.
 
Miami-

Unfortunately I am with you if we win 5 and have a top 20 recruiting class I'll be extatic.
 
Miami-

Unfortunately I am with you if we win 5 and have a top 20 recruiting class I'll be extatic.

Those are my sentiments as well. While I am no recruiting geek I know we've been on a strong uptick since we made the change in the front office. Remember what Hawk said about filling holes from the previous adminstration. Fixing our woes make take awhile and 2008 is probably going to be our year to return to a consistant level of at least 7 or more wins per year.

We should have a pretty good idea about our team by the time conference play begins. I think were probably 1-3 at this point unless someone emerges immediately at the QB position. If we play all 3 QBs through the non conference portion were probably going to struggle until the last 4 games of the season.

Now, I think we *can* win 7 games but Hawkins would have to capture lightning in a bottle for that to happen by beating either FSU or ASU and Missouri or Nebraska. Anything is possible in the college game but 7 wins is not a very reasonable thing in our current situation. I thought we would win more than 2 last year and we almost did. It's hard to come off of last years experience and think we can win 5 games let alone 7 or more.

It will be fun to watch.
 
If we're 1-3 heading into conference play the season is toast. That means we've lost to either CSU or Miami of Ohio. Losing to either is unacceptable in my book.
 
some of you guys might want to consider dialing your expectations up a few notches. if the Buffs finish below .500 again (even tho, on paper, there are plenty of good reasons for that to happen), i think our recruiting is going to be dog-****. furthermore, the bloom will be off the rose with the fans and press too. the staff will be fighting for their coaching lives in 08 and that is a very difficult environment in which to win and to recruit. now, maybe bohn will do what marolt did and re-up hawkins for another 5 years in order to calm folks down, but i don't think there will be a lot of support for that after the buyout barnett got.

we have to win, guys. we have to win now. .500 or better, please! obviously, i will support the program no matter what, just like most of the rest of you, but there aren't enough diehards.

GO BUFFS!
 
We should have a pretty good idea about our team by the time conference play begins. I think were probably 1-3 at this point unless someone emerges immediately at the QB position.

we really need to keep you and jimmy occupied together with your own watch parties this year... :lol:
 
OFFENSE 9 starters returning

Last season the Buffs went through one of their worst seasons ever offensively, mainly due to the fact that they could not find a QB that could get the job done.

Am I the only person who thinks that the biggest issue last year was not the QB but the line play? Don't get me wrong, I thought Jackson played piss poor most of last year, but it seemed to me that the line never really picked up the new offense and footwork. I remember reading stories about how they would revert to their old footwork when the pressure was on.

In the same vein, I firmly believe that the success of the offense this year depends on how fast the line gels and how well they have picked up the current scheme.
 
we really need to keep you and jimmy occupied together with your own watch parties this year... :lol:

I couldn't sit though a game with him. He takes it way to personally. :smile2: I am more pragmatic about it; We're just not very good right now but we are clearly on our way to getting better. I am a lot more comfortable going 2-10 under Hawkins than winning 7 games at best under GB year after year. For the last 3 or 4 seasons he stoped getting better and sort of went status quo or something akin to accepting a mediocre outcome on us. I think he wouldn't have lasted more than one or two more seasons anyways. jimmy, I don't think, would have much positive to say right now at all.

As for the Line, I agree. The QBs play and the strength of the line go hand in hand. Bjax probably got the nod because Hawkins knew we were in deep trouble and he needed BJax mobility to help out.
 
I couldn't sit though a game with him. He takes it way to personally. :smile2: I am more pragmatic about it; We're just not very good right now but we are clearly on our way to getting better. I am a lot more comfortable going 2-10 under Hawkins than winning 7 games at best under GB year after year. For the last 3 or 4 seasons he stoped getting better and sort of went status quo or something akin to accepting a mediocre outcome on us. I think he wouldn't have lasted more than one or two more seasons anyways. jimmy, I don't think, would have much positive to say right now at all.

As for the Line, I agree. The QBs play and the strength of the line go hand in hand. Bjax probably got the nod because Hawkins knew we were in deep trouble and he needed BJax mobility to help out.

:lol: okay. no miami-jimmy watch parties then. i agree about the status quo thing.
 
In the same vein, I firmly believe that the success of the offense this year depends on how fast the line gels and how well they have picked up the current scheme.

I agree...football games are won or lost in the trenches. Our D line stood tall last year and I expect them to do it again this year. Our O-line definitely struggled throughout last season and I pray we can stay healthy and get some improvements.

That being said, I firmly believe that they and the rest of the team will play their asses off and we can win 6+ games...and I will be yelling my ass off for them regardless of what happens.

I plan to open the after game Victory cooler a lot more this year!
 
"Toss Up" Ha!

Home field is worth 7, so I will say 49-14, the good guys.:thumbsup:

You're probably right...7 of your 14 points are likely to be a gift!:thumbsup:

P.S. Shouldn't you be looking for that bouncer that used his face to attack Mo Purify's fist?
 
I agree...football games are won or lost in the trenches. Our D line stood tall last year and I expect them to do it again this year. Our O-line definitely struggled throughout last season and I pray we can stay healthy and get some improvements.

Totally. I cant name the name all the names but it seems we had an incredible string of bad luck on the OLine going back into GBs term a couple of years. We had injuries, kids quit, transfer, have their position changed, etc. It seemed we lacked depth their for quite awhile. We were always putting some sort of patch work together. ****, we moved Sam Wilder to OLine if memory serves.
 
"Toss Up" Ha!

Home field is worth 7, so I will say 49-14, the good guys.:thumbsup:



ya remind me of hillbillies all time road record again?:lol: ANYBODY hosting NU with Cally as coach always has a decent chance at beating the mediocre fuskers. You aint that great, and CU has a decent shot.
 
"Toss Up" Ha!

Home field is worth 7, so I will say 49-14, the good guys.:thumbsup:

if home field is worth only 7 and we got better and on paper NU didn't really I still think you guys can keep it closer than 49-14 more like 24-13 or something like that.
 
Last year we could have easily been 7-4 with just a little better offense. 4 Games we lost by 5 points or less. I said 5 earlier, but it was really 4 games. MSU beat us by 9.

I don't buy this at all. We were pretty far away from 7-4 last year, no way around it. Frankly, this team doesn't know how to win/close games out right now. While we definitely struggled on offense last year, the whole team collapsed when it mattered most. Until that changes, this team is looking at 5 wins this season IMO.
 
I think we can still have a good recruiting year with only 5 wins year 3 is normally still a good recruiting year, and with the new facilities that Hawkis will have to show people that will help. Then come 2009 with little hawk having a year under his belt and miller and the guys from last year being ready to play we should be in much better shape, D will be a little rough that year though.
 
I don't buy this at all. We were pretty far away from 7-4 last year, no way around it. Frankly, this team doesn't know how to win/close games out right now. While we definitely struggled on offense last year, the whole team collapsed when it mattered most. Until that changes, this team is looking at 5 wins this season IMO.

A good portion of the collapse in many games was the fact that our defense had to be on the field so much. IF we can keep the offense on the field more this year by sustaining drives then I am optimistic that we can have a decent season. I also expect that we will be remedying some of the defensive backfield issues that gave up so many 3rd and longs which kept them on the field.

You are correct in the closing out games fact. This team needs to have some early success to gain their confidence and learn to win. It is going to interesting...
 
A good portion of the collapse in many games was the fact that our defense had to be on the field so much. IF we can keep the offense on the field more this year by sustaining drives then I am optimistic that we can have a decent season. I also expect that we will be remedying some of the defensive backfield issues that gave up so many 3rd and longs which kept them on the field.

You are correct in the closing out games fact. This team needs to have some early success to gain their confidence and learn to win. It is going to interesting...

Good points. I think the area we're overlooking is special teams. We were not very good there and it really hurt us when it came to the field position battle. When you consistently lose the field position battle, you will have a tough time winning games. This team needs to improve drastically both on offense and special teams for a winning record to be a reality. Hopefully it happens, but I'm not overly optimistic right now.
 
Good points. I think the area we're overlooking is special teams. We were not very good there and it really hurt us when it came to the field position battle. When you consistently lose the field position battle, you will have a tough time winning games. This team needs to improve drastically both on offense and special teams for a winning record to be a reality. Hopefully it happens, but I'm not overly optimistic right now.

completely agree...that did kill us last year. Way to many fumbles and bad field position which starts with not being able to move the ball. I think our punting game can be decnt so that will help...and maybe BJax is exactly what the doctor orderdd for our return game :cool:
 
completely agree...that did kill us last year. Way to many fumbles and bad field position which starts with not being able to move the ball. I think our punting game can be decnt so that will help...and maybe BJax is exactly what the doctor orderdd for our return game :cool:

I hope so. It was so disappointing to watch what happened to Robinson last year. He went from a star in the making during his sophomore year to looking totally lost on returns last year.
 
A good portion of the collapse in many games was the fact that our defense had to be on the field so much. IF we can keep the offense on the field more this year by sustaining drives then I am optimistic that we can have a decent season. I also expect that we will be remedying some of the defensive backfield issues that gave up so many 3rd and longs which kept them on the field.

You are correct in the closing out games fact. This team needs to have some early success to gain their confidence and learn to win. It is going to interesting...

ya that. I should not have said "easily" rather just we could have been. 5 close losses was due to defense being on the field too long and special teams. We also only trailed OU10-0 in the 4th and had NU tied 14 late in the third before the huskers had to use trick plays to beat us.
 
Good points. I think the area we're overlooking is special teams. We were not very good there and it really hurt us when it came to the field position battle. When you consistently lose the field position battle, you will have a tough time winning games. This team needs to improve drastically both on offense and special teams for a winning record to be a reality. Hopefully it happens, but I'm not overly optimistic right now.

I respectfully disagree with your assessment as to why we continually lost the field position battle. Our punter was adequate. He was no John Torp or Barry Helton, but he was OK. No, where we got mutilated in the field position battle was our inability to pick up third downs coupled with our maddening propensity for giving up 3rd and long to our opponents. Look it up, the only games we won were the games where our 3rd down conversion percentage was better than our opponents.
 
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