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Rocky Mountain Showdown - News & Updates
- Thread starter Buffnik
- Start date
Karma to him. Hope they can figure out the right meds/diet so he can (#1) live a long & healthy life and (#2) finish his football career on his own terms.
Unleash Hell
Well-Known Member
Is it just me, or does it seem that CSU doesn't match up well with CU this year?
I seem to remember the Rams having a pretty bad secondary last season and the passing game looks to be CU's strength?
For the Rams to have a decent chance, they have to run the ball well in this game, which they have had success with in the past against us.
We really need to get a big early lead and not let off the gas.
I seem to remember the Rams having a pretty bad secondary last season and the passing game looks to be CU's strength?
For the Rams to have a decent chance, they have to run the ball well in this game, which they have had success with in the past against us.
We really need to get a big early lead and not let off the gas.
CSU will be relying on their veteran offense line and run game to open up the passing game. They have a good line and two good running backs. Hopefully, the second year under Leavitt and some significant improvement in CU's defensive line and linebackers can reverse the trend where CSU has controlled the point of attack in recent years.
CSU lost a lot at WR with Higgins and Hansley gone. CUs secondary is a big advantage in the passing game defense.
CSU defense also lost a lot to graduation, their DC departed, and they are switching schemes from a 3-4 to. 4-3 base. They have major question marks on the defensive line, and in the secondary. Still no word if projected starter In the their secondary (Sweet) will serve a suspension in game 1 for an offseason DUI. Having said that, CSU linebackers are pretty good and have depth. The unfortunate loss of Clyburn does not help, however. CU should be able to score some points in the vertical passing game.
CSU special teams are excellent at the kicker and punter positions. They have an advantage there.
CSU lost a lot at WR with Higgins and Hansley gone. CUs secondary is a big advantage in the passing game defense.
CSU defense also lost a lot to graduation, their DC departed, and they are switching schemes from a 3-4 to. 4-3 base. They have major question marks on the defensive line, and in the secondary. Still no word if projected starter In the their secondary (Sweet) will serve a suspension in game 1 for an offseason DUI. Having said that, CSU linebackers are pretty good and have depth. The unfortunate loss of Clyburn does not help, however. CU should be able to score some points in the vertical passing game.
CSU special teams are excellent at the kicker and punter positions. They have an advantage there.
If CU's DL can control the line of scrimmage, Buffs have this one in the bag. CSU has lost a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball, our WR's have the potential to have a very good day.
I am relatively certain CSu has the Hawaii tape from last year....
I would argue that if they are blitzing, it is going to play right into our strength. If the LB's vacate the middle to blitz the QB, that is going to open our WR's over the middle. We will see what happens, but IMO CSU should struggle.
Before we claim that our passing game is our strength, I'd really like to see how our new WR's look. Granted, they look great in photos, in shells (according to reports) and are physically better. We are deeper, have more competition, etc. But I'd slow the drumroll until we see what emerges and how they look. The unit this past spring was nothing but awful, consistent with last fall (minus Spruce).
Shay Fields is a top tier talent when healthy, which he is now.
Winfree has proven he can play at a high level at the upper division of college football.
Ross has flashed often.
Bobo has flashed often.
MacIntyre has shown some ability.
Huntley is a very good WR and is turning heads by everyone at practice.
Personally don't understand the fear here. If there is one position to be confident in the level of talent, WR would definitely be in the discussion.
Unleash Hell
Well-Known Member
I think WR is the best unit on the team.
I understand people being cautious considering Sefo and the offensive line but to say Shay was awful last year is just dumb and has been consistently proven wrong on here and on the scout board to Holic but he doesn't care because he "watches them constantly during the games."
Someone wrote somewhere that Sefo shy's away from throwing down the middle.
^^^^This!
Waiting for Bobo to separate himself and whats his name to stop dropping the ball....
CitizenKane
Well-Known Member
You actually make a decent point Buffaholic. Fields and Ross had a total of 5 receptions last year. They were very big ones, but then CSU's D was paying much more attention to Spruce than to either Fields or Ross. CU only threw for 220 yards last year. So it isn't like they tore up CSU's secondary.
That being said, I strongly believe CSU lost significantly more from their DB's than CU lost in Spruce and that CSU lost enough from their D line that CU's O-line will actually win the line of scrimmage. If CU doesn't throw for over 300 yards and run for more than 150 in this game I would be surprised. Watching the o-line during spring ball has me slamming the kool-aid when it comes to the run game. Their ability to pass block is still very much in question, but again I think CSU lost enough on the D-line it won't show up this game. I still think this game comes down to whether CU's defense can shut down the CSU offense...or at least I have many many more doubts there.
pcbuff
Well-Known Member
They will try to take it to us with the running game. Last year their O line was winning most battles. It isn't a mystery what they will try to do. The mystery is whether our D Line can out physical them. If they can, it will be a fun day for Buff fans. If they can't, it will be a close game that has us pulling our hair out again. And damn if I don't have much hair left!
That and the JC transfer could make things much more interesting.
@MtnBuff
I concur that their DB unit lost a lot.
Was simply stating that we shouldn't state that our passing game is our strength (yet). Seems everyone is so impressed by the physical appearance if new WRs. They forgot the lessons that the last Kansas Juco taught us. You got to be able to actually play.
I concur that their DB unit lost a lot.
Was simply stating that we shouldn't state that our passing game is our strength (yet). Seems everyone is so impressed by the physical appearance if new WRs. They forgot the lessons that the last Kansas Juco taught us. You got to be able to actually play.
WR should be the least of CU's worries. CU's OL and DL are the keys to this game.
Define "often".
I am most interested in seeing how CU's defense plays given this is the second season under Leavitt. Coach Leavitt is a legit top shelf DC. Other than Hankwitz, CU has not had a DC as good as Leavitt since before coach Mac took the CU job in 1982.
My confidence in the defense being ready out of the locker room with a good game plan the first game of the season is the highest it has been the past decade plus.
My confidence in the defense being ready out of the locker room with a good game plan the first game of the season is the highest it has been the past decade plus.
I just want to see if he can get some pressure with four guys and see what he can do with his linebackers after another year on the field. Being able to have Chido as more of a ball hawk in the secondary instead of blitzing on every other play would be nice because he has great instincts and can drift around. Tupou, Carrell and Samson should be able to collapse more pockets than last year and Gilbert really came on at the end of the year.
Yeah, the defensive performance is reliant on the play of the DL/OLB five. I am most nervous that the front five will need to make too many plays to overcompensate for the ILB players. This is why I am so thankful that Leavitt is in charge of the defense.
@buffaholic Before we even worry about WR we need to be able to deal with the strongest area of their team, the OL.
For all the talk of QBs, RBs WR, DBs it is very rare that a game isn't won or lost on the LOS. For all the blame spread around last year about the Hawaii game we lost the game because they beat us inside, In last years game against CSU in the first half despite our advantages elsewhere they controlled the game by running off tackle, we simply could not effectively defend the edge.
We will pass the ball effectively against them if we can keep the pass rush off Sefo, A part of that will require that we slow them down by being effective running the ball and that will require the line to get some push and create holes.
On defense our DBs should have a big advantage over their WRs but give enough time and any WR can eventually get open. Our front 7 needs to get consistent pressure and at the same time maintain enough contain that they don't kill us by pulling the ball down and running it. We also have to negate their OL push to force passing situations.
You are correct about the WRs needing to prove it. If it was just one new guy we were counting on I would be more worried but even if one disappoints we have multiple guys looking to step up. I also think that Chev has a much better idea of what he is looking for and how to get it than we had with the last guy you mentioned.
For all the talk of QBs, RBs WR, DBs it is very rare that a game isn't won or lost on the LOS. For all the blame spread around last year about the Hawaii game we lost the game because they beat us inside, In last years game against CSU in the first half despite our advantages elsewhere they controlled the game by running off tackle, we simply could not effectively defend the edge.
We will pass the ball effectively against them if we can keep the pass rush off Sefo, A part of that will require that we slow them down by being effective running the ball and that will require the line to get some push and create holes.
On defense our DBs should have a big advantage over their WRs but give enough time and any WR can eventually get open. Our front 7 needs to get consistent pressure and at the same time maintain enough contain that they don't kill us by pulling the ball down and running it. We also have to negate their OL push to force passing situations.
You are correct about the WRs needing to prove it. If it was just one new guy we were counting on I would be more worried but even if one disappoints we have multiple guys looking to step up. I also think that Chev has a much better idea of what he is looking for and how to get it than we had with the last guy you mentioned.
Andre Simmons, The Williams guy from Texas that Kennedy brought in, etc. We have a long history of assuming our problems are solved in August, not to mention we've not hit pads yet!
We brought in two Juco WRs for a reason. That should answer the fear question in bold above.
Winfree didn't prove much at Maryland. He had 12 catches or so, iirc. He was third on his Juco team last year in every statistical category at WR.
Ross has flashed, both for our team and against our team. If he doesn't fix the dropsy's, he won't be on the field come game 4.
Bobo has not flashed.
MacIntyre has yet to show anything against a P5 defense. (And I like Jay, but he's not a difference maker).
Huntley is TBD. He looks like a physical specimen.
Shay Fields would not have seen PT at many of our division rivals. He's a solid WR, but he's not being mentioned for all conference anything.
I'm NOT saying that Huntley or Winfree aren't going to be the answers we NEED. I'm optimistic they will be in fact. But that question hasn't even begun to be answered.