A letter to the people calling for Embree's head.

[JimmyBuff]

Let me first clarify my credentials to speak on the matter. I played football in high school and college. Unfortunately I didn't attend CU even though I was offered a walk on opportunity by Vince Ohkruh. Basically, I feel that I know a lot more about football than the typical fanatic.

First off, we all know that we have basically the youngest team in the country. I'm not the only one who remembers that am I? I made the mistake of participating in the chat room in the 2nd quarter today. My insistence for my fellow CU fans to back off of the fire-Embo talk was met with numerous requests to "shut the **** up" by Creatini and others. Some agreed with me, so it wasn't wasn't all total classless remarks. And the fact that so many are calling for Embree's firing has inspired me to write this letter to you.

Watching the game today I noticed many issues of course, but there is one clear problem. There is almost a total lack of leadership, talent and ability of the Halkins leftover players. So basically, you are expecting Embree's Freshmen and Sophomores to lead the team? Not gonna happen. However I did notice a lot of great potential from many young guys. Which is a sign of two things. We have better days ahead and this year is a rebuilding year with little expectations of on-field success.

I'd like to take a minute to review the position groups.
QB - Webb isn't going to win any games and he isn't going to make stupid mistakes. He had a bad game today but its hard to do much with horrible blocking. I would not be opposed to seeing someone else get a shot. I just hope that Wood isn't even worse. hopefully Dillon or Liufau can be premier players in the future.
RB - Powell is a stud. He was the best player on the field today and will be a great Buff. Looks like we have decen talent with our young RB's and will be a bright spot if we find linemen to block for them.
WR - All young kids. The return of p-rich and some more freshman will help next year. Spruce is decent. Thomas has great speed and McCulough has some potential. Future looks bright here.
TE - Kasa looks good. Want to see him get the ball a lot more. Young guys appear capable and Parsons could be playing next year.
O-Line - Wow. I stated that we have an FCS line and I'm not far off. Outside of Bahktiari, we need major help. Our guards suck. Harris looks good and then bad. I can only hope that Embree's recruits develope fast here. Building a successful program starts up front and it appears to be our worst position. 100% made up of Halkins leftovers by the way.
D-Line - Pericak is a beast. But he is all we have now. The freshmen appear to have potential but they're freshman and this position is impossible to come in and dominate right away. Future looks bright. Again, that is the FUTURE.
LB - What was supposed to be our best position group really hasn't shown up. I see no heart, nastiness, flow or awareness. Major whiffs on too many tackles. Webb is decent, but not in Pass coverage. Wtf is Vigo doing on the field?! Need help!
DB - the future looks very bright here. We got screwed on a couple PI calls but Crawley and Wright will be great. We'll see how the young safeties develop but they can't be much worse than what we've had lately.

I'm not sure that Embree and staff are the greatest gameday coaches. Some of the play calls have been questionable at best. But they can't make the players more talented. their scouting and recruiting has looked promising. They are going to get a couple more years and I'm fine with that. At the very least, the next coach will be inheriting a much better team.

With all that said, will some of you chill the **** out please?!?

I was with you till today. Sorry losing to Sac State should NEVER be acceptable. Embree has lost me.

 

[Buffalo Brad]

No more ****ing excuses. No more. This staff is doing less with more. They are way over their heads and have no idea what to do. This team will be lucky to get 1 win. ****, I hate ****** football, especially when it is my Buffs playing it.

 

[Sexton Hardcastle]

opcorn:

 

[MrFrumpylane]

:lol:

Nice rationalization though

Seriously tho- you are not one to tell people to shut the **** up especially when you have been fan policing posters who were skeptical of CU winning games such as the last two. Maybe you should the **** up instead. Cuz really, you look really stupid right now.

 

[Quattro]

Seriously tho- you are not one to tell people to shut the **** up especially when you have been fan policing posters who were skeptical of CU winning games such as the last two. Maybe you should the **** up instead. Cuz really, you look really stupid right now.

Yeah because I've been rationalizing losing to a ****ing bottom feeder of a FCS team who got beat by NMSU by 30 last weekend after Embree and his staff have been horribly outcoached in those two games.

 

[buff4bcs1985]

Seriously tho- you are not one to tell people to shut the **** up especially when you have been fan policing posters who were skeptical of CU winning games such as the last two. Maybe you should the **** up instead. Cuz really, you look really stupid right now.

this

 

[Duff Man]

Yeah because I've been rationalizing losing to a ****ing bottom feeder of a FCS team who got beat by NMSU by 30 last weekend after Embree and his staff have been horribly outcoached in those two games.

You rationalized away a 3-10 season completely. On numerous occasions. But you forgot about all of that stuff pretty quickly.

 

[Quattro]

You rationalized away a 3-10 season completely. On numerous occasions. But you forgot about all of that stuff pretty quickly.

No I realize that. I thought it had more to do with the injuries rather than coaching, clearly I was wrong, very wrong. I didn't however, ever rationalize a loss to a bad FCS team who got killed by NMSU just a week before. I just don't see how you can rationalize this one or the last one...

 

[Dark Bohner]

I'll throw in my two cents.

1. Colorado should never ever lose to an FCS team with every decided advantage that is available to them. However, Oregon State lost to them last year, and beat Wisconsin today so anything is possible.
2. Embree has the remainder of the season to coach for his job. He better use it.
3. Webb simply is not effective. It is time to put in Wood and just see what happens.

I hate wanting to fire a lifetime Buff, but I also think that Colorado cannot afford the patience that was given to Hawkins. If this staff can't show marked improvement throughout the remainder of this season, they need to be handed their severance and thanked for their service.

 

[DBT]

Gawd you morons! It will get better!! Stop the negativity!!!! :nod:

 

[Darian3Hagan]

Gawd you morons! It will get better!! Stop the negativity!!!! :nod:

Where have I heard that before?

 

[sackman]

Stating that Embree "isn't capable of winning as a D1 coach" is a strong conclusion without much corresponding reasoning.

What more evidence would you like? Dude, we just lost to CSU and Sacramento State on consecutive weekends. That's not enough to tell you he's not cut out for this? How many games are we going to have to lose before you come to the same conclusion? There comes a time - for me at least - when it's clear that we've hired the wrong guy. For Hawkins, it was the CSU game in 2009. For Embree, it was CSU in 2012. This team is regressing, not getting better. The team has quit - did you SEE that 3 and out with 4 minutes to go in the game? What kind of team quits like that? Embree doesn't have it. I'm sorry. He's a good guy and will always be a great Buff. Unfortunately, he's a crappy head football coach. That's just the plain truth.

 

[rolandftw]

It's fine to keep playing the "we are really young" card on offense, but it raises two major concerns that are not easily explained away:

1. How were we so bad on offense last year with veterans? We were dead last in the PAC-12 with experienced players at most positions. We had some injuries along the way, but it still does not explain why we averaged under 20 points a game.

2. What is the future for the offense? I think we can reasonably assume that Thomas, Powell, and Richardson are all going to be major pieces, but what else do we have? Who is the QB? I keep hearing about the "potential" of McCulloch from some posters. When are we just going to admit he is pretty much the same player he was when he stepped on to campus? Spruce looks to be another piece down the road, but where does he fit next season?

The point being, it is nice to talk about the future as some grand concept, but I am really having a hard time figuring out how it is all going to magically click next season.

1. I'd say first that most of the players on that team were Hawkins recruited players. They were not players that Embree had brought in, so it's not completely fair to judge our current coach based on what our past coach brought in. All of our losses last season, we gave up 30+ points on defense. Usually when you give up a lot of points, you get put into a situation where you are forced to pass, which makes your offense predictable. Add in some injuries to Rodney Stewart and mediocre QB play and you have a subpar offense.

2. I can't say that I know what the future is for the offense. It's essentially trial by fire for a lot of our young players. I'm more concerned about developing a serviceable offensive line, because it doesn't really matter how good our skilled position players are if our line can't block worth anything. QB is a huge uncertainty. It's not likely Jordan Webb, and I can only assume that Shane Dillon is the QB in the near future for the program. I know a lot of people are convinced Connor Wood would be an improvement, but I'm not so certain. I can only assume Parsons will be our starting TE next year or very soon thereafter, assuming he signs a LOI. It's the Offensive Line tho that's the biggest question mark.

I'm not claiming that everything is going to click, but I do think that some young players are going to establish themselves as good players for us and we will become a better team. Dunno if Embree is the answer or not, but do think he did a decent job in recruiting last year and would like to see his class(es) get a chance to show what they can do, before making a final judgment on him. He clearly has to get better as a coach, and I imagine that is something he would admit.

I agree that it's not acceptable losing to Sacramento State, I just don't think firing Embree is a cure to all of our problems. I dunno who we'd even be able to get if we did go that direction.

 

[Dark Bohner]

Gawd you morons! It will get better!! Stop the negativity!!!! :nod:

Yeah, given your track record with judgement on coaches, I'd look in the mirror when identifying a moron.

Don't patronize, it is ****ing insulting.

 

[SINKRATZ]

1. I'd say first that most of the players on that team were Hawkins recruited players. They were not players that Embree had brought in, so it's not completely fair to judge our current coach based on what our past coach brought in. All of our losses last season, we gave up 30+ points on defense. Usually when you give up a lot of points, you get put into a situation where you are forced to pass, which makes your offense predictable. Add in some injuries to Rodney Stewart and mediocre QB play and you have a subpar offense.

Hawkins managed to win 3 games with his recruits in his last season at CU. Embree is likely staring at an 0-12 season with a roster only half filled with Hawkins recruits. So are Embree's recruits actually worse or is he a worse coach? I'm not sure I see how having Hawk's recruits are preventing Embree from beating teams like Sac State.

 

[BuffHerd]

Took my kid to the game today. They handed out coupons for 2for1 breakfast sandwiches at McDonalds at the stadium. My point being, it wasn't a complete waste of our day, we got a 2for1 McDonalds coupons! Here's to hoping that much of this coaching staff (at least Mrshall) is needing stacks of 2for1 coupons come monday...

 

[moett88]

let me first clarify my credentials to speak on the matter. I played football in high school and college. Unfortunately i didn't attend cu even though i was offered a walk on opportunity by vince ohkruh. Basically, i feel that i know a lot more about football than the typical fanatic.

First off, we all know that we have basically the youngest team in the country. I'm not the only one who remembers that am i? I made the mistake of participating in the chat room in the 2nd quarter today. My insistence for my fellow cu fans to back off of the fire-embo talk was met with numerous requests to "shut the **** up" by creatini and others. Some agreed with me, so it wasn't wasn't all total classless remarks. And the fact that so many are calling for embree's firing has inspired me to write this letter to you.

Watching the game today i noticed many issues of course, but there is one clear problem. There is almost a total lack of leadership, talent and ability of the halkins leftover players. So basically, you are expecting embree's freshmen and sophomores to lead the team? Not gonna happen. However i did notice a lot of great potential from many young guys. Which is a sign of two things. We have better days ahead and this year is a rebuilding year with little expectations of on-field success.

I'd like to take a minute to review the position groups.
Qb - webb isn't going to win any games and he isn't going to make stupid mistakes. He had a bad game today but its hard to do much with horrible blocking. I would not be opposed to seeing someone else get a shot. I just hope that wood isn't even worse. Hopefully dillon or liufau can be premier players in the future.
Rb - powell is a stud. He was the best player on the field today and will be a great buff. Looks like we have decen talent with our young rb's and will be a bright spot if we find linemen to block for them.
Wr - all young kids. The return of p-rich and some more freshman will help next year. Spruce is decent. Thomas has great speed and mcculough has some potential. Future looks bright here.
Te - kasa looks good. Want to see him get the ball a lot more. Young guys appear capable and parsons could be playing next year.
O-line - wow. I stated that we have an fcs line and i'm not far off. Outside of bahktiari, we need major help. Our guards suck. Harris looks good and then bad. I can only hope that embree's recruits develope fast here. Building a successful program starts up front and it appears to be our worst position. 100% made up of halkins leftovers by the way.
D-line - pericak is a beast. But he is all we have now. The freshmen appear to have potential but they're freshman and this position is impossible to come in and dominate right away. Future looks bright. Again, that is the future.
Lb - what was supposed to be our best position group really hasn't shown up. I see no heart, nastiness, flow or awareness. Major whiffs on too many tackles. Webb is decent, but not in pass coverage. Wtf is vigo doing on the field?! Need help!
Db - the future looks very bright here. We got screwed on a couple pi calls but crawley and wright will be great. We'll see how the young safeties develop but they can't be much worse than what we've had lately.

I'm not sure that embree and staff are the greatest gameday coaches. Some of the play calls have been questionable at best. But they can't make the players more talented. Their scouting and recruiting has looked promising. They are going to get a couple more years and i'm fine with that. At the very least, the next coach will be inheriting a much better team.

With all that said, will some of you chill the **** out please?!?

well said!

 

[Varsity]

**** Embree.

 

[Quattro]

**** Embree.

Uncalled for

 

[Hank]

Uncalled for

Well said. Go away.

 

[Varsity]

Well said. Go away.

**** you.

 

[Hank]

**** you.

I think there is a misunderstanding.

 

[Varsity]

**** Embree

 

[rolandftw]

Hawkins managed to win 3 games with his recruits in his last season at CU. Embree is likely staring at an 0-12 season with a roster only half filled with Hawkins recruits. So are Embree's recruits actually worse or is he a worse coach? I'm not sure I see how having Hawk's recruits are preventing Embree from beating teams like Sac State.

Embree's recruits, are freshman. Hawkins's recruits were seniors. It's not really a fair comparison at all.

We can say that Hawkins probably had a better first class, if you are to believe the scouting rankings. And had more success his second year then Embree will have.

 

[SINKRATZ]

Embree's recruits, are freshman. Hawkins's recruits were seniors. It's not really a fair comparison at all.

We can say that Hawkins probably had a better first class, if you are to believe the scouting rankings. And had more success his second year then Embree will have.

Hawkins had more success the year he got fired (and they year prior when he should have been fired) than Embree is likely to have this year. I don't care what year their recruits are in - if we go 0-12 there is no way to convince me things will get better with this staff.

 

[rolandftw]

Again, the classes that Hawkins brought in were more experienced. Juniors and Seniors for his first two classes. I'd agree if they go 0-12 this year, nobody is going to have any confidence in Embree at Colorado. Still think we win at least one game this year tho.

 

[Chromeburn]

Ummmmm.... not sure if serious....

No I was just kidding. CU is a powerhouse with the top coaches and recruits in the nation lining up to get paid low end money and use low end facilities. While playing for half empty stadiums. Maybe they could hire coaches and give them 6 game contracts. If they don't win in the allotment of time, the school will toss them and the next Nick Saban will surely step up to take their place.

 

[Uncle Ken]

No I was just kidding. CU is a powerhouse with the top coaches and recruits in the nation lining up to get paid low end money and use low end facilities. While playing for half empty stadiums. Maybe they could hire coaches and give them 6 game contracts. If they don't win in the allotment of time, the school will toss them and the next Nick Saban will surely step up to take their place.

Now I'm confused, because it seems like you're kidding here, but not before. I should probably just go to bed.

 

[Chromeburn]

It could be worse, we could be Winsconsin right now.

I am being pretty harsh, but people on here need to face the fact that Colorado isn't exactly a blue blood program. Its a two star program right now. Fire Embree and they will simply be faced with the same problem again. Gambling on an unproven coach because they won't pay for top talent. The problem starts at the top. Until they commit to being a a top football program and invest the resources to do that. This program will continue to struggle.

 

[SJBuff]

Embree's recruits, are freshman. Hawkins's recruits were seniors. It's not really a fair comparison at all.

We can say that Hawkins probably had a better first class, if you are to believe the scouting rankings. And had more success his second year then Embree will have.

Embree's recruits, Hawkin's recruits blah blah blah blah!!!! None of that matters!!!!
This team has no heart! That is a coaching problem. Not a who recruited which players problem. Not a we are a young team problem. Not a we need more talent problem. It is a coaching problem. Any halfway descent coach knows how to motivate his players. That's how the last two teams that played us beat us. Embre is not a halfway descent coach.

I don't care if we field a team of 3rd graders as long as they play all out with heart and passion. Embre can't get any of the players to play with fire and heart. He can't win with any players. Time for him to leave.