i think you all make valid points. im definitly falling into sackys corner with the 3rd down conversions. such a huge part of the game especially in 3rd and long. that being said....
as i see it, last year the O was 3-9. the D was 7-3-1.
here is where i get that stat. IMO, the O should be able to score at the very least one TD per quarter. that is 28 points. the D should hold the other team to, well duh, less than that but at the most 17.
if CU's O were to score one TD per quarter in each of last years games, CU would have been 8-3-1.
i put the -1 in there because Mizzu scored 28. that would have ment a tie and thus overtime. who knows then.
now, think about it. one TD per quarter. in a lot of instances, CU was not far off from doing just that. they just lacked the punch needed to get the ball into the endzone.
now, i dont expect miracles this year. a nice bowl game would be good. but, the Buffs were damn close to being a "decent" ball club last year. IMO, due to what i have posted above, they were. well, the D anyway.
now, i dont expect CU's D to be quite as good this year. losing the leading sacker in the league and the LB troubles will not help. however, they should not be swiss cheese.
the Buffs have a few years to go but, last year was not as bad as it seemed(well, ya. it was bad to watch the O). give these kids some time.
THE BIGGEST STAT OF THIS YEAR?
The current CU roster features 51 freshmen and redshirt freshmen and 17 sophomores. Roughly two-thirds of the 2007 team — 105 players total as of Tuesday — will consist of underclassmen.
that will not win a ton this year.
that has the potential to win a ton in 2 to 3 years.
this year will be hard, as will next. lets look for steps of improvement. not one step forward, two steps back as we have seen the last few years.
be patient with these kids. they will be winners. we need to give them the time to develope and learn within the system.