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my thoughts on spring game

walk

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Never before have I been so close to the field. It was great! It's hard to tell from the game, but I was not impressed with the D at all. Seem soft everywhere (other than sip). The DBs got burned lots. Jalil better be better in the regular season. Running game is very suspect. WRs are good and plentiful. Thornton is very good as well. I really like Hansen and got to give little Hawk credit for being so positive in what must be a tough situation.

Overall, not good though. Bad defense with no running game is not a good combination.
 
Jalil? Jimmy got burned twice (simmons on a long TD) and Clemmons, where he prevented a TD only by an underthrown pass by Hansen and his own interference.
 
Losing Brown to UA may hurt even more than we originally thought.
 
Both the Black & Gold Teams displayed swagger and lots of emotion. Once the patchwork OL’s got their feet under them they seemed to do OK. Regardless of who was at QB, the CB’s were getting beat early and often. Clearly Hanson has polished his game and should be considered the starter without question. Kassa could not get past Solder.

Rippy had a few bone jarring tackles. The LB’s looked OK, but need some more work. The D lines will be fine if they don’t sustain any long term injuries.

Not since the days of Carruth and Westbrook have I seen WR’s with the size and speed that these guys have. Simmons had a few dropped passes early on, but got his act together after halftime. Clemmons is the real deal. When Celistine & Simas return to full time duty their going to be fun to watch.

The running & kicking game, well, that’s another story. Let’s just say, they need more work. With the depth at WR, it’s not hard to understand why the offensive philosophy has changed. We still need a good enough running game to keep teams guessing.
 
Spring game ramblings:

I have to agree the defense did nothing, on both teams. Kasa was invisible, I didn't see a pass rush from either side. Gold definitely ran the ball better and Hansen made more plays. DeVaughan, Sipili, Simmons, Clemons, Jimmy all look great. Cody played well but again he just locks on to one receiver and if you game plan that he is useless. Tyler doesn't thrill me, but he is our best QB at this moment (Hirshchman). I don't know if I feel better that they took the special teams out of this game or worse? I liked the format and the team looked fairly good. Now beat the lambs! Go Buffs!
 
Spring game ramblings:

I have to agree the defense did nothing, on both teams. Kasa was invisible, I didn't see a pass rush from either side. Gold definitely ran the ball better and Hansen made more plays. DeVaughan, Sipili, Simmons, Clemons, Jimmy all look great. Cody played well but again he just locks on to one receiver and if you game plan that he is useless. Tyler doesn't thrill me, but he is our best QB at this moment (Hirshchman). I don't know if I feel better that they took the special teams out of this game or worse? I liked the format and the team looked fairly good. Now beat the lambs! Go Buffs!

I can recall one play at least that Kasa beat Harris (who was at RT) and got into the backfield, but not much else.

Our red-zone offense with Tyler, Thornton, Clemons, Simmons, Deehan, and now SOLDER looks like it could be pretty effective.
 
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I can recall one play at least that Kasa beat Dannewitz (who was at RT) and got into the backfield, but not much else.

Our red-zone offense with Tyler, Thornton, Clemons, Simmons, Deehan, and now SOLDER looks like it could be pretty effective.


good point about the RZ. though, Tyler needs banish that flip pass thing he threw right before the half. talk about ugly. otherwise, TH showed nice patience in the RZ and things DID open up and he DID make the right throw.

as for pass rush, Cody took a pretty good pop on the first possession and I remember a few times penetration broke up the delay run game stuff....but, it wasn't a constant as Scotty and 14er have said.
 
Its hard to tell watching Buffs TV online while paying more attention to the Masters on TV but I kind of thought the defense looked a bit slow (nothing surprising though). Running game looked pretty rough too..

The Hirsch long bomb was the one highlight and I stopped watching after that..
 
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Its hard to tell watching Buffs TV online while paying more attention to the Masters on TV but I kind of thought the defense looked a bit slow (nothing surprising though). Running game looked like pretty rough too..

The Hirsch long bomb was the one highlight and I stopped watching after that..

Having access to the buffzone vid was a godsend.

My observation on the QB discussion is that the Black Offense (Cody) was able to move the ball with more mis-direction and trick plays like flea flickers, reverses, the pass to Soldier and various plays that compensate for relative immobility of the quarterback. To get the offense to work for Cody, it was more through trickery than smashmouth. Cefalo stood out as being reliable. If you take away the gadget plays and the fluke QB run by Lobato, the Black team would have been in trouble.

The Gold Offense (Hansen) looked stronger, with Hansen placing some nicely timed and deeper passes. His mobility and elusiveness is what makes Hansen the better candidate to start, based on my viewing. Thornton had a good game. The deep Hirshman TD pass deep to Simmons is the play of the game.

Go Buffs!
 
If we get any sort of improved oline play, I think we can put some points on the board. We have some weapons for a change. I dont think our defense will be spectacular but they will be solid. Consistency everywhere and special teams is what is worrying me the most.
 
defense looked vanilla... hard to judge them when they seemed to not be doing anything really aggressive to screw with the offense. a lot of our b12 caliber athletes (and we don't have so many of them that we can afford it) didn't play so it is hard to really know how effective either offense or defense might be.

the offensive identity is, well, offensive to me, but it does seem to fit the personnel they have available, i guess. all those wrs running all over and no real power running capability are not my preference... i think those types of offenses tend not to play as tough.

good effort, some nice plays... fingers crossed, as always...
 
Im not with this type of football either but it obvious thats the plan. CJ on the spring game broadcast didnt seem too enthused with it either. To your point about those offenses not playing as tough, well they dont. It's a finessee offense running game included.
 
There lots of interesting comments from Buff fans about the Spring game. I think the Buffs have lots of upside going into this fall.

Just one question (make the two): How many fans were in attendance for the Spring game this year? Is the number of fans in attendance about the same as previous years?
 
Solder kicked all sorts of ass today. Love seeing a dominant LT. Hopefully he goes top 5 next year after an AA season.
 
There lots of interesting comments from Buff fans about the Spring game. I think the Buffs have lots of upside going into this fall.

Just one question (make the two): How many fans were in attendance for the Spring game this year? Is the number of fans in attendance about the same as previous years?

Ringo from BDC estimated about 5,000. Not sure how that compares to other years, though I recall last year Coach Mac really pushed for fan turnout and there were probably higher expectations for the program so I'm guessing this year was a small decline.
 
defense looked vanilla... hard to judge them when they seemed to not be doing anything really aggressive to screw with the offense. a lot of our b12 caliber athletes (and we don't have so many of them that we can afford it) didn't play so it is hard to really know how effective either offense or defense might be.

the offensive identity is, well, offensive to me, but it does seem to fit the personnel they have available, i guess. all those wrs running all over and no real power running capability are not my preference... i think those types of offenses tend not to play as tough.

good effort, some nice plays... fingers crossed, as always...
So, let me get this straight. Most of our players are not Big XII caliber. Is that what you are saying?
 
Ringo from BDC estimated about 5,000. Not sure how that compares to other years, though I recall last year Coach Mac really pushed for fan turnout and there were probably higher expectations for the program so I'm guessing this year was a small decline.

9,100 was the number i read on a couple of websites, that would be about half of the total a couple years ago.
 
So, let me get this straight. Most of our players are not Big XII caliber. Is that what you are saying?

I took that Liver was remarking on the injuries to many key players. I would say he is right too. We really do not have a ton of guys on this team that would be seeing much playing time at other Big 12 schools.

9,100 was the number i read on a couple of websites, that would be about half of the total a couple years ago.

Yep. 2008 was when we set a record for spring game attendance at just under 18,000.
 
I thought our RBs looked horrible. Nabors looked the best as I think I actually saw him break a tackle or two. Then came Block and finally Q. For all the hype I had heard about Q, I was really expecting a bit more out of him. He seemed to go down if someone so much as put an arm on him.
 
In regard to depth and athleticism, everyone should keep in mind that over 1/4 of our roster isn't here yet or is out with injury. Those scholarship athletes and preferred walk ons will dramatically change the makeup of this team in a good way.
 
re: attendance....i would have guessed about 7,000....but you get people coming and going so it's hard to tell at any given time. east stands seemed to have more people than west....but, that may just be peeps looking for the sun. i thought the mini-band sounded great/did a great job. it wouldn't be the same without them.
 
I'll chime in here. I've been going to the spring games since the days of Mac. I've never been able to see anything about the team that projected on to the fall. I mean I've seen guys like Erik Greenberg and Cameron Ham tear it up. However, you can see how the coaches and players interact up close; that's interesting. Nevertheless, my observations:

Pros:

Team is athletic. They have good speed, better than I expected.

Clemons, Hansen, Kasa, Cunningham, Herrod, & Sipili all are men, & pass the eyeball test. Miller in streets is still a beast.

Sipili was seemingly everywhere.

Tao is one of the largest humans I've ever seen.

The O established some good tempo in the second half w/ both Cody & Tyler.

Cons:

Kicking was bad.

Cody is not a starter and looks like a little kid out there.

Run game, as we all expected, is non-existent. Spread you out w/ 4/5 wides will produce some running lanes between the 20's but will fail in the red zone. Buffs are a finesse team.

They had former players in attendance go out and be recognized at halftime; I counted 18. That's the lowest I've ever seen. I commented as such and a couple in their 60's turned around and said they can't take anymore of this, that's why so few former players were there. True, I believe.


Misc.

Lots of people were yelling insults at Cody, or just rooting against him. I sat on the East side about the north 40 yd line, 2 rows behind Misty Hawkins btw. She was chill and only turned around once to locate a 4 year old who was constantly yelling 'get him' and rooting for the D against Cody. She didn't say anything or glare. The reason I told you where I sat was one time from the west side the stadium was quiet and some guy yells 'kill him' before the ball was snapped. Everyone on both sides could hear, since the band wasn't playing.
 
The 80 yd bomb Hirschman threw was an awesome play (although a little underthrown - Simmons made a great play), but his QB keeper on the next drive was one of my favorite plays. He needed 1 yard and carried the pile for a 20 yd gain. His teamates were going nuts for him - that's the kind of play that really wins over your teamates.
 
I am very unhappy to hear about the jeers towards Cody. That's soooo ****ing lame. The kid has done all he can for the program. What's also unfortunate is that while Cody may look like a kid out there, he also might look like our best QB. Granted, I haven't seen any practices and only saw the spring game over the internet, but it seems to be that Hansen still has a long way to go. His throws were mostly inaccurate and he still looks to run too quickly. I had heard good things about Lobado, but the spring game did nothing to back up those claims to me. Unless our Oline is complete **** again, I'm starting to think Cody might be the right guy for the job.
 
I shall amend my lots of people hurling insults; it mostly was people openly rooting against him. Go gold team and such. The 'kill him' was very loud nobody really reacted pro or con, more just shock the the play snapped and it was over.
 
I am very unhappy to hear about the jeers towards Cody. That's soooo ****ing lame. The kid has done all he can for the program. What's also unfortunate is that while Cody may look like a kid out there, he also might look like our best QB. Granted, I haven't seen any practices and only saw the spring game over the internet, but it seems to be that Hansen still has a long way to go. His throws were mostly inaccurate and he still looks to run too quickly. I had heard good things about Lobado, but the spring game did nothing to back up those claims to me. Unless our Oline is complete **** again, I'm starting to think Cody might be the right guy for the job.
i'm sorry daaaah, i know you try to play devils advocate a lot, but that last sentence couldn't be further from the truth. you have seen both play in real GAMES, do you seriously honestly think cody should be playing qb for this team?
 
I thought the spring game was almost as good as it could have been.
1) Energy level.- The players were lit up. Hanson got in Smith's face and were talking trash. Jalil brown got in a fist fight with Brandon Gouin. Conte mario i think also got in someones face. -----Smith was fired up all game and talking trash non stop.--- B. Lock was pacing the sidelines and all mouth the entire game.---- Obviously there was the pre game dance. --- Clemons and smith were chummy but talked a ton. --- This is a team who will show up, and win by more than 7.
2)Special teams. We made one field goal. And re kicked a punt... Nuff said.
3) Speed. Will Jefferson is Quick! I completely underestimated him. He may not be a deep threat due to height and top end, but he really is a dangerous slot type.-------Top end speed. Not sure who has real break away speed. Although our corners got beat deep, it was usually not because they got burned. It was blown coverage, but I know Lockridge has good top and and suspect Celestine, Clemons, and maybe someone else could have that.
4) Blocking. Pass protection was much better. MUCH Better. Our right tackle got beaten a few times by Kasa and friends but I don't think it was the starting RT. When In sync the line got great pushes later in the game. They look like a real Unit together.
5) Penalties- 2 false starts. (3 if you count on because of Hirchman, but I don't.) Smith got a few. All legitimate IMO (Not turning for the ball etc) but overall much better.
6) Turnovers. NO PICKS~!!! and 1 fumble? (1 pick thrown by Lobato but he wasn't a starter)
7) Secondary... AGAIN Jalil brown got burned Repeatedly... repeat of last year, but i think they'll adjust and fix it. Jimmy smith Got burned too and had penalties.. But He's jimmy smith. He'll be fine. Olatoye. He's an up and Comer. 6-1. Good size and a sure tackle. He'll fill Jimmy smith's shoes next year.
8) Play makers. Tyler Hanson, though he missed a lot of chances down field, but his ability to extend the play is invaluble.
Thornton. True baller.
Kasa. He is a handful. He will have a very productive year and make a difference.
Clemons- His influence on charisma is a game changer. He energizes everyone around him
Solder- Wow. Just wow. He locks down the blocks. And even caught a touchdown. (Easily as fast as our TE's still.)
Hildreth- Look for him to be on Scholly by fall
And Hirchman- I reallllly wish he was the starter.... but there's no chance of that.

Honestly I am excited for fall. =) call me foolish but I have a short memory aparently
 
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I am very unhappy to hear about the jeers towards Cody. That's soooo ****ing lame. The kid has done all he can for the program. What's also unfortunate is that while Cody may look like a kid out there, he also might look like our best QB. Granted, I haven't seen any practices and only saw the spring game over the internet, but it seems to be that Hansen still has a long way to go. His throws were mostly inaccurate and he still looks to run too quickly. I had heard good things about Lobado, but the spring game did nothing to back up those claims to me. Unless our Oline is complete **** again, I'm starting to think Cody might be the right guy for the job.
I'll never mistake Tyler Hansen for a pocket passer, but his ability to run is what will keep the chains moving. Without a running game, teams will blitz Cody and defend the sideline.. just like they have the past 3 years. Go back and watch the Kansas and A&M games and tell me Hansen should be the backup. The guy can make something out of nothing and elevates the play of his teammates. Cody is too reliant on good blocking and a good running game. Even then all it takes is for a DL to put his hands up to swat Cody's passes. It limits the offense and puts us in 2nd/3rd and long way too often to be successful.

And isn't Lobato moving to WR/TE?
 
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Unbiased opinion...I still think Cody is your guy. Hansen is kind of a 1 trick pony in that he seems to hope a play breaks down so he can scramble. That's not going to work consistently. The running game will not be a strength so you will need your best passer to play it would appear. That is probably Cody. The Oline HAS to improve over last year or it will be trouble. Won't matter who the QB is if they start 1st & 15 or 20 and then have to run for their life. Big Hawk has to show a run threat or Ds will pin thier ears back and get afterg the QB.

Season will hinge on the D. The O will not be able to control the ball enough to give the D good rests and conditioning will come into play.

If you can start 3-1 or at least 2-2, you may be able to catch some momentum. You hate to say 1 game will make or break, but in this case, I think the season hinges on CSU. Confidence will either soar or things will head south quickly.

Need to find ways to incorporate the TEs a little and hope a pass rush can be generated w/out much blitzing cuz it didn't appear that the Secondary was up to speed yet although Polk looked much more comfortable than last year.
 
Unbiased opinion...I still think Cody is your guy. Hansen is kind of a 1 trick pony in that he seems to hope a play breaks down so he can scramble. That's not going to work consistently.

Cody locks onto 1 receiver and his passes take forever to get to the receiver. Tyler has really stepped up with his reads this spring. He spreads the ball around much better than Cody last season and did an even better job with that this spring. He honestly looks like a different guy and has had it sort of come together for him.

Did you know that Tyler's passer rating was better than Cody's last year? That it was better despite playing against better competition and not getting extra stat-padding situational opportunities such as against the KSU prevent defense at the end of that game?

Honestly, Beak, you're wrong on this one. I respect your opinions and you're usually pretty spot on with things, but your post really isn't an accurate representation of those two guys unless we're talking about 2008.
 
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