Hawks biggest problem

[Lt.Col.FrankSlade]

CU fans' expectations were simply too high.

I do not believe expecting to beat CSU is raising expectations "too high."

I don't care who the coach is. Losing to CSU, Toledo, Wyoming, Iowa State, Montana State, etc. is quite simply, absolutely, positively, 100% UNacceptable.

 

[77buff]

No, it's not. In fact, it's completely realistic. The problem is that we expected to do a lot more than simply beat CSU. We expected to annihilate them. We expected to walk all over them on the way to beating the snot out of Toledo on Friday, then Wyoming the week after that. Most of us thought the WVA game would be difficult, but not impossible. We viewed that game as a watershed for Hawk to show that he's really turned the corner. The CSU game was supposed to be little more than a scrimmage.

Well, he's turned a corner all right. Just not the one we all thought he was turning. :sad1:

Aren't you the guy who posted that CU would be ranked at the end of the season, and would win their bowl game? What was that based on?

 

[sackman]

I do not believe expecting to beat CSU is raising expectations "too high."

I don't care who the coach is. Losing to CSU, Toledo, Wyoming, Iowa State, Montana State, etc. is quite simply, absolutely, positively, 100% UNacceptable.

We didn't just expect to beat them. We expected to destroy them. To crush their will to live. We expected to beat them so bad that they'd want to cancel the series right on the spot and beg for us to show mercy. I think had we all gone into this game thinking it's going to be a tough test against a motivated club, the calls for Hawks head wouldn't be so virulent.

Aren't you the guy who posted that CU would be ranked at the end of the season, and would win their bowl game? What was that based on?

yep, that was me. I was a proud drinker of the kool aid. I honestly felt that having a bigger, stronger, healthier and more experienced offensive line, coupled with strong, fast backs and good tight ends would make up for the deficiences at QB and WR. I was also hoping that Hansen would be the starter. I looked at Shields, Herrod, Obi, & Cunningham and thought that they'd have three games to get their bearings before the tough games started. I saw strength and depth in our defensive backfield and linebackers. I saw an upgrade in the coaching staff with Kiseau taking over from Helfrich. I saw a favorable schedule. I saw all of these things and convinced myself that this was a team that was finally ready for the breakout we've all been waiting for.


Sadly, I was mistaken.

 

[Buffnik]

Expectations were exactly where they should have been in year 4 of a CU coach's tenure during a rebuilding phase.

We have 3 unranked non-BCS opponents on the schedule. We expected to win those.

We play Texas A&M at home and go to Kansas State and Iowa State. All 3 programs are in turmoil with recent coaching changes and have serious talent issues. We expected to win those.

We play West Virginia on the road (tough), but we beat them last year with a less experienced team and they lost their all-everything quarterback. We play Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska at home. Despite Hawk's 1-8 record against those teams, Folsom field plus closing the talent & experience gap made people feel fairly confident. We were right to expect that we would win between 1 and 3 of those.

We play Oklahoma State and Texas on the road. Both teams have upperclassmen superstars and a lot of overall speed that makes them Top 5 or 10 teams in the country. USC and Florida might be underdogs playing those teams on the road. We were right to expect to lose those.

For those of you counting at home, that's an expectation for 7-9 wins and potential for winning the North or, if not, maybe getting ranked after winning a minor to mid-tier bowl.

Is that really expecting too much? I believe it's more than reasonable and that most programs would have fired Hawkins after we went 5-7 last year and he didn't think it was necessary to replace a single assistant coach.

 

[77buff]

We didn't just expect to beat them. We expected to destroy them. To crush their will to live. We expected to beat them so bad that they'd want to cancel the series right on the spot and beg for us to show mercy. I think had we all gone into this game thinking it's going to be a tough test against a motivated club, the calls for Hawks head wouldn't be so virulent.



yep, that was me. I was a proud drinker of the kool aid. I honestly felt that having a bigger, stronger, healthier and more experienced offensive line, coupled with strong, fast backs and good tight ends would make up for the deficiences at QB and WR. I was also hoping that Hansen would be the starter. I looked at Shields, Herrod, Obi, & Cunningham and thought that they'd have three games to get their bearings before the tough games started. I saw strength and depth in our defensive backfield and linebackers. I saw an upgrade in the coaching staff with Kiseau taking over from Helfrich. I saw a favorable schedule. I saw all of these things and convinced myself that this was a team that was finally ready for the breakout we've all been waiting for.


Sadly, I was mistaken.

Hawkins had no business shooting off his mouth like that - now he's paying for it. I really don't think he will want to stick around after this year, but who knows what he is thinking? He's got a job - alot of coaches don't.

 

[NYbuffDIEHARD]

Let me add this for what it's worth, even for getting beat up and down the field, we did only give up 3 points in the entire 2nd half. So...

Let's hope the defense can stay on track and by on track I mean get the secondary play in line and that Hawk can get his head out of his ass on offense and find a way to call some plays that work. No more 3 yard outs, no more roll outs to little hawks weak side and please for the love of all that is holy, give D Scott the friggin rock, 25 carries worth.

I want to put up about 45 on the rockets and win convincingly for once.

 

[CarolinaBuff]

Expectations were exactly where they should have been in year 4 of a CU coach's tenure during a rebuilding phase.

We have 3 unranked non-BCS opponents on the schedule. We expected to win those.

We play Texas A&M at home and go to Kansas State and Iowa State. All 3 programs are in turmoil with recent coaching changes and have serious talent issues. We expected to win those.

We play West Virginia on the road (tough), but we beat them last year with a less experienced team and they lost their all-everything quarterback. We play Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska at home. Despite Hawk's 1-8 record against those teams, Folsom field plus closing the talent & experience gap made people feel fairly confident. We were right to expect that we would win between 1 and 3 of those.

We play Oklahoma State and Texas on the road. Both teams have upperclassmen superstars and a lot of overall speed that makes them Top 5 or 10 teams in the country. USC and Florida might be underdogs playing those teams on the road. We were right to expect to lose those.

For those of you counting at home, that's an expectation for 7-9 wins and potential for winning the North or, if not, maybe getting ranked after winning a minor to mid-tier bowl.

Is that really expecting too much? I believe it's more than reasonable and that most programs would have fired Hawkins after we went 5-7 last year and he didn't think it was necessary to replace a single assistant coach.

I'd say that's spot-on. Most people on here were saying about 8 wins, some 1 or 2 more, some 1 or 2 less, but 8 was pretty much the consensus. So despite what Hawk said in the offseason, very few were really expecting 10 wins. The point here is that Hawk talking things up isn't what led to the overwhelming disappointment.

And it's not just the loss, it's how we looked in losing. Even if we had recovered that onside kick and managed to pull out a last-second victory, I'm pretty sure the overall sentiment on this board would be yes, we were relieved to escape with a victory, but this team still looked like crap and has a lot of things to work on. Everything would not be hunky-dory. :huh:

 

[MiamiBuffs]

Didn't Phil Steele pick us to finish 8th in the Big 12?

Check that:

North Division

1. Nebraska (Holiday Bowl vs. California)
T2. Colorado (Independence Bowl vs. Auburn)
T2. Kansas State (Insight Bowl vs. Wisconsin)
4. Kansas (Alamo Bowl vs. Michigan State)
5. Missouri
6. Iowa State

South Division

1. Texas (BCS title game vs. Florida)
2. Oklahoma (Fiesta Bowl vs. Boise State)
3. Oklahoma State (Cotton Bowl vs. LSU)
4. Texas Tech (Sun Bowl vs. UCLA)
5. Baylor (Texas Bowl vs. Navy)
6. Texas A&M

 

[MiamiBuffs]

CU fans' expectations were simply too high. He did nothing to temper those expectations. In fact, he has gone the opposite way with his "ten wins, no excuses" mantra. In the past, we've accepted a loss here or there to CSU as one of those things that just happens from time to time. We don't like it, and we certainly don't want it to become commonplace, but by and large, we understand that these things happen. Had Hawk not kept telling us how awesome we were going to be, and that this was the year they were going to put it all together, and blah, blah, blah, he wouldn't be getting barbecued the way he is right now. Honestly, why would we expect to play any better than we did last year? We sucked last year, too.

Kiseau said in the paper this morning that once CSU took such a big lead they had to abandon the running game. I can buy into that. They'd certainly be criticized for running a lot with such a huge defecit. But they should have prepared for more passing.

What I don't buy into is how awful the passing game was. Of most concern is the continued lack of pass protection for Cody. CSU was attacking to try and force us to throw. Scott, btw, was apparently out over Sumler because of his lack of experience blocking in a pass protection situation. I have my doubt we will be able to run effectively given the penetration CSU achieved. Further, you have to have a strong passing threat to make the running game easier. JFly quitting on us sucks.

Toledo will likely do what CSU did and crowd the box. As will most of the rest of our opponents. I think our weaknesses are now very obvious to our opponents; poor blocking, limited passing game, erratic QB, unknown running game.

 

[FlatironsBuff]

The way I see it he has got 2 choices. He can quit now and pursue his dream of becoming a motivational speaker (in a van down by the river). Or we can fire his ass and watch him take a page out of Frank Solich's book, showing up in the stands and various ballgames so he can "better learn the game". That will at least insure him of landing another HC job at a **** school.:thumbsup:

Second year in and they can't teach him how to block? And why, if Sumler is a great blocker, did he do all the running? Just have Scott block enough to give the defense pause to 'is it pass or run?' when he is in. AND RUN SCOTT STRAIGHT UP THE GUT!!!!!!

 

[sackman]

I'm not buying the excuse that they had to abandon the running game when they were down 14-0 in the first half. That's BS. In fact, it's all the more reason to keep pounding away to allow your defense a little rest. Being down 14-0 in the first half does not necessitate a complete change of gameplan. When you're down 23-10 in the 4th quarter, you might want to play a little hurry-up, though. Maybe work on getting the plays in a little quicker.

More BS excuses from the BS excuse machine.

 

[Darth Snow]

K Panicked and abandoned the running game in the 1st quarter. First game as an Ocoord, and he panicked. No doubt about it. He got better as the game went on, but he got hit in the mouth and flipped out. No doubt there, you NEVER abandon the running game in the FIRST EFFING QUARTER... Let's hope he learned.

 

[MiamiBuffs]

Second year in and they can't teach him how to block? And why, if Sumler is a great blocker, did he do all the running? Just have Scott block enough to give the defense pause to 'is it pass or run?' when he is in. AND RUN SCOTT STRAIGHT UP THE GUT!!!!!!

Because it broadcasts to the defense that when Scotts in they will run. When Sumler is in its a pass play. Sumler has a year more experience and he's about 25 pounds heavier.

Either way, from what I saw, no one was able to run up the middle. We were who they thought we were. They knew we'd struggle to pass and they were right. They put a lot of guys in the box. If we were a legitimate passing threat those guys in the box would instead be chasing WR and TEs up the field and making it easier to run. Hell, we even trotted out Macs old 2 TE 2WR 1RB set (you can pass or run easily from this formation) for '94 and they sniffed that out too. We appear to be 1 dimensional. :sad1:

 

[sackman]

We did have some success at running wide with Lock and Stewart. Their speed was obvious. Lock's TD run was a perfect example. The end got sealed and he just ran into the end zone. CSU had the middle all plugged up, which made it easier to run to the edges. Had we stuck to that, it would have opened up the middle a little more. But we didn't.

 

[MiamiBuffs]

K Panicked and abandoned the running game in the 1st quarter. First game as an Ocoord, and he panicked. No doubt about it. He got better as the game went on, but he got hit in the mouth and flipped out. No doubt there, you NEVER abandon the running game in the FIRST EFFING QUARTER... Let's hope he learned.

68 yards on 16 carries. I'd be curious to know how much of that occurred in each quarter.

 

[BuffGuy91]

One of the things that pisses me off (post game) is that Hawk doesn't seem to realize just how pissed most CU fans are at him right now. He seems to be shrugging it off like it's no big deal.

I wish he would do a better job of addressing the concerns of the fan, alumni and booster (if we have any) on most of the issues that have been brought up here.

 

[Darth Snow]

68 yards on 16 carries. I'd be curious to know how much of that occurred in each quarter.

we were running at a pretty healthy clip in the 1st quarter until we went down 17... then speedy went down and he put Sumler in to PB, and he got an occasional carry to "keep them honest" which he then sucked at.

like, quite a few decent carries by Speedy. 8 yarders etc. then... NOTHING.

 

[buffaloed]

The most frustrating thing is that Hawkins was so obviously outcoached by Fairchild. After an entire summer preparing for CSU, Colorado didn't look like they knew what they were doing until the 2nd half. I entirely bought into the hype that CU would be really good this year and they still have a chance but this is a seriously disappointing start.

 

[drmike]

In the back of my mind I was afraid that he could not coach and now it is obvious that is a pill we all have to swallow. I am having a lot of trouble getting past the deception he has shown us about Scott being nicked up. I always questioned his coaching skills but not his integrity. How naive of me.

 

[buffwings]

The most frustrating thing is that Hawkins was so obviously outcoached by Fairchild. After an entire summer preparing for CSU, Colorado didn't look like they knew what they were doing until the 2nd half. I entirely bought into the hype that CU would be really good this year and they still have a chance but this is a seriously disappointing start.

Precisely, after a whole summer to prepare for CSewe and coming up w/ that fiasco, how can we all believe the Hack will be able to prepare for the remainder of our opponents?:sad1: