Elated
1. The game ended.2. That I don't have to watch the game replay to know what I saw.
Impressed
1. NoUnimpressed
1. If Staub and Shurmur consulting on plays, and the Oline, RB and WR can't do any better than this when playing against better competition then two or more somethings in that five-part combination must change, or the same defensive strategy will continue to work against them. Staub is obviously not the magic pill or missing ingredient in an otherwise self-rising mixture that is obviously missing honest self-reflection that fuels team mentality desire and self-improvement fire. Last week was fool's gold that no amount of alchemy can make golden.2. SE, CB, LB and Edge inconsistent performance which is probably exacerbated due to scheme. I hate the secondary's positioning. Too much cushion on every play.
Disgusted
1. Pass accuracy. Later in the game Staub started to predetermine targets.2. Dropped Passes
3. Poor route adjustments by WR's when QB is scrambling.
4. Pass Protection
5. Play design and timing of use.
6. Run play design and timing of use look like those on my electric football set.
7. WR screens. I'd rather see play action incompletions on shots downfield. Net yardage effect the same. Chance of success different. Net effect on defense, different.
8. Passes to the out of bounds line. Flip the route around, make them in-breaking.
9. QB runs by the opponent.
10. Leaving the middle of the field and the edges unprotected
11. PI on Vickers should have been an interception if he had located the ball, poor discipline, fundamentals, technique. The ball was under-thrown. He was faked out by the WR.
12. The defense did a good enough job, but the offense made the defense look worse than average.
13. Once again, the gods wanted CU to win, but multiple aspects of the team were in the way and could not get out of the way, mostly due to ego-tripping causing the season to continue slipping.
Prediction
1. Downgraded to 5 wins, 7 losses2. Season Record 1-2
3. Conference Record 0-1
Additional Needed Changes (See also this section for previous weeks)
1. Vary the pace of the darn game. Using some of what the tv announcers said, CU should treat each possession as a two-minute drill where they have a must score mentality. Then after two minutes, go normal pace for 1 minute, then return to a two-minute mentality.2. More overhauls and shakeups need to take place. Every position, every place, every decision.
3. Ask for more from special teams than basic performance. Do something more such as block a punt, return a punt or kickoff to the house, get a turnover.
4. Trying to be something you are not, is a losing strategy. Accept the fact that under the current play design and timing of use, you must still be a pass heavy team in order to have a chance of sustaining drives and scoring enough points to win. In this mindset, Salters is your first not so clear choice if he makes needed improvements already mentioned. Otherwise you might as well let JuJu get a lot of experience and development. Juju deserves an entire game, just like the other two QB's. Runs (including WR screens) should not be more than 33% of plays. The rest should be PA's, Rpo's and downfield passes.
5. Or the mindset change needed might be that the coaching is on point and the talent is not. Proving despite having a good recipe, you can't make peanut butter out of s'mores. (Yes there are tasty ingredients, but you can't turn it into something that is more than its fundamental components.)
6. In other words, CU under the current coordination (design, timing of use) of offense and defense, CU cannot win more than a handful of games by being run heavy or run balanced. Neither can they win more than a handful when special teams plays to a stalemate (not giving up or creating big plays).
7. Finally, what I'm saying is, if CU, as a total operation, functioned at 80% of optimal, they could win 8 games again; however, it feels like right now they are at 55%. One of the three parts of the game must be exceptional. This includes the coaching of that aspect. Right now the three parts are average, average, below average.
8. In other words, it doesn't matter what you have in terms of coaches and players, unless there is synergy that is able to adjust itself week by week, play by play and moment by moment in the moment, like an amoeba.
9. Establish downfield pass threat before using WR screens.
10. I'll say it again because several people are talking about identity and #4 above might be misunderstood. Your identity is to identify in advance and after each play, where you can be effective running or passing, then attack in that fashion until you get stopped, then move on to the next area, then when their focus shifts, you shift back and forth so you don't have a predictable pattern, like the current play calling. If you can move the ball by running 8 times in a row, then do so. Sure you can run and pass but use the one that is most effective at that moment, situation and opponent to open up the other. This will and must switch back and forth many times each game. All you're trying to do is cause the other team to not recognize what you are doing or have a delayed reaction. If you can affect at least one player in this way who is on the opposite team, then you have an advantage that you created not based player talent. That's why, on every play you must have every player on the field, use fakes and feints in order to set up the opponent for something else that you will throw at them later. You must have multiple plays that look the same, but with a slight variation. If you have a failed running play, use a pass or alternate run based on the same formation and action, but with a slight variation. Do the same for failed pass plays. The coordinators have to be so unpredictable and fluid, that even they don't know what they're going to call next, except on the first series when they are checking to see if their scouting and plan of attacked is correct.10. If you put in certain players for certain types of plays, that's signaling so you have to put in the same package on other types of plays, unless you know you can't be stopped. Players and coaches should be monitoring opponent reactions and tendencies on each play. If players are not coming to the captains and coaches and letting them know where they think they do or do not have the advantage, then you are not getting the most out of your personnel.10.
11. I consider almost all of the above to be part of Football 101 for teams, coaches and players. This includes what will be said and what has been said before regarding different types of sports and now regarding football at the college and professional levels. Colorado is simply a case study example. In other words, every week, we see the same good and bad performances on many teams across many types of sports. Those who can sustain optimal levels of preparation and performance the longest, are the ones who will come out on top, even if they never exceed 90% of optimal.
Without any numerical measuring system, it seems to me that those who are champions in team sports exist in the 70% to 80% of optimal. Why? Habit of body, mind, emotion and spirit. So it seems to me those who do not are the ones who perform poorly for large portions of the game or at the worst possible moments. Why? Habit of body, mind, emotion and spirit. Champions make sure they are always working on improving their spirit-mind and emotions so they can maintain the necessary focus in order to go along with the training of their bodies.
The difference between champions and non-champions shows up throughout each contest, but is easily seen when time is running out at the end of a game and the score is close. Champions relax. Non-champions relapse.
Why? Individual and team confidence in their preparation of body-spirit-mind-emotion. Non-champions mainly trust and rely on player bodies and coaches minds
