Dear Colorado,
This is your gravestone. You played a well fought season, but in the end the only reason you won was because your QB was decent. You proved this to be the case on 3 occasions: Michigan, USC, and Washington. The reason you lost: your QB.
Let this be a lesson. But let this be also a moment for every buff's fan to realize what has happened since the last time CU was relevant.
The last time CU was relevant was due to a mistake. A 4th down which was accidentally marked a 3rd down. That was in the early 90's. Today your team plays a better game. Though like in the 90's, you relied on a QB to control the tempo.
I want everyone to know that I am a Wisconsin Badgers fan. I watched in the earlier years of WI's bad seasons. Camp Randal was a ghost town. You could give away tickets to anything in Madison. Then came Barry Alvarez. He won a rose bowl, and then another. This gave WI the Midwestern program launch.
This is where I stop my WI charade and talk about CO. This is a major building block for CU. The team has grown and so has the school. Fans jumping the fence for a field rush is cause for a fine. ( I didn't know this until pregame). So now you have a history to back on. It's important to remember this season. You buffs didn't do this for nothing. You played your hearts out. Your 10-3 record is an awesome feat!
My congrats to all CU alumni (including myself) on a wonderful season. Now it's time to focus. What does this bring us? Does it bring us closer to national relevance?
I can answer the latter question. Look at Utah. They came from the mountain west. 2 years ago they got up to the #4 ranking before tumbling. They have been a top 25 team, but not a contender. I truly believe this is where CO will fall if they do not bring in better recruits. This season was based off of a spread style offense. The QB would take off if he didn't recognize the call. That won't be the case next year. Your back up QB cannot scramble. So you'll need to work on your deep and intermediate routes. I honestly see next year as a normal year.
But all in all, thank you CU!
Friday, December 2, 2016
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Scathing Review: Green Bay Packers
It appears I'm quite good at annihilating the teams I love. It's turned out quite a few times that my predictions were correct. I've also been incorrect my fair share of times. Green Bay will be no different. I believe that I'll hit one or two of these topics directly on point while swinging hard but missing terribly on a few others.
Front Office:
Ted Thompson isn't doing anything different than he has the last 5 years. He'll leverage the future of the franchise on the draft and sign a few free agents every once in a while that will commit long term to the Green and Gold. See Charles Woodson and Julius Peppers. While the Packers don't have anything out of the box good coming from this draft, nothing will really change. The guy we draft this year won't be ready for about 3 years, at least.
Coaching:
HC: Mccarthy is a very good coach. He made an emotional decision to give away play calling. With every fan in an uproar for the first 6 games of the season, the packers went 6-0. It seemed to be going well. Then a 2 game skid featuring Carolina and Denver put him back at the controls. As the play caller he went 4-4.
OC: Can't think of his name off the bat but he did a pretty good job the first 6 games. By the end of the 6th game, fans could tell this offense was not ready for prime time. Too much time on the field because of poor defense dragged the OC to the ground.
DC: Probably the Achilles heel of this defense. Capers put probably his worst season on record in the books. It's only gotten worse the longer he stays. The dagger in my heart was week 6 when my beloved pack allowed 500 passing yards to Phillip Rivers. Absolutely disgusting. Unfortunately for my liking, Dom will be back because his defense didn't allow all that many points.
Offense:
This year was absolutely terrible. Probably a huge product of Jordy Nelson missing, but it was bad.
Probable fixes: Get nelson healthy, though it doesn't help that the Packers put a whole season worth of tape on how bad receivers down the depth chart are. I'd put the replacement WR position at number 3 on the offensive needs.
Tight ends were a huge problem. None of them performed. It doesn't help my review that the Rodgers to Rodgers hail mary won play of the year. This is still a bad area. Next season when Jordy is getting covered from every location the TE play won't be any better. That is of course barring a free agent TE fits the bill. I'd put this at number 2 on the offensive needs.
Offensive Line: These guys were terrible. All season long. A combination of inexperience and bad play along with injuries cost this offense. This needs to be fixed with a quickness. I'd put this as the number 1 need on the offense and either a 1 or 2 need for the total team.
Honorable mention: Lacy was supposed to have a great season. He had an offseason like a fan and showed up to camp overweight and unready. I expect Lacy to be out of Green Bay within 2 years.
Defense:
Front 3: Our core of pass rushers were pretty decent. Though the game has changed so much with regards to the depth of this position, the Packers had a fair 2015 at this position. They likely will need to upgrade at some point, but nothing that requires a free agent deal.
LB's: This is the hardest part of the defense. Matthews is clearly not effective as a multi use linebacker. He may be the captain, but he needs to be focused on putting the QB on the ground. Playing 60% of his time from the middle position won't help his cause. I thought I heard something about him moving back outside, which would be great. This would also open a huge problem up the middle. Leading to the number 1 need on defense, possibly number 1 or 2 for the team.
Secondary: This is where it get's a little dicey. Clinton-Dix had a decent season, but he's got too much growing to do. Hopefully this year helped his cause. He's going to need to either add weight or focus on becoming faster and turn towards a corner. He looked lost this year, but I believe this growth will come in time. At the CB position, the packers have a real problem. Sam Shields is the only real shutdown corner the packers have and he was hurt a good portion of the season. No option in the draft will fix this for another few years. This is a huge hole, and the number 2 need on defense. It's also the solidified number 3 need on the packers team. If an OL, or MLB can't be picked up in free agency the packers need to pick up a CB.
Front Office:
Ted Thompson isn't doing anything different than he has the last 5 years. He'll leverage the future of the franchise on the draft and sign a few free agents every once in a while that will commit long term to the Green and Gold. See Charles Woodson and Julius Peppers. While the Packers don't have anything out of the box good coming from this draft, nothing will really change. The guy we draft this year won't be ready for about 3 years, at least.
Coaching:
HC: Mccarthy is a very good coach. He made an emotional decision to give away play calling. With every fan in an uproar for the first 6 games of the season, the packers went 6-0. It seemed to be going well. Then a 2 game skid featuring Carolina and Denver put him back at the controls. As the play caller he went 4-4.
OC: Can't think of his name off the bat but he did a pretty good job the first 6 games. By the end of the 6th game, fans could tell this offense was not ready for prime time. Too much time on the field because of poor defense dragged the OC to the ground.
DC: Probably the Achilles heel of this defense. Capers put probably his worst season on record in the books. It's only gotten worse the longer he stays. The dagger in my heart was week 6 when my beloved pack allowed 500 passing yards to Phillip Rivers. Absolutely disgusting. Unfortunately for my liking, Dom will be back because his defense didn't allow all that many points.
Offense:
This year was absolutely terrible. Probably a huge product of Jordy Nelson missing, but it was bad.
Probable fixes: Get nelson healthy, though it doesn't help that the Packers put a whole season worth of tape on how bad receivers down the depth chart are. I'd put the replacement WR position at number 3 on the offensive needs.
Tight ends were a huge problem. None of them performed. It doesn't help my review that the Rodgers to Rodgers hail mary won play of the year. This is still a bad area. Next season when Jordy is getting covered from every location the TE play won't be any better. That is of course barring a free agent TE fits the bill. I'd put this at number 2 on the offensive needs.
Offensive Line: These guys were terrible. All season long. A combination of inexperience and bad play along with injuries cost this offense. This needs to be fixed with a quickness. I'd put this as the number 1 need on the offense and either a 1 or 2 need for the total team.
Honorable mention: Lacy was supposed to have a great season. He had an offseason like a fan and showed up to camp overweight and unready. I expect Lacy to be out of Green Bay within 2 years.
Defense:
Front 3: Our core of pass rushers were pretty decent. Though the game has changed so much with regards to the depth of this position, the Packers had a fair 2015 at this position. They likely will need to upgrade at some point, but nothing that requires a free agent deal.
LB's: This is the hardest part of the defense. Matthews is clearly not effective as a multi use linebacker. He may be the captain, but he needs to be focused on putting the QB on the ground. Playing 60% of his time from the middle position won't help his cause. I thought I heard something about him moving back outside, which would be great. This would also open a huge problem up the middle. Leading to the number 1 need on defense, possibly number 1 or 2 for the team.
Secondary: This is where it get's a little dicey. Clinton-Dix had a decent season, but he's got too much growing to do. Hopefully this year helped his cause. He's going to need to either add weight or focus on becoming faster and turn towards a corner. He looked lost this year, but I believe this growth will come in time. At the CB position, the packers have a real problem. Sam Shields is the only real shutdown corner the packers have and he was hurt a good portion of the season. No option in the draft will fix this for another few years. This is a huge hole, and the number 2 need on defense. It's also the solidified number 3 need on the packers team. If an OL, or MLB can't be picked up in free agency the packers need to pick up a CB.
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Green Bay: Moving Forward at WR
Really, there are only two halves to an NFL season. The first 8 games and the second 8 games. Throw away the bye week for the purpose of this blog.
Let's focus on the Packers first 8 games. 6-2. I would say that's pretty good. But if you break down the numbers, quite a bit doesn't jive with the record.
The receivers had a problem this year. A big one. In the first 8 games, Rodgers did a pretty good job of covering for the catching woes. But those last two games exposed GB and their receiving corps.
The second half GB finished 4-4. Not a good record at all. If it wasn't for some late game heroics at Detroit, this would have been 3-5. The entire second half was what the first half should have been: a disappointment.
Now Green Bay is out of contention and they are golfing. So who does this franchise turn to next? Rodgers is set, and Nelson is back. So we know the two number one's.
The issue this year presented itself early on: No receiver on this Nelson-less team is a clear cut number two. In prior years it was either Jennings or Nelson getting other receivers open. The commanding double and sometimes triple coverage created all hell for opposing defenses. That didn't happen this year. Instead, Cobb couldn't get open and Adam's couldn't catch passes.
Richard Rodgers is a decent tight end, but he certainly cannot handle the load that finley once commanded.
Moving forward, the Packers now have a problem. They have many receivers who are not ready to be clear cut number two's but a whole bunch of mid tier receivers. Cobb, Jones, Montgomery, Abberderis, Janis, and Adams.
From that list above, Abberderis is going to have the hardest time making the team. He played well in a handful of games but didn't establish himself.
Jones was the talk of the team the first 6 weeks. But after that, he wasn't the same player. Not knowing his contract situation doesn't help this blog, but I'll assume he's under contract for next season. He's too slow for the number 3 spot but will have trouble establishing himself as the number 4 guy. too much bottom depth.
Cobb is safe. He's not going anywhere but he's been exposed big time. He got a nice contract extension but should be thanking Jordy for this. He wasn't open when he needed to be and couldn't break from receivers. He does have the entire off season to work himself, but that's quite a bit of work.
Adams deserves to be cut. His play declined badly this year. The reality is he gained quite a bit of experience and will most likely headed to the number 3 spot.
Janis will go back to special teams. Again, he gained experience but unless someone can unseat Cobb for the number 2 spot nothing is going well for these players.
Montgomery is the guy that intrigues me the most. He got the short end of the stick early on. Injuries shortened his season. He has a great work ethic, but not quite the talent yet. Assuming Adam's doesn't get cut, I expect Montgomery to work towards the number 3 spot mid season.
Let's focus on the Packers first 8 games. 6-2. I would say that's pretty good. But if you break down the numbers, quite a bit doesn't jive with the record.
The receivers had a problem this year. A big one. In the first 8 games, Rodgers did a pretty good job of covering for the catching woes. But those last two games exposed GB and their receiving corps.
The second half GB finished 4-4. Not a good record at all. If it wasn't for some late game heroics at Detroit, this would have been 3-5. The entire second half was what the first half should have been: a disappointment.
Now Green Bay is out of contention and they are golfing. So who does this franchise turn to next? Rodgers is set, and Nelson is back. So we know the two number one's.
The issue this year presented itself early on: No receiver on this Nelson-less team is a clear cut number two. In prior years it was either Jennings or Nelson getting other receivers open. The commanding double and sometimes triple coverage created all hell for opposing defenses. That didn't happen this year. Instead, Cobb couldn't get open and Adam's couldn't catch passes.
Richard Rodgers is a decent tight end, but he certainly cannot handle the load that finley once commanded.
Moving forward, the Packers now have a problem. They have many receivers who are not ready to be clear cut number two's but a whole bunch of mid tier receivers. Cobb, Jones, Montgomery, Abberderis, Janis, and Adams.
From that list above, Abberderis is going to have the hardest time making the team. He played well in a handful of games but didn't establish himself.
Jones was the talk of the team the first 6 weeks. But after that, he wasn't the same player. Not knowing his contract situation doesn't help this blog, but I'll assume he's under contract for next season. He's too slow for the number 3 spot but will have trouble establishing himself as the number 4 guy. too much bottom depth.
Cobb is safe. He's not going anywhere but he's been exposed big time. He got a nice contract extension but should be thanking Jordy for this. He wasn't open when he needed to be and couldn't break from receivers. He does have the entire off season to work himself, but that's quite a bit of work.
Adams deserves to be cut. His play declined badly this year. The reality is he gained quite a bit of experience and will most likely headed to the number 3 spot.
Janis will go back to special teams. Again, he gained experience but unless someone can unseat Cobb for the number 2 spot nothing is going well for these players.
Montgomery is the guy that intrigues me the most. He got the short end of the stick early on. Injuries shortened his season. He has a great work ethic, but not quite the talent yet. Assuming Adam's doesn't get cut, I expect Montgomery to work towards the number 3 spot mid season.
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