(Just think of the puppies and the pain of losing to Baylor slips away...)
Before I get started with the bag, I have to make an apology to Buff Nation; unbeknownst to essentially everyone else, I traded a Buff loss to the Football Gods for a UT win over the Huskers. I still think it was a good trade; Nebraska loses their shot at a national title, we were headed for a rough season anyway, and there's no way that Hawk recovers from this to save his job. Additionally, there's this guy:
"We're going to the Texas game because losing to Texas last year almost killed me physically, and emotionally. And so we're going to go and see the vengence that we so deserve. And so we basically are not paying any of our bills this month, and we are going to use all of our money to buy 3 different flights ..."I wanted him to suffer the pain of having wasted his money, his time, and possibly his house on a crushing home defeat to an average Texas team. If you're unhappy with that deal, the best I can say is I'm sorry; I did what I thought was best in the long term interests of Buff fans everywhere.
On with the bag...
CU loses to Baylor... Hawk solidifies future unemployment status - All joking aside, while Baylor is better than they have been in past years, there is no reason that we should be losing to them at home. Hawk's tenure as CU head football coach, for all intents and purposes, ended Saturday night. Once again, CU found itself down 10 points at home in the 2nd half, however, unlike the previous 2 games, a comeback wasn't in the works. The season isn't over (though I'm really starting to like my 4-8 pre-season pick), but unless the team reels off 5 or 6 wins the rest of the way, I don't think there is any chance that Hawk is retained going into next year, regardless of the political and economic realities of the University as a whole.
Playcalling weirdness - I was as confused as anyone else that we went for 2 after the first touchdown. While I was less surprised the second time around, I remained perplexed over the idiocy of going for 2 twice (!) in the first half. This after we tried to go for 2 three times in the Georgia game (converting 1, and having play-reviews kill the opportunity for 2 others). I guess my question is; does Hawk even care anymore, or is he just trying to dick over as many CU fans as possible on his way out the door...
(I just can't feel sadness looking at that face)
On the final drive, I was upset that we didn't take a more vertical approach to moving the ball down the field. In his post game comments, Hawk talked about 10 yard chunks, but on the final drive, the Buffs had 5 plays go for 6 or fewer yards. All I was looking for was 15 yard passes up-field. You don't have to heave the ball; just don't throw it to the TE in the flat on 8 straight plays! A prevent defense does two things well; It stops the long ball, and keeps short stuff from breaking. The weakness is intermediate passes over the middle of the field. With just under 2 minutes left, passes over the middle for first downs would've been just fine. I was initially flustered over the final play-call, but, in retrospect, a jump-ball to Clemmons is acceptable since he was the best athlete on the field at the time; while I would've liked a more aggressive pass-route combination, I'll give it a pass.
(That's how close CU was to overtime... or a win had we not left two points on the board. From: the BDC)
Injuries - In last weeks preview, I worried about how the injuries to B-lock and Anthony Perkins would effect the game. Specifically Will Jefferson, B-lock's replacement, fumbled on what would've been a scoring drive (and that turnover lead to Baylor taking a lead they would never relinquish), and Jered Bell, while leading the team in tackles, helped contribute to Robert Griffin gashing the Buffs for 137 yards up the middle. Hey, if players are injured, I can't blame their replacements for not being as good as the original starter (see: Mahnke, Patrick), but those injuries probably cost CU the game.
(Have we thought about using Ozell as a RB? From: The BDC)
Baylor racked up 543 yards of offense - I was shocked to see this. The defense didn't seem capable of making adjustments to the read play that Baylor kept running (Yes, Dan, that was a read play. Just because it's not the West Virginia version of the read, doesn't mean it's not a read play), and we couldn't buy a holding call on the edge to save our lives. It certainly didn't help that Jimmy Smith went out with a concussion, but this was by far the worst defensive performance of the season. At no point did I feel the Buffs could stop the Griffin lead offense; case-in-point, their punter never saw the field. After all I've seen this year, I expected better, and I think Perkins absence had a lot to do with it.
(What defensive issues?)
Where was Kirkwood? - Last week Buff Nation was thrown the bone of having Aric Goodman benched for (essentially) a guy off the street. However, when the first kicking opportunity of the game comes up, Hawk decides to go for 2, and when the first field goal opportunity of the game comes along, Hawk sends out Goodman. We spend all week hearing about Kirkwood, and never see him kick (I feel bad for the kid). While Goodman made both of his kicks Saturday, his ass still belongs on the bench. Hawk chalked up the move to the distance of the kick and some other nonsense (Goodman made a 57-yard kick in pregame warm-ups). I guess I just feel if you bench a guy he should stay benched; Goodman has made plenty of kicks in practices and pregames before, how does that one 57-yard kick when it doesn't matter change anything?
Lol, the Bears are awful; Dolphins beat the Packers - I had been feeling that the Bears are an awful team disguised in division leaders clothing (They've played a weak schedule and have gotten lucky a few times); I was proved right on Sunday. While the Seahawks are better than they should be, a division leader shouldn't be dropping games like that at home. With a quarterback coming off a concussion, and with the offensive line looking like swiss cheese on passing plays, the Bears only ran 12 times (!). That is unacceptable.
(Aaaaand the Bears have been exposed. From: The Trib)
My Fins (Yes, I'm a Dolphins fan, get over it), beat the Packers to regain some momentum after 2 humiliating losses and a bye week. I really want to think that the team is good, but their two previous wins are over bad teams, and I'm not sold on the Packers. Looks like an 8-8/9-7 year for the Fins... still, it's a good road win.
Bulls preseason outlook - Finally, something positive to talk about! I caught a little bit of ESPN's NBA preview show last night, and it got me thinking on the Bulls. After an offseason where they failed to land the whales they were aiming for, I find myself liking the Bulls chances in the East. Barring an idiotic move for Melo, the Bulls have one of the most well-rounded lineups in the conference. They offer top flight offensive and defensive options in the paint (Noah and Boozer) they have one of the best young creators in the league (Rose), a legit outside threat (Korver), and I've always liked Luol Deng's versatility. What's more, there is set of defined roles on the team; you can't say that about Miami. The Bulls will not only be a good regular season team, but they will be a tough out in the playoffs; I think an Eastern Finals push is not out of the question. I even like the coach they hired to replace Del Negro (Thibodeau). Things are looking up for the Bullies...
Happy Monday!
No comments:
Post a Comment