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Are we really as bad as we think?

Unleash Hell

Well-Known Member
Do you realize how close we were to being a 7 or 8 win team last year?

We should have won the Baylor, Texas Tech and Kansas games (all blown leads in the 4th). That would have put us at 8 wins.

On the other hand we could have easily lost the Hawaii, Georgia games and if Hawkins would have still been around, probably lost the ISU and KSU games.

How much of this was bad coaching and some new fire will make this a team that will surprise people? We don't have a lot fo depth and talent, but we do have some talent at some key positions.

But I still consider the Kansas debacle to be a blessing. Hawk would still be here. But perhaps, we aren't as burned to the ground as we and others think????
 
I don't think we're as bad as most think but I do think we and everyone else have a severe lack of Confidence in our team. It's been a long time since the Buffs showed much on the field as far as good, tough, consistent play. Hopefully, Embree and the Buffs can show us some of this and give us confidence in the Buffaloes once again. I think they can do it.
 
I tend to think we aren't as bad as people think, especially given what we saw under Cabral and how many seniors we have. I've seen people saying we start 0-5 or 1-4, and I highly doubt that happens. The schedule is more brutal than last year so getting more than 5 wins is going to be a tall task, but if this team is able to get a crucial ROAD WIN at Hawaii, we may be in for a pleasant outcome this season with 2 or 3 more wins than expected. I've seen many outsiders talking about the Buffs like we're another Wazzu, they're going to in for a surprise in that regard.
 
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This is a question I keep mulling over in my mind. I think we way underachieved under the previous regime. Can the new one overachieve? If so, we just might surprise people. I know we focus on our weaknesses, but all teams have holes. This season is a huge test for Embo, EB, et al.
 
I would venture that most around here are confident that the team will be improved from the past few years.

That being said it has been widely discussed how difficult a schedule we play this year, and we have a lot of improving to do before we reach the standards set 10-20 years ago. Based on our competition I think we could have a very successful year in terms of improvement, while still having a wait to see a big jump in the win-loss totals.
 
CVilleBuff said:
I tend to think we aren't as bad as people think, especially given what we saw under Cabral and how many seniors we have. I've seen people saying we start 0-5 or 1-4, and I highly doubt that happens. The schedule is more brutal than last year so getting more than 5 wins is going to be a tall task, but if this team is able to get a crucial ROAD WIN at Hawaii, we may be in for a pleasant outcome this season with 2 or 3 more wins than expected. I've seen many outsiders talking about the Buffs like we're another Wazzu, they're going to in for a surprise in that regard.
Click to expand...

Last 3 years

Wazzu 5-32
CU 13-23
 
A certain ex-head coach, don't remember his name said we were 10 plays from a bowl game. Has to be true, he works for ESPN now.

Actually one of the puzzling things going into this season is the question, how much of the failure of the past few years is due to lack of talent and how much is due to the gross incompentence of the coaching staff.
 
MtnBuff said:
A certain ex-head coach, don't remember his name said we were 10 plays from a bowl game. Has to be true, he works for ESPN now.

Actually one of the puzzling things going into this season is the question, how much of the failure of the past few years is due to lack of talent and how much is due to the gross incompentence of the coaching staff.
Click to expand...

Technically we were a quarter of just kneeling on the ball from a bowl game.
 
MtnBuff said:
A certain ex-head coach, don't remember his name said we were 10 plays from a bowl game. Has to be true, he works for ESPN now.

Actually one of the puzzling things going into this season is the question, how much of the failure of the past few years is due to lack of talent and how much is due to the gross incompentence of the coaching staff.
Click to expand...

And if I recall, that was after the '09 season!! :wow:
 
looking past wins/losses

Unleash Hell said:
Do you realize how close we were to being a 7 or 8 win team last year?
Click to expand...

i know football boils down to wins/losses so don't get on me about this... but IMHO as fans we have to try to look at other statistics to see progress this year since our competition will be so much better. personally i'm looking at these things:
  • penalties;
  • turnovers;
  • second half meltdowns;
  • special teams play; and
  • red (or "green" if you prefer) zone efficiency (TD/FG ratio).
if the team can improve in these areas and Embree gets the Buffs playing confidently, then i'll feel very good about the direction of the team and become a first-time season ticket holder next year!

P.S. re: season tickets, in my defense i'm a recent Colorado transplant
 
It's amazing how many football games can be won by playing mistake-free with a decent running offense. That being said, is there that much of a difference between 5 wins and 7 wins? Sure, 7 is better, but if Hawk could've won 7 consistently he'd still be the coach (shiver) and we'd never sniff a championship. If the Buffs run the ball, play determined defense, and don't step on their dicks on special teams, they should go bowling.
 
BuffsNYC said:
It's amazing how many football games can be won by playing mistake-free with a decent running offense. That being said, is there that much of a difference between 5 wins and 7 wins? Sure, 7 is better, but if Hawk could've won 7 consistently he'd still be the coach (shiver) and we'd never sniff a championship. If the Buffs run the ball, play determined defense, and don't step on their dicks on special teams, they should go bowling.
Click to expand...

The important thing now is that we have a brutal schedule this year. If Embree and company can win 7 or more games this year with improvements in the physical and mental games it will be huge in terms of our recruiting. Even if we can eliminate the blowouts and the embarassing lapses it would go a long way in convincing kids that we are a program on the right track.
 
Unleash Hell said:
Do you realize how close we were to being a 7 or 8 win team last year?

We should have won the Baylor, Texas Tech and Kansas games (all blown leads in the 4th). That would have put us at 8 wins.

On the other hand we could have easily lost the Hawaii, Georgia games and if Hawkins would have still been around, probably lost the ISU and KSU games.

How much of this was bad coaching and some new fire will make this a team that will surprise people? We don't have a lot fo depth and talent, but we do have some talent at some key positions.

But I still consider the Kansas debacle to be a blessing. Hawk would still be here. But perhaps, we aren't as burned to the ground as we and others think????
Click to expand...
shup up hawkins...
 
Unleash Hell said:
well thought out response.

Actually it seems you have tapered your expectations from earlier in the offseason. You seemed more confident a couple months ago. I have gained confidence a little, but still skeptical.
Click to expand...

I'm just not a fan of the "we were really close to beating these teams" arguments. The Bill Parcells adage "you are what you are" adage applies here. As much as everyone wants to blame the previous coaching staff entirely for our failures, the players have some culpability too.
 
Boulder Buff said:
I'm just not a fan of the "we were really close to beating these teams" arguments. The Bill Parcells adage "you are what you are" adage applies here. As much as everyone wants to blame the previous coaching staff entirely for our failures, the players have some culpability too.
Click to expand...

I'm not blaming it ALL on the coaches, but I also don't think we are as burned to the ground as some think.

I think we have severe depth issues, which could hurt with a grueling 13 game tough schedule with no breaks. However I think we do have some legit players in guys like Ryan Miller, Conrad Obi, Paul Richardson, Rodney Stewart, Jon Major, Devaugh Thornton etc. Games are won in the trenches as well, and I think both lines look like they could dominate. It will all come down to that IMO.

I'm not expecting us to go out and compete for the Pac 12 in the first year, but I have lots of reasons to think that we will be considerably better than most think we will be.
 
Boulder Buff said:
I'm just not a fan of the "we were really close to beating these teams" arguments. The Bill Parcells adage "you are what you are" adage applies here. As much as everyone wants to blame the previous coaching staff entirely for our failures, the players have some culpability too.
Click to expand...

The players have some culpability in the losses to Cal & Nebraska. We didn't show up for those games - period. The OU game we were just out-classed, athletically. No way to sugar-coat that. TT, Baylor, Mizzou, and Kansas are losses I lay squarely at the feet of the coaching staff. KU, BU and TT were losses borne out of a loser mentality that was allowed to worm it's way into the team's thought process. Mizzou was a coach who was too damn incompetent to understand that what he's been doing for the last four years isn't working and it never will. Beating Mizzou shouldn't be that hard. Lots of teams do it. But I digress.

Are we as bad as we think we are? Probably not, but until we actually see evidence to the contrary, BB is right - we are what our record says we are.
 
snakeyman said:
Just for ****s and grins, where do people think the Buffs would sit in the WAC, MTN West, or C-USA?
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Mt west we would be behind Boise, TCU, AFA and maybe San Diego st.

CUSA we could win, but Houston and Southern Miss could give us fits.

WAC Probably win, but Fresno, Nevada and Hawaii could give us fits
 
Unleash Hell said:
I'm not blaming it ALL on the coaches, but I also don't think we are as burned to the ground as some think.

I think we have severe depth issues, which could hurt with a grueling 13 game tough schedule with no breaks. However I think we do have some legit players in guys like Ryan Miller, Conrad Obi, Paul Richardson, Rodney Stewart, Jon Major, Devaugh Thornton etc. Games are won in the trenches as well, and I think both lines look like they could dominate. It will all come down to that IMO.

I'm not expecting us to go out and compete for the Pac 12 in the first year, but I have lots of reasons to think that we will be considerably better than most think we will be.
Click to expand...

I'm going to wait on the "OL is dominant" proclamations until the season starts. Have heard it far too often the last few years.

I agree we have some good players, but the QB position and OL are still big question marks to me.
 
Boulder Buff said:
I'm going to wait on the "OL is dominant" proclamations until the season starts. Have heard it far too often the last few years.

I agree we have some good players, but the QB position and OL are still big question marks to me.
Click to expand...

I'm with you there. I like our D-line A LOT! However, it just seems the O-line could use some more nastiness in them. They need that kick your ass attitude and I still don't see it.
 
Unleash Hell said:
I'm with you there. I like our D-line A LOT! However, it just seems the O-line could use some more nastiness in them. They need that kick your ass attitude and I still don't see it.
Click to expand...

Yep, hoping it will "click" sometimes soon, but who knows.
 
If we didn't have all the uncertainties and difficulties of having a completely new staff with completely new systems, I'd actually be confident in a bowl game this year. But those are big hurdles to overcome. I'd feel a lot better if we had gotten out of the Cal game and scheduled a cupcake instead of Ohio State so we had a good chance of being 4-0 heading into our conference opener with Washington State.
 
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