Just How Bad Has CU's (Not So) Special Teams Been?

irish1611 — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 18:00:07 -0000

It has now been officially stated by me that the entire operations known as the CU special teams needs to be blown up and put back together. New players, new coaches...everything. The main reason: CONSISTENTLY being horrible, costing the Buffs points and, since the beginning of the season, not giving the Buffs anything positive. Yes, Josh Smith will bust one here and there that will give CU good field position, but not since the Eastern Washington game has he really put the Buffs in an immediate position to score. So just how bad are the Buffs this year on special teams? According to my calculations, the Buffs have given up a total of 81 points to the opposition on special teams. Get out your calculator and do the math. 81/10 = 8.1 points/game. See the chart below for a breakdown of what I am counting in my 81 points. You could argue against one of the Missouri touchdowns due to bad coverage and short punt but most of the other "blunders" are truly legitimate. The number could be higher if you factor in the momentum changers the missed field goals cost the Buffs in the Texas game and the Florida State game. You could even throw the Iowa State game in as one of those games where the Buffs convert, it may be a different outcome. 81 points. Yes, Josh Smith has a few good returns and a touchdown against CSU that would offset a few points but when the CU place kickers are 28.6% on the season in made field goals and the Buffs play musical punters in the Mizzou game, they lose the benefit of the doubt in a lot of scenarios. To make matters worse, the Buffs are 117th in the nation in kickoff coverage, giving up 27.17 yards/kickoff. There are only 119 teams in FBS! CU ranks 85th in punt coverage giving up 11.0 yards/punt. For how good WR/KR Josh Smith has seemed to have done this year, the Buffs still rank 50th in punt return average and 54th in kick return average. In net punting, the Buffs only average 39.1 yards/punt which is good for 79th in the nation. I am sorry, this performance is not acceptable. 8.1 points a game plus the influence that poor special teams play has on the momentum of the game has killed the Buffs this year. I believe it cost them the Florida State game, gave them no chance against Missouri and could have cost them the Iowa State game.

Opponent	Play	Result	Total Points
Colorado State	Kickoff TD	CSU Kickoff Return TD	-7
Eastern Washington	Missed Field Goal	Goodman Missed Field Goal	-3
Eastern Washington	Buffs Fumble	Josh Smith fumble, Led to EWU TD	-7
Florida State	Missed Field Goal	Goodman Missed Field Goal	-3
Florida State	Jfly Bonehead Return	Smith Gets tackled at the 4, led to safety, field goal	-5
Florida State	Kickoff TD	FSU returns kickoff 94 yards	-7
Texas	Missed Field Goal	Goodman Missed Field Goal	-3
Texas	Missed Field Goal	Goodman Missed Field Goal	-3
Texas	Missed Field Goal	Goodman Missed Field Goal	-3
Kansas St	Missed Field Goal	Goodman Missed Field Goal	-3
Kansas St	Missed Field Goal	Goodman Missed Field Goal	-3
Missouri	Punter Fumble	Suazo Drops the Ball on Own 5 yd line, TD Mizzou	-7
Missouri	Bad Punt	DiLallo 23 yard punt before half leads to FG	-3
Missouri	Bad Punt/Cov	DiLallo 34 yard punt, returned 30 yards, net 4 yd punt, TD Mizzou	-7
Missouri	Bad Punt/Cov	Suazo 33 yd punt, returned to CU 39, TD Mizzou	-7
Texas A&M	Missed Field Goal	Goodman Missed Field Goal	-3
Iowa State	Missed Field Goal	J Davis Missed Field Goal	-3
Iowa State	Missed Field Goal	J Davis Missed Field Goal	-3
Iowa State	Blocked Ex Point	Goodman Blocked Extra Point	-1
		TOTAL	-81
		TOTAL/GAME	-8.1

Grading the Buffs (Lack of) Performance: Missouri Tigers vs Colorado Buffaloes

irish1611 — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 22:34:55 -0000

Guess what, I am not going to go into a lot of detail here at all. You know why, because it is a failure across the board. You look at the "Keys to the Game" and then what the Buffs actually did Saturday, I, at least, chuckled. Just a pathetic effort and display. Before Saturday, most fans were in the corner of the Buffs, still somewhat optimistic that with all the youth, injuries, tough schedule...you name it, the Buffs were on the right track. After this weekend's game, I judge from you, the readers comments, and media outlets that many are growing very impatient. Each and every one of our prides were kicked in the face Saturday night. I think we all felt the punch to the gut that deflated our sails and sent us into a mode of questioning. I wish I could be at practice this week to see how Hawk is preparing these guys. Is there anger, accountability, frustration, pride on this team? I am beginning to question that. I question it because I don't see a leader. A gravitating voice among the players to call a team meeting and talk player on player. No one to set the forum to air things out and challenged the will of teammates. I don't see that player. That is the player who would get guys on the team excited during the game and motivated on the sidelines...again I don't see it. This team needs to find a leader...better said, someone needs to step up and become the leader. The Texas A&M game will show us if this team has packed it in.

The grades to Saturday's game after the jump....

Stop the Missouri Running Game: The stats don't lie on this one. Games where Missouri has won: they averaged 193 yards on the ground. Games they have lost: 47 yards.

Missouri rushed for 189 yards on 33 carries (5.8ypc) which was more than 5 ypc better than what they averaged against Texas and 2 ypc better than what they averaged against Oklahoma State. The 5.8 ypc was above what Mizzou has averaged for the year. The offense/special teams did not help the defense once again but the defensive game plan was bad enough to place most of the blame directly on the D.

Buffs Grade: F

The Air Up There: The Buffs have to be able to make headway through the passing game. Which means play Tyler Hansen the whole game. If Hanson gets hot and exposes a defense that is giving up 287 yards a game, the Buffs may just score more than 14 points this week. Mizzou is a superior team, to beat a superior team you have to do superior things.

Well, that was a bunch of hot air. Shame on me for having faith in the Buffs offense for getting better in the passing game overnight. I must have had too much kool-aid to drink after a win. Shame on me for thinking Stryker Sulak wouldn't tee up on the offensive line. Shame on me for thinking the Buffs would throw the ball farther than 10 yards down the field. The Buffs averaged 4.0 y/att and totaled on 158 yards on 34 pass attempts. That 158 yards was 129 yards below the Tiger average for the year. To give you an idea how bad 4.0 y/att is, Mizzou averages over 9. The entire year the Buffs haven't had one game over 7.3 y/att and that was against CSU. That stat screams no playmakers.

Buffs Grade: F
Irish1611's Grade for Making that a "Key to the Game": F

Account for Chase Coffman:

Did the Buffs account for anyone:
Chase Coffman: 7 catches, 50 yards and 1 TD
Jeremy Maclin: 11 catches, 134 yards and 2 TD

Someone forgot to tell the Buffs about these guys

Buffs Grade: F

7 points not 3 points/Win the Special Teams Battle:

This one made me laugh the most. First off, the Buffs didn't have the choice between 7 or 3 points as they didn't have any points. Second, the Buffs lost the special teams battle in the first 3 minutes of the game Saturday. First was the great idea of the squib kick that allowed Mizzou to have a 57 yard field. They properly scored in a couple plays. Then the Buffs brought in backup punter Tom Suazo and he subsequently dropped the ball and allowed Mizzou to start on the Buffs 5 yard line.

Buffs Grade: F

Challenge the Will of Mizzou:

Mizzou and challenged don't belong in the same sentence when talking about Saturday's game. The Buffs allowed Mizzou to get right back on track easily. As most are describing the game, the Buffs were the perfect medicine for the Tigers.

Buffs grade: F

SB Nation - Thomas Suazo

Just How Bad Has CU's (Not So) Special Teams Been?

Grading the Buffs (Lack of) Performance: Missouri Tigers vs Colorado Buffaloes