CU Offense: Who to Watch in the RMS

The 2017 version of the Rocky Mountain Showdown is quickly approaching. Tomorrow can't get here soon enough. There are lots of players I want to see, because I expect them to perform well.

Offense

QB Steven Montez
This young man has all the skills needed to help him become one of the best to ever play for Colorado. He has Phillip "T.D." Lindsay behind him and one of the best collection of wide receivers in the country. And, he has a solid line in front of him. Look out.

RB Phillip "T.D." Lindsay 
The Tasmanian Devil is looking to become the first Buff to run for more than 1000 yards in consecutive seasons. Barring injury, count on that happening. The fireball is the emotional heartbeat of this team and fans can fully expect great things from him.

The Wide Outs -- Fields, Bobo, Ross & MacIntyre
Co- OC Darrin Chiaverini must be champing on the bit to get his position group into the game. His group is one of the best in the country, and has to give opposing defensive coordinators nightmares. What makes it even scarier is that the second team group (Winfree, Ento, Nixon and Walker) might well be as good as the first team. 

The Offensive Line -- Irwin, Kough, Huckins, Lynott & Haigler
Coach Klayton Adams took over coaching the offensive line last year and the team won 10 games. Another year with Adams at the head of this group promises even better blocking and unity. These guys are the horses that the skill position players will ride and these young men are ready for the challenge.

Newcomers to Watch --

Juwann Winfree - WR
Before he was injured in the spring of 2016, this young man was earning raves as possibly the best and most talented guy in a phenomenal group of wide receivers. If fully healthy, he could become a star for the offense.

Sam Noyer - QB
Fans are hoping that Mike MacIntyre and Brian Lindgren learned a valuable lesson last year and will give Noyer a chance to play some meaningful snaps if the Buffs get out to big leads. Over the last several years, they left Sefo Liufau in WAY too long in big wins and paid the price when he went down to injury in big games throughout his career.

Noyer has been turning heads since he arrived on campus, and could provide solid  backup to Montez.

Beau Bisharat - RB
This 4-Star back arrived last season and did outstanding work on special teams. This year, he'll give the Buffs a BIG back option on short yardage situations for the first time in what seems like forever.

Michael Adkins - RB
Adkins isn't a newcomer, but has had numerous injuries to deal with in his career. We're hoping his senior year can be injury free and he can finally fulfill the promise he's shown when healthy.

GO BUFFS!

Post Halloween Grades for the University of Colorado Football Offensive Coaching Staff

For the first time in more than a decade, the Colorado Buffaloes football program enters November with six wins and bowl eligibility already under their belts. It's a heady place to be, but this team has suffered for years and will not be satisfied to just settle for six wins and any old bowl game.

No, this team wants more. They want it all, really. And the men responsible for that attitude are not just the ones playing in the games, but also the ones doing the coaching and training.

And for the first time in more than a decade, the grades are not as scary as the Halloween season.

Drew Wilson --  A+++
Director of Football Strength and Conditioning 

Technically, Wilson is not a coach. But, throughout the year, no one spends more time with the players than Wilson. The players love him, and Wilson's expertise in his field and motivational prowess has turned the Buffs into a team of gym rats. 

No longer are the Buffs being pushed around by the rest of the Pac-12. Indeed, they may now be the most physical team in the league. What makes this even more impressive is that Wilson did not even join the staff until January of this year. Rick George and Mike MacIntyre need to do whatever it takes to keep Wilson.

OFFENSE

Klayton Adams -- A+
Offensive Line Coach

Adams has been with MacIntyre for six years (beginning at San Jose State). This is his first year coaching the offensive line at Colorado. The best line coaches make their charges realize that the line must play as an integrated unit to succeed, and not focus on individual achievement. Adams has done that quite well and the Buffs are reaping the rewards.

Gary Bernardi -- C-
Tight Ends and Full Backs 

Bernardi was the coach of the offensive line during MacIntyre's first three years at Colorado. The Buffs were 2-25 in Pac-12 play during that time and finished 6th (last) in the Pac-12 South each season.

The tight ends and full backs have been relegated to blockers only this year. They have no carries among the fullbacks and no tight end has more than one catch. Their blocking has been part of the offensive rejuvenation this season, but their production has been non-existent. 

Darian Hagan -- A+
Running Backs

This season is Hagan's second stint coaching running backs. He has excelled this time with Phillip Lindsay as well as his first go round with Rodney Stewart and Hugh Charles, who both rushed for more than 1000 yards under Hagan's tutelage. Barring injury, Lindsay should become Hagan's third 1K rusher.

On top of that, Hagan has his RB's blocking as well as running. Even though they are small in stature, Kyle Evans and Lindsay are two of the strongest pound for pound players on the team.

Darrin Chiaverini -- A+++
Wide Receivers and Co-Offensive Coordinator

Like Darian Hagan, Chev is a guy who played at Colorado. Hagan was a force of nature on the field and has become an excellent coach. Chiaverini was an excellent player  but has become a force of nature as a coach. 

He has risen through the ranks quickly in his coaching career, and as co-offensive coordinator at Colorado, he has been excellent not only in working with the wide receivers but also in recruiting and game planning. His ability to expand Lindgren's play-calling repertoire and explain the details of the plan to the players has been outstanding.

The receivers under Chev have become a dominant force in the conference. They not only catch the ball with outstanding purpose, but their blocking for each other and the runners coming from out of the backfield has been exemplary. 

The Buffs have had 13 plays covering more than 40 yards this year so far, and 38 that have gone for more than 20. Many of those big plays can be attributed to downfield blocking by the receivers.

As for Chev, his energy and infectious enthusiasm fires up players and fans alike and his relentless social media presence makes him a remarkable ambassador for the University of Colorado.

Brian Lindgren -- A
Quarterbacks and Co-Offensive Coordinator

Lindgren has done a remarkable job as quarterbacks coach this season. Sefo Liufau has played the best of his career this season, and Steven Montez covered the QB position admirably while Liufau was hurt. Lindgren, Liufau and Montez have combined to be one of the most efficient offensive forces in the Pac-12. If he was only being graded on the play of the quarterbacks, he would have an A+.

Although it has been much better this season due to the overall strength of the offensive coaching, training and players, Lindgren has still had one shortcoming. Most of the game prep done throughout the season has been spot on. The Buffs have been the only team this year to put a hurting on #2's Michigan's defense. And they did it on the road.

But the Buffs did that prior to Liufau's injury in Ann Arbor. Once Montez came in (quite obviously unprepared for the possibility), the play-calling suffered as Lindgren did not adapt to having a redshirt freshman who had barely played this year even though the Buffs had put together several blowout wins.

At USC, their defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergrast put together a brilliant game plan to take away the run game from the Buffs. It worked, and by the time Lindgren got around to adjusting in the 4th quarter, the Trojans' lead was too big to surmount.

The Buffs again sputtered offensively against Stanford on the road. Liufau had by far his worst game of the season. Fortunately, the defense was prepared and able to shut down the Cardinal, holding them to their fewest points in more than a decade. This allowed the Buffs to escape with a 10-5 win.

Colorado Buffaloes Overall Offensive Grade -- A-

The Buffs offensively have been very good, and deserving of a full A for much of the season. But the small failures to adapt in the face of adversity cost the Buffs their two losses, and could have led to a third if not for fine defensive play.

As the going gets rougher in the meat of the schedule, every team we play will want to beat the first place team. The Buffs need to be ready before the game offensively, and need to be ready to adapt when the situations arise.

Some would say that the Buffs deserve a straight up A for how far they've come. But the layers want to be an A team against the best of the Pac-12, not just compared to how bad they used to be.

The next four games, three at home, will determine the overall success of the season. We know they will be playing in a bowl game. But they want to play in the Pac-12 Championship, and they want to play in the Rose Bowl. To do that for sure, they need to win out in the regular season.

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Next up:

November 1st Grades of Colorado's Defensive Coaching Staff

and

2016 Grade for Mike MacIntyre After 9 Games

Colorado Football 2013: Camp Opens on the Mike MacIntyre Era

The University of Colorado officially opened camp for the upcoming 2013 season, and Buff fans and players alike are looking for a vast improvement over the darkest days in the history of the program. And the man everyone is looking at to lead the Buffs back to brighter days is Head Coach Mike MacIntyre.

Of course, one of the main reasons why so many people are confident that Mac2 is the right man for the job is his ability to build a great team of coaches to work with him and each other and the players under their command. Mac knows teamwork and the team of coaches he has assembled know it as well. And together, their job is to bring that knowledge and enthusiasm to the players.

It appears that the effect since beginning Spring practices has been rather profound. Early on, it was evident to all who watched that the new coaches were VERY organized and efficient. They realized just how precious actual NCAA approved practice time is, and the used every minute at their disposal to teach their young men. The coaches knew what they wanted to achieve before practice started and got every player involved in as many reps as possible in the time allotted. 

The Summer months are a "hands off" time for the coaches, but a very important time for the Buffs to work hard in player led workouts. The coaches made sure the team knew this and trained them during the Spring on how to practice and work out. They stressed conditioning and proper weight and gave guidelines to those who needed to gain or lose some pounds. Their planning is paying dividends now that Fall camp has begun.

Due to guidance from coaches and proper physical training, the 2013 Buff squad entered camp in the best physical shape the team has seen in years. And it is not just returning Buffs who took their jobs seriously this summer. The incoming freshmen also did their duty to be in shape before camp began.

The main benefit of being physically prepared when camp opened, of course, is that MacIntyre and his coaches can now focus on TEACHING instead of just whipping them into shape. And being in the good shape that they are will allow them to get lots and lots of reps in during each practice. The days of standing around watching are over, and that is a great thing for the future of Colorado Buffaloes football.

Right now, those of us who follow and write about the Buffs have been asked to refrain from discussing specifics about plays and players. In this day and age when so few schools even allow the press or fans to attend practice, this is a completely reasonable request.

Right now, the only 11 men that fans should focus on are the ones who will truly allow the Buffs to succeed this season and into the future. Those men are:

Mike MacIntyre -- Head Coach

Kent Baer -- Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers

Brian Lindgren -- Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks

Klayton Adams -- Running Backs / Tight Ends

Gary Bernardi -- Offensive Line

Charles Clark -- Safeties

Jim Jeffcoat -- Defensive Line

Andy LaRussa -- Cornerbacks

Toby Neinas -- Special Teams

Troy Walters -- Wide Receivers / Recruiting Coordinator 

Dave Forman -- Director of Sports Performance

These fine men will make the Colorado Buffs a better football team, and they will do it because they know the value of commitment, dedication, sacrifice and teamwork. They will help the young men they work with become better people and leaders in all aspects of their lives, and by doing so will build a TEAM that can accomplish on and off the field.

CU Buffs Depth Chart: The Only Positions that Matter!

The Colorado Buffs have released their first "pencil" depth chart of the team since beginning spring practices. Unfortunately, the general consensus among fan sites devoted to the Buffs and also comments on news stories has been a worried and collective wringing of hands. Seriously? Only halfway though the 2013 Spring Practices, and there seems to be an irrational worry about who is where and why.

RELAX PEOPLE.

There are only ten positions on the Colorado Buffs football team that really matter right now. Fortunately, after the worst season in CU football history, all ten of those positions have changed since last year. Fans should be looking only at these 10 guy right now, because these are the men who will determine how the entire team does this coming season and for the foreseeable future.

Mike MacIntyre -- Head Coach

Kent Baer -- Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers

Brian Lindgren -- Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks

Klayton Adams -- Running Backs / Tight Ends

Gary Bernardi -- Offensive Line

Charles Clark -- Safeties

Jim Jeffcoat -- Defensive Line

Andy LaRussa -- Cornerbacks

Toby Neinas -- Special Teams

Troy Walters -- Wide Receivers / Recruiting Coordinator

CU fans need to let these men do their jobs and quit fretting about who will be at QB (or LB, DT, etc.) These men are professionals whose jobs are to evaluate the talent of the players they have available. Unlike the casual fans, these guys are paid to coach, train, and evaluate all the players and utilize them to put the best team on the field when the season begins.

The enthusiasm of the fans writing blogs and commenting on news stories is commendable, but some of them need to calm down. If one looks at the upcoming season as a war with 12 battles, fans need to realize that D-Day is not until August 31st. We are barely into basic training at this point. In time, the captains and leaders and starters will rise to the top. It is up to these 10 commanders to make sure the best players do so and to encourage all the others to improve as well.

Fans should resist the temptation to look at what individual players did prior to this coaching staff arriving in Boulder. The sad fact is that the main reason that CU has had seven straight losing seasons has been the coaching, or more accurately, the lack of coaching.

Winning the battles each week for a football team is made possible by the work of the coaches both before and during the games. That being the case, it was really dumb luck that CU won a single game last year. The blame goes not to the foot soldiers, but should be put on the heads of the officers (coaches). Jon Embree and Eric Bieniemy were great players for CU. Scooter (EB) is one of my favorite Buffs ever. But the sad truth is that neither man had any idea how to do the jobs they were hired to do. So we move on.

Athletic Director Mike Bohn has taken a lot of heat for the last two hires before Mac to lead the Buffs football program. Some of the criticism is undoubtedly deserved, but football fans need to recognize that Bohn is the AD for the entire school. CU won another national championship in skiing this year. The men's basketball program and fan support are at an all-time high. The women's basketball program is starting to look a lot like the dominant days under Ceal Barry. And Bohn was instrumental in getting CU into the much more lucrative Pac-12. So, while deserved criticism needs to be acknowledged, deserved praise needs to be as well.

All said, for the first time in way too long, the football team appears to be in the hands of people who know what they are doing. Good battle plans will allow the Buffs to be competitive, and the winning will follow as the culture is changed. These men have done it before, and they can do it again.

Go Buffs!