I, like most on this board, am sorry to see Walters leave for UCF, but we have lost solid assistants to better offers before. If there is a silver lining to this cloud, is this may allow MacIntyre to really change up what CU's offensive philosophy is. (Philosophy - we know that coaches will be leaving, but I doubt anyone on this board is qualified to say whom those should be. )
MacIntyre brought most of his staff from San Jose St with him and the same philosophies. We saw last season that the defensive approach wasn't working, so in came Leavitt and Tumpkin. (But do you think San Jose St regrets not hiring Baer to replace Mac?) Now a major rethinking of approach on offense is needed. Very apparent that the timing / passing attack that works in the MWC does not work in the PAC 12 (or any P5 conference). Too many stud athletes on defense make it easy to disrupt the routes and bring pressure to the QB. We all know the symptoms of what his wrong, but I see these as the biggest issues:
The Buffs cannot consistently protect the QB with their blocking scheme;
The timing on their receivers' routes is easily disrupted;
Inability to get the TEs and RBs (other than Lindsay) involved in the passing game;
The Buffs aren’t committed enough to the running game to make that work in the red zone, and on third down situations against the league’s top-tier defenses.
I know that some folks would like to see CU move to a Wazzu / Baylor spread attack, but I have my doubts if CU could run that effectively. Given that CU loses its top WR and will be starting a young QB against CSU, but that we return all of our RBs, nine of our top ten linemen and both TEs, I think a different approach is needed.
My preference would be:
1) Commit to a run-first approach, using tight ends and fullbacks. Given the size and athleticism of our linemen (emphasis on the latter), utilize more zone blocking schemes.
2) Utilize more play action passes, tosses to our tight ends, and screen passes.
3) When he becomes healthy, utilize Liufao (or Awini) in more running situations.
I am not saying become Stanford east, but CU could look at what USC did when Helton assumed command, or how Oklahoma blended spread and power running this season. Just as our goal was to turn our defense from worst to middle of the pack this season, the goal should be to run our red zone offense from last to average. That, combined with an improved defense, should get us that bowl bid next season.
MacIntyre brought most of his staff from San Jose St with him and the same philosophies. We saw last season that the defensive approach wasn't working, so in came Leavitt and Tumpkin. (But do you think San Jose St regrets not hiring Baer to replace Mac?) Now a major rethinking of approach on offense is needed. Very apparent that the timing / passing attack that works in the MWC does not work in the PAC 12 (or any P5 conference). Too many stud athletes on defense make it easy to disrupt the routes and bring pressure to the QB. We all know the symptoms of what his wrong, but I see these as the biggest issues:
The Buffs cannot consistently protect the QB with their blocking scheme;
The timing on their receivers' routes is easily disrupted;
Inability to get the TEs and RBs (other than Lindsay) involved in the passing game;
The Buffs aren’t committed enough to the running game to make that work in the red zone, and on third down situations against the league’s top-tier defenses.
I know that some folks would like to see CU move to a Wazzu / Baylor spread attack, but I have my doubts if CU could run that effectively. Given that CU loses its top WR and will be starting a young QB against CSU, but that we return all of our RBs, nine of our top ten linemen and both TEs, I think a different approach is needed.
My preference would be:
1) Commit to a run-first approach, using tight ends and fullbacks. Given the size and athleticism of our linemen (emphasis on the latter), utilize more zone blocking schemes.
2) Utilize more play action passes, tosses to our tight ends, and screen passes.
3) When he becomes healthy, utilize Liufao (or Awini) in more running situations.
I am not saying become Stanford east, but CU could look at what USC did when Helton assumed command, or how Oklahoma blended spread and power running this season. Just as our goal was to turn our defense from worst to middle of the pack this season, the goal should be to run our red zone offense from last to average. That, combined with an improved defense, should get us that bowl bid next season.
