The football roster has been updated with new info for about 2 weeks now.
Here are some impressions:
-We have six players shorter than 5"10 and 27 players lighter than 200 lbs. It's good to see Columbia supports Pop Warner Football.
-One of our "Wide Receivers" is 5"8 and weighs 208 lbs. If true, he should resemble a frozen Butterball Turkey. Perhaps we should switch him to defense, grease him up, and roll him like a bowling ball at the opposing offensive line.
-Man, this coaching regime sure likes wide receivers. We have a total of 14 of them on the roster!
-On the other hand, we only have six RB's with a grand total of 202 rushing yards total from all of them. We know the QB's aren't allowed to run in this system, so let's hope the pass blocking is better this year.
-There are 18 offensive linemen on the roster. If we can't find five decent players in this group, then recruiting and coaching have totally crashed.
There are 17 DB's on the roster. Hopefully, they won't be as busy as they were last year making so many of the tackles.
-A HS player who says he has 4.39 speed, Cameron Roane, has been moved from his HS position of RB to DB for CU. Wouldn't we want someone with that kind of speed to be an offensive skill player? Or... could it be that his reported speed totals are exaggerated. NO!
39 comments:
They are "rebuilding" just about everywhere. It's going to be uphill all the way. I don't think Pete has managed the roster very well. It's completely unclear how he expects to compete using this strategy.
1. The kid you described as a frozen turkey is a RB not WR. 2. There are 16 offensive lineman not 18. Callahan has been a defensive lineman since last season and #91 the freshman is mislabeled on the website. He is also a defensive lineman. 3. By rule you put your best "athletes" on defense. That's probably why Roan was moved to the defensive side of the ball. 4. Im sure you know why LB Cieslik is no longer on the team because you say you have sources. It's classy of you not to print the transgressions of the boys when they mess up because the world and future employers don't need to be made aware of these things.
as for the butterball, it's probably muscle. The more muscle you pack on obviously the denser your body mass regardless of height.
What was Cieslak's transgression? Did he cut one during a team meeting? What did Delaney and Marcorus do to offend Pete that he suspended them for a game? Probably things can be overlooked in the interest of team unity. The program needs leadership that players can find common ground with and believe in. That's how locker rooms find a winning formula.
Al, transgression means transgression. Not student antics and lockeroom pranks. Same went for the others you mentioned. Some of the behaviors have caused a few to be kicked out of school.
The "frozen turkey" as Jake describes him (must be real encouraging for the kid, Jake)is Leander Cutler who was a pretty good RB in high school but for some reason (according to the new roster) has been moved to WR. Hard to imagine why since we're deep at WR and very thin at RB. Another strange one is Alex Holme moved from LB to OL, weighing only 215. Maybe they're both mistakes in the roster, guess we'll know later.
The whole roster should be listed as wide receivers, try to confuse opponents game planning.
Al, your right. They are mislabeled on the website. I mentioned both in my earlier post.
With a few very notable exceptions, Carm Cozza during the 70s and 80s always preached putting his best 11 on defense. He said that if he could keep the score down he would always have a good chance to win.
Exactly Old Lion. And Roane played defensive back in high school so it's not as if he's learning a completely new position. I hope he can get us several interceptions and take them to the end zone.
Can he make a one on one tackle?
No hitting in practice makes tough to evaluate that ability.
Still say 3/4 D is MUST!
Way too many 8 yd pass completions
on 3rd and short. Conners played too soft. Deep at LB, but not sure about
DEs now with Washington gone.
Expect 1 or maybe 2 Freshman LBs
to get early PT.
This is Year 3, following a 0-10 season, and we are striving for 1-9. Not being snide at all...just trying to be realistic. And five years after Mango's hiring, whoever the coach is, the situation will be the same, and the same AD and Admin apologists will be saying "Stop being so negative, give it another 5 or 10 years, we wiill defininitely contend for a 5-5 season before the next Ice Age."
I really hope this isn't the way things develop . Maybe somebody will set things straight. I'm willing, waiting and oh so ready to be amazed.
If Nottingham can stay on his feet and not get hurt, a big if, then he can make things happen so long as we have receivers like Nelligan and Connors who know how to catch the ball.
Old lion, there were zero drops at the spring game that I can remember from any of the receivers and WR Kaplan looked like Jerry Rice which could be a nice added benefit to the team. Also I saw several members of the team hanging out in Times Square last night and they looked huge in a muscular way. They have definitely been in the weight room taking care of their bodies.
You do realize you are playing against your own team in spring ball don't you? I'm all for pre-season optimism and do believe we can win a few games but let's see some real improvement with game planning and leveraging personnel. Your fullback was invisible last season. You can't have an effective running game without lead blocking. You have had all off season to find playmakers or guys you can develop into playmakers to backfill for Marcorus and rebuild a OL. Show us an improved OL so both the running and passing game has legs.
FB is a disappearing position. Situational only. Too bad, because when J Reese had his great junior year his cousin was his lead blocker from the FB position. His production dropped his senior year, in part due to injuries, but also because he was running out of a one back set. As far as having a number of players under 6', unless they are OLs, which they aren't, who cares. It's football, not basketball. PS, glad to hear Danny White's report.
Doesn't matter 1 back or 2 back set. FB or blocking TE, take your pick. Similar prototype of player. It's still lead blocking. I can go off on a tangent about FBs and while I am no coach I do watch a lot of games. Unless you have a great OL, mobile and mowing down the opposition then you absolutely need to help out the RB. Good FBs are awesome with the blocking/catching/running component. It can't all be on the signature back.
Nobody seems to want to believe it, but we have a lot of talent coming in on both lines, LB and DB. Also a top-notch QB in Hill and a workhorse RB with some speed in Schroer. Two quality WRs in Briscoe and Baty and some good kickers. I think people are underestimating our potential due to the dim view of our coaching. But Mango is a proud guy who wants to succeed as much as we do...he was harpooned last year by the early injuries to Nottingham and others and the misfortunes snowballed. Give him a fighting chance and let's see what happens!
I agree with alawicius.
Tod Howard Hawks CC 66
Very well said !! I'm with you.
I have come around to that view as well. The key factor is keeping Nottingham healthy, starting with the first game.. Three and five step patterns, and throw the ball away if nothing is open.
I'll join the prayer circle. I may be disgruntled but PM is our coach this's season and I'm certainly pulling for him, not our opponents' coaches. The man has to know a lot after all his years in coaching. I don't doubt he was blindsided by the injuries but part of the job is having guys who usually don't play much, like backup QBs, ready to step in when the unexpected occurs and not give the farm away. I hope it doesn't happen again but it could, and then we'll see if the OL and QB backups are ready or not.
Fellas, I love the optimism! Being upset about the past is for losers. We can't do anything about what has already happened. We will have a veteran OL and RB's with experience. We will have a HEALTHY QB and a back up QB with lots of game experience. The receivers looked great during the spring and they too have lots of games "under their belt." Let's support the team. I know they will ALWAYS have my support.
Looks like we're all getting back on track, thank goodness! Let's urge Jake to join the "prayer circle" (as Chick so aptly puts it) and make this blog one we can be proud of!
Danny, did you say veteran OL? That's what I thought. If advancing from one year to the next qualifies as veteran then ok but if you are talking about veteran level skills then where's the beef? Do you expect those veterans to step in and control a line of scrimmage against FCS competition? Because if you do that sounds like blowing smoke.
And you still don't seem to grasp what spring ball means when it comes to how a team measures up to competition outside it's own cocoon.
Amen!
Sir, EVERYBODY has spring practices and games. In those situations EVERYBODY plays against their own in the cocoon you make reference to. As for the veteran OL, the center will be a 3 year starter, the right tackle will have 17 games started. The right guard and left tackle will have 10 games started. Other than the left guard graduating I call that an experienced line. A senior, 2 juniors and a sophomore I believe is veteran.
What I do grasp Al is that you have doubts and/or negativity towards the team. That's fine. That's your right. However, I don't and your view won't change mine.
While the analogy is not perfect, last year our basketball team was uniformly predicted to finish last. PS, I just finished Mike Sovern's book. The man certainly doesn't
suffer from an excess of modesty. So if you can get through the recital of his law school grades, etc., it is an interesting story of how an inept administration in the 50s and 60s damn near destroyed Columbia, helped in late part by a large measure of student and faculty wingnuts. As far as football, it was such a low priority because the university was so strapped for working capital, thanks to years of financial neglect and mismanagement. So in significant part we are still living down the 40 year debacle.
Wow Old Lion, it's hard to imagine the school ever being cash strapped. It boggles the mind. I like to look at Princeton's program under Surace. His first 2 years were a train wreck and then 5-5. Ambrose at Towson had a catastrophe his first few years and they were just playing in the FCS championship game. Cutcliffe
at Duke had several terrible seasons until things fell into place. The landscape is littered with examples like these. It takes time to overcome years of problems as you just pointed out from the book you just completed. We will be ok.
I will accept OL's interpretation of Sovern, as I can't bring myself to read the book, and the info makes sense. The financial situation at that time was indeed tight, compared to now.
Also, I completely endorse a hopeful/wait and see attitude re football. Besides, what else can we do. I don't have a personal vendetta against PM. In fact, I've already said here that I hope he goes 10-0. So let's all cross our fingers and hope for the best. This season will most likely decide his future in either direction.
The real issue isn't only football, but our entire focus on Athletics, and this can't be explained away by neglect during the 50's and 60's. Our problem is 50 years old and goes way past Football and PM. Even CU's unusual accomplishments this past year only put us at an "average" level within the league. Until we expect "average" on a regular basis, with "above-average" coming along fairly frequently as well, we haven't solved our underlying issue.
No Danny, my support of CU football is several decades running. I have doubts about you on a personal and professional level. You're a fool who doesn't acknowledge everyone around him knows he's a fool. Must suck being you. Lot of time on your hands.
Dreaming is free
Duke has scholarships, doy
Most players are in town starting next week. Need info from inside source. Not sure how many of the new
guys will be there, but good time to get a feel for their size, speed etc. Jake, how about a spy cam in one of the apartments overlooking the field?
Al I would love to disclose my life's accomplishments with you but you are not worth it. You are a petty little man who must be miserable because everything out of typing is negative. It's ok tho because I enjoy the others on this blog. You are just funny and small.
Al, why doesn't anyone read your blog? Because you are a bore.
If I was small then you would ignore me but you can't because you are a lametard. If my purpose was to galvanize a readership then that is what I would do. However, you have no insight into my blog stats or who I communicate with. Are you seriously a coach or just a shmoe with too much time on your hands? Why are you here if you will be out on your ass in a few months? How about I terminate your paycheck today? Would that make you feel big?
You do not have life accomplishments. Merchant marines maybe?
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