Posts Tagged ‘Tony Jones’

E Pluribus Unum

//posted 9.17.2011

E Pluribus Unum

Out of many, one.

One drive. One score. One victory.

Will the Colorado State game, more precisely, the fourth quarter of the Colorado State game, be a turning point for the Colorado football program and its long-suffering Buff Nation?

Since December 6, 2010, when Jon Embree was named the 24th permanent head coach in Colorado football history, Embree has been preaching that it was time for the Colorado program to return to its successful roots. In order to do that, the Buffs had to re-establish a power running game. “When this program has been at its best,” Embree said at his introductory press conference, “it’s had its [players] come out on this field or go somewhere else and just line up and run you over.”

The Buffs appeared primed to do just that. Colorado returned the majority of its offensive line, a senior returning starter at quarterback, and one Rodney Stewart. The senior running back posted 1,318 rushing yards in 2010, and opened the 2011 season within shouting distance (1,196 yards) of becoming the all-time leading rusher in Colorado history.

The pieces in place, Colorado traveled to Hawai’i to take on a Warrior team which had surrendered 106 yards…

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Hawai’i 34, Colorado 17

//posted 9.5.2011

 

September 3, 2011          Hawai’i 34, Colorado 17

As had been the case in 2010, Colorado failed to score in the first half against Hawai’i.

As had been the case in 2010, Colorado stormed back with a strong second half effort.

In 2010, the Buffs fell behind 10-0 at halftime, but dominated in the second half, out-scoring the Hawai’i 31-3 in cruising to a 31-10 victory.

In 2011, the Buffs fell behind 17-0 at halftime, played well at times, and had their chances, but it was not enough, as Colorado lost its first game under Jon Embree, 34-17.

Colorado had a game plan to withstand the onslaught of quarterback Bryant Moniz and the prolific passing game of the Hawai’i Rainbows. Pressure Moniz with an array of blitzes, trying to keep the senior quarterback from making deep throws, while protecting the Buffs’ young secondary.

The game plan was a success early, as the Buffs sacked Moniz three times in the first quarter, and held the 5,000-yard passer to a one-for-seven start through the air.

Unfortunately for the Buffs’ defense, they failed to account for the ability of Bryant Moniz to run with the football.

Moniz shredded the Colorado defense with his…

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Spring Grades – Offense

//posted 6.16.2011
Mid-term papers turned in – It’s time for the grades

Expectations for the Colorado Buffaloes for the 2011 season are, well, mixed. There are great hopes for the future of the program under the new head coach, Jon Embree, but a daunting schedule and a perceived dearth of talent on the roster mute the chances for an immediate breakout.

With that in mind, the below grades for each unit on the team is not with respect to similar athletes on the rosters of Colorado’s Pac-12 rivals, but rather with respect to what we knew about those units heading into the spring, and how well those players and their coaches did in improving their standing.

Quarterbacks – Spring Grade: B/B+

Spring Game stats: Tyler Hansen - 8-15, 124 yards; one TD; Nick Hirschman – 11-19, 170 yards; two TD’s; Brent Burnette – 4-8, 40 yards; one TD, one interception

After three years of Cody v. Tyler, Colorado fans are conditioned to spring practices in which the battle for the starting quarterback position is the lead story. In 2011, the Buff Nation was once again primed for a battle. Senior Tyler Hansen was the returning starter, but there was a new coaching staff, a new offense, a new…

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Spring Game – 2011

//posted 6.9.2011

“I’m happy with where we are … we just need to keep working and improving”

The Colorado Buffaloes completed Spring practice, 2011, with a 105-play scrimmage before 15,655 at Folsom Field in the first-ever Spring game with an evening kickoff (6:00 p.m).

Senior quarterback Tyler Hansen completed 8-of-15 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown in his seven drives of the scrimmage. While not as efficient as Hansen’s 18-for-19 performance in the second spring scrimmage a week earlier, the odds are still on Hansen being named the starting quarterback for the season on Tuesday. “I feel really comfortable as a player, and this offense is really good,” said Hansen. “(Accuracy) was my goal, and I’ve been working on my mechanics with coach (Rip) Scherer. I feel I’m getting a lot more accurate.”

“I wouldn’t say from Day One (that he was impressed with Hansen), but I am happy with his productivity,” said head coach Jon Embree. “He’s done a good job with his command of the offense, getting them in and out of the huddle. We need to get better with our tempo … But, overall, I am pleased with how he’s competed.”

The quarterbacks vying for the backup position had mixed…

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Spring Practice – 2011

//posted 4.6.2011

April 7th

“Guys are showing who they are”

Colorado conducted its last practice before the Spring game on Thursday, with the practice, at the last minute, being opened to the public. Jon Embree described the two-hour run-through as a “good practice. The defense had a couple of lapses, but otherwise they did well. Offensively, we got some things accomplished, some things done we wanted to get done as far as some install stuff. Guys are showing who they are.”

The Colorado head coach then raised some eyebrows when he was asked about whether there were some players who had not lived up to expectations. “It’s a privilege to be a Buffalo; it’s not a right,” said Embree. “If they can’t play, and they’re not doing what they are supposed to do academically, and buying into the program, they won’t be here.” Embree went on, ” Some won’t be back; everyone’s year-to-year.  It’s simple. I don’t ask a lot. I want effort; I want you to compete. I want you to do it on and off the field. That’s basically all I ask … and for some guys, they can’t do that.”

Player Notes -

- Jon Embree spoke about his…

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Scrimmage Reports

//posted 4.3.2011
Second Scrimmage – Saturday, April 2nd

Second Scrimmage – Behind the numbers

“There are three kinds of lies: lies; damned lies; and statistics”, a phrase widely attributed to Benjamin Desraeli and popularized by Mark Twain.

The phrase certainly holds true when reviewing the numbers from an intra-squad scrimmage, and a spring one at that. For every celebration over a long touchdown pass, there is consternation over a blown coverage by the secondary; for every sack, there is a missed assignment by an offensive lineman.

Still, as the 2011 Buffs have been under wraps for the past few weeks, a look under the hood of Jon Embree’s team is certainly called for after the team completed practice No. 11 of 15 allotted practices.

Quarterbacks

While head coach Jon Embree wouldn’t agree that Tyler Hansen was “clearly” the choice for starting quarterback in September, Hansen’s numbers – and those of his competitors – suggest otherwise.

True, Hansen’s 18-for-19 performance was against a depleted defensive line and a secondary missing both of its likely starters at safety, but Nick Hirschman and Brent Burnette went up against much of the same personnel, with significantly different numbers. Hirschman went 4-of-11 for 27 yards, while Burnette…

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Spring Practice Preview

//posted 3.11.2011
Spring Practice Preview -

Special Teams

Roster: Toney Clemons (Sr.); Arthur Jaffee (Sr.); Brian Lockridge (Sr.); Will Jefferson (Jr.); Justin Castor (So.); Zach Grossnickle (So.); Ryan Iverson (So.); Justin Gorman (R-Fr.)

Players Lost: Aric Goodman; Joe Silipo; Scotty McKnight; Cody Hawkins; Travon Patterson

Numbers Don’t Lie

Yuck.

There was very little which was special about the special teams play by the University of Colorado in 2010.

Colorado was ranked 88th in net punting last year, with Zach Grossnickle struggling to a 35.7 yards net average (Colorado’s opponents’ net average was 40.2). Senior kicker Aric Goodman connected on two-thirds of his attempts (10-for-15), but was only accurate half the time from beyond 30 yards (5-for-10).

In the return game, Colorado was adequate at best. There were several long kickoff returns, with a long of 89 yards by Arthur Jaffee against Iowa State, but the Buffs were unable to come up with a kick returner which they felt comfortable with, as four players posted between eight and 14 kickoff returns during the season. All four – Arthur Jaffee (14); Toney Clemons (10); Brian Lockridge (10); and Will Jefferson (8) – return in 2011, but there are no guarantees that any from that group…

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Running backs’ coach optimistic despite lack of experience

Recruiting new running backs was certainly a priority for the Colorado coaching staff this past off-season.

Two years ago, recruiting running backs for the Class of 2010 would not have seemed a likely priority.

Two years ago, Colorado appeared to be set for the next four/five seasons in the offensive  backfield. True, Hugh Charles had graduated, but the Buffs were stocked with young talent. Brian Lockridge, Demetrius Sumler, and Arthur Jaffee were all young and returning, and Colorado had recruited three new backs:

Darrell Scott was the highest ranked running back prospect in the nation, and was heralded as a signing day coup for Colorado; Ray Polk was not too far behind Scott in the eyes of the recruiting scouts (the 11th-ranked running back overall according to Rivals.com; and there was the signing day bonus of Rodney Stewart, who could be counted on to return kicks if he couldn’t find his way into the backfield.

What a difference two years make.

First, Ray Polk left the team – well, at least the offene, moving to safety in the spring of 2009. Then Darrell Scott left the team in November, followed by Demetrius Sumler in December. Of those left…

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