A NEW LOW

I hope you woke up today feeling refreshed, and cheery; maybe a little hung over; ready to bebop and skat all over  a new day! Then I hope you remember we just lost to one of the worst teams in NCAA FBS football and regular doormat for CSU. This has got to be the lowest this program has been in many years. I don't know about you guys but I'm sick of being losers. I'm sick of the staff playing off the football team as "going through growing pains". I'm sick of the Rams not having the fan support it deserves but, why should support something that's just going to fail? Ramifications does because we're dedicated to changing something that needs to be fixed. This standard of mediocrity doesn't cut it. This loss to UNLV should be the final straw.

To quickly recap, the game in case you you closed your eyes or were Tebowing at the time praying for a win.   What lost us the game... the defense was gutted again for another 244 yards rushing.  There were a comedy of errors.  The muffed punt by Momo Thomas, his fourth this year, the fumble by Chris Nwoke, the 15 yard penalty by CJ James in a critical situation, and the ugly final offensive play and throw by Thomas and his overall horrendous play.

Does anyone else notice the body language of our football team? There is no drive. There's no passion. Just duds. A football team is a direct reflection of the person who is leading the team and I can honestly say Steve Fairchild doesn't appear to have those qualities either. You can argue that he's a nice guy off the field, he bleeds green and gold (don't we all), he was the right guy for the job (on paper) but I think his time is up. I could totally feel the desperation watching the second half of that game last night. The sense of urgency coming from the Ram sideline was so apparent, especially from the coaching staff. 

I saw an interesting fact during the broadcast of the game. 20 games have been decided in the last three minutes during Fairchild's tenure. That tells me Fairchild doesn't know how to close out a game because almost every time we've had a lead in the final minutes of game, we've lost.  This time I thought to myself, "don't jinx it", but my rally cap, lucky rabbits foot, horseshoe have all been thrown out the window before now because of the multitude of close losses.  So all I had to hold onto was a shred of remaining hope that we're not that bad and could still make a bowl game.  But then reality hit when the clock hit zero, and not going to a bowl game, another losing season and the realization that we're so bad we can't beat UNLV all hit me as hard as Momo got hit at the end of the second quarter.

I did see some good things. Nwoke had a nice 160 yard and 1 touchdown game. He looked pretty strong and is definitely a number one running back. Crockett Gilmore looked like a stud catching balls. It's great to see young talent coming through. Shaq Barrett had a pick 6, with a sweet play.  Then we come to Pete Thomas. At times he looks great, then there are times he looks absolutely atrocious. I liked how he was finally scrambling out of the pocket during pressure situations but his decision making down field has been off all season. He missed so many open receivers either by over throwing them or not even seeing them at all.  Thomas operates like this, Pat the ball, pat, pat, think hard about throwing it, pat the ball and throw it straight in the chest of a UNLV player.  I'd hate to play scrabble with Thomas, it would take him two weeks to decide what play to make. 

We should have exploded that God awful defense of UNLV but, in true CSU fashion, we played down to the competition and blew another must win situation.  If Fairchild gets fired, I find it ironic that Pete threw the interception to drive the final nail in the coffin.

CSU v UNLV

Did you ever see that movie “Leaving Las Vegas” with Nicolas Cage trying to kill himself the whole time? Yeah, me neither. I’d rather see Cage in “Con Air,” bringing down a planeload of escaped convicts onto the Vegas strip. Cage used to be pretty sweet and now he’s pretty lousy. “National Treasure 2” anyone?  Does anyone else notice the parallels between Nic Cage and the CSU Rams? On top of their game ten years ago, and now getting arrested left and right. Sad, man.

CSU travels to Vegas this weekend to face a pretty lousy UNLV team. Let me start out by saying CSU is only favored by 2.5 pathetic points. This is an indication of how crappy the Rams are. This season has quickly nosedived and CSU is looking pretty WAC-TASTIC.

Even the mainstream media has slowed their interest in CSU’s football program. Chris Dempsey of the Post has been assigned to cover the Rams while his Nuggets beat takes a break with the NBA lockout. I like Dempsey’s Nuggets coverage, but this guy couldn’t be less excited or interested in covering the Rams and I can’t blame him. Have you checked out the headlines lately? “CSU’s quarterback Pete Thomas is off target.” Thanks for the investigative reporting Denver Post. “CSU football team having trouble movingthe ball on offense.” Provided by the Coloradoan. THIS JUST IN; the sky is blue and today is Friday.

Are these people staring at a wall when their watching these games?  (Assuming you can find the game on TV).  I know I’m beating my head against it when I watch this Cirque Du Suck. If I can find the game, I’ll flip to the channel, release a heavy sigh and slam a brew. Just to take the edge off. Don’t judge me. I work all week long and this is how I choose to relax? I’m a Broncos fan too, the Rockies suck, Nuggets are AWOL, but at least we have the Avs…so far.

Now back to the point of this post. CSU will struggle this weekend. What’s new? Struggle with stopping the run, converting first downs, and scoring more points than the Rebels, of course! UNLV has nothing to play for therefore have nothing to lose, so why wouldn’t they come out blazing? Answer: Because they suck too. But our Rams have a knack for playing down to the level of our opponent (Boise State excluded) and make for an interesting and sloppy game. UNLV knows that they have a legitimate shot at beating a sluggish Rams team at home and why wouldn’t they want to win the 2nd annual Tampax Tampon Las Vegas Toilet Bowl. This bowl isn’t played in December and neither will the Rams and Rebels.

TRANSLATING STEVE II

This is where we take Steve's press conference comments and run them through a translator machine and find what he really means. We found his real comments very interesting. I see he's still going with 'obviously'.

Opening statements: “Well with regard to last Saturday, we’re obviously disappointed. We’re still playing inconsistent football in just about every phase. We were hoping for a fast start and they bust a kickoff on us. We covered fairly well all day but we let them get the opener out pretty well and a quick scoring drive and we obviously couldn’t answer; went down and had a chance to answer and couldn’t do it. There were some positives, obviously some negatives. We’re not playing consistent in any phase. But I like our kids; I like our attitude. I think we’re playing hard. So our focus shifts obviously this week. We’ve got to tighten some things up and obviously play better in every area to give ourselves a chance on the road this week.”

“STEVE FAIRCHILD HERE. YOU GUYS READY FOR SOME VAGUE ANSWERS TO SPECIFIC QUESTIONS? GREAT! WE ARE PRETTY BAD EVERYWHERE, OFFENSE, DEFENSE AND SPECIAL TEAMS. OUR GUYS ARE SOFT AND IF THEY GET DOWN EARLY THEY GIVE UP. BUT WE’LL KEEP PRACTICING AS IF IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE.”

On if he went with a more involved Sunday practice for the second consecutive week: “Yeah a little bit. We try to tailor our Sunday practices by position. Our goal is to get a spring ball or two for the young guys; that’s been going well. Last week I probably made too big of a deal out of it but we took some pads out and did a little individual work and some other areas like yesterday. We kept Pete Thomas out and did some footwork things with him that I think will help him. Basically, same Sunday practice.”

“I’M THINKING IN THE NEXT PRACTICE WE’LL ACTUALLY PRACTICE HOW TO PLAY FOOTBALL AND WIN GAMES.”

On if the same mistakes are being made or if different things are occurring each week that are contributing to the inconsistency: “Defensively, it’s always going to be tackling and we didn’t tackle particularly in the secondary well and allowed them to bust some long runs. We knew going in we’d have to hold that running game down and we didn’t do a very good job. There are some areas that keep popping up. Our protection again, we’re shifting some guys around on the offensive line with all the injuries, but we gave up seven sacks. When you do that, a sack is a potential drive-killer so when you have seven of them, about half your football game could be gone with that; we’ve got to tighten some things up with that. We’ve got to look at the offensive line where we’re going to play guys. Obviously, we can’t do everything that we would normally do with the healthy guys in there. Those are the areas that seem to pop up more lately that we’ve got to correct.”

“WE ARE AWFUL AT TACKLING AND A LOT OF OUR GUYS SHY AWAY FROM CONTACT. I THINK IT MIGHT BE BECAUSE WE PLAY WITH THOSE FLAG BELTS LIKE INTRAMURALS. THE SEVEN SACKS WE ALLOWED IS DUE IN PART TO OUR INJURED O-LINE AND THAT PETE IS SLOWER THAN I AM.”

On if he anticipates more line-up changes, after moving Weston Richburg to tackle in the fourth quarter and replacing Ben DeLine with Chad VanderMolen: “Yeah we’re looking at all those things. What you said, happened Saturday night; we felt like that gave us the best chance to be successful. There’s probably some more areas as we go through the day that we will talk about.”

“WHY WOULD I MAKE CHANGES? BECAUSE OUR TEAM SUCKS? NEXT THING YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS WILL BE TELLING ME WINNING"

On if that opens up competition: “Well I think there’s always competition. If somebody’s not playing well, we’re going to give the guy behind him a chance. I’ve always said that since I got here; that’s the way I envision a football team. It’s competitive daily for your job. You’ve got to produce out on the practice field.  With the offensive-line thing you’ve got to look at what’s best, who you’re playing, what you are going to keep in a game plan. Like I said, we’re going to reduce that quite a bit and then say, ‘where do guys go; who gives us the best chance in those spots’.”

“I’M LYING ACTUALLY. IF I WANTED COMPETITION I’D GIVE SOME SNAPS TO MCPEEK OR LET DEREK GOOD RUN THE BALL. BUT I USUALLY PICK THE GUYS I WANT TO PLAY AND IGNORE IT AND MAKE EXCUSES WHEN THEY UNDER PERFORM.”

On if he simplified things on the offensive line due to injuries: “Well we did a little bit and then obviously we struggled so we’ve got to really narrow down. You’ve got two redshirt freshmen tackles and all along there’s quite a few reps that (Joe) Caprioglio and (Paul) Madsen and (Jared) Biard had and they’re not playing now, so it does kind of limit you.”

“YEAH, ITS SIMPLE. BLOCK THE GUY IN FRONT OF YOU. BUT I WILL GO AHEAD AND BLAME THIS PROBLEM ON INJURIES AND NOT A LACK OF COACHING.”

On if he has cut down plays because of the offensive line: “You’re asking a real quantitative measure; I don’t have the game plan in front of me but, yeah, we’ve got to knock out a lot of stuff, particularly on offense. We’re relatively new on the line.”

“WELL, I ONLY HAVE ABOUT TEN PLAYS IN THE BOOK ANYWAYS. WE’LL JUST KEEP RUNNING THAT SCREEN PLAY TO PERFECTION.”

 
On if the limited number of big runs has been due to the running backs or blocking: “Well it’s a combination of a lot of things, the timing of a run, your perimeter blocking, the back being able to square a guy up the right way once he gets to the second level. So there’s a lot of things involved. I think we only had one explosive run in that game.”

“I AM GOING TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION WITH A BUNCH OF FOOTBALL JARGON AND HOPE YOU WRITE IT DOWN AND MOVE ON TO THE NEXT QUESTION. GOOD?”

On if he wants Thomas to become more of a running threat: “No. I think he’s done a nice job to make something happen when he’s got an opportunity; I even think he did a little bit the other night. If we call a pass play we’d like to keep that progression alive as long as we can. We’re better off. To give you an example there was one time in the second quarter where he could have taken off but he dumped it to (Chris) Nwoke and I think we got 9 yards, second-and-1. Nwoke or Raymond Carter is going to do better than Pete Thomas past the line of scrimmage. But there are times he’s shown us this year that he can help us moving around.”

“NO, BUT IT WOULD BE GREAT IF HE WERE A THREAT TO PASS THE BALL.”

On if Thomas has become more patient: “That gets better and better I think at quarterback even from your 11th to 12th year in the NFL. You just get better at that stuff. We can help him. We’ve got to rep some things better in practice; there’s some drill things we can do different. Those throws can be very effective. Gartrell (Johnson) was unbelievable with that; when Billy Ferris would lay that thing off to Gartrell, it was as good as throwing it 20 yards down the field half the time. Again, you’re talking about a second-year player without a redshirt (Thomas); that will get better as we do it.”

“HE’S VERY PATIENT. DID YOU SEE HOW LONG HE HOLDS ONTO THE BALL ALL THE TIME AND THEN DUMPS IT OFF ON A SCREEN OR GETS SACKED? THAT, MY FRIENDS, IS PATIENCE.”

On UNLV thinking that this is a winnable game: “They have had a week off and are at home.”

“UHHH, YEAH.”

On how he approaches this week: “I look it at it as a road game where we have to get better this week, and an opportunity to get a win.”

“I AM ALSO LOOKING FORWARD TO HITTING UP SOME BLACKJACK  AND CHILLING IN THE LAZY RIVER AT THE MGM. WHAT TIME IS THE GAME?”

On if he knows which quarterback UNLV will play: “No, I don’t. They obviously made the switch before the game last week up in Wyoming so we will prepare for both.”

“I DON’T KNOW BUT I AM SCARED. SO SCARED.”

On the blocked FG attempt: “It was slow; the timing was slow. At that point you say, ‘Maybe the injury is having something to do with it.’ Chad (VanderMolen) looked like he was kicking good in warmups and we thought Ben was still a little better on the kickoffs.”

“WE GET PRETTY LAZY WHEN WE HAVE NO RIGHT TOO.”
 

On finger-pointing on the team: “I don’t think there is, to be honest with you. I saw Momo (Thomas) with that quote; I think he was just alluding to that we don’t want to do like last year. We just want to stay together and our football team has done a great job with that. In fact, Momo was in my office yesterday and we were talking; it had nothing to do with that. He is a great leader right now. He had really worked himself into that role on our football team. I think what he was trying to say was that we are not going to point fingers; we are going to stay together and look at ourselves, which we all need to do. Obviously, this is a tough time and we have to find a way to get the win.”

“THE ONLY FINGER POINTING I SEE IS THE OTHER TEAM GESTURING TO THE SCOREBOARD. ALL THE TIME.”

On injury updates: “I will know a lot more tomorrow. I don’t have the list in front of me but we will see. Paul Madsen jogged yesterday; I’m sure he will be in a red jersey but we will put him through some individual (drills) if he feels like that is something he can do. Then, you just progress through the week a lot like we did with Nuku (Latu) awhile back. All of a sudden, he came out in red and felt pretty good so we progressed him through the week and felt like we could get some snaps out of him. That is where Paul is; day-to-day is the best thing with him.”

“I’M GOING TO PUT ON ONE OF THOSE FAKE NIPPLES AND NURSE THESE GUYS BACK TO HEALTH LIKE A MAMA BIRD DOES FOR HER BABIES. I’M GOING TO CHEW THEIR FOOD AND SPIT IT IN THEIR MOUTH, SO THEY DON’T GET TIRED CHEWING.”

On LB Mychal Sisson: “I don’t know. We will know more when it’s red-jersey time out there and we tape him up and let him run around a little bit. We will probably be able to then set a time where he would come back. I don’t think Myke Sisson will be back this week. I think Myke, in his mind, is thinking TCU. Probably after the bye (week), we will run around and see where we are at a bit.”

“I WILL PROBABLY RUN HIM OUT THERE ON SPECIAL TEAMS AGAIN. THE OTHER TEAM WILL NEVER SUSPECT THAT.”

On importance of getting off losing streak entering a bye weekend: “You know, I used ‘must-win’ last week. This week is a must-win; we need to get a win. I reminded our football team that we had Philip Rivers in this offseason and he was talking to the team during one of the mat drills. I think he was referencing school and life in general, but he had a good line. He said, ‘All I ever think about is winning the next rep; that’s all I ever think about.’. We talked about that as a football team yesterday and I think it’s probably applicable to what we are doing right now; there is a lot of football out there and we can talk about this and that, our record after the bye and home games and all that. What we really need to do is win the next rep out there Tuesday and see if that can’t build into a nice practice Tuesday and then Wednesday and if we do that, maybe it gives us the chance to win a couple plays Saturday night and who knows, we might get a win.”

“EVERY FOURTH GAME OR SO, I WOULD LIKE TO GET A WIN. I TOLD THE GUYS ITS ALL YOU CAN EAT FROZEN YOGURT IF WE GET A “W” THIS WEEK.”

On winning the game as opposed to practice reps: “If you don’t win them out there (pointing to practice field), you’re not winning them Saturday.”

“EVEN IF YOU PLAY LIKE CRAP ON SATURDAY, BUT LOOK GREAT IN PRACTICE YOU GET TO KEEP YOUR JOB. SURE PETE LOOKED AWFUL AGAINST UTEP, BUT HE PRACTICES LIKE A MAN POSSESSED.”

On if Chris Nwoke will start Saturday: “We will talk it over with Larry Lewis but I thought Chris did some nice things. But I thought Raymond did some nice things when we put him in there, too. We are kind of settling into a two-man rotation so it is not that important to me who starts. I just like to see who is in the groove. I like what Chris did; I think we left some yards on the table there. I really  like what Raymond did; he had fumbled the week before and we had taken him out and I thought he went in and looked good.”

“THE YARDS WE LEFT ON THE TABLE WERE BETWEEN THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE AND THE END ZONE. I JUST WISH THEY WOULD LET US PLAY WITH TWO FOOTBALLS.”

On alternating halves between the two: “Like I said, there are some things that Chris is going to do, regardless of who starts, and there are things that Raymond is going to do. One time Raymond is in there and you say, ‘I like the way he looks; let’s talk about getting him in there a little more,’ or ‘Let’s keep Chris in there.’ That’s generally the way it works until someone takes charge.”

“EVERYONE LOVES RAYMOND. EVERYONE HATES CHRIS. REMEMBER THOSE SHOWS? I AM A HUGE RAY ROMANO FAN.”

On who would get the ball in a crucial situation: “There are very few of those types of ‘must’ plays. A majority of the things we do, either one can do. Then with those, you try to make it look like something else. If it’s something that Raymond is specifically doing in that alignment, you better be doing a few things, not just that one thing.”

“NORMALLY THE OTHER TEAM GETS THE BALL IN A CRUCIAL SITUATION. WE HAVE DEVISED PLAYS WHERE PETE WILL JUST TOSS IT TO THE OTHER TEAM OR OUR RBS WILL SIMPLY PLACE THE BALL ON THE GROUND.”

On possibility of pulling redshirt off of A.J. Frieler: “It is. That thought actually crossed my mind last Saturday night and I remember thinking that looking at next year, you have (Joe) Caprioglio and (Jared) Biard back, and the two guys that are playing right now. You could red shirt Frieler next year. That thought crossed my mind but we decided to put Weston out there. We will have those conversations.”

“I THOUGHT ABOUT PULLING THE REDSHIRT OFF FRIELER, BUT THEN I JUST TOOK MY SHIRT OFF AND WE SPRAYED BEER AND GATORADE ALL OVER EACH OTHER. THEN I FOUND OUT WE HAD LOST THE GAME AND I HIT THE SHOWERS.”

On if Thomas needs to change his mindset going into games: “The thing he needs to do is take care of his business now. You get through that progression and at 2.7 (seconds), not 3.1. You get on your progression and get through it and get the ball out. Obviously, we need to do some things to help him, protection-wise.”

“WE ARE GOING TO SEE IF WE CAN GET HIM THE SURGERY FROM LIKE HENRY ROWENGARTNER FROM “ROOKIE OF THE YEAR.” OTHERWISE WE’RE SCREWED.”

On if Thomas is getting through that progression faster this year: “He is. But it’s, ‘How much faster? Are you getting through it faster every time?’ Those are the questions, and you will get better; you will get through it faster and more consistent the more you play. I’m sure of that.”

“DON’T TALK ABOUT MY PETEY LIKE THAT!”

ANOTHER TRIP TO THE DUMP

Sorry for the late response. I was still getting over the ass kicking us Ram fans got along with our sorry team.

Well, it's official, we suck.  We're awful.  And we're actually getting worse every week.  A quick recap.  The offense didn't play well, getting one TD on the board late.  The defense can't tackle and is in complete disarray, and on special teams, Ben Deline booted another low quick which was blocked.   Well that about covers the game.... We got smoked by UTEP!  UTEP?  CSU has been dominating UTEP for years leading the series 24-9 before Saturday's disaster.

The worst part about the game was that it wasn't ever close.  We were never even in the game.  I know it got to 14-10 on Momo Thomas's pick-6, but come on, was UTEP worried?  Our offense was horrific and UTEP was begging for Deline to come out and kick another ball about 5 ft off the ground so they could outstretch a pinky finger and block the kick.  The defense was gutted for 340 yards on the ground with a multitude of missed tackles playing a key part.  We just couldn't stop them.

An interesting subplot within the game played out with the player depth chart.  Deline got yanked as the number one kicker and Nwoke was established as the number one back, or so we're led to believe.  So Fairchild is willing to acknowledge when a change must happen at a position but yet he's still sticking with Thomas.  Thomas hasn't thrown a TD pass since the 3rd Quarter of the San Jose State game.  He had just over a 100 yards passing going into the fourth quarter, ending up with 162 yards, was sacked 7! times, threw one interception and lost a fumble.  I don't want to say he could play any worse because I fear he actually might.

During the game on the many message boards I was monitoring,  there was a constant theme, "Fire Fairchild".  I don't think he has a clue what he's even doing anymore.  Maybe he stopped preparing for the games because he thought he should have been fired last season, or after the New Mexico game, or the CU game, or last week vs. Boise State.

His play calling doesn't reflect the flow of the game, give us an opportunity to win or even make plays and most of the time it makes absolutely no sense.  The players have no faith in the coaches, are finger pointing in every direction and seem to have given up the season.

I'm at a loss for words now so I'll give you a taste of some of the comments I've found.  Consider it the highlight reel from last night.

I'm done with this flipping crap....I might boycott CSU Football.....This. Is. Pathetic.   - Lucaslee C.

It's time. Fairchild has got to go and Thomas is not the man. Make the change.  -  John N.

Ugh! Bench Thomas already. Kids not improving at all.  - Rick J.

Fairchild defines failure. - Bluescreen73

I hope the students start a "Fire Fairchild" chant at the next home game. - showmethe0

Please please please CSU, give us some hope and axe Fairchild! - weherz

TURN OUT THE LIGHTS, THE PARTIES OVER MR. FAIRCHILD!! - horsetrainer

CSU v UTEP PREVIEW

Best way to get rid of a play boo...wait. Is that San Jose coach Mike MacIntyre's daughter still running?

This battle reminds me of the good old WAC days; when UTEP barely scraped a win and the CSU Rams had the “biggest sack in the WAC.” Oh how times have changed. When you look at this match up, you can’t go by reputation and history because I would take the Rams every time hands down but, UTEP’s program is actually on the up swing. This will be a battle the first and midway through second quarter. UTEP running back Joe Baynard will run all over our paper thin defense. We do have some key injuries so I will give the Rams that but our young ones need to step it to have any chance at stopping him.

Here’s the big question. Will our offense finally show to play? We have flashes of possible affliction but utter self-destruction is how we play 80% of time. To over come this embarrassing Ringling Brothers circus, let’s keep Carter on the sidelines and let Nwoke bee-bop and skat all over UTEP’s defense. Leave the playbook entirely dedicated to different ways to throw a screen pass in a trash can behind Moby Arena. Better yet, build a fire, toss the playbook on top when it’s raging, then, when it’s burnt to ash, urinate on the fire to distinguish the flames, then build a concrete capsule with the ashes of the playbook inside and drive it to Cape Canaveral to put it on the next rocket into space. When in orbit launch the piece of crap straight at the sun so we can never use it again. Worst playbook ever.  The one thing we have on our side is we’ve won every game we’ve had out of the state of Colorado.

Defensively, I know we practice arm tackling. I think we got that down pretty good but let’s try to wrap the up and drive a dome or two into the ground.

Sideline behavior, I’m sick of seeing players with their heads down, throwing tantrums, having tickle fights with each other, or whatever it is that doesn’t involve winning a football game. Let’s look a little more business like.

Let us take a look at the side-by-side comparison.

CSU	UTEP
Total Passing Yards: 80th Total Receiving: 88th Total Rushing Yards: 98th Total Points For: 86th Points Against 93rd First Downs: 108th	Total Passing Yards: 56th Total Receiving: 68th Total Rushing Yards: 62th Total Points For: 61st Points Against 74th First Downs: 86th

Where would you say we stand? Well, I would say we are WACalishous. Or CRAPalishous, you make the call.

Conclusion, I have some serious doubts about coming away with a win this week based on the play we’ve had these past two weeks. I know they are playing with a sense of urgency this week but how long will it last? First quarter? Second? The plane ride down to El Paso? If we’re going to come out firing on all cylinders to save Fairchild, why haven’t we’ve been playing like that all season? Trust me, I’m rooting for a win. Rah, rah, rass! Kick’em in the junk!

SOMETHING OBVIOUSLY FUNNY

Just wanted to give you a sampling of the news conference that "obviously" has the message boards and media buzzing.  You may notice something very "obvious" about these selections.

Opening statements: “Well we got back to work yesterday, analyzed game film, started our preparation toward UTEP (University of Texas at El Paso).  We actually went out and practiced, had a few more guys in pads than we normally do, got some good work done. Obviously, we’re taking today off as we do every week. We’re finalizing our game plan and will get back to work full go tomorrow for our preparation for the University of Texas El Paso. From an injury standpoint, Paul Madsen, a third offensive tackle for us this season will not be available Saturday. We do hope to have him back prior to the end of the year. Mike Orakpo left the game Saturday; he is day to day at this point. Not sure on his status Saturday.”

On any other injuries: “Additionally, we’ll obviously get some other guys back, hopefully. Nuku (Latu) tried to go, did some, but again he’s day to day. We’ve got a long list obviously. There’s some guys out for the year; there’s some guys we’re trying to get back.”

On the decision to practice with pads on a Sunday: “Not everybody did. We just felt like in certain areas we needed a little contact work. Obviously, we always have some contact work for guys that aren’t playing a lot of snaps; we do that every Sunday. Not necessarily guys that are redshirting but just guys like Blake Jones for example, to play some snaps as a second tight end that doesn’t get a ton of snaps on Saturday - suit up and get a little work done on Sunday. We did have a little bit longer practice; a little bit better practice.”

On if he watched the Boise State game tape differently than other tapes: “No. I think we always come in and I personally take a look at all three sides of the ball. Obviously, we didn’t play very well. That’s a very, very good football team. Boise is a very talented football team. Obviously, we helped them a little bit.”

On UTEP’s offense: “The running back has kind of come on. Defensively, they lock you down at corner and they do a nice job. They’re a good football team; we’ll have to obviously on the road bring our A-game.”

On the vertical passing game: “I think obviously we didn’t execute as well as we wanted to. I’ve said this all along and since the week before the Utah State game you can see a different approach in how we practice out there in the passing game. I think it has continued to show through the bye week. I think we’re getting better and better. Obviously we didn’t connect on some things against Boise but we’re doing the right thing in those areas and I think we’re improving.”

On if there is a danger in thinking this is a must-win game: “You always are at the risk of if you lose too many in a row or win too many in a row. Where’s your confidence? Where’s your momentum? That’s what we always try to say. If we drop one let’s try to get one back. This is the first time we’ve dropped two in a row all season. Earlier, when we lost, we bounced right back. Hopefully we can bounce right back now and string together a couple wins. Yeah, we need this game; there’s no question.”

A must win game.  Yeah, "Obviously".  Thanks Coach. You're the tops!

Here is something else that's obvious. According to this highlight film, it looks like they got the score backwards. CSU won 63-13! I better change the banner to reflect the dominant performance.




Completely obvious!

CONCLUSION OF A BLOOD BATH

Congratulations CSU Rams. You managed to put together a complete waste of time. Now I would like to invite you to MY place of work between the hours of 8 and 12, cram into my cubical and watch ME work on my computer because you owe 4 hours of my time back.  Yes Kellen Moore is a badass and Heisman candidate. Yes Boise State is number 5 in the nation. Yes BSU is bigger faster stronger. I get those points and who would expect to win. But you mean to tell me CSU had TWO WEEKS to prepare a game plan and they decided to showcase this? I'm sorry, that falls to the coaching staff. Two weeks and Fairchild decides to spread a bunch of garbage on our field and tries to call it a football team.

It wasn't like I was expecting to win but I was expecting some effort, some improvement. Instead I have to watch this circus from the stands and listen to these yahoos chant "Incomplete Pete!" as he over throws another wide open receiver. Come prepared. We wanted to see Pete's baby arm air it out, now hit the targets. If I handed out a grade for the Fairchild Thomas experiment it would be a D- and falling quickly. Fans are losing faith. Trust me, it hurts to see the comments of revolt on our posts but what can I say. The fans are right.

Running merry go round
The view we have of Raymond Carter holds true once again. Someone should give a roll of duck tape for those butter fingers. And trust me, throwing your helmet and kicking the kicker's tee on the sideline isn't going to get us the ball back. Nwoke's just chill'n. Just chill'n.

Observations

At one point in the first quarter I happened to look on the Bronco sideline and it was all business. Relaxed, confident, and purely professional.  The Ram sideline; laughing it up, tickle fight mayhem. It looked like we've given up before we've even started. It was disappointing.

Another disappointment was the sweet playing calling once again. Screen pass on third and long? Awesome selection from the arsenal of plays coach. To piggie back, I honestly don't know if I can take another one of Fairchild's "We did some things well" speeches because it sounds like a bunch of diarrhea of the mouth.

Source of entertainment

I don't know who this drunk guy is but he was great! At least he got the white out part right.

I'm glad so see all the fans come out to the game. What a great atmosphere. Now the football program owes all of us an apology.

Clearly we are a long way from being successful as a Division I school. The gap is so wide right now between programs that operate like a business and programs that look for a participation ribbon. I'd like to to think we could close that gap next year from a 50 point deficit to at least a 40 point one. I also feel we may only have one more in us this year. Sad to say but Air Force, SDSU and Wyoming, YES Wyoming, are going to beat us as we enter another "we did some things well" off season.

Revolt

CSU v BOISE STATE PREVIEW

I don’t know why, but two things come to mind when I think Boise State; potatoes and beat downs. Bronco fans probably get sick of hearing about at least one of those topics and it’s not beat downs. Seeing what BSU can do to teams makes us here at Ramifications very pessimistic for a Ram win, and I highly doubt you think CSU has a chance to win. It’s not like we’re not pulling for the ultimate upset, trust me that would be awesome, but here are fifteen reasons why we think that will not happen.

1. Kellen Moore is sick.
2. Boise State has scored at least thirty points a game this year and 57 alone last week against Fresno State.
3. Boise State doesn't fall for the ole' line the quarterback up as a wide receiver play. I'm pretty sure they were the inventors of that play.
4. Coach Chris Petersen has a 61-5 record in just five years of coaching. Not saying that it should make a difference but it sure helps when it comes to the confidence of the players. 
5. Our db's are still young and inexperienced.
6. Boise State is faster than us.
7. Potatoes breed big linemen.
8. BSU is not going to fall for the TE screen play.
9. Have you seen their uniforms? So sweet.
10. Moore has been sacked just once on 169 pass attempts this season.
11. If it wasn't for ESPN showcasing top 25 college football teams and that mega pool party Colorado State students had earlier this year, people wouldn't even know CSU existed.
12. As an extension of California, Boise is a hub for USC, UCLA, UC Berkley rejects.
13. Boise is favored by 32 points.
14. Did we mention Kellen Moore? He’s pretty good.
15. Boise State is just plain bad-ass. 

Remember the words of Bradlee Van Pelt after beating CU, “They were the sorriest number 6 team I’ve ever seen.” Just replace number 6 with number 5. I miss that. Can we please bring back some trash talking to this Rams team?

I know the post is short but what else can we say? So, come on boys! Give it the good old college try! We’re only asking for a miracle.

A FAIR CASE AGAINST FAIRCHILD

"You will be playing Cliff Hanger!"

AND WE'RE BACK!

Steve Fairchild, our head football coach has taken a lot of criticism over the last 3 going on 4 years while at CSU.  After inheriting what was a program believed to be in decline following over a decade of dominance Fairchild had a massive mountain to climb.  While Fairchild upon first glance has an impressive resume, a closer examination reveals some glaring flaws with his overall success, philosophy and time as a play caller. 

The final two years Fairchild spent in the NFL were with the Buffalo Bills.  The Bills did not make the playoffs in either 2006 or 2007.  During his time in Buffalo the head coach was Dick Jauron who is widely regarded as a defensive minded coach.  And with a defensive minded coach at the helm, it put more pressure on Fairchild as the brains of the offense.  And one would think that he'd be able to construct an offense that could put up some numbers considering his success in St. Louis.  But Buffalo struggled.  They placed right close to the bottom of the league in nearly every offensive category.  Both years.  The only anomaly was when they ranked a mediocre 15th in rushing ypg in 2007. 

So what was the difference between Buffalo and St. Louis?  In St. Louis with Fairchild seemingly at the helm of the offense, the professional Rams consistently were near the top of the NFL in passing, yards and points.  One issue which should be noted is that the Rams never had a very balanced offense, routinely toward the top in passing and toward the bottom in rushing.  A closer examination of Fairchild's time in St. Louis relating specifically to a timeline of events, the players and the staff reveals some other interesting points of contention.  It was in 2001 that the Rams became 'the greatest show on turf'.  In 2002 the Rams had injuries to their star QB and possible Hall of Famer, Kurt Warner.  And then in 2003 Fairchild joins the coaching staff of St. Louis along with current Bears head coach, Lovie Smith.  Smith took over the defense.  Fairchild became the offensive coordinator/QB's coarch.  During his first year as Offensive Coordinator/QB's coach, the Rams put up strong numbers.  9th in ypg, 2nd in points, 5th in 3rd down efficiency, 3rd in passing and a not so shocking 30th in rushing.  But who cares about rushing when your team is 2nd in points, right?  In 2004 the Rams fell off a bit but were still a prominent force in the NFL, making the playoffs. 

Then in 2005, a series of events happened which brought about some serious questions about the Rams and their offense.  In October 2005, Mike Martz, the brain behind the greatest show on turf took a leave of absence from the team to treat a persistent bacterial infection in his heart.  When this occurred Steve Fairchild, the offensive coordinator, then became the play caller, not Mike Martz anymore.  So really in his 3rd year as offensive coordinator Fairchild was finally getting to perform the job in his title.  But something happened in 2005 that strikes serious concern.  During a game, Martz phoned from home while recovering from illness and tried to relay a play call to Fairchild.  The move was blocked by team president John Shaw.  This was one of many issues which ultimately got Martz fired.  But it brings up an interesting question.  Was this the only time that season that Fairchild's play calling was overrode by Mike Martz? And was it the only time Martz called plays from home?  Also it proves that Martz didn't really have faith in Fairchild's play calling and also proves that when Martz was there he was the play caller not Fairchild.

What does this mean.  All the glitz from Fairchild's resume in St. Louis is tainted.  While he was a part of their success, he was not the primary reason for it.  Kurt Warner went on to be successful in Arizona, Lovie Smith has had success in Chicago, and Mike Martz continued in the NFL with limited success joining Smith in Chicago in 2010.  Fairchild went to Buffalo and struggled, posting some of the worst offensive stats in the NFL, and has come to CSU where we know the story.

Since 2003 it can be argued that Fairchild has either had limited or no responsibility with success, or responsibility with poor results.  One wonders, could it also be that Fairchild wasn't successful in the NFL and left as soon as a better opportunity arose, quite possibly because he wouldn't have had a job any longer in the NFL.  Head coach of the Bills Dick Jauron was out in early in the 2009 campaign and the 2008 season had fans calling for his head.  And in Fairchild's defense, the Bills never got any better at offense after Fairchild left.

Some would argue that the strength of Fairchild's resume was built on his success at CSU in the late 90's as QB's coach and then Offensive Coordinator under Sonny Lubick.  But once again it can be argued that the Rams were successful before and after Fairchild arrived.  So was it Fairchild or was it really Lubick?  The only consistency during the Rams run was Sonny Lubick.  The players changed, the coaches changed but Lubick was a constant.

And as the 2011 CSU Rams continue to struggle with consistency on offense and the play calling has been highly questionable, Fairchild is now firmly planted on the hot seat.  This week's 'questionable call of the week' occurred in the first quarter when Fairchild elected to go for it on fourth and two, with a running play.  The running game hadn't established any sort of presence yet and the play was stopped well behind the line of scrimmage.  The smarter play would have been to just take the points as it was so early in the game. 

Much of the public debate has focused on Fairchild and the struggles the Rams have had over the last few years, putting up some of the worst seasons in CSU history.  Although some would argue it takes a couple of years to get your recruits on the field, and to build program continuity, especially when inheriting a program in decline.  However this is now Fairchild's fourth year, a signature year for any coach as they'll have seniors whom they've recruited playing as starters.  And 2011 is the first year Fairchild will have had a QB at starter for more than one year.  Currently the Rams sit at 3-2 with some close wins and a close loss.  But with some tough teams still on the schedule it will be a challenge for the Rams to become bowl eligible.  An even if the Rams do become bowl eligible, will a 6-6 or 7-5 season save Fairchild's job? 

Fairchild Resume Stats

• In 2007 Buffalo Ranked 30th in ypg, 30th in points per game,  30th on 3rd down % at 33, 30th in passing yds, 15th in rushing per game
• In 2006 Buffalo ranked 30th in ypg, 23rd in points per game, 31st on 3rd down % at 32, 28th in passing yards per game, 27th in rushing per game
• In 2005 St. Louis rank 9th in ypg, 11th in points per game, 21st on 3rd down % at 36, 4th in passing yards per game, 22nd in rushing per game in 2004 St. Louis ranked 6th in ypg, 19th in points per game, 9th in 3rd down at 42, 5th in passing, 24th in rushing ypg, 
• In 2003 St. Louis Offensive Coordinator/QBs 9th in yards per game, 2nd in points per game, 5th on 3rd down at 43, 3rd in passing, 30th in rushing

SAN JOSE IS STILL RUNNIN'

Daughter of San Jose coach Mike MacIntyre demonstrates how easy it is to score on Rams defense

Well, our dreams of winning a national championship this year were crushed yesterday by the hands of WAC power house San Jose State. Yeah, I know, we had no chance of even going to a BCS bowl game this year anyway, but it would be nice to start out a post like that for real. I honestly thought we would have no problem taking care of the Spartans, except for their running game. We had the big crowd, it was homecoming, the weather was awesome, and we were coming of a huge road win. I had no idea the Spartans would be able to pass all over us like they did. With 313 yards and two touchdowns, Matt Faulkner pretty much dominated our non-existing secondary. And if Rutley didn't get hurt, he'd still be stepping on some Ram faces. Up until the fourth quarter, I didn't think our usual Ram defense was even playing. I thought Fort Collins high school threw on some Ram uni's and pretended to play d. We came out flat from the very beginning and I think it's because we totally looked past these guys. Yeah, we surged at the end but I keep seeing the ugly side of this Ram team show up.

Play calling

Again, an issue with me. 17-7 and we go for it on a fourth and two with a shabby run play up the middle. Why? The whole drive we were passing all over the Spartan defense. Why not kick a field goal to cut the lead and gain momentum. Instead we get stuffed and lose momentum. Another awful play call was the delayed draw on a third and sixteen. When will this crap end? Finally Pete has a game where he is opening up the field and gaining confidence to go deep and Fairchild throws out one of his patented 2 yard guarantee. Before half time, good ole' conservative Steve runs out the clock instead of going deep to try to put some points on the board. And finally, late forth quarter, "stick in the mud" Steve goes to his podunk running game when it wasn't working all day. Did you really think DeLine was going to hit a 48 yarder? I don't get it! Way too conservative, son.

Speaking of running game

We've said it before, why with the Raymond Carter? I'm telling you he is a game killer. That fumble was crucial in this loss. Nwoke all the way.

Pete's inconsistencies

Don't get me wrong. Pete had an awesome day with 387 yards and three touchdowns. With his flashes of greatness comes his flashes of shitness. There were still plenty of times during the game when a receiver would be wide but Pete would only track one main target. Dumpy passes, over throws and under throws were all part of his game Saturday. There are still a lot of inconsistencies in his game and I can honestly say I have yet see any progress from last year.

Senior living

Why does it feel like some of our seniors on the team have little or no impact on the game when they are on the field? Come on guys, this is your last season with the team. Let's help out our younger players and show them what it means to be a Ram.

Some positives

Some of the team's younger players are starting to impress me. Even though Capi was double teamed most of the day, his quickness off the line of scrimmage is impressive. Thomas Coffman had a hell of a game. He's quick and has great hands. I can see him being a prime target for Pete in games to come. Nwoke runs hard and isn't looking for the sidelines.

I guess the only thing we can do is learn from this loss and start taking every game seriously. We still need three more wins to get to a bowl and there is plenty of season left. This is a perfect time to head into a bye week so we can heal up and figure out how to stick with Boise State. I really wanted that 4-1 mark. I'm getting very afraid.

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