2019 Ram Recap - Week 2 - What's a Leatherneck?

Well, that was needed... after nearly a year since the last CSU football victory (the last one coming on October 13, 2018), the Rams dominated their FCS foe from the opening kickoff and evened their record at 1-1. More importantly, the weather at Canvas Stadium was gorgeous as the hot afternoon sun slid behind the press box for most of the game. Most importantly, my predictions have gone 2-0. 

As we settled into our seats before kickoff and the Leathernecks deferred, I told Keith that the Rams should return the opening kickoff for a touchdown to get things started the right way. The opening kickoff was a touchback, so my dreams of a quick start evaporated. Ten game seconds later, Dante Wright was sprinting into the end zone with the football to cap off a meticulous and grinding one play, 75 yard touchdown drive. The Rams would never relinquish the lead and would cruise to an easy 38-13 victory. 

The positives:

• Marvin Kinsey Jr. and Dante Wright are a threat to score at any moment. Each player had two touchdowns on the day - two touchdown receptions for Kinsey and one touchdown reception and one touchdown run for Wright. 

What a home opener for ⁦@KinseyMarvin⁩ & ⁦@DanteWright8⁩!#EDGE | #CSURams pic.twitter.com/sos5M6vrHE

— Colorado State Football (@CSUFootball) September 8, 2019

• The control of the line of scrimmage on the offensive side of the ball continued from week one's loss. The offense was incredibly efficient and the big uglies did their job - creating wide running lanes for the backs and really limiting pressure on Collin Hill dropbacks. 
• The offense is just fine. The Rams finished with 582 total yards with a healthy 47/53 pass/run split. The running game averaged over 5 yards per carry and they averaged over 12 yards per pass attempt. This was another well-called and well-executed offensive performance. 
• Team tackling was better, specifically in the secondary. Jamal Hicks drew my ire repeatedly last year for trying to make the big hit only to let his man go for a long score. He clearly has readjusted his game to wrap up ball carriers and bring them to the ground. 
• The defensive effort lasted the entire game. At the final whistle, CSU had accumulated seven sacks and ten tackles for a loss. The front seven provided the necessary push to pressure the WIU quarterback and stop plays in the backfield. This trend will need to continue on the road in Fayetteville next week. 
• This team is full of fighters. Look at this touchdown reception for EJ Scott. He caught the ball at the six yard line. He was wrapped up at the five yard line. Then his offensive linemen and Marvin Kinsey and Adam Prentice joined the fray. The ball popped out, but not before Scott had crossed the goal line. Extra effort like that does not have a huge impact on a game like this one, but that mentality will be huge for games against the quality teams on the rest of the schedule. 

Keep those legs moving and push the pile into the endzone! Touchdown @CSUFootball!#EDGE | #CSURams | #MWFB | #AtThePeak pic.twitter.com/aLfodeI79X

— Mountain West (@MountainWest) September 7, 2019

The negatives:

• TURNOVERS - once again the Rams lost the turnover battle. The Rams fumbled four times, losing two of them. One of the lost fumbles came on the first rushing attempt for Marcus McElroy, who sat out last week due to an ankle injury. With as well as Kinsey has been playing, the other running backs cannot afford to make mistakes if they wish to stay on the field. Fortunately, CSU did force their first defensive turnover on the year when Jan-Phillip Bombek had a strip sack of Connor Sampson and fell on the loose ball. 
• I did not see Champ Bailey in Canvas Stadium. However, I did see his wife and Keevan at Wing Shack after the game. By the way - the true freshman had a solid game, recording four total tackles including a sack and a tackle for a loss. 

  

  Courtesy of @JoelDreessen

Up next - Week 3

The Rams head out to SEC country to complete the home-and-home series with the Razorbacks of Arkansas. Last year's thrilling victory in Canvas Stadium was a highlight of a disappointing Rams season and Arkansas has all the motivation in the world to avenge their 2018 defeat. But the Razorbacks are still bad - they beat Portland State to kick off their season. They won by a touchdown. At home. Against an FCS school. At home. In Fayetteville. At home. They won by seven. At home. Against an FCS school. They followed up that impressive victory by getting thumped by Ol' Miss. I'm not sure what to expect from this game, but I hope the Rams can pull off another SEC win this season.

Week	Opponent	Prediction	Result	Flick's Picks
1	Colorado (Denver)	L	CU 52 - CSU 31	1 - 0
2	Western Illinois	W	CSU 38 - WIU 13	2 - 0
3	at Arkansas	L
4	Toledo	W
5	at Utah State	L
6	San Diego State	L
7	at New Mexico	W
8	BYE	--
9	at Fresno State	L
10	UNLV	W
11	BYE	--
12	Air Force	W
13	at Wyoming	W
14	Boise State	L

2019 Ram Recap - Week 1 - The Buffaloons

In the current CSU losing streak in the Rocky Mountain Showdown, the Rams have lost by 3 (2015 OT game), 37 (2016 hot disaster game), 14 (2017 offensive pass interference game), 32 (2018 domination game), and now 21 (2019 first half hope game). Outside of the first RMS under Mike Bobo in 2015, this game has not been competitive. Even the 14 point loss in 2017 felt like a larger point spread than the scoreboard indicated. Naturally, my prognostication for the Rams was bleak. I had predicted a loss. I had predicted a CU blowout.

Courtesy of CSU

And then the first half happened. After nearly forcing a punt on their opening possession, CU scored a touchdown on their opening drive to take the first lead of the game. The predictions started to become reality and we were six minutes into the game. Fortunately, the Rams responded immediately with a quick six play drive that resulted in a 39 yard touchdown pass from Collin Hill to freshman Dante Wright. Tie ball game. The Rams defense then forced a punt. WHAT WAS HAPPENING?! The following drive ended with a spectacular interception in the end zone for a CU touchback. The Buffs drove down the field, but the defense held them to a field goal. The next possession, CSU put on an offensive clinic, marching down the field and scoring a touchdown on a Warren Jackson reception. For the first time since who knows when, the Colorado State University football team had a lead against the hated Buffaloes (actual name: bison) from Boulder. CU would take back the lead with another touchdown drive, but CSU responded with a touchdown drive of their own. With four minutes and two seconds left in the first half, my Rams had a lead and I truly believed that a victory was possible. WHAT WAS HAPPENING?!!

The Buffs scored another touchdown right before the half expired and the Rams had two straight turnovers to start the second half, but CSU was in a position to compete and win for three quarters of that game. That fact by itself is more than we had seen the past four iterations of that game. Yes, the Rams lost by 21. No, the Rams did not cover the spread. But there were a ton of positives to take with us on our midnight ride home.

The positives: 

• Playing without Marcus McElroy (ankle), Marvin Kinsey and Jaylen Thomas moved the ball easily behind the best offensive line performance that we have seen since Will Friend left. From our vantage point in the southeast corner of the lower bowl, running plays looked like they had resulted in minimal to no gain - yet the running backs had followed the big uglies for gains of 5 or 6 yards. We could see holes developing and the line was clearly moving downhill off the snap. Let's hope this continues to improve as the season progresses. 
• In addition to his ball-carrying responsibilities, Kinsey looked dangerous catching the ball out of the backfield. 
• Collin Hill looked composed and competent. 
• Warren Jackson looked like the weapon we saw in Tuscaloosa in 2017 when he scored two touchdowns against Alabama. Freakishly tall and athletic, Jackson appears to be the next big thing to come out of Wide Receiver U. 
• Dante Wright will make some plays this year. The true freshman had a receiving and rushing touchdown and clearly has some high-level speed. He will be fun to watch these next few years. 
• Tackling had been a major issue the past few seasons and looked markedly improved (with the fourth quarter being the notable exception). Players actually wrapped up the ball carrier instead of trying to knock them down and bouncing off like a ping-pong ball. 
• Big plays were mostly eliminated. CU did have a few large gains, but the story of the previous years were the explosive, game-changing 60 yard touchdowns that just broke the will and spirit of the CSU squad. Those did not happen this year. 
• The tight end group looked stacked. Trey McBride and Cameron Butler were consistently open as check-down options for Hill and they ran the ball violently. These two will hopefully provide matchup problems for the remaining games. 

The negatives:

• The defense just crumbled in the second half. CU ended up with 475 yards of offensive and 52 points to go along with it. For what is considered to be a bottom-tier PAC-12 team, that was too many of both. 
• Mike Bobo's post-game comments on the refs, which were unnecessary and looked like whining.
• The response to the refs comment was as bad if not worse. Bobo clearly did not blame the loss on the refs, but a man beaten five straight times by the same opponent was frustrated and those frustrations bubbled up. Again - Bobo's comments before and after the popularly quoted ref statement was that CSU got beat, citing poor discipline and costly mistakes. 
• Speaking of costly mistakes: the Rams had a 4:0 turnover ratio. Your chances of winning a football game with those numbers are nil. 
• The public address announcer inside of Broncos Stadium at Mile High was atrocious. The starting tailback for the Rams is named Marvin Kinsey Jr. Despite the fact that he was a starter, he was projected to be a focal point in the CSU offense, and his name is fairly easy to pronounce, the idiot PA guy called him "Kinsley". All game. 
• The same moron with a mic frequently referred to Collin Hill as "Collin Hall". Arguably the most recognizable name on the CSU roster, the starting quarterback of the squad, and a last name you most definitely should not mispronounce, getting incorrectly called out over the speakers. Look at a freaking program before the game, guy. 

Up Next - Week 2: 

The Rams host the Western Illinois Leathernecks (what?) on Saturday. The Rams offense should have their way with this FCS opponent. As long as the defense is somewhat competent, it should be a Ram victory.

Flick's Picks 

Week	Opponent	Prediction	Result	Flick's Picks
1	Colorado (Denver)	L	CU 52 - CSU 31	1 - 0
2	Western Illinois	W
3	at Arkansas	L
4	Toledo	W
5	at Utah State	L
6	San Diego State	L
7	at New Mexico	W
8	BYE	--
9	at Fresno State	L
10	UNLV	W
11	BYE	--
12	Air Force	W
13	at Wyoming	W
14	Boise State	L

Done Doodled Again

As September came to a close, my anticipation escalated for this year's edition of Inktober - the annual October-long celebration of pen and ink art creation. Thirty-one days in the month are assigned thirty-one different drawing prompts. Artists then create their interpretation of the daily theme through whatever medium they choose (although ink is clearly encouraged). Two years ago, Football Jason participated and his daily art displays encouraged me to climb aboard. Last year, I drew more pictures in a month than I had done in years. Along the way, I had an absolute blast. This year, participation among my friends exploded and it. was. awesome. Clayton, Rebecca, Sethel, and Robert all shared their (mostly) daily interpretations. Each day included an excited social media search of their names to see what they had created. I loved every second of it.

The fact that several others joined this year was not even the highlight of Inktober 2019. No, that distinction belongs to the kiddos.

• Robert's Keaton loves drawing and did a drawing for every single prompt. Even though his tonsils were surgically removed from his body during the month, he did the whole dang thing.

• Mackenzie and Carson started the month but, as a testament to the commitment that this requires, petered out as the month continued. Despite their early exit, Mackenzie already said that she would try again next year (with some pre-drawings happening to get ahead of schedule). Since she stopped, I have found her randomly grabbing some pencils and paper to sketch at the kitchen table. 

• My nephew Chase got all excited when he saw my interpretation of the prompt "Dark" -- a drawing of Batman perched on a roof. When I went to his house this past weekend to celebrate his sister's birthday, he proudly ran up to me with a stack of tracer paper that was covered in Spider-Man drawings.

As someone who has spent his entire life drawing pictures instead of doing important things like paying attention in class or taking notes or reading or whatever, seeing the excitement from the little artists about something I adore is amazing. If my sketches get them inspired to draw more pictures, then so be it! I hope they continue drawing all year and the 2020 version of Inktober has even more little people participating.

As for me, I tried to push some boundaries this time around. Capturing motion, drawing people, more complex drawings - things I tend to struggle with. Some of the final products ended up great (hello, "Injured"). Others could be a lot better ("Ripe" did not really finish the month strong). All in all, this year was more enjoyable and more fun than the previous year and I hope you enjoyed the art along the way. In the meantime, keep doodling people!

Day 1 - Ring

Day 2 - Mindless

Day 3 - Bait

Day 4 - Freeze

Day 5 - Build

Day 6 - Husky

Day 7 - Enchanted

Day 8 - Frail

Day 9 - Swing

Day 10 - Pattern

Day 11 - Snow

Day 12 - Dragon

Day 13 - Ash

Day 14 - Overgrown

Day 15 - Legend (wait for it)

Day 16 - Wild

Day 17 - Ornament

Day 18 - Misfit

Day 19 - Sling

Day 20 - Tread

Day 21 - Treasure

Day 22 - Ghost

Day 23 - Ancient

Day 24 - Dizzy

Day 25 - Tasty

Day 26 - Dark

Day 27 - Coat

Day 28 - Ride

Day 29 - Injured

Day 30 - Catch

Day 31 - Ripe

The Curious Case of Michael Thomas

The email arrived in my work inbox without fanfare. It contained a simple request - people were needed for leadership positions in our local Young Professionals Group. While my active involvement with the local YPG had waned due to my work and family requirements, I remain aware of the various YPG activities in and out of the office and continue to receive updates via my Outlook inbox. This email was different, though. It contained a reiteration of the general criteria of YPG members.

1. Less than 10 years of experience in the industry. 
2. Age 35 or younger.

I am neither of those things.

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A group of college students wandered by our CSU football tailgate. We had noticed the youthful nature of the students for a while, but this time seemed different. They looked... like... babies... A discussion among our crew of regulars delved into simple math. At the time, our kids' ages ranged anywhere from newborn to 9 years old. We were 13+ years separated from our graduations.

Our kids were closer in age to the college students than we were.

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Sarah and I were in our well-lit bathroom. The reflection staring back at me above my sink begged me to clean up the lettuce atop my large, funny-shaped dome. I mentioned to Sarah that it was time for a haircut and asked if the boys needed one as well. She turned toward me, took one look at my mane, and said, "You can really see the grey when your hair is long." A quick glance back at the mirror confirmed her sentiments.

There was grey speckling my dirty blond coif.

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This summer, I was fortunate to be in charge of three interns in the Denver transportation group. Two of the three were about to embark on their fourth and final year of school at CSU. The other one had just completed her first year at Colorado School of Mines. Once again, my lovely and astute wife pointed out the obvious.

I was old enough to be their dad.

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While the realization that I am getting older has been lingering around me for a while, it smacked me in the face this past weekend as I watched my baby brother get married. His wedding to his beautiful bride signified the end of an era - all four Flick kids are now hitched. We ain't kids any more.

I ran into an old friend of mine at the last Rocky Mountain Showdown in Denver. I have known her since my first year in Colorado and our families carpooled in differing combinations over who-knows how many years to both All Souls and Mullen. We had not seen each other in a while and we were catching up on each other's spouses, kids, and lives. I made some comment about how we were getting old and she responded in the best way possible: "I know. And I love it."

Even after we went our separate ways that day, Diane's words stuck with me. She was right. We should love getting older. For every discussion I have with Sarah about a looming expense that we need to make sure we have in the budget, we have fifteen conversations about the awesome picture that Mackenzie drew or the charming thing that Carson said or the hilarious thing that Camden did. Our bodies are not as flexible or spry as they once were, but they still can participate in cul-de-sac kickball games. Work may be causing us stresses we never imagined in our youth, but a delicious craft beer from the fridge and a quick hug from the kids and those worries are gone. Our free time may have evaporated, but our hours are now spent watching the little ones improve their throws to first base or grasp the concept of a force out or dance to whatever song is on the radio.

Getting older is a privilege.

And I love it.

You Play To Win The Game (Part II)

Jump to the predictions...
Mikey's Prediction Table

Preseason Predictions

The warm temperatures that are permeating through Colorado late into August are causing my brain to have issues accepting that fall is on its way. Despite the unbearable heat, autumn is coming and is bringing our favorite things with it: pumpkin flavoring, hoodie weather (PLEASE!), changing colors, and college football!!

Last season was a year of program changes from top to bottom. The two coordinator positions were new, the Rams had the least amount of starting experience in college football, and projected stud quarterback Collin Hill was sidelined for a chunk of the season recovering from surgery on his left knee. Add in a week-long hospital stay for Mike Bobo during fall camp and his lingering health issues throughout the year, and you get a program with some obstacles to overcome. Despite this systemic upheaval and regression indicators, I predicted the Rams to go 8-4. My predictions went 5-7. The Rams went 3-9. My heart was 0-12.

The Coaching Staff

Courtesy of Mile High Sports

This year provides my favorite football team with some stability - whether that is a blessing or a curse is yet to be determined. The coaching staff remains mostly intact with just three coaches moving onto different opportunities - strength and conditioning coach Ryan Davis was lured away by Maryland, safeties coach Eric Lewis was hired on by Boston College, and wide receivers coach Alvis Whitted took the same role for the Green Bay Packers. The biggest and most worrisome of these departures is that of Whitted, arguably the best wide receiver coach in NCAA football. Whitted is a gifted recruiter and a wide receiver whisperer, having recruited and coached the likes of Rashard Higgins, Michael Gallup, Preston Williams, and Bisi Johnson. A former NFL receiver, Whitted was able to deftly craft his receiving corps into NFL-quality players. With freakishly talented Warren Jackson set to make a statement and a glut of incoming talent (including Auburn transfer Nate Craig-Myers and several highly regarded true freshmen), recently promoted Joe Cox hopes to continue the run of wide receiver success in Fort Collins.

The Offense

Courtesy of CSURams.com

The program stability extends to the roster, as well. Collin Hill returns this season with the one thing that has avoided him most of his career - his health. Hill has been the hope for this program for a few years now, but has been unable to string together a full season of starts. His rehabilitation from his last injury is complete and he has been taking the #1 snaps all through the summer. Hill attended the Manning Passing Academy over the summer and the reports were encouraging. Chris Mortensen confirmed that Hill was a standout among the attendees and is a player to watch going forward. If Hill plays as well as his lettuce looks, he will be a top 10 quarterback in college football. The potential has always been there, the man has shown flashes, and 2019 would be a great time to showcase his capabilities for a full season. Should something befall Hill, the Rams have a solid backup in Patrick O'Brien, a Nebraska transfer who was originally recruited by CSU. Still, the offensive success of this unit will follow the trajectory of QB1. The trajectory of QB1 will follow the successes of the offensive line - a unit that struggled to control the line of scrimmage in 2018. The Rams need to be better at the point of attack if they want to put points on the board. They hope that new giant left tackle TJ Storment (6'-7", 320 lbs) will clear running lanes and hold a pocket for their quarterback. This team definitely has the firepower to score points. Marcus McElroy and Marvin Kinsey will be the thunder/lightning combo in the backfield. The aforementioned receiving corps is deep and skilled. Cameron Butler, Trey McBride, and Griffin Hammer are a formidable trio of pass catchers at the tight end position. Will there be enough improvement along the line to let the skill positions run?

The Defense

Courtesy of Rashad Ajayi

Despite the return of a healthy Collin Hill, the success of this program will be dictated by how well the defense can improve over the previous seasons. Two years ago, the late game defensive breakdowns inhibited the Ram's ability to move from good to great. Last year, the defense was nothing short of awful -- unable to put any pressure on the quarterback while getting gashed for big play after big play. A bright spot from the deep darkness of 2018 was Rashad Ajayi. A sophomore cornerback, Ajayi might be the best player on the defensive side of the ball. As a true freshman, Ajayi started all 12 games and was the best and most consistent part of the Rams secondary. Ajayi was so much better than his cohorts that opposing teams basically ignored his side of the field, picking apart whoever was playing the opposite side. A more experienced pair of starting safeties (Jamal Hicks and local kid Logan Stewart) and better athleticism at the cornerback position are defensive coordinator John Jancek's solution to limit the big plays that plagued this squad last year. The secondary could be the best in the Mountain West Conference, but it would not matter if the front seven does not take a positive step this year. Copying a sentence from the paragraph on the offense: the Rams need to be better at the point of attack. I could point to any of those 2018 losses and show you play after play where the opposing offensive lines moved the Ram defensive front wherever they wished. This backwards leaning defense must disappear if the Rams hope to turn the corner.

The Schedule

The Ram's schedule does not do them any favors. They start the non-conference slate with the new Mel Tucker version of CU that still includes Heisman hopeful in Laviska Shenault and third year starting quarterback in Steven Montez.

The non-conference schedule continues with a winnable game at home against Western Illinois.

Arkansas was horrible last year and suffered a loss in Canvas Stadium to the eventual 3-9 Rams. The Razorbacks will be amped up for their revenge game in their house.

The final non-conference game brings high-flying Rockets from Toledo to Fort Collins.

Conference play begins with arguably the best Mountain West team in Utah State.

San Diego State heads to Colorado, where it will inevitably blizzard but yet the perfect weather patrons of San Diego will still rush for 300 yards and throw for another 300.

New Mexico was the only team behind the Rams in the Mountain Division last season. Rams should be good enough to win this game on the road.

Fresno State won the West Division of the Mountain West Conference, then proceeded to beat Boise State (what's that like?) in the Mountain West Conference Championship game. In Boise. On the Smurf Turf. It will be tough to beat the Bulldogs on the road.

UNLV continues their poor run in football.

Air Force and Wyoming are rivalry games that NEED to result in trophies coming back to CSU's campus.

CSU has never beaten Boise State in football. Ever.

The Predictions

After last years flop, any bowl game will be a great goal for this squad. More importantly, Mike Bobo is 2-10 versus CU/Wyoming/Air Force. He is 0-4 against CU and 1-3 against both Wyoming and Air Force. His only victories in these rivalry games came in year one with the leftovers of McElwain's recruits. If this team ends up below .500 without a victory against one of those three schools, Mike Bobo might be looking for a new gig. I sure hope that is not the case. Prove me wrong, Rams!! 

Week	Opponent	Prediction	Result	Flick's Picks
1	Colorado (Denver)	L
2	Western Illinois	W
3	at Arkansas	L
4	Toledo	W
5	at Utah State	L
6	San Diego State	L
7	at New Mexico	W
8	BYE	--
9	at Fresno State	L
10	UNLV	W
11	BYE	--
12	Air Force	W
13	at Wyoming	W
14	Boise State	L

Final regular season record: 6-6