Boulder – Where others see mistakes, Colorado offensive coordinator Shawn Watson also notices opportunity. Where others see failure, he finds promise.
After Saturday’s performance against Colorado State, he couldn’t view it any other way.
Penalties were a problem. There was some miscommunication between CU senior quarterback Joel Klatt and freshman wide receiver Patrick Williams. Not everything went according to plan.
“We need to straighten up our sloppy play,” CU coach Gary Barnett said. “But we saw enough to know that if we fight like that and eliminate some mistakes, we can be a pretty decent football team.”
Particularly on offense, where Watson seems as excited as he has ever been.
Before the Buffaloes’ 31-28 win over CSU at Folsom Field, all Watson could do was speculate. But after 396 total yards, 8.6 yards per pass attempt and 6.4 yards per play overall, he has projections – positive ones. Based on CU’s current personnel, Watson even has changed how he calls a game.
In seasons past, Watson called plays according to how CU schemed its opponent. Now, he calls them according to which player he wants to get the ball.
“We’re like an NFL team,” Watson said. “We don’t think plays, we think people. My sheets are targeted by personnel group, formation, and they are targeted to get guys the football. As a play-caller, it’s the first time I’ve ever done it like this.
“In the past, we had guys like D.J. Hackett (a wide receiver now with the Seattle Seahawks) we targeted, but I’ve never targeted this many people. I want a defense to have to play the entire field vertically and horizontally. Our people allow us to do that.”
The CU staff doesn’t seem overly worried about Saturday’s mistakes. Players and coaches believe they can be corrected by the time CU plays New Mexico State (0-1) on Saturday night at Folsom Field.
“My thing is to hold onto the ball,” said Buffs wide receiver Dusty Sprague, who lost a fumble in the first quarter. “As far as everything else, on holding penalties you have to keep your arms inside. There was a false start here and there. Those are all correctable.”
Said Watson: “We’ve got to go out and put the details together. We’ll show them the film, they’ll see the missed opportunities they had, how big it could have been, and then they are going to come back even hungrier than they were.”
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
