Coach Prime not ‘completely off the hook’ for Colorado’s questionable play-calling
The Ralphie Report’s Ryland Scholes believes that Coach Prime can’t be absolved for the numerous instances of questionable Colorado football play-calling — most notably against Stanford in the second half of the season’s most crushing loss and on the final clock-eating drive of the Buffs’ near-comeback against USC — despite offensive coordinator Sean Lewis being the primary culprit.
“Coach Prime truthfully isn’t the one to blame for the Buffs questionable play-calling decisions though, as he isn’t the one calling them,” Scholes prefaced before saying, “Offensive coordinator Sean Lewis is the one calling plays on the Colorado sideline, not Deion. Lewis is the true mastermind behind the offense and deserves more blame than Coach Prime for the Buffs’ play calling woes. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders also took responsibility for Colorado running the ball too much against USC, saying he kept checking into run plays after seeing the defense’s formation.
“While Coach Prime isn’t to blame for the play calling, I think that he isn’t completely off the hook. Deion is the ringleader on Colorado’s sideline. If something is being mismanaged, he should step in to correct the problem. Coach Prime should have noticed that Shedeur and Lewis were chewing too much game clock and told them to shift their game plan.”
🦬 @DeionSanders on the criticism Colorado’s coordinators will take after a loss like that. Says if it’s happening under his watch, he will take the blame. Says, “we’re not built for the moment right now.” pic.twitter.com/t83bkPoOGe
— Mat Smith (@RealMatSmith) October 14, 2023
Coach Prime must take the blame for the Colorado football defense’s failures
Sure, the play-calling in Boulder is something Coach Prime can’t be directly blamed for, but the Buffs’ defense certainly is. But not because his schemes aren’t up to snuff.
No, instead, it’s because the trenches are underrecruited, despite the secondary being stacked with blue-chip recruits, and the motivation is not where it needs to be; hence being dominated in the second half of a game they were leading big in against the Cardinal.
Firing Charles Kelly doesn’t fix anything. Something about how Deion Sanders deals with his team needs to change — and if/when that doesn’t happen, the personnel likely will, just as it did before Coach Prime’s debut Colorado campaign.