Colorado’s defense took a hit in Week 10 against Arizona State, and Deion Sanders didn’t sugarcoat what he saw after the Buffaloes struggled to slow freshman quarterback and running back duo Jake Fette and Cardae Mack.
At his weekly press conference, Sanders leaned into the state of the defense and made it clear he still believes in the group, even after a rough outing. He pointed first to the personnel issues the Buffaloes are dealing with.
“Everything. We lost a really good linebacker.
We have two guys out there, really three. I mean, these guys are playing their butts off, man.
They don’t give up; they don’t quit. Gideon [ESPN Lampron] plays hard every day in practice, and he takes it right over into the game.
He’s a leader, tremendously, in that group. We may get one of them back this week prayerfully.
He’s been trying. He’s been really trying his butt off.
But I like that room. That room is phenomenal,” Sanders said.
He went even further in defending the linebacker room and the coaches working with it.
“I remember that room was tremendously criticized last season, and you haven’t applauded it. I think Coach [Andre’] Hart was attacked last year, right?
Applaud him. The room is tremendous.
[Chris] Marve is doing a heck of a job, lining them up as well. But the same guys in that room, so that room is phenomenal to me.
That’s defensively; I think that’s the best room that we have,” Sanders said.
Sanders also said the issue is bigger than scheme. For him, it comes down to whether players finish plays.
“[Finishing a play] is all want. It’s all want.
It’s not a process. You can’t teach a man how to finish a play.
You’ve got to want it. You’ve got to want the ball more than your opposition,” Sanders said.
He then shifted to the broader picture, saying Colorado can’t keep giving up explosive plays and has to weigh risk and reward in the moment.
“I don’t think we can afford to give up any more big plays at this point. It’s risk reward, risk reward.
It’s a balance all the time. It’s almost like last week we got down into the red zone and the chart says kick the field goal.
I’m thinking we need a touchdown. Chart says kick the field goal.
I’m thinking we need a touchdown. So you go back and forth in your mind, and you say, okay, let me see how the team is flowing,” Sanders said.
He pointed to a sequence where the Buffaloes ended up scoring after a roughing-the-kicker penalty.
“You know, thank God was still - he still had the TV on at the time, and we got roughing the kicker trying to kick the field goal. God wanted to score, so I probably should have worked for the touchdown anyway because I wanted to. But reason says kick the field goal right there, and we end up scoring a touchdown,” Sanders said.
Even with the postseason picture in the background, Sanders said the Buffaloes are not looking at the long view. The focus, he said, is much smaller than that.
“We’re not thinking about the three wins. With all due respect, that’s a tremendous goal.
We’re thinking about one day, one play at a time. That’s really where we are.
So if you start thinking way down the stretch, hey man, we need three wins. We’re not thinking about that three.
We thinking about hey man, we need a good day of practice today. We get a good day of practice tomorrow,” Sanders said.
“Then the next day we need a great day of practice to give us the momentum, the understanding, the confidence to go in there and execute the plays that we’ve been practicing. That’s where we are right now,” Sanders said.
Sanders also pushed back when the conversation turned toward him, saying the attention should stay on the team.
“This ain’t got nothing to do with me, man. Man, when I talk about me, you guys, you know, you’re harping on it.
Now you want to talk about me? You know what you’re doing.
We don’t give a darn about me, man. You don’t.
So I’m happy to help the team, man. That’s what I’m doing,” Sanders said.
He added that he’s still finding ways to contribute in practice, including working with the scout team.
“I’m really out there just keeping life in the scout team, talking to Mo [Mojo Williams]. You know, when I talk to Mo, and I talk junk to Mo when he’s on the corner, like, ‘I got you.
I’m inside, baby. Be aggressive.’
Like he loves that. They smile, and I’m messing with all the guys about my tackles, you know, offensively and defensively, as well as the quarterback.
So I have fun doing it, and I’m getting my cardio in as well,” Sanders said.
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