Deion Sanders questions takes from Pro Football Focus on his team: 'What validates them?'
A few advanced analytics companies out there provide stats for college football. None more well-known than PFF, providing grades for players, position groups, and even teams as a whole. All a part of the modern aspect of the sport, even if not every single head coach is a fan.
You can put Colorado‘s Deion Sanders in that category. He questioned some of the takes from PFF heading into Saturday’s game against TCU. Sanders believes the overall goal is to push a narrative.
“I don’t know who that is,” Sanders said. “Where they from? What validates them? Who are these guys? … This kind of stuff is just pushing a narrative. You know where it comes to.”
Weirdly enough, this is right before some positive numbers regarding the Buffaloes’ offensive line were brought to light. None more flattering than right tackle Jordan Seaton, possessing a 91.4 pass block grade per PFF. No single player across the country is better, being massive praise for Seaton.
The entire unit got love as well from PFF. Looking at just out West, only the Oregon Ducks rated higher in pass blocking. And then widening the scope once again, PFF says nobody is doing a better job giving quarterbacks time in the pocket than Colorado.
Whether or not Sanders believes in those stats, he continues to be impressed with the offensive line. Between the coaches and the nastiness upfront, Sanders knows everything for Colorado goes through them.
“I’m proud of them,” Sanders said. “Three-headed monster that’s coaching them. Dre (Andre Gurode), Big George (Hegamin), and Gunnar (White). Doing a wonderful job… Those guys are physical, they want it, they’re going to get it. They want to run the heck out of the ball. They know we can throw it as well. And I’m proud of them, I really am. It’s grown.”
Colorado is averaging 147.4 rushing yards a game, good enough for 14th in the Big 12. However, the nine total touchdowns on the ground see a big-time move up in the rankings to No. 7. Based on Sanders’ praises, there is a desire to improve those numbers moving forward.
A tough one against TCU is next up on the schedule. The Horned Frogs are middle of the road when it comes to defending the run. Maybe an opportunity is ahead of Colorado — a game Sanders needs to win in order to get the overall record back to .500.
