Chin Diesel
Power of Love
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2011
- Messages
- 32,721
- Reaction Score
- 99,735
2/3 of the way through the season and there's more than enough tape against different style teams to know what to expect the rest of the season.
QB- Going in to the season no one knew what to expect from Shireffs. He has played well; comparable to a healthy Tyler Lorenrzen. Decent arm and good legs. Going forward he needs to start sliding. I'm half convinced all those hits yesterday directly affected his poor throwing game. This is his first season playing QB full time and you can tell he's hesitant and unsure on some throws and reads. And hesitation from the QB destroys passing plays. I expect his running to be the same next year and passing decisiveness to improve.
RBs- Less excited going forward than I was in August. The disappearance and misuse of RJ is befuddling. Trying to have him run sweeps or zone reads out wide is not what he is built to do. Quick, direct down hill runs should be his play calls. According to coaches he still needs lots of work on pass blocking making his appearance in the game a tip off to the D. The emergence of Newsome as an every down back has been good. Coaches have used him effectively and there's room for improvement. He's only getting 12-15 carries a game which is good. They are using him in space outside and giving him chances. He's done a great job finishing runs and holding on to the ball. Marriner's inability to get carries is a bummer.
TE's- Disappointing overall. Looks at both Bloom's and Myers' YPC and it's impressive. Both have been mediocre at best blocking for the run or the pass.
WR's- Major disappointment. Lucas's performance was very inconsistent on the field and no one has stepped up to replace him. Thomas has been good but he has to make those catches yesterday. Cincy had five receivers better than him yesterday.
OL- Disappointing overall. Best we've seen from UConn in four years but still below average. Plenty of time to grow as a unit and I believe the talent is there. Disappointed in Levy this year. He gets beat a lot. Inside, outside and right through him. We knew the middle would be a question mark and it's been inconsistent. I believer Vechery has done above what I thought he would. All this experience will help him next year. Three years of Vechery, Crozier and Hopkins is a building block.
Offensive Coaching- Verducci has come up with some of the more creative plays we've seen out of UConn in a while. I'm confused by his use of RJ and the time it takes to call plays is unacceptable.
Defensive Tackles- Good but I expected more. I thought this group would be unholy terrors blowing up plays more often. Still one of the better units going forward.
DE's- Disappointing to neutral. For me, this is a difficult position to grade because of the defensive scheme. They get decent pressure on the QB but few sacks. I think their lack of sacks has as much to with UConn not blitzing often and DB's giving the QB too many looks at the first option. The DE's and OLB's need to work together setting the edge against the run and aren't very good doing that.
LB's- Very disappointing. Bad angles, average athleticism, poor pass coverage and bad tackling. Definitely expected more from this group this year. All positions shou
ST's- Way better than I expected. Punts have been fine. They put Vitale back to return punts and he at least catches them. Punt coverage has been fine all year. KO return are average, no major screw up there. Puyol has been very good on FG's and
ld be up for grabs next year.
CB's- A Little better than I expected. They have good ball skills overall and make plays. Depth is a concern.
S's- Major disappointment. It is painful watching either one of them try to defend the pass. Bad angles and missed tackles against the run.
Coaching- Underperforming so far. The bend but don't break has gotten torched by running teams like Navy and the second half against USF. Passing teams have torched them as well.
ST's- Way better than I expected. Punts have been fine. They put Vitale back to return punts and he at least catches them. Punt coverage has been fine all year. KO return are average, no major screw up there. Puyol has been very good on FG's and the blocked PAT's have been corrected. The fake punt worked great. The first fake FG call against Mizzou was a great call. All but yesterday's onside kicks have all been good enough for UConn to recover or have a hand on the ball. The coaching of this unit has been the best so far this year. they have actually changed schemes and personnel based on game film.
Coaching Overall- Way disappointing. More disappointing than any group of players. Inability to get plays called, misusing TO's, poor clock management, inability or unwillingness to adapt in game. The USF ad Mizzou losses can be hung on the staff.
I am optimistic about the talent on the field, optimistic about the conditioning and work put in during the week and pessimistic about game day coaching. I'm still uncertain if BD is head coach material.
QB- Going in to the season no one knew what to expect from Shireffs. He has played well; comparable to a healthy Tyler Lorenrzen. Decent arm and good legs. Going forward he needs to start sliding. I'm half convinced all those hits yesterday directly affected his poor throwing game. This is his first season playing QB full time and you can tell he's hesitant and unsure on some throws and reads. And hesitation from the QB destroys passing plays. I expect his running to be the same next year and passing decisiveness to improve.
RBs- Less excited going forward than I was in August. The disappearance and misuse of RJ is befuddling. Trying to have him run sweeps or zone reads out wide is not what he is built to do. Quick, direct down hill runs should be his play calls. According to coaches he still needs lots of work on pass blocking making his appearance in the game a tip off to the D. The emergence of Newsome as an every down back has been good. Coaches have used him effectively and there's room for improvement. He's only getting 12-15 carries a game which is good. They are using him in space outside and giving him chances. He's done a great job finishing runs and holding on to the ball. Marriner's inability to get carries is a bummer.
TE's- Disappointing overall. Looks at both Bloom's and Myers' YPC and it's impressive. Both have been mediocre at best blocking for the run or the pass.
WR's- Major disappointment. Lucas's performance was very inconsistent on the field and no one has stepped up to replace him. Thomas has been good but he has to make those catches yesterday. Cincy had five receivers better than him yesterday.
OL- Disappointing overall. Best we've seen from UConn in four years but still below average. Plenty of time to grow as a unit and I believe the talent is there. Disappointed in Levy this year. He gets beat a lot. Inside, outside and right through him. We knew the middle would be a question mark and it's been inconsistent. I believer Vechery has done above what I thought he would. All this experience will help him next year. Three years of Vechery, Crozier and Hopkins is a building block.
Offensive Coaching- Verducci has come up with some of the more creative plays we've seen out of UConn in a while. I'm confused by his use of RJ and the time it takes to call plays is unacceptable.
Defensive Tackles- Good but I expected more. I thought this group would be unholy terrors blowing up plays more often. Still one of the better units going forward.
DE's- Disappointing to neutral. For me, this is a difficult position to grade because of the defensive scheme. They get decent pressure on the QB but few sacks. I think their lack of sacks has as much to with UConn not blitzing often and DB's giving the QB too many looks at the first option. The DE's and OLB's need to work together setting the edge against the run and aren't very good doing that.
LB's- Very disappointing. Bad angles, average athleticism, poor pass coverage and bad tackling. Definitely expected more from this group this year. All positions shou
ST's- Way better than I expected. Punts have been fine. They put Vitale back to return punts and he at least catches them. Punt coverage has been fine all year. KO return are average, no major screw up there. Puyol has been very good on FG's and
ld be up for grabs next year.
CB's- A Little better than I expected. They have good ball skills overall and make plays. Depth is a concern.
S's- Major disappointment. It is painful watching either one of them try to defend the pass. Bad angles and missed tackles against the run.
Coaching- Underperforming so far. The bend but don't break has gotten torched by running teams like Navy and the second half against USF. Passing teams have torched them as well.
ST's- Way better than I expected. Punts have been fine. They put Vitale back to return punts and he at least catches them. Punt coverage has been fine all year. KO return are average, no major screw up there. Puyol has been very good on FG's and the blocked PAT's have been corrected. The fake punt worked great. The first fake FG call against Mizzou was a great call. All but yesterday's onside kicks have all been good enough for UConn to recover or have a hand on the ball. The coaching of this unit has been the best so far this year. they have actually changed schemes and personnel based on game film.
Coaching Overall- Way disappointing. More disappointing than any group of players. Inability to get plays called, misusing TO's, poor clock management, inability or unwillingness to adapt in game. The USF ad Mizzou losses can be hung on the staff.
I am optimistic about the talent on the field, optimistic about the conditioning and work put in during the week and pessimistic about game day coaching. I'm still uncertain if BD is head coach material.
