A little insight to how things went down last night

[Woof 101]

That may be one of the stupidest things I have ever heard from any manager in any profession.

A guy drives you from inside his own 20 all the way down the field to to the red zone and the plan is take him out at that point? LOL. WTF!

That is the absolute definition of punishing success. It's crazy!!!!!!!

This is a plan of demoralization, and danger, if you don't put in the other qb as you told him before the game he is disappointed. You yank the one that got you down field on a sustained drive and not allow him to take it in and he is disappointed. What must the rest of the O be thinking at this point? I can tell you what the folks in the stands were thinking but you can't print it here.
Could Casey have thrown the pick trying to do too much getting close to the red zone knowing he is coming out?
Could coach Mendenhall have been hurt trying to hold back the laughter and public display of disbelief ?
CC is the starter because of his command in the huddle, we don't need that in the red zone?

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I was at the game and my first thought when Cochran was pulled on that drive was that he was dinged-up on the previous play because he got sandwiched. Maybe that was also a factor?

Overall, while Whitmer maybe the better quarterback on paper and be better in practice from what I have heard, Cochran has that it/swagger on the field. he is the natural leader of the 2 QB's. He had the hotter hand Friday night and also seems to have a good relationship with Davis. He did make mistakes, especially floating the ball on several occasions and I saw one play where is threw to the receiver's outside shoulder while the receiver broker tot he inside (classic first game mistake); but, I like his quick release and his attitude.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

PS - Who was #2 on BYU's defense, he got hit with a pair of late hit fouls and then tried to start a fight with 2 different UConn players on back to back plays. It's good to have an edge playing defense; but, costing a teams 30 yards in penalties (including on a missed 4th down) is inexcusable. The guy behind me commented that it must have been a player that was not told before signing he dotted line that BYU has a celibacy rule. LOL.

 

[Adios]

Notre Dame is getting revenge. I can't believe this.

 

[ZooCougar]

Let's let Diaco coach the first 3 quarters and let some other dude coach in the 4th. Sounds fair to me.

 

[itgoeslike]

View From The Armchair

The Good. . .

- Team played hard throughout the entire game, credit HCBD for that.

- Play got better as the game went on. One could argue that UConn held its ground during the second half. Sure, BYU had some costly penalties, but we hurt ourselves in the red zone.

- Some flashes of skill in key positions.

- The OL, for the most part, held there own against a bigger DL and provided the QB's with a lot more time than they were afforded last year.

- Geremy Davis

- HCD is building with the end result in mind.

The Bad. . .

- The DL, but it got better, against one of the better QB's and OL's

- Some of the play calling. Not sure how a fourth and long fake FG attempt evaluates and/or develops talent. A FG made after marching the ball down the field might have generated momentum and confidence.

- Letting time run down, unnecessarily, which again had nothing to do with evaluating and/or developing talent, no matter how you slice it.

- Pulling a QB who just made three completions and marched down the field. Per Diaco's presser, they were going to put in Whitmer during a drive if Cochran couldn't get it done, but it sure looked like he was on that series.

The OK. . .

- 35K in attendance is not great, but it was more than Mississippi/Boise State, Vanderbilt/Temple and other P5 games. Labor Day weekend is tough, especially for a team coming off 3 victories. In truth, it looked OK on TV until the fourth quarter. The good news, by then, only UConn and BYU fans were still watching.

- Mistakes. We've got a new coach, a new coaching staff, new systems, new culture, new everything. The reality is that any first time coach needs to draw from his or her own experiences to improve, just like the kids he's coaching.

- To judge, because that's what people do when they have a vested interest. However, perhaps it's too soon to draw conclusions. As long as fans see improvement overtime they'll feel better about the direction of the program.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

View From The Armchair

- 35K in attendance is not great, but it was more than Mississippi/Boise State, Vanderbilt/Temple and other P5 games. Labor Day weekend is tough, especially for a team coming off 3 victories. In truth, it looked OK on TV until the fourth quarter. The good news, by then, only UConn and BYU fans were still watching.

Labor Day weekend games suck! Normally takes me 2 hours to get to the Rent from where I live in North Jersey. I left at 2:30 PM on Friday and it took me 3 1/2 hours taking several back roads to avoid the culsterF that I-84 was. Route 15 looked worse on Google Maps. Whoever designed I-84 to go from 4 lanes in Cheshire, to 2 in Waterbury, and the 3 or 2 depending on if it is a hill our note between Waterbury and Danbury should be forced to drive on I-84 every Friday and Monday of a Holiday weekend for eternity. Anyway, I missed the first quarter because I had to check into a hotel in Rocky Hill with the family (took them to Mystic on Saturday, the Beluga Whale's interaction with kids is a riot) and then feed them before heading to the game.

 

[jdb50]

Conehead, the DOT people that designed the Charter Oak Bridge to take all the 91 South traffic heading to Boston and other points east with a one lane ramp that then has to merge left 2 lanes should be hung from their nads next to the bridge for eternity. The new bridge was an instant and permanent traffic jam that we paid for. I thought the crowd was fine halfway through the first Q. We start playing exciting ball and it will be packed.

 

[BlueMAB]

The title of the article is misleading. The 2 QB system didn't work.

Also, Whitmer earned his reputation for being turnover prone. But he didn't throw a pick in the red zone. Cochran did. Whitmer didn't throw any picks.

Neither QB was impressive. With them being equally average he should give the job to Cochran because he's got more time to develop. He has to dump this 2 QB nonsense by conference play.

 

[itgoeslike]

The title of the article is misleading. The 2 QB system didn't work.

Also, Whitmer earned his reputation for being turnover prone. But he didn't throw a pick in the red zone. Cochran did. Whitmer didn't throw any picks.

Neither QB was impressive. With them being equally average he should give the job to Cochran because he's got more time to develop. He has to dump this 2 QB nonsense by conference play.

Whitmer has the stronger arm but Cochran has the stronger football IQ. I was surprised by Cochran's INT. Whitmer appeared to make better decisions when he first came in, but I could have sworn he threw a couple that hit the hands of BYU players (but dropped) in the fourth quarter.

 

[itgoeslike]

Labor Day weekend games suck! Normally takes me 2 hours to get to the Rent from where I live in North Jersey. I left at 2:30 PM on Friday and it took me 3 1/2 hours taking several back roads to avoid the culsterF that I-84 was. Route 15 looked worse on Google Maps. Whoever designed I-84 to go from 4 lanes in Cheshire, to 2 in Waterbury, and the 3 or 2 depending on if it is a hill our note between Waterbury and Danbury should be forced to drive on I-84 every Friday and Monday of a Holiday weekend for eternity. Anyway, I missed the first quarter because I had to check into a hotel in Rocky Hill with the family (took them to Mystic on Saturday, the Beluga Whale's interaction with kids is a riot) and then feed them before heading to the game.

I am sure there were a lot of families that had to figure out how to get to the game and not disrupt vacation plans that were in the works. I was in the Boston area for business on Friday and had a rental car at the ready. Unfortunately, by the time I wrapped things up I would have likely missed the first half or worse.

 

[metsfan2323]

The big failure with the 2 QB system is that it is built on the notion that Whitmer has a different skill set, IE can run the ball and has a stronger arm. Hopefully Saturday supplied the coaching staff with ample evidence that while Whitmer can run quickly in a straight line, he is not an instinctive runner at all. He actually at times seems to run directly into players instead of running to avoid them and while he may have a slightly stronger arm, Casey more than makes up for that by getting the ball out quicker and just in general having a much better feel for the game. I also think Casey may have added some velocity to his fastball.

One think that Casey really needs to work on is his start to games, he seems to always struggle early and get better as the game goes along, which tells me is may be early game jitters. The good thing is that is something that should improve with more experience.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Conehead, the DOT people that designed the Charter Oak Bridge to take all the 91 South traffic heading to Boston and other points east with a one lane ramp that then has to merge left 2 lanes should be hung from their nads next to the bridge for eternity. The new bridge was an instant and permanent traffic jam that we paid for. I thought the crowd was fine halfway through the first Q. We start playing exciting ball and it will be packed.

Agree, which is why I haven't taken the Charter Oak Bridge in years, I always try to take the Route 3 bridge across in Glastonbury (Putnam Bridge?). Did take the new Q Bridge in New Haven on the way home on Saturday, that looks, uh, interesting.

 

[itgoeslike]

The big failure with the 2 QB system is that it is built on the notion that Whitmer has a different skill set, IE can run the ball and has a stronger arm. Hopefully Saturday supplied the coaching staff with ample evidence that while Whitmer can run quickly in a straight line, he is not an instinctive runner at all. He actually at times seems to run directly into players instead of running to avoid them and while he may have a slightly stronger arm, Casey more than makes up for that by getting the ball out quicker and just in general having a much better feel for the game. I also think Casey may have added some velocity to his fastball.

One think that Casey really needs to work on is his start to games, he seems to always struggle early and get better as the game goes along, which tells me is may be early game jitters. The good thing is that is something that should improve with more experience.

When you look at the deficiencies of each quarterback, improving Casey's play looks easier to achieve, at least from where I'm sitting (which doesn't count for much).

 

[uconnflyer88]

Whitmer could have all the arm strength in the world, but he'll never use it because he has no idea how to step up in the pocket and as soon as he feels the slightest bit of pressure he takes off and seconds later gets sacked.

 

[BNich]

Whitmer could have all the arm strength in the world, but he'll never use it because he has no idea how to step up in the pocket and as soon as he feels the slightest bit of pressure he takes off and seconds later gets sacked.

Which is what I was trying to say earlier in this thread, but some just didnt want to listen. This can be seen when he is sacked by P.Sovey. Its on ESPN.com. tucks and runs right into the guy.

 

[uconnflyer88]

Which is what I was trying to say earlier in this thread, but some just didnt want to listen. This can be seen when he is sacked by P.Sovey. Its on ESPN.com. tucks and runs right into the guy.

http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/assets/4959960/4Q_Whitmer_UP_1.png
http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/assets/4959960/4Q_Whitmer_UP_1.png
This is a picture from "The Tale of the Tape", and you can clearly see where the pocket is....and where Whitmer went. I'll post the rest here just to give the man the credit he deserves, but I'm sure it'll deserve it's own thread

http://www.theuconnblog.com/2014/9/1/6092643/tale-of-the-tape-uconn-vs-byu

 

[Duncan Idaho]

I am surprised Andrew chose that frame to demonstrate his point. That was well after the decision was made to tuck and run and it would naturally open the hole he circled away from the ball. Several frames before that(I dont know how to paste a freeze frame) faced with a beaten OT and pressure coming up from the front and coming toward his left side, instinct would move him toward his right.
Not beating him up for this one.