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nelsonmuntz

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I know more comprehensive analyses are being done elsewhere, but I will keep the same format as my other Big East writeups.

Offense

UConn has a quarterback!!! UConn fans have not been this optimistic about the QB position since Dan O walked off Ford Field for the last time almost 8 years ago. And there is a future QB too!!! We all hope and expect that UConn will be set at the QB position for the next 5 years, which is rare confidence for UConn fans to have about a position that has been terrible for the past 7 seasons. 1 UConn QB has flirted with mediocrity between bong hits, and the rest have been a major step below.

Part of my personal optimism is that the current staff does not have a track record of making QB's worse under their tutelage. McEntee actually played relatively well at year end, and is still a capable backup. Whitmer is cause for excitement. Strong arm, accurate, good pocket presence...a real QB. Expectations are manageable too. Average would be spectacular, good performance from the QB position would border on orgasmic for most fans. McCummings will continue to see snaps as a change of pace, and I am fine with that.

McCombs is a player. Quick, good open field speed, and learning the game. He had a tendency to string plays out early on but as the season went on he learned that sometimes a 2 yard gain is a good play. Unfortunately, I don't see a good 2nd back to lighten McCombs load, and McCombs takes too many hits as it is. He doesn't have a 250 carries a year body. He needs to be around 200. I expect to see a lot of FB this year, and Frank is solid as a blocker. Whitmer will be a big help for the running game, because it looked like the entire opposing defense was in the box on most plays. If Whitmer can keep defenses honest, McCombs' numbers will go way up.

I think we have four solid to good wide receivers in Smith, Williams, Philips and Jones, and Griffin is solid at TE. Dropped passes were a problem for everyone last year, and Griffin's fumble against WMU cost us that game. Nick Williams in particular has the potential to be a game breaking player, and he has to focus better on the easy plays. Griffin was essentially our deep threat last year, which is unacceptable. Williams has to run tighter routes and either Philips or Jones has to emerge as a deep threat. Smith is a possession receiver that has to hold onto the ball better.

As has been discussed last year, the offensive line stats were terrible. 3.1 ypc and 41 sacks against are stats for a 2-10 team. I feel that the stats were worse than the play for this unit. McCombs is a year older, and the QB position has upgraded dramatically, which will help. I don't feel this team got dominated other than the Pitt and WVU games. I thought the line play was OK to good against Vanderbilt, Iowa State, Syracuse, Louisville and Rutgers, all of whom had decent defenses. Petrus and Ryan are big losses, and the team is very thin in terms of depth. I don't think anyone expects Bennett to make it through the season, and it feels like a lottery after him.

Defense

UConn played tremendous run defense last year, and was OK against the pass too. Reyes and Martin will be missed, but Williams and Joseph are budding stars at DE, and Jennings is a tremendous "motor" guy. Wirth and Stephen are experienced and Stephen is a house. Depth could be an issue at DT.

A big part of the 2.7 ypc and 35 sacks was not just great line play, but also very good LB play. Johnson, Smallwood and Moore all return, and Moore could be poised for a monster year. Other than Steg, depth could be a problem.

Wreh-Wilson and Gratz will be one of the best CB pairs in the league, but depth remains a problem, with Jones moved to safety. Brown had a good year, and depending on St. Louis' status there will be some depth at safety.

This is a very good defense with several stars returning. Reyes and Martin are big losses, but most schools would kill for 9 returning starters on defense. There are a lot of good defenses in the Big East, but UConn's will be right up there.

Schedule

Another solid schedule, much like last year's. NC State will be pretty good and has one of the top QB's in the ACC. Western Michigan is a preseason favorite for the MAC West. Maryland was terrible last year and I expect only modest improvement, and Buffalo and UMass are games UConn should win. The Big East schedule features 4 road games, three of which, RU, USF and UL, are against top teams in the Big East.

Conclusion

Year 2 of a coach's regime is when the rubber really hits the road. The new system is in place, and the coach has had time to fill gaping holes in the roster. If the QB problem has been improved at all, and there was only one direction to go from last year, and the offense has another year under an experienced and successful OC like Deleone, this team should be a lot better on O than they were last year. Pasqualoni is a good coach, and he is upgrading talent across the board. I expect better development out of the QB position, and I think we finally have some skilled players at that position.

I expect 350 yards a game this year, and if we get that, this will be a good season for UConn, because the defense is still excellent. Overall, the league is better at the top, but Syracuse and Temple are weak, and I am not a fan of Pitt.

I think UConn splits NC State and WMU, and beats one of the good Big East teams somewhere. Prediction:

8-4 (4-3)
 

Dann

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good read nelson. couple thoughts:
-dont sleep on donahue the md transfer
-what do we have behind griffin at te? mcquillian may not be 100%, is shortell a sleeper?
-wilbert lee could be a breakout player
-i am eager to see joe williams
 

nelsonmuntz

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As BLawyer pointed out elsewhere, the biggest weakness is the depth on OL. Linemen do get injured, and we have no idea what is behind what I expect to be a decent starting 5.
 

Chin Diesel

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Like everyone else, I'm excited to see what Whitmer can do in games.

But, remember everyone here was equally excited at the thought of Zach "Four Star Recruit from Notre Dame" and most of us were excited about a dual threat QB from Juco named Tyler Lorenzen (who I still don't think gets enough credit for the job he did).

I expect our QB play to be better than last year, but Uconn fans clamoring over the "Best QB Since Dan O" are beginning to sound like Cubs fans eternal hope for a World Series.
 

nelsonmuntz

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The "best QB since Dan O" is not a very high standard.
 
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to be fair, TL and ZF were both decent at the position. Neither was a world beater, but it we had ZF/TL level QB play last year we probably would have won at least two more games. from the little of Whitmer i've seen i don't think it's a stretch to say it looks like he'll be the best QB since DanO, although you have to keep in mind Best QB since Dan O doesn't necessarily mean great. I'll be thrilled if our QB play can be termed "good"
 

SubbaBub

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Like everyone else, I'm excited to see what Whitmer can do in games.

But, remember everyone here was equally excited at the thought of Zach "Four Star Recruit from Notre Dame" and most of us were excited about a dual threat QB from Juco named Tyler Lorenzen (who I still don't think gets enough credit for the job he did).

I expect our QB play to be better than last year, but Uconn fans clamoring over the "Best QB Since Dan O" are beginning to sound like Cubs fans eternal hope for a World Series.

Looking back, all of those guys did a good job (BCS, Hello?) Maybe they would have done better in a different system, different staff, and better talent at receiver. All three won big games for the program. Highly touted QBs don't pan out all the time. I worry about INTs more than TDs.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2
 

junglehusky

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to be fair, TL and ZF were both decent at the position. Neither was a world beater, but it we had ZF/TL level QB play last year we probably would have won at least two more games. from the little of Whitmer i've seen i don't think it's a stretch to say it looks like he'll be the best QB since DanO, although you have to keep in mind Best QB since Dan O doesn't necessarily mean great. I'll be thrilled if our QB play can be termed "good"
I agree. The way nelson phrased it (perhaps he didn't quite mean it) sounded like TL and ZF were a "step below" "flirting with" mediocre, which to me sound awful, but I'd say they were flirting with adequate at least! I'm hoping to see CW begin the season flirting with adequate, progressing to adequate, and then flirting with all-BE at the end of the season.
 
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I think UConn splits NC State and WMU, and beats one of the good Big East teams somewhere.
We can't lose to WMU again, I don't care how good their QB is. They lost their top receivers. (the guy with the Jets actually looks like he's going to have an NFL career if he can stay healthy)

If we can't win this payback game cancel the season.
 

pepband99

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I agree. The way nelson phrased it (perhaps he didn't quite mean it) sounded like TL and ZF were a "step below" "flirting with" mediocre, which to me sound awful, but I'd say they were flirting with adequate at least! I'm hoping to see CW begin the season flirting with adequate, progressing to adequate, and then flirting with all-BE at the end of the season.

pre-and-post-injury TL were 2 very different QB's.
 

IMind

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I agree. The way nelson phrased it (perhaps he didn't quite mean it) sounded like TL and ZF were a "step below" "flirting with" mediocre, which to me sound awful, but I'd say they were flirting with adequate at least! I'm hoping to see CW begin the season flirting with adequate, progressing to adequate, and then flirting with all-BE at the end of the season.

I think TL is really a tail of two years.His first year his numbers weren't earth shattering but for a ball control offense with Donald Brown and Andre Dixon they were great.

2367 yards, 13td, 6ints, 56.6 passing percentage, 328yrds, 1td rushing.

2008 was just a disaster QB wise... injuries just killed everyone... which is really too bad considering the year DB and our defense had.
 
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