Silver responds to the Boneyard

[B1GEast]

http://jiblogs.com/jsilvers_uconn_football_blog/

had several emails asking about George DeLeone’s “grave concern” comment on the offensive line and since I have some time here, it’s worth putting in some context

 

[Palatine]

Good job by Silver. His guess at the two deep is

LT Bennett/Gifford
LG Greene
C Mateas/Kyle Bockeloh/Bullock
RG Masters/Cruz
RT Kevin Friend

But in reality, if Bennett can't go, I expect Masters to start at LT and either Cruz or Bullock to start at RG.

 

[pj]

The reality is, the line is 1 1/2 deep at best, and half the 1 is injured. I'd say that's a grave concern. Most top BCS schools go 3 deep with guys who can play. Of course, if the top guys can stay healthy and build chemistry, it has a chance to be a good line.

 

[sportsart]

Ranked 117 out of 120 in sacks allowed. Johnny Mac has no excuses. He should have done better.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

no mention of Paull. anyone have an idea here ?

 

[businesslawyer]

Every big of scuttlebutt I've heard is that he has had real difficulty picking up the new techniques and schemes that the new staff brought in and that he's fallen behind others.

 

[uconndogs]

This issue will determine whether this coaching staff succeeds or is moved out. Huge issue. I am not saying this may not be for the long-term best interest of the program with a more balanced offence. With that said, this program had some very significant and early success building big, physical lines that allowed us to run the ball very effectively. If these new schemes don't take hold, last season could be the highwater mark for this offense.

Ryan and Petrus are some big shoes to fill. And make no doubt about it, we do not have a back right now that has shown in any way they are Brown or Todman. We will have to throw the ball to win with this offense and that will be dependent on this OL handling this new offense, maybe even more so than who is throwing and catching the ball.

I sincerely hope this all works, but P has rolled the dice with this and it will ultimately determine if he has a job in two years.

 

[Dann]

if the line is going to be worse then last year then we can't play jmac. he has no legs or pocket pres. whitmer or nebrich will atleast not take sacks every 4th snap.

 

[uconndogs]

probably right Dan

 

[businesslawyer]

if the line is going to be worse then last year then we can't play jmac. he has no legs or pocket pres. whitmer or nebrich will atleast not take sacks every 4th snap.

This. It is fine (aggravating in the first year, to be sure, but fine) to take a step back in order to take two or more steps forward. We have taken the steps back. Now we'll start to see.

 

[sdhusky]

This. It is fine (aggravating in the first year, to be sure, but fine) to take a step back in order to take two or more steps forward. We have taken the steps back. Now we'll start to see.

I found it to be aggravating to not have a passing attack, never finishing in the top 25 ever and routinely getting blown out by every good team we faced.

8-5 to 5-7 isn't that big of a step backwards.

 

[uconndogs]

I found it to be aggravating to not have a passing attack, never finishing in the top 25 ever and routinely getting blown out by every good team we faced.

8-5 to 5-7 isn't that big of a step backwards.

3 wins is 25% of a season and the difference between a bowl and not

and "routinely getting blown our by every good team we faced" is simply.........never mind

Look, you wanted a pro-style offense and its coming. You want more passing and its coming. But, you were one of the most avid posters stating that our offense could not get any worse than it was under Edsall and running the ball constantly. So last season proved that was inaccurate. And I will state this again, if our OL does not come around this season, we may long for last year's offense.

 

[businesslawyer]

I found it to be aggravating to not have a passing attack, never finishing in the top 25 ever and routinely getting blown out by every good team we faced.

8-5 to 5-7 isn't that big of a step backwards.

Whether 8-5 to 5-7 is a big step backwards or not is entirely an opinion and you are entitled to yours. I find that opinion to be utterly bizarre, but that's my opinion. I can't imagine this board thinking it would have been no big deal if we had taken that step back with Edsall.

That having been said, P is entitled to have last year judged as a step back towards a bigger goal, and he is entitled to time to see if he can achieve bigger goals.

 

[pj]

The line is crucial but we'll be so much better at the skill positions, it's hard to see the offense being worse unless the line has injuries. If they can just compete, the offense will be improved. Last year the line had better players but wasn't familiar with the system. Just having the extra year should enable them to be as good, maybe better.

 

[Palatine]

Last year is gone. IMO, it was a disaster. But it water under the bridge, over the damn and out to sea. Let it go.

This year, there is enough talent to stitch together a pretty decent offensive line. DeLeone has taken the reigns himself. That certainly indicates the staff thinks it is a priority.

But the grace period is over. Nothing less than a winning season will do. I fully expect to be headed to a bowl in December. If not, it is time to turn the heat on the hot seat to full.

 

[whaler11]

Saw some Big East futures from Vegas yesterday. There is zero support for UConn winning the league by that metric.

 

[businesslawyer]

But it water under the bridge, over the damn and out to sea. Let it go.

.

Sometimes, you just make it too easy. But I will let it go!

 

[mattp]

if we have another losing season, considering our schedule this year, i'll be extremely disappointed. this will probably be the weakest the BE has ever been, and the weakest it will be in the foreseeable future so i'll be pretty pissed if we're not in the hunt.

 

[businesslawyer]

Saw some Big East futures from Vegas yesterday. There is zero support for UConn winning the league by that metric.

Well, what were they?

 

[junglehusky]

Last year is gone. IMO, it was a disaster. But it water under the bridge, over the damn and out to sea. Let it go.

This year, there is enough talent to stitch together a pretty decent offensive line. DeLeone has taken the reigns himself. That certainly indicates the staff thinks it is a priority.

But the grace period is over. Nothing less than a winning season will do. I fully expect to be headed to a bowl in December. If not, it is time to turn the heat on the hot seat to full.

I think this is actually a fair assessment, though I imagine if we do miss out on bowl season plenty of fans will want to turn the hot seat from 10 to 11 ("fire his ass already") .

 

[joey3$trike$]

The biggest problem I have or "grave concern" is the center position. I know they brought this kid in from penn state but I didn't know that he never played Center ever. I mean Never! and he's the #1 guy. He has to make the o-line calls and not to mention snapping the ball. Would like to see how he does with a blitzing lb or 300 pd. dt over him. If you can't block the middle you can't run the ball. Think they will have to put a scrambling qb in there, cause he might be running for his life out there. Hope this kid can do it, I still can't believe a div.1 school has a 1st stringer who never played the position. Does anybody else think this is odd?

 

[Dann]

The biggest problem I have or "grave concern" is the center position. I know they brought this kid in from penn state but I didn't know that he never played Center ever. I mean Never! and he's the #1 guy. He has to make the o-line calls and not to mention snapping the ball. Would like to see how he does with a blitzing lb or 300 pd. dt over him. If you can't block the middle you can't run the ball. Think they will have to put a scrambling qb in there, cause he might be running for his life out there. Hope this kid can do it, I still can't believe a div.1 school has a 1st stringer who never played the position. Does anybody else think this is odd?

We lost a lot after our BCS bowl year including our coach and depth. it takes time to rebuild a roster.

 

[Palatine]

The biggest problem I have or "grave concern" is the center position. I know they brought this kid in from penn state but I didn't know that he never played Center ever. I mean Never! and he's the #1 guy. He has to make the o-line calls and not to mention snapping the ball. Would like to see how he does with a blitzing lb or 300 pd. dt over him. If you can't block the middle you can't run the ball. Think they will have to put a scrambling qb in there, cause he might be running for his life out there. Hope this kid can do it, I still can't believe a div.1 school has a 1st stringer who never played the position. Does anybody else think this is odd?

They put him ahead of a couple of guys who have played OC. It is reported he is still learning the shotgun snap but has done really well on everything else.

Besides, he's Canadian, Petrus was Canadian, I see a trend.

 

[whaler11]

5dimes. Offshore not vegas sorry

To win big east

Ville 180
Usf 300
Cinn 350
Rutgers 400
Pitt 500
Syracuse 1200
Uconn/Temple 1500

 

[businesslawyer]

The biggest problem I have or "grave concern" is the center position. I know they brought this kid in from penn state but I didn't know that he never played Center ever. I mean Never! and he's the #1 guy. He has to make the o-line calls and not to mention snapping the ball. Would like to see how he does with a blitzing lb or 300 pd. dt over him. If you can't block the middle you can't run the ball. Think they will have to put a scrambling qb in there, cause he might be running for his life out there. Hope this kid can do it, I still can't believe a div.1 school has a 1st stringer who never played the position. Does anybody else think this is odd?

No. Moe Petrus was a starting guard who had never played center. They moved him in the offseason after his freshman year. Offensive Linemen get moved from position to position all the time. Heck, Keith Gray was a defensive lineman when he started here, and he became our Center.