The View From Section 241

[sportsart]

Sports Art, just curious, what game did this shut up and follow directions event occur before? As far as quiting the offense did not seem to me to give up we are just incredibly inept mostly on the line. Once Cuse came out and established the run our D got it's faith in itself shaken. There were things going on with the D that looked like the effort was failing. Cuse exploited our weaknesses and it snowballed.

I was repeating the incident Fairfield County was reporting from a practice, not a game.

 

[businesslawyer]

Isn't it also the coaches job to motivate? No one on this board has any idea what the players are going through, we shouldn't assume that they just quit because that's how you viewed the game. This could be both on the coaches and players. I don't know how I would feel as a defensive player that gives leaves everything on the field only to have the offense stall after every three series. It must be frustrating for the whole team. I'm not about to call the kids quitters.

I will say this, Syracuse was all over the wildcat, it's not working, is that McCummings fault or coach p and GDL?

We had -6 yards rushing, is that LM's fault or coach P and GDL for not passing first when they stack 8 in the box?

You can't keep depending on the D to play stellar every game, how many times did the offense keep us in the game and bailed the defense?

Ultimately who are you going to blame, some 20 something year old kid who's still learning and going to class or the 60 year old coaches with 20 years of experience that should know better by now. BL, your defense of coach p on the cuse game is simply not valid.

Me "defending" Coach P is simply not a credible reading of what I'm saying. The opposite of not attacking him with a pitchfork for the players quitting is not defending him.

 

[B1GEast]

Me "defending" Coach P is simply not a credible reading of what I'm saying. The opposite of not attacking him with a pitchfork for the players quitting is not defending him.

BL, correct me if I'm wrong, your post absolved coach p of blame for this loss and you pinned it on the players for quitting. Am I missing something here?

 

[businesslawyer]

That was the worst performance by a UConn football team in terms of effort, in a long, long time. The only thing that comes close was in 2007, when we got smoked by WVU in the "BE Championship" game. At least then, you had a team that showed up hungry, was overwhelmed physically, and then simply couldn't muster up the effort to get them off the field. That was painful, hurt to the core, you felt it in your gut every time WVU scored again. What happened Friday was much worse. I watched that game with zero emotion. When we scored to make it 13-10, and the defense gave up a LONG drive for a TD I felt it was over. The second half began the same way. I felt nothing. I'd venture to say that many long time season ticket holders probably feel the same. There is no energy in or around this program. If what Sportsart is telling us is accurate and is the prevailing thought coming out of that locker room, we are in deep, deep **** barring a coaching a change.

The 2007 loss to WVU had little to do with effort. We simply got snowballed by what was, when Pat White was at 100%, was an unstopable offense. So did Oklahoma.

 

[ZooCougar]

Me "defending" Coach P is simply not a credible reading of what I'm saying. The opposite of not attacking him with a pitchfork for the players quitting is not defending him.

With respect, I would say that alot of the players feel they are past the point that a reasonable person would demand that they go 110% for a strategy and philosophy that has failed. Not to mention that they have adult leaders that they have lost respect for.

 

[Srqhusky]

It's lack of wins guys everybody's down. Too much negative energy neon released. We need a win badly, even better would be a streak. Hopefully those that quit will look at the week off as a time to recoup mentally and physically and play hard and beat USF.

 

[jdb50]

Thanks, S Florida gave L-Ville quite a game, we will need a great effort to hang with them and it is going to be back on the D to lead the way effort wise. The decline in our return game for both punt and kickoff is another area that is a disturbing trend.

 

[ktuck911]

I was slow in getting to this because I just didn't know what to say. It took me 48 hours to decide. But here goes. Until Friday night, we were an extremely disappointing 3-4, but we had every chance to win three of those four losses and the team, while disappointing, and full of flaws, was not overall terrible. Friday night changed that. Friday night was humilating. Friday night was ridiculous. Friday night was not something that you can come back from this season. Syracuse had beaten 1 I-A team -- 1 -- in their last twelve or so games. We had beaten them five straight times, and very few of those five were close. Heck -- we even beat them last year by manning up and running the ball down their throats in a year where they started strong and we struggled out of the gate. But if one thing was clear on Friday night, there was no manning up coming from the UConn sideline. None.

I don't know what happened to the D, but it obviously didn't recover from the Temple game. Lost faith in the coaches? Just flat after great efforts on their part didn't produce wins and culminated with losing at home against Temple? Mad about playing their butts off and not producing wins? Who knows. But they came out with no intensity, no emotion, and if there was a good game plan I didn't see it. Frankly, they just looked like they quit. Is that the way our D is going to be the rest of the way? Is it something they recover from after the break? I don't know. But they didn't care, and they quit. I am not getting into the coaching, and certainly not saying anything positive about it, but the coaching didn't change from the entire season to Friday night -- only the players efforts did. We got blown out because of the players. Period. On O, we remained pitiful, doing things and not doing things that we'll never understand, but that has been all year. Nice to see Whitmer throw the ball well. Hard to find anything else worth saying.

So, the bottom line is that getting to a bowl will require a remarkable turnaround that we are probably not capable of. Just winning a game will take reverting to pre-Syracuse effort and hoping some other team turns it over enough that we can squeak out a win. And then see what the offseason should and does bring us. I feel badly that Adam Masters will end a solid career in street clothes. But this senior class needs to stop worrying about the coaching and play with pride. Not one of us will get through life without playing for a coach, or working for a boss, who you lose faith in generally or as to something. You grit your teeth and work through it the best you can. You don't throw in the towel and quit on your school, your team and yourself. We have a team whose arms are sore from throwing in the towel. Time to look in the mirror instead and decide whether or not you want to look back at this season when you're more mature and wonder why you didn't work harder to overcome the stuff you can't control.

Excellent post bro, but the only gripe (if that) I have with it is that I understand that the players need to be held accountable, but one thing we all have to keep in mind is that their still kids, no matter how big and strong they are... Physically, they're men, but mentally, their all still being molded. Which is why you gotta look at the top, the coaches... from the looks of things, Coach P doesn't seem to be too good at motivating his players.. Where's the fire? It'd be nice to see him show some sort of emotion on the sidelines, whether we're winning, or losing... Get in a kids face... Huddle a unit around him and strike a match under their butts... Something... This team severely lacks desire...

 

[businesslawyer]

BL, correct me if I'm wrong, your post absolved coach p of blame for this loss and you pinned it on the players for quitting. Am I missing something here?

This team is not as good as it should be because the coaching isn't good enough. But that explains losing to Syracuse -- not getting blown out. Is the leadership of this coaching regime insufficient? Probably (although I'm a little reluctant to draw conclusions like that from a snippet here and there). But the coaching being not good enough, and the coaching leadership being not good enough, does not excuse the Defense from not showing up. And if you think they showed up and just coaching held them back, you have forgotten how they played against UMass and NC State and Maryland and Rutgers and Temple (for 58 minutes).

And, at least give me credit for what I've been saying here for close to a decade -- for the most part, players win and lose games. Coaches are responsible for the outcome of the season and the direction of the program, but with rare exceptions for dumb game day decisions (like Vanderbilt, thought I know others disagree) players, and not coaches, win or lose games.

 

[businesslawyer]

And I want you to know that I was just kidding about you lighting yourself on fire at mid-field!!! Don't do it.

I can see Carl lighting himself on fire at mid-field. But anyone who thinks that he will do so to communicate a slogan of just a few words isn't paying attention. More likely, the on-field message will be "read the report taped to the buttom of your chair."

 

[businesslawyer]

With respect, I would say that alot of the players feel they are past the point that a reasonable person would demand that they go 110% for a strategy and philosophy that has failed. Not to mention that they have adult leaders that they have lost respect for.

You think it's rare that I'm trying to help a client who I lose respect for and won't listen to me on direction? What do you do -- you grit your teeth, you tell your spouse how unpleasant the deal is and you do the best job you can do under the circumstances because you have pride in what you do and who you are.

Do I expect 20 year olds to be as mature as I am? Of course not. But them trying to get there is supposed to be a good deal of the point of playing sports in college.

 

[ZooCougar]

You think it's rare that I'm trying to help a client who I lose respect for and won't listen to me on direction? What do you do -- you grit your teeth, you tell your spouse how unpleasant the deal is and you do the best job you can do under the circumstances because you have pride in what you do and who you are.

Do I expect 20 year olds to be as mature as I am? Of course not. But them trying to get there is supposed to be a good deal of the point of playing sports in college.

BL,

I've been there too. But handling an account and scoring touchdowns are not apples to apples.

In a toxic leadership environment, even the easy and routine become a chore.

 

[businesslawyer]

BL,

I've been there too. But handling an account and scoring touchdowns are not apples to apples.

In a toxic leadership environment, even the easy and routine become a chore.

Of course it becomes a chore. Boys can play well when it's fun. Men play well even when it becomes a chore.

I don't think we're disagreeing about much, except once whether you tar and feather the coaches you give the players a free pass. I am not. You are free to disagree.

 

[ZooCougar]

Of course it becomes a chore. Boys can play well when it's fun. Men play well even when it becomes a chore.

I don't think we're disagreeing about much, except once whether you tar and feather the coaches you give the players a free pass. I am not. You are free to disagree.

I don't give them a free pass. But I can sympathize, because I have been in their boat.

 

[businesslawyer]

I don't give them a free pass. But I can sympathize, because I have been in their boat.

I sympathize that they are in the position they are in. But that does not excuse not going out and trying to overcome it.

 

[ZooCougar]

I sympathize that they are in the position they are in. But that does not excuse not going out and trying to overcome it.

Don't you think that they have been kinda doing that up until Friday night?

 

[sportsart]

You think it's rare that I'm trying to help a client who I lose respect for and won't listen to me on direction? What do you do -- you grit your teeth, you tell your spouse how unpleasant the deal is and you do the best job you can do under the circumstances because you have pride in what you do and who you are.

Do I expect 20 year olds to be as mature as I am? Of course not. But them trying to get there is supposed to be a good deal of the point of playing sports in college.

Next time you lose respect for a client just tell them they need to pay you double. Coaches aren't paying the players.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Of course it becomes a chore. Boys can play well when it's fun. Men play well even when it becomes a chore.

I don't think we're disagreeing about much, except once whether you tar and feather the coaches you give the players a free pass. I am not. You are free to disagree.

I agree with this, but from a different point of view. Each one of these guys needs to reflect on whether or not they are even good enough to have played at most BCS programs. Did they even have offers from anyone of the BCS programs? Who was their next best option - Harvard?, New Hampshire? Kent State? Stony Brook?

I do think that other than a handful of players (#s 5, 7, 94, and possibly 3,89 and 48) most are interchangeable with UMaine, James Madison, and other CAA's talent. Disagree? And I would hope to heck that the UConn team does. Then its really quite simple. . . show it on the field. Win the USF game on the road. Beat the stuffing out of Pitt. Upset Louisville or Cincy or both. Prove that you belong at this level.

 

[noeynox]

With our Oline, that USF game is going to be a bear. They're front seven is athletic as heck and their front four gets after it. I hope I'm wrong, but Im not feeling too good about that match up.

 

[B1GEast]

This team is not as good as it should be because the coaching isn't good enough. But that explains losing to Syracuse -- not getting blown out. Is the leadership of this coaching regime insufficient? Probably (although I'm a little reluctant to draw conclusions like that from a snippet here and there). But the coaching being not good enough, and the coaching leadership being not good enough, does not excuse the Defense from not showing up. And if you think they showed up and just coaching held them back, you have forgotten how they played against UMass and NC State and Maryland and Rutgers and Temple (for 58 minutes).

And, at least give me credit for what I've been saying here for close to a decade -- for the most part, players win and lose games. Coaches are responsible for the outcome of the season and the direction of the program, but with rare exceptions for dumb game day decisions (like Vanderbilt, thought I know others disagree) players, and not coaches, win or lose games.

Professional players that get huge salaries and signing bonuses win or loss games, 20 something student athletes that have a priority of going to class first get a pass in my book. Although your angle is off a bit, I get what you are saying.

 

[businesslawyer]

Don't you think that they have been kinda doing that up until Friday night?

Absolutely. I did not question their effort as players prior to Friday night. They kept falling one play short, but I did not question their effort.

 

[ZooCougar]

Absolutely. I did not question their effort as players prior to Friday night. They kept falling one play short, but I did not question their effort.

I agree, but I think their tanks are empty.

 

[pj]

I can see Carl lighting himself on fire at mid-field. But anyone who thinks that he will do so to communicate a slogan of just a few words isn't paying attention. More likely, the on-field message will be "read the report taped to the buttom of your chair."

"Read the treatise on the 16 GB memory key taped to the bottom of your chair."

 

[noeynox]

I really like P, but it is hard for anyone, players included to continue to believe in him when he offers quotes like the following:

"“One of the things that we really have to take a very good look at is running the ball,” Pasqualoni said. ‘We have not been able to run the ball, especially in the past two weeks which is frustrating for us. We’ve gotten behind, been in a situation two weeks in a row now where we felt like we had to throw the ball to get back into the game and that puts a lot of pressure on the protection which we have to do a better job with and puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback to make every single play".

Did he honestly forget that we led Temple the entire way? That we built up a 14 point lead in the first quarter on the strength of the passing game. I agree with him that the running has been terrible, but when says something so inaccurate and comes off as clueless through the media, what could he be saying to the players in the locker room. You could only hear stories about McNabb and Freeney so many times before it loses its effectiveness.

 

[Waquoit]

Does anyone think we'd have seen Friday's effort if Lutrus was still on the team? Or Dan Davis, or Fincher?

Yes.