2014 Expectations?

[freescooter]

You really have to divorce yourself from last years' results.

Me? Hey we beat Memphis, and Temple. Army hasn't been a good team since Kennedy was in the White House. USF is in many ways in the same boat we are. That loss last year was awful. SMU was not that good and lost their top 2 offensive players. We should never lose to 1AA programs, but even at that Stony Brook is no Towson. Even Pasqualoni's teams pulled off a couple of upsets. Realistically, we could look at another 3 win season and still be a better team, or reach 7, which I think is about the ceiling. If we lose to Stony Brook and Army, though I will be pretty disappointed.

 

[Afroabe224]

Call me an "Unrealistic Thinker" but my gut is saying Diaco blows expectations away this season.

8-4 with a signature win over one of the following: BYU/Boise/UCF/Cincy

 

[Husky25]

Me? Hey we beat Memphis, and Temple. Army hasn't been a good team since Kennedy was in the White House. USF is in many ways in the same boat we are. That loss last year was awful. SMU was not that good and lost their top 2 offensive players. We should never lose to 1AA programs, but even at that Stony Brook is no Towson. Even Pasqualoni's teams pulled off a couple of upsets. Realistically, we could look at another 3 win season and still be a better team, or reach 7, which I think is about the ceiling. If we lose to Stony Brook and Army, though I will be pretty disappointed.

No, not you necessarily. Fans do. There is only one coaching holdover from last year and he is coaching a woefully inexperienced offensive line. New staff. New drills. New plays. New diets. New conditioning. I can't wait for Saturday for my first glimpse and come late August, we got 8 tickets on the 30 yard line.

 

[Carl Spackler]

No, not you necessarily. Fans do. There is only one coaching holdover from last year and he is coaching a woefully inexperienced offensive line. New staff. New drills. New plays. New diets. New conditioning. I can't wait for Saturday for my first glimpse and come late August, we got 8 tickets on the 30 yard line.

There are always positive and negatives. We are a young team, with new coaches. Those two things invariably lead to mistakes happening. THe positive, is that there is a TON of room to grow and improve. Spring practice will be over this weekend. THe players I don't think return to organized team functions until end of June or so I think - when the rookies show up. Upperclassmen will be in a little later - that's usually how it works. Then summer sessions into fall camp.

How those guys have come together in the past few weeks, and how they remain together and push each other to get physically and mentally better over the next few weeks will go a long way to determining if we've got a team that can face adversity, overcome it, and win come fall.

I hope they have really taken everything that's been fed them over the past few weeks to heart and can use it. Diaco, by what I can tell, has assembled a coaching staff that is actually of the modern era and can relate to how kids motivate and become a team.

I guess what I'm saying, is that the way that youth and newness problem gets turned into a positive that helps us win games in the fall - happens now in the next several weeks up to fall camp, when the players are on their own. I guarantee that the installs for offensive, defensive, and kicking game football that we will use have been given to them. It's up to them to run, lift, and practice it.

 

[Husky25]

There are always positive and negatives. We are a young team, with new coaches. Those two things invariably lead to mistakes happening. THe positive, is that there is a TON of room to grow and improve. Spring practice will be over this weekend. THe players I don't think return to organized team functions until end of June or so I think - when the rookies show up. Upperclassmen will be in a little later - that's usually how it works. Then summer sessions into fall camp.

How those guys have come together in the past few weeks, and how they remain together and push each other to get physically and mentally better over the next few weeks will go a long way to determining if we've got a team that can face adversity, overcome it, and win come fall.

I hope they have really taken everything that's been fed them over the past few weeks to heart and can use it. Diaco, by what I can tell, has assembled a coaching staff that is actually of the modern era and can relate to how kids motivate and become a team.

I guess what I'm saying, is that the way that youth and newness problem gets turned into a positive that helps us win games in the fall - happens now in the next several weeks up to fall camp, when the players are on their own. I guarantee that the installs for offensive, defensive, and kicking game football that we will use have been given to them. It's up to them to run, lift, and practice it.

I can't disagree one iota.

 

[ZooCougar]

7-5. This season we will have a pretty good offense with a somewhat experienced QB, complemented by good athletes at WR.

The defense may be the issue...

 

[Carl Spackler]

7-5. This season we will have a pretty good offense with a somewhat experienced QB, complemented by good athletes at WR.

The defense may be the issue...

Really? I don't think so. Depth isn't really a problem on defense - especially if they are going to switch to a more linebacker oriented front 7. Of the DL's we've got coming back, we've got a bunch of pretty strong run first defenders. The question on D I think - is where the pass rush is going to come from - I wonder how fast our LB's are and if we've got the speed to generate a pass rush out of the second level. Most of our DB's are coming back, with experience. Losing Taylor Mack to graduation I think, is going to be more difficult to address and replace than losing Stephen and Smallwood up front. Somebody is going to have to step up and do what that senior role Taylor Mack did for the team, and they'll have to be a younger player. We'll need a younger player to step up and be a leader on the backside of the D. But DIaco strikes me as a guy, that probably has already addressed that.

I think the 2014 squad goes as far as the OL can go when it comes to actual talent level/athleticism. That may be issue.......

I think that If the OL can gel as a unit, and they have any sort of speed and ability, we have a lot of potential. If they're overmatched up front with our competition on the schedule - even if they do manage to play well as a unit - we're in trouble and will struggle to win games. But if they can play with our competition, and control the LOS more than they lose it - with Cochran under center, our receiving group, and a backfield that once again, will have more than one potential threats to go to with the ball, we have the potential to actually have a full offense, something we haven't seen since 2004-2005.

The biggest question mark - aside from the OL - when it comes to talent level, is the same we had last year and the year before - and that's who's catching and returning kicks and punts. That part of the game, was a huge contributor to our success in the past.

The goal I think, is to have a very good home winning record and be in position to be going bowling, and hopefully a conference championship come November.

 

[ktuck911]

If Diaco is as good of a coach as Randy Edsall then 6 wins is very doable (even P won 5 twice), if he is a better coach than Edsall more wins are very possible. I personally think we are very talented at QB, WR and RB and should be able to move the ball. If offensive line is a problem then put Casey at QB, problem solved. Actually, put Casey at QB if the OL is good too.

The biggest question mark in my opinion is the 3/4 defense. Can the players be productive in it and if they are not will Diaco stick with it or switch to a 4/3.

The team's improved strength and conditioning and Diaco's personality and experienced staff have me very hopeful for a great season. On paper the schedule, while solid, is not nearly as difficult as last year.

this...

 

[ktuck911]

So you have us winning just one home game? Geez, give us the Temple game at least.

Like you mentioned before bro.. if he's as good as Edsall we should see 6 Ws, but if he's better, and the way he comes across, he makes you think perfecting things in practice ( unlike Coach P... it CLEARLY showed in live game action, IMO< we accepted mistakes )... we should see at least 7..

 

[metsfan2323]

How good is Cochran, by the way?

His freshman stats are slightly better than Peyton Manning's freshman stats, but i'm not predicting a Heisman for this year.

 

[uconndogs]

Not my official prediction.....

Folks had better get it through their heads that we will be getting better than a TD against BYU and Boise. Could be a TD and a FG. We will bring a young OL and LBs and new coaching staff and systems against well run programs and mature kids. If we start 3-0, Diaco may very beVince Lombardi reincarnated.

We need to see progress throughout the season. I am hoping for two things. First, a bowl invite. Second, fan participation and attendance. The hope is we go into 2015 with plenty of momentum.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

With the two mummies gone, the team got better almost immediately. Those two were spectacularly incompetent, and Weist looked like Knute Rockne by comparison. With a full offseason to work with, Diaco has no excuse for not continuing the performance of the last 3 games. There is talent on this team.

Not losing to teams that suck will be a huge improvement. Stony Brook, Tulane, Temple, Army and Memphis are bad teams that UConn should have no problem beating. South Florida is probably only a hair better, but that is a road game. Still, that should be 6 wins right there. UCF, BYU and Boise are very good, but those games are at home, and Bortles is gone from UCF. I expect all 3 to be losses, but a win is not out of the question. SMU and Cincinnati at the Rent, and ECU one the road are the swing games. Cincinnati will be tough to beat, but it is a home game. I feel better about a Texas team coming to East Hartford in December. It is hard to assess how good ECU is.

7-5 is OK, 6-6 is a disappointment, because that means Diaco did not swing a single questionable game to a W.

 

[Bootsthemonkey]

My expectations are:

- Avoid predictable and conservative play calling on offense.
- Minimize turnovers.
- Sound tackling on defense.
- Aggressive, pressure defense
- Avoid unnecessary, drive killing penalties (off sides, illegal subs, too many on the field, holding away from the play - I'm ok with holding if you have to do it to prevent your QB from getting his head taken off).
- Energy from start to finish. No coming out lethargic and digging a 20 point hole to climb out of.

Do all that and I think 8-9 wins is feasible.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

I think a new coaching staff will invigorate the team. Having some experience at QB can't hurt. O-line is a huge question mark, but when isn't it? Finally, our schedule will be a bit easier this year than last year, both OOC and in conference. So my expectations would be:

6 wins/bowl game: Solid, not super thrilled, but decent progress
7 wins: Excellent progress, doing a really good job, excited for future
8+: Totally awesome.

 

[Sportsman5]

7-5. This season we will have a pretty good offense with a somewhat experienced QB, complemented by good athletes at WR.

The defense may be the issue...

this sums it up.

 

[Husky25]

Offensive production begins with the Big Uglies in the trench. With only 1, maybe 2, returning offensive linemen with significant experience, it may end there as well.

The difference between this year and last year are the leaders of the pack. Even one adjustment to the gameplan that puts this team in a better position to succeed is literally an infinite improvement (can't by zero) in coaching performance than the last 28 out of 36 games.

 

[amory]

Does 6 wins even get us into a bowl game anymore? I thought I remembered hearing that because the AAC doesn't have many bowls associated with it, we have to win more than 6 to get into one.

 

[hexlub]

 

[SonsOfNutmeg]

I really have no idea what to expect this season. From a branding stance, i love Diaco and what he's done and doing with our program, so I think a 6 win/low bowl season would be a good season for 2014.

I say we beat BYU for the season opener, Stony Brook, and then lose against Bosie to start off the season. I'm saying 6-6 is a good season.

 

[john2153]

Does 6 wins even get us into a bowl game anymore? I thought I remembered hearing that because the AAC doesn't have many bowls associated with it, we have to win more than 6 to get into one.

There are gonna be like 40 bowls next season.....it would be shocking if we went 6-6 and got left out.

 

[Doggie Style]

My expectations are : I want a QB to establish himself early and leave NO doubt he is the leader of this team. I also want to see the O-line work as a unit and get progressively better throughout the season. I want Davis to be Davis, I want Shaq to finally show us something and I want a TE to emerge right out of the gates. I have no expectations for our running game so ANYTHING will be positive as I see it. I want our D to get back to our "were gonna knock your head off" days, and Lastly.... 6-6 is a minimum expectation for this season!!!

 

[HomeKing93]

6 wins and the Miami Beach Bowl wouldn't be too bad. OK, I just want an excuse to go to Miami in December.

 

[whaler11]

Really hard to say without knowing what happens on the offensive line.

Make a bowl good season. 7 I think is a realistic upside situation. 8 would be awfully good.

 

[weyuo]

All you can ask for this year is they make it to a bowl game. 2015 a good year is playing in the conference championship game and winning their bowl game.

 

[whaler11]

His freshman stats are slightly better than Peyton Manning's freshman stats, but i'm not predicting a Heisman for this year.

I'm pretty sure Manning didn't get Temple, Rutgers, Memphis.

And as scary as Rutgers sounds they were 120th against the pass last year.