A Pivotal Play - Self Destruction at Navy

[Kgun7]

The last play of this game was obviously one of the most controversial play calls of UCONN's short history at the D1A/FBS level. The amount of second guessing, finger pointing, and conspiracy theories being bantered about by media, board members, and Diaco himself are pretty staggering ... and for good reason.

However, upon my further review, I question whether the final timeout ever needed to be called at all. It seems by the evidence that I reviewed ... I still can't find a logical reason for why the timeout needed to be taken.

 

[Kgun7]

#1 - Ron Johnson's 3rd quarter TD - Crozier initially grasps the football with 8 seconds on the play clock and the ball is snapped with 5 seconds left on the play clock.

 

[Kgun7]

#2 - Mayala 9 yard completion - Crozier initially grasps the football with 5 seconds on the play clock and the ball is snapped with 1 second left on the play clock. A little too close for comfort ... but the precedent is set.

 

[Kgun7]

#3 - 2nd & goal at the Navy 1 - Crozier grasps the ball with 7 seconds on the play clock (sorry for the lousy pixelation).

 

[Kgun7]

#4 - Shirreffs looks up at the play clock with 6 seconds left and is not flustered or rushing ...

 

[Kgun7]

#5 - The timeout is called by the UCONN bench with 5 seconds left on the play clock ... Shirreffs immediately shows his frustration and can be seen yelling toward the bench as he makes his way to the sideline.

 

[Kgun7]

#6 - So after the timeout and the long review of Mayala's catch ... the only difference in formation was Allmendinger in the backfield instead of the 3 TE set that they just showed.

 

[Kgun7]

#7 - Navy sells out to stop the run ...

 

[Kgun7]

#8 - Johnson is swarmed ...

 

[Kgun7]

#9 - Navy plays pig pile ... can you blame them???

 

[Kgun7]

Conclusion - There was no confusion in the play call. There was no delay in getting the play in. There was no struggle to get lined up. And finally ... there was no doubt that Shirreffs was going to get that ball snapped without a delay of game penalty.

It can't be overstated ... Shirreffs was going to get that ball snapped with no danger of a delay of game. Say what you want about his arm strength or pocket awareness. Shirreffs is, without a doubt, an excellent game manager who had no doubt that he was going to hand the ball off to Ron Johnson at the goal line ... with a TO in his back pocket. That back shoulder pass to Mayala at the goal line was NFL quality.

So why the timeout? The decision to run did not change. The formation barely changed. What materialistically changed before and after the time out? Pretty ... much ... nothing ...

I can only fathom that Diaco freaked because he saw something he didn't like. Maybe because he did not see Allmendinger in the game? Maybe he wanted to second-guess the play call? Maybe he was an early riser and liked to pack in the morning? And maybe he didn't have any friends? I'm an educated man, but I'm afraid I can't speak intelligently about the time out habits of Bob Diaco.

My opinion: the entire team and most of the coaching staff did everything they needed to do to put this team in a position to win ...

 

[Kgun7]

Epilogue - I would have loved to see this continue into the postgame ....

 

[JMick]

No excuse to call that timeout, and especially no excuse to go back to the run with zero timeouts left.

 

[Dooley]

I ' LOVE these threads Kgun. Well done, as usual. And you're right, there was absolutely no danger of not getting the ball snapped on time. I was watching the game with a bunch of Syracuse fans and they had a great time mocking the poor clock management.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

Excellent breakdown as always, and equally great Few good men reference (and well used...not just thrown in).

It would have made more sense to just run the play and get stuffed for a loss of a yard, or spike the ball, than to use the timeout there.

This doesn't even take into account the next play.

Im trying so very hard to keep things in perspective. Trying to keep in mind that the kids look better than we have had in years. That we have a QB who can play, That we are out-recruiting real colleges now. That we had a chance to win a game that could have easily have been lost by 40, given the first quarter...

But it's hard to make excuses for that last play.

 

[noeynox]

Tremendous breakdown @Kgun7 .

 

[Dooley]

I had some back-and-forth with @UConn07 (Matt) over Twitter and he said that the play clock inside the stadium and the play clock on the telecast were not aligned. Inside the stadium, the play clock read 1 second. If that was the case, then I retract my disgust over using the timeout.

ThisIsUConnCountry ‏@MattSchonvisky 18m18 minutes ago
@DooleyMcStitch yea, it was definitely at 1 inside stadium. Should play gotten off prior? absolutely, but at that point he had to take it

 

[L Train]

Maybe he was an early riser and liked to pack in the morning? And maybe he didn't have any friends? I'm an educated man, but I'm afraid I can't speak intelligently about the time out habits of Bob Diaco.

This really gave me a good laugh -- which I needed after yesterday. Nice job.

 

[Kgun7]

I had some back-and-forth with @UConn07 (Matt) over Twitter and he said that the play clock inside the stadium and the play clock on the telecast were not aligned. Inside the stadium, the play clock read 1 second. If that was the case, then I retract my disgust over using the timeout.

ThisIsUConnCountry ‏@MattSchonvisky 18m18 minutes ago
@DooleyMcStitch yea, it was definitely at 1 inside stadium. Should play gotten off prior? absolutely, but at that point he had to take it

The only evidence I have is that Shirreffs was not flustered or rushed after clearly looking up at the play clock in the stadium. He has been very composed up till now at managing the play clock and snap count. I hate to admit but I put more faith in his judgement than the coaching staff.

 

[Carl Spackler]

This is another offensive sequence I never want to see again.

 

[UConnJim]

Diaco is a defensive guy and he seems to have delegated the offense to Verducci during the game, but I wonder if Diaco becomes more involved in the offense at critical times. I wonder if this creates communication problems and indecisiveness.

On many teams, the HC is the offensive leader and he can run the offense at key times. This seems like something Diaco needs to work out.

 

[31GuardTrap]

Re-watched the 4th quarter last night to confirm my in person thinking at the game. I like torture, what can I say.
After the Johnson fumble and recovery, they took forever to get the play call in and burned a timeout. Momentum killed on that drive, FG good. 1 less TO to use in the 4 minute.

Love the breakdowns Kgun uses.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

I had some back-and-forth with @UConn07 (Matt) over Twitter and he said that the play clock inside the stadium and the play clock on the telecast were not aligned. Inside the stadium, the play clock read 1 second. If that was the case, then I retract my disgust over using the timeout.

ThisIsUConnCountry ‏@MattSchonvisky 18m18 minutes ago
@DooleyMcStitch yea, it was definitely at 1 inside stadium. Should play gotten off prior? absolutely, but at that point he had to take it

No, no, no! Even if it is at 1 second. Which is worse in the situation: loss of 5 yards or loss of your final timeout? While that can be reasonably debated....what is the rationale that explains calling a run play affter you just blew/used your last time out?

You are being too kind to Bobby D.

 

[Palatine]

Diaco paniced.

The team was ready to go.

 

[Excalibur]

I had some back-and-forth with @UConn07 (Matt) over Twitter and he said that the play clock inside the stadium and the play clock on the telecast were not aligned. Inside the stadium, the play clock read 1 second. If that was the case, then I retract my disgust over using the timeout.

ThisIsUConnCountry ‏@MattSchonvisky 18m18 minutes ago
@DooleyMcStitch yea, it was definitely at 1 inside stadium. Should play gotten off prior? absolutely, but at that point he had to take it

This is easy enough to solve. Just watch the replay and time :40 from the previous play.