there has been a lot of disapointment this yr & let's forget about coaches & realignement for now. let's try to find a silver lining. is there anyone or any facet of the offense, defense or special teams that anybody is looking forward to next season. i can't wait to see what cochran can bring to the table or maybe the kid from texas lagow.
Any Curiosity or Anything Positive For Next Years TEAM
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You'd have to believe having a QB who has started a few BCS games coming back should help. McCombs, Philips, Geremy Davis, Yawin Smallwood are all returning and should be even better. Though we're going to miss the out of Ryan Griffin, Blidi Wreh-Wilson, Dwayne Gratz, and Sio Moore.
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Don't forget Trevardo and Jory. I know I'll be excited in July, but right now I just can't imagine the idea of PP coaching UConn next year.
Are some people thinking that Chandler will lose out to Cochran and Lagow? Haven't we learned? First Frazier was better. Then Endres. Then Box. Then Nebrich. Then Mac. Then Whitmer. Then Mac again. Then Whitmer again. Now Cochran and Lagow.
Are some people thinking that Chandler will lose out to Cochran and Lagow? Haven't we learned? First Frazier was better. Then Endres. Then Box. Then Nebrich. Then Mac. Then Whitmer. Then Mac again. Then Whitmer again. Now Cochran and Lagow.
FfldCntyFan
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If a couple of guys that we've seen on defense throughout this past season can step up into new (or starting) spots, we should still be pretty stout on defense.
TE aside (where we are losing a ton of talent) we should be far better (due to added experience that comes with time) at the offensive skill positions. Our OL will be a question mark but it wouldn't be illogical to believe that we should be better and deeper at center and both guard spots (even with the loss of Masters) due to more time in the new blocking schemes and a couple of youngsters getting older and (hopefully) bigger.
As always, I will support the team, show up to all games and hope for the best but until the regime changes I will have little reason to believe that things will get much better than perhaps a minor bowl in a good year.
TE aside (where we are losing a ton of talent) we should be far better (due to added experience that comes with time) at the offensive skill positions. Our OL will be a question mark but it wouldn't be illogical to believe that we should be better and deeper at center and both guard spots (even with the loss of Masters) due to more time in the new blocking schemes and a couple of youngsters getting older and (hopefully) bigger.
As always, I will support the team, show up to all games and hope for the best but until the regime changes I will have little reason to believe that things will get much better than perhaps a minor bowl in a good year.
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We can only hope that the O improves significantly and Don Brown finds a way to keep the D solid. However, without a new OC, significant offensive improvement is unlikely. And with the personnel losses on D, Brown's job will be difficult.
Dooley
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Silver linings:
1) the wins against Pitt and UL showed that the team, who was well on its way to a 3-9 season, can find a little intestinal fortitude. But, as BL pointed out in his view from section 241, the team failed to rally and win a game when they were trailing in the second half. AND, we saw this similar seasonal pattern (lose early in the season, win a few to make the last game of the year against Cincinnati mean something, then lose to UC) before.
2) the passing game showed improvement over the course of the season. Specifically, I liked what I saw out of G Davis and C Whitmer's toughness. Of course, if Whitmer has another concussion (two in two weeks), I worry about his long-term health.
3) we will still have Y Smallwood. This young man will be the anchor of our 2013 D and took more of a leadership role with the team this year in preparation for next year.
4) we should see two sellouts next season when Maryland and Michigan come to town (although I'm afraid that Michigan will have a TON of maize and blue in our stadium). Hopefully, the excitement leading up to those games will fire our kids up to win one of those games.
Of course, the silver linings are overshadowed by the very dark clouds hovering over our program right now (coaching situation, rapidly declining attendance, losing half of our D, our putrid OL, conference realignment, etc).
1) the wins against Pitt and UL showed that the team, who was well on its way to a 3-9 season, can find a little intestinal fortitude. But, as BL pointed out in his view from section 241, the team failed to rally and win a game when they were trailing in the second half. AND, we saw this similar seasonal pattern (lose early in the season, win a few to make the last game of the year against Cincinnati mean something, then lose to UC) before.
2) the passing game showed improvement over the course of the season. Specifically, I liked what I saw out of G Davis and C Whitmer's toughness. Of course, if Whitmer has another concussion (two in two weeks), I worry about his long-term health.
3) we will still have Y Smallwood. This young man will be the anchor of our 2013 D and took more of a leadership role with the team this year in preparation for next year.
4) we should see two sellouts next season when Maryland and Michigan come to town (although I'm afraid that Michigan will have a TON of maize and blue in our stadium). Hopefully, the excitement leading up to those games will fire our kids up to win one of those games.
Of course, the silver linings are overshadowed by the very dark clouds hovering over our program right now (coaching situation, rapidly declining attendance, losing half of our D, our putrid OL, conference realignment, etc).
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The D will remain solid.. no doubts in my mind... It's just gonna be kinda weird not having Blidi and Gratz manning the CB spots.. You gotta figure Byron Jones will be moved to one corner spot with the other side up for grabs... Not sold on our 5'9/5'8 back ups ( Mack & Stevenson ). One other thing we'll have to figure out is how to replace that speed off the edge Trevardo provided...
UConnDan97
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I really appreciate Emshorts's sentiment here, so I am going to try my best to break down what I see for next year in terms of positives (obviously, this is all just my own opinion):
Offense:
1) Running Back - I don't see this being hugely different than it is right now, except for if the OLine improves. McCombs will be one year stronger and one year more experienced. The same goes for DeLorenzo, Hyppolite, and Joe Williams, where hopefully one of them will emerge as a solid backup choice if not better. Marriner comes in next year and will hopefully show his stuff. He will be young, so not much should be expected, but he's having a heck of a high school campaign. Overall, this area should improve, if only ever so slightly.
2) Offensive Line - I believe that this area will improve as well. Whether it's through the experience factor, or simply through a change of OLine Coach (I'll discuss that at another time in another thread), I believe that this unit will progress next year. Friend, Greene, Bullock, Mateas, and Cruz should all be better. Bennett is likely going to petition for a 6th year, due to all of his medical hardships, and that could be a very good sign as well. Samra, Rugg, Gifford, Bockeloh, and Levy will be one year bigger and better as well, so we should have some added depth to the line. This area should see a fair amount of improvement (if God hears my prayers), either through growth in the system or a return to our former system (you all know what I'm talking about).
3) Wide Receivers - There is talent here, and the majority is coming back. We lose Nick Williams who is versatile and fast, but who has also demonstrated that he has a difficult time bringing the ball in. We also lose Mike Smith, who has reliable hands but didn't have the "breakout" year that I thought he would. We return Phillips and Davis; the two receivers who I thought showed the most promise, and that's a good thing. We should see some more from Tebucky Jones and Ricky Gutierrez next year, and we may even get some early contributions from newcomer Dhameer Bradley or Noel Thomas, two talented receiver recruits. Overall, this unit should improve slightly to moderately.
4) Tight Ends - We're gonna take a hit here; there is just no way around it. You cannot lose two guys like Griffin and Delahunt and expect to be the same. The key people in this area will be McQuillan and Shortell. The question will be not just if they have the good hands that their predecessors had, but can they also help in the blocking the way that their predecessors did. Hopefully, the offensive line won't require as much help next year as they did this year; IMO a big factor in why the TE's weren't a bigger factor this year. This unit will likely show a drop in production moderately.
5) QB - Chandler will be one year better and one year smarter. I think that it should lead to a noticeable change in the TD to turnover ratios, and I believe that his QB rating will stay north of 120 if not better. Couple in the fact that Cochran has spent a year learning the system, and newcomer Lagow is on the way from Texas, and there should be a fair amount of competence here. McCummings will return also, primarily for the God-forsaken "wildcat" package. It's not a slight on the young man, since I think he is a superb athlete and I really wish they would involve him in either the pure run game or perhaps a slot receiver type deal. I think getting him the ball in open space can't be a bad thing. This unit should almost certainly improve.
Defense:
1) Defensive Line - We are going to lose a great one in Trevardo Williams. We are going to lose a really good one in Wirth. Joseph and Jennings will likely try to get an extra year (Jennings may not be able to, but I'm not sure). But we should still have some decent depth in this area. Stephen comes back, along with an improved Campenni, Willman, Pruitt, Norris, and Myers. We may also see Andreas Knappe begin to develop in this area as well. Possible contributions from Battles-Santos, Adeyemi, and newcomers Burlingame and Fatukasi. There will certainly be no "jaguars" in this group; there is a lot of size, even at the ends. I would say that this unit has a real chance to not show a lot of dropoff, but it will be difficult to get equal production without the speed of Trevardo.
2) Linebackers - We aren't going to be as good. That just seems to be unavoidable. You don't lose players like Sio Moore and Jory Johnson and expect to get better. However, there is certainly a fair amount of hope here. Smallwood is back, and Donohue will be a battle-tested senior next year (with plenty of experience in Don Brown's system), and transfer Graham Stewart (Florida) should factor in big here too. Marquis Vann should be pretty good as well, and we hope to see some people battling for game time, like Ashiru, Hicks, Steg (unless he goes DE), and perhaps even Clax (unless he goes to FB). Newcomers that may impress include Jasudowich and Junior Joseph. This unit may get slightly worse, but I believe that there is certainly enough talent there to make the transition less than painful.
3) Secondary - Ouch. Losing both Wreh-Wilson and Gratz is really tough, since they both have a legit shot at playing on Sundays. Taylor Mack is going to be one year better and has already seen significant game time, but he will have to improve his game to match either one of those we are losing. The safeties will be returning Adams, Brown, and Jones, so we should at least be slightly better in the back of the secondary. Wilbert Lee and Stephenson could be key to next year, and we will hopefully see contributions from Clark, Melifonwu, and Jhavon Williams, as well as possible contributions from newcomers Hadley and Lucas. We will likely be slightly worse in this area, but hopefully the experience at the safety positions makes the losses palateable.
Special Teams - Losing a returner like Nick Williams is going to be tough. Mack has shown some promise, and hopefully we will be able to find another speedster in this area to compliment Mack. Christen is back at kicker, so there will be a fair amount of experience there, with Puyol backing him up. Punter Cole Wagner will also be back, so special teams should not drop off too much overall, and in terms of kicking, should be even better.
Overall - Overall, I think there should be an expectation to improve, since I believe that so much rides on the QB and OLine on the offensive side of the ball, which means that the offensive production should improve a fair amount. I believe that the defense will still be very good, even if they cannot match this year's unbelievable performance. I believe that if we revert to schemes that favor the offensive line re-establishing the run (you all know what I'm talking about) and save Chandler from getting killed, we should almost certainly be in a bowl next year and I would have an expectation of at least 7 or 8 wins minimum. A very silver lining indeed...
Offense:
1) Running Back - I don't see this being hugely different than it is right now, except for if the OLine improves. McCombs will be one year stronger and one year more experienced. The same goes for DeLorenzo, Hyppolite, and Joe Williams, where hopefully one of them will emerge as a solid backup choice if not better. Marriner comes in next year and will hopefully show his stuff. He will be young, so not much should be expected, but he's having a heck of a high school campaign. Overall, this area should improve, if only ever so slightly.
2) Offensive Line - I believe that this area will improve as well. Whether it's through the experience factor, or simply through a change of OLine Coach (I'll discuss that at another time in another thread), I believe that this unit will progress next year. Friend, Greene, Bullock, Mateas, and Cruz should all be better. Bennett is likely going to petition for a 6th year, due to all of his medical hardships, and that could be a very good sign as well. Samra, Rugg, Gifford, Bockeloh, and Levy will be one year bigger and better as well, so we should have some added depth to the line. This area should see a fair amount of improvement (if God hears my prayers), either through growth in the system or a return to our former system (you all know what I'm talking about).
3) Wide Receivers - There is talent here, and the majority is coming back. We lose Nick Williams who is versatile and fast, but who has also demonstrated that he has a difficult time bringing the ball in. We also lose Mike Smith, who has reliable hands but didn't have the "breakout" year that I thought he would. We return Phillips and Davis; the two receivers who I thought showed the most promise, and that's a good thing. We should see some more from Tebucky Jones and Ricky Gutierrez next year, and we may even get some early contributions from newcomer Dhameer Bradley or Noel Thomas, two talented receiver recruits. Overall, this unit should improve slightly to moderately.
4) Tight Ends - We're gonna take a hit here; there is just no way around it. You cannot lose two guys like Griffin and Delahunt and expect to be the same. The key people in this area will be McQuillan and Shortell. The question will be not just if they have the good hands that their predecessors had, but can they also help in the blocking the way that their predecessors did. Hopefully, the offensive line won't require as much help next year as they did this year; IMO a big factor in why the TE's weren't a bigger factor this year. This unit will likely show a drop in production moderately.
5) QB - Chandler will be one year better and one year smarter. I think that it should lead to a noticeable change in the TD to turnover ratios, and I believe that his QB rating will stay north of 120 if not better. Couple in the fact that Cochran has spent a year learning the system, and newcomer Lagow is on the way from Texas, and there should be a fair amount of competence here. McCummings will return also, primarily for the God-forsaken "wildcat" package. It's not a slight on the young man, since I think he is a superb athlete and I really wish they would involve him in either the pure run game or perhaps a slot receiver type deal. I think getting him the ball in open space can't be a bad thing. This unit should almost certainly improve.
Defense:
1) Defensive Line - We are going to lose a great one in Trevardo Williams. We are going to lose a really good one in Wirth. Joseph and Jennings will likely try to get an extra year (Jennings may not be able to, but I'm not sure). But we should still have some decent depth in this area. Stephen comes back, along with an improved Campenni, Willman, Pruitt, Norris, and Myers. We may also see Andreas Knappe begin to develop in this area as well. Possible contributions from Battles-Santos, Adeyemi, and newcomers Burlingame and Fatukasi. There will certainly be no "jaguars" in this group; there is a lot of size, even at the ends. I would say that this unit has a real chance to not show a lot of dropoff, but it will be difficult to get equal production without the speed of Trevardo.
2) Linebackers - We aren't going to be as good. That just seems to be unavoidable. You don't lose players like Sio Moore and Jory Johnson and expect to get better. However, there is certainly a fair amount of hope here. Smallwood is back, and Donohue will be a battle-tested senior next year (with plenty of experience in Don Brown's system), and transfer Graham Stewart (Florida) should factor in big here too. Marquis Vann should be pretty good as well, and we hope to see some people battling for game time, like Ashiru, Hicks, Steg (unless he goes DE), and perhaps even Clax (unless he goes to FB). Newcomers that may impress include Jasudowich and Junior Joseph. This unit may get slightly worse, but I believe that there is certainly enough talent there to make the transition less than painful.
3) Secondary - Ouch. Losing both Wreh-Wilson and Gratz is really tough, since they both have a legit shot at playing on Sundays. Taylor Mack is going to be one year better and has already seen significant game time, but he will have to improve his game to match either one of those we are losing. The safeties will be returning Adams, Brown, and Jones, so we should at least be slightly better in the back of the secondary. Wilbert Lee and Stephenson could be key to next year, and we will hopefully see contributions from Clark, Melifonwu, and Jhavon Williams, as well as possible contributions from newcomers Hadley and Lucas. We will likely be slightly worse in this area, but hopefully the experience at the safety positions makes the losses palateable.
Special Teams - Losing a returner like Nick Williams is going to be tough. Mack has shown some promise, and hopefully we will be able to find another speedster in this area to compliment Mack. Christen is back at kicker, so there will be a fair amount of experience there, with Puyol backing him up. Punter Cole Wagner will also be back, so special teams should not drop off too much overall, and in terms of kicking, should be even better.
Overall - Overall, I think there should be an expectation to improve, since I believe that so much rides on the QB and OLine on the offensive side of the ball, which means that the offensive production should improve a fair amount. I believe that the defense will still be very good, even if they cannot match this year's unbelievable performance. I believe that if we revert to schemes that favor the offensive line re-establishing the run (you all know what I'm talking about) and save Chandler from getting killed, we should almost certainly be in a bowl next year and I would have an expectation of at least 7 or 8 wins minimum. A very silver lining indeed...
UConnDan97
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Also, another possible silver lining could be schedule next year. I don't believe that they have announced the crossover games, but imagine if our crossover games are Temple, Memphis, and Houston? Even if one of those is swapped out for SMU? That really should be a very good chance at 3 wins right there. Couple that with the fact that USF will have a new coach installed (and they are currently in shambles), along with a beatable UCF team in our own division, and games versus the Ville and Rutty in our house, and I think the conference schedule should be favorable.
The OOC will have a gigantically tough game in Michigan, a question-mark game against Maryland (but at home), and two almost-certain wins against Buffalo and Towson. I would expect a 3-1 finish in the OOC (would be great to get a 4-0!). Couple that with a somewhat favorable conference schedule, and we absolutely should go bowling next year. If not, I have to imagine that PP will have worn national flag blue for the last time...
The OOC will have a gigantically tough game in Michigan, a question-mark game against Maryland (but at home), and two almost-certain wins against Buffalo and Towson. I would expect a 3-1 finish in the OOC (would be great to get a 4-0!). Couple that with a somewhat favorable conference schedule, and we absolutely should go bowling next year. If not, I have to imagine that PP will have worn national flag blue for the last time...
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I think the defense will still be very good. Especially if one of Jesse Joseph and Teddy Jennings is back (I would be fired up if both somehow came back).
The offensive line gained experience, and with another year in the weight room, we should see improvement.
Other than that? We still have more questions than answers at qb and rb. Have heard that Casey Cochran is a tireless worker. We need him to step up. If Lagow is asked to play as a true frosh, we are going to be in big trouble.
The offensive line gained experience, and with another year in the weight room, we should see improvement.
Other than that? We still have more questions than answers at qb and rb. Have heard that Casey Cochran is a tireless worker. We need him to step up. If Lagow is asked to play as a true frosh, we are going to be in big trouble.
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I have hopes for the receivers, but it is tough to get excited about Whitmer and McCombs right now. McCombs took a huge step back this season, and Whitmer did absolutely nothing to erase questions about his turnover rate in JC. He was a turnover machine. He needs to show a ton of improvement in his decision making. The hope is that the game slows down for him a little in year 2.
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PP's comments today about "addressing the turnover ratio" suggest Cochran may get a shot next year.
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I hope there is an open competition next year. Whitmer did not do enough to secure the job. You cannot turn the ball over as much as he did.
The hope obviously is that Cochran learned a ton from watching film, and working with the scout team. If QB play isn't better, we can look forward to another long year. An effective passing game opens up the run game by ensuring defenses don't sneak up their safeties.
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Agreed. During Dan O's years especially we used the pass to set up the run.
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Once again the positives will be the players. Our LBs should be very good led by Smallwood. The best of our wide outs will be back.
That won't stop the idiots like John Silver from dissing their talent even when their is proof before his eyes the talent isn't the problem
That won't stop the idiots like John Silver from dissing their talent even when their is proof before his eyes the talent isn't the problem
Uconnalliance
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If and I mean if Whitmer improves what does that do to the future of Cochran coming into the lineup?
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One of the reasons this season is so disappointing is that we lose so much after this season. I have to believe that the following either go in the NFL draft or end up in a camp: Ryan, Masters (?), Sio, Jory (camp), Blidi, Gratz, Trevardo. It's hard to see the defense being as good even if Joseph and Jennings can get back (although that would be a huge help).
I could actually see the offense being better, but only marginally if its the same GDL schemes and if we don't find another back to spell and balance McCombs.
Frankly, I could see next season being very rough.
I could actually see the offense being better, but only marginally if its the same GDL schemes and if we don't find another back to spell and balance McCombs.
Frankly, I could see next season being very rough.
UConnDan97
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Well, you have to look at it as Whitmer having 2 years of eligibility left and Cochran being a redshirt freshman. That gives Cochran two years to battle with Whitmer for the starting position (and you would have to believe that he would be the absolute lock for the backup job right away, especially if they can redshirt Lagow), and two years where you are possibly the starter. I don't see it as a problem...
FfldCntyFan
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These are problems that competitive schools need to have.
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There was a talent shortage on offense this year. A big talent shortage. Will the talent get better with experience? Probably. But if you don't think there was a lack of talent on O this year, I don't know what games you were watching. Receivers running wrong routes, dropping passes, lineman getting beat one on one in pass pro, and a qb who had a lot of trouble making the right decisions.
The defense was, and will be again, loaded with talent.
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The defense will still be very good. I think Jones can handle corner capably due to his great speed, and Adams should slot over to full time safety (although he really needs to work on his pass defense). Smallwood was the defensive MVP this year, IMO. And there is plenty of depth at DT, although Wirth did a fantastic job of getting push into the backfield on passing downs. If Joseph and Jennings are gone, Don Brown really needs to run the 3-4 constantly. Identify the best pass rushing linebacker (I believe this is Smallwood) and have him rush standing up.
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I'd be shocked if Cochran is not in the mix at QB. He is extremely smart and if I remember correctly he has a strong arm and was very accurate in high school.
I doubt anyone will out work him either.
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