Ball State Post Game Thread | Page 7 | The Boneyard

Ball State Post Game Thread

Status
Not open for further replies.
hardcorehusky said:
I do not think it is a lack of talent on the defensive side. I see players who are diving at ball carriers feet instead of using technique. I see defensive backs not using their eyes. I see a disconnect between the LB's and DL in terms of gap control. These are all fixable. It takes all 11 guys to make a play. Everyone has to do their job. Right now, we have 7 guys doing their job. It is a matter of trusting each other and playing fast with good technique. The end of Syracuse and how they performed against Delaware took this unit out of kilter. It is up to Brock and Mora to get these guys focusing on basics like tackling and gap control. Do that, and you will see a better performing unit that won't have to carry us, but won't kill us.
Expand ...
There is no talent on the DL. LB play is serviceable and the DBs aren't too bad but the DL is so bad it's holding the rest of the team back. Worst DL I can ever remember at UConn
 
Wins a win. Good to be back at .500 although we all know we should be 4-0 right now. The defense has to step up this week and learn to finish. They have issue up front moving the opposing line and getting to the QB that we’ve had in recent years. Letting the QB check down and then take off and run has to be contained more (hurt us at Delaware and vs. Ball State). TaQuan Roberson is going to be looking for revenge next weekend and we know he’s mobile.

Was talking with a former Husky LB from last year’s team post game. He was confident they’ll get it fixed and have the pieces to do it.

It’s a long season. Let’s have faith in Brock and the coaching staff this week that they can get it fixed.
 
SonsOfNutmeg said:
Wins a win. Good to be back at .500 although we all know we should be 4-0 right now. The defense has to step up this week and learn to finish. They have issue up front moving the opposing line and getting to the QB that we’ve had in recent years. Letting the QB check down and then take off and run has to be contained more (hurt us at Delaware and vs. Ball State). TaQuan Roberson is going to be looking for revenge next weekend and we know he’s mobile.

Was talking with a former Husky LB from last year’s team post game. He was confident they’ll get it fixed and have the pieces to do it.

It’s a long season. Let’s have faith in Brock and the coaching staff this week that they can get it fixed.
Expand ...
The defense was literally fine last year. People loved Brock. It's amazing how quickly people flipped.
 
JMick said:
There is no talent on the DL. LB play is serviceable and the DBs aren't too bad but the DL is so bad it's holding the rest of the team back. Worst DL I can ever remember at UConn
Expand ...
JMick said:
The defense was literally fine last year. People loved Brock. It's amazing how quickly people flipped.
Expand ...
Problem is they a have a “Retention Budget” and a “Portal Acquisition Budget” - it all depends on how much you have to play with and what side of the ball you want/need to spend your dollars on YOY. Miss on a eval. or an injury crops up and you can be hosed. Gonna remain a challenge moving forward.
 
.-.
ZooCougar said:
I think we have all the tools on offense. I just don’t think that Gordon Sammis knows how to break down and exploit opposing defenses.
Expand ...
Unlike last year, we are often in third and long situations and when we are third and short, we often have a hard time getting the 2 or 3 yards we need.
 
Nameless said:
As far as the D Line being this bad under RE2.0, not that I can recall. Our defenses were substantially worse overall (giving up 70+ points at times) but I feel like we always had at least 1 player on our D Line who could consistently apply pressure to the QB week after week. A guy like Travis Jones comes to mind.

Completely agree about the D Line looking like high schoolers. I chuckled when I saw someone else make the comment we are bouncing off O Linemen over and over like bowling balls. Like maybe try a spin? A swim move? Something other than a bull rush that clearly is NOT working? Lol
Expand ...
it's like when NFL players try to sumo wrestle, sumo wrestlers. that's what it looked like sometimes on saturday. Not always, but there were a few pass plays where i was absolutely speechless at the utter futility of the pass rush.
 
Purple Stein said:
I know you're talking about Rice, but it's the Air Force game I'm worried about. They've run for more than 250 yards in each game this year and they just hung 269 rushing yards on Boise. With how Ball State was gashing us, the Air Force game could be a long, long November afternoon.
Expand ...

We’ll lose both of those games.
 
I don’t understand the hate for Sammis. This is the most productive offense we’ve had in a long time, and that is in spite of dropped balls and missed passes. I see lots of guys getting opportunities, but the players need to finish the plays.

If Joe can’t hit a guy downfield, unfortunately, the screen game is going to be featured more heavily.

I bet most of us on here would’ve expected us to be 3-1 at this point and we’re 2-2. And FWIW, more than a few prognosticators had us losing to Delaware. It was heart breaking how the two loses happened, but the season isn’t over by a long shot.

The defense needs to play better, but Brock will sort that out.
 
.-.
Scoe said:
And your opinion also means nothing. My opinion apparently meant something to you because you just responded to my post.
Expand ...
honestly i think that was meant as an encouragement.. like.. just say what you wanna say lol, no one reads this except us
 
JMick said:
2018 had Beavers and Travis Jones...
Expand ...
Yup. And Lwal Uguak, also a freshman that year. They were 1-11, the Rhode Island game being the only game they won, and the score was 56-49 I think. They also had Florida transfer Ryan Fines who was incredibly slow moving.

Tdaley advises that Edsall switched back to a four man front in his first year back. He is probably correct, but I seem to recall they played a fair amount of three man front in that game. I would really like to see a video of that game. The "honor" of the worst defense in the modern era is still up for grabs. Holding Syracuse for as long as they did, though, would kinda disqualify this year's team so far. Early days yet though. Things could still get much worse, although hopefully much better.
 

UConn, URI depth chart 2018​

DEFENSE​

DEFENSIVE END
98 Lwal Uguak (Fr., 6-5, 261)
96 James Atkins (r-So., 6-5, 275)
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
52 Caleb Thomas (r-Fr., 6-0, 280)
94 Kevin Murphy (r-Jr., 6-1, 290)
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
57 Travis Jones (Fr., 6-4, 350)
69 Ryan Fines (r-Jr., 6-3, 304)
DEFENSIVE END
97 Jonathan Pace (Fr., 6-5, 260)
43 Darrian Beavers (So., 6-3, 235)
LINEBACKER
6 Eddie Hahn (r-So, 6-3, 220)
22 Eli Thomas (r-Jr., 6-1, 218)
LINEBACKER
48 Kevon Jones (Fr., 6-2, 230)
47 Santana Sterling (Sr., 6-0, 226)
HUSKY
44 Ian Swenson (r-Fr., 6-1, 197)
41 Marshé Terry (r-Jr., 6-4, 220)
CORNERBACK
14 Tahj Herring-Wilson (r-So., 6-1, 190)
39 Ryan Carroll (Fr., 6-1, 180)
32 Shamel Lazarus (Fr., 6-2, 170)
SAFETY
25 Tyler Coyle (r-So., 6-1, 205)
13 Messiah Turner (Fr, 6-1, 205)
SAFETY
27 Omar Fortt (So., 6-1, 189)
31 Oneil Robinson (Fr., 6-2, 177)
CORNERBACK
21 Jeremy Lucien (Fr., 6-2, 185)
24 Keyshawn Paul (Fr., 6-0, 170)
 
Fines was a fat tub of skat. Beavers finished the year at DE, Think they tried alot of people on the left side there like a TJ Gardner or Thomas.. Hahn and Sterling at LB. Fortt at Husky? Edsall wasn't a Terry fan. IIRC, he said it would have been worse playing Diaco's upperclassmen.
 
Last edited:
RitzLuce1 said:
I’m not surprised by the doom and gloom at all. I don’t like the habits that are becoming very noticeable in the Mora era.

A game sealing TD run with 1:50 left to go up 14 should be ballgame. Instead they allow a TD drive and have to do an onside kick recovery. The refusal to make things easier for themselves and not seizing the game by making basic football plays at the key moments are become a staple of the Mora era. I don’t like it one bit.
Expand ...
Fair point. Expectations are/were high after last season. The good news is we have a very potent O which can score and keep us in games, notwithstanding Sammis making some drive killer calls at times. The D is plainly broken and it has as much to do with missing on personnel as it does a scheme that obviously doesn’t fit with the players we do have. Unless our DC can figure out how to get enough D line run stop pressure, more heartbreak will follow.
 
RSTuthill said:
Yup. And Lwal Uguak, also a freshman that year. They were 1-11, the Rhode Island game being the only game they won, and the score was 56-49 I think. They also had Florida transfer Ryan Fines who was incredibly slow moving.

Tdaley advises that Edsall switched back to a four man front in his first year back. He is probably correct, but I seem to recall they played a fair amount of three man front in that game. I would really like to see a video of that game. The "honor" of the worst defense in the modern era is still up for grabs. Holding Syracuse for as long as they did, though, would kinda disqualify this year's team so far. Early days yet though. Things could still get much worse, although hopefully much better.
Expand ...
I never said the defense in 2018 was better. I said this is the worst dline we've had. The 2018 dline was better it was the rest of the defense that sucked. That's the worst secondary arguably in fbs history
 
.-.
JMU academic standards let them bring in players other school can't touch. Don't know about Delaware.
 
Purple Stein said:
I know you're talking about Rice, but it's the Air Force game I'm worried about. They've run for more than 250 yards in each game this year and they just hung 269 rushing yards on Boise. With how Ball State was gashing us, the Air Force game could be a long, long November afternoon.
Expand ...
Watched a fair amount of the Boise vs Air force game. Air Force was able to throw the ball. Way different than Army. It is another game we had better be able to score more than 35 points.
 
Milo65 said:
Unlike last year, we are often in third and long situations and when we are third and short, we often have a hard time getting the 2 or 3 yards we need.
Expand ...
could be because the play is usually cam to the short side and the tight ends have a bad case of hands of stone. Delaware figured it out. Ball State seemed to until 2 big Cam 4th quarter runs. In coordinator chess game, Ball guessed against tendency and got burned twice. Obv glad Cam plays worked but would like to see Gordy develop something (counter, boot) off that look.
 
Palatine said:
JMU academic standards let them bring in players other school can't touch. Don't know about Delaware.
Expand ...
Delaware is a good academic school. They probably are willing to accept guys who wouldn’t be in regularly. But guess what? Everyone has different standards for athletes. The Ivy League accepts guys who couldn’t get into any Ivy school. As an old friend who coached hockey at an Ivy used to say, those decisions are based on need. If we need a goalie and we find one we like, he’s in.
 
psilotic said:
could be because the play is usually cam to the short side and the tight ends have a bad case of hands of stone. Delaware figured it out. Ball State seemed to until 2 big Cam 4th quarter runs. In coordinator chess game, Ball guessed against tendency and got burned twice. Obv glad Cam plays worked but would like to see Gordy develop something (counter, boot) off that look.
Expand ...
I noticed this tendency at Delaware. Though On the first Cam run vs Ball St the line did a really good job opening, too.
 
.-.
JMick said:
I never said the defense in 2018 was better. I said this is the worst dline we've had. The 2018 dline was better it was the rest of the defense that sucked. That's the worst secondary arguably in fbs history
Expand ...
Well then, we agree to disagree. URI ran right through the UConn DLine in 2018. And URI was an FCS school.
 
Duncan Idaho said:
Fines was a fat tub of skat. Beavers finished the year at DE, Think they tried alot of people on the left side there like a TJ Gardner or Thomas.. Hahn and Sterling at LB. Fortt at Husky? Edsall wasn't a Terry fan. IIRC, he said it would have been worse playing Diaco's upperclassmen.
Expand ...
Yup, he was hell bent on developing his own guys. I remember that discussion. Lotta good it did him.
 
Monday morning quarterbacking here, but I did have one realization after watching the TV recording of the game in addition to being there live:

Could we have called one timeout to stop the bleeding on the final Ball State touchdown drive? I know the clock has been enemy #1 these last 3 weeks, but it was clear to me on the broadcast that in the final two minutes, our defense was visibly gassed against Ball State's tempo. Brock was still calling blitz packages that sent guys outside around the tackles when they were sucking wind, thereby eliminating any opportunity for pressure. Perhaps I'm oversimplifying this, but if we called a TO to sub fresh legs and lungs onto the field, maybe we make a critical stop that keeps the score at 31-17 (wishful thinking with the defense overall, I know).
 
Duncan Idaho said:

UConn, URI depth chart 2018​

DEFENSE​

DEFENSIVE END
98 Lwal Uguak (Fr., 6-5, 261)
96 James Atkins (r-So., 6-5, 275)
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
52 Caleb Thomas (r-Fr., 6-0, 280)
94 Kevin Murphy (r-Jr., 6-1, 290)
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
57 Travis Jones (Fr., 6-4, 350)
69 Ryan Fines (r-Jr., 6-3, 304)
DEFENSIVE END
97 Jonathan Pace (Fr., 6-5, 260)
43 Darrian Beavers (So., 6-3, 235)
LINEBACKER
6 Eddie Hahn (r-So, 6-3, 220)
22 Eli Thomas (r-Jr., 6-1, 218)
LINEBACKER
48 Kevon Jones (Fr., 6-2, 230)
47 Santana Sterling (Sr., 6-0, 226)
HUSKY
44 Ian Swenson (r-Fr., 6-1, 197)
41 Marshé Terry (r-Jr., 6-4, 220)
CORNERBACK
14 Tahj Herring-Wilson (r-So., 6-1, 190)
39 Ryan Carroll (Fr., 6-1, 180)
32 Shamel Lazarus (Fr., 6-2, 170)
SAFETY
25 Tyler Coyle (r-So., 6-1, 205)
13 Messiah Turner (Fr, 6-1, 205)
SAFETY
27 Omar Fortt (So., 6-1, 189)
31 Oneil Robinson (Fr., 6-2, 177)
CORNERBACK
21 Jeremy Lucien (Fr., 6-2, 185)
24 Keyshawn Paul (Fr., 6-0, 170)
Expand ...
Hartford's own O'Neil Robinson! He went on to have a solid career at URI.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,143
Messages
4,554,641
Members
10,438
Latest member
UConnheart


Top Bottom