Bench #20 | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Bench #20

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Carl Spackler said:
Boneyarders are something else. #20 projects to be a high NFL Draft pick, if not 1st round. His athletic ability and tangibles are through the roof. He is a second year player, in his second defensive coordinator, system, and it is a demanding system mentally and physically on his safety position. He is a young, raw player right now, in a new system 3 games in. By the time this kid is a senior, as long as we keep Poindexter, and I hope we do, and this defensive system, he is going to be havoc for any opponent we face. He has had some problems both penalty wise and assignments, but he shows improvement, and the next time a safety, or a db, for that matter doesn't ever get beat, 100% of the time will be the first. The safety position, on our roster, is young, but is one of our strongest depth wise on the entire roster moving forward. If there is another player that can emerge above Obi, they will, but I doubt it. He'll start for 2 more seasons after this, and will be at the next level. Mark it down.
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I agree 100% Obi is here to stay. He bit on some things. The entire team was keying on Ajai, which is why he was held to an amazing 39 yds. I believe Diaco would be the first to take a hit on this one. Obi is going no where. He's a player with a bright future. Diaco loves him.
 
scottieskis said:
Everyone pics of Whitmer this kid doesn't belong in college football at all. He is awful. Cost us the game
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Awful is way too strong a word. It' tough to look like a super star when you are getting sacked 7 times a game. In spite of that, he had some really good throws and a few not so good ones. He improved on his Stony Brook performance. I believe Boyle will become a bigger part of the offense as the season progresses but for now, I am okay with Chandler Whitmer and I am glad Diaco talked him into coming back or we would really be in trouble with only Boyle. I hope he has a great game against USF. Don't be such of an energy sucker. By the way, pick is not pic and off is not of - You are an AWFUL speller!
 
scottieskis said: ↑
Everyone pics of Whitmer this kid doesn't belong in college football at all. He is awful. Cost us the game

Confident Carl said:
Awful is way too strong a word. It' tough to look like a super star when you are getting sacked 7 times a game. In spite of that, he had some really good throws and a few not so good ones. He improved on his Stony Brook performance. I believe Boyle will become a bigger part of the offense as the season progresses but for now, I am okay with Chandler Whitmer and I am glad Diaco talked him into coming back or we would really be in trouble with only Boyle. I hope he has a great game against USF. Don't be such of an energy sucker. By the way, pick is not pic and off is not of - You are an AWFUL speller!
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I think he was talking about Obi, not Whitmer. Change the "of" to "on", and add a "but" before "this".
 
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ibleedhuskyblue said:
scottieskis said: ↑
Everyone pics of Whitmer this kid doesn't belong in college football at all. He is awful. Cost us the game



I think he was talking about Obi, not Whitmer. Change the "of" to "on", and add a "but" before "this".
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So he can't spell and you can't read. He was talking about Whitmer. He put down Obi in his initial rant...
 
Confident Carl said:
So he can't spell and you can't read. He was talking about Whitmer. He put down Obi in his initial rant...
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Carl...he used poor grammar and punctuation (probably alcohol related) and mixed his sentences together. He was talking about Obi costing us the game.
 
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So far I think Obi' s problems have been coaches have too much confidence in his abilities as much as him straight screwing up.

He can't cover WR's one on one. He is a plus talent against the run and he can provide over the top help. It's up to the coaches to figure out schemes that don't isolate him deep.
 
ibleedhuskyblue said:
scottieskis said: ↑
Everyone pics of Whitmer this kid doesn't belong in college football at all. He is awful. Cost us the game



I think he was talking about Obi, not Whitmer. Change the "of" to "on", and add a "but" before "this".
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No, sorry but "Everyone picks off Whitmer sounds like he was talking about a Quarterback and not a Safety! Last time I checked a pick was an interception.
Let's all just cut the and kick the out of USF.

Getting back to Obi Melifonwu, Both Pasqualoni (who is a defensive guy) and Diaco see the immense talent in Obi. I don't believe a few blown assignments will diminish the belief that he has the size, speed, intelligence and skill sets to become one of the best Safety's in the country and a high NFL draft pick!

http://articles.courant.com/2014-08..._1_bob-diaco-obi-melifonwu-anthony-poindexter

The reality is Chandler Whitmer is starting at Quarterback and Obi Melifonwu is starting at Safety against USF. I will support the coaches decision and I believe UCONN will win in Tampa.
 
ZooCougar said:
Watch the replay. I don't think he ever had a realistic shot. The analyst actually related the play to personal experiene playing as a WR. Usually when being given that much of cushion by a safety he'd let the QB know in the huddle that it was open season. It's already a positional mismatch, the 12 yard cushion just exacerbates that. His best shot is jamming him in the first five yards.
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That was Joey Galloway and he basically said anytime he ever saw a safety playing man on him in a slot with a 12 yd cushion, it was free money...
 
Joey Galloway was an OSU All-American who burned lots of excellent DB's. The good news is Galloway isn't showing up in Tampa. The Bulls will target Obi off the Boise game. They'll regret it as Obi should have a great game. Look for him to grab his first INT.
 
On a side note...Galloway was strong. He actually provided insight from his experience as a player. It's amazing how many ex athletes who do color, forget that the reason they are there is to share their perspective and experiences.
 
I watched the replay. The TD that Obi got beat on was a tough assignment. But it's still a play, with the proper technique and eye discipline (God I sound like Edsall), that could have made. Or, even made more difficult. In fairness to Obi, maybe the coaches are asking him to do a little too much there. Things that he's maybe not quite ready for.
 
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Jimmy Serrano said:
I watched the replay. The TD that Obi got beat on was a tough assignment. But it's still a play, with the proper technique and eye discipline (God I sound like Edsall), that could have made. Or, even made more difficult. In fairness to Obi, maybe the coaches are asking him to do a little too much there. Things that he's maybe not quite ready for.
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I'm actually watching replay of the game now, that website is pretty cool. On the TD late in the 2nd Q, it looks like Boise had set up Obi to get beat. They must have seen it against Stony Brook, and what we were doing to stop Ajayi through 2 quarters. On the play before, he's set up in man coverage on the slot, they run a play fake to Ajayi in the backfield, and throw to the slot on square in route. Obi closes and makes a good tackle. The next play, same coverage, the QB runs play action again run fake again to Ajayi, then adds a pump fake to the slot, the receiver runs a simple hitch and go type of route, both motions, the QB, and the receiver, freezes Obi, who had to have been watching the QB pump fake the ball, and then he doesn't have enough space to close the gap, before the TD. He's actually fast enough, that if that happens on the other 20 yard line, he most likely makes the tackle. Big gain, in the open field, but in that postion, a big mistake that cost us 6.

http://uconnhuskygames.com/2014-football-game-replays/

He's simply got to get better at his gulp,,,I agree....Edsallian terminology - eye discipline.

There is no doubt that other teams we will play, have seen this, and try to exploit it. When he's in man coverage, he's got to keep his eyes on his man. Save the watching the backfield for other situations.
 
Carl Spackler said:
I'm actually watching replay of the game now, that website is pretty cool. On the TD late in the 2nd Q, it looks like Boise had set up Obi to get beat. They must have seen it against Stony Brook, and what we were doing to stop Ajayi through 2 quarters. On the play before, he's set up in man coverage on the slot, they run a play fake to Ajayi in the backfield, and throw to the slot on square in route. Obi closes and makes a good tackle. The next play, same coverage, the QB runs play action again run fake again to Ajayi, then adds a pump fake to the slot, the receiver runs a simple hitch and go type of route, both motions, the QB, and the receiver, freezes Obi, who had to have been watching the QB pump fake the ball, and then he doesn't have enough space to close the gap, before the TD. He's actually fast enough, that if that happens on the other 20 yard line, he most likely makes the tackle. Big gain, in the open field, but in that postion, a big mistake that cost us 6.

http://uconnhuskygames.com/2014-football-game-replays/

He's simply got to get better at his gulp,,,I agree....Edsallian terminology - eye discipline.

There is no doubt that other teams we will play, have seen this, and try to exploit it. When he's in man coverage, he's got to keep his eyes on his man. Save the watching the backfield for other situations.
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That is exactly as I saw the play as well. Obi got caught with his eyes in the backfield, reacted to the pump fake, and got roasted.
 
Jimmy Serrano said:
That is exactly as I saw the play as well. Obi got caught with his eyes in the backfield, reacted to the pump fake, and got roasted.
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You know, if we're going to evaluate Obi, you got to include everything, and right before the half, and the first and goal situation we had down 14-10, he saved a TD, earlier, by closing a ridiculous amount of space on the field, to cover up for Graham Stewart. We stuffed the sh8888t out of Ajayi, but they ran and end around play fake throw to the QB, that we completely broke down on. No edge contain. They did run that same kind of play later in the game, and we stuffed it. They show progression, and learning both through 3 games, and individual games.

Obi just got to decide if he's in man coverage or not, and then stop looking in the backfield when he's in man coverage.

I hope we beat the snot out of USF.
 
Time for HCBD to treat Obi like a 101 student and put him in assignments he is capable of handling. Excellent athlete does not necessarily translate into a good or even serviceable free safety. This kid makes too many mistakes and doesn't go for the ball (not sure how often he even knows where the ball is). Just like the OL, need to scheme this kid at a level he can handle. Kind of reminds me of expectations on Jerome Junior that never seemed to pan out with actual performance.
 
Jimmy Serrano said:
I watched the replay. The TD that Obi got beat on was a tough assignment. But it's still a play, with the proper technique and eye discipline (God I sound like Edsall), that could have made. Or, even made more difficult. In fairness to Obi, maybe the coaches are asking him to do a little too much there. Things that he's maybe not quite ready for.
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I don't think he could have made that play from where he lined up. So was it a bad d call? Did he line up too far off the ball? Was he supposed to get help and didn't?

I remember having conversations with Sio on certain plays like that and sometimes the guy that got beat was doing what he was supposed to or had no chance because the overall call was wrong. Sometimes you get beat by scheme.

Back in the Dan O days you could see him at the line looking for those mismatches and exploiting them.
 
ShakyTheMohel said:
On a side note...Galloway was strong. He actually provided insight from his experience as a player. It's amazing how many ex athletes who do color, forget that the reason they are there is to share their perspective and experiences.
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It is pretty amazing how little Dan Fouts brings to a broadcast. I loved him as a player ... and I wish he would share more intricate details with the audience.
 
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J187Money said:
I don't think he could have made that play from where he lined up. So was it a bad d call? Did he line up too far off the ball? Was he supposed to get help and didn't?

I remember having conversations with Sio on certain plays like that and sometimes the guy that got beat was doing what he was supposed to or had no chance because the overall call was wrong. Sometimes you get beat by scheme.

Back in the Dan O days you could see him at the line looking for those mismatches and exploiting them.
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Maybe parsing words here. It's a very low percentage play for him to make if he plays it correctly. But he didn't play it correctly. And it turned into a high percentage play for the offense into an absolutely ridiculous pitch and catch gimme. He can learn, and I hate that we've beaten him up this long, so I'm going to stop posting about it.
 
Jimmy Serrano said:
I watched the replay. The TD that Obi got beat on was a tough assignment. But it's still a play, with the proper technique and eye discipline (God I sound like Edsall), that could have made. Or, even made more difficult. In fairness to Obi, maybe the coaches are asking him to do a little too much there. Things that he's maybe not quite ready for.
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I disagree. Overall he made mistakes in the game but he was doomed on that play. Total mismatch positionally and the scheme was bad. Even a corner would have failed that assignment.
 
J187Money said:
I don't think he could have made that play from where he lined up. So was it a bad d call? Did he line up too far off the ball? Was he supposed to get help and didn't?

I remember having conversations with Sio on certain plays like that and sometimes the guy that got beat was doing what he was supposed to or had no chance because the overall call was wrong. Sometimes you get beat by scheme.

Back in the Dan O days you could see him at the line looking for those mismatches and exploiting them.
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On the money as usual. Pretty sure it was intended for him to be lined up there. I am sure they will correct that mistake as it was a pretty important play in the game.
 
Carl Spackler said:
I'm actually watching replay of the game now, that website is pretty cool. On the TD late in the 2nd Q, it looks like Boise had set up Obi to get beat. They must have seen it against Stony Brook, and what we were doing to stop Ajayi through 2 quarters. On the play before, he's set up in man coverage on the slot, they run a play fake to Ajayi in the backfield, and throw to the slot on square in route. Obi closes and makes a good tackle. The next play, same coverage, the QB runs play action again run fake again to Ajayi, then adds a pump fake to the slot, the receiver runs a simple hitch and go type of route, both motions, the QB, and the receiver, freezes Obi, who had to have been watching the QB pump fake the ball, and then he doesn't have enough space to close the gap, before the TD. He's actually fast enough, that if that happens on the other 20 yard line, he most likely makes the tackle. Big gain, in the open field, but in that postion, a big mistake that cost us 6.

http://uconnhuskygames.com/2014-football-game-replays/

He's simply got to get better at his gulp,,,I agree....Edsallian terminology - eye discipline.

There is no doubt that other teams we will play, have seen this, and try to exploit it. When he's in man coverage, he's got to keep his eyes on his man. Save the watching the backfield for other situations.
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Excellent breakdown. You should be a color commentator! They were hyper focused on stopping the run. They were highly successful in doing so but unfortunately got burned long big time. I say Obi learns, he is a quick study and he has got great teachers in Diaco and Poindexter.
 
In the DB defense - Sio and the other backers were able to make calls on the fly when they saw things that they needed to address. Not sure we are at that level so at the line adjustments may or may not be happening yet (at the 100 level).
 
J187Money said:
In the DB defense - Sio and the other backers were able to make calls on the fly when they saw things that they needed to address. Not sure we are at that level so at the line adjustments may or may not be happening yet (at the 100 level).
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I agree with the stuff you've put up for sure. There is a level of communication, and shifting, assignments that needs to happen on the field to be really, really good, and it's logical, that 3 games into this season, with a new head coach and DC, and a new system - we aren't there yet. But I think you're overthinking this one, and lord knows, I know what overthinking is!!!

After watching that replay on line, it seems clear to me, that Boise, after the first quarter, into the second Q on offense, they started trying all kinds of stuff with play fakes, to move their offense because we were shutting Ajayi down. You can stuff the running game, when you have defensive tackles like we've got. The scored both of their TD's to go up 21-10, after being down 10-7 on play action run fake designs. The first was the Obi, isolation, and the second was the trick play, end around throw to the QB, where our entire defense was caught with their shorts around their ankles. We adjusted after the half, and learned from the 2nd Q- imagine that.

On the first TD, the Boise offense set up Obi like a pin to be knocked down, he got isolated in single man coverage, was looking at the QB, bit on a pump fake, and the receiver blew by. It's not a complex issue, and highly unlikely that it was a bad defense to be in, or indefensible or anything like that, needing adjustment. The correction, is all mental, from the single player- recognize that you're in man coverage, and keep your eyes on your receiver. It's not a difficult issue to flesh out as to what went wrong on that play. He's got to show improvement though, that's all. I'm sure he will.

If you do actually watch the entire thing, there is plenty, plenty of positive that Obi did, and he saved one sure TD. Things all tend to balance out in a football game, and the team that makes the least amount of mistakes on offense, defense, and kicking wins. We made too many mistakes to win. the offensive possession in the 2nd Q that went 30 yards backward and ended in a shanked punt?

Lot more mistakes happened in the game, that led to us losing, than giving up 6 points on that post pattern, where Obi got burned on a QB pump fake.

I just think it's foolish to think that benching a player like #20 is a good idea. Develop him, into what he can be. If he can't keep his eyes where they're supposed to be, then you look to replace. That is not the case as of yet. He's just got to demonstrate the ability to learn.

He isn't the only player in that same position on this roster, and it's unfair to single him out.
 
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Husky68 said:
Time for HCBD to treat Obi like a 101 student and put him in assignments he is capable of handling. Excellent athlete does not necessarily translate into a good or even serviceable free safety. This kid makes too many mistakes and doesn't go for the ball (not sure how often he even knows where the ball is). Just like the OL, need to scheme this kid at a level he can handle. Kind of reminds me of expectations on Jerome Junior that never seemed to pan out with actual performance.
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I was actually thinking exactly the same thing and thought of Junior too. sometimes coaches get too hung up on "measurables" and don't quite get that the guy is lacking in some other aspect of the game that they need to work around.
 
Appreciate all the armchair analysis but I'll wait to grade him after his performance in the USF game. Expect a standout effort with the accolades flowing.
 
huskyblooz said:
QBs must be told to look where 20 is and throw in that direction.
Yeah Obi is athletic but he's not a DB
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AGAIN he got toasted for a TD! God this kid is like a target for opposing QB's!!!!
 
Doggie Style said:
AGAIN he got toasted for a TD! God this kid is like a target for opposing QB's!!!!
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Are you watching on a delay or something?
 
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