Callahan's POV on HCBD coaching vs. USF

[whaler11]

My biggest gripes about Edsall was that he'd coach tighter than tight in games where he felt he was the underdog (second BC game seemed to be the start of it), the inability to consistently field a team capable of the forward pass and the five or six year span of grotesque special teams errors that never seemed to get fixed.

In his favor, we were never awful with him and, for all his faults, he never did anything as insane as we've seen on a game to game basis over the past four years.

I was happy when he left. I now miss him terribly.

The second BC game being their BE opener? The Branch fumble
cooked them and except for flashes in the second half Orlovsky was not good that day. That BC offensive line was excellent. BC blew the Ferri game. They also beat Penn State, Notre Dame and won at West Virgina before drilling UNC in Charlotte.

His special teams were awful for a period in the mid 00s. Sanchez fielding punts was an absolute circus. Not much he could do about Nuzie going Steve Sax/Steve Blass on him.

They won a lot of games in 07-10 on specials.

In 2007 they returned 4 kicks for touchdowns.

 

[whaler11]

Return guys included Branch, Williams, Butler, Todman and McClain. Thrown in Larry Taylor and Robbie Frey and did they have good special teams Edsall's last 4 years?

 

[metsfan2323]

Randy Edsall needed a 4th quarter blocked punt to beat USF and he is in year 4 with Maryland, yet somehow posters here who love Edsall think USF is this God Awful team that we disgraced ourselves by losing to. Somehow that just doesn't equate.

 

[whaler11]

Randy Edsall needed a 4th quarter blocked punt to beat USF and he is in year 4 with Maryland, yet somehow posters here who love Edsall think USF is this God Awful team. Somehow that just doesn't equate.

Yes because what Edsall does at Maryland reflects on what he did at Connecticut.

USF is really solid, the fact they are a 33 point dog this week is an illusion.

 

[Fishy]

UConn wasn't outplayed on either side of the line and Orlovsky wasn't bad at all - they played not to lose against a BC team that was nothing near overwhelming. (They did beat PSU and ND, but neither was very good - they also lost to a bad Wake team.) (Barnes fumbled, not Branch).

UConn's special teams were horrific for most of the 2000's, especially in terms of coverage. How long did we spend bitching that we didn't have a special teams coach? Fitting that our first Big East play was a kickoff return where the returner had the ball a) bounce off his head and then b) popped out of his hands.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Edsall's last 4 seasons.

9-4 - Co-Big East Champs
8-5 - International Bowl winners
8-5 - Papa John's Bowl winners
8-5 - Co-Big East Champs, BCS qualifiers

So, when it comes to edsall and people want to shoot their mouth off, and say he wasn't that great, just recall what the guy did in a true BCS league.

We went from competing with Oklahoma with no semblance of a passing game with frazer, to barely beating Stony brook at home in 4 years.

If anyone still questions the job edsall did here, they are absolutely insane.

 

[whaler11]

UConn wasn't outplayed on either side of the line and Orlovsky wasn't bad at all - they played not to lose against a BC team that was nothing near overwhelming. (They did beat PSU and ND, but neither was very good - they also lost to a bad Wake team.) (Barnes fumbled, not Branch).

UConn's special teams were horrific for most of the 2000's, especially in terms of coverage. How long did we spend bitching that we didn't have a special teams coach? Fitting that our first Big East play was a kickoff return where the returner had the ball a) bounce off his head and then b) popped out of his hands.

If you are talking about the 04 game in Chestnut Hill, I'm not sure how they played not to lose since they were down from the play you corrected me on - it was Barnes not Branch who coughed up the opening kick. The game was never close and they did nothing on offense the entire night. Every time BC needed to run the ball for short yardage they converted.

PSU and Notre Dame may have been down but we've been celebrating a win over a ND team that was worse for years.

And they were bad on specials for years and fixed it. Unless having 5 NFL players returning kicks in a 3-4 year span isn't fixing it.

 

[Fishy]

All Edsall wanted to do against Boston College that night was keep it close - should have termed it that way.

And it wasn't a blow out - it's 17-7 to start the third quarter and we're in the red zone before we throw a dump pass that goes about three yards on third and 8 and then Nuzie bangs the upright with a short field goal attempt. UConn drives down inside the BC 30 again late in the third before another dump pass on third down gets tipped and picked. (The resulting drive basically ends the game at 24-7 in the 4th quarter). On the night, three or four drives die in BC territory on third and short.

Peterson didn't outplay Orlovsky, but he's at least looking to throw downfield while Edsall has Orlovsky playing dink ball down the field. Edsall was just scared of BC - grow a set of testicles on third downs and avoid the ten-point swing from our crack special teams and we have a game. As it was, BC converted our mistakes which was enough to beat us.

Your memory is abysmal if you think our special teams weren't brutal for most of that decade. I'd opine that there couldn't have been a handful of programs who were worse.

 

[Colt house75]

So his opinion isn't valid because he didn't review the video quickly enough. Makes sense.

Opinions are always valid, Whaler. IMO, he is stating that he liked Callaghan's analyses in the past because the content was more analytical than subjective editorial and then the reader could make a more informed judgement and decision himself.(at least that's the way I read it.) Callaghan's analyses, in the past, have always been nothing short of great. By moving to an editorial, (which he certainly can and could do....left little for the reader to form their own objective & subjective opinion).

UCONN fans, alums, followers of the BY on the most part are smarter than the average dog. You have to be to get into Storrs and make it through.... we can get all the crappola by following the CT media. I would like to form my own opinion....The editorial was valid, not just enhancing on what I viewed as the worst, THEE freakin worst slop game of all time. I needed Cal's technical and look forward to it every week to affirm and confirm. Hope he goes more technical as his in depth analyses, especially on the young pups, gives us a glimpse into the future.

 

[Colt house75]

My biggest gripes about Edsall was that he'd coach tighter than tight in games where he felt he was the underdog (second BC game seemed to be the start of it), the inability to consistently field a team capable of the forward pass and the five or six year span of grotesque special teams errors that never seemed to get fixed.

In his favor, we were never awful with him and, for all his faults, he never did anything as insane as we've seen on a game to game basis over the past four years.
I was happy when he left. I now miss him terribly.

Viewed his teams as real pounders inside. After Danny O left, felt his teams were one player away (QB that could open it up) from consistent top 25 echelon and he couldn't land or develop that one QB.... ditto your comments on his style though..

 

[Colt house75]

Randy Edsall needed a 4th quarter blocked punt to beat USF and he is in year 4 with Maryland, yet somehow posters here who love Edsall think USF is this God Awful team that we disgraced ourselves by losing to. Somehow that just doesn't equate.

Yes because what Edsall does at Maryland reflects on what he did at Connecticut.

USF is really solid, the fact they are a 33 point dog this week is an illusion.

this is where the ending perception and reality meet....
Randy's Maryland ran all over USF, at least stats wise from what my dementia memory will remember. But in the process, had 6 TO's making the game closer than what it was and should have been..... they pulled it out in the end but won UGLY in the process, but they still pulled it out. The reality is that we have difficulties here that some very intelligent people in the BY community do not like.... Seeing USF as a 33 point dog is an affirmation of the reality and a confirmation of perception. and both are very UGLY right now...

 

[Srqhusky]

If only Pasqualoni had those last 8 games. He was so close to turning the corner.

Not sure why you are bringing up coach p Mr straw man, was he mentioned by Andrew Callahan. I agree Eddsall did a he'll of a job. In three years he got UCONN bowl eligible. And he would have called d the USF game the same way. you k is he wouldn't tolerate those first four drives either

 

[whaler11]

Not sure why you are bringing up coach p Mr straw man, was he mentioned by Andrew Callahan. I agree Eddsall did a he'll of a job. In three years he got UCONN bowl eligible. And he would have called d the USF game the same way. you k is he wouldn't tolerate those first four drives either

You said coaches deserve 3 years to show improvement. Just pointing out that's silly.

I was there for the early Edsall years. They got beat like a drum but he never did anything like that.

 

[whaler11]

All Edsall wanted to do against Boston College that night was keep it close - should have termed it that way.

And it wasn't a blow out - it's 17-7 to start the third quarter and we're in the red zone before we throw a dump pass that goes about three yards on third and 8 and then Nuzie bangs the upright with a short field goal attempt. UConn drives down inside the BC 30 again late in the third before another dump pass on third down gets tipped and picked. (The resulting drive basically ends the game at 24-7 in the 4th quarter). On the night, three or four drives die in BC territory on third and short.

Peterson didn't outplay Orlovsky, but he's at least looking to throw downfield while Edsall has Orlovsky playing dink ball down the field. Edsall was just scared of BC - grow a set of testicles on third downs and avoid the ten-point swing from our crack special teams and we have a game. As it was, BC converted our mistakes which was enough to beat us.

Your memory is abysmal if you think our special teams weren't brutal for most of that decade. I'd opine that there couldn't have been a handful of programs who were worse.

I didn't say they weren't terrible for a period. Special teams are a function of your depth and they didn't have depth nor good special teams.

To act like it was a function of something beyond that since special teams were a big part of their success from 07-10 doesn't make much sense.

The David Sanchez fair catch era didn't exist because they didn't know how to put together a blocking scheme - it existed because they didn't have good enough players on punt return. That the depth issues showed up when they went from 1-A indp into the Big East isn't really a shocker.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I don't now how I can do this clearly and succinctly because it's not my style but I"ll try.

Never mind the 1-AA century - doesn't matter.

Randy Edsall, was successful at UCONN, and built a program based on nothing more than incredible focus on the detail of the fundamentals of football. He recruited athletes that were smart, well self motivated, and had pre-requisite speed/agility. For the most part, he recruited undersized athletes, except for the OL, and we worked to build them up in the strength and conditioning program. His biggest coup, was getting Dan Orlovsky to stay in CT and go to UCONN. There is always a key player, recruit, that helps snowball things toward winning.

He focused on details, of blocking and tackling, and making sure you knew your assignments within a defensive or offensive play set, and did them right. That's why he never would take responsibility or blame, for anything, because all he ever did was drill the basics. It's also why we never developed a dynamic offense or defense, the only thing dynamic was the kick return game, because that's all about speed and raw ability.

Pasqualoni came in and coasted, he was able to, because the discipline that Edsall installed carried over with the upperclassmen he inherited, and then it fell apart when they left. THe program went into the sh88ter with no direction, no discipline, no nothing.

Diaco, has come in, and has a very, very young roster, that is very poor in fundamentals. He's achieved no small feat, in getting the mental, and teamwork, and social/emotional/psychological health of a team back on track, but he's really eccentric as a football coach.

What I want to hear, is his explanation, as to how he thinks he's going to be able to get every single freshmen, sophomore, in his rotations up to speed on the fundamentals of football, when they are splitting reps like they are doing. How does he think that is better, than weighing reps heavily for a starting lineup? It goes against everything I understand about training men, to work together as a small units, within a greater team. To me, you select your teams-units, divide them up and rank them, and then get to work training them, and the #1's get most of the work in practices. The backups, get to watch, study the film, and get the mental reps.

I freely admit I don't understand everything in the world, and I like to learn new things. This - what this coach is doing, to get freshmen and sophomores for the most part, trained to play the game, is something that is new to me, and I don't understand it.

 

[upstater]

Have you ever seen the middle collapse. The whole line can be Swiss cheese at times.
Diaco played at Iowa which has produced some of the finest offensive lines in football. They are tackle-u. He knows what a perfectly coached line should look like. Now these kids are not applying what they have learned. They are inexperienced. They will tell you that. That is why the coach made a good call. He had them in the game the whole time.

2nd and 2 and you are dropping way way back with a slow developing play (fake) on the first series with tackles that have proven they can't guard the edge, and you're telling me this is how the coaches put the players into position to succeed?

 

[noeynox]

I guess I can see why that quote would bother you but it's 100% true.

Diggs is an amazing talent - but that just gets at the first point. The biggest reason why UConn is a hard job is because there aren't enough local players.

This is where Upstater will list NFL players from Connecticut who get plucked away by other schools which gets back to the lack of tradition.

If you are an elite football prospect from Connecticut why in hell would you stay here? If you can go play in the SEC or the Big Ten or even the ACC... why would you not take bigger crowds, more attention and prettier co-eds?

Look, the UConn job is unique in it's challenges, but so are schools like Boise State, Washington State. Any school willing to pay well, and UConn is, can rise up, no pun intended. When I was a kid Wisconsin was a joke of a program. Along came Barry Alvarez and a running back named Brent Moss (I think) and they've been off and running since. Oregon was a joke then they had Rich Brooks, Mike Belloti, Chip Kelly, and this current guy (name escapes me). My point is none of those schools are in recruiting hot beds and were once after thoughts in CFB at best. All have risen to incredible heights because they hired GREAT coaches. I don't think any of those guys would go on TV and claim their fans had no right to expectations because reason. UConn was the only school to upgrade directly to a BCS league, there was a lot to sell there. For the great job Edsall did in building the program, he did more selling of the UMD program at his hiring conference than he ever did at UConn. The fact that the AD was Hathaway I'm sure didn't help the situation. I know this board had this weird hate/thing of Rutgers/Schiano, but he sold, sold, and sold what was probably the worst 1A job in the country and eventually he started keeping some of the best in NJ home.

I keep saying I'm all in Diaco because he is selling UConn constantly. I love that about the guy. How are you going to sell recruits, if you don't display exuberance over the school you coach at? His coaching decisions in year one have been questionable after four games. Shutting down the passing game and the explanation he gave were face palm worthy and eventually he is going to have to win otherwise the bluster will get old fast.

My biggest fear is that now we are at a significant disadvantage being downgraded out of a BCS/P5 league. When Diaco was hired his salary was pretty close Dabo Sweeny down at Clemson. Since then, Clemson has just about doubled his pay. With our meager TV deal payout I fear we will not be able to keep pace for long. I bet UConn pays its football coach better than about 15-25 P5 programs right now, but that will quickly change. I know Edsall started in trailers, but this job going forward swimming against the P5 tide, may be harder. I would love to see us adapt a wide open MAC style offensive system like Cubit ran Western Michigan, while still maintaining solid defense. Casual fans don't show up for bad football. They show up even less for boring 13-7, games like our home loss to USF last year.

 

[noeynox]

UConn wasn't outplayed on either side of the line and Orlovsky wasn't bad at all - they played not to lose against a BC team that was nothing near overwhelming. (They did beat PSU and ND, but neither was very good - they also lost to a bad Wake team.) (Barnes fumbled, not Branch).

UConn's special teams were horrific for most of the 2000's, especially in terms of coverage. How long did we spend bitching that we didn't have a special teams coach? Fitting that our first Big East play was a kickoff return where the returner had the ball a) bounce off his head and then b) popped out of his hands.

I know the official stats say Barnes fumbled, but I swear that was Tyvon Branch. I'd bet one you guy's left nut on it.

 

[freescooter]

I have to say that Callahan's piece was right on the mark as far as I can see. My sense was that Diaco basically panicked when the first few plays went bad. His point that UConn doesn't stop running after a fumble is right on, too. It seems that he has also concluded that this year is about getting reps for underclassmen above all else. You play 4 running backs and a bunch of backup linemen on a regular basis you are going to have a disjointed effort. He seems to have decided that winning isn't possible or at least probable this season so might as well use it as a development year in hopes it pays dividends down the line. He really should just say that.

 

[whaler11]

I know the official stats say Barnes fumbled, but I swear that was Tyvon Branch. I'd bet one you guy's left nut on it.

I was actually in the front row right there and I remember it as Branch and I was actually sober that night.

But I've been corrected on that play in the past here I think.

 

[sdhusky]

I have to say that Callahan's piece was right on the mark as far as I can see. My sense was that Diaco basically panicked when the first few plays went bad. His point that UConn doesn't stop running after a fumble is right on, too. It seems that he has also concluded that this year is about getting reps for underclassmen above all else. You play 4 running backs and a bunch of backup linemen on a regular basis you are going to have a disjointed effort. He seems to have decided that winning isn't possible or at least probable this season so might as well use it as a development year in hopes it pays dividends down the line. He really should just say that.

I actually don't care what he says.

I get this plan for the game. We were within 1 score almost the entire second half. What killed us was the penalties on 3rd and short killing drives and keeping us backed up.

We aren't very good right now. Playing the same players or calling different plays isn't going to change that. We'd still lose right now.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Not really here or there, but thinking about edsall and the program in general,my favorite edsall momentwas when we went for it on 4th down in our own territory against Pitt.

I remember thinking that was going tobe a watershed moment for UConn.

Turns out it's just a memory.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Tyvon Branch is a perfect example of everything I've been harping on. He opened the floodgates for NFL people to be looking at what Randy Edsall was doing with UCONN players, when he was picked in the 4th round in 2008. Al Davis, a man of many many shades, but knew what a good football player was. Pro teams really paid attention when Al Davis sayid he found something good.

Tyvon learned to tackle somewhere. Beatty, Brown, et. al., all learned to block somewhere. Edsall built the rep of a program that turned out players, that were fundamentally sound.

I want that kind of football back, and I don't want to wait for 3 years until the current players are seniors.

Good moving, wide base running toward the mark, head up, chest contact, wrap and lock your arms.

 

[freescooter]

I actually don't care what he says.

I get this plan for the game. We were within 1 score almost the entire second half. What killed us was the penalties on 3rd and short killing drives and keeping us backed up.

We aren't very good right now. Playing the same players or calling different plays isn't going to change that. We'd still lose right now.

We were playing against and equally awful team and one that had a bad pass defense to boot. As he pointed out the combination of our defense and their offensive ineptness made that game close, not his one dimensional offense. When the defense finally broke down the game was over. We only got back into it because he went back to a passing attack in the final minutes. As I asked on another post, if one of the running backs fumbled what was the plan then? Just punt on first down?

 

[sdhusky]

We were playing against and equally awful team and one that had a bad pass defense to boot. As he pointed out the combination of our defense and their offensive ineptness made that game close, not his one dimensional offense. When the defense finally broke down the game was over. We only got back into it because he went back to a passing attack in the final minutes. As I asked on another post, if one of the running backs fumbled what was the plan then? Just punt on first down?

We got in a 14-0 hole early. If you want to complain about why we lost, I would start here. We spent all but about 3 minutes of the second half within one score.

USF scored 3 points in the final 3+ quarters - our defense scored 7. The plan worked from that standpoint but we never got a play on offense (blowing several 3rd & shorts with penalties) or special teams (in fact we got pinned back several times) or caused a fumble on USF's offense.

We were in the game. We had a shot to win. Was it a long shot? Yeah, sure. But once we went down 14-0, it became a long shot no matter what.

I would rather be within 1 score the entire second half in a boring game, than have the game essentially over at halftime.