Congrats to Palatine

[businesslawyer]

No more needs to be said. I am on him when he says stuff I think is silly, but he's looking like a genius tonight.,

 

[gars44]

Why?

 

[uconnbaseball]

Think it has something to do with Nick Williams.

 

[cryjeremiah]

Not that I ever disagreed with him, but he does deserve props. So, good call, Pal.

 

[zls44]

Props for Pal.

 

[Nostical]

I've been calling NickyWill "Wes Welker" for some time but Edsall wouldn't use him in that role. Great to see how this coaching staff has come around.

 

[coachRD]

No more needs to be said. I am on him when he says stuff I think is silly, but he's looking like a genius tonight.,

Actually, I don't think his two big plays tonight "prove" squat about lack of past playing time at WR. I think his KR and PR decision making this year has been extremely questionable, and for a veteran player, it should be better than it is. And this decision-making problem shows up at a position when he has limited decisions to make: kind of like a hitter when the count is 2-0. Decide BEFORE the pitch what you want-if it's there, swing. Anything else-let it go.

If Nick Williams struggles with the decision making process as a return guy STILL, that says to me (a former scrub college WR bench warmer myself, thank you very much!) that he REALLY struggled with the "on the fly" decisions that WR's must make in the middle of a play as they see coverages change.

I am extremely happy he has worked his way into the rotation and found Wes Welker-like plays that lend themselves to his abilities. I'm pumped. We don't have a single coach (previous regime, or this one) I'm sure who doesn't recognize his ability in space. I think people REALLY underestimate the amount/difficulty of decisions WR's need to make, and they assume that because he is having success NOW on those plays, that he was somehow ready for them in the previous two years.

I'm glad he is stepping up but I don't for a second think that means he was ready to do it in the past as a slot guy. Let's see him improve his decision-making as a returner and I'll be even happier.

He gave the O the shot in the arm they needed as the games get more important. I think we will see more great stuff from him the rest of the way.

 

[whaler11]

I was thinking the same thing about Williams and Palatine. I'm just not sure he'll have the same kind of success when they step up in class. Luckily there are plenty of Big East games which aren't much of a step up.

 

[Palatine]

Actually, I don't think his two big plays tonight "prove" squat about lack of past playing time at WR. I think his KR and PR decision making this year has been extremely questionable, and for a veteran player, it should be better than it is. And this decision-making problem shows up at a position when he has limited decisions to make: kind of like a hitter when the count is 2-0. Decide BEFORE the pitch what you want-if it's there, swing. Anything else-let it go.

If Nick Williams struggles with the decision making process as a return guy STILL, that says to me (a former scrub college WR bench warmer myself, thank you very much!) that he REALLY struggled with the "on the fly" decisions that WR's must make in the middle of a play as they see coverages change.

I am extremely happy he has worked his way into the rotation and found Wes Welker-like plays that lend themselves to his abilities. I'm pumped. We don't have a single coach (previous regime, or this one) I'm sure who doesn't recognize his ability in space. I think people REALLY underestimate the amount/difficulty of decisions WR's need to make, and they assume that because he is having success NOW on those plays, that he was somehow ready for them in the previous two years.

I'm glad he is stepping up but I don't for a second think that means he was ready to do it in the past as a slot guy. Let's see him improve his decision-making as a returner and I'll be even happier.

He gave the O the shot in the arm they needed as the games get more important. I think we will see more great stuff from him the rest of the way.

You're joking, right? Didn't prove squat? Yikes.

 

[coachRD]

You're joking, right? Didn't prove squat? Yikes.

You're joking, right? Didn't prove squat? Yikes.

Well he CLEARLY proved he is ready to contribute at Slot this year. I'm just making the point that it does not mean that he was ready to contribute at that position in the past. He was awesome tonight.

 

[Skiblets]

Wide receiver position is always stacked at WPI. Tough breaking into the rotation

 

[coachRD]

Wide receiver position is always stacked at WPI. Tough breaking into the rotation

Ha! I was NOWHERE near cracking that. My favorite vindication though was when a backup WPI WR transferred to UCONN and caught a TD in the Motor City Bowl game. thanks for helping my self esteem Skiblets!

 

[Skiblets]

Ha! I was NOWHERE near cracking that. My favorite vindication though was when a backup WPI WR transferred to UCONN and caught a TD in the Motor City Bowl game. thanks for helping my self esteem Skiblets!

Even Brian Sparks couldn't get burn for the mighty Engineers

 

[huskysupporter]

I don't care if a coach has to tell Williams which route to run 1 second before the snap. On a dull offense devoid of playmakers, he made 2 big plays. Really big.

Deleone needs to scrap the wildcat and go with a short/intermediate passing game. Williams in the slot catching the ball in stride 5-7 yards down field, Isiah Moore running intermediate routes on the outside, and Griffin running down the seam. Use Kash Moores short area quickness to create mismatches in the middle of the field with him and Williams.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Thank God for Nick Williams tomight as the game would still be 3-3 if it weren't for him. Our offense is regressing but he was a bright spot (asnd a win beats the hell out of a loss).

On a side note, how thw duckK has our special teams become so horrid?

 

[Husky68]

Well he CLEARLY proved he is ready to contribute at Slot this year. I'm just making the point that it does not mean that he was ready to contribute at that position in the past. He was awesome tonight.

Yeah, I'm sure if we were playing on Friday he wouldn't have been ready. Lucky for uconn the game was on Saturday.

 

[businesslawyer]

Sorry. I thought you could just complement someone quickly without the thread devolving.

My bad.

 

[Sean]

Annoting Nick Williams tonight is right up there with Dez Connor annoiting Scotty McCummings after the Fordham game.

My insinuation here is that you are qualified to be a Courant beat writer, so congrats, all!

 

[coachRD]

Yeah, I'm sure if we were playing on Friday he wouldn't have been ready. Lucky for uconn the game was on Saturday.

Sorry, I'm not sure what your meaning is here.

 

[gabect]

Sorry. I thought you could just complement someone quickly without the thread devolving.

My bad.

You complement Palatine rather well I must say, hand in glove.

 

[Waquoit]

Actually, I don't think his two big plays tonight "prove" squat about lack of past playing time at WR. I think his KR and PR decision making this year has been extremely questionable, and for a veteran player, it should be better than it is.

The kid got open and hung on to the ball. That's what we need. The YAC was gravy. More gravy than even I use. But you are taking points away for his return decisions?

 

[coachRD]

The kid got open and hung on to the ball. That's what we need. The YAC was gravy. More gravy than even I use. But you are taking points away for his return decisions?

Coach Edsall has gotten major grief from some posters for not finding a place for Nick Williams to contribute in the previous 2 seasons at WR. I'm simply saying that the fact that he still struggles with making good decisions as a Returner, where the decision making process is relatively simple-says to me that it has probably taken him until this year to develop the ability to make the type of split-second, on the fly decisions that are needed for a Slot WR when they are adjusting their patterns on the fly. I am excited that he may emerge this year as an offensive threat. I just think some posters are making a mistake in assuming that he was underutilized in previous seasons as a WR simply because he has made some plays at WR this year. I like gravy too!

 

[UCHuskies08]

Coach Edsall has gotten major grief from some posters for not finding a place for Nick Williams to contribute in the previous 2 seasons at WR. I'm simply saying that the fact that he still struggles with making good decisions as a Returner, where the decision making process is relatively simple-says to me that it has probably taken him until this year to develop the ability to make the type of split-second, on the fly decisions that are needed for a Slot WR when they are adjusting their patterns on the fly. I am excited that he may emerge this year as an offensive threat. I just think some posters are making a mistake in assuming that he was underutilized in previous seasons as a WR simply because he has made some plays at WR this year. I like gravy too!

Basically you don't know, you're just projecting past experiences onto this situation as if they have any relevance

 

[coachRD]

Basically you don't know, you're just projecting past experiences onto this situation as if they have any relevance

I certainly don't claim to "know" Willaims had trouble grasping the nuances of playing WR-I'm not a coach on the staff. As for relevance-I think it's reasonable that if you see that a player struggles in the mental aspect of the game, it could be an indicator that this has limited his playing time in the past. Some posters believe the fact that he has made some plays this year as a Slot is proof that he was wasted on the bench the last 2 years, and I'm merely trying to point out the analysis isn't that simple.

 

[Husky68]

I certainly don't claim to "know" Willaims had trouble grasping the nuances of playing WR-I'm not a coach on the staff. As for relevance-I think it's reasonable that if you see that a player struggles in the mental aspect of the game, it could be an indicator that this has limited his playing time in the past. Some posters believe the fact that he has made some plays this year as a Slot is proof that he was wasted on the bench the last 2 years, and I'm merely trying to point out the analysis isn't that simple.

No, what some posters think is that someone who doesn't play WR for into his 3rd year while leadin Div1A in kick return average yardage and then in game 4 of his 3rd year gets a couple of short catches for over 100 yards:

1. Might have been worth getting some playing time at WR like Difton;
2. Might have gotten better sooner with some playing time earlier (strange how playing time tends to improve skill players - or prove they can't do it);
3. Might just be that everyone struggles in the mental aspect of the game if you want to see that in a player you will - how good is the coach in seeing "its worth the struggles for this guy vs. the alternative";
4. Might be worth a look if the team can't get a passing game for squat and he is a slot receiver where quick passes and runs are possible with even uconn type pass blocking and qb play.