Crocker

[tiger8mush]

I did like what I saw from true Freshman LB #48 Kevon Jones. Good speed on a few plays. And #14 Wilson, a DB, read a couple plays nicely and showed athleticism. Other than that, the defense was just over-matched. Not sure ANY scheme (given our personnel) was going to slow down the UCF offense. Hopefully in a couple years when these same players are Juniors and Seniors ...

 

[TouchdownHusky]

I did like what I saw from true Freshman LB #48 Kevon Jones. Good speed on a few plays. And #14 Wilson, a DB, read a couple plays nicely and showed athleticism. Other than that, the defense was just over-matched. Not sure ANY scheme (given our personnel) was going to slow down the UCF offense. Hopefully in a couple years when these same players are Juniors and Seniors ...

Or maybe when better recruiting classes result in more athleticism.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

I am shocked out true freshmen DBs didn't show more pose against a team with a Heisman Candidate at quarterback......damn some people on this board.

We our butts kicked by a team that was supposed to kick our butts.

Our QB shows flashes of his potential, and for the first time in years our O-line looked like it was familiar with the concept of protecting a QB.

The D is young and small and that is a bad combination. Luckily, nature will improve both flaws. The rest is up to the coaches.

I also think the kid from New Haven will play on Sundays in 5 years.

 

[whaler11]

I did like what I saw from true Freshman LB #48 Kevon Jones. Good speed on a few plays. And #14 Wilson, a DB, read a couple plays nicely and showed athleticism. Other than that, the defense was just over-matched. Not sure ANY scheme (given our personnel) was going to slow down the UCF offense. Hopefully in a couple years when these same players are Juniors and Seniors ...

Herring Wilson did make two good back to back plays in the red zone... Edsall talked him up in the post game... the tape is not going to be as kind as this post or Randy’s postgame.

 

[CTMike]

Stop. Please.

That’s pretty funny coming from the guy who only ever posts about throwing it every down.

The freshmen looked like freshmen. Sorry if that offends.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

That’s pretty funny coming from the guy who only ever posts about throwing it every down.

The freshmen looked like freshmen. Sorry if that offends.

Freshmen all over the nation will contribute productively in every program throughout the world of college football.

 

[huskymedic]

Neill Ostrout‏ @NeillOstrout 2h 2 hours ago
Edsall: “These young kids...they’ve never seen speed like that.”

Edsall also mentioned that they are disadvantaged because they can't replicate that speed in practice.

 

[Block C]

I honestly think we need to be more aggressive as a defensive unit and put more pressure on the quarterback. He had like more than four seconds to throw the ball. Poor preparation on defense. Plus I’m not too thrilled about Pindell. I can see change coming and that will be good. We will build as a team, but we need more experience and speed

 

[whaler11]

Edsall also mentioned that they are disadvantaged because they can't replicate that speed in practice.

LOL Randy good one.

 

[huskymedic]

LOL Randy good one.

My son looked @ me laughing and said " No schlit Dick Tracy".

 

[Adios]

So now they are going to train to be strong and fast? Cool.

 

[Adios]

Freshmen all over the nation will contribute productively in every program throughout the world of college football.

These are 4 or 5 star freshmen when it comes to big wins, usually. They are athletically more prepared.

 

[firstnline]

It all starts with recruiting. The team needs at least two or three 4-star players on either side of the ball. All you need is a couple of playmakers on offense and defense then the other players feed off their playmaking. As long as we are in the AAC we will not be competitive until we get real playmakers.

 

[Hamms30]

My .02.. I think 3 of those touchdowns came from a true frosh CB just getting taken to school. It's hard to get too angry at a kid who is stepping on the field for the first time to face a Heisman caliber quarterback and an experienced receiving corp. Aside from that, we had three huge turnovers. One to start the game, Pindell's INT before half and then when Buss tip toed the sideline and coughed it up in the red zone. That's anywhere from 9-21 points we left out there. If we lose 56-26 or 56-38, all these posts would be.. "well... I guess that's what we expected right?" Last year we said the same thing about the defense after the first game.. but it was against Holy Cross , not the 21st ranked team in the country.

The thing I took issue with is Crocker said in that interview this week that last year he wished he blitzed more and caused more pressure and chaos. Clearly the DL wasn't getting to Milton. Why weren't we blitzing? Or was I missing it? It just looked like we were dropping 7 or 8 into coverage and giving Milton all day to throw and letting those long ball plays develop.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

My .02.. I think 3 of those touchdowns came from a true frosh CB just getting taken to school. It's hard to get too angry at a kid who is stepping on the field for the first time to face a Heisman caliber quarterback and an experienced receiving corp. Aside from that, we had three huge turnovers. One to start the game, Pindell's INT before half and then when Buss tip toed the sideline and coughed it up in the red zone. That's anywhere from 9-21 points we left out there. If we lose 56-26 or 56-38, all these posts would be.. "well... I guess that's what we expected right?" Last year we said the same thing about the defense after the first game.. but it was against Holy Cross , not the 21st ranked team in the country.

The thing I took issue with is Crocker said in that interview this week that last year he wished he blitzed more and caused more pressure and chaos. Clearly the DL wasn't getting to Milton. Why weren't we blitzing? Or was I missing it? It just looked like we were dropping 7 or 8 into coverage and giving Milton all day to throw and letting those long ball plays develop.

We blitzed. I think some of their bigger gains came off blitzes. Their first td reception Terry came off the edge took a bad inside angle and the qb side stepped him rolled to the outside and threw the ball. It was a very bad opponent for opening game. Need to schedule URI types to correct mistakes made in the opener while still getting a W.

 

[UConnFranklin]

Yes, we got our butts kicked. But, really, did you expect more? I was simply hoping for a good showing. Despite the butt-kickiing I saw many positives in this game. For the most part the O line protected our QB even though they had trouble opening up holes for the backs. Pindell was better than expected. Better reads, more accurate and got rid of the ball fast. Made a number of good calls in throwing the ball away. Our wide outs and tight ends were very good. Didn't drop many balls. Even made a number of really good catches.
Unfortunately, the O shot themselves in the foot on most drives by mental errors, fumbles, etc. Those can improve as the season progresses.

Our speciality teams did a good job. But our D's youth really showed. Although they had speed they were getting pushed around up front and the Corners and Linebackers consistently forgot to pick up the man out of the backfield. That's coaching and experience. This should get better as the season progresses. The D line couldn't put much pressure on UCF's QB. He had an easy night.

Despite all of the problems I see potential for this team. I think we will surprise a few teams this year. UCF is probably an underrated team in its #21 ranking. I can easily see them moving into the top 10. They are big, fast and skilled. A closer game would have been nice but this rout was not surprising. Have faith. I think after the Boise game we will start seeing improvements and some chances for a few wins.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

It all starts with recruiting. The team needs at least two or three 4-star players on either side of the ball. All you need is a couple of playmakers on offense and defense then the other players feed off their playmaking. As long as we are in the AAC we will not be competitive until we get real playmakers.

Pretty much sums up the state of affairs with UConn. Hopefully some of the very young kids can grow into those types of talent.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

That’s pretty funny coming from the guy who only ever posts about throwing it every down.

The freshmen looked like freshmen. Sorry if that offends.

And other than Pindell taking off out of the pocket on abortive pass plays, how'd that running game work out. I do believe that if UConn can get their passing game (along with QB scrambles) going, it may force teams to stop loading the box and completely stuffing any attempt at a ground game. Just saying, but . . . .

 

[Chief00]

My .02.. I think 3 of those touchdowns came from a true frosh CB just getting taken to school. It's hard to get too angry at a kid who is stepping on the field for the first time to face a Heisman caliber quarterback and an experienced receiving corp. Aside from that, we had three huge turnovers. One to start the game, Pindell's INT before half and then when Buss tip toed the sideline and coughed it up in the red zone. That's anywhere from 9-21 points we left out there. If we lose 56-26 or 56-38, all these posts would be.. "well... I guess that's what we expected right?" Last year we said the same thing about the defense after the first game.. but it was against Holy Cross , not the 21st ranked team in the country.

The thing I took issue with is Crocker said in that interview this week that last year he wished he blitzed more and caused more pressure and chaos. Clearly the DL wasn't getting to Milton. Why weren't we blitzing? Or was I missing it? It just looked like we were dropping 7 or 8 into coverage and giving Milton all day to throw and letting those long ball plays develop.

That is one Chief observation - Buss did not justify his playing time. We had other receivers more effective.

 

[UConnNick]

My .02.. I think 3 of those touchdowns came from a true frosh CB just getting taken to school. It's hard to get too angry at a kid who is stepping on the field for the first time to face a Heisman caliber quarterback and an experienced receiving corp. Aside from that, we had three huge turnovers. One to start the game, Pindell's INT before half and then when Buss tip toed the sideline and coughed it up in the red zone. That's anywhere from 9-21 points we left out there. If we lose 56-26 or 56-38, all these posts would be.. "well... I guess that's what we expected right?" Last year we said the same thing about the defense after the first game.. but it was against Holy Cross , not the 21st ranked team in the country.

The thing I took issue with is Crocker said in that interview this week that last year he wished he blitzed more and caused more pressure and chaos. Clearly the DL wasn't getting to Milton. Why weren't we blitzing? Or was I missing it? It just looked like we were dropping 7 or 8 into coverage and giving Milton all day to throw and letting those long ball plays develop.

Crocker coaches scared. You can blame it on the talent level all you want, but then whose fault is that? If you're gonna get pasted anyway, at least go down with all your guns blazing.

 

[RSTuthill]

Maybe it is time we revisited how this game (and the next) got scheduled? Having your freshman secondary (or last year's returnees) get their butts kicked isn't my idea of a learning experience. Could someone refresh our memories so we don't have to go looking for a year old discussion?

Time after time again we had all the DB's deep but static. Milton played toss and catch with receivers in the voids of the matrix. The big interstitial spaces. What the heck is that about? No one is gonna move to a man at some point? And a lot of happy talk about no more big cushions. Well ... they're baaaaack!!

And don't get me started about turning to the ball, especially when the guy you are covering is running out of room (that's a clue about when to turn).

 

[UConnNick]

Maybe it is time we revisited how this game (and the next) got scheduled? Having your freshman secondary (or last year's returnees) get their butts kicked isn't my idea of a learning experience. Could someone refresh our memories so we don't have to go looking for a year old discussion?

Time after time again we had all the DB's deep but static. Milton played toss and catch with receivers in the voids of the matrix. The big interstitial spaces. What the heck is that about? No one is gonna move to a man at some point? And a lot of happy talk about no more big cushions. Well ... they're baaaaack!!

And don't get me started about turning to the ball, especially when the guy you are covering is running out of room (that's a clue about when to turn).

I don't believe the conference teams have anything to say about the conference schedule. They apparently like to have at least one conference game on the national schedule every week of the season. This was their opportunity to showcase the current best team in the league on a national TV broadcast. We were their patsy.

 

[len0322]

I really didn't think it was that bad

Agreed. We are still very early in the rebuild. Although it was no contest, our offensive showed they could move the ball.

 

[len0322]

Maybe it is time we revisited how this game (and the next) got scheduled? Having your freshman secondary (or last year's returnees) get their butts kicked isn't my idea of a learning experience. Could someone refresh our memories so we don't have to go looking for a year old discussion?

Time after time again we had all the DB's deep but static. Milton played toss and catch with receivers in the voids of the matrix. The big interstitial spaces. What the heck is that about? No one is gonna move to a man at some point? And a lot of happy talk about no more big cushions. Well ... they're baaaaack!!

And don't get me started about turning to the ball, especially when the guy you are covering is running out of room (that's a clue about when to turn).

Tonight was a conference game...don't think much could be done about it

 

[RSTuthill]

Tonight was a conference game...don't think much could be done about it

Since when was any school forced into a conference game in its opener? Never happened before has it?