Dan Mullen 'rumor'

[J187Money]

I honestly didn't know what you were thinking when I asked the question. Thanks for clarifying. I can only guess the rational of his decision making. My guess is the injury is borderline in nature. The staff are not going to have the defense go aggressively at Boyle in practice. So they put him in games for a few plays to see if he can work out the problem.

That's my issue. HCBD KNOWS that the fanbase is frustrated, and even the rational folks here (which I believe I am one) can't understand why we are doing what we are doing. And even though we think what is happening doesn't make sense, most of us would back off if he was actually straight about what he is going. I still think you should play him a lot or shut him down. He isn't an experienced QB, so putting him out there for a few plays at 75% can't be good for his confidence.

 

[noeynox]

Who said you are a bad guy for responding. You said you hate people being divided into groups right after you did it.

I honestly don't really get your point? I'm a bully? I get personally attacked by like 5 different posters who prefer to do it that way then try to actually discuss football and I'm a bully?

The whole division of group thing, is a pain in the , that has its roots in if you criticized Edsall for saying it was foolish of him for running Todman three straight times up four late, at Rutgers. When he continued to run Todman at all costs after he hurt his elbow against Temple. You were personally attacked cause Edsall knows best blah,blah, blah. The defending of Edsall no matter what he did fueled a lot of the so called "division" on the board.

For some they cannot see the difference that questioning what the hell Diaco is doing with Boyle and some other questionable decisions, is not the same as saying he is a bad hire the program is doomed etc. In a way I guess I admire fans that never question anything the HC does. It doesn't alway come down to execution as Edsall always stated after a loss. Sometimes the other coach out executes your guy. When guys get paid 7 figures, their "coaching" decisions are fair game. The only game I really feel Diaco's coaching decisions may have caused us a chance to win were USF, but he gave his reasons, and I could live with them.

I believe Diaco will be a solid HC long term, but his first year has come with some REAL head scratchers. I keep going back to that press conference about naming a starting QB. That was a strange moment. The insistence of the zone blocking scheme doesn't make sense to me. This is simply set up as a season where "development" is not going to give us a lot to cheer about, but I'm hopeful that in the very near future we will be competing for the league title and sympathy bowl.

 

[J187Money]

Put me in the camp that this board is exactly where it is supposed to be, pissed off, hopeful and desperate for something good to happen. The last 3-1/2 years demand nothing less. Clearly, PP should have never been hired or at least given the boot after his second season. The jury is still out on Diaco, but he hasn't done anything to show that he will turn this program around. Still too early to say he won't but some of the decisions, whether they are long term plays or not, seem odd. And I can't let go of how bad the O-line is. Blocking is somewhat fundamental to FB, the first thing taught after how to put on the uniform. I am more than a bit puzzled that he and his staff, haven't devised some scheme to produce results better than we are seeing against the level of competition we are playing. I recall playing #1 Miami and not looking this out of depth.

It's OK to keep hope alive and to reserve judgment in this first year, but it's not like he's coaching up the track team to play at the Rent, it is a D1 football roster. He needs to do better just as much as the players need to do better. Benign skepticism seems about right to me.

In retrospect, yes - I think we all agree that PP should have been fired after year 2. But if he was, I don't think we are 4-1 right now. CC is probably still out of football, and Whitmer is still Whitmer, and Boyle would still be the future. The only real question is whether HCBD is the guy. If he is, 2 years from now we will be winning, going to bowl games and it won't matter that PP got an extra 4 games and we wasted a season.

The "if only X happened 4 years ago we would be Y now" sorts of arguments are fun (I guess), but not particularly fruitful and generally full of hyperbole.

 

[SubbaBub]

The UCONN football program was never as good as many people thought it was, and it isn't dead now either. It was always going to take a long time - when we really arrive, it will make all of the pain seem like it was worth it.

This is naïve. They were exactly as good as their record said. They were champions, the a lot of games no one thought they could win. They we're a top 25 team, but they were definitely a top 30 team on the field. The BCS designation, scheduling for bowl bids, and a coach who knew how to find and coach FB players outside the star system allowed this to happen. The G5 designation changes a lot. The weaker schedules, should allow for more wins. Failure to do so, recruiting the best "rated" players who will come to Storrs, and a dwindling revenue stream is a death sentence. Where death is 15,000 people watching us play UMass in a conference game.

 

[SubbaBub]

In retrospect, yes - I think we all agree that PP should have been fired after year 2. But if he was, I don't think we are 4-1 right now. CC is probably still out of football, and Whitmer is still Whitmer, and Boyle would still be the future. The only real question is whether HCBD is the guy. If he is, 2 years from now we will be winning, going to bowl games and it won't matter that PP got an extra 4 games and we wasted a season.

The "if only X happened 4 years ago we would be Y now" sorts of arguments are fun (I guess), but not particularly fruitful and generally full of hyperbole.

Obviously, we can never know. But, if you believe the root of our problem is P not bringing in the talent we all believed he was and P not coaching up the team like we know he didn't, it is difficult to assert that not taking another year going in reverse wouldn't have improved this year's performances.

It is perfectly reasonable to state that P should have been fired the day after 5 of his players were drafted equaling his win total for the year.

 

[gioff23]

Everyone here shd have to watch mullen on game day today.

You don't get wins and then fans, you need fans and an atmosphere first. The wins come later

 

[ctchamps]

That's my issue. HCBD KNOWS that the fanbase is frustrated, and even the rational folks here (which I believe I am one) can't understand why we are doing what we are doing. And even though we think what is happening doesn't make sense, most of us would back off if he was actually straight about what he is going. I still think you should play him a lot or shut him down. He isn't an experienced QB, so putting him out there for a few plays at 75% can't be good for his confidence.

You are rational which is why I approached you.

I totally agree that putting Boyle with limited reps with an injury can be bad for his confidence. That is THE downside to this approach along with the increased risk of getting hurt worse than he is now. But I would guess Tim wants to try and determine his status as much as the coaches want to evaluate it. And most likely the medical staff has no way of knowing what percentage of discomfort he's in. With the limited rep approach they are trying to minimize risk for further injury as they try to maximize the period of time to determine if the existing injury has improved. I'm with you in that I wouldn't play him at all, but I understand the coaches approach.

Those of us who want consistency from our coach won't be happy because he's not consistent enough. Those who want experimentation won't be happy because he's not experimenting enough. Those who want immediate results don't care about the future. Those who look long term will dismiss short term results. We debate amongst ourselves. Aren't these the debating voices that Diaco factors in when he is assessing how to approach things?

Does he think short term, long term, minimalist approach, developmental approach and so on. It's not like he has a lot of petri dishes that he can try different things before he shows us a definitive product. The petri dish is the team and the experiment is each game. What goes on in practice is primarily getting the materials you want to try things out. We're debating the quality of those materials. Are they sufficient enough and not being put to good use or are they insufficient? I have my opinions, but I don't know if I'm correct. No one really knows for sure.

 

[J187Money]

Obviously, we can never know. But, if you believe the root of our problem is P not bringing in the talent we all believed he was and P not coaching up the team like we know he didn't, it is difficult to assert that not taking another year going in reverse wouldn't have improved this year's performances.

It is perfectly reasonable to state that P should have been fired the day after 5 of his players were drafted equaling his win total for the year.

I think the root problem with P was that he was a CEO type / delegator and left a lot to trust. That the players would work out, that his assistants would fix problems, etc. He had been out of college for too long and didn't understand how to manage in that environment any longer. It isn't that he didn't work hard, it isn't that he didn't know football, and that he didn't bring in good players. He clearly wasn't a "process" guy - and left the program in disarray.

 

[J187Money]

You are rational which is why I approached you.

I totally agree that putting Boyle with limited reps with an injury can be bad for his confidence. That is THE downside to this approach along with the increased risk of getting hurt worse than he is now. But I would guess Tim wants to try and determine his status as much as the coaches want to evaluate it. And most likely the medical staff has no way of knowing what percentage of discomfort he's in. With the limited rep approach they are trying to minimize risk for further injury as they try to maximize the period of time to determine if the existing injury has improved. I'm with you in that I wouldn't play him at all, but I understand the coaches approach.

Those of us who want consistency from our coach won't be happy because he's not consistent enough. Those who want experimentation won't be happy because he's not experimenting enough. Those who want immediate results don't care about the future. Those who look long term will dismiss short term results. We debate amongst ourselves. Aren't these the debating voices that Diaco factors in when he is assessing how to approach things?

Does he think short term, long term, minimalist approach, developmental approach and so on. It's not like he has a lot of petri dishes that he can try different things before he shows us a definitive product. The petri dish is the team and the experiment is each game. What goes on in practice is primarily getting the materials you want to try things out. We're debating the quality of those materials. Are they sufficient enough and not being put to good use or are they insufficient? I have my opinions, but I don't know if I'm correct. No one really knows for sure.

The thing that stumps me is that they can simulate live action in practice. So there is no reason for Boyle to "practice" for 5-10 plays in a live game. I'm over the "preseason" stuff and all of the rotations he used. And while I "hoped" we would be bowl eligible this year, I didn't really expect it once Cochran went down. I mostly wanted it for the casual fan who will lose interest if we are 3-9 again this year.

 

[ctchamps]

The thing that stumps me is that they can simulate live action in practice. So there is no reason for Boyle to "practice" for 5-10 plays in a live game. I'm over the "preseason" stuff and all of the rotations he used. And while I "hoped" we would be bowl eligible this year, I didn't really expect it once Cochran went down. I mostly wanted it for the casual fan who will lose interest if we are 3-9 again this year.

You would think they would get an understanding in practice. But maybe this defense doesn't have the blitzing ability that exists with other teams or maybe they like Boyle and hold back a little more than defenses of other teams because they don't want to hurt him. Or maybe they know the QB situation is really bad depth chart wise and the last thing they want to do is make it worse. Opposing teams's players have no concerns with that regard.

I get what you want for the big picture. You, like most of the guys in this forum are the diehard fans. You will be fans through thick and thin. Whether you can have civil conversations with one another in the future is another thing.

 

[J187Money]

You would think they would get an understanding in practice. But maybe this defense doesn't have the blitzing ability that exists with other teams or maybe they like Boyle and hold back a little more than defenses of other teams because they don't want to hurt him. Or maybe they know the QB situation is really bad depth chart wise and the last thing they want to do is make it worse. Opposing teams's players have no concerns with that regard.

I get what you want for the big picture. You, like most of the guys in this forum are the diehard fans. You will be fans through thick and thin. Whether you can have civil conversations with one another in the future is another thing.

You nailed it with all of the "maybes"...let's hope we get some answers.

 

[ctchamps]

You nailed it with all of the "maybes"...let's hope we get some answers.

I don't know how you can evaluate that. Let's hope things click with the OL, the coaches implement the "right schemes" and Boyle gets healthy.

 

[whaler11]

The whole division of group thing, is a pain in the , that has its roots in if you criticized Edsall for saying it was foolish of him for running Todman three straight times up four late, at Rutgers. When he continued to run Todman at all costs after he hurt his elbow against Temple. You were personally attacked cause Edsall knows best blah,blah, blah. The defending of Edsall no matter what he did fueled a lot of the so called "division" on the board.

For some they cannot see the difference that questioning what the hell Diaco is doing with Boyle and some other questionable decisions, is not the same as saying he is a bad hire the program is doomed etc. In a way I guess I admire fans that never question anything the HC does. It doesn't alway come down to execution as Edsall always stated after a loss. Sometimes the other coach out executes your guy. When guys get paid 7 figures, their "coaching" decisions are fair game. The only game I really feel Diaco's coaching decisions may have caused us a chance to win were USF, but he gave his reasons, and I could live with them.

I believe Diaco will be a solid HC long term, but his first year has come with some REAL head scratchers. I keep going back to that press conference about naming a starting QB. That was a strange moment. The insistence of the zone blocking scheme doesn't make sense to me. This is simply set up as a season where "development" is not going to give us a lot to cheer about, but I'm hopeful that in the very near future we will be competing for the league title and sympathy bowl.

Who defended Edsall unconditionally? I mocked him just last week.

 

[CTBasketball]

To whaler's defense, I don't think he's a bully at all. That's nonsense talk. If anything, he's the best straight shooter we have on this board. And that's a good thing we have someone like that. When I acted like an azzhat the other week, he told me I was dumb and that I needed to shut up. I then realized I was dumb and I shut up for about a week.

 

[noeynox]

Who defended Edsall unconditionally? I mocked him just last week.

Plenty on this board did. It is the same dynamic playing out now in regards to Diaco. If you question, any decisions you're painted as negative, not having the stomach for a rebuild, being it a know it all, etc.

 

[Sky ball]

I think the root problem with P was that he was a CEO type / delegator and left a lot to trust. That the players would work out, that his assistants would fix problems, etc. He had been out of college for too long and didn't understand how to manage in that environment any longer. It isn't that he didn't work hard, it isn't that he didn't know football, and that he didn't bring in good players. He clearly wasn't a "process" guy - and left the program in disarray.

Was he ever a good coach/manager/CEO? What was his record at Syracuse without Donovan Mcnabb?

 

[huskymedic]

Everyone here shd have to watch mullen on game day today.

You don't get wins and then fans, you need fans and an atmosphere first. The wins come later

 

[whaler11]

Plenty on this board did. It is the same dynamic playing out now in regards to Diaco. If you question, any decisions you're painted as negative, not having the stomach for a rebuild, being it a know it all, etc.

Having strong opinions does not equal thinking knowing it all. I'm more than happy to admit when I'm wrong. For example I was wrong about Cochran. He was better that I thought he would be.

I've got a stomach for a rebuild. I was there every blowout at Memorial. They can go 1-11 and I won't say boo about Diaco if there is a coherent plan that can be connected between actions and words.

 

[Bonehead]

Who defended Edsall unconditionally? I mocked him just last week.

I did - and still would.

The good ol days!

I miss the good ol days.

 

[whaler11]

Plenty on this board did. It is the same dynamic playing out now in regards to Diaco. If you question, any decisions you're painted as negative, not having the stomach for a rebuild, being it a know it all, etc.

Reread this, your commas threw, me off.

 

[noeynox]

Reread this, your commas threw, me off.

Sorry the comma was supposed to be after decisions.

 

[junglehusky]

Having strong opinions does not equal thinking knowing it all. I'm more than happy to admit when I'm wrong. For example I was wrong about Cochran. He was better that I thought he would be.

I've got a stomach for a rebuild. I was there every blowout at Memorial. They can go 1-11 and I won't say boo about Diaco if there is a coherent plan that can be connected between actions and words.

That may be true, but based on what this program has been though, it's not hard to imagine reading an isolated post that is accurately critical of the coach (or even several posts) would give the reader the impression that the poster wants the coach removed.

As far as judging whether there is a long term plan in place or not, that is a completely subjective assessment given the lack of experienced personnel in the team. Fans on the more supportive side will point to a change in culture or other anecdotes, those on the critical side will point to lack of wins. Neither has any real knowledge of what the record in 2016 will be, which is the best metric to judge the plan. Also, whether the fans support the plan or not is mostly inconsequential (aside from future donations, which is more dependent on wins anyway ), it's whether the recruits that come into the program buy in that is crucial.

 

[junglehusky]

Anyhow since we've revived this thread, what do folks think our records would be worth the same players but a staff headed by Mullen? I think you could argue 1 more win with a different coach (USF), maybe 2 if they have a radical gameplan for one of the other games but that's a stretch. No offensive genius would be able to resurrect this offense in year one.

 

[whaler11]

That may be true, but based on what this program has been though, it's not hard to imagine reading an isolated post that is accurately critical of the coach (or even several posts) would give the reader the impression that the poster wants the coach removed.

As far as judging whether there is a long term plan in place or not, that is a completely subjective assessment given the lack of experienced personnel in the team. Fans on the more supportive side will point to a change in culture or other anecdotes, those on the critical side will point to lack of wins. Neither has any real knowledge of what the record in 2016 will be, which is the best metric to judge the plan. Also, whether the fans support the plan or not is mostly inconsequential (aside from future donations, which is more dependent on wins anyway ), it's whether the recruits that come into the program buy in that is crucial.

Well I judge what I see so pretty much I ignore the concept of culture - I'm not there so I don't know. I have to imagine it improved though because we've seen effort in the games - so that's a very good thing.

I'm just trying to connect decisions to a strategy. I get the impression that Diaco can't decide between this week and 2016 sometimes. I'd rather not have to wonder - I don't really care which one he picks at this point in the season.

And I fully agree: What I (or anyone else at this point) think or say doesn't matter relative to his plan. God willing I'll be here as a UConn long after Diaco if he is successful or not.

I do disagree that the critics all are upset over a lack of wins. I know he doesn't have the horses and when I'm critical it's not because they lost.

 

[whaler11]

Sorry the comma was supposed to be after decisions.

Sorry I was joking I meant to point out that I realized you weren't just talking about me.