Desmond Conner : Pasqualoni walked into a train wreck

[Jimmy Serrano]

I don't think he ever sees the field. And I'm not sure he out performed Nebrich either. He looked like a scared kid out there. Every once and a while there is a situation where a coach recruits a kid for reasons other than what the kid brings to the table. This was one of those times.

How in the world do you even come to this conclusion?

 

[ZooCougar]

Dez hated Edsall, he is so biased that its not even worth following him anymore. Ed D is a much better follow

Except all three of them, (Silver and D) are spouting the same stuff. Ed D actually has a decent sense of humor though.

 

[junglehusky]

The thing that bothers me about dez is that he gets combative with people who comment on his blog and ask him questions on his chat.

Well, he does seem to be really defensive when people make it about him specifically. I think he should just not give a crap what people say about him, but that's easy for me to say since I don't have anonymous people commenting about what a bad job I'm doing. For one thing they'd say I spend too much time on the boneyard.

 

[Nostical]

I like Dez. Dez is a friend. But Dez is flat out wrong here. When a coach discovers weaknesses in certain personnel he plays to their strengths. Coach P and GD took their smallish RB McCombs and used him like he was Larry Csonka. The line blocking schemes were a disaster. The entire offensive philosophy has not meshed with our players' talents. This does not mean Coach P walked into a train wreck. In truth he found a fully functioning train but decided to put the caboose in the front, the coal car last, and then wondered (with an emotionless expression) why he was always running late.

A friend of mine who's a pretty smart guy (not a UConn fan) described our current dilemma in horse racing terms. PP is like a horse trainer. Last year in the Derby he had a front runner and ran him fast from the starting gate. This year his horse is a closer. But instead of having him running off the pace, he tells the jockey to break from the gate and take the lead. Now his horse keeps losing and he tells the owner, "You gave me a bad horse to train---I walked into a train wreck!".

This was a capable, talented team and these coaches completely messed it up. As a wise man said, "Not being able to perceive may be the textbook definition of blindness".

 

[freescooter]

How in the world do you even come to this conclusion?

He isn't beating out Whitmer in the next 2 years. By that time we'll have someone else, possibly the Texas kid ready to step in. I saw Cochran only once I admit, but he looked pretty ordinary to me. A marginal D1 talent. Slow footed in particular. He was recruited to keep up ties with the Connecticut high school coaches. It was an investment, not a true talent search. It may well have paid off with some of the local kids who are now looking at UConn but didn't before.

 

[UConn9604]

Not to overstate the obvious, but let's keep our eye on the ball here: in my opinion, Pasqualoni isn't performing to the level that is expected of a veteran head coach who is making $1.6 million to coach football in one of the nation's best athletic programs.

That's all. It's nothing personal, really.

 

[Pudge]

Desmond Conner has no credibility after that.

First ... a continued Edsall tenure would have taken that team to a bowl last year NOT 5-7. He would have retained Robbie Frey someway. And, we'd have been a fairly typical UConn team of the last decade. The OLINE is fine ... that is a DeLeone problem.

Second ... this year? Where is the Coach? He is supposed to be an experienced guy. This is the worst atmosphere you could have at this point. It's a train wreck; a plane crash; a bus over the highway now.

 

[UC990411]

Desmond Conner has no credibility after that.

First ... a continued Edsall tenure would have taken that team to a bowl last year NOT 5-7. He would have retained Robbie Frey someway. And, we'd have been a fairly typical UConn team of the last decade. The OLINE is fine ... that is a DeLeone problem.

He hates Edsall, always has always will. He hates him because he made his job difficult because he didn't give any information.

 

[uconndogs]

Dez needs to protect his contact with the program and he does that be staying on P's good side.

That said, the "train wreck" that P inherited came off of a BCS bowl and had a solid OL that could always run the ball. There will be as many as 4-5 guys off this defense that will either go in the NFL draft or end up in a camp. I don't see a "train wreck". I see a failed offensive plan that is completely ineffective at the point of attach.......completely.

Now we have no running game, pass protection is awful as teams don't have to respect the run anymore and our OLmen don't know how to pick up blitzes anyway. Now the defense is worn out physically and mentally. The "train wreck" was not inherited, it was created.

I've said all along that P is back next season absent the team giving up. It could shake out exactly that way. It's my strong suspision that the vast majority of the problem lies with our OC. But, that is ultimately on P. He put him there and is evdiently choosing to leave him there.

 

[Waquoit]

The thing that bothers me about dez is that he gets combative with people who comment on his blog and ask him questions on his chat.

I like that he's willing to mix it up a bit. That's more fun than the ones that give you the high-hat.

Dez hated Edsall, he is so biased that its not even worth following him anymore.

I don't agree. Edsall wasn't hated or treated unfairly. For the most part he got his butt kissed at UConn by the entire corps.

 

[NutmegState]

I was not an Edsall fan. In fact, I wanted a change, because I wanted to see if someone could break through and take us to a 10-2, 11-1 type season. I don't think Edsall was capable of that here. I will readily admit, 100 %, that if Edsall was here last year and this, we'd have been bowling both years, without question.

Pasqualoni has been nothing short of awful.

And calling what Edsall left a trainwreck is absurd. Edsall left UConn a solid FBS level program, with some shortcomings, yes, but overall solid.

 

[ZooCougar]

Well, he does seem to be really defensive when people make it about him specifically. I think he should just not give a crap what people say about him, but that's easy for me to say since I don't have anonymous people commenting about what a bad job I'm doing. For one thing they'd say I spend too much time on the boneyard.

Jungle,

It's impossible to ask that guy a question without making him fly off the handle. You've seen it on twitter. He goes from zero to m'fer in no time flat. He is a big emotional blob of goo.



It's at the point now where people just say stuff to get a rise out of him.


Just look at the Uconnblog guy just now. He had to kiss Desmond's ass just to keep him from going nuclear.

 

[junglehusky]

Pretty much yeah. But that was a good conversation (I thought).

 

[ZooCougar]

Pretty much yeah. But that was a good conversation (I thought).

But did you see how he had to say "I really appreciate all the hard work you do"? Good grief, that has to be one of the easiest jobs ever.

 

[pj]

The program P inherited was light years above the program P will be leaving his successor. LMFAO

I don't see this. He's not failing in program areas like recruiting, he's failing at winning games. The next coach will come into as much talent as P did, and can fix the winning games part right away.

 

[businesslawyer]

I don't see this. He's not failing in program areas like recruiting, he's failing at winning games. The next coach will come into as much talent as P did, and can fix the winning games part right away.

While I get your point, when a new program like UConn falls off the cliff like this it is going to make it harder for the next guy to recruit, and it's not as easy to build back up player's confidence, and untrain them from the ridiculous ways they are currently being coached, as just starting over.

There will be a long term effect of the current reign.

 

[ZooCougar]

Falling off the cliff. Love it.

 

[pj]

You said PP was going to leave behind more talent than RE. I was wondering how you came to that conclusion. Remember Cochran has not seen the field so we don't know about him yet.

Offense:
QB -- Whitmer with a year of experience, Cochran and Lagow as backups >>>> McEntee Nebrich etc.
RB -- Marriner and McCombs as junior, DeLorenzo/Williams/Hyppolite as backups >> McCombs as frosh
WR -- Geremy Davis/Tebucky Jones/Shakim Phillips/Dhameer Bradley/Noel Thomas >>>> 2011 receivers
TE -- Myers + somebody => Griffin + Delahunt
O-line: worse in 2013 than 2011

Defense: similar talent level in 2013, 2011 had great line but was thin at linebacker and secondary. When we lost Blidi the defense was horrible.

Overall I'd say PP is leaving more talent than RE did. The skill positions on offense are far better, the o-line is worse, the defense is comparable.

 

[sportsart]

While I get your point, when a new program like UConn falls off the cliff like this it is going to make it harder for the next guy to recruit, and it's not as easy to build back up player's confidence, and untrain them from the ridiculous ways they are currently being coached, as just starting over.

There will be a long term effect of the current reign.

I'm not sure I agree. If Foley and Day were plugged in right now as OL and OC with DB as interm HC I'd put money on a rebound right away. I may lose that bet but I would still make it.

 

[sportsart]

Offense:
QB -- Whitmer with a year of experience, Cochran and Lagow as backups >>>> McEntee Nebrich etc.
RB -- Marriner and McCombs as junior, DeLorenzo/Williams/Hyppolite as backups >> McCombs as frosh
WR -- Geremy Davis/Tebucky Jones/Shakim Phillips/Dhameer Bradley/Noel Thomas >>>> 2011 receivers
TE -- Myers + somebody => Griffin + Delahunt
O-line: worse in 2013 than 2011

Defense: similar talent level in 2013, 2011 had great line but was thin at linebacker and secondary. When we lost Blidi the defense was horrible.

Overall I'd say PP is leaving more talent than RE did. The skill positions on offense are far better, the o-line is worse, the defense is comparable.

Good point. All incoming recruit are gonna be special. Too funny.

 

[businesslawyer]

I'm not sure I agree. If Foley and Day were plugged in right now as OL and OC with DB as interm HC I'd put money on a rebound right away. I may lose that bet but I would still make it.

I wouldn't mind if we got to find out. But I don't think you can successfully go back to man blocking using one off week when you've spent almost two full years being told to forget that and zone block.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I wouldn't mind if we got to find out. But I don't think you can successfully go back to man blocking using one off week when you've spent almost two full years being told to forget that and zone block.

Don't read more into blocking schemes than what they are. That's what's so perplexing about whatever the hell Deleone has done to this offense. You can either count to six, or you can't, and you either move as a unit together, or you have individual movements based on position and play call. Deleone has changed the offensive lineman stances, and movement patterns signficantly, and at times, I can't for the life of me, figure out how the offense (and I mean entire offense - not just the 5 OL) is determining who to block prior to snap and what to key on and look for. THey could be standing in front of fence, and fail to get their hands on it at times (and that means everybody - not just the OL)

I would bet that the linemen that have had both systems would be relieved, and happy to go back to the stances and moves they were taught by Foley - for the simple reason, that they know that it worked when they did that. Simple psychology.

 

[businesslawyer]

Don't read more into blocking schemes than what they are. That's what's so perplexing about whatever the hell Deleone has done to this offense. You can either count to six, or you can't, and you either move as a unit together, or you have individual movements based on position and play call. Deleone has changed the offensive lineman stances, and movement patterns signficantly, and at times, I can't for the life of me, figure out how the offense (and I mean entire offense - not just the 5 OL) is determining who to block prior to snap and what to key on and look for. THey could be standing in front of fence, and fail to get their hands on it at times (and that means everybody - not just the OL)

I would bet that the linemen that have had both systems would be relieved, and happy to go back to the stances and moves they were taught by Foley - for the simple reason, that they know that it worked when they did that. Simple psychology.

I'm not saying an immediate switch wouldn't be an improvement. But there is now way the OL will be where it was if they had developed without being duck*ed up for the last 22 months.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I'm not saying an immediate switch wouldn't be an improvement. But there is now way the OL will be where it was if they had developed without being duck*ed up for the last 22 months.

It's kind of apples to oranges though BL - we aren't starting the same players, with the same abilities that we had 2 years ago. Right now, anything is an improvement over what we're getting when it comes to things like rushing yardage, sacks allowed, tackles for loss.

 

[jdb50]

people weighing in on the Casey Cochran mini thread- we have been lucky to have our QB's stay on the field the last 2 years. Edsall is on his 3rd this year. I hope Casey is as good as Whitmer and that we don't need him till next year.

 

[Brochacho]

TE -- Myers + somebody => Griffin + Delahunt

This might be the stupidestestest thing I've ever read. Yes, 3 ests.

 

[Mr Blueskin]

These two writers (Dez and Ed D) just lost an incredible amount of credibility from their readers. Dez admits in his mailbag that 98 percent of fans are going to disagree with him on his position of supporting PP. So to me, these two reporters are either one of two things: 1-absolutely clueless football reporters or 2-they both took a journalism class together and know they are completely wrong but are trying to create a big enough stir to get more readers by firing everyone up while also sucking up to the mouth that feeds them. I for one don't think the 2nd is worth losing all credibility with a huge majority of your readers.

 

[pj]

Myers is a stud, more talented than either Griffin or Delahunt. We have a chance at Jordan Fuchs, another stud who would also be better than Griffin or Delahunt. We have Cameron Stapleton and Quinn Thompson coming in who can play TE; Stapleton is a good athlete. I don't have high expectations from the young TEs currently on the roster -- McQuillan, Horan, Parker -- but one might step up.

Griffin and Delahunt have 31 receptions between them through 7 games; that's good but replaceable. Griffin has been our best red zone threat but Myers or Fuchs would be as good.

 

[sdhusky]

Desmond Conner has no credibility after that.

First ... a continued Edsall tenure would have taken that team to a bowl last year NOT 5-7. .

Or maybe with a new team, St Randy would have taken a 9-3 team and gone 2-10 in a new place. We'll never know.

Oh wait, we do know.

 

[huskymedic]

Myers is a stud, more talented than either Griffin or Delahunt. We have a chance at Jordan Fuchs, another stud who would also be better than Griffin or Delahunt. We have Cameron Stapleton and Quinn Thompson coming in who can play TE; Stapleton is a good athlete. I don't have high expectations from the young TEs currently on the roster -- McQuillan, Horan, Parker -- but one might step up. Griffin and Delahunt have 31 receptions between them through 7 games; that's good but replaceable. Griffin has been our best red zone threat but Myers or Fuchs would be as good.

Gonna have a tough time convincing me that TM has more talent then Griffin until he plays a few downs of D1 ball. He comes from good genes and while the Pequot Conference has some decent teams - it's not exactly the SCC from a competition standpoint. That's not a shot @ TM - more a compliment to RG.