Did UMass really hold our offense to 13 pts for 3 quarters?

[sportsart]

If the UMass defender didn't whiff on the trick play catch by Griffin it may have only been 16 total points for the game.

As we all saw our OL could not move the UMass DL down the field like they should have. Pass blocking was OK but if we can't run on UMass.....?

I sure hope the intention was to keep the play calling so simple UMass was able to keep us from gaining yards on the ground.

Retire the wildcat. Never ever use it again. Whitmer looks nimble enough if you are looking for the option type play. I think PP is hooked on it though and it will never go away......unfortunately.

Geremy Davis....who knew?

 

[cheech63]

If the UMass defender didn't whiff on the trick play catch by Griffin it may have only been 16 total points for the game.

As we all saw our OL could not move the UMass DL down the field like they should have. Pass blocking was OK but if we can't run on UMass.....?

I sure hope the intention was to keep the play calling so simple UMass was able to keep us from gaining yards on the ground.

Retire the wildcat. Never ever use it again. Whitmer looks nimble enough if you are looking for the option type play. I think PP is hooked on it though and it will never go away......unfortunately.

Geremy Davis....who knew?

I couldn't say it any better.

 

[Dann]

-we fumbled in the redzone
-freak int was close to the redzone if i remember right

thats a lot of point we left off the board for 2 mistakes. we wont make those 2 again.

 

[blitz8ru]

If the UMass defender didn't whiff on the trick play catch by Griffin it may have only been 16 total points for the game.

As we all saw our OL could not move the UMass DL down the field like they should have. Pass blocking was OK but if we can't run on UMass.....?

I sure hope the intention was to keep the play calling so simple UMass was able to keep us from gaining yards on the ground.

+1
exactly... i'd be worried if I were a UConn fan... This is the same type of game Rutgers had in 2010 vs 1aa Norfolk State We won 31-0 with many points coming from defense and STs and only a few TDs coming from offense with poor rushing and passing performance... Many RU fans tried to justify it the same way many UConn fans are currently doing with your win over 1aa UMass (they aren't FBS despite what some on here like to believe)... I'd be REALLY concerned about your OL as well in both run and pass blocking...

 

[sportsart]

we wont make those 2 again.

I just quoted you on that

 

[BlueDogs]

The wildcat requires a pass/run threat from the QB. If you can't pass out of if credibly, then its tame cat. Totally distracting, virtually infective, and completely predictable on personnel change.

 

[Dann]

mccumings didn't throw once 2night. i think it was on purpose.

 

[TRest]

+1
exactly... i'd be worried if I were a UConn fan... This is the same type of game Rutgers had in 2010 vs 1aa Norfolk State We won 31-0 with many points coming from defense and STs and only a few TDs coming from offense with poor rushing and passing performance... Many RU fans tried to justify it the same way many UConn fans are currently doing with your win over 1aa UMass (they aren't FBS despite what some on here like to believe)... I'd be REALLY concerned about your OL as well in both run and pass blocking...

Didn't we curb stomp Rutgers last year? One game I'm not worried about.

 

[Dann]

Didn't we curb stomp Rutgers last year? One game I'm not worried about.

don't they play tulane soon? to soon to touch that topic? to soon(jeff ross voice)?

 

[HuskyBarker]

These RU trolls are as common as lice in NJ hotel!

 

[hooskies]

we wont make those 2 again.

...lol...

 

[formerlurker]

+1
exactly... i'd be worried if I were a UConn fan... This is the same type of game Rutgers had in 2010 vs 1aa Norfolk State We won 31-0 with many points coming from defense and STs and only a few TDs coming from offense with poor rushing and passing performance... Many RU fans tried to justify it the same way many UConn fans are currently doing with your win over 1aa UMass (they aren't FBS despite what some on here like to believe)... I'd be REALLY concerned about your OL as well in both run and pass blocking...

I was banned for "life" (3 times mind you) from the Rutgirls Rival's site for asking nicely if the fanbase was embarrased by your OOC scheduling. Nice to see we give c*ck licks like you a forum to visit without taking our hate for one another too seriously.

I'm recycling this from another post but when UConn is competing with UNJ for recruits we simply tell them to ask to see your FB and BB trophy case.....

 

[formerlurker]

If the UMass defender didn't whiff on the trick play catch by Griffin it may have only been 16 total points for the game.

As we all saw our OL could not move the UMass DL down the field like they should have. Pass blocking was OK but if we can't run on UMass.....?

I sure hope the intention was to keep the play calling so simple UMass was able to keep us from gaining yards on the ground.

Retire the wildcat. Never ever use it again. Whitmer looks nimble enough if you are looking for the option type play. I think PP is hooked on it though and it will never go away......unfortunately.

Geremy Davis....who knew?

My bad, Sport. In all the Rutgirls drama I missed your OP.

"Geremy Davis....who knew?" is the best quote and observation of the night.

 

[Marty Jackson]

If the UMass defender didn't whiff on the trick play catch by Griffin it may have only been 16 total points for the game.

As we all saw our OL could not move the UMass DL down the field like they should have. Pass blocking was OK but if we can't run on UMass.....?

I sure hope the intention was to keep the play calling so simple UMass was able to keep us from gaining yards on the ground.

Retire the wildcat. Never ever use it again. Whitmer looks nimble enough if you are looking for the option type play. I think PP is hooked on it though and it will never go away......unfortunately.

Geremy Davis....who knew?

This was the first game of the season. Do we really need to parse the game in order to find some negatives?
We won 37-0
Umass had -1 rushing yards and about 60 total yards of offense
Is there room for improvement? Sure...

This was a difficult game for Uconn and almost a no win situation. Anything but a blowout would have been seen as a knock on Uconn. They did what they needed to do and we're playing NC State to go up 2-0... That's exactly where we want to be.

Some people will never be satisfied...

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Didn't we have posts predicting this exact type of thread?

UConn has a very tough home game next week. Probably one of the 2 or 3 toughest games of the year. UConn has a very experienced coaching staff. I am going to trust that they believed the outcome yesterday was a foregone conclusion and the play calling was designed to position the team well for next week and the weeks beyond.

Vegas has UConn a 24 pt favorite or so. Steele said UConn by 17. UConn won by 37.

I think it was a pretty good night and I think they are set up well for next week. Not perfect...but pretty good.

 

[ibleedhuskyblue]

the playcalling was intentionally vanilla. and 2 of the 3 turnovers were flukes.

anyone who takes too much from this isnt thinking.

 

[SAMCRO]

My only 2 call outs from last night were the OL not moving the UMass DL, and the timing of using the Wildcat. Always seemed to be after Whitmer completed a nice ball. Really wish they'd just let the kid get into a rhythm. Otherwise, very happy with how we played.

 

[JayRU09]

Not trolling but here's my observation:

Your defense is sick, let's see how it is against higher level competition, but so far so good.

Yards per carry should be worrying to you guys, mainly because......

Your receivers weren't getting separation, and Whitmer was throwing some ugly deep balls. If the OL can't run block and you can't stretch the field, then it may be a long season. But I feel good about your defense and getting Nick Williams the ball may be the best strategy going forwards.

All in all, hard to tell what your season will be like based off this game.

 

[junglehusky]

One step at a time... though some of my impressions last night were negative I'm looking forward to seeing improvement from the offense over the next few games and we'll take it from there. And it's worth reminding ourselves what the last 2 seasons have been like in terms of fans' gnashed teeth with the QBs/WRs, this year the potential is there for a much more solid offense (if the OL holds up). And if we wind up with a winning record using the old formula of leaning on the defense / special teams and having a merely adequate offense I will be ... well maybe not "happy", but not unhappy.

 

[BlueMAB]

You shouldn't need trick plays and wildly creative play calling to score more than 13 points on offense through three quarters against a team playing their first game as an FBS team. I don't think it's "parsing" the game, you didn't have to comb through the film to find cause for concern. It was apparent just about every time we ran the ball.

Your o-line should be able to man handle them open more holes for the back. The running game struggled, but at least we were able to take some shots down the field.

Quick thoughts:
The defense has the potential to be one of the best in the country if it can stay healthy. Need good news on Jennings/Stephen soon.

Whitmer seems to lock on to receivers and get greedy. He had Nick Williams open for a first down and threw to Mike Smith (I think) in the endzone who was double covered. He didn't throw it to a wide open Griffin and let him try and pick up the first down with YAC on the incredible INT by the UMass defender.

Geremy Davis is a stud. Great hands.

Unfortunately, Nick Williams isn't going to get a lot of chances to return punts this year. Not because of the defense, but because teams will be kicking away from him. He is fun to watch, it's too bad the new rules have teams kicking off from the 35. BCS kickers will produce more touchbacks than returns.

The o-line? Not impressed. I don't care that it was the first game, they should be able to push UMass around.

I trust P was setting up future teams with tonights wildcate package. If McCummings isn't going to be allowed to throw out of it, it's going to be very easy to defend. Once in awhile he has to pull the ball back and take a shot down field. We did it last year and if he threw a better ball it would have produced a touchdown. The wildcate tonight was pretty ugly, but I think P wanted to keep the pass option off the film for later in the year. Hopefully, he doesn't wait past next week.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

The good news? This was not the opponent for UConn to play their A game. Next week is. Witmer has pretty good throwing mechanics. Not a pub room, dart thrower (10 yard range). Not a sidearmer. And not a You Tube Celebrity. Seems like he wants to stretch the field. Encouraging.

The bad news? Pretty much in agreement with folks posting in this thread. You know the cheer "That's another UConn first down"? Well when# 11 comes in the PA should call out "and what's the play?" and the crowd can answer QB keeper. Ahhhh, HCPP and the eliminate of surprise - the dreaded Wildcat.

 

[Excalibur]

the playcalling was intentionally vanilla. and 2 of the 3 turnovers were flukes.

anyone who takes too much from this isnt thinking.

It's more than fair to observe the fact that we failed to dominate the line of scrimmage against essentially a 1-AA defensive line. It's more than fair to observe that Whitmer made a few puzzling decisions and a few poor throws. It's more than fair to argue that the Wildcat was used too much.

It was a decent start. The defense looks like we thought it would. Special teams look solid. But there was a lot to not like about last night, and lots of room for improvement.

 

[Carl Spackler]

The good news? This was not the opponent for UConn to play their A game. Next week is. Witmer has pretty good throwing mechanics. Not a pub room, dart thrower (10 yard range). Not a sidearmer. And not a You Tube Celebrity. Seems like he wants to stretch the field. Encouraging.

The bad news? Pretty much in agreement with folks posting in this thread. You know the cheer "That's another UConn first down"? Well when# 11 comes in the PA should call out "and what's the play?" and the crowd can answer QB keeper. Ahhhh, HCPP and the eliminate of surprise - the dreaded Wildcat.

Does anyone have the energy to explain, what that offensive package does to an opposing team? I don't. I feel like it won't get through.

All I'll say is that there was clear purpose to what went into the offensive game plan last night, and it was a long term thing, a plan to make opposing defenses just as unhappy about it all, as the fans around here - but for much different reasons.

If my eyes didn't deceive me, the vast majority of McCombs running yardage came out of that package, and our traditional runnign package? Didn't show much at all of that, they ran the same inside trap multiple times for very little gain, but you know what that did?

It got our new center, very valueable reps.

I have no doubt that we've got more running plays, designed for more experienced blockers, than we showed last night.

 

[Excalibur]

I also thought that McCombs could have bounced a few of his runs outside when the middle was clogged. The ends and outside backers for UMass were cheating inside big time.

 

[mattp]

Not trolling but here's my observation:

Your defense is sick, let's see how it is against higher level competition, but so far so good.

Yards per carry should be worrying to you guys, mainly because......

Your receivers weren't getting separation, and Whitmer was throwing some ugly deep balls. If the OL can't run block and you can't stretch the field, then it may be a long season. But I feel good about your defense and getting Nick Williams the ball may be the best strategy going forwards.

All in all, hard to tell what your season will be like based off this game.

it's not trolling b/c it's 100% true. they were stacking the run quite a bit, which i think largely accounts for our poor rushing yardage and hopefully we'll throw more to keep NCState from doing that. McCombs runs much better against a spread out defense than he does in our big formations. i liked our underneath routes, but i didn't like any of our deep throws. it seems like they were all fluttering jump balls into double coverage. even Griffin's big catch could have just as easily been an INT. i think we'll see a more developed playbook next week, and there's a few things that we all were looking for that we didn't see that presumably P was keeping to himself going into NCState. i'm worried about how our oline will hold up against a really good dline

our defense was outstanding, and even though this was against weak competition i think they'll show to be good all season. i'm still pretty optimistic about how this team will do this season and i think we can be a top 25 team.