"Edsall left the cupboard bare"

[Husky68]

At the still offensive positions it was bare. P best QB was a walk on, his best running back was a true freshmen. There was talent on D but very little on O. The D has been good the last two years but the O very poor. The O talent level was not very good when P came in. I can't see how anyone can argue that point.

The QB he picked was a walk on, you are equating that to being the best choice because he made it, not because you got to test out Nebrich or any other QB without PP or GDL. Next year team averaged 17.75 pts per game with 37 vs. Mass. included; offensive talent was better than that, couldn't score as much against Rutgers as Tulane did.
Of the 11 BCS schools Uconn scored ABOVE the average PPG given up by that team only once. Listed are the teams, PPG given up and Uconn's points and over/(under) that teams average:

USF 29,6, -23; NCS 26,7, -19; Temple 31, 14, -17; Fruit 25, 10; -15; Rutgers 14, 3,-11; WM 30, 24, -6; Buffalo 29, 24, -5; Terps 27, 24, -3; LV 24, 23, -1; Cin 18, 17, -1; Pitt 21, 24, 3.

So Uconn averaged over a touchdown less per game than the average of what opponents gave up. USF gave up 31 to Ball State; NCS gave up over 30 points 6 times; Rutgers gave up 35 to Kent State.

Talent was better than coaching allowed. Inside runs, short passes not to sticks, long pass play drops on obvious passing downs, no screens, wildcat plays accomplishing nothing; GDL could have coached Alabama to 8-5.

 

[huskysupporter]

Yes and which D1 QB was left when Edsall left?? I'll admit that we should of won more games, but we were never going very far with what we had at QB. And the OL has to be better.

Every kid, especially Sio, attributed their progress and ability to get to the next level to PP. The guy can coach.

The guy went out and made a good hire, got Weist, and now we have a QB with a year under his belt and the first year of what was admittedly a better recruiting class than we have had. I am happier with Hughes as well.

Having said that no excuses this year. We have to play to our potential or he will be gone.

What did Sio have to say about Edsall? I have read and listened to several interviews with Sio and he was often asked to talk about Coach Edsall. Interested to hear what you think.

 

[rich1122]

Hold on. If you think PP "went out and made a good hire" totally on his own you are deluding yourself. Warde wouldn't/couldn't can PP so he did the next best thing. And it's still a big question mark if PP/GDL are going to go along. Based on the spring game, which "admittedly" is not a fair to judge how many changes there really will be, it's an "incomplete", And no one knows yet if his recruiting classes "are admittedly better". The guys who got drafted averaged about 2.5 stars, for what that discredited system's worth.

Sure he had pressure to hire somebody and HE found Weist who admittedly seems to be a good fit here. We don't know about the talent level, but the majority opinion seems to be we did at least marginally better recruiting the last two years.

I'll say this and leave it. This is his year. It's make or break time. He has got recruits, a QB and a pretty good D. No excuses.

 

[rich1122]

What did Sio have to say about Edsall? I have read and listened to several interviews with Sio and he was often asked to talk about Coach Edsall. Interested to hear what you think.

Edsall did not coach the last two years, so I don't care.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Sure he had pressure to hire somebody and HE found Weist who admittedly seems to be a good fit here. We don't know about the talent level, but the majority opinion seems to be we did at least marginally better recruiting the last two years.

I'll say this and leave it. This is his year. It's make or break time. He has got recruits, a QB and a pretty good D. No excuses.

Out of curiosity, why were there excuses in 2012? For that matter, why were there excuses in 2011? We had more than enough talent (considering our schedules those seasons) to make a bowl game each of those seasons and failed both times. I don't see how this can be excused. Please enlighten me.

 

[Waquoit]

Sure he had pressure to hire somebody and HE found Weist who admittedly seems to be a good fit here.

"Good fit" seems to be the instant CW. Can anyone explain where it comes from besides wishful thinking? The offense was crap in the spring game and the explanation I read was that they didn't want to tip off Towson State. That doesn't give me a ton of confidence.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

"Good fit" seems to be the instant CW. Can anyone explain where it comes from besides wishful thinking? The offense was crap in the spring game and the explanation I read was that they didn't want to tip off Towson State. That doesn't give me a ton of confidence.

People like Weist because he is not GDL.

Win games. A decent coach (not good, not great......decent) wins 7 or 8 games the last 2 years.

Win ducking games.

 

[cohenzone]

First thing, I agree that the offense was a big problem. But let's be a little objective about first, the cupboard, and second, the record last year. The cupboard wasn't exactly stacked on O when PP arrived. If he is getting slammed for the O, why does he get no credit for the D? He used Nick Williams in ways RE didn't, but totally underused Griffin. McCombs is a nice serviceable back with no break away speed.

As for the 5-7 record, among the non-league losses were W. Michigan where the O put up plenty of points and the D fell apart. Hard to say the D was on the field too long in that one. In the Temple game, the usually reliable PKer misses 4 fgs, including shorties and we lose in OT. The D gave up the tying drive on the last possession. Those 2 games alone would have made us bowl eligible and 7-5. With the exception of the Orlovsky years (he fell into REs lap in a way) the QB situation was in turmoil and flux the whole time. In the year we went to the BCS game, the league overall was down. I'm not a huge fan of PP, but I give him this year. RE was not much better than PP if better at all. I want PP to succeed, but if he doesn't, I want a much younger guy (not near retirement).

 

[upstater]

I think the analysts are painting the picture with too broad of a stroke. It is true that UConn produces some excellent talent. But like some of the previous posters suggested, the talent was unevenly divided. I think the offensive line talent wasn't as good as usual, and that will kill a team. Remember, Kurazea leaving, Bennett injuries, and the Greg McKee situation decimated our line. Our most highly touted lineman recruits just didn't fully pan out. However, Bennett still has a chance to leave something of a mark.

Even with the OL it's coaching. I wish someone who has better knowledge than me would break it down, but in watching those kids, I saw the QB taking 7 and sometimes 9 step drops, designed roll outs, etc. Just what the heck do people expect from an OL that is put into position to fail? There is no pocket to protect. By design. It's a coaching fail, not a OL fail.

 

[upstater]

Yes and which D1 QB was left when Edsall left?? I'll admit that we should of won more games, but we were never going very far with what we had at QB. And the OL had no Donal Thomas's or Beattys or Hurds - we were starting fresh.

Every kid, especially Sio, attributed their progress and ability to get to the next level to PP. The guy can coach.

The guy went out and made a good hire, got Weist, and now we have a QB with a year under his belt and the first year of what was admittedly a better recruiting class than we have had. I am happier with Hughes as well.

Having said that no excuses this year. We have to play to our potential or he will be gone.

QB has been a problem for a very long time. Lorenzen, Bonislawski, Frazer, Hernandez, etc.

 

[Waquoit]

In the Temple game, the usually reliable PKer misses 4 fgs, including shorties and we lose in OT. The D gave up the tying drive on the last possession.

While thinking you are supporting P, you gave two examples of his buffoonery. The D was clearly in disarray before they gave up two long gains late. My mother saw it, but P didn't? He couldn't call a timeout? They weren't worth anything after the game is over. And the FG's still piss me off. Chad clearly struggles from the extreme outside hashmarks, you get a bit inside and he was pretty good. Since they were playing for the FG anyway, why wouldn't you center the ball for him? Do it just once and we win. We need a coach that isn't to old to be aware of what's happening on the field.

And because we should never forget this - a coach with any awareness or sense of the game real-time doesn't put his only QB into the game at WR (just 1 play after a hard hit) so he can get blasted again with no protection.

 

[Nostical]

We had more than enough talent (considering our schedules those seasons) to make a bowl game each of those seasons and failed both times. I don't see how this can be excused.

Hard to argue with that. Bad play calling, failing to adjust at halftime, and badly misusing our O talent led to our marginal record. We all could quickly name 20 coaches who would have had vastly better results with our talent. But that's in the past. This is our year. As I used to tell my kids----make no excuse for failure and no apology for success.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Even with the OL it's coaching. I wish someone who has better knowledge than me would break it down, but in watching those kids, I saw the QB taking 7 and sometimes 9 step drops, designed roll outs, etc. Just what the heck do people expect from an OL that is put into position to fail? There is no pocket to protect. By design. It's a coaching fail, not a OL fail.

Imagine swinging your golf club. Perfect swing. Perfect sound, ball lands right where you want it.

Now turn around, grab a club made for the other side, and swing the club from the other side and try to hit the ball.

Two seasons ago, we started developing OL's that can swing from both sides. We weren't doing that before, we had perfect swings from one side only, which is why of all the players we've put into the NFL in the past several seasons, our OL's have struggled the most, and the two that still are in the league, are there becuase they hung on long enough (DT) to be able to develop swings from both sides, once they got into he league OR: our former coach convinced the NFL head coach that other would be able to develop and was worth the high round pick. (WB)

It's fine in practice though, and it's fantastic for the pro scouts, but they don' have anymore leeway on the game fields anymore, it's got to click on the field this year.

And, BTW a 7 step drop, is textbook for setting up a pass protection pocket.

 

[UC990411]

At the skill offensive positions it was bare. P best QB was a walk on, his best running back was a true freshmen. There was talent on D but very little on O. The D has been good the last two years but the O very poor. The O talent level was not very good when P came in. I can't see how anyone can argue that point.

We just had two wideouts sign as Undrafted free agents and a tight end drafted in the sixth round, so the skill positions had talent

 

[Chin Diesel]

While thinking you are supporting P, you gave two examples of his buffoonery. The D was clearly in disarray before they gave up two long gains late. My mother saw it, but P didn't? He couldn't call a timeout? They weren't worth anything after the game is over. And the FG's still piss me off. Chad clearly struggles from the extreme outside hashmarks, you get a bit inside and he was pretty good. Since they were playing for the FG anyway, why wouldn't you center the ball for him? Do it just once and we win. We need a coach that isn't to old to be aware of what's happening on the field.

And because we should never forget this - a coach with any awareness or sense of the game real-time doesn't put his only QB into the game at WR (just 1 play after a hard hit) so he can get blasted again with no protection.

All this plus some.

Being a BCS level head coach is more than X's and O's and Jimmy and Joe's.

PP hasn't shown that he can effectively manage his coordinators or over rule them when necessary and his in-game coaching decisions leaves much to be desired.

He would be a great defensive coordinator or position coach but lacks the big picture decision making.

 

[noeynox]

Cincinnati had exactly one player drafted overall. A tight end just like we did. The only defense anyone could offer P, is that sometimes coaches struggle for a year or two to implement their system. Butch Jones struggled for a year. "Genius" Randy has done no better at UMD, in fact worse than P here. That said, this team has had 6 players drafted the last two years. It is not unfair to question why P hasn't delivered one bowl game in two years. Especially when you consider two losses to Western Michigan, who's coach was fired. Mustering just six points this year against a woeful USF defense. The Temple and Vanderbilt debacles. The list goes on and on. I like P, but its or get off the pot this year. There are things like how he handles time outs that just boggle the mind. How he handled the end of the first half against Rutgers is one of the great mysteries in coaching.

P seems like a really good guy. There is no denying he has made a huge difference in getting the best CT prospects to take a serious, hard look at UConn, something his predecessor seemed to have no interest in doing. Given his age and everything that has happened regarding conference realignment, I don't know that we could afford to keep P around much longer unless he makes serious turnaround in the won loss record.

 

[upstater]

Imagine swinging your golf club. Perfect swing. Perfect sound, ball lands right where you want it.

Now turn around, grab a club made for the other side, and swing the club from the other side and try to hit the ball.

Two seasons ago, we started developing OL's that can swing from both sides. We weren't doing that before, we had perfect swings from one side only, which is why of all the players we've put into the NFL in the past several seasons, our OL's have struggled the most, and the two that still are in the league, are there becuase they hung on long enough (DT) to be able to develop swings from both sides, once they got into he league OR: our former coach convinced the NFL head coach that other would be able to develop and was worth the high round pick. (WB)

It's fine in practice though, and it's fantastic for the pro scouts, but they don' have anymore leeway on the game fields anymore, it's got to click on the field this year.

And, BTW a 7 step drop, is textbook for setting up a pass protection pocket.

I can only think of 2 OL who were drafted.

Who else other than Thomas and Beatty? Am I missing someone? The only two who were drafted are earning millions and have stuck. That's good however you cut it.

With Thomas, it's another story. Combined high school and college experience is only 3 years. He had a huge learning curve.

As for the 7 step drops, when you repeatedly drop back 7 or 9, the edge rushers come up field each time. They WILL get by the tackles, and the tackles can't do anything about it, especially when the QB is taught to drop back instead of step up in the pocket. Whitmer never had a short 3 step drop, never steps up in the pocket, anything to offset the edge rushers, or to close the gaps between the lineman.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Imagine swinging your golf club. Perfect swing. Perfect sound, ball lands right where you want it.

Now turn around, grab a club made for the other side, and swing the club from the other side and try to hit the ball.

Two seasons ago, we started developing OL's that can swing from both sides. We weren't doing that before, we had perfect swings from one side only, which is why of all the players we've put into the NFL in the past several seasons, our OL's have struggled the most, and the two that still are in the league, are there becuase they hung on long enough (DT) to be able to develop swings from both sides, once they got into he league OR: our former coach convinced the NFL head coach that other would be able to develop and was worth the high round pick. (WB)

It's fine in practice though, and it's fantastic for the pro scouts, but they don' have anymore leeway on the game fields anymore, it's got to click on the field this year.

And, BTW a 7 step drop, is textbook for setting up a pass protection pocket.

On my kids lives.......I swear the first thought I had after reading Cohen's post was......only Spackler is arrogant enough to answer that directly.

Just busting your balls Carl. Well not really, cause I really did think that but.....you know what I mean.

 

[rich1122]

Hard to argue with that. Bad play calling, failing to adjust at halftime, and badly misusing our O talent led to our marginal record. We all could quickly name 20 coaches who would have had vastly better results with our talent. But that's in the past. This is our year. As I used to tell my kids----make no excuse for failure and no apology for success.

No oxymorons please - misusing our O talent hmmmmmmmmmm

 

[noeynox]

I can only think of 2 OL who were drafted.

Who else other than Thomas and Beatty? Am I missing someone? The only two who were drafted are earning millions and have stuck. That's good however you cut it.

With Thomas, it's another story. Combined high school and college experience is only 3 years. He had a huge learning curve.

As for the 7 step drops, when you repeatedly drop back 7 or 9, the edge rushers come up field each time. They WILL get by the tackles, and the tackles can't do anything about it, especially when the QB is taught to drop back instead of step up in the pocket. Whitmer never had a short 3 step drop, never steps up in the pocket, anything to offset the edge rushers, or to close the gaps between the lineman.

Zach Hurd

 

[rich1122]

We just had two wideouts sign as Undrafted free agents and a tight end drafted in the sixth round, so the skill positions had talent

Not a QB - like having no pitching and losing every game 11-10.

 

[husky210]

What's good?

 

[upstater]

Zach Hurd

No. He wasn't drafted. He is on the Raiders, which is not bad for an undrafted player. Again, I may be wrong, but I thonk Donald Thomas and William Beatty are the only two.

 

[Jerry27]

Whitmer never had a short 3 step drop, never steps up in the pocket, anything to offset the edge rushers, or to close the gaps between the lineman.

What good would it have done to drop 3 steps or step up in the pocket, 9 times out of ten there was no outlet for him to go to anyway, go deep or go home seemed to be the play most of the time. which goes back to the play calling / play making creativity on the wallpaper. lets hope that has changed, the players I talked to had nothing but positives to say about TJW and what is coming.

 

[noeynox]

No. He wasn't drafted. He is on the Raiders, which is not bad for an undrafted player. Again, I may be wrong, but I thonk Donald Thomas and William Beatty are the only two.

Wasn't Hurd drafted by the Seahawks? I thought he was 6th or 7th rounder for them.