Enough with the Talent complaints

[Forte]

Can we stop this idiotic discussion on the talent level? Seriously, how can anyone who knows anything about football not know it's been coaching? If it is talent level, then how does UConn's defense completely turn around YOY last year from essentially the laughing stock of college football to a strength of the program and look like a completely different unit? With the exception of a few plugs, essentially the same roster under Edsall and Spanos, who, magically disappeared when a competent defensive coach saw firsthand the product?

Stop talking about talent to fit your narrative. If FCS programs are keeping up, NEW ENGLAND FCS programs, then it's not talent. This is like saying UCF had no talent went they went 0-12 yet magically must have had two top recruiting classes in the nation the following years with instant impact Freshmen/underclasssement (cause the portal was not there) to bring them to 13-0. MAYBE guys, just MAYBE coaching matters, and we don't have the coaching on offense to have success?

Stop looking at talent and ask yourself why our "talentless" starters, primarily on one side of the ball, are LEAVING for Big-time FBS programs and having instant success...

 

[noeynox]

I agree coaching needs to improve, but tell me what playmakers are being held back by coaching? Yesterday i saw a QB who wouldn't throw the ball on time. Are WRs not getting open? Is the QB afraid to turn it over? Roberson is not near the same runner he was pre injury. Did he lose something? Is he just tentative?

You're not winning at this level when you are light years behind Holy Cross in terms of talent at the most crucial position on the field, QB. The second to last drive, down a TD, we threw zero passes. So if the coaches don't trust the kid to throw it when the game is on the line what are we doing. On the last drive, we are running the ball wide on passing situations. Yes, that is bad coaching, but the talent has to continue getting better. It's just not there yet.

 

[king conn]

This is the same talent that best this team on the road by 20 points last year

With a year more experience

 

[giddyup]

I agree coaching needs to improve, but tell me what playmakers are being held back by coaching? Yesterday i saw a QB who wouldn't throw the ball on time. Are WRs not getting open? Is the QB afraid to turn it over? Roberson is not near the same runner he was pre injury. Did he lose something? Is he just tentative?

You're not winning at this level when you are light years behind Holy Cross in terms of talent at the most crucial position on the field, QB. The second to last drive, down a TD, we threw zero passes. So if the coaches don't trust the kid to throw it when the game is on the line what are we doing. On the last drive, we are running the ball wide on passing situations. Yes, that is bad coaching, but the talent has to continue getting better. It's just not there yet.

Noey- great points, except the coaches are the ones bringing in these kids. So, it still kind of reverts to a lack of ability to evaluate. The quality of throws the FIU kid was making was beautiful - tight spin, on a dime accurate with some time. Compared to our schlep who can’t throw a nice tight ball, is inaccurate, can’t pull the trigger on timing routes..

 

[noeynox]

Noey- great points, except the coaches are the ones bringing in these kids. So, it still kind of reverts to a lack of ability to evaluate. The quality of throws the FIU kid was making was beautiful - tight spin, on a dime accurate with some time. Compared to our schlep who can’t throw a nice tight ball, is inaccurate, can’t pull the trigger on timing routes..

I don't disagree. Something is fundamentally not right in the program right now. All over CFB teams throw the ball over the field. In Storrs, no matter the coach or players it continues to be mission impossible.

This is how teams prepare for us, they tell their kids, "if we don't turn the ball over and give them short fields, they will never score enough points to beat us". That is all the game planning it takes against us. Don't turn the ball over and we cannot win.

 

[AllHusky]

Can we stop this idiotic discussion on the talent level? Seriously, how can anyone who knows anything about football not know it's been coaching? If it is talent level, then how does UConn's defense completely turn around YOY last year from essentially the laughing stock of college football to a strength of the program and look like a completely different unit? With the exception of a few plugs, essentially the same roster under Edsall and Spanos, who, magically disappeared when a competent defensive coach saw firsthand the product?

Stop talking about talent to fit your narrative. If FCS programs are keeping up, NEW ENGLAND FCS programs, then it's not talent. This is like saying UCF had no talent went they went 0-12 yet magically must have had two top recruiting classes in the nation the following years with instant impact Freshmen/underclasssement (cause the portal was not there) to bring them to 13-0. MAYBE guys, just MAYBE coaching matters, and we don't have the coaching on offense to have success?

Stop looking at talent and ask yourself why our "talentless" starters, primarily on one side of the ball, are LEAVING for Big-time FBS programs and having instant success...

Besides Carter, who? Is the wr doing well(Turner??)

 

[rich1122]

This is the same talent that best this team on the road by 20 points last year

With a year more experience

We are no where near last year. We lost more than we gained.

 

[Purple Stein]

Besides Carter, who? Is the wr doing well(Turner??)

Turner has 4 catches for 15 yards, 3 rushes for 56 yards, and one TD.

 

[ZooCougar]

We have enough decent players to install an acceptable offense.

We don’t have an offensive coordinator that can install an acceptable offense.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Guys. It is a talent issue. UConn was just beat by a team that has more offensive talent.

We can blame Charlton and or/Mora all we want. We can say something about college kids, and must be nicer.

Or, you can go recruit better players. That takes time. Get a QB, get WRs who can make plays.

I like the backs. Decent OL, but everything else is so unexplosive.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Can we stop this idiotic discussion on the talent level? Seriously, how can anyone who knows anything about football not know it's been coaching? If it is talent level, then how does UConn's defense completely turn around YOY last year from essentially the laughing stock of college football to a strength of the program and look like a completely different unit? With the exception of a few plugs, essentially the same roster under Edsall and Spanos, who, magically disappeared when a competent defensive coach saw firsthand the product?

Stop talking about talent to fit your narrative. If FCS programs are keeping up, NEW ENGLAND FCS programs, then it's not talent. This is like saying UCF had no talent went they went 0-12 yet magically must have had two top recruiting classes in the nation the following years with instant impact Freshmen/underclasssement (cause the portal was not there) to bring them to 13-0. MAYBE guys, just MAYBE coaching matters, and we don't have the coaching on offense to have success?

Stop looking at talent and ask yourself why our "talentless" starters, primarily on one side of the ball, are LEAVING for Big-time FBS programs and having instant success...

Yeah why would Turner leave for Cinci after catching 60 passes under the same staff?

 

[Duncan Idaho]

We are no where near last year. We lost more than we gained.

We had one liability on the OL last year, now we have two. LB loss is rough.

 

[ZooCougar]

Guys. It is a talent issue. UConn was just beat by a team that has more offensive talent.

We can blame Charlton and or/Mora all we want. We can say something about college kids, and must be nicer.

Or, you can go recruit better players. That takes time. Get a QB, get WRs who can make plays.

I like the backs. Decent OL, but everything else is so unexplosive.

Utter nonsense.

How can you look at the play calling and say the above with a straight face.

 

[CL82]

If the OP's point was can we stop complaining about talent because there is no mid season free agency in college football. The talent is a given, so the staff needs to figure out a way to win with the cards and its hand. That concept I could get fully behind. But the notion that it's just coaching fails the eye test.

Part of the reason why our quarterbacks look so anemic out there is because our wide receivers can't get separation consistently. That's a talent issue. Part of the reason why we can't rely on our running game is that are on offensive line isn't getting holes for a running backs. That could be a coaching issue, but I suspect it's also a talent issue. Part of the reason we look inept at stopping the run on defense is that our secondary has to give a cushion to the other teams receivers, because they're not all that fast. Again, that's a talent issue.

But here's the thing, ultimately, the coaching staff, and particularly the head coach decides who gets recruited, who gets pulled out of the portal, and who plays. So even a talent issue is a coaching issue. Unless, of course, the reason we have a talent issue is because we are an independent with a decade long history of losing records so talented kids don't want to come here. If you're telling me that that is an insurmountable issue then we might as well fold up the tent and go home.

 

[king conn]

We are no where near last year. We lost more than we gained.

17 of 22 starters came back. Try and know just a little bit of what you are talking about

 

[ZooCougar]

17 of 22 starters came back. Try and know just a little bit of what you are talking about

True. Our offense was statistically pretty bad last season too.

 

[cthog]

We have been outscored 45-3 in the first half by Georgia State and fiu.
There is nobody that can convince me the disparity in talent between us and those two teams are that great.

 

[king conn]

True. Our offense was statistically pretty bad last season too.

It seemed like the offensive line was better though, which is really inexcusable since 4 came back including 2 supposed NFL prospects at Guard. They should be dominating, not commiting holding penalties

 

[UConnJim]

Guys. It is a talent issue. UConn was just beat by a team that has more offensive talent.

We can blame Charlton and or/Mora all we want. We can say something about college kids, and must be nicer.

Or, you can go recruit better players. That takes time. Get a QB, get WRs who can make plays.

I like the backs. Decent OL, but everything else is so unexplosive.

I disagree. UConn had more first downs, higher 3rd down conversion %, won time of possession, had over double the rushing yards and yards per carry, out punted them, did better on kickoffs. They had a few long pass plays including one at the end of the first half that was totally inexcusable. That is called defensive breakdowns, not a talent gap.

On offense, UConn's plays are slow, not the players. Maybe that is due to the QB competition which meant we didn't really have a clear #1 QB for practice. Maybe it's Charlton's offense. I look at the offensive sets and too many times I see an offense that is not spread out, especially in the first half. That means the other team can more easily stop the run and we are not threatening them with the pass. Second half, we spread out and did better. By the way, where are the slants?

On defense, FIU got almost 50% of their total yards on 4 plays! FIU's offense was exploiting our weaknesses in the first half and the coaches made adjustments that worked in the 2nd half. In the first 2 weeks, UConn got hurt by the QB running, not by the QB passing. Why? The defense in the first 2 games focused on stopping the pass but it created big holes for the QB to run. This week, they prevented the QB from running and the WRs were able to get behind the DBs due to poor decisions by our DBs. Watch the replays on the long pass plays.

The biggest talent disparity I see is at OC. FIU has David Yost who has been OC at Missouri, Utah St., and Texas Tech and he was QB coach at Oregon. He was also a receivers coach under Mike Leach at Washington St. and was QB coach at Toledo for 5 years. He has helped coach QBs Justin Herbert, Blaine Gabbert, Chase Daniels, Brad Smith, and Jordan Love. And, he makes slightly less than Nick Charlton.

 

[Devland]

Play calling gets easier with talent. If you have superior talent you can call almost anything and be successful. If you lack talent, very little will work

 

[kemba]

Play calling gets easier with talent. If you have superior talent you can call almost anything and be successful. If you lack talent, very little will work

This. At some point you do need to win matchups. Even a great coordinator can’t get by on smoke and mirrors all the time, and charlton is not a great coordinator.

I think defensively we our underachieving so far. We have the talent that we should have played better at least the last 2 weeks. Offensively, we don’t have the qb or receivers we need. We have some solid backs and a line but with no passing game it will continue to be a struggle. Open things up, sure, but if you can’t win matchups and if the qb can’t make the throws it doesn’t change much. And when you’re forced to rely on a running game any play you don’t gain yardage hurts

 

[Bubba1957]

I used to complain about not having enough quick hitting runs. That changed last year with Burns. One of the issues this year, is the lack of personnel to run this plays.

 

[Forte]

Besides Carter, who? Is the wr doing well(Turner??)

incase you missed it...

https://www.si.com/college/byu/football/the-10-highest-graded-players-from-byus-win-over-arkansas

"Wide receiver Keelan Marion made his best catch in a BYU uniform in a critical moment. Marion beat his man down the sideline and Kedon Slovis made a perfect thrown over Marion's shoulder for the 37-yard gain. That catch set up Chase Robert's touchdown a few plays later."

 

[Dizzy21]

incase you missed it...

https://www.si.com/college/byu/football/the-10-highest-graded-players-from-byus-win-over-arkansas

"Wide receiver Keelan Marion made his best catch in a BYU uniform in a critical moment. Marion beat his man down the sideline and Kedon Slovis made a perfect thrown over Marion's shoulder for the 37-yard gain. That catch set up Chase Robert's touchdown a few plays later."

Having 3 catches in 3 games for 50 yards total is doing well?

 

[JohnFSilver]

Mq

Utter nonsense.

How can you look at the play calling and say the above with a straight face.

Where is evidence that they can do better if the plays were better?

I don’t like the plays, it is unimaginative. But, I just don’t think WRs can get open and make plays, or the QBs they have to deliver the ball with any accuracy.

At some point, it is the design, it is the execution and ability