Excited about defense.

[businesslawyer]

Vanderbilt is a game, that I firmly believe, had the coaching staff had more opportunity to spend time with our own players prior to beginning the season, we would have won. Offensive play calls were made, such that players were expected to make things happen on offense, that were'nt capable of making it happen.

I've said in this discussion that the coaching staff on defense didn't ask too much of the players or put them in situations where they were over their heads, physically, mentally, whatever...so to say. I can't say the same thing for the offense. It needed to be done though. You can't evaluate what you've got, if you can't see them performing in pressure situations and put them in situations where players that play their respective positions need to get a job done, and we were starting from basically scratch, with an expansion team, on offense in 2011 and a coaching staff that had literally time that could be counted in hours, to evaluate before the season began.

How many more hours had the Vanderbilt staff had with their players? Why are you making excuses for things that P already accepted responsibility for?

 

[businesslawyer]

I disagree Dan. I was asked by a parent of a player last year, prior to the season beginning, if I thought that the new coaching staff would treat 2011 as a 'throwaway' year. The answer was unequivocablly NO. They would implement their new systems, and at the same time, do everything they possibly could to give the 2011 team a winning season.

THey failed at that by going 5-7, and the early games, are particularly biting now, in hindsight, because of failing to reach that goal and getting to the post season.

But the outgoing seniors, got one feather to stick in their caps, and that was a senior day smackdown of a Rutgers team that was looking to go BCS bowling, and circumstance had it, that we were in the hunt for a leage title still in November, and we were in the hunt for the post season until the final game of the season.

I said it before, before last season began, an I'll say it again now, had the 2011 squad made the post season, to me, it would be one of the more masterful jobs of coaching a college football team that I have ever seen.

I fully expect to be bowling this year.

With all due respect (and I mean that in the most Ricky Bobby way possible) you are insane.

It would have been "one of the more masterful jobs of coaching a college football team that I have ever seen" to take a team coming off an 8-4 year and get them to 6-6 with the schedule we had last year (losing 2 of 3 at Vandy, home to Iowa State and home to WMU). Yes, we had areas of deficiency, but we also returned 8 starters or so from a D that carried us to a Big East championship and had a schedule with just one Top 25 team on it. Please stop. I beg you.

 

[Carl Spackler]

You are aware of the restriction on hours per week that coaches and players can interact right?

 

[businesslawyer]

You are aware of the restriction on hours per week that coaches and players can interact right?

See question in post 76 above

 

[Carl Spackler]

Unbelievable. Change tactics. Do you BL really believe that we would have been better than 5-7 in 2011 had your idol not left the program?

We lost games early, but we were in games we never would have had a chance in games later, if you ask me.

Sooner or later, you will realize, that your idol, was false.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I suppose this thing has run it's course. Was hoping to get some x's o's talk going. there's a hell of a lot more to talk about x's and o's now than there ever was before in UConn 1-A football.

Oh well.

 

[pj]

Edsall figured we were in such poor shape for 2011 it was in his interest to run to a Maryland team that would go 2-10. Given the lack of depth at linebacker and in the secondary, starting a walk-on QB, a freshman RB, lack of quality receivers, and lack of depth on the o-line, you can see why he might have been pessimistic about UConn's near-term future.

I think we had a bunch of players with a lot of heart and character, and should have gone 6-6. But I'm not going to fault the coaches. They've done a good job building for an excellent 2012. Now I want to see them go 9-4 or better.

 

[businesslawyer]

Unbelievable. Change tactics. Do you BL really believe that we would have been better than 5-7 in 2011 had your idol not left the program?

We lost games early, but we were in games we never would have had a chance in games later, if you ask me.

Sooner or later, you will realize, that your idol, was false.

Do I believe it? Yes. No one will ever know, but I firmly believe we would have done better than 5-7 without the coaching change.

I don't even know what your last paragraph means (other than that you're now pissed). He accomplished here exactly what he accomplished here, no more and no less. As has P. Nothing Edsall does in the future will change what he did here, just as nothing P does here will effect any of his successes or failures in CNY.

I know you're convinced that P is a huge upgrade. I hope you are right. But I would suggest that you let P show us that with results, instead of trying to convince us that black is what and up is down. We did not look like a well coached team last year during the transition. I am happy to say that they key to that sentence is "during the transition." But saying you can explain a subpar performance is entirely different than trying to tell us that it was an outstanding performance.

 

[businesslawyer]

Edsall figured we were in such poor shape for 2011 it was in his interest to run to a Maryland team that would go 2-10. Given the lack of depth at linebacker and in the secondary, starting a walk-on QB, a freshman RB, lack of quality receivers, and lack of depth on the o-line, you can see why he might have been pessimistic about UConn's near-term future.

I think we had a bunch of players with a lot of heart and character, and should have gone 6-6. But I'm not going to fault the coaches. They've done a good job building for an excellent 2012. Now I want to see them go 9-4 or better.

I'm not "faulting" the coaches for anything but the Vandy loss. They need a chance to try to succeed their way, and I'm giving it to them. I'm just amazed that Carl wants to convince me they've already succeeded.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Implications again I suppose. I have no idea what you think I'm trying to convince you of BL. I'm convinced that the defense we used against West Virginia in Oct 2011, who was runnign the same offensive system with NFL calibre players that we saw in January 2011 in the Fiesta from Oklahoma, was better than the defense we used in January 2011. Most of the players, the same ones on the field for both games. I think that if you watch every snap, and it's all right here in this discussion to watch, I'm pretty much right on. I'm also saying that we've got a higher potential to reach with the new systems on defense. I've dropped some hints as to waht I'd like to see from our offense, what I think we're capable of, and it's all in the same cut ups.

Expectations I suppose what it is, that is implied. I expect big things this year. I expect to be in teh post season. I expect - again - to competitng for a league title late into the season. I did not last year. I expected to field a competitive team from week 1 to week 12 last year, and we did.

There's so much there in those clips though. Did anybody actually watch? Try to understand it? Or does everybody around here just want to talk about semantics?

 

[sdhusky]

I'm not "faulting" the coaches for anything but the Vandy loss. They need a chance to try to succeed their way, and I'm giving it to them. I'm just amazed that Carl wants to convince me they've already succeeded.

Why do you suppose MD sucked so bad last year?

 

[whaler11]

Unbelievable. Change tactics. Do you BL really believe that we would have been better than 5-7 in 2011 had your idol not left the program?

We lost games early, but we were in games we never would have had a chance in games later, if you ask me.

Sooner or later, you will realize, that your idol, was false.

Some might say the same about you and the Big East leadership... At least BL has some evidence on his side (ignoring of course the absurdity of 'idol').

 

[whaler11]

I suppose this thing has run it's course. Was hoping to get some x's o's talk going. there's a hell of a lot more to talk about x's and o's now than there ever was before in UConn 1-A football.

Oh well.

Yeah, you want to talk Xs and Os. Except when you make ridiculous inflammatory comments like it would have taken a masterful job to win 6 games in a season when they lost to Western Michigan at home and delivered a game on a silver platter to Vandy. If they want the Louisville game as badly as you do perhaps they will consider getting off the bus instead of getting blown out from the opening whistle.

 

[huskymedic]

This team has the personnel on defense to shut down and contain everyone on our schedule this year. How it would do in the SEC isn't really relevant unless we get an SEC team in a bowl game at the end of the year.

The personnel is there. The experience is there. There is depth at most positions. It requires the players understanding and being confident in their roles in the pass defense. Last year they didn't, but hopefully that was just a one year transition period in doing things differently.

Well - here's at least one showing some confidence: "Jesse Joseph ‏@JesseJoseph91- I have a feeling, this season is going to be a good one."

(tweeted tonight and picked up by a "stalker" ~LOL)

 

[Srqhusky]

I'm not "faulting" the coaches for anything but the Vandy loss. They need a chance to try to succeed their way, and I'm giving it to them. I'm just amazed that Carl wants to convince me they've already succeeded.

i assume you are referring to the interceprion I feel he made an aggressive call and there is nothing wrong with that. Coaches make calls all the time to catch the other team off guard or to build confidence. In this case it backfired.

 

[businesslawyer]

i assume you are referring to the interceprion I feel he made an aggressive call and there is nothing wrong with that. Coaches make calls all the time to catch the other team off guard or to build confidence. In this case it backfired.

I understand and accept that position. In this one game, and this one situation, I 1000 % disagree with it, but you or anyone else is entitled to think it wasn't a bad mistake, except in hindsight.

 

[businesslawyer]

Was hoping to get some x's o's talk going. there's a hell of a lot more to talk about x's and o's now than there ever was before in UConn 1-A football.

.

I agree with that and expect it to continue. But more interesting x's and o's will count for squat if we don't get back to better fundamental blocking, tackling and avoiding penalties. Hopefully we will.

By the way, I'm now asking you for the third time why you think Franklin had more time to learn his players weaknesses than P did. Feel free to answer whenever.

 

[B1GEast]

This has got to be one of the most boring threads on this board. I can't believe that it's 10 pages deep.

 

[RedSoloCup]

This has got to be one of the most boring threads on this board. I can't believe that it's 10 pages deep.

As a relative noob, having come back after 10 years away, it's good to get educated on the lay of the land.

And see that some things NEVER change around here.

 

[pj]

By the way, I'm now asking you for the third time why you think Franklin had more time to learn his players weaknesses than P did. Feel free to answer whenever.

Maybe Franklin had fewer weaknesses to learn about?

UConn was a particular team, very weak at some positions and very strong at others. Vanderbilt maybe had a more uniform level of quality. With fewer weaknesses to cover for, the coaching challenge was less complex.

 

[freescooter]

I understand and accept that position. In this one game, and this one situation, I 1000 % disagree with it, but you or anyone else is entitled to think it wasn't a bad mistake, except in hindsight.

I thought it was a mistake to make that call the way our defense was playing and the way we were throwing the football, too, but I get what Srqhusky is saying. That pass is completed and its game over.Pass is incomplete and we kick it away with a solid chance to win. The only thing that would hurt us was what happened. Not all that different from Edsall's call of the run against Pitt. Todman gets the first down so it was a gutsy call that won the game. If he had gotten stopped a yard short, Edsall is an idiot who should have punted.

On the other point about Franklin having time to learn his team's strengths and weaknesses, it is almost impossible to evaluate that unless you know what systems he was running, what kind of changes he made, compared ot Pasqualoni. Look, it is entirely possible that Pasqualoni and his staff made a calculated decision that 2011 would be a transition year where they would see what they had, make changes they needed to make to move forward. They hoped to win 6 or 7 games, but didn't expect to win 9 plus anyway. Of course no coach will ever admit that. Franklin, coming into a program that had struggled for a long time, may have taken a very different approach aimed at winning now.

 

[mattp]

This has got to be one of the most boring threads on this board. I can't believe that it's 10 pages deep.

i had a feeling when i logged in this morning and the thread had grown to 10 pages that it had turned into yet another pro/anti Edsall pissing match.

 

[Palatine]

P. absolutely sh%# the bed against Vandy last year.

1. He should have played Nebrich in the second quarter like he planned. Instead he played him one series and put an ineffective Mac back in. He totally abandoned his "production" criteria for "continuity." A panic move.

2. The defense was so disorganized it couldn't get lined up.

2a. When the defense was incapable of lining up, the coach should have called a TO. He didn't. Instead, the chaos led to a Vandy TD.

3. The worst play call of the season, the down and out, the only play call that could have lost the game, it got called, did indeed lose the game.

Afterwards, MAC said he single-handedly lost the game. Not true, he split it 50/50 with P. Heck, the fact that he was playing at all was P. fault as well. Vandy was a coaching disaster.

 

[PUPPY4]

P. absolutely sh%# the bed against Vandy last year.

1. He should have played Nebrich in the second quarter like he planned. Instead he played him one series and put an ineffective Mac back in. He totally abandoned his "production" criteria for "continuity." A panic move.

2. The defense was so disorganized it couldn't get lined up.

2a. When the defense was incapable of lining up, the coach should have called a TO. He didn't. Instead, the chaos led to a Vandy TD.

3. The worst play call of the season, the down and out, the only play call that could have lost the game, it got called, did indeed lose the game.

Afterwards, MAC said he single-handedly lost the game. Not true, he split it 50/50 with P. Heck, the fact that he was playing at all was P. fault as well. Vandy was a coaching disaster.

WRONG!, Coach Brown got the dirty Sanchez!
He tried to confuse the QB/Offense by switching the safety and LB responsibilities, unfortunately he confused our safeties and LB's.

Yeah that INT sealed our fate, but we were lucky to be in that situation.

 

[Srqhusky]

Spackler I agree with you that we did a great job in the first half of that wv game. We held a very potent offense in check. Unfortunately they made adjustments , we got tired and couldn't hold on for the upset. Hope to see that better than that first half play thus year. I noticed the defense got better as the pass from Syracuse game on so we will see. The offense controlled the ball very well at times last year but we will need this offense to gel quickly wih all the new names. You really need the same qb n wr te for a few years I really peak. Best of luck to this years team