Here's my Thoughts/Observations--What Were Yours

[uconnphil2016]

Would love to hear what everyone saw at today's practice. Here are a few quick thoughts I had throughout the afternoon:
-Pindell has great accuracy when throwing downfield. Looks like he can play. Needs to work on his accuracy when throwing across his body on the little swing route passes, but really impressive when looking at his entire body of work today.
-Beals looks like he's improved a ton. Not only are his hands great, but he's doing work on routes downfield, whereas in his freshman year he stuck more to the bubble screen. Also, he looks way faster. He was always quick, but now he looks like the fastest guy on the field.
-Fatukasi was incredibly disruptive. I saw multiple plays where he was double teamed (that'll happen now that he's a nose tackle) and he still took on both OL and got to the QB. Also watched him put a lineman on his butt--totally embarrassed him. He looks huge.
-Kevin Mensah has some burn. Tough to tell when it's sort of non contact, but it looks like he could challenge for the #2 RB spot behind Newsome.
-While on RB, and again it's hard to tell given that I'm no expert, but Vickers looks pretty slow considering his size. In drills, he had no pop in his first step forward, and took a long time getting out to the edge.
-McAfee has a good arm, but really inaccurate at this point. He'll be fine moving forward, but he's a project
-Hergy is very polished
-Both kickers were impressive. I think Tarbutt wins the job, though. His kicks have a little more height on them, while Rishell's kicks are line drives. Rishell may have a tad more power, but his kicks look pretty blockable

Hard to really make many observations on the defensive side of the ball or o line...the D wasn't going all out obviously. With that being said, I saw Summers make a couple good plays on Mayala which is promising--let's hope he returns to form. Tre Bell looked solid as well.

 

[Chief00]

Would love to hear what everyone saw at today's practice. Here are a few quick thoughts I had throughout the afternoon:
-Pindell has great accuracy when throwing downfield. Looks like he can play. Needs to work on his accuracy when throwing across his body on the little swing route passes, but really impressive when looking at his entire body of work today.
-Beals looks like he's improved a ton. Not only are his hands great, but he's doing work on routes downfield, whereas in his freshman year he stuck more to the bubble screen. Also, he looks way faster. He was always quick, but now he looks like the fastest guy on the field.
-Fatukasi was incredibly disruptive. I saw multiple plays where he was double teamed (that'll happen now that he's a nose tackle) and he still took on both OL and got to the QB. Also watched him put a lineman on his butt--totally embarrassed him. He looks huge.
-Kevin Mensah has some burn. Tough to tell when it's sort of non contact, but it looks like he could challenge for the #2 RB spot behind Newsome.
-While on RB, and again it's hard to tell given that I'm no expert, but Vickers looks pretty slow considering his size. In drills, he had no pop in his first step forward, and took a long time getting out to the edge.
-McAfee has a good arm, but really inaccurate at this point. He'll be fine moving forward, but he's a project
-Hergy is very polished
-Both kickers were impressive. I think Tarbutt wins the job, though. His kicks have a little more height on them, while Rishell's kicks are line drives. Rishell may have a tad more power, but his kicks look pretty blockable

Hard to really make many observations on the defensive side of the ball or o line...the D wasn't going all out obviously. With that being said, I saw Summers make a couple good plays on Mayala which is promising--let's hope he returns to form. Tre Bell looked solid as well.

Quite frankly, good analysis of players.

 

[Chief00]

I have given my football observations in two different threads and they were positive. Now to the business side and the fan experience.

The time table made no sense with the open practice starting just 15 minutes after the barbacue open. Organizational suicide.

I know that Bears Smokehouse is a corporate sponsor and I don't know exactly what the relationship was for this event. The food was good for serving a large group - so a plus for that.
My analysis was that Bears had half the staff they needed. Where the line went into the table and people turned right to be served - there should have been a left turn with an equal amount of staff. If UConn gave Bears a RSVP number and the context with the open practice then Bears dropped the ball. In any event the communication and execution will need to be better next time.
Regardless of whose fault it is UConn owns the event and will need to use this as a learning experience to do better next time.

But, I give them credit for conceiving and attempting this event.

The UConn staff handled the tickets/list fairly well breaking it down by alphabet groupings.

 

[formerlurker]

Drop the mic, Phil. The Simon Cowell of the BY has spoken.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Drop the mic, Phil. The Simon Cowell of the BY has spoken.

Simon Cowell?!? I went easy on em!

 

[TheDoggPound]

The one punt I witnessed from Magliozzi, he kicked from the 45 yard line and it landed precisely on the 1.

 

[FDNY99]

I have given my football observations in two different threads and they were positive. Now to the business side and the fan experience.

The time table made no sense with the open practice starting just 15 minutes after the barbacue open. Organizational suicide.

I know that Bears Smokehouse is a corporate sponsor and I don't know exactly what the relationship was for this event. The food was good for serving a large group - so a plus for that.
My analysis was that Bears had half the staff they needed. Where the line went into the table and people turned right to be served - there should have been a left turn with an equal amount of staff. If UConn gave Bears a RSVP number and the context with the open practice then Bears dropped the ball. In any event the communication and execution will need to be better next time.
Regardless of whose fault it is UConn owns the event and will need to use this as a learning experience to do better next time.

But, I give them credit for conceiving and attempting this event.

The UConn staff handled the tickets/list fairly well breaking it down by alphabet groupings.

My wife and I skipped the line and watched practice instead....

 

[uconnphil2016]

My wife and I skipped the line and watched practice instead....

Same. I showed up and wasn't hungry, looked at the line and figured I'd rather watch practice than wait around for food I didn't even really want. It did look good though!

 

[HomeKing93]

I spoke to my ticket guy at the Rent today and told him if they opened the gate to season ticket holders at 2:30 it would have been better. I didn't get my food and sit down until 4 as the line was long. But the food was good and I enjoyed the experience today. Can't wait for 8/31.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Rule #1 for free food at events with 1000+ people.

Eat before you get there. If the coordination is good, the lines moving and the food is available, Bonus.

If it looks like a Charlie Foxtrot you skip it and move on to the event you actually came to see.

 

[uconnbill]

One thing I will add is the offense looks ahead of the defense as of now. I like the upbeat way the offense does everything and think that will help more and more as the year goes by. While teams will get used to it, so will UConn offense.

Players who I noticed today.
Pindell was excellent and knew how to run the offense and showed me he is a better thrower than I had hoped. He gets rid of the ball very quickly and is always looking downfield to make the throw and not run first.
Newsome looks quicker and faster than last year. Maybe that has to do with less thinking and just doing.
All of the wide receivers showed well today going after the ball, especially on deep balls. The routes looked good and to me, there are five wideouts that can help this season. Mayala, Beals, McLean, Skanes, Dixon with Donaldson, and Williams getting time as well. It might be the strongest position I have seen at UConn since the first RE era.
Bell on defense looks the part and knows angles and how to get into position. He will be a strong addition to the defensive backfield along with Summers and a bevy of young players at the safety spot. Eddie Hahn, Swann, Fortt and Coyle. I noticed them the most but a couple of others look good at times as well.
Britton didn't look out of place and batted down a pass and broke up another pass play. Junior was Junior but with limited hitting, it is hard to say what he will do, but I would expect him to be as solid versus the run as he was last season. Stapleton looks big and put on pressure two times and once it would have been a sack if they were live.
Fatukasi looked good and blew back Crozier on one play which would be a pancake. I didn't notice anything big out of Carrezola, Murphy Lawley or Ormbsy.
The offensive looks set with Crozier at center, Rutherford at left guard, DeGeorge at Right guard, Peart at Left Tackle and Hopkins and Right tackle. One thing I did notice is the guards pulling more than the last couple of years and I think they have the athletes to pull more. Again a position we won't know until the game against Holy Cross, but I am hopeful compared to last year's crap show.
Meyers and Bloom will play a lot as well. I am not sure how much they will be involved, but the size and experience should lead to good seasons for both.

 

[huskymedic]

One thing I did notice is the guards pulling more than the last couple of years and I think they have the athletes to pull more.

I distinctly noticed Rutherford pulling one time and it looked like an eclipse as he crossed behind Crozier... big man moving quickly.

 

[wethyhusky]

While I complained about the line, we had food and saw most of the scrimmaging. I like Pindell. I am excited/nervous about the offense in game situations. Also very happy to get a pair of season tickets as a band parent for $120 per seat. Wish my ticket rep had told me about this earlier. All in all, really nice job by the athletic department.

 

[Woof 101]

Saw a good turn out on a very warm day...Figured many would be on vacation or on their boats...
Chow line much too long, but again we are starting over and it was a nice gesture...Just as soon have the $ discount for purchasing early...
Gained an appreciation for how much coaches can ascertain or not with out full contact...
Obviously Pindell looked good as we now know he has the spot... Surprised Bisack got so many reps, is he ahead of Shirrefs?...
Again without full contact RB's were not shining...Often first contact in the backfield... Ouch...
Saw a few passes blocked at the line which is encouraging... Discouraging?...
Not lacking for receivers that can get the ball when covered...Some nice catches today...
Overall good thing for the program with post practice meet & greet on the field and great opportunities for all...
Looking forward to the season but really have no idea of how we will fare. I will say that I have a confidence in this staff that is way beyond
our last two regimes....

 

[uconnbill]

No Shirreffs is second team, but I will agree that Bisack looked the part and played well today as a walk-on

 

[Chin Diesel]

Saw a good turn out on a very warm day...Figured many would be on vacation or on their boats...
Chow line much too long, but again we are starting over and it was a nice gesture...Just as soon have the $ discount for purchasing early...
Gained an appreciation for how much coaches can ascertain or not with out full contact...
Obviously Pindell looked good as we now know he has the spot... Surprised Bisack got so many reps, is he ahead of Shirrefs?...
Again without full contact RB's were not shining...Often first contact in the backfield... Ouch...
Saw a few passes blocked at the line which is encouraging... Discouraging?...
Not lacking for receivers that can get the ball when covered...Some nice catches today...
Overall good thing for the program with post practice meet & greet on the field and great opportunities for all...
Looking forward to the season but really have no idea of how we will fare. I will say that I have a confidence in this staff that is way beyond
our last two regimes....

No Shirreffs is second team, but I will agree that Bisack looked the part and played well today as a walk-on

Just a guess, but Bisack probably needs more reps than Shirreffs at anything close to game speed. Plenty of film for the coaches of Shirreffs. Bisack? Not so much.

 

[JMick]

While I complained about the line, we had food and saw most of the scrimmaging. I like Pindell. I am excited/nervous about the offense in game situations. Also very happy to get a pair of season tickets as a band parent for $120 per seat. Wish my ticket rep had told me about this earlier. All in all, really nice job by the athletic department.

I just hope people give the offense some time before they start complaining. there will be growing pains.

that being said, there's literally nowhere to go but up.

 

[uconnbill]

I just hope people give the offense some time before they start complaining. there will be growing pains.

that being said, there's literally nowhere to go but up.

Not sure why I am not worried about the offsense as much as the team getting the defense down. He could take a couple of games to come together. We will see come Holy Cross and then USF the week after.

 

[J187Money]

Rule #1 for free food at events with 1000+ people.

Eat before you get there. If the coordination is good, the lines moving and the food is available, Bonus.

If it looks like a Charlie Foxtrot you skip it and move on to the event you actually came to see.

I thought it odd - all of the comments from the people that went and complained they didn't get to see the practice because they were in the food line all day.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

I thought it odd - all of the comments from the people that went and complained they didn't get to see the practice because they were in the food line all day.

Setting aside whether the D or the O are ahead of each other respectively, if nothing else it suggests some fans are well on their way to mid-season form. Go UConn!

 

[hardcorehusky]

It will be interesting to see who the number 3 qb is. Washington hurt himself with his absence and I am sure RE will want to redshirt either or both of Washington and McAfee. Bisack would be a good 3 so the others don't burn their freshman redshirt.

 

[JMick]

It will be interesting to see who the number 3 qb is. Washington hurt himself with his absence and I am sure RE will want to redshirt either or both of Washington and McAfee. Bisack would be a good 3 so the others don't burn their freshman redshirt.

It will depend on a lot of things. If we're down to QB #3 and we have two wins, Bissack would probably play. Now, if we were bowl eligible or about to be? I could see one of the freshman step up into the role.

 

[Exit 4]

It will depend on a lot of things. If we're down to QB #3 and we have two wins, Bissack would probably play. Now, if we were bowl eligible or about to be? I could see one of the freshman step up into the role.

Yep, you can pencil out an ideal scenario (Pindell starts every game this year and next, Bisack and Sherrifs the joint back ups)- that is easy with our QB situation. What is not easy is a what if scenario with injuries. For instance, if god forbid Pindell goes down for the season, we are 4 and 2 and the O has struggled in back to back games under Sherrifs/Bisack, meanwhile Washington is lighting it up in practice...well then what for the last 6 games of the year?

 

[uconnphil2016]

Yep, you can pencil out an ideal scenario (Pindell starts every game this year and next, Bisack and Sherrifs the joint back ups)- that is easy with our QB situation. What is not easy is a what if scenario with injuries. For instance, if god forbid Pindell goes down for the season, we are 4 and 2 and the O has struggled in back to back games under Sherrifs/Bisack, meanwhile Washington is lighting it up in practice...well then what for the last 6 games of the year?

I'd just play BS. He's a fine quarterback. Not worth losing a year on Washington IMO

 

[Exit 4]

I'd just play BS. He's a fine quarterback. Not worth losing a year on Washington IMO

Its rare, but not impossible for a frosh to play QB. Milton put up 300 yards on us last year on his way to a stellar season and only at 170lbs and 5'11''. UCF opted for wins rather than losses and a fifth year.

McKenzie Milton - 2016 Football Roster - UCFKnights.com | Football

Washington only goes in if Sherriffs and Bisack do not perform when they have their opportunity....provided you would not blow his redshirt with just two games left...unless circumstances where extreme (one more win gets us a bowl, etc).