How great is this?

[whaler11]

To have real optimism about the football program.

I don't give a crap about access bowls - not insane enough to worry about the CFB playoff:

We have a staff that when you get the parking pass for the AAC Championship game you don't make an audible chuckling sound. We could have tossed out a CAA championship game parking pass out the last three years.

An athletic director that instills confidence along with coaches leading the three major programs that can actually create some synergy and energy? I had really started to believe it would never happen again.

My first emotional reaction when I realized it was Edsall was not 100% positive. I'm a former Past President of the Apologistas - and even I'm suprised by how different (improved) he seems.

 

[sportsart]

To have real optimism about the football program.

I don't give a crap about access bowls - not insane enough to worry about the CFB playoff:

We have a staff that when you get the parking pass for the AAC Championship game you don't make an audible chuckling sound. We could have tossed out an CAA championship game parking pass out the last three years.

An athletic director that instills confidence along with coaches leading the three major programs can actually create some synergy and energy? I had really started to believe it would never happen again.

My first emotional reaction when I realized it was Edsall was not 100% positive. I'm a former Past President of the Apologistas - and even I'm suprised by how different (improved) he seems.

Thanks for ruining my day by making me give you a like.

By the way, I was not only the President of the RE 1.0 Apologistas I was the Ambassador to the Randy Edsall Club. Please don't try to steal my thunder.

 

[whaler11]

Thanks for ruining my day by making me give you a like.

By the way, I was not only the President of the RE 1.0 Apologistas I was the Ambassador to the Randy Edsall Club. Please don't try to steal my thunder.

I gave you a like first. It wasn't easy .

There are 12-15 people who have been vocal here about the job Edsall did the first time around. I understand why he annoyed some people and he has one quality that drove me nuts the first time (his teams would play great first quarters then he wouldn't go for the kill).

Hopefully the people still mad about how he left get over it.

 

[FDNY99]

To have real optimism about the football program.

I don't give a crap about access bowls - not insane enough to worry about the CFB playoff:

We have a staff that when you get the parking pass for the AAC Championship game you don't make an audible chuckling sound. We could have tossed out a CAA championship game parking pass out the last three years.

An athletic director that instills confidence along with coaches leading the three major programs that can actually create some synergy and energy? I had really started to believe it would never happen again.

My first emotional reaction when I realized it was Edsall was not 100% positive. I'm a former Past President of the Apologistas - and even I'm suprised by how different (improved) he seems.

Working for Jim Caldwell after he was fired seems to have worked wonders for him. You are 100% right it's very surprising how different he is. He seems very at ease right now.

 

[whaler11]

Working for Jim Caldwell after he was fired seems to have worked wonders for him. You are 100% right it's very surprising how different he is. He seems very at ease right now.

The people that said at times he didn't seem to want to be here in his first stint weren't always wrong. Some of that is on Hathaway some of that is on Edsall. I don't blame Edsall for having a bit of a chip on his shoulder that a lot of the fanbase didn't realize how hard it was to take them from FCS to the Fiesta Bowl in that time frame.

 

[UConnDan97]

not insane enough to worry about the CFB playoff

I couldn't decide how to respond to this comment, so I'll give you all of the choices:

1) Well...nobody's perfect
2) That makes one of us
3) Insanity is an integral part of the Boneyard
3) How could we not make it after having gone 13-0?

#REStorred

 

[FDNY99]

The people that said at times he didn't seem to want to be here in his first stint weren't always wrong. Some of that is on Hathaway some of that is on Edsall. I don't blame Edsall for having a bit of a chip on his shoulder that a lot of the fanbase didn't realize how hard it was to take them from FCS to the Fiesta Bowl in that time frame.

One of the interesting things he has said is about the facilities here and how when he came back he realized how good they were and he knew how to sell them. He has also raved about Storrs Center and how much that has changed the game for him recruiting wise. It's going to be interesting to watch how he is here with a boss in Benedict that has his back 100%. I think he will methodically rebuild this program in a way that we have seen before. I'm looking forward to watching the job he does.

 

[JMick]

To have real optimism about the football program.

I don't give a crap about access bowls - not insane enough to worry about the CFB playoff:

We have a staff that when you get the parking pass for the AAC Championship game you don't make an audible chuckling sound. We could have tossed out a CAA championship game parking pass out the last three years.

An athletic director that instills confidence along with coaches leading the three major programs that can actually create some synergy and energy? I had really started to believe it would never happen again.

My first emotional reaction when I realized it was Edsall was not 100% positive. I'm a former Past President of the Apologistas - and even I'm suprised by how different (improved) he seems.

I'm looking forward to football season more than basketball season and I'm reading a positive post by Whaler. We live in interesting times, indeed.

 

[whaler11]

I'm looking forward to football season more than basketball season and I'm reading a positive post by Whaler. We live in interesting times, indeed.

I spent years defending Edsall and being positive you just weren't here until things went south.

The bigger news is that I'm all in on Geno's team now. I'm letting go of our prior blow-ups - I'm rooting for him. Of course, this makes the potential Maryland game a landmine.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

I'm looking forward to football season more than basketball season and I'm reading a positive post by Whaler. We live in interesting times, indeed.

Whaler was a positive poster when things were good. It's when things went south that he started posting with a more negative tone.

It's funny how that works out.

 

[businesslawyer]

It's funny, but as staunch a defender of Edsall as I was I'm still not feeling the optimism for the short term.

1. Vince Lombardi could be the coach in 2017, and if the OL doesn't step forward it wouldn't matter. I think good coaching can help, but not even the best chef can make a piece of dry fish taste good.

2. In 2018, we will be dealing with overwhelming graduation losses and need Diaco recruits to step up if we're going to be decent until HCRE's recruits grow up.

Do I think he can fix this long term? Yes. But it may not be as easy as we hope.

 

[sdhusky]

It's funny, but as staunch a defender of Edsall as I was I'm still not feeling the optimism for the short term.

1. Vince Lombardi could be the coach in 2017, and if the OL doesn't step forward it wouldn't matter. I think good coaching can help, but not even the best chef can make a piece of dry fish taste good.

2. In 2018, we will be dealing with overwhelming graduation losses and need Diaco recruits to step up if we're going to be decent until HCRE's recruits grow up.

Do I think he can fix this long term? Yes. But it may not be as easy as we hope.

He won with guys recruited to Memorial Stadium

Guys are coming to have an opportunity to play right away and he will get some good ones.

I think its going to go 6-6 then 5-7 then 8-4 then 12-0

 

[pj]

It's funny, but as staunch a defender of Edsall as I was I'm still not feeling the optimism for the short term.

1. Vince Lombardi could be the coach in 2017, and if the OL doesn't step forward it wouldn't matter. I think good coaching can help, but not even the best chef can make a piece of dry fish taste good.

2. In 2018, we will be dealing with overwhelming graduation losses and need Diaco recruits to step up if we're going to be decent until HCRE's recruits grow up.

Do I think he can fix this long term? Yes. But it may not be as easy as we hope.

True, true. He's in a similar situation to the one Kevin Ollie took over, with recruiting sanctions hindering him and then needing several more years to make up for the lost recruiting classes.

It could take Edsall 4-5 years before the team is fully recovered from Diaco. But, if the trajectory is up, it can still be fun for fans.

 

[sportsart]

It's funny, but as staunch a defender of Edsall as I was I'm still not feeling the optimism for the short term.

1. Vince Lombardi could be the coach in 2017, and if the OL doesn't step forward it wouldn't matter. I think good coaching can help, but not even the best chef can make a piece of dry fish taste good.

2. In 2018, we will be dealing with overwhelming graduation losses and need Diaco recruits to step up if we're going to be decent until HCRE's recruits grow up.

Do I think he can fix this long term? Yes. But it may not be as easy as we hope.

I agree with what you are saying, but if we have the dual threat QB we think we have (JUCO) and we have a SEC OC and OL coach who can be creative and make do with what we have, there is more hope than with the last 2 regimes we had.

Again, it's all based on a QB that can run and throw. Let's face it, we're due, like nobody else. We may not have the next Pat White, but maybe even 50% of him might give us hope.

Remember, hope springs eternal.

 

[huskypantz]

I'm cautious about this year and the (especially defensive) losses going into 2018. That said, there is a HUGE difference now than Dec 1 because we actually have hope. I don't think that HCRE can make miracles happen, but I have hope (if not a little confidence as well) that he can coach up these guys, put them in positions to succeed and start the rebuild toward a competent offense. I think the defense will be decent to good. If we can creep toward "good" and get something out of the offense, maybe .500 is not out of question. If Diaco was still here I'd be predicting 1-11.

 

[businesslawyer]

True, true. He's in a similar situation to the one Kevin Ollie took over, with recruiting sanctions hindering him and then needing several more years to make up for the lost recruiting classes.

It could take Edsall 4-5 years before the team is fully recovered from Diaco. But, if the trajectory is up, it can still be fun for fans.

Huh? Kevin Ollie won a national championship his second year. I'm not sure how I could understand the comparison less.

 

[businesslawyer]

I agree with what you are saying, but if we have the dual threat QB we think we have (JUCO) and we have a SEC OC and OL coach who can be creative and make do with what we have, there is more hope than with the last 2 regimes we had.

Again, it's all based on a QB that can run and throw. Let's face it, we're due, like nobody else. We may not have the next Pat White, but maybe even 50% of him might give us hope.

Remember, hope springs eternal.

I'm sure the coaching will be better, and I am close to sure the QB situation will be better (even if it's BS healthy and with better coaching). But there is only so much you can do in football if your OL isn't competent, and coaching can improve anyway but it can't make someone who just doesn't have the potential achieve.

So we'll see.

 

[freescooter]

It's funny, but as staunch a defender of Edsall as I was I'm still not feeling the optimism for the short term.

1. Vince Lombardi could be the coach in 2017, and if the OL doesn't step forward it wouldn't matter. I think good coaching can help, but not even the best chef can make a piece of dry fish taste good.

2. In 2018, we will be dealing with overwhelming graduation losses and need Diaco recruits to step up if we're going to be decent until HCRE's recruits grow up.

Do I think he can fix this long term? Yes. But it may not be as easy as we hope.

I agree that we need to take a long view on this unfortunately. Though I haven't given up hope that 2017 might exceed expectations For exactly the reasons yo laid out I could see 2018 being a step back. Diaco's recruits are huge question marks. Edsall can coach guys up but if you are a 1AA player I'm not sure he can make you an NFL prospect. My big concern is that after the last 6 years we might be close to where Rutgers was at the beginning of the Schiano era in terms of quality of players and it will take time to upgrade our talent.

 

[pj]

Huh? Kevin Ollie won a national championship his second year. I'm not sure how I could understand the comparison less.

Yeah, and then he lost Shabazz, Deandre, Boat, Giffey, Kromah and had a few down recruiting years due to sanctions, plus injuries. Next year will be a big comeback year. 2014-2018 4 years to get back to UConn basketball ... it may take even longer for football.

 

[BlueDogs]

My prediction is we will all be pleasantly surprised. The OLine is one of the areas that can be coached up with great effect. This is a no-Shiite staff and there will be a new level of hardened player mentality back.

 

[BlueMAB]

This is a no-Shiite staff

All Sunnis?

 

[huskymedic]

All Sunnis?

Well played...

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

It's funny, but as staunch a defender of Edsall as I was I'm still not feeling the optimism for the short term.

1. Vince Lombardi could be the coach in 2017, and if the OL doesn't step forward it wouldn't matter. I think good coaching can help, but not even the best chef can make a piece of dry fish taste good.

2. In 2018, we will be dealing with overwhelming graduation losses and need Diaco recruits to step up if we're going to be decent until HCRE's recruits grow up.

Do I think he can fix this long term? Yes. But it may not be as easy as we hope.

I'm not sure that's entirely the point though. The point is we have a competent group of coaches in now who understand how to run a football program, who understand how to call a game, who understand how to recruit, who connect with the former players, and who've proven they can win. There's a good mix of experience and youth on the coaching staff to balance the new trends of the game with the understanding of how to use it situationally.

No more Batman, no more energy vampires, no more run-run-pass-punt, no more not returning punts because ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, no more going for it on 4th and 12 on the 14 in the 2nd quarter - we're rebuilding a solid competent football program.

The pieces may not be there to win lots of games immediately, but there's definitely reason for optimism that the trajectory of the program is extremely positive.

 

[CL82]

I'm not sure that's entirely the point though. The point is we have a competent group of coaches in now who understand how to run a football program, who understand how to call a game, who understand how to recruit, who connect with the former players, and who've proven they can win. There's a good mix of experience and youth on the coaching staff to balance the new trends of the game with the understanding of how to use it situationally.

No more Batman, no more energy vampires, no more run-run-pass-punt, no more not returning punts because ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, no more going for it on 4th and 12 on the 14 in the 2nd quarter - we're rebuilding a solid competent football program.

The pieces may not be there to win lots of games immediately, but there's definitely reason for optimism that the trajectory of the program is extremely positive.

And just having a competently coached watchable product is a big step forward. It was just miserable last year.

 

[BlueDogs]

All Sunnis?

I think Sunni our line will be much better because these coaches won't take anymore Shiite play.