Im still confused why UConn FB didnt pass the ball Friday night? | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Im still confused why UConn FB didnt pass the ball Friday night?

Status
Not open for further replies.

HuskyHawk

The triumphant return of the Blues Brothers.
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
31,862
Reaction Score
81,491
I'm responding to a post, that brought up a critical moment of the game, where we failed, and we failed not because of scheme, or play calling, or weather, or anything else but two players executing their roles poorly - due to simply fundamentals. Reuben Frank stopped moving his legs to drive his blocker, and got blown up by a TE win good blocking position, fundamentally, and Andrew Adams, unblocked, stopped moving his legs, and made a reach for an arm tackle, with his head down, and ended up with air, and then grass, on his stomach watching the ball carrier go by.

There was nothing wrong with the defensive design or play call. It was fundamentals. We need to get back to basics of football at UCONN. It's been far too sloppy, and undisciplined for far too long. THe Fiesta Bowl is very far behind us now.

If you watched that grainy black and white coaching film from ancient history I put up on Saturday night, or whenever it was, on tackling, it's pretty much all right there. This isn't new, and it's not rocket science or 400 level football we need to be at.

Edit: and fwiw - yes the players failed, but it is also the coaches fault that the players lacked the fundamentals at that moment, that would have put them in position to succeed.

Is it fundamentals or is it execution Carl? If the D was in the right place, and the player took the right line, as he's coached to do...tacking is then on him in my opinion. The coaches can't tackle. Or do you really think these coaches aren't stressing fundamentals like proper tackling? That just doesn't seem likely to me.

Increasingly, I think HCBD is doing something he hinted at, but we didn't really understand. He's using this entire season as a massive year long intensive practice session. The rotations, the "lets see if we can just run and still move the chains", these are indeed things you do in "pre-season" in the NFL. What I hope he recognizes, is that the Program (capital P) needs fans, energy, excitement and Ws. I am giving him a partial pass because I think the monsoon in FL changed everything against USF, but at some point he has to flip the switch and say that the future is now. Temple game is a good place to start.
 
Joined
Aug 28, 2011
Messages
26,919
Reaction Score
65,069
Is it fundamentals or is it execution Carl? If the D was in the right place, and the player took the right line, as he's coached to do...tacking is then on him in my opinion. The coaches can't tackle. Or do you really think these coaches aren't stressing fundamentals like proper tackling? That just doesn't seem likely to me.

Increasingly, I think HCBD is doing something he hinted at, but we didn't really understand. He's using this entire season as a massive year long intensive practice session. The rotations, the "lets see if we can just run and still move the chains", these are indeed things you do in "pre-season" in the NFL. What I hope he recognizes, is that the Program (capital P) needs fans, energy, excitement and Ws. I am giving him a partial pass because I think the monsoon in FL changed everything against USF, but at some point he has to flip the switch and say that the future is now. Temple game is a good place to start.

I'm positive that Diaco didn't interview with Warde declaring he would use his entire first season as an extented practice session and not worry about winning a game.

You can win and teach. Sitting your best players on critical down is just nonsense.
 
Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Messages
22,836
Reaction Score
9,462
So did anybody watch? Our defensive stand got them to 4th and goal, after that 3rd and 16 conversion, and they chose to kick a field goal. Smart decision the way the game was going. We also had a penalty from a young DB wearing #6 that extended that drive. Fundamentals of coverage, he broke down, and grabbed the receiver, and most likely prevented a TD.

One single breakdown in the most basic of fundamentals, that doesn't happen, in those two players, and that possession is potentially much different.

I'm nitpicking on defense here, because the players have been improving, and the system is working,and they have been doing their job as successfully as they can, improving, but when you break down in fundamentals? That's bad. It's much different to get beat, when you are doing everything you can possibly do the best you can, because it happens, but when you don't do the fundamentals right - that hurts, no matter what.

Randy Edsall's secret to success in building a successful football program isn't some magic elixir. The guy ran a program that did nothing, but perfect the nuances and skills, and techniques of blocking and tackling. He was an expert at 100 level football.

The offense? All you really need to do is pick any number on the field, and watch the film, and you will see them all over the place with.

THis concept that the coaching staff are idiots, or insane, or are not coaching to win, or made decisions that are made based on not caring about winning - it's just dumb and wrong.

maybe it's dangerous ? LOL.

The problem is that they have a young team, that is very poor in basic fundamentals of football. That needs to be improved. the only question, is the methods you choose to go about doing that in practices. That's where I have my problems. They have an incredible amount of faith, both in their own players, and themselves, to get this job done, doing it the way they are doing, IMNSHO, because they are doing it the hard way, by dividing reps and trying to train up every single player.

They have to coach them up, and they know it. The players got to know it too, and I don't believe for a second that they aren't 10 toes in, and want to improve when it comes to specifically, like say something like getting a freshmen TB trained up and conditioned to be able to pick up an edge pressure,, or a FB trained up to pick up an interior pressure, out of an I formation on a pass play call out the huddle, or on a run blitz, by using the rotations they are using, because that is valid, there is only so many reps you can get in during a week, and limited practice time,

But don't try to tell people they aren't trying to win, or are making stupid decisions that cost us the opportunity to win games, when they clearly aren't. That's only happened once, when we lined up a kick for practice during a game. That, I'm sure, won't happen again for this young coach.

How do go about making sure that a junior strong safety, does not lose his basic fundamentals of open field tackling, or how a freshman/soph/junior Guard and TAcklethat don't have many reps together at all, either as a starting lineup, or a backup lineup in practices, can develop the timing and chemistry to deal with stunting moving defensive fronts, or the G-C-G interior combination can get their spacing and timing right to be able to acutally pull and trap with effectiveness when it comes to what they're doing in practices with rotations, because that makes sense.

I'd agree with anybody that is arguing that as a problem with our coaching staff approach right now, that may be hampering our ability to win - NOW - not later. Not the game decision making against USF.
 
Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Messages
22,836
Reaction Score
9,462
Is it fundamentals or is it execution Carl? If the D was in the right place, and the player took the right line, as he's coached to do...tacking is then on him in my opinion. The coaches can't tackle. Or do you really think these coaches aren't stressing fundamentals like proper tackling? That just doesn't seem likely to me.

Increasingly, I think HCBD is doing something he hinted at, but we didn't really understand. He's using this entire season as a massive year long intensive practice session. The rotations, the "lets see if we can just run and still move the chains", these are indeed things you do in "pre-season" in the NFL. What I hope he recognizes, is that the Program (capital P) needs fans, energy, excitement and Ws. I am giving him a partial pass because I think the monsoon in FL changed everything against USF, but at some point he has to flip the switch and say that the future is now. Temple game is a good place to start.

Did you watch it? Execution of fundamentals? What are you talking about? The players were in position to defend the play, and stop for going for a first down. That's the coaches job, to put them in position to succeed on game day. They were only partly complete with that job, on this single play - because the players failed. They failed, not because they weren't in position to succeed to stop that play, meaning it was a bad defensive scheme or call, it was because they failed, because two players broke down in the basic fundamentals of football. Leverage and tackling.

If Frank takes a better angle and makes better contact on the TE that released strong side, which was his primary responsibility, and was actually in a very sound fundamental blockgin position in the open field, the play has a different outcome. As it was, he did just enough before ending up on his back, to maintain the runner in an inside gap, that pushed him right into the unblocked Adams, who did everything that you're not supposed to do, on that basic grainy black and white film I posted from an old Texas U coach decades and decades ago.

The coaches failure, was not in the play call or design of the defense, or scheme, or any of this happy horsesmanure about coaching to win, - the failure is that we are now 1 full spring camp, 1 full fall camp, and 1/4 of a regular season into this, and we are NOT fundamentally sound and consistent in the basic fundamentals of blocking and tackling.

That's where we are. I have posted over and over again, this week, my thoughts as to explaining why. Simply put - young players across the board, and a rotation of players that I believe is not giving them enough reps to develop. The choice that has been made, to me, is that they will divide reps to coach up every single young player, at the same time, rather than decide on a starting lineup and weigh reps heavily in practices. that was made clear as to what would be happening early in the season, I disagreed then too, but saw the reasons for doing it. I said then that I'd have a lot of questions about the rotations if we got to this point in the season, and were still rotating players like this.

All I'm doing is being consistent, we've arrived at this time, and we're still rotating and dividing reps, and I don't like it anymore than I did after the BYU game, and now I'm disagreeing with it.
 

HuskyHawk

The triumphant return of the Blues Brothers.
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
31,862
Reaction Score
81,491
....
I'd agree with anybody that is arguing that as a problem with our coaching staff approach right now, that may be hampering our ability to win - NOW - not later. Not the game decision making against USF.

^^^That is what I'm suggesting. He's balancing the need to get the young guys more coaching than he can in practice, with the goal of winning each game. It's not game management in my mind or a lack of desire to win, and win now. It's how do you balance those competing goals.
 

Bonehead

'Ollie North of the Cesspool'
Joined
Sep 1, 2013
Messages
9,360
Reaction Score
8,261
Did you watch it? Execution of fundamentals? What are you talking about? The players were in position to defend the play, and stop for going for a first down. That's the coaches job, to put them in position to succeed on game day. They were only partly complete with that job, on this single play - because the players failed. They failed, not because they weren't in position to succeed to stop that play, meaning it was a bad defensive scheme or call, it was because they failed, because two players broke down in the basic fundamentals of football. Leverage and tackling.

If Frank takes a better angle and makes better contact on the TE that released strong side, which was his primary responsibility, and was actually in a very sound fundamental blockgin position in the open field, the play has a different outcome. As it was, he did just enough before ending up on his back, to maintain the runner in an inside gap, that pushed him right into the unblocked Adams, who did everything that you're not supposed to do, on that basic grainy black and white film I posted from an old Texas U coach decades and decades ago.

The coaches failure, was not in the play call or design of the defense, or scheme, or any of this happy horsesmanure about coaching to win, - the failure is that we are now 1 full spring camp, 1 full fall camp, and 1/4 of a regular season into this, and we are NOT fundamentally sound and consistent in the basic fundamentals of blocking and tackling.

That's where we are. I have posted over and over again, this week, my thoughts as to explaining why. Simply put - young players across the board, and a rotation of players that I believe is not giving them enough reps to develop. The choice that has been made, to me, is that they will divide reps to coach up every single young player, at the same time, rather than decide on a starting lineup and weigh reps heavily in practices. that was made clear as to what would be happening early in the season, I disagreed then too, but saw the reasons for doing it. I said then that I'd have a lot of questions about the rotations if we got to this point in the season, and were still rotating players like this.

All I'm doing is being consistent, we've arrived at this time, and we're still rotating and dividing reps, and I don't like it anymore than I did after the BYU game, and now I'm disagreeing with it.

Was this "Green Right Slot Spider 2 Y Banana"
 
Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Messages
22,836
Reaction Score
9,462
^^^That is what I'm suggesting. He's balancing the need to get the young guys more coaching than he can in practice, with the goal of winning each game. It's not game management in my mind or a lack of desire to win, and win now. It's how do you balance those competing goals.

I would love to hear an argument opposite to mine, that shows the benefits of the rotations and division of reps we are seeing, as it appears to me, that this is not going to stop this season. What's wrong with my argument?

My position, is that we should have a definite starting lineup by now, that is seeing the majority of reps in practices and games, with limited back up reps, during weeks, with lots of film study, and we should be doing that through the rest of the season. That to me, is the best way to both win now - and later, choosing a lineup that you think can get you to a post season game, and working them to get there. Those extra weeks of practice and extra game, are what accelerate a program toward consistent winning, in my book, not dividing reps to get max player reps while you are in season. This boggles my mind.
 
Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Messages
22,836
Reaction Score
9,462
Once again, I feel not good, about picking on the D players this way, because nobody is perfect, and mistakes happen, the D is working and improving as a whole, but the breakdowns in fundamentals, are easy to see, when it's 1 or 2 players among 11 on the field. So that's why I picked this play, to talk about in response to the comments that that 3rd and 16, may have been a play call that was made "not to win". That's just crap.

On offense, you've literally got in many cases 5,6,7, or more players that are completely fundamentally out of whack on most plays. It's complete chaos. It's harder to point out what went wrong. That's why I didn't pick a specific offensive play to go off on this rant.
 

HuskyHawk

The triumphant return of the Blues Brothers.
Joined
Sep 12, 2011
Messages
31,862
Reaction Score
81,491
I would love to hear an argument opposite to mine, that shows the benefits of the rotations and division of reps we are seeing, as it appears to me, that this is not going to stop this season. What's wrong with my argument?

My position, is that we should have a definite starting lineup by now, that is seeing the majority of reps in practices and games, with limited back up reps, during weeks, with lots of film study, and we should be doing that through the rest of the season. That to me, is the best way to both win now - and later, choosing a lineup that you think can get you to a post season game, and working them to get there. Those extra weeks of practice and extra game, are what accelerate a program toward consistent winning, in my book, not dividing reps to get max player reps while you are in season. This boggles my mind.

I wish I knew what he was seeing. If he thinks there is a young guy who is "this close" to passing a more experienced guy, and that the current gap is narrow, maybe the rotation works. Aside from that, no, I think it is time to set the roster and let the best guys play. I do understand that he may not have been ready to do that for the BYU game...but come one now, it's time.
 
Joined
Aug 29, 2011
Messages
22,836
Reaction Score
9,462
I wish I knew what he was seeing. If he thinks there is a young guy who is "this close" to passing a more experienced guy, and that the current gap is narrow, maybe the rotation works. Aside from that, no, I think it is time to set the roster and let the best guys play. I do understand that he may not have been ready to do that for the BYU game...but come one now, it's time.

The ultimate measure of success is wins and losses. We're 1-3, with 8 to go.

The view from my seat, tells me that we have been physically overmatched in only 1 of these 4 games so far. Given that we have one more top 25 program left on the schedule, and lots of other programs that are not top 25, I do not think that we will be overmatched in at least 5 of those 8 left.

5-3 is what Diaco needs to lead this program to where it really needs to be, for success to be undeniable.

That's fact. It's also fact, that after the game on Saturday, we have 3 games, 2 away and then homecoming, spread over 6 full weeks. Some weird weeknight trips, but still that's 3 extra weeks of calendar practice time, in the middle of the season to help us get to that post season. How we makes use of that? Worries me. An approach of max reps, for max players, does not correlate with training specific units to be as close to perfect as possible in their designed tasks,no matter how much practice time you have, eventually you need to divide into units, that are going to train together regularly. That's what I believe.

Winning on Saturday, although it's true every week, this game on Saturday is the most important of the season so far.

If we make it 6-6 or better by December, using the max raps/max player approach the whole way, I will have seen something done in football, I've never personally seen before.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Online statistics

Members online
172
Guests online
3,107
Total visitors
3,279

Forum statistics

Threads
155,799
Messages
4,032,022
Members
9,865
Latest member
Sad Tiger


Top Bottom