I'm Tired of This

[Bill Sussman]

John Silver ‏@JohnFSilver
Problem with uconn offense is personnel. What's right with uconn defense is personnel. #coachesarentmiracleworkers

Beyond happy with the developments today but boy do I hate our media. Ultimately players play the game but staff is and should be held accountable for outcomes. That is what they get paid for. Good Riddance.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

What I think the Silver's of the world are missing is that this team just didn't have a bad offense...they had an atrocious offense. We aren't saying that UConn should be Oregon...but when you score 10 pts on NC St....14 on Temple (both at home)...10 against Cuse....6 vs USF..24 vs Buffalo...you have an offensive problem.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

Beyond happy with the developments today but boy do I hate our media. Ultimately players play the game but staff is and should be held accountable for outcomes. That is what they get paid for. Good Riddance.

Sometimes people are going to have different opinions than you. You don't actually have to hate them.

 

[sportsart]

Remember these guys get paid to write so it must have been the lack of talent. John's a good guy but he must be drinking the kool aid as well.

The wildcat alone is enough proof GDL was a poor OC.

 

[WestHartHusk]

So according to Silver who recruits the players? If you want offensive players you need to make a commitment, through staff changes, to a creative offense and then sell your vision to recruits. The amount of defenses we offer these highly paid coaches is really astounding.

 

[gioff23]

Do you hate it because its true or because you think it is not true? I get your point - the OC is at fault; the buck stops here sort of stuff. For those whining about the lack of public chest beating the AD here does, one must at least acknowledge that he is starting to move his attention from the classroom and facilities to the field, and has declared, albeit quietly and professionally, who is accountable.

Please know I am very optimisitic about the future on O, but I look at our O in 11 and 12 and saw no playmakers. Was it them or the scheme? probably both, but you're not suggesting we had BCS personnel on O, are you? The line was bad, the WRs still struggle to create space or generate YAC, the QBs eyes lock in and his arm strength is a question, and the RB looked like he was trying out for dancing with the stars and not hitting the frigging hole.
I believe the WRs will develop and I am optimisitic McCombs will get back on track. I also think folks will be impressed with some of the young OL, particularly Hemingway and Samra. I also think Whitmer, backed up by CC and Lagow will devleop nicely along with them.

But I also believe the problem with the UConn O was that we have not had BCS personnel. Sure, a better scheme or coaching should have gotten us to 6-6 the last 2 years (heck, if the K didn't have a brain fart one day, we would have been 6-6 this year). But who cares about 6-6. We have a D that looked (and will again in 13) like they should be playing this week in a major bowl. But the O?

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

What gets my goat is that the offense vastly underperformed the talent level we had. Nobody is saying we should be putting up 40 points a game with the talent level we have.

But good God.......we have more than enough talent to put up more than a disgraceful 6 points against a brutal USF defense. And even if our offense was bad (as opposed to the laughing stock it was) we would've won 8 games minimum this year. Do I think the coaching was directly responsible for 3 losses this year? Bet your I do.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

Do you hate it because its true or because you think it is not true? I get your point - the OC is at fault; the buck stops here sort of stuff. For those whining about the lack of public chest beating the AD here does, one must at least acknowledge that he is starting to move his attention from the classroom and facilities to the field, and has declared, albeit quietly and professionally, who is accountable.

Please know I am very optimisitic about the future on O, but I look at our O in 11 and 12 and saw no playmakers. Was it them or the scheme? probably both, but you're not suggesting we had BCS personnel on O, are you? The line was bad, the WRs still struggle to create space or generate YAC, the QBs eyes lock in and his arm strength is a question, and the RB looked like he was trying out for dancing with the stars and not hitting the frigging hole.
I believe the WRs will develop and I am optimisitic McCombs will get back on track. I also think folks will be impressed with some of the young OL, particularly Hemingway and Samra. I also think Whitmer, backed up by CC and Lagow will devleop nicely along with them.

But I also believe the problem with the UConn O was that we have not had BCS personnel. Sure, a better scheme or coaching should have gotten us to 6-6 the last 2 years (heck, if the K didn't have a brain fart one day, we would have been 6-6 this year). But who cares about 6-6. We have a D that looked (and will again in 13) like they should be playing this week in a major bowl. But the O?

Nonononono. Don't you see it's all Pasqualoni's fault? Sure, our kicker managed to miss every kick he attempted against Temple, but that's clearly Pasqualoni's fault. All those dropped passes? Those terrible decisions to throw the ball into coverage? The inability to block? All GDL/Pasqualoni's fault.

The truth is nuanced and this is the Internet. We've got no time for nuance, sir. Blame first, ask questions later.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

What gets my goat is that the offense vastly underperformed the talent level we had. Nobody is saying we should be putting up 40 points a game with the talent level we have.

But good God.......we have more than enough talent to put up more than a disgraceful 6 points against a brutal USF defense. And even if our offense was bad (as opposed to the laughing stock it was) we would've won 8 games minimum this year. Do I think the coaching was directly responsible for 3 losses this year? Bet your I do.

How do you know? What makes you such a certain evaluator of talent that you know we vastly underperformed? Because according to the experts, we've been the worst recruiters in the Big East since pretty much ever.

 

[Bill Sussman]

Oh I agree its nuanced but the reality is coaches were hired to take responsibility for the end result. If you don't want that responsibility you need to take another job. And I dont hate the individual, I hate the attitude.

 

[Skiblets]

Typically guys in the media never played the sports they cover at a high level. So they take their access (watching practice and interviews with coaches) and think they come up with a more in depth and relevant opinion of what ails the team. The reality is that the media is typically no more insightful than we are on this board. They just think because they get paid to write it, it is a more evolved opinion. And since fewer and fewer of them are being paid well to write, these pundits are one step removed from anonymous message board posters.

Did Uconn's offense have a talent issue this year, yes. But that's always been the case. The difference this year (and last) is that the coaching staff was trying to fit a round peg in a square hole. This is also a talent issue, but in this case, a coaching talent issue.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

How do you know? What makes you such a certain evaluator of talent that you know we vastly underperformed? Because according to the experts, we've been the worst recruiters in the Big East since pretty much ever.

It's my opinion.

Were you confused because it was a direct and clearly stated opinion? Should I answer it in a more nuanced manner so you can understand it better?

 

[Dann]

im just going to let this go instead of threatening his life

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Typically guys in the media never played the sports they cover at a high level. So they take their access (watching practice and interviews with coaches) and think they come up with a more in depth and relevant opinion of what ails the team. The reality is that the media is typically no more insightful than we are on this board. They just think because they get paid to write it, it is a more evolved opinion. And since fewer and fewer of them are being paid well to write, these pundits are one step removed from anonymous message board posters.

Did Uconn's offense have a talent issue this year, yes. But that's always been the case. The difference this year (and last) is that the coaching staff was trying to fit a round peg in a square hole. This is also a talent issue, but in this case, a coaching talent issue.

This.

USF. Temple. NC State.

 

[Bill Sussman]

For what its worth, these are the things that scare me:

Michael Smith ‏@uconn80
Thank God DeLeone is gone now my boys can thrive in hopefully a spread offense

I'm excited to move on. Best of luck to DeLeone with the Giants (please make an official announcement soon to make sure this is true)

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

For what its worth, these are the things that scare me:



I'm excited to move on. Best of luck to DeLeone with the Giants (please make an official announcement soon to make sure this is true)

I'm not a fan of former players speaking out like this......but this is pretty damning.

 

[sportsart]

The biggest problem with GDL is his lack of people skills. He doesn't realize that you have to know how each player ticks and then teach them accordingly.

He was just a flat out , all the time, and did not have many guys, if any, that would run through a wall for him.

Foley.....guys would take a bullet for him....Moorhead was well liked and might have succeeded given a chance....as for Edsall, love him or hate him most players respected him and believed in what he was trying to do, hence the success he had with "low rated" players.

I'm pretty sure there will be a huge party this weekend with players leading the cheers.

 

[Excalibur]

The biggest problem with GDL is his lack of people skills. He doesn't realize that you have to know how each player ticks and then teach them accordingly.

He was just a flat out , all the time, and did not have many guys, if any, that would run through a wall for him.

Foley.....guys would take a bullet for him....Moorhead was well liked and might have succeeded given a chance....as for Edsall, love him or hate him most players respected him and believed in what he was trying to do, hence the success he had with "low rated" players.

I'm pretty sure there will be a huge party this weekend with players leading the cheers.

Don Brown personified this -- he was tough, but the players loved him.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

It's my opinion.

Were you confused because it was a direct and clearly stated opinion? Should I answer it in a more nuanced manner so you can understand it better?

The way you express opinions makes them sound like they are ultimate truths and you could not possibly be convinced otherwise. I find it to be a rather black-and-white way of thinking and rarely leads to anything resembling truth.

 

[Husky68]

We beat the LV at there place, holding them to 13 less points than #3 Florida did and scored the same amount of points as Florida did. We beat sPitt who actually beat the shouldn't be #1 team twice (once if no bogus 4th down penalty and 2nd if made FG in OT). This was with poor use of personnel, poor play calling and no big time offensive playmaker (that we know of, could there be an Easley lurking and unused?).
This was a 9 to 10 win team that only won 5 games. Tulane scored more points against Rutgers than Uconn did. NCST beat FSU and gave up an average of 41 points in its 6 loses, Uconn scored the same amount against them as last place Sun Belt team South Alabama. We scored 6 points on a USF team that gave up 37 to Temple.
Coaching matters a lot, and in a league like BE where 4 and 5 star players do not go to play, it's even more important. Saban would not win the SEC with Ole Miss but he would have won the BE in his second year with this team. A competent coach would have won no less than 8 games.
Just for you "how do you know guys", I've wallpapered my walls with more "correct knowings" than I'll ever need.

 

[noeynox]

What I think the Silver's of the world are missing is that this team just didn't have a bad offense...they had an atrocious offense. We aren't saying that UConn should be Oregon...but when you score 10 pts on NC St....14 on Temple (both at home)...10 against Cuse....6 vs USF..24 vs Buffalo...you have an offensive problem.

Spot on. Bad would have been an offense ranked around 80th in the country. I would have given my left nut for an offense that bad. Do we have personnel limitations on offense? Yep. Why then, didn't we see some of the faster kids on the team like Tebucky Jones or Deshon Foxx get a chance to see what they could do with the ball in their hands? Trying to grind it out with two yard runs with a 160lb running back was a stupid strategy and no one will ever convince me otherwise. The wildcat disrupted anything good we had going on offense more times than it yielded results. Dele one may have been an innovative OC at one time, but those days are clearly behind him.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

The way you express opinions makes them sound like they are ultimate truths and you could not possibly be convinced otherwise. I find it to be a rather black-and-white way of thinking and rarely leads to anything resembling truth.

Well that's the impression one may get if they thought they were smarter than everyone else.

By the way, if you'd like to make the case why you think GDL is a competent OC, I'm all ears......

 

[ruskin]

skib I couldn't agree with you more. If an SEC or Big 12 or even Big 10 team had a No. 9 defense (which is where we are now, BTW) and No. 110 offense there's no way the media covering that team would be shilling for the OC and throwing the players under the bus. Hey JohnS, how many tight end bubble screens did UConn throw this year (a great play if for teams with weak OLs)? why did we UConn on the ball vs. temple & buffalo after strong starts? why was the wildcat used when its failure rate was well over 70 percent? I'll grant there was a talent level difference between O and D but nowhere near as vast as the GDL/PP apologists make it out to be.
And by the way, big props to Louisville for doing our defense a favor last night. Maybe we didn't "really" have the No. 9 defense this year but we were pretty damn close. - Louisville got 401 yds on UConn (374 passing) and 336 on Florida's No.5 defense (266 passing). And UConn and Florida both had five sacks vs UL.

 

[sdhusky]

I'm not a fan of former players speaking out like this......but this is pretty damning.

Looking at the passing game, the 2012 team passed for more yards than any UCONN team since Dan O except 1.

Passing Yards:
2005 - 1644
2006 - 1692
2007 - 2415
2008 - 1816
2009 - 2815
2010 - 1964
2011 - 2336
2012 -2765

But the amount of INT's and fumbles from the QB position basically outweighed the good.

 

[upstater]

There was plenty of talent on offense. The QB Whitmer under the proper coach would be a good one. He has more than enough skills to succeed at the D1 level. Lots of WRs. The RB spot was perhaps the only weakness on the team. But the OL was left out to dry by the coaching staff. It was a much better OL than it looked. Poor offensive planning made it look like they were turnstiles. You had coaches calling long developing plays with 7 step drops. Of course the tackles are going to whiff in these situations.

With the bigger WRs and Williams playing the slot, Whitmer needed short step drops and short passing to open up the game.