Improvement?

[nelsonmuntz]

Is there a single measurable improvement of Diaco's first four games compared to T.J. Weist's last 4? I think Warde picked the wrong horse.

 

[Adios]

STFU.

 

[UConn17]

I was expecting a more positive thread, about improvement, but nope

 

[06029]

STFU.

It is a legitimate question. Is Diaco in the kearning curve Weist had last year?

 

[minidarren]

Is there a single measurable improvement of Diaco's first four games compared to T.J. Weist's last 4? I think Warde picked the wrong horse.

I was a big proponent of TJ becoming the next HC. Im not against the Diaco hire, but TJ had the momentum with this team.

 

[sdhusky]

Is there a single measurable improvement of Diaco's first four games compared to T.J. Weist's last 4? I think Warde picked the wrong horse.

We have a good defense. Very good defense.

I will judge Diaco after the season on his first year and no judgement on his at all until year 2 is over. Only a d@ucheba& would judge at this point. And, well you.

 

[Dynasty]

I was a big proponent of TJ becoming the next HC. Im not against the Diaco hire, but TJ had the momentum with this team.

Yeah, but that team was more talented and experienced than this one.

 

[Skiblets]

9 penalties. Many pre-snap. Pre-game Diaco said those would be cleaned up. Hmmm??

 

[Jimdish255]

Many of us had hoped he could stay on as OC. That is becoming more apparent each week. It's one thing to be at a disadvantage personnel wise, but another to mismanage what you have available. That's a legitimate question after this week.

 

[CodyJ.]

Diaco is full of crap.

 

[minidarren]

Care to elaborate Cody?

 

[uconnbill]

Diaco needs time folks.

Still curious about what happened to Boyle and why he didn't play at all?

 

[JaYnYcE]

tap tap tapparoo

 

[Dooley]

The defense looks good. Diaco came in as a defensive coordinator and knows defense. The offense is what it is - bad offensive line and a very thin QB depth chart that may have gotten thinner tonight somehow.

That said, I have no idea WTF we all watched tonight. 57 minutes of runs up the middle and punts against the 102nd ranked pass defense then BLAM-O! an all-too-easy 5 play drive in about a minute...THROUGH THE AIR...to score a very easy touchdown. It really seems like Diaco was playing to cover the 3.5 tonight and that's it.

 

[sportsart]

The defense looks good. Diaco came in as a defensive coordinator and knows defense. The offense is what it is - bad offensive line and a very thin QB depth chart that may have gotten thinner tonight somehow.

That said, I have no idea WTF we all watched tonight. 57 minutes of runs up the middle and punts against the 102nd ranked pass defense then BLAM-O! an all-too-easy 5 play drive in about a minute...THROUGH THE AIR...to score a very easy touchdown. It really seems like Diaco was playing to cover the 3.5 tonight and that's it.

You do realize if there was 12 minutes left, that TD drive doesn't happen. That was a prevent defense. The sideline passes were gimmes.

 

[Dooley]

You do realize if there was 12 minutes left, that TD drive doesn't happen. That was a prevent defense. The sideline passes were gimmes.

Poppycock. USF had the 102nd ranked pass defense against a weak schedule of their own. I'm not saying we should have thrown the ball like we have Tom Brady under center. I'm just saying just a bit more diversity was needed. You can't win when you're one dimensional. And we weren't even one dimensional tonight.

 

[sportsart]

Poppycock. USF had the 102nd ranked pass defense against a weak schedule of their own. I'm not saying we should have thrown the ball like we have Tom Brady under center. I'm just saying just a bit more diversity was needed. You can't win when you're one dimensional. And we weren't even one dimensional tonight.

How many drives did we start inside our 15? With the way the OL was blocking....c'mon. The first series blind sided fumble told you what to expect.

 

[Dooley]

How many drives did we start inside our 15? With the way the OL was blocking....c'mon. The first series blind sided fumble told you what to expect.

Yes, I agree our OL is horrendous. They need help. Bring in an extra tackle to help out Levy (who looks absolutely lost out there). Quick routes. 3 step drops. Play action. Draws and screens. All things that can help your OL out while still trying to attack their obvious and glaring weakness: their pass defense.

 

[noeynox]

He needs more time. This OL is beyond terrible. His starting QB had his career ended in his first game. Those are two big things to overcome, but he coached like that defense was god damn 85 Bears. Now I wonder what the hell is up with Boyle?

 

[huskymedic]

Diaco is full of crap.

Guess we're going to see who else may be "full of crap"

If UConn loses tomorrow, I'll streak at the Temple game. Right as the players are running out of the tunnel I'll be running right beside them.

 

[jbdphi]

I was expecting a more positive thread, about improvement, but nope

You must not come here often then. I knew Nelson was foaming at the mouth to post something like this as soon as the game was over.

 

[LRock34]

I'm troubled but willing to give him time.

Here's what happened tonight. Our horrendous offensive line made a ton of drive killing mistakes in the first quarter. After the Whitmer fumble the head coach and OC panicked because this line gave up something crazy like 16 sacks last week. So their solution was to completely abandon the pass. What they should have done was incorporate some quick slants and short passes. It took us to be down by 10 with less than 2 minutes to go for them to find the courage to try this. We all know what happened when they did.

I'm troubled because it seems like he is learning how to be a head coach on the job. This is natural since he's never been a head coach. The problem is our reputation can't handle the losses while he learns.

Losing Weist as OC really hurt the program but that's just how the cookie has crumbled for this program over the last 4 years. Whether it's our best QB retiring, our 2nd best WR transferring or our best offensive coach in a decade leaving to sit at home....our offense has been snake bitten.

Another first time HC mistake....he should have surrounded himself with better people on offense. Should have convinced Weist to stay a year. Half of us knew we needed to hit the quick slants. Why didn't they? I want to know who's decision it was to completely abandon the pass? If Diaco is to blame I hope he learned something from that stupid ish.

 

[stephen Henry]

A reasonable question, and possibly one the administration may soon be asking itself particularly if these embarrassing performances continue and announcers on national TV mildly but openly mock your offense. One on hand, TJ lost his first 4 or 5 games but ultimately had a 3 game win streak and proved he could win even with a team that appeared completely broken earlier in the season. On the other hand, after 4 games Diaco’s team has yet to show any positive direction – but it is only 4 games.
TJ was cerebral and thoughtful in his demeanor but was not one to energize a crowd (except at the end through winning) . While Diaco is energetic and was able to at least able to temporarily to fire up the fans with inspiring (and sometimes strange) rhetoric and hype. However, TJ did use Cochran, and while Diaco also had Cochran for only one game there is no reason to assume that he would have been the starter under Diaco, even without his concussion. Diaco is a young coach and may very well turn out to be an excellent hire, but after 4 games his coaching, play calling and use of personnel has often been perplexing and sometimes even baffling. Add in the “preseason” nonsense and that that team has not seemed especially well prepared not has played inspired in any game, and you have a recipe for a growing disquiet amongst a fan base desperate for success.
While coaches are normally given 3 or more years to establish the direction of the program by instilling their brand of ‘football culture’. I would argue that due to the conference realignment initiatives in recent years, UConn does not have that luxury of time and that establishing a winning program needs to be accomplished in a significantly lesser amount of time. It is probably unfair to any head coach (particularly a young on like Diaco) to be put in that position, but that is the environment that UConn finds itself in. The future of UConn’s continued athletic success may hang in the balance. Last year they let go a coach that showed he could win. This year unfortunately, the coach’s ability to win is still an open question.

Go UConn!

 

[bigAbruns]

I'm troubled but willing to give him time.

Here's what happened tonight. Our horrendous offensive line made a ton of drive killing mistakes in the first quarter. After the Whitmer fumble the head coach and OC panicked because this line gave up something crazy like 16 sacks last week. So their solution was to completely abandon the pass. What they should have done was incorporate some quick slants and short passes. It took us to be down by 10 with less than 2 minutes to go for them to find the courage to try this. We all know what happened when they did.

I'm troubled because it seems like he is learning how to be a head coach on the job. This is natural since he's never been a head coach. The problem is our reputation can't handle the losses while he learns.

Losing Weist as OC really hurt the program but that's just how the cookie has crumbled for this program over the last 4 years. Whether it's our best QB retiring, our 2nd best WR transferring or our best offensive coach in a decade leaving to sit at home....our offense has been snake bitten.

Another first time HC mistake....he should have surrounded himself with better people on offense. Should have convinced Weist to stay a year. Half of us knew we needed to hit the quick slants. Why didn't they? I want to know who's decision it was to completely abandon the pass? If Diaco is to blame I hope he learned something from that stupid ish.

That's all they do in warmups before the games. I don't get how they forget to do this once the game starts.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Weist + Hughes is better than this staff. We know Foley could coach a bunch of boneyard posters into an adequate line, so why is this line so bad? Cummings is a mess and Diaco knows it and has no confidence in a coach he just hired.

I think Diaco knows enough to know he is in over his head. Not everyone is ready to be a HC, and I think we are learning that Diaco isn't. We knew it would be rocky, but this is a train wreck on the field, and I don't get his recruiting either.

Pointing out that hiring Diaco over Weist was a mistake is not negativity, it is obvious to anyone with eyes. Weist would not have had this learning curve. Negativity is my fear that if Diaco doesn't figure it out, the program will be a smoldering dumpster for the next coach.

 

[FDNY99]

Weist + Hughes is better than this staff. We know Foley could coach a bunch of boneyard posters into an adequate line, so why is this line so bad? Cummings is a mess and Diaco knows it and has no confidence in a coach he just hired.

I think Diaco knows enough to know he is in over his head. Not everyone is ready to be a HC, and I think we are learning that Diaco isn't. We knew it would be rocky, but this is a train wreck on the field, and I don't get his recruiting either.

Pointing out that hiring Diaco over Weist was a mistake is not negativity, it is obvious to anyone with eyes. Weist would not have had this learning curve. Negativity is my fear that if Diaco doesn't figure it out, the program will be a smoldering dumpster for the next coach.

Hank Hughes is a better DC than Poindexter...you need to lay off the crack pipe and come back to reality! Defense is NOT the issue with this team...the offensive line is!

 

[Tdaley]

The dilemma that Diaco and Cummings face is do we continue to build his offence around 2 back, a tight end and quarterback under center sets so that we can develop a powerful run game sometime down the road ( next year at the earliest) or does he give in and put his quarterback in the shotgun on every play unless we are inside the ten and throw to 4 wide outs and the back coming out the backfield with a lot of quick passes? It would limit our running game and not take advantage of the 4 skilled running backs on our team but our quarterback would be in a much better position to see the pass rush and the breakdown of the blocking ( which happens on most plays) so that he can make quicker throws. He simply does have enough time when he is under center with our terrible offense line and our tight ends who are all poor blockers. One of the reasons Weist was more successful at the end of the season last year was that he went to this type of offense and abandoned many of the previous coach's pro style sets. You have to play with the cards that you have been dealt and if Diaco wants to win anymore games this year he might have to put some of his ambitious goals on hold until he can develop an offensive line.

 

[ZooCougar]

Dex may be the DC on paper. But Diaco is definitely running that aspect.

 

[CTMike]

Diaco is plenty smart and has plenty of smart people on staff. He doesn't have the pieces to execute his plan.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Weist had a lot of those same pieces playing a lot better.