Jim Calhoun and UCONN Football.

[BlueDogs]

It's funny you say that about middle of the pack...because that's what we got from Edsall for most of his career here at UCONN and people were more than ok with that.

Entirely different league and circumstance. The Big East was a very good conference with teams recruiting top talent. The AAC is nowhere close to the days of Pitt, BC, West Virginia, VT, Miami, etc. If we were in the B1G pulling. .500 season it would be understandable. We are like the Commin Core of football and keep lowering standards and expectations. We are actually ecstatic to be .500 in a mid tier conference. Good God have we lost all sense of what we can be. Playing rope a dope against Marshall to pull out a miracle drive late in the game is vision? That's the big vision and plan? joke. How about squaring off against a high powered Baylor and beating the snot out of them and putting up big points? Or when we got after South Carolina? No, I'm not buying this BS.

 

[FDNY99]

Entirely different league and circumstance. The Big East was a very good conference with teams recruiting top talent. The AAC is nowhere close to the days of Pitt, BC, West Virginia, VT, Miami, etc. If we were in the B1G pulling. .500 season it would be understandable. We are like the Commin Core of football and keep lowering standards and expectations. We are actually ecstatic to be .500 in a mid tier conference. Good God have we lost all sense of what we can be. Playing rope a dope against Marshall to pull out a miracle drive late in the game is vision? That's the big vision and plan? joke. How about squaring off against a high powered Baylor and beating the snot out of them and putting up big points? Or when we got after South Carolina? No, I'm not buying this BS.

We NEVER played in a BE that contained VT and Miami, and we ONLY played with BC for 1 season. Pitt was the classic under achiever of underachiever's. If we were in the B1G I would still expect this program to win 7-8 games a season as a fan. Standards are lowered because of that hat a s s h a t Pasqualoni and his buddy did to this program. If you can't wrap your head around how bad things were then I don't know what to tell you.
At the end of the day Edsall couldn't win the big game in the BE till year 10 and even then he almost pissed that away...yet he is a God to some here. That same crowd gave P a pass until the start of yr 3 and it shifted the blame to Warde for bringing him back. Fact of the matter is Warde had a MUCH better candidate pool for an AAC job than Hathaway did for a BE job where the program had just played in a BCS bowl.

 

[noeynox]

He called 2 timeouts yesterday that weren't used to ice the kicker or the end of the game.

I was putting some toys together and really didn't understand why he did that, but to be honest I don't remember exactly when that happened if it was on Marshall's last drive or not.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

Playing defense to win.

Jim Calhoun. UCONN. Where would UCONN be without Jim?

I hope that writers catch on to this. I think Diaco is a brilliant football mind. I'd love to spend time with this guy in a room with a chalk board. He's embraced UCONN sports - and the culture and he's building it. I want him to stay. A long time. And win. LIke the coaches in all the other sports.

What is the spirit of UCONN sports? How did Calhoun build basketball? Geno?

Play strong defense, and score points when you can to win.

Who around here is old enough to remember the constant full court pressing defense that Calhoun used to build his program? Murray Williams. Cliff Robinson. John Gwynn off the bench to score points. I miss that in today's basketball game. I often wonder - when I do watch hoops - why we don't do it all the time?

IN football - UCONN has been about strong defense, running the football and when we can put a decent QB / RB on the field - we win titles.

It started in the 1980s. Look at the record books. Defense. It's always there. The most all americans we've ever produced came from Tom Jackson's recruiting era in 1-AA. Skip Holtz built and offense and got us our 10 win season, but didn't build the D and lasted only a short while. Where would Edsall have been, if he had not built the defense and managed to recruit Orlovsky?

THe guy - Diaco - has a recruiting plan that's working. I truly hope that higher ups at UCONN in administration are taking notes, and recording what works for our school.

THat is something that basketball people don't really get. THe sheer numbers and the kind of recruiting plan you need to have. IN basketball, if you get 1 game changing player a year - that's a great thing in recruiting. IN football - you need a dozen - every year and the roster isn't 15 - it's 105.

I hope that in 20 years, there will be Bob Diaco UCONN Football bobble-head figurines for sale

As for 2015. It's in the books. 6-7. Loss to Marshall in the St. Petersburg bowl to finish the season.

Now, I hope Draco will get another running back and some OLinemen....the Defense is great and I think BS will be this era's version of DO (even if he isn't from CT), but I think if the coaches go out and get people from Texas, Florida, California, Hawaii (there's a member of the FB team from CT there) or even some states that aren't hs Football hotbeds...(Maine, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming) or even from Canada or Japan or Europe or whereever...We got the foundation of building the team...we surprised the 'experts' by going to a bowl...Phil Steel said that next year would be our bowl year...

 

[HuskyDogArt]

We NEVER played in a BE that contained VT and Miami, and we ONLY played with BC for 1 season. Pitt was the classic under achiever of underachiever's. If we were in the B1G I would still expect this program to win 7-8 games a season as a fan. Standards are lowered because of that hat a s s h a t Pasqualoni and his buddy did to this program. If you can't wrap your head around how bad things were then I don't know what to tell you.
At the end of the day Edsall couldn't win the big game in the BE till year 10 and even then he almost pissed that away...yet he is a God to some here. That same crowd gave P a pass until the start of yr 3 and it shifted the blame to Warde for bringing him back. Fact of the matter is Warde had a MUCH better candidate pool for an AAC job than Hathaway did for a BE job where the program had just played in a BCS bowl.

That is true... if Hathaway got someone like Draco after Edsall did his 'Cleveland Brown move', I think we would be in the B1G instead of Rutgers...I still think in a few years we'll be in a P5 conference...

 

[BlueDogs]

We NEVER played in a BE that contained VT and Miami, and we ONLY played with BC for 1 season. Pitt was the classic under achiever of underachiever's. If we were in the B1G I would still expect this program to win 7-8 games a season as a fan. Standards are lowered because of that hat a s s h a t Pasqualoni and his buddy did to this program. If you can't wrap your head around how bad things were then I don't know what to tell you.
At the end of the day Edsall couldn't win the big game in the BE till year 10 and even then he almost pissed that away...yet he is a God to some here. That same crowd gave P a pass until the start of yr 3 and it shifted the blame to Warde for bringing him back. Fact of the matter is Warde had a MUCH better candidate pool for an AAC job than Hathaway did for a BE job where the program had just played in a BCS bowl.

We played Miami I believe in 03 and actually held our own. Same with BC . The point is the league was a strong conference with programs of national significance and much better athletes. I would expect us to be able to get to .500 in the B1g in 3 years, once we start attracting higher level athletes. No reason we can't play with them. My point is we have set out expectations so low, we are actually rejoicing about finishing with a losing season in a second tier league. The fan base has allowed itself to be satisfied with mediocrity in a mediocre conference. To be pleasantly surprised to finish with a losing record speaks volumes.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

That is true... if Hathaway got someone like Draco after Edsall did his 'Cleveland Brown move', I think we would be in the B1G instead of Rutgers...I still think in a few years we'll be in a P5 conference...

We would've had to transplant our campuses from Storrs to Piscataway, and vice versa. That's the only way we would've gotten in ahead of RU. That move was 100% geography/cable boxes. The goal was to absorb every cable box from NYC to northern VA.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

We played Miami I believe in 03 and actually held our own. Same with BC . The point is the league was a strong conference with programs of national significance and much better athletes. I would expect us to be able to get to .500 in the B1g in 3 years, once we start attracting higher level athletes. No reason we can't play with them. My point is we have set out expectations so low, we are actually rejoicing about finishing with a losing season in a second tier league. The fan base has allowed itself to be satisfied with mediocrity in a mediocre conference. To be pleasantly surprised to finish with a losing record speaks volumes.

We played Miami once I believe. It was not in 03 nor did we hold our own.

 

[FDNY99]

We played Miami I believe in 03 and actually held our own. Same with BC . The point is the league was a strong conference with programs of national significance and much better athletes. I would expect us to be able to get to .500 in the B1g in 3 years, once we start attracting higher level athletes. No reason we can't play with them. My point is we have set out expectations so low, we are actually rejoicing about finishing with a losing season in a second tier league. The fan base has allowed itself to be satisfied with mediocrity in a mediocre conference. To be pleasantly surprised to finish with a losing record speaks volumes.

We played Miami in 2002 (Oct 5 to be exact) and lost 48-14 in the Orange Bowl.....
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/06/sports/college-football-uconn-no-match-for-miami.html)
I think it's more to the point of the "true" fan base realizing what the combination of Hathaway, Pasqualoni, and DeLeone did to basically put this program on the verge of extinction...expectations are tempered right now..and will rise as the program progresses back to where it was when Edsall left. If this team doesn't compete/have a shot to win every game and come away with 8 regular season wins headed to a bowl next season there is a problem in my opinion.

 

[BlueDogs]

We played Miami in 2002 (Oct 5 to be exact) and lost 48-14 in the Orange Bowl.....
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/06/sports/college-football-uconn-no-match-for-miami.html)
I think it's more to the point of the "true" fan base realizing what the combination of Hathaway, Pasqualoni, and DeLeone did to basically put this program on the verge of extinction...expectations are tempered right now..and will rise as the program progresses back to where it was when Edsall left. If this team doesn't compete/have a shot to win every game and come away with 8 regular season wins headed to a bowl next season there is a problem in my opinion.

Thanks. I thought you said we didn't play them. Glad you looked it up. If I recall correctly, I think we had one quarter where they blew our doors off, and in the second half we played them pretty well. There is no doubt PPGDL destroyed the program. What I debate is the mentality and slippery slope of accepting that we just had a great season. Yes, in context it was a big accomplishment, but by objective standards it was not anything close to acceptable levels of football.

 

[FDNY99]

Thanks. I thought you said we didn't play them. Glad you looked it up. If I recall correctly, I think we had one quarter where they blew our doors off, and in the second half we played them pretty well. There is no doubt PPGDL destroyed the program. What I debate is the mentality and slippery slope of accepting that we just had a great season. Yes, in context it was a big accomplishment, but by objective standards it was not anything close to acceptable levels of football.

I think the acceptance you see is that of the program is on the upswing...not accepting this as the norm.

 

[Carl Spackler]

It was a season that marked improvement. Its a season that showed we can compete, right now, in the conference we are in.

Its a season that showed that we have a lot of room for improvement, in everything.

Diaco isn't going anywhere but recruiting any time soon, and he's done a good job through nearly 2 recruiting cycles complete to fill in the holes in the roster that Edsall created with poor recruiting on later years and then 2 1/4 cycles that Pasqualoni put together. (Most of which Diaco managed to squeeze this 6-7 bowl season out of)

Remember, at the close of 2014, we had a roster of scholarship players the equivalent of a 1-AA program. Seversl of which were patch job transfer, non NLI recruiting cycle athletes.

The 2015 season is in the books. It marks significant improvement from 2014. Next up is 2016 signing class and building for 2016.

My hope is that when opening day 2016 comes, and a reporter asks a lineman what they think about how practices are going, the answer is a unified "I hate the sleds." Because they need to practice getting their feet moving, and kerp them moving and be able to get their head poditioning right so they can get their mugs across the face of a lineman across from them in a real game when they need to, and then hit them until they can move them in their sleep, and then they need to hit them some more.

 

[Palatine]

It was a season that marked improvement. Its a season that showed we can compete, right now, in the conference we are in.

Its a season that showed that we have a lot of room for improvement, in everything.

Diaco isn't going anywhere but recruiting any time soon, and he's done a good job through nearly 2 recruiting cycles complete to fill in the holes in the roster that Edsall created with poor recruiting on later years and then 2 1/4 cycles that Pasqualoni put together. (Most of which Diaco managed to squeeze this 6-7 bowl season out of)

Remember, at the close of 2014, we had a roster of scholarship players the equivalent of a 1-AA program. Seversl of which were patch job transfer, non NLI recruiting cycle athletes.

The 2015 season is in the books. It marks significant improvement from 2014. Next up is 2016 signing class and building for 2016.

My hope is that when opening day 2016 comes, and a reporter asks a lineman what they think about how practices are going, the answer is a unified "I hate the sleds." Because they need to practice getting their feet moving, and kerp them moving and be able to get their head poditioning right so they can get their mugs across the face of a lineman across from them in a real game when they need to, and then hit them until they can move them in their sleep, and then they need to hit them some more.

It was a marked improvement over 2-10 which was aided by Diaco refusing to game plan and sitting his best players to give time to young players. The question is not whether Diaco can tank the team and improve from there.

There is plenty enough talent on this squad to be .500 in this league. The question is whether Diaco can create a team that is greater than the sum of its parts? Can he get get the most out of his squad? Can he develop players to their full potential? Can he win games that -on paper- he is expected to lose? Can he put players in a position to get the most out of their talent? Can he gameplan to stress an opposing defense, or surprise an opposing offense?

These are the questions that are important to me. These are the qualities I want to see in a coach.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

We played Miami I believe in 03 and actually held our own. Same with BC . The point is the league was a strong conference with programs of national significance and much better athletes. I would expect us to be able to get to .500 in the B1g in 3 years, once we start attracting higher level athletes. No reason we can't play with them. My point is we have set out expectations so low, we are actually rejoicing about finishing with a losing season in a second tier league. The fan base has allowed itself to be satisfied with mediocrity in a mediocre conference. To be pleasantly surprised to finish with a losing record speaks volumes.

Thank you. Great insight about the level of talent and the low expectation of fan base.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

The day we listen to TouchdownHusky is the day we should blow up the RENT. Never impressed with the steps suggested to build & maintain a Winning Program that came from him.

First ... To play a Brand of throw the ball around demands a QB. And lots of speed. Diaco & HCRE started with Defense. That's the first step. Then we can try to be Iowa.

Babble much? There is a whole lot of stuff that was said by TDH, that is being said now by others and gaining acceptance. I very often hit "like" on these posts or reply in a positive manner. Case in point, I have had frustrations about the offense for years, I critized the hiring of PP when it happened and wanted him fired after the first year. Seem to recall a lot of similar posts since then.

 

[Jimdish255]

My hope is that when opening day 2016 comes, and a reporter asks a lineman what they think about how practices are going, the answer is a unified "I hate the sleds." Because they need to practice getting their feet moving, and kerp them moving and be able to get their head positioning right so they can get their mugs across the face of a lineman across from them in a real game when they need to, and then hit them until they can move them in their sleep, and then they need to hit them some more.

Agree and much better than the previous malarkey.

 

[BlueDogs]

I think the acceptance you see is that of the program is on the upswing...not accepting this as the norm.

I agree. You have to pumped that we at least seeing some forward progress by Ws. Then again, to your point, I sometimes wonder if we really understand how hard this program fell. Even if we win the AAC some day, it wouldn't be the same level of achievement as winning the BE. The BE was an entirely different level of competition week over week. By 2009 we had a very special program, despite its many flaws and limitations. We were a true, credible national level program. I just don't want to forget that many players before the PPGDL nightmare set a standard of excellence, and we have a long way to go. I look forward to its return.

 

[FDNY99]

I agree. You have to pumped that we at least seeing some forward progress by Ws. Then again, to your point, I sometimes wonder if we really understand how hard this program fell. Even if we win the AAC some day, it wouldn't be the same level of achievement as winning the BE. The BE was an entirely different level of competition week over week. By 2009 we had a very special program, despite its many flaws and limitations. We were a true, credible national level program. I just don't want to forget that many players before the PPGDL nightmare set a standard of excellence, and we have a long way to go. I look forward to its return.

You and me both...and the more you look back at it the more you realize that the coaching search to replace Edsall truly showed how incompetent and in over his head off Hathaway truly was. The man NEVER should have been handed the keys to a D-1 athletic Dept that played football!

 

[sdhusky]

Babble much? There is a whole lot of stuff that was said by TDH, that is being said now by others and gaining acceptance. I very often hit "like" on these posts or reply in a positive manner. Case in point, I have had frustrations about the offense for years, I critized the hiring of PP when it happened and wanted him fired after the first year. Seem to recall a lot of similar posts since then.

Your basic point is that Alabama and msu can't be successful in today's game.

Because of style.


We get it. But don't agree

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Your basic point is that Alabama and msu can't be successful in today's game.

Because of style.


We get it. But don't agree

They are successful at running a pro-style offense because they have good enough players to run it.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Your basic point is that Alabama and msu can't be successful in today's game.

Because of style.


We get it. But don't agree

Yeah, let's compare uConn to Alabama & MSU, to refute a point.

 

[Alum86]

We played Miami once I believe. It was not in 03 nor did we hold our own.

I was at that game in the orange bowl oct 2002. We got killed. Place reeked of pot and a fan fell from the stands and died if memory serves.

 

[Nostical]

Your basic point is that Alabama and MSU can't be successful in today's game.Because of style.

Of course not. They can clearly succeed with their style. In fact, is there anyone who doesn't believe that if we had the O-Line of Alabama or MSU we'd be playing FL St this Thursday?

 

[Carl Spackler]

I was at that game in the orange bowl oct 2002. We got killed. Place reeked of pot and a fan fell from the stands and died if memory serves.

Very, very memorable game for me. I've written about it many times. Miami was ranked #1 in the country at the time. Orlovsky got strip sacked by Vince Wilfork, early in the game at about mid field. The other 300lb DT (don't remember the name) picked up the ball. It Happened so fast off the snap that our entire offense was still within 5 yards of scrimmage. It was a standing dead start sprint to the endzone, and we didn't have a single player on our offense that was fast enough to catch that 300lb lineman in a 50 yard sprint to the endzone. He was pulling away from our backs and receivers in the sprint.