Just maybe Balis isn't a genius. | The Boneyard

Just maybe Balis isn't a genius.

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It's really tough to find any positives. Punting and kicking have been decent.

To answer...no, we havent.

So ugly
 
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It's not a good sign when most of the linemen on both sides of the ball have the numbers on their back covered with grass stains
 

Chin Diesel

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I think Balis has done a spectacular job turning these kids from jello in to players who have strength to play football.

Let's not gloss of Green and Bennett not being able tobdo 15 reps at 225 lbs.

I do think this staff has entirely missed the conditioning part of agility and explosiveness.

Both sides I the ball are slow off the snap; offense can't hold a block due to slow feet and defense can't she's a block due to low feet.
 
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I would blame this year on him and him alone. It's the sole reason and not the play calling, position coaching, lack of special teams, crazy coaching decisions etc. etc. etc...
 
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The defensive linemen look really slow. When they get penetration it seems the QB just easily runs away from them. Very slow pursuit. I think out Big Uglies are Big, Ugly, Strong but very SLOW.
 
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Pretty much every team at the FBS Level has a good S & C Program. If a program's hopes for winning are pinned on the idea of being bigger and stronger than everybody else, then that program should be prepared to lose a LOT of games. At some point athletes and scheme matter. JMO but Uconn is running a horrible scheme for the level of athletes they are recruiting. The offense is easy to scheme against, when better athletes can easily defeat blocks, and bring pressure on inconsistent quarterbacks. On defense they bring no pressure but combine it with enormous cushions on receivers. It can't do anything but fail. Diaco needs to be held accountable for the product he is putting on the field. Buy out or not, Your AD needs to decide soon if Bob can actually turn this thing around. Right now I have not seen anything that says he can.
 

gtcam

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does strength have anything to do with missed tackles, playing 15 yrds off the ball in the secondary?
As far as the OL - its not strength and conditioning - its lack of physical ability/athleticism
Yeah you can bring in a bunch of 6'4" 300 lb high school players but if they can't walk and chew gum at the same time - big deal
 
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There are ABSOLUTELY NO "Genius's" on this staff!!!!! Nor was that in question...
 
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Balis' job is to put each players in a position, physically, to compete. I think he's done that and has made great strides considering the level of effort that went into strength and conditioning during the PP days. Everyone is different in how their body adapts to training. Genetics has a lot to do with the visible end result. Some guys are going to looked jacked, others will not. That doesn't mean they haven't achieved success. That also doesn't mean getting bigger and stronger (or reducing weight in some cases) will translate to the field. There are plenty of guys who pass the eye test, but never see the field. Those guys become body builders, professional wrestlers, or fitness models. Balis is having an impact on the program, but that doesn't guarantee on field results. Players still have to play and coaches have to coach to each players individual strengths. Each individual has a ceiling as to how strong/big/fast they will get without the use of performance enhancers. I don't want players that look like body builders, I want players that look like a football player. They don't need to look the part, they need to play it. Sometimes that's not always teachable or coachable. In many cases, your mental strength can mask your physical deficiencies. It's what most coaches refer to as a "IT". You can't find "IT" in a weight room or a bottle. That can only be found within each individual. You have it or you don't. Physical abilities are limited, "IT" (drive, motor, heart, desire, fortitude, whatever you call "IT") is not.
 
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We appear slower than every team that we have faced!!!
 
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The defensive linemen look really slow. When they get penetration it seems the QB just easily runs away from them. Very slow pursuit. I think out Big Uglies are Big, Ugly, Strong but very SLOW.

This is the slowest UConn team I've seen since the 1-AA days Very disturbing.
 
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On the speed thing:

Diaco may be a great recruiter. He may be getting every one of his top priorities. But if he's recruiting the WRONG TYPE of player, it doesn't matter.

Prototypes, prototypes, prototypes. The prototypes Alabama gets are big and fast. That's why they have the rating they have. The "Prototypes" we get, are big....and that's it. I would much prefer we recruited every position undersized, and fast, to the current operation.

I don't know this with any certainty, but it seems like common sense to me: It is much harder to add speed and quickness (agility), than it is to add size (weight) and strength. In my uneducated mind, it has to do with the way a person moves his feet with a certain fluidity, or lack thereof. People who are slow at 14, are usually slow at 19, with, i'm sure very few exceptions. If a kid is a slow HS senior, he wont magically be a fast college sophomore.

We are so slow on both sides of the ball. I'd rather we moved everyone "up" on position, than play the way we are now (ie: Diggs at DE, Obi at LB, etc...). Actually, i brought up those 2 examples because i think they may be a real help. Obviously they would leave holes on D, but who cares right now...we're getting killed anyways.

As for the offense, that read- option hand off is SOOOOO slow developing. By the time the decision is made, the DL is already three yards deep in our backfield. HOW CAN NO ONE ON THE STAFF SEE THIS ??????? It's supposed to be misdirection to make the defense think for an extra second, instead, the defense just bull rushes because we never run a counter direction run, or throw a pass out of that set. The most predictable offense i've ever seen run, and its ridiculous that we run it on probably half of our total offensive plays. Embarrassing.
 
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Team speed could be the next issue the staff addresses in the off season now that the players look more stout than they have in the previous 5 seasons. We have to keep in mind that this is going to be a program building process that will take longer than 3 seasons and if you go and change the regime mid way through the process you'll be starting over again. They are just going to have to keep recruiting better and better players. From what I saw vs Temple Williams looks like he has the potential to be that dual threat QB everyone else seems to have but UConn. And who knows..maybe the next QB recruit coming in will be even better. I know everyone's upset because this season was a set back but is starting from scratch (with a new coaching staff) yet again the answer? I don't want to sit through the next three seasons while the new HC tries to build a staff, program and fan base. Do you?
 
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Team speed could be the next issue the staff addresses in the off season now that the players look more stout than they have in the previous 5 seasons.

We have to keep in mind that this is going to be a program building process that will take longer than 3 seasons and if you go and change the regime mid way through the process you'll be starting over again. They are just going to have to keep recruiting better and better players.


From what I saw vs Temple Williams looks like he has the potential to be that dual threat QB everyone else seems to have but UConn.

And who knows..maybe the next QB recruit coming in will be even better.

I know everyone's upset because this season was a set back but is starting from scratch (with a new coaching staff) yet again the answer? I don't want to sit through the next three seasons while the new HC tries to build a staff, program and fan base. Do you?

Team speed is not an issue that is resolved in 1, or even 2 recruiting cycles.

Coaches routinely get 3-4 seasons to turn a bad team decent, or a good team great. Then they are fired if the results are not there. We are basically done with year 3, and we might actually be worse than we were in year 1.

Re Williams: Potential is a dangerous thing for UCONN right now. I hope, like everyone else, that DW is a great QB...but based on the past, it's just hope.

And maybe he will be Casey Turner. It's tough to trust the evaluation skills of this staff right now based on the 4 QB's they have brought in. After 3 years none have shown to be a D1 QB (in fairness jury still out on Williams...But how many QB's looked that bad in their first start and then turned out to be great....especially with the same staff around them.

THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN ANYWAY !!!!!!! With or without a new coach, we are looking at a total tear-down and rebuild. At this point, i would like them to bring in someone who might actually yield good results in 3 years, rather than someone who has shown, without a doubt, that a 3 year rebuild is not in their skillset.
 

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Has this team looked stronger or tougher than anyone on the schedule?

We might have looked bigger than a few squads, but not stronger or tougher....and certainly not faster.
 
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They may look in shape, and probably are, but these players lack explosiveness and speed and they seem tired very early in the game....that may just be disappointment with the way the coaches are calling the game, but they are getting pushed around pretty easily. I agree there is not one genius on this staff, just a bunch of has beens who really suck at coaching football.
 
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They may look in shape, and probably are, but these players lack explosiveness and speed and they seem tired very early in the game....that may just be disappointment with the way the coaches are calling the game, but they are getting pushed around pretty easily. I agree there is not one genius on this staff, just a bunch of has beens who really suck at coaching football.

Since Bob came here knowing more about football than everyone else in the state of CT combined, he saw fit to fire the late Jerry Martin, the same guy who produced the lines that moved the ball and protected the QB in the 2000s. So now we're winning breakfast and our culture is strong. Never mind 3 points in two games, 9 points in first quarter all season, lowest-scoring offense and among worst pass-protecting team in the country. Balis should be the first to go.
 
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Since Bob came here knowing more about football than everyone else in the state of CT combined, he saw fit to fire the late Jerry Martin, the same guy who produced the lines that moved the ball and protected the QB in the 2000s. So now we're winning breakfast and our culture is strong. Never mind 3 points in two games, 9 points in first quarter all season, lowest-scoring offense and among worst pass-protecting team in the country. Balis should be the first to go.
I have news for you....Pasqualoni got rid of Jerry Martin when he got here. He replaced him with someone he brought with him from the Cowboys. Jerry Martin was still head of the S&C program but was no longer working with the football team.
 
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Only good thing about Balis is he's the only one energetic during warmups
 
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does strength have anything to do with missed tackles, playing 15 yrds off the ball in the secondary?
As far as the OL - its not strength and conditioning - its lack of physical ability/athleticism
Yeah you can bring in a bunch of 6'4" 300 lb high school players but if they can't walk and chew gum at the same time - big deal

We haven't controlled the line of scrimmage against any opponent including Maine. Our offensive linemen have not shown the physical strength or toughness to move the defensive line backwards or open holes. That where you strength and conditioning show up or don't.

Our defensive line is constantly overpowered. Opposing offensive lines move the line of scrimmage into the Huskies second level. Our pass rushers are neutralized and opponent QBs sit in a rocking chair in the pocket going to their second, third and fourth reads.
 
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