Let's Talk About Some Ugly Areas Yesterday

[Chin Diesel]

I'm as happy as everyone else. I've given it 24 full hours of excitement (Okay about 22 1/2).

1. The Unsportsmanlike Conduct Penalty after we stuffed Houston on 3rd down deep in their territory. It was an unbelievably boneheaded play, at least 5 seconds after the first whistle had blown. There's never an excuse for ripping the QB out of a standing up scrum pile and throwing him to the ground. I know it was on one of the DLinemen, I forget who and I'm not researching it.

2. The mind-numbing inability to get a play called in time, figure out player personnel packages and the last 90 seconds of the first half. Overall coaches get an A+ for developing a defensive game plan and presumably having to severely restrict the offensive game plan. I don't know the responsibilities of how information gets from the booth to the sideline to the huddle and none of us have access to where the time is being lost, but it has to impove in a big way. To me this is the #1 area for coaching improvement over the off season. This cannot happen next year. The inability to get the calls in the loss penalty yardage is costly.

3. Alec Bloom's hands. Another gimme drop yesterday. It was one of TB's first passes, and it would've been great for him to get some immediate positive results. Not sure what is going on with him this year. It's almost as if the easier the catch, the more likely he is to drop it. Based off of last season's performance and Verducci's reliance on TE's much was expected. I'm hoping he has a bounce back next year.

That's about it.

 

[Stainmaster]

Penalty was Adeyemi. Kid has been such a great presence as a senior leader that I'm more inclined to give him a break than any of the others. I don't want him to get the Clax treatment.

 

[Dooley]

He was also the guy whose personal foul punch allowed Villanova to keep the ball and score a TD (after a 4th down stop). Adeyemi can cause havoc in opponent backfields...but he can also cost the team some very stupid 15 yards.

 

[businesslawyer]

I'm as happy as everyone else. I've given it 24 full hours of excitement (Okay about 22 1/2).

1. The Unsportsmanlike Conduct Penalty after we stuffed Houston on 3rd down deep in their territory. It was an unbelievably boneheaded play, at least 5 seconds after the first whistle had blown. There's never an excuse for ripping the QB out of a standing up scrum pile and throwing him to the ground. I know it was on one of the DLinemen, I forget who and I'm not researching it.

2. The mind-numbing inability to get a play called in time, figure out player personnel packages and the last 90 seconds of the first half. Overall coaches get an A+ for developing a defensive game plan and presumably having to severely restrict the offensive game plan. I don't know the responsibilities of how information gets from the booth to the sideline to the huddle and none of us have access to where the time is being lost, but it has to impove in a big way. To me this is the #1 area for coaching improvement over the off season. This cannot happen next year. The inability to get the calls in the loss penalty yardage is costly.

3. Alec Bloom's hands. Another gimme drop yesterday. It was one of TB's first passes, and it would've been great for him to get some immediate positive results. Not sure what is going on with him this year. It's almost as if the easier the catch, the more likely he is to drop it. Based off of last season's performance and Verducci's reliance on TE's much was expected. I'm hoping he has a bounce back next year.

That's about it.

3. is accurate. So is 2., but I'd cut everyone some slack for having to call the game differently without our QB than they had planned.

I disagree with 1. From being in the stadium, I never heard a whistle, and I know from live and the stadium replay that no official waved his arms to signify a stoppage. The ref who thew the flag -- that was the first movement from his hands the whole play (meaning he certainly wasn't waiving the play dead).

 

[Stainmaster]

He was also the guy whose personal foul punch allowed Villanova to keep the ball and score a TD (after a 4th down stop). Adeyemi can cause havoc in opponent backfields...but he can also cost the team some very stupid 15 yards.

That was Fatukasi, no?

 

[jbdphi]

I'm as happy as everyone else. I've given it 24 full hours of excitement (Okay about 22 1/2).

1. The Unsportsmanlike Conduct Penalty after we stuffed Houston on 3rd down deep in their territory. It was an unbelievably boneheaded play, at least 5 seconds after the first whistle had blown. There's never an excuse for ripping the QB out of a standing up scrum pile and throwing him to the ground. I know it was on one of the DLinemen, I forget who and I'm not researching it.

2. The mind-numbing inability to get a play called in time, figure out player personnel packages and the last 90 seconds of the first half. Overall coaches get an A+ for developing a defensive game plan and presumably having to severely restrict the offensive game plan. I don't know the responsibilities of how information gets from the booth to the sideline to the huddle and none of us have access to where the time is being lost, but it has to impove in a big way. To me this is the #1 area for coaching improvement over the off season. This cannot happen next year. The inability to get the calls in the loss penalty yardage is costly.

3. Alec Bloom's hands. Another gimme drop yesterday. It was one of TB's first passes, and it would've been great for him to get some immediate positive results. Not sure what is going on with him this year. It's almost as if the easier the catch, the more likely he is to drop it. Based off of last season's performance and Verducci's reliance on TE's much was expected. I'm hoping he has a bounce back next year.

That's about it.

1. It was Adeyemi.

2. I'm still convinced that whenever we have a successful play on offense, it is so unexpected and we celebrate so much that we have to call a TO before we have the ability to get the next play off. I think we called a TO after the first Arkeel run for that exact reason? Very frustrating. On substitutions, I give a partial pass due to losing Myers. Until Saturday, our team had been remarkably healthy (particularly on offense) and hadn't dealt with those kinds of issues before. I don't know if you blame the player or the coaches there but it absolutely needs to improve.

3. Agreed - he just seems to drop some passes without any reason but at other times he has fantastic hands. Can't explain it.

4. (new) Offensive play calling as an adjustment to personnel / defenses. After the initial drive, our offense won the game with smoke, mirrors and TOs generated by the defense. We didn't seem to adjust playcalling to TB's pocket passing style. Run on 1st, run on 2nd and pass short of the sticks on 3rd can't be the solution with him. I appreciate that we were looking to avoid mistakes against a defense that's very good at generating turnovers but I don't think we even ran many WR flares / proxy run plays that we've done with decent success in the past. No play action passes, no deep balls to stretch the defense. I think Verducci is somewhat limited given our pass protection is still questionable (no QB sacks but plenty of hits) but we need some creativity in the passing game to give Tim Boyle a chance.

 

[Srqhusky]

The defensive line is mean I don't have a problem with it. The offensive line can use some of this

 

[RedStickHusky]

That's about it.

1 - I thought the call was borderline on continuation and it was deep enough in their territory that it ended up not hurting. Noted a couple series later that J williams went out of his way to avoid contact with a sliding postma..

2 - Yeah... we call that catastrophic success; next step in development is to not be surprised when things go right...

3 - Amen; killed a couple of drives dropping catchable balls.

4 (new) - Protection for TB is a whole different beaast; he's not going to extend plays or bail them out with 3rd down runs. I liked his decision making yesterday ('cept that quick flat route that cud've been a pick six) and he has a lively arm but he needs seven step drops and slow developing routes; maybe max protect and two man routes is the way to go....

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

I'm watching the replay now. The personal foul was a good call.

And my God that last drive before the half was a mess.

 

[Nostical]

We all can agree that coaches shouldn't tolerate stupid penalties and must correct the play calling process. But what also tics me off are the too many amateurish production glitches during game night at The Rent. We've had numerous microphone issues. Last night the dramatic video player intros were showing our defense while the announcer was introducing the offense. By the time he corrected himself, three of the senior defensive players (on senior night ) were botched. Then during the out of town scoreboard. (always a challenge for these twits) it proudly displayed our Men's Basketball score in oversized letters: UConn 83--"Furnam" 58. I know one thing. Donald Trump wouldn't tolerate it. Neither should we.

 

[Excalibur]

That was Fatukasi, no?

Correct.

 

[Excalibur]

1. It was Adeyemi. 2. I'm still convinced that whenever we have a successful play on offense, it is so unexpected and we celebrate so much that we have to call a TO before we have the ability to get the next play off. I think we called a TO after the first Arkeel run for that exact reason? Very frustrating. On substitutions, I give a partial pass due to losing Myers. Until Saturday, our team had been remarkably healthy (particularly on offense) and hadn't dealt with those kinds of issues before. I don't know if you blame the player or the coaches there but it absolutely needs to improve. 3. Agreed - he just seems to drop some passes without any reason but at other times he has fantastic hands. Can't explain it. 4. (new) Offensive play calling as an adjustment to personnel / defenses. After the initial drive, our offense won the game with smoke, mirrors and TOs generated by the defense. We didn't seem to adjust playcalling to TB's pocket passing style. Run on 1st, run on 2nd and pass short of the sticks on 3rd can't be the solution with him. I appreciate that we were looking to avoid mistakes against a defense that's very good at generating turnovers but I don't think we even ran many WR flares / proxy run plays that we've done with decent success in the past. No play action passes, no deep balls to stretch the defense. I think Verducci is somewhat limited given our pass protection is still questionable (no QB sacks but plenty of hits) but we need some creativity in the passing game to give Tim Boyle a chance.

The first TO was due to Meyers going in motion the wrong way -- not a clock management issue.

I would have liked to see us go play action and throw deep at least once on first down after Boyle came in. I get that we wanted to take the turnover out of play but the downside of a deep throw isn't that bad. On the other hand, the safety may have not bit on the trick play if we had been running any PA previously.

 

[minidarren]

He was also the guy whose personal foul punch allowed Villanova to keep the ball and score a TD (after a 4th down stop). Adeyemi can cause havoc in opponent backfields...but he can also cost the team some very stupid 15 yards.

That was Fatukasi who threw the punch and was DQ'd.

Disclaimer: I should have read the entire thread before commenting.

 

[politics]

Usually not a fan of post-win criticism posts but this one is constructive and spot-on. Especially No. 2. Without those breakdowns you're looking at 8-3 at least.

 

[Rewster]

If Boyle is the QB again this week I hope they tried to incorporate some quick hitters to the receivers. Looks like they tried to in the second half but inexplicable ,on 2 different occasions, the receivers where not looking for the pass and the ball was not caught.

We were fortunate to not have those balls intercepted..

 

[Huskygamble19]

I could find one glaring ugly error. we score a gorgeous touchdown from Anderson and seem to revel in it and forget to tackle the runner taking it end to end to tighten it up once again. It was 20-10 with some breathing room and bingo 20-17 back in sweatsville. Could have been a crushing play, but thankfully it wasn't.

 

[RedStickHusky]

I could find one glaring ugly error. we score a gorgeous touchdown from Anderson and seem to revel in it and forget to tackle the runner taking it end to end to tighten it up once again. It was 20-10 with some breathing room and bingo 20-17 back in sweatsville. Could have been a crushing play, but thankfully it wasn't.

Sort of echoes the theme of dwelling on success as opposed to sustaining or building on it...Good or bad you always have to move on the next play.

 

[jackl]

1 - I thought the call was borderline on continuation and it was deep enough in their territory that it ended up not hurting. Noted a couple series later that J williams went out of his way to avoid contact with a sliding postma..

2 - Yeah... we call that catastrophic success; next step in development is to not be surprised when things go right...

3 - Amen; killed a couple of drives dropping catchable balls.

4 (new) - Protection for TB is a whole different beaast; he's not going to extend plays or bail them out with 3rd down runs. I liked his decision making yesterday ('cept that quick flat route that cud've been a pick six) and he has a lively arm but he needs seven step drops and slow developing routes; maybe max protect and two man routes is the way to go....

1) I saw it live and I also watched the DVR replay and I didn't think it was that bad a tackle in the heat of the battle
2) Getting plays in is truly mind numbing. How do other teams do it? I don't think having TB in the game made a big difference. I know I was frustrated watching the clocking ticking down from the beginning. Scoring a TD on the opening drive helped.
3) Bloom has to catch the ball period, he had no one harassing him just plain drops . Does he need gloves?
4) The QB protection scheme has to improve and it will. Garrett Anderson said he was not very familiar with the blocking for a TE or H back or FB. Kid has a lot to learn in a short period of time. Better blocking to keep TB or BS upright. But that one play pass of his has thrown a whole new dimension into defending our offense. Anything has to help. Just hope everyone heals in time for Temple.

 

[J187Money]

Btw the kid from Houston them at ran the kick back was FAST. If the field had been 200 yards long he could have stopped for coffee before scoring.

 

[Hoophound]

Btw the kid from Houston them at ran the kick back was FAST. If the field had been 200 yards long he could have stopped for coffee before scoring.

Exactly what I was thinking. We didn't forget to tackle that kid, he just had a lane and when he took off nobody but Usain Bolt had a chance of catching him. Sometimes we debate who has break away speed and who doesn't. That kid is a benchmark.

 

[Palatine]

3. is accurate. So is 2., but I'd cut everyone some slack for having to call the game differently without our QB than they had planned.

I disagree with 1. From being in the stadium, I never heard a whistle, and I know from live and the stadium replay that no official waved his arms to signify a stoppage. The ref who thew the flag -- that was the first movement from his hands the whole play (meaning he certainly wasn't waiving the play dead).

About #2. We ran for 40 yards on the first play of the game and Diaco and crew had to call a TO before our second play because of confusion.

 

[ATLDYKA]

I think you can add Mayala to # 3 along with Bloom. Too many drops from him as well.

 

[Kgun7]

Usually not a fan of post-win criticism posts but this one is constructive and spot-on. Especially No. 2. Without those breakdowns you're looking at 8-3 at least.

I'll second this. This is a well deserved and thought provoking post.

Chin may have a term that they used in the military, but in Aerospace Manufacturing we call it "Continuous Improvement".

 

[Fairfield_1st]

I agree with much that has been said. But, had you asked me right after the game what I thought the biggest issue was, it was the horrendous play calling when TB came in. We were joking in 240 that it looked like FHCPP was back in charge. Run, Run, Pass, Punt. I had griped somewhere else in the BY about Boyle coming into games earlier in the season and only handing off. I wondered how you prepare a backup for when he's really needed if that's all he does. Saturday it almost came back to bite us. If Boyle is the QB next week I hope they take the reigns off a little more. They'll probably need to against Temple.

 

[businesslawyer]

I am pretty confident with this staff that if you give them a week, they will have a plan. I don't think they had a plan for having Boyle on the field and us ahead the entire game, and they were making it up on the fly.

I don't know how in the world anyone criticizes a staff for being too conservative with a lead and a backup QB that they didn't have a lot of faith in. WHEN WE WON. Yes, I also thought just one play action to start a drive would work beautifully, but being conservative worked thank you.