Let's talk offense

[Palatine]

It looked organized. They got in and out of the huddle promptly. They got lined up correctly. They ran their pre-snap motion and there we no screw ups during the exchanges. No snaps over the head of QB. No unforced errors. I know that is what is expected. When is the last time we saw it? Plus, you can't build an offense until the foundation is laid. It looked laid and solid.

There was a rudimentary game plan. Come out throwing early. Then as the field opened up, pound with the run game until we exhausted Nova. Unfortunately, Nova held the ball for 11 minutes in the second quarter, so we never really were able to hammer them and wear them down. But we obviously caught them off guard by throwing early and moved right down the field. And, once again, we didn't stop ourselves. No dropped passes or bad penalties. Everyone did their job. Compared to the slow starts by the offense last year, most of the stadium was waiting for the mistake. It didn't come. Another very solid showing.

There wasn't much imagination to the offense. In fact, I only recall one misdirection roll out. There might have been another but it was blown up so early, it's hard to tell. The ground game was basically stretch runs and a few sweeps. There were wide receiver swing passes, TE crossing patterns, and a couple of screens. I recall one deep ball toe Noel down the left sideline. I think that was the only ball in the air over 20 yards. This was a very vanilla, very basic offensive package.

Two great individual plays were huge. Tommy Meyers 69-yard reception where he showed very nice wheels for a TE. And Newsome's TD. I'm thinking that Newsome could do this once a game for us. Just get him the ball in space. Without those plays..... but we got them.

On the down side, we had some dumb penalties. The holding on Levy looked unnecessary. And Johnson, yeesh. I also thought we went down a little easy. Yeah, we broke some tackles and, in general, did a good job. But I would love to see us finish runs going forward not sideways or backwards.

All of this is more noticeable for what it wasn't than what it was. It was a pretty darn clean, if not spectacular, game for the offense. Three TDs. Good for us.

 

[Stainmaster]

This wasn't discussed much, but Vechery deserves some credit for re-learning the center position so quickly. Diaco's "work in progress" comments had me a little worried about how he would perform in a game situation, but he did a fine job out there.

 

[minidarren]

Johnson's unsportsmanlike penalty was a crap call. I just finished watching the replay and it appears that the only thing done was the hand gesture. I thought maybe some words were exchanged that drew the flag, but it really does not appear that was the case. Seeing as there were multiple instances of Nova players getting into the faces of UCONN players, I found it bizarre that this occurrence drew the flag.

 

[blue93]

This wasn't discussed much, but Vechery deserves some credit for re-learning the center position so quickly. Diaco's "work in progress" comments had me a little worried about how he would perform in a game situation, but he did a fine job out there.

Agreed. Didn't even notice him out there, which in this case, is a very good thing.

 

[ScottBonz]

Agreed. Didn't even notice him out there, which in this case, is a very good thing.

Watching the replay they even mentioned it on TV. The kid who he trucked was running his mouth all night.

Edit: wrong reply. Replying to Ron Johnson penalty.

 

[pepband99]

My favorite part was the quick snaps that caught them off guard. Quite the difference from an opening delay of game!

 

[SubbaBub]

Other than the safety, they didn't shoot themselves in the foot. Last year they would have given up two safeties, probably by snapping the ball out of the end zone, the second time they were backed up to their own goal line. Progress.

The brutal truth is that the was an FCS team and while it wasn't loss to Towson nor the nail biter to Stony Brook, it wasn't dominating by any stretch. The QB had too much pressure and they had trouble opening holes for the backs. On the plus side, Shirreffs looked the part on a leader who can keep his head about him and deliver the ball. Keeping him healthy is priority number one. There were also far fewer mistakes, so that's good. The two minute offense needs a ton of work starting with the play calling and time management.

Finally, while we didn't get to see a lot of the WRs, I didn't see them getting a a lot of separation, that could be a problem.

 

[huskymedic]

Johnson's unsportsmanlike penalty was a crap call. I just finished watching the replay and it appears that the only thing done was the hand gesture. I thought maybe some words were exchanged that drew the flag, but it really does not appear that was the case. Seeing as there were multiple instances of Nova players getting into the faces of UCONN players, I found it bizarre that this occurrence drew the flag.

Interesting that Diaco mentioned on AAC conference call today that he didn't have an issue with the call and that the team was well educated what to expect by the league.

 

[Palatine]

Interesting that Diaco mentioned on AAC conference call today that he didn't have an issue with the call and that the team was well educated what to expect by the league.

Good form by Diaco. No point calling out the refs at this point. Backing the refs is the smart move.

 

[ct06111]

Scoring on the 1st possession was a huge positive for the O. Even with the blocked FG, they showed confidence and drove the field with the run and ran time down. I'm not sure the time of the 1st Uconn scoring drive , but it was nice to see a score and some cheering and positivity instead of the normal and typical -

 

[JMick]

I really like the twin TE sets. I think they're going to continue to be match up nightmares for defenses, especially in the short yardage throwing game. It's tough for a linebacker to get out into the flat and cover someone who is 6'5"+

 

[Nostical]

Whether the call on Johnson was deserved or not he shouldn't have made any gesture. Diaco, like Edsall, shouldn't tolerate it and backing the refs was smart. As for the play calling, expect a few new wrinkles each game. Missouri mustn't be too well informed and needs to gameplan for what was--not what's to be.

 

[huskysupporter]

I like the offensive scheme. It is what suits the personnel and can be very effective. There were some execution issues, most notably drops and very poor line play, but I am excited about scheme. Two tight end, short passes, some screens thrown in. It can work. We spread the field and have Shirreffs take 5 step drops, and there are going to be issues. No one here has really said it, but based off the Nova game, the O Line has not improved. There were a ton of mental mistakes as well as getting over matched at times by an fcs d line.

 

[RedSoloCup]

No one here has really said it, but based off the Nova game, the O Line has not improved. There were a ton of mental mistakes as well as getting over matched at times by an fcs d line.

I still see them as a work in progress. Starting with new coaches and a new center, there will be bumps. I will reserve judgement on OL for a week or two...

 

[huskysupporter]

I still see them as a work in progress. Starting with new coaches and a new center, there will be bumps. I will reserve judgement on OL for a week or two...

I hope so. The flat out blown assignments were alarming. Samra was visibly upset at times after defenders went completely unblocked. Not sure if he was mad at himself or other linemen.

 

[Pudge]

Samra is just an emotional lineman.

I thought the tackles played reasonably well. There were holes for Johnson & we did have a decent first games in terms of outright missed assignments and unforced penalties.

My real concern ... alleviated after half ... was how totally unnerved and unorganized the defense looked early. Lots of running back to the other side and LBs not set.

We really should dominate a FCS line and that was not the case on either fronts. YES ... some kids (sophomore Foley and senior Julian) seemed to take control as the game went on; I suspect that we saw fatigue enter the picture as Villanova used few Line subs.

 

[Devland]

Interesting that Diaco mentioned on AAC conference call today that he didn't have an issue with the call and that the team was well educated what to expect by the league.

Whether you agree with the call or not it is a good lesson learned. Do not ever give the referee the opportunity to make that call again.

 

[Excalibur]

Whether you agree with the call or not it is a good lesson learned. Do not ever give the referee the opportunity to make that call again.

Nothing happened on that play that doesn't happen on every play of every college football game every week.

The officiating crew knows it was a lousy call.

 

[noeynox]

Samra is just an emotional lineman.

I thought the tackles played reasonably well. There were holes for Johnson & we did have a decent first games in terms of outright missed assignments and unforced penalties.

My real concern ... alleviated after half ... was how totally unnerved and unorganized the defense looked early. Lots of running back to the other side and LBs not set.

We really should dominate a FCS line and that was not the case on either fronts. YES ... some kids (sophomore Foley and senior Julian) seemed to take control as the game went on; I suspect that we saw fatigue enter the picture as Villanova used few Line subs.

Foley blew up one of their linemen early in the game where he got the sack and forced fumble. That was early in the game. The front four overall was good. Adeyemi and Ormsby both got hurries. The LBs I thought were the real culprits on the breakdowns on the edges. Stapleton even showed flashes of being very active and creating havoc in the offensive backfield. We have some nice contrasting styles on the Dline. Of all units I thought they performed the best.

As for the offense I agree that we were very vanilla. Was it because that is all were capable of or because they plan on giving them a little more every week as we get into the teeth of our schedule? I also thought the tackles both played well. Levy got beat once pretty bad by Nova's stud DE and he blew up a running play for a loss but overall I was very impressed by how much stronger and fluid he looks.

This week I expect another methodical, almost bland offensive attack against Army. I expect they will score a TD each quarter while not showing much again offensively.

 

[Doggie Style]

I agree with a lot of thing that have been mentioned. One thing I would like to see is some quick hits to our receivers early in the game. In addition I would like to see at least one shot down the field per qtr just to keep the D honest. Johnson had a good game but I want to see more of our backs on the field. On thing that drove me nuts was Johnsons tendency to dance rather than hit the line/hole from time to time. He did that on the 4 yard line on one play and it drove me nuts. I was wondering why Delo wasn't in there to run someone over at that point. We scored on the next play but that was what I was thinking at the time. If the line can give the play a few more seconds to develope we will have a lot more options open to up. That being said, I really liked Shirreffs quickness and ability to move out of pressure when he needed to. I would like to see some designed plays where he keeps the ball but I'm sure that's not gonna happen considering our depth at QB.

 

[tjhusky]

Foley blew up one of their linemen early in the game where he got the sack and forced fumble. That was early in the game. The front four overall was good. Adeyemi and Ormsby both got hurries. The LBs I thought were the real culprits on the breakdowns on the edges. Stapleton even showed flashes of being very active and creating havoc in the offensive backfield. We have some nice contrasting styles on the Dline. Of all units I thought they performed the best.

As for the offense I agree that we were very vanilla. Was it because that is all were capable of or because they plan on giving them a little more every week as we get into the teeth of our schedule? I also thought the tackles both played well. Levy got beat once pretty bad by Nova's stud DE and he blew up a running play for a loss but overall I was very impressed by how much stronger and fluid he looks.

This week I expect another methodical, almost bland offensive attack against Army. I expect they will score a TD each quarter while not showing much again offensively.

I'll take bland if we can control the ball and score 4 td's in every game.

 

[noeynox]

I'll take bland if we can control the ball and score 4 td's in every game.

Army's defense looked small and not all that fast against Fordham when I was watching. They must have lost a lot from last year. Didn't look like the same D we played last year but I could be way off base.

 

[J187Money]

Vanilla but still mixed up enough to keep them honest. Some good routes, and BS went through his progressions like we haven't seen in a long time. Like Pal said, few mistakes and a solid foundation.

 

[tjhusky]

Army's defense looked small and not all that fast against Fordham when I was watching. They must have lost a lot from last year. Didn't look like the same D we played last year but I could be way off base.

I don't think we need to reveal any more of the playbook this week. Just execute well on both sides of the ball.

 

[minidarren]

I've seen about 37 fist pumps in the OSU/VT game that were more "unsportsmanlike" than Johnsons eating gesture. But I forget we play in the American, where political correctness will be enforced at all cost.