LOVE Oregons offense!

[coachcap]

I'm so glad my team has a QB (Giants fan) and isn't in need of one. This crop of QB's is so unimpressive. I don't see Mariota panning out in the NFL and I can't stand Winston almost as much as I hate Johnny Football. My wife's a Bears fan and I just laugh because Cutler is awful but he might be worth holding on to due to a lack of anything better next year (besides the fact that his contract makes him untradeable)

I'm a Giants fan also, but I'd love to see Mariota in Big Blue holding a clipboard for a couple of years until Eli calls it quits. (a la Aaron Rodgers behind Brett Favre). I think that Mariota can be just as dynamic as Russell Wilson. It won't happen though because Mariota won't last that long in the NFL Draft.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

So much fun to watch. Hopefully with a dual threat qb we become more dynamic. Grind it out football may lead to wins here and there but damn it's boring.

Agreed, except for the "leads to wins here" part. No coincidence . . . boring, impotent offense and struggling to win go hand in hand. Plus lackluster offenses are not appealing to the kind of recruit UConn will need in van loads.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

6-6 running oregon's offense is 100 times better than 6-6 running Edsall offense. I really hope that Diaco understands that it does matter how you win if he wants the fans back. Bend don't break defense with three yards and a cloud of dust offense is not going to cut it.

Love this post.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Their offense is a pleasure to watch, the tempo is just incredible. Don't know why no other programs have adopted their style.

Like UConn? Even on a less talented level for now.

 

[tzznandrew]

I'm glad to see FSU finally come up against someone that wasn't going to let up and allow them to steal the game. Even if they didn't turn it over I'm pretty sure they still could not have kept up with Oregon. It's really amazing how Oregon has perfected this scheme of theirs and it is a lot of fun to watch, minus all the crazy uniform combinations of course.

Would have been nice for any of those teams to have held on, because then TCU may have made it in, and they are clearly in the conversation for best team.

1 Alabama
8. Michigan State

4. Ohio State
5. Baylor

3. Florida State
6. TCU

2. Oregon
7. Mississippi State

That should have been it.

Or replace Michigan State with Boise State (highest rated G5 school).

It would have been a hell of a tournament, and no one could reasonably claim they were the best team except the winner of this tournament.

 

[whaler11]

Would have been nice for any of those teams to have held on, because then TCU may have made it in, and they are clearly in the conversation for best team.

1 Alabama
8. Michigan State

4. Ohio State
5. Baylor

3. Florida State
6. TCU

2. Oregon
7. Mississippi State

That should have been it.

Or replace Michigan State with Boise State (highest rated G5 school).

It would have been a hell of a tournament, and no one could reasonably claim they were the best team except the winner of this tournament.

Try telling that to Rutgers Al.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

I like diaco, and I think he will turn things around, but with a completely different grind it out style.

Please no! The grinding it out style era is over. What you are suggesting will make it impossible to recruit the kind of playmakers needed to transform this program and put fans back in the seats. College Football is all about high scoring offenses. Accept it or better yet, embrace it.

 

[BlueDogs]

If you cant recruit the speed, you do the next best thing. Recruit size and moderate speed, control the football and beat the hell out of the other team. That can get you to the top 25 with a few good skill players. It wont let you beat the best because they have both size and speed. Once you are in the conversation as a credible program, though, then you can recruit up.

I don't care what the offense looks like, as long as the are winning games....that makes an offense fun.

 

[jackl]

I'm a Giants fan also, but I'd love to see Mariota in Big Blue holding a clipboard for a couple of years until Eli calls it quits. (a la Aaron Rodgers behind Brett Favre). I think that Mariota can be just as dynamic as Russell Wilson. It won't happen though because Mariota won't last that long in the NFL Draft.

Just keep him away from the Eagles.

 

[Palatine]

Mariota reminds me -physically- of RG3. He has that slight, sprinters build. That would worry me that he will have the same sort of injury problems especially if he uses his legs in the NFL.

As a passer he is light years ahead of RG3. And he has played in a much more complex offense in college.

But that thoroughbred body would scare me a bit.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

If you cant recruit the speed, you do the next best thing. Recruit size and moderate speed, control the football and beat the hell out of the other team. That can get you to the top 25 with a few good skill players. It wont let you beat the best because they have both size and speed. Once you are in the conversation as a credible program, though, then you can recruit up.

I don't care what the offense looks like, as long as the are winning games....that makes an offense fun.

I strongly disagree. There is no reason why UConn can't have an exciting offense. Run or pass...doesn't matter...just score points. You don't need five star athletes to do that....you just need a creative innovative coach. UConn needs to put on a good show to get fans back and win new fans. Hardcore football fans (the only ones left on this board) may be fine with the just grind it out mentality. UConn needs to attract the casual fans...and they aren't going to watch grind it out games.

High scoring offense should mean more fans...more fans will hopefully bring more energy to the program. More energy hopefully helps conference positioning.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

I strongly disagree. There is no reason why UConn can't have an exciting offense. Run or pass...doesn't matter...just score points. You don't need five star athletes to do that....you just need a creative innovative coach. UConn needs to put on a good show to get fans back and win new fans. Hardcore football fans (the only ones left on this board) may be fine with the just grind it out mentality. UConn needs to attract the casual fans...and they aren't going to watch grind it out games.

High scoring offense should mean more fans...more fans will hopefully bring more energy to the program. More energy hopefully helps conference positioning.

This is a terrific post. Right on pint. The "Grind it Out" is old school and just not the way the game is played today - and, definitely how the recruiting (for the best athletes) is played.

 

[BlueDogs]

I strongly disagree. There is no reason why UConn can't have an exciting offense. Run or pass...doesn't matter...just score points. You don't need five star athletes to do that....you just need a creative innovative coach. UConn needs to put on a good show to get fans back and win new fans. Hardcore football fans (the only ones left on this board) may be fine with the just grind it out mentality. UConn needs to attract the casual fans...and they aren't going to watch grind it out games.

High scoring offense should mean more fans...more fans will hopefully bring more energy to the program. More energy hopefully helps conference positioning.

I'll take a rock solid competent coach to start. We are gong to find out if we have one real soon or just a great BS'er. BD used up his mulligans and then some. In retrospect, I'm pretty certain, the season would have been more productive with Weist at the helm. Intense, disciplinarian and somebody with OC experience who produced at rock bottom, before BD brought us to another level of bottom.

 

[junglehusky]

This is a terrific post. Right on pint. The "Grind it Out" is old school and just not the way the game is played today - and, definitely how the recruiting (for the best athletes) is played.

If Alabama/Kiffin had stooped down to play the old school, outdated boring old "grind it out" football for one or two drives they, not Ohio State, would be in the championship game. You have to do both. (Notice I am not advocating "grind it out" for four quarters.) Speed complements physical smashmouth football and vice versa. If an offense has both attributes it really puts pressure on the opposing defense.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

If Alabama/Kiffin had stooped down to play the old school, outdated boring old "grind it out" football for one or two drives they, not Ohio State, would be in the championship game. You have to do both. (Notice I am not advocating "grind it out" for four quarters.) Speed complements physical smashmouth football and vice versa. If an offense has both attributes it really puts pressure on the opposing defense.

I agree. For Alabama. Not for UConn. UConn isn't playing for the national championship....they are playing for survival. If UConn is playing for the national championship, I think strategically mixing in a more conservative approach may make sense. I was okay with Edsall playing that style in the past.

But UConn is fighting for its programs life, and playing conservative isn't going to attract fans, recruits or conference invites. I think you are missing my key point which is style points matter. It isn't just about being a strong stable hard nosed football program anymore. The program needs a jolt of energy. And winning or losing 10-7 isn't going to do it. And all the new offensive coaches in the conference are going to make UConn look like more of a dinosaur.

I just hope there is a vision by BD and his staff to put a more exciting product on the field. The jury is still out, but I am hoping that Brian Kelley has been enough of an influence on BD to help him understand the importance of offense.

 

[sub legacy]

6-6 running oregon's offense is 100 times better than 6-6 running Edsall offense. I really hope that Diaco understands that it does matter how you win if he wants the fans back. Bend don't break defense with three yards and a cloud of dust offense is not going to cut it.

If he doesn't figure this out by next year, he'll never get it. He'll just be another stubborn, dogmatic coach who doesn't want to acknowledge how the contemporary college game is played effectively.

 

[coachcap]

What's the old adage? "Offense attracts fans but defense wins championships." UConn has descended to the depths of the FBS canyon & needs to attract back its fans. Playing exciting & uptempo football would do that. Just look at Oregon & Boise as examples. They have rabid fan bases due to their success & their box scores read like a pin ball machine with TOMMY at the helm.

 

[metsfan2323]

I find it amusing that the closest UCONN has ever been to the Oregon style offense is when we had Tyler Lorenzen at QB, yet we often have people here describing how limited (and boring) that offense was.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

I find it amusing that the closest UCONN has ever been to the Oregon style offense is when we had Tyler Lorenzen at QB, yet we often have people here describing how limited (and boring) that offense was.

You are easily amused.

You seem to be missing the point. It's not about style of offense...it's about points. Everyone would be happy to watch the Lorenzen offense that ran all day versus buffalo in the bowl game. That offense scored points. But there were many games with Lorenzen that it was obvious if we couldn't run, the team couldn't score more than 10 points. Post Lorenzen through PP (except for a few Easley games) the approach has been conservative offense and strong defense.

I think what people, including myself, are worried about is that Diaco is a defensive coach and he will run a super conservative offense. This conversation is not so much to bitch about the past, but to discuss what is best for the future.

 

[noeynox]

@ShakyTheMohel, there was a game against Pitt at the Rent where Tyler couldn't complete a three yd pass his thumb was so bad. We could do next to nothing offensively that day.

The point still remains you need drives that end in TDs vs FG attempts or punts to "flip" the field/gain field position. Simply put, today's high powered offenses could care less about time of possession. So you had the ball for seven minutes and ended up missing a FG attempt, they score in a minute nineteen seconds. Enjoy your time of possession advantage.

 

[metsfan2323]

You seem to be missing the point. It's not about style of offense...it's about points.

We scored more points per game with TL than any other QB, including Danny O.

 

[whaler11]

We scored more points per game with TL than any other QB, including Danny O.

Hi I'm mets2323 and I make up.

UConn points per game:
2002 - 31.1
2003 - 34.0
2004 - 30.2
2007 - 26.5
2008 - 24.9

Not only are you wrong... but if you compare it to the national averages, in 2003 UConn was 18th in FBS and by 2008 they were 65th.

Good job. Good Effort.

It's called Google - try it sometime.

 

[BNich]

@ShakyTheMohel, there was a game against Pitt at the Rent where Tyler couldn't complete a three yd pass his thumb was so bad. We could do next to nothing offensively that day.

The point still remains you need drives that end in TDs vs FG attempts or punts to "flip" the field/gain field position. Simply put, today's high powered offenses could care less about time of possession. So you had the ball for seven minutes and ended up missing a FG attempt, they score in a minute nineteen seconds. Enjoy your time of possession advantage.

Doesn't matter if it was score 10 years ago or today, if you score more points than your opponent you win. This includes "high powered" offenses or otherwise.

 

[Bonehead]

What's the old adage? "Offense attracts fans but defense wins championships." UConn has descended to the depths of the FBS canyon & needs to attract back its fans. Playing exciting & uptempo football would do that. Just look at Oregon & Boise as examples. They have rabid fan bases due to their success & their box scores read like a pin ball machine with TOMMY at the helm.

If I can have one or another I would choose championships in front of 100 fans...I dont need to see a rabid fanbase to get excited about UConn FB again, I need games when I pull in to tailgate thinking 'we could win this one'.

 

[Palatine]

In the words of Bear Bryant, luck follows speed or to put it another way, “A good, quick, small team can beat a big, slow team any time.”