Maine Thoughts

[Stainmaster]

1. Not only does Frank Verducci need to go, but I don't want his sorry behind to ever set foot in CT again. If he lands again on the Crusty Retread Coaching Carousel and has to fly into BDL to visit a recruit, I want friggin' air marshals tackling and detaining him. This offense is dying for more creativity - we have weapons that need to be used. For , Myers and Newsome have shown that they can make plays and run with the ball for multiple seasons against much tougher competition. You'd think they would get more than one target each.
2. Looking at Verducci (and remembering Cummings in '14), I really have to question the nepotism and favoritism in Diaco's staff. Verducci was on Hayden Fry's staff while Diaco played at Iowa, the recently retired Don Patterson was the first guy together to ever hire Diaco, and that first year I remember some random yarn about how the Diacos and the Cummingses went on family vacations together. Is it just me, or is that a batshiet insane way to put together a staff? Granted we have some good people on board - given his pedigree, I am willing to give Campbell more than one game to have his WRs showing a pulse, and Poindexter+Brown generally have okay track records (tonight notwithstanding). But for all future hires, I want wide open national searches geared towards hiring the best man only, not whoever picked up Diaco's bar tab on a recruiting trip at CMU 10 years ago.
3. I am not ready to start thinking about the "Fire Diaco" bandwagon that has started up again. @ Freescooter, today was your super bowl buddy. Enjoy it. Not that my word counts for much in the real world or here, but I am giving him a chance to see some stuff change over the next few games. I want to see a defense prepared to go on the attack, I want to see offensive variety that utilizes the threats we have on the roster. I believe that there is talent on this team; last year wouldn't have happened if we didn't. But something has to change in how it is being managed.
4. I really hope I am wrong on this, but in terms of the little things re. timing (the clusterf that was the end of the first half, messing up the timing of that last FG), I am quite worried that Diaco cannot improve there. If we can win in spite of it like tonight and last year, it becomes less of an issue, but it is still a pretty big issue.
5. Every time Shirreffs goes down I fear for his health. Tonight showed that he is not going to reach the Orlovsky pantheon as a thrower, but he willed this team down the field when very few others had the gumption to join him. For all of the misfired balls that made me cringe earlier in the game, he was completing them when it counted. Additionally, this could've been the Maine D tiring out, but as the game went on I saw him become a lot more crafty on his sneaks. He is definitely a plus-plus runner as a QB, but that's a blessing and a curse. The reason he's racking up such high yardage totals is because a) our WRs have issues getting open and b) this combination of the OL can't pass block.
6. It's astonishing how bare the cupboard looked at WR tonight besides our man Noel. Beals seems to be still running into that freshman wall after a great first half, and Mayala was nowhere to be seen -- the latter being especially disappointing given how much PT Diaco gave him last year. The fact that WRs not named Thomas combined for 1 reception for 18 yards is not acceptable for an FBS team. However, credit where credit is due; Lemelle could not have stepped up at a bigger time, especially for someone who's been put through the ringer by the program.
7. Things looked slightly better for the OL with Vechery at LG. LT and RG are issues that will need to be addressed soon. At least Knappe isn't racking up too many penalties.
8. Front seven was fine. Mikal Myers certainly earned his captaincy. I was disappointed not to see Carrezola blaze through and make some big plays like he did against an arguably better Villanova team last year. Also, not to extrapolate too much from one game, but Vontae Diggs is now my pick for this year's breakout defender. He had some very impressive stops and showed great fluidity.
9. This team misses Andrew Adams a ton. Watkins is not an FBS starter by any means. John Green giveth and taketh away, with the great deflection followed up by the worst penalty of the game. We need consistency between starters and backups. I would like to see more of McAllister in the coming weeks.
10. Hats off to our special teams. Puyol is a boss, Wain let some of the best punts of his career fly, and Zecchino didn't do one thing to make me notice him (which means he's doing a perfect job in my book).
11. Lastly, for all of the drama queens out there, this is not rock bottom for the program. Things have been much worse, both way back in the annals of our history and in the past few seasons. You're drunk -- down a few glasses of water and pick up some PediaLyte in the morning.

If we play like this all season, we are screwed beyond belief. Fortunately, we have looked like around 16 different teams during Diaco's tenure, so next week could be either a decisive win or a tornado of feces and I wouldn't be surprised either way. We shall see.

 

[JMick]

Agree with most but point 6. How many vertical passes did we even attempt?

Verducci can go F himself. He's a moron and is literally teaching things incorrectly. I also have a fear of nepotism taking over the staff.

 

[Stainmaster]

Agree with most but point 6. How many vertical passes did we even attempt?

Verducci can go F himself. He's a moron and is literally teaching things incorrectly. I also have a fear of nepotism taking over the staff.

Fair, but I seem to recall Beals running some good screens and slants last year. With a lack of ability to get open, the outcome defaults to a Shirreffs scramble - which is all well and good when it works, but should never be taken as a serious substitute for a passing game with competent actors in all roles.

 

[JMick]

Fair, but I seem to recall Beals running some good screens and slants last year. With a lack of ability to get open, the outcome defaults to a Shirreffs scramble - which is all well and good when it works, but should never be taken as a serious substitute for a passing game with competent actors in all roles.

I truly believe it's a playcalling issue and am hoping Verducci is fired tomorrow. It's not acceptable.

 

[huskysupporter]

McAllister got toasted on several plays. Lucky for him Maine QB threw some bad passes.

Diggs was up and down. He made some great plays but he also had some trouble setting the edge on a few.

Carezola is an effort player. Reminds me of Paul Kruger. Stout at point of attack but not a really good pass rusher at this point.

As long as Coach continues to run that vanilla d on passing downs, we will never know how good the pass rush can be.

 

[BoatShow]

A

Agree with most but point 6. How many vertical passes did we even attempt?

Verducci can go F himself. He's a moron and is literally teaching things incorrectly. I also have a fear of nepotism taking over the staff.

We have like 40 tight ends and i recall 2 plays to Davis and 1 to Myers. Hey Coach, remember Alec Bloom? He's pretty good.

 

[JMick]

A

We have like 40 tight ends and i recall 2 plays to Davis and 1 to Myers. Hey Coach, remember Alec Bloom? He's pretty good.

We made a living off the TE seam play last year and didn't run that route once tonight.

 

[BlueDogs]

Its inconceivable how going 6 years in we are still incapable of have a good passing attack. It seems to be an insidious cultural problem of don't make turnovers at all costs. PP and now BD seem to design low turnover risk gameplans. But, this risk adverse philosophy perpetuates itself because we dont throw the ball enough to get good at it. There is never enough reps to get better.

 

[Chief00]

Receivers were sometimes open - BS has no vision, QB progressions and a poor arm. His clock management is very poor for an expeienced guy - getting the play in and getting the team out if the huddle. We blew 3 timeouts.

I thought Diggs showed he can be outstanding - Diaco needs to blitz him more - really like his closing speed and his explosion on contact. Chief, quite frankly approves.

 

[JMick]

Its inconceivable how going 6 years in we are still incapable of have a good passing attack. It seems to be an insidious cultural problem of don't make turnovers at all costs. PP and now BD seem to design low turnover risk gameplans. But, this risk adverse philosophy perpetuates itself because we dont throw the ball enough to get good at it. There is never enough reps to get better.

It's like Diaco thinks we can win a game 0-0

 

[Stainmaster]

Also, I forgot to add this in (probably because the TEs as a whole were so underwhelming): Tyler Davis is a nice find at spot. I really like the way he moves with the ball. Hopefully he can follow Myers' trajectory and improve those hands, because if a passing game is ever allowed to develop, he could turn into a weapon.

 

[BlueandOG]

A win is win. However, the play of the O-line is where it all broke down. How can we expect anything positive to happen on O if BS has little time? Our O-line is huge - they towered over the Maine D-line. But they did not win the battles. I not despondent yet, but I am less confident than I was before today. We scrambled to beat a mediocre 1AA team.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I really want to believe the team is much better than it showed. Not a perfect analogy but we've seen very good hoops teams beat UNH or Quinnipiac by like 8-12 points. This game was way bigger for Maine than UConn. There's no way that was close to the full arsenal on O unless they shrunk the playbook with 10 starters coming back. Top play makers in the passing game last year such as Newsome, Myers, Bloom, Mayala or Beals were nonexistent. They went to Davis early then completely stopped utilizing their truckload of TEs until Myers caught a pass late. Me wants to think they knew they could Maine with a bullcrap playbook and were fine doing so by 3 points.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I really want to believe the team is much better than it showed. Not a perfect analogy but we've seen very good hoops teams beat UNH or Quinnipiac by like 8-12 points. This game was way bigger for Maine than UConn. There's no way that was close to the full arsenal on O unless they shrunk the playbook with 10 starters coming back. Top play makers in the passing game last year such as Newsome, Myers, Bloom, Mayala or Beals were nonexistent. They went to Davis early then completely stopped utilizing their truckload of TEs until Myers caught a pass late. Me wants to think they knew they could Maine with a bullcrap playbook and were fine doing so by 3 points.

I think you're wrong.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

I think you're wrong.

I think that may have been the intention going in, but when it's 14-14 pretty deep in the second half, that should have and probably did go out the window they just couldn't play call and couldn't execute.

 

[warbler1055]

Exact same play calling as last year. run, run and pass and punt. Offensive line did not open any room for run or protect the quarterback. The best plays usually are the broken ones. If Diaco did not see that Verducci is the problem when he must be blind mentally and/or physically.

 

[Jimdish255]

Its inconceivable how going 6 years in we are still incapable of have a good passing attack. It seems to be an insidious cultural problem of don't make turnovers at all costs. PP and now BD seem to design low turnover risk gameplans. But, this risk adverse philosophy perpetuates itself because we dont throw the ball enough to get good at it. There is never enough reps to get better.

The weather is terrible up here! With all that snow and ice on the field how could we possibly pass? We've instilled a Vince Lombardi mindset to this offense meant for the Frozen Tundra. In year 3 I have zero confidence in tbis coach waking up to the fact that those days are long gone unless you have top 2% talent. Even then being totally predictable and not spreading the field and running adequate fakes is a fail. And not throwing the ball early kills the screen pass. Zero balance.

 

[SBILL]

Last night was an exhibition of how not to coach or play the game by the Husky side. Maine somehow dictated the way the game would be played. Offensively the game was a disaster. Why do you expect to have success funneling your plays into the strength of a defense selling out inside ? Defensively way to passive. Close scores on serve to inspire an underdog (bear?). No repeats please.

 

[freescooter]

I agree with most of this but would add that our backs are very slow to hit holes. On more than a few occasions the line opened creases but by the time the back got there a safety had come up and closed it off. I don't know if it is the players or the plays but I noticed it last year and again this year. Almost seems that they would benefit from either a lead blocker/fullback or quicker developing runs. Or it could be the backs themselves. Brown Todman Brockington all hit the hole very quickly. Caulley too obviously. These guys don't.

 

[Sprague03]

The problem on offense doesn't sit with our offensive coach because Diaco tells him what type of system he wants which is tap the rock, tap the rock, and if it's not there, keep tapping the rock. We've seen it with Cummings and now we see it with Verducci. Diaco wants to run the ball and control the clock, limit big plays so the ball isn't turned over. I don't think there was a ball that was thrown more than 20 yards last night?

Our Denfense gave Maine's QB all day to throw and he killed us. I thought our defense was in the "400" level by now, we should be blitzing and getting to the QB. Again, Diaco wants to limit big plays and not pressure the QB.

Not sure how this strategy is going to get fans to the stadium when A) none of it is working and B)it's not fun to watch.

So many people were texting me and complaining about this Offense. Diaco sure does know how to motivate and lie because he kept telling us over and over during the offseason how the OL and the offense has improved. Not sure you can make that comment after this game.

 

[RSTuthill]

I am rather concerned about the D. An FCS team just lit up the secondary like a Christmas tree. That led to making the D also vulnerable to the run on occasion. Not good. FBS teams will have a field day if that continues.

 

[HuskyHawk]

You guy are ridiculous. Don't ever judge a team based on one game, especially not the first game of the year. I am sure the conservative play calling was driven by a belief, or a least a hope, that our massive OL could simply knock Maine back and we'd run all over them. While they waited too long to scrap it, they did adjust, and the offense moved the ball pretty well. If not for the fumble and return, we win this by 10-13, and people are less cranky.

I was concerned that the defense seemed unprepared to face a vertical passing game. That has to be fixed ASAP. This bend don't break D cannot give up big plays like it did. Run defense was fine. Why they couldn't pressure the QB against a team with little chance to run is a concern.

I am concerned that Shireff's can't seem to stay in the pocket for more than a second, and that most of the time when he starts moving he's trying to run rather than buy time to throw down field. Show the kid some Fran Tarkinton video please. He did it almost perfectly once, and had a wide open Thomas with 30 yards of clear green in front of him, and blew the throw. I love his grit, and toughness and his will to win, but he's got to stand still, deliver the ball and take the hit once in awhile or everyone will blitz us. At a minimum, keep the play alive with your feet and complete it with your arm.

Special teams were excellent.

 

[Exit 4]

• Verducci's double tight end offense must head to the waste basket. It has no future with our combination of players.
• Need to immediate shift to a spread style approach. Our players need space to make plays. We can't win the war when we put 9 or 10 in the box on offense.
• Sherriff's is a marvelous runner, but he hasn't taken the next step on throwing down field. There were open receivers and throwing opportunities, albeit brief.
• Our receivers need to look back a bit earlier for the ball. Need both short and long routes on the passing plays. We have this great WR coach from Michigan - we need to see progress next week.
• Forget run first, we need to surprise teams with a pass first approach. Need 3 WR sets on first down. Need QB roll outs and hot slants to take pressure off the blitz.
• I'm optimistic the defensive secondary can improve. It takes real game experience to learn the DB positions. We also have some interesting kids to tap into if McAllister and Watkins are unable to improve.
• I'm pessimistic about the overall speed on Defense. We seem slower than ever. I always feared that the Diaco plan to recruit big guys would sacrifice speed and I think we might be see that now. Junior Joseph was the only LB I saw with some wheels. Walsh was absent. Need to rewatch the game.
• Carrezola has to play as a DE and stop with the OLB crap. He show some push ability on straight passing plays.
• This D needs to mix it up more. More blitzes. Maybe some corner blitzes.

Bottomline, they should practice 3WR sets all week and put the double TE gameplan on the shelf. They also need to work on hot routes to take pressure off the blitz. You have to figure teams will blitz us nearly every down.

On D its time to be a bit more creative trying to generate pressure. I'd also let the second set of LBs get some playing time next week to see how they look. Need more team speed on D.

 

[31GuardTrap]

Isn't the game tonight?

 

[Chief00]

• Verducci's double tight end offense must head to the waste basket. It has no future with our combination of players.
• Need to immediate shift to a spread style approach. Our players need space to make plays. We can't win the war when we put 9 or 10 in the box on offense.
• Sherriff's is a marvelous runner, but he hasn't taken the next step on throwing down field. There were open receivers and throwing opportunities, albeit brief.
• Our receivers need to look back a bit earlier for the ball. Need both short and long routes on the passing plays. We have this great WR coach from Michigan - we need to see progress next week.
• Forget run first, we need to surprise teams with a pass first approach. Need 3 WR sets on first down. Need QB roll outs and hot slants to take pressure off the blitz.
• I'm optimistic the defensive secondary can improve. It takes real game experience to learn the DB positions. We also have some interesting kids to tap into if McAllister and Watkins are unable to improve.
• I'm pessimistic about the overall speed on Defense. We seem slower than ever. I always feared that the Diaco plan to recruit big guys would sacrifice speed and I think we might be see that now. Junior Joseph was the only LB I saw with some wheels. Walsh was absent. Need to rewatch the game.
• Carrezola has to play as a DE and stop with the OLB crap. He show some push ability on straight passing plays.
• This D needs to mix it up more. More blitzes. Maybe some corner blitzes.

Bottomline, they should practice 3WR sets all week and put the double TE gameplan on the shelf. They also need to work on hot routes to take pressure off the blitz. You have to figure teams will blitz us nearly every down.

On D its time to be a bit more creative trying to generate pressure. I'd also let the second set of LBs get some playing time next week to see how they look. Need more team speed on D.

Quite frankly, throw on 1st and second down and use play action. BS was not my choice for QB but he really needs hands on coaching - he barely ever looks down field and when he does he is locked on one receiver.
We had a debate on another thread if NCST was moving him to FB or TE - truth is we will never know what would have played out - but they saw he did not have the instincts to QB and that's the take away. Then take his clock management blunders and it's a pretty strong case - Diaco went the wrong route.
Impressed with Diggs - need to blitz him 8-10 times a game.