Nattering Nabobs of Negativism

[Kingspoint]

Always verify your quotation. Martin Joseph Routh, also sometimes quoted as "your references" or "your sources."

 

[Jimdish255]

PP was not in my top 3 when this process was in motion. I'm disappointed with where we are at but I can point to a lot of reasons why that is the case. We're showing slow improvement but it's in comparison to a team with talent and leadership that's been lost to graduation (or graduate school). It's just too early for a definitive judgement here but I'm rooting for PP and keeping my doubts on hold for now.

 

[freescooter]

While it isn't entirely relevent, there was a writer for the Boston Globe, the late George Fraizer, who had an ongoing feud with Safire. At one point, he took to referring to him not by name, but as "the New York Times' practicing illiterate."

 

[mets1090]

PP was not in my top 3 when this process was in motion. I'm disappointed with where we are at but I can point to a lot of reasons why that is the case. We're showing slow improvement but it's in comparison to a team with talent and leadership that's been lost to graduation (or graduate school). It's just too early for a definitive judgement here but I'm rooting for PP and keeping my doubts on hold for now.

This is where I am on the matter. I didn't dislike the hire nor did I really have a top 3 for him to not be in. However, coming into the season we had people on here saying they would basically sign up for 6-6. The team has shown improvement the last few games, despite the losses. If we end up going 5-7 I don't see how you can say he should be fired when you were hoping for or expecting .500 football.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Here's a curveball. Look at the 2011 detroit lions. That team is LOADED. How far they can go? Who knows.

How did they get there? the equivalent of recruiting in the professional ranks - personnel, drafting and free agents.

Schwartzie - a guy that played football at ummm - Georgetown......and learned football at his level from the best out there, at that level, and learned it not as an x's and o's guy, but a guy scouting players.....has built a powerhouse team.

the guy had zero head coaching experience. He coached linebackers at Colgate.

The guys we've got coaching? They've got plenty of head coaching experience, and it's only helping establish new systems faster than they would take otherwise.

What these three new coaches we've got can do, and have done, and is most important to the future of UConn football, is recruit football players to come play football in the northeast U.S.

There are many that wanted some kind of new, young coach, up and comer, etc. etc. There just aren't many at all, Addazio would have been the best new coach but he wasn't available. HIring some hot shot out of anywhere but the northeast would have been a terrible mistake, and that would have been Kragthorpian, or Robinsonesque.

Because, what has happened over the years to northeast football though, is that there are so very few people are out there that can really recruit to build programs up here. It's dwindled over the years, as people - the football gusy that actually know the northeast landscape have moved on to places like Iowa, Penn State, Purdue, Notre Dame, Florida, etc., and for many, many years have continually come back to pick the northeast clean and bring players elsewhere, our own guy we've got now did it for years at Syracuse.

We absolutely need to recruit places like Florida, etc, everywhere the big east will play, but we need to get players that are groomed and grow up in the northeast to stay home at a good rate too, not everybody is coming to UConn. WOn't happen, but many of them need to, and they already are.

Pasqualoni fits - the fit is near perfect. The legacy that Pasqualoni and crew need to leave behind, is not wins and losses, although I'm sure they will have more W's and L's before they go, when their tenure is over, waht they need to leave is a line of coaches that can do what they've done, and that's RECRUIT for a northeast football program.

The coaching experience, I guarantee, that every player on this roster has no doubt that these coaches know what the hell they are doing when it comes to x's and o's.

Players just need to make plays. It's a players game.

 

[businesslawyer]

Here's a curveball. Look at the 2011 detroit lions. That team is LOADED. How far they can go? Who knows.

How did they get there? the equivalent of recruiting in the professional ranks - personnel, drafting and free agents.

Schwartzie - a guy that played football at ummm - Georgetown......and learned football at his level from the best out there, at that level, and learned it not as an x's and o's guy, but a guy scouting players.....has built a powerhouse team.

the guy had zero head coaching experience. He coached linebackers at Colgate.

The guys we've got coaching? They've got plenty of head coaching experience, and it's only helping establish new systems faster than they would take otherwise.

What these three new coaches we've got can do, and have done, and is most important to the future of UConn football, is recruit football players to come play football in the northeast U.S.

There are many that wanted some kind of new, young coach, up and comer, etc. etc. There just aren't many at all, Addazio would have been the best new coach but he wasn't available. HIring some hot shot out of anywhere but the northeast would have been a terrible mistake, and that would have been Kragthorpian, or Robinsonesque.

Because, what has happened over the years to northeast football though, is that there are so very few people are out there that can really recruit to build programs up here. It's dwindled over the years, as people - the football gusy that actually know the northeast landscape have moved on to places like Iowa, Penn State, Purdue, Notre Dame, Florida, etc., and for many, many years have continually come back to pick the northeast clean and bring players elsewhere, our own guy we've got now did it for years at Syracuse.

We absolutely need to recruit places like Florida, etc, everywhere the big east will play, but we need to get players that are groomed and grow up in the northeast to stay home at a good rate too, not everybody is coming to UConn. WOn't happen, but many of them need to, and they already are.

Pasqualoni fits - the fit is near perfect. The legacy that Pasqualoni and crew need to leave behind, is not wins and losses, although I'm sure they will have more W's and L's before they go, when their tenure is over, waht they need to leave is a line of coaches that can do what they've done, and that's RECRUIT for a northeast football program.

The coaching experience, I guarantee, that every player on this roster has no doubt that these coaches know what the hell they are doing when it comes to x's and o's.

Players just need to make plays. It's a players game.

LOL. Forgive my naivete. I'd take wins and live with the rest of it.

 

[Carl Spackler]

We're 2-4 counselor, in this regime. I will make you a bet for a beer at the first game whenever this regime eventually moves on, that the overall win loss percentage will be well above .500.

It starts tomorrow. And BTW - it's mentioned elsewhere somewhere in this maze of discussions, but there are a few guys that will be over on the other sideline tomorrow that are quite familiar with the Northeast landscape when it comes to recruiting too. I'm pretty sure that it will be Skippy's first time in the Rent, but I'm not sure about Vernon, I think he's been around.

I'm looking forward tomorrow, to a tailgate that won't end up ankle deep in mud, one of the many nice things about afternoon kicks is that it gives the lots time to dry out, and I'm looking forward to going into the stadium and seeing a team play a complete game for 60 minutes barring OT for the first time this season.

We put it all together for 60 and we win. It's taht simple. I am worried about our DB's though. Can't be caught looking into that backfield.

 

[J187Money]

Pasqualoni fits - the fit is near perfect. The legacy that Pasqualoni and crew need to leave behind, is not wins and losses, although I'm sure they will have more W's and L's before they go, when their tenure is over, waht they need to leave is a line of coaches that can do what they've done, and that's RECRUIT for a northeast football program.

You do make a good point, IMHO. I've always thought that no matter how good a coach you had here, that without top flight players at the skill positions you would always struggle to be more than a 30th or so ranked program. I think Edsall did a very good job of squeezing everything out the players he had, and I think he was great at finding diamonds in the rough from a recruiting standpoint.

HOWEVER, I was never sure whether it was Edsall or UCONN or the fact that the program was new at the FCS level that caused us not to be able to attract TOP talent at the skill positions. Many of you thought it was Edsall, I felt that you wouldn't be able to say that definitively until the next guy comes in and gets kids that Edsall couldn't have recruited. The program is not an "easy" sell for a kid with multiple offers from name schools, and to pretend otherwise is silly. If PP can change that, it will be more important than his W/L record THIS year (in what everyone other than the Boneyarders expected to be a 6-6 season) to be sure.

 

[gars44]

I view The hiring of Coach P. as an interim hiring (5-6 years) born out of necessity to get a head coach in place in time to put the finishing touches on recruiting & getting then current verbal committees to honor their commitment. In those terms, Coach P.'s hiring is already a success. When he's ready to retire (or management decides to go in another direction), I'm confident that the new A.D. will have a list of viable candidates to choose from. We may be seeing one tomorrow: former UConn All-American LB Vernon Hargreaves. He's interned at UConn, Miami, East Carolina & currently is on Skippy's staff at USF. He's building a nice resume & there may come a time in the future for UConn to bring him home.

OK, they are verbal "committors" or commitments. but the "committee" would be the program committed to, i.e., Uconn.

And I agree with you about the PP hire. Is is interim, and he's doing a darn good job on a team without a seasoned QB, RB, or any all conference level playmakers at any skill positions. Think about this: our QB and RB would not be a starter at any other team. And we have not a single all conference player at any skill position. People (not Coachcap, but others who criticize PP), try and process that for a minute.

 

[Husky68]

OK, they are verbal "committors" or commitments. but the "committee" would be the program committed to, i.e., Uconn.

And I agree with you about the PP hire. Is is interim, and he's doing a darn good job on a team without a seasoned QB, RB, or any all conference level playmakers at any skill positions. Think about this: our QB and RB would not be a starter at any other team. And we have not a single all conference player at any skill position. People (not Coachcap, but others who criticize PP), try and process that for a minute.

Lot of people agree re talent at QB and RB. That is why the thrill at "35 minute JMac" is a bit much. Question I have is would JMac be the starter at Uconn if had a different coach; is the scheme with two tight ends and tight formation the best way to force the opposing defense out of 8 in the box.

 

[gars44]

And in that regard, I'm disappointed. Randy Edsall (whether I liked him or thought otherwise) did do a nice job of building this program as it grew into a BCS level outfit.

Hmmmmmmmm. Not quite so sure about that. Maybe a very low end BCS level. We struggled with teams like North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forrest (we did get that one win, but after that they took us more seriously), Navy . . . Let's not even go there with OKLA. I think we snuck up on some teams from time to time. We figured out how to beat Pitt and Syracuse. But does anyone think they are BCS level? As in BCS bowl game? There are a lot of programs in an oversized bottom segment of the BCS barrel, if that's what you mean. I mean, we're right up there with Indiana, Illinois, Wake, Duke, ISU - teams we can beat and who still can beat us.

 

[gars44]

In your entire life, have you ever said or written anything that was factually accurate?
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/..._the_passing_of_William_Safire_1929-2009.html

Ouch!

 

[whaler11]

Hmmmmmmmm. Not quite so sure about that. Maybe a very low end BCS level. We struggled with teams like North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forrest (we did get that one win, but after that they took us more seriously), Navy . . . Let's not even go there with OKLA. I think we snuck up on some teams from time to time. We figured out how to beat Pitt and Syracuse. But does anyone think they are BCS level? As in BCS bowl game? There are a lot of programs in an oversized bottom segment of the BCS barrel, if that's what you mean. I mean, we're right up there with Indiana, Illinois, Wake, Duke, ISU - teams we can beat and who still can beat us.

North Carolina was loaded with NFL talent, they played NC State in 2003 as an independent and Wake Forest didn't take them more seriously... they had a much better team from 2006-2009 than at any other point in their history probably.

 

[whaler11]

So if PP doesn't leave behind wins... how could he possibly leave behind a recruiting legacy. Hey look at us, the players are way better - we just don't win games!

 

[J187Money]

So if PP doesn't leave behind wins... how could he possibly leave behind a recruiting legacy. Hey look at us, the players are way better - we just don't win games!

Of course if he is here for 3 years and goes 4-8 each year that will set the program back, both from a perception and recruiting standpoint. I just don't think that his record THIS year is going to kill the program. If he goes 4-8 this year and goes 9-3 next year, this year won't matter. I know some people don't think he could go 9-3 with LSU talent after seeing his product after 6 games, but I'll wait and see.

After all, most people buried the team last year when we were 3-4.

 

[whaler11]

Of course if he is here for 3 years and goes 4-8 each year that will set the program back, both from a perception and recruiting standpoint. I just don't think that his record THIS year is going to kill the program. If he goes 4-8 this year and goes 9-3 next year, this year won't matter. I know some people don't think he could go 9-3 with LSU talent after seeing his product after 6 games, but I'll wait and see.

After all, most people buried the team last year when we were 3-4.

Of course, it's the sum total of his wins and losses that matter not the first year. I was replying to the idea that if he recruits and rolls up a losing record... that recruiting matters.

 

[prankster]

I'm not arguing that our record is impressive. I'm arguing that it is beyond stupid to be talking about cutting P loose after 6 games and that there are some posters here who seek some sort of validation in prematurely declaring him a failure. Even Kragthorpe had a few seasons to become Kragthorpian.

Having double checked the team's record, for accuracy:

Our record says we are 3-4 and 1-1 in conference.

As compares with our record last week?