Our biggest problem is lack of a pass rush.

[Palatine]

I was watching the Virginia highlights, on many of those plays we had no penetration. Not a singe player crossing the line of scrimmage. We could have been "communicating" with head sets and it wouldn't have mattered. The QB simply waited until the a receiver got open and threw him the ball.

A lot has been written in the press about our secondary. But this problem is bigger the the back five. This is the most passive defensive we have seen in many years. The DL gets stoned. Our blitzes are easily picked up. And the opposing QB feels comfortable and gains confidence.

Chase that QB around a little, knock him down, and the secondary will look a whole lot better. It's hard to throw the ball from the seat of your pants. Both Carrezola and Fatukasi have shown the ability to collapse the pocket. If they can't do it, then our new DC needs to find another a way to -at least- put pressure on the QB.

Yes, the secondary has had problems. No one gets a pass. But the quickest way to solve our defensive problems is to find the quickest way to get to the QB. That will mean we are more susceptible to the long pass. But we gave up long gainers as well at Virginia and, frankly, I would rather die with my boots on then bleed to death by a thousand paper cuts.

That what I will be watching for early in the game Sunday. Are we making the QB uncomfortable? Is there pressure?

 

[uconndogs]

Agree. I don't think we have the horses at LB to make runs in a pass rush. Would love to see what a Sio Moore could do in this defense, but we just don't have that type of talent right now.

 

[Excalibur]

This is the most passive defensive we have seen in many years.

You have a short memory.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Our pass rush is bad, but there's no way that's what's causing our secondary to look as bad as it does. We're watching guys who are so open that there isn't a DB within 15 yards, or WRs streaking downfield and absolutely burning their man. That ain't about pass rush. Still, I obviously agree that a better pass rush would mask those problems, but is this about our LBs or more about our DEs? Our LBs, at least on paper, are the best unit that we have on our defense. Diggs is a legitimate NFL prospect, Joseph is a solid tackler, and Britton has been pretty good so far

 

[noeynox]

Tre Bell has been targeted it seems. I still can't believe John Robinson didn't make the 2 deep. Looked good in spots last year.

Yes our pass rush has looked lackluster, but I'm not seeing a QB with seven seconds moving around. I thought I saw go routes being executed like nothing.

 

[businesslawyer]

The problem with collapsing the pocket -- if you don't do it with three -- is our front seven is so slow that once the QB steps outside the pocket he can literally slowly jog to the side and no one can catch him. like what happened against UCF last year.

You can't overcome lack of defensive speed with scheme. You can only do the best you can until you bring in faster players.

 

[whaler11]

Hmm a relatively coherent post from Palatine. Don't know what to think.

 

[uconndogs]

The problem with collapsing the pocket -- if you don't do it with three -- is our front seven is so slow that once the QB steps outside the pocket he can literally slowly job to the side and no one can catch him. like what happened against UCF last year.

You can't overcome lack of defensive speed with scheme. You can only do the best you can until you bring in faster players.

Yeah, but we do have prototypes.

I've been saying this for the last few years, we simply don't have the speed at LB.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

The problem with collapsing the pocket -- if you don't do it with three -- is our front seven is so slow that once the QB steps outside the pocket he can literally slowly job to the side and no one can catch him. like what happened against UCF last year.

You can't overcome lack of defensive speed with scheme. You can only do the best you can until you bring in faster players.

Wait...I just realized that we haven't seen a "view from..." this year. Or did I miss it?

 

[BlueDogs]

Let's see if we get picked apart by one of the worst teams in FBS. That will be telling.

 

[UConnJim]

Palatine makes valid points, but I have hope that the regression is short term and it has to do with players learning a new scheme and the players not fitting the scheme. That said, it appears that UConn faced 2 pretty good QBs in the first 2 games which is why I think the ECU game will tell us a lot about this year's team.

It's pretty clear that UConn became a passive defense under Diaco, but that is not Crocker's history. Here are some defensive stats:

UConn, the 6 years before Diaco:
Interceptions per game = 1.16
Tackles for loss per game = 6.49
Sacks per game = 2.28

UConn, 3 Years of Diaco:
Interceptions per game = 0.88
Tackles for loss per game = 4.86
Sacks per game = 1.37

Crocker's last 4 years at Villanova:
Interceptions per game = 1.12
Tackles for loss per game = 6.40
Sacks per game = 2.23

UConn in 2017 after 2 games:
Interceptions per game = 0.50
Tackles for loss per game = 3.00
Sacks per game = 1.50

 

[gioff23]

When you barely beat a Patriot League team and get pasted by a middle of the road ACC team, I don't know that I see the value in trying to identify our BIGGEST problem (one could argue we need help in every single facet). this will take time.