Pasqualoni Watch

[tduconn]

Boy oh boy.....I wonder where the basketball program would be if we dumped Calhoun after his first four games, or first season. And its a lot easier to get a spark to a BB program than a FB program. You're talking about meshing any five athletes to work cohesively at a given time in BB as opposed to 22 + in football.

PP was did not leave UC with a lot of talent. Ten years into the program he was still signing a number of players few others offered. With the lack of talent.....and experience on this team......we'd have the same record with RE....or worse.

No experience at QB......the OL is not performing too well because it lost two starters.......and will loose two more next year......it all starts there. No time to throw.....can't open holes consistently.....I don't think I can remember an o-line performing being so pourous.

What BCS school in the BE has not had problems when you have to replace QB's, offensive linemen, receivers, etc. And that is talking just on the offensive side.

PP is recruiting what some experts may suggest is one of UC's best ranked classes. He's is trying to develop an offense and defense that provides more excitement than high school football. The players are not there for it to work perfectly. Doesn't mean he should wait until they are.....I'm all for an upgrade in talent and performance and see the jar as half full as opposed to half empty. A couple of years from now I may alter my opinion of PP.......but right now I'll use the same phrase Rocky Balboa used as an uder talented fighter facing tougher competition "Go for it!" Rocky lost his first fight......but won the battle.

PP.......Go for it !!!!!!!

 

[UC990411]

To Compare PP to Calhoun is wrong on so many levels

 

[metsfan2323]

To Compare PP to Calhoun is wrong on so many levels

He didn't compare P to Calhoun, his very valid point was that Calhoun's record in his first year at UCONN was 9-19, and if there were message boards back then there certainly would have been people calling for him to be fired.

Maybe someday we will compare Casey Cochran to Chris Smith.

 

[whaler11]

I don't think anyone has called for the coach to be fired.

If at the end of the year the team is 3-9 and is still a disorganized mess... BL is right, it won't happen - but that is potentially just compounding mistakes.

 

[ctchamps]

He didn't compare P to Calhoun, his very valid point was that Calhoun's record in his first year at UCONN was 9-19, and if there were message boards back then there certainly would have been people calling for him to be fired.

Maybe someday we will compare Casey Cochran to Chris Smith.

JC went through his share of fan outrage. Even as he climbed the ladder of success he was criticized as the coach who couldn't recruit big men. UConn was nicknamed the donut team. Then as he got his teams into the NCAA and they did well he was attacked for not being able to get into the final four.

Even after 2 NC's there were a number of fans who felt JC was all through after the 2010 season and that he couldn't recruit any longer. It didn't matter that UConn went to the Final Four in 2009.

Every team and every sport is filled with fans who fit the category of "what have you done for me lately".
I don't know if UConn has a 3 quaterback problem. Maybe like every team it has a Monday morning quaterback problem.

 

[tower1]

I get tired of hearing about this team has no talent. I think Deleone has regressed our offense. This is the same garbage Randy ran. And Coach Pasqualoni seems to be as stubborn as Edsall. We just beat Buffalo 17-3 and he thought it was a great improvement. I know there have been alot of mistakes by the players but the coaching has been a joke. Wish he had been stuck in the elevator for the duration of the game.

 

[businesslawyer]

Rule one of criticizing someone is to do so coherently. By definition, you can't "regress our offense" by running "the same garbage Randy ran." If you are doing the same thing you are not regressing.

 

[UCHuskies08]

Rule one of criticizing someone is to do so coherently. By definition, you can't "regress our offense" by running "the same garbage Randy ran." If you are doing the same thing you are not regressing.

LOL, oh man. This board is good for some unintentional laughs at least.

 

[BlueMAB]

He didn't compare P to Calhoun, his very valid point was that Calhoun's record in his first year at UCONN was 9-19, and if there were message boards back then there certainly would have been people calling for him to be fired.

I agree with BL (and you, maybe) that this whole discussion is stupid, but I have to ask...

When Calhoun was hired at UConn, was he the winningest coach in the history of Big East?

If you want to compare Calhoun to a UConn football coach compare him to Edsall. Circumstances around the programs were similar when they both started. Pasqualoni is the winningest Big East coach who is inheriting a team that has won recent conference championships. There's no comparison to what Calhoun took over in 1986 and what Coach P took over in 2011. None.

Before someone puts words in my mouth, Edsall is a good (not great) college coach. Calhoun is a hall of famer. I'm not comparing their performance or ability, just the state of the programs they took over on day 1 at UConn.

 

[Atross]

Should have hire that guy from Arkansas (McGee?). An offensive cach with connections in the South where football is king. If Coach P was hired to to make CT High School coaches happy then it's a terrible decision. If anything was learned from the Fiesta Bowl today's football is high octane and Uconn is still running on regular.

 

[ZooCougar]

I am biting my tongue bigtime with Coach P. I agree it's impossible to "regress" our offense. We were kind of at rock bottom from the getgo.

Scoring on 35 on a I-AA with barely enough scholarship players to give us credit for an actual win was the warning signal for me that this team was alot like the 2005 team.

I am just hoping that Johnny Mac can grow and improve. Lastly, football season is too short. Enjoy it while you have it.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

I'm not a huge Coach P fan, and there are definitely things to criticize, but I'm not sure who could've turned this team into a Top 25 team this year with all of the problems we have. Between O-line, no good RB, no good QB, decent but not great WR's, a great D, and an entirely new system... I mean... I know people expect miracles, and we've gotten pretty used to winning at UConn, but our football program isn't exactly storied and it's going to take time (and some up and down years) to get there.

I mean, how do you think Texas fans felt about last year? And they're supposed to win.

 

[Waquoit]

Rule one of criticizing someone is to do so coherently. By definition, you can't "regress our offense" by running "the same garbage Randy ran." If you are doing the same thing you are not regressing.

Not just that, the premise is entirely inaccurate. This offense produces open recievers left and right. We just don't have a QB to take advantage of it.

 

[21Huskies]

every other coach was the 'right choice' because they aren't here and they are the unknown. its the same reason why, to some, Nebrich is our qb savior, because he's played the least. fans always think freshman are better than they are, rookies in the pros are going to be their saviors, other coaches are better than ours.

i don't like getting into the habit of worrying about things that aren't in our control, P is our coach for now and Mac is our qb. We need to show progression from week to week. If we don't see progression after a couple full seasons, either on the field or drastically improved recruiting, than i'll start to worry about P as a coach. but after 4 weeks, all of which we were in the games, i'm not ready to fire him... even tho, i admittedly am not optimistic about him but most of that is because i despise his negativity on the sidelines... he just doesn't look the part of a leader.

 

[cryjeremiah]

What is this? An Oakland Raiders forum? Be honest. Are you actually Al Davis?

 

[Excalibur]

Uh yes. I don't want to be Indiana. Or Oregon St. Or wazzu. Or Rutgers. Or Illinois. Or, well you get the picture

By that logic, you should be banned from the forum given how much your first 4 posts sucked . . .

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Edit - ok that may not have come out right

On the other hand, at least the pattern is consistent.

 

[Waquoit]

He didn't compare P to Calhoun, his very valid point was that Calhoun's record in his first year at UCONN was 9-19, and if there were message boards back then there certainly would have been people calling for him to be fired.

Don't think so. Calhoun did an awesome job that year. The best 2 players on the team flunked off. He recruited guys from the soccer and football team to fill out the roster and still beat BCU.

 

[Husky68]

How does Randy win a BE championship with Zach Frazer at the helm? he ran a disciplined team who for the most part "executed". Yep there is that word. He identified the teams strength and stuck with it.

He was not without faults. IF you go to the Rutgers game thread from last year, I was livid at the lack of blitzing on a true frosh for Rutgers. And his lack of ability at recruiting a BCS caliber qb since Dan O left was frustrating beyond belief. But he was a terrific talent evaluator who snagged some great players for UCONN.

I absolutely stand by my statement that we would be undefeated if he was still the coach.

With that said, we need to give Coach P some slack here. It's the 4th game, and although he made some horrible decisions (continuing to throw v. Vandy; TO at end of Iowa State game so they could throw a 1 yard out), it is still too early to call for his job.

If HCRE was here, Box would be the QB and the team would be no better than 2-2.

 

[mattp]

Should have hire that guy from Arkansas (McGee?). An offensive cach with connections in the South where football is king. If Coach P was hired to to make CT High School coaches happy then it's a terrible decision. If anything was learned from the Fiesta Bowl today's football is high octane and Uconn is still running on regular.

what makes you think McGee's offense would look any different? he'd still have the same QB options and the same players. how can you complain about P's recruits when not a single one of them has enrolled at UConn? it's a little early to grade Pasqualoni.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Not just that, the premise is entirely inaccurate. This offense produces open recievers left and right. We just don't have a QB to take advantage of it.

Thank you. McEntee is getting closer, and has talent that they are doing the best they can to maximize. He let some hair raisers for me fly on Saturday. I think one of them hit a Buffalo player in the chest. But he got the job done, and he moved a lot better on Saturday. As Iv'e said before, when this kid gets a rhythm and can get himself set and throw, he's got a live ball that can get anywhere, but if he's got to get on a move and cant' get a rhythm step back, set and throw, he loses a lot. I think he overthrew a wide open Griffin one play where he had to reset.

Nebrich has issues to fix with his mechanics as a freshman. He is still overthrowing. He's accurate, meaning his throws are on target, on the right line and in the area, but from what I can see in games, but coming in high heat. His throw across the middle to Davis I think? Right on target, but high heat. and the receiver had trouble going up to get it and lost it off his hands.

They showed his footwork on the replay on espn3. You can go find it. I'm not linking, it's in the second quarter, around 12 minutes I think. He's got real long stride and his body gets low like a baseball pitcher. Got to shorten the stride and stay upright to change the release point on the ball. Practice practice practice.

The kid added a whole bunch of muscle and grew a little bit I think coming in, I think he's just in the process of adjusting to his body. As said before, I would have loved to redshirt this kid to give him time to grow and learn, but we don't have that luxury this year.

 

[Carl Spackler]

every other coach was the 'right choice' because they aren't here and they are the unknown. its the same reason why, to some, Nebrich is our qb savior, because he's played the least. fans always think freshman are better than they are, rookies in the pros are going to be their saviors, other coaches are better than ours.

i don't like getting into the habit of worrying about things that aren't in our control, P is our coach for now and Mac is our qb. We need to show progression from week to week. If we don't see progression after a couple full seasons, either on the field or drastically improved recruiting, than i'll start to worry about P as a coach. but after 4 weeks, all of which we were in the games, i'm not ready to fire him... even tho, i admittedly am not optimistic about him but most of that is because i despise his negativity on the sidelines... he just doesn't look the part of a leader.

You've never been close to this guy on the sidelines. Clearly. If that's the impression you get, that the guy is a negative and not a leader? ok. Everybody sees things differently, but it's not reality.

As for the rest. Improved recruiting? Check. Progression on the field? Through 4 games? Check.

I also agree, that for many, many fans - of any sport - the best things out there for your team, are the things you don't have or can't see. Nothing wrong with caring about your team and wanting perfection.

 

[Carl Spackler]

One more thing on Nebrich. Since I said I wouldn't talk football anymore without film after the Vandy game. I really like this kid, and it probably kills him that he's not getting more playing time, but they're bringing him along under live fire, and there's no substitute for that. I did watch a high school clip on the kid.

Just watch, please - pay attention, because when you see this high school clip, and pay attention to what I'm talking about and then see the throw against buffalo that missed Davis - you'll know exactly what Nebrich needs to work on. If he getst he hips rotated, he can overcome the big stride. And that's key. Need to be consistent with the stride and shorten it. When he's got pressure on him and he's moving the feet like a boxer, or if he's getting the ball 0ut really fast, (4:12) the ball comes out tight and hits the receiver b/w the numbers. Or when he gets pressure and has to move and reset (1:33) , the stride is tight when he throws and he hits the receiver in the chest. But when he gets a straight drop or whenever he takes that long stride to make a big throw, that's got to get fixed, he nearly overthrows a wide open kid out the back of the endzone at 3:13. You can see the high arc and no hip rotation, and that's the key is the hip rotation. With the big leg kick and stride with the front foot. Hips wont' get rotated enough and the ball will come out high.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-HVO9RiRg4

If he gets that fixed and consistent he's a dangerous QB.

Here's the espn3.com from saturday.

http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/source/espn3/#type/replay/

Nebrich's series in the 2nd starts at 00:45:00 on the recroding.

just watch. at 00:47:00 or so is the pass I'm talking about to Davis, and the announcer breaks it down on the broadcast, as well. Nebrich takes the long stride and throws with what I call the hips wide open. His torso, hips are much slower than his upper body and at the release point, he's lower body is basically facing the far side line, rather than rotated perpendicular to where he wants that ball to go at the release point, and the hips come around after the ball is out. he's got the arm strength and upper body to keep it on target, but it comes in high.

At 00:47:49 or so, the next play, he throws a sideline pattern to his left, and the only way he's getting that ball there, is he completely gets his hips rotated perpendicular at the release point. Hits the receiver in the chest. Unfortunately, we were in an illegal formation and the play got called back.

Easily fixed, practice practice practice. Nothing like seeing it on game film.

(fyi - same thing on the overthrow @ vandy from nebrich, and on the ball deep off the play action to the goal line against ISU)

Just need to work on being consistent with a shorter stride length and rotate the hips faster and this kid will be an offensive weapon. Takes time and practice though.

 

[rich1122]

Wasted band width here.

 

[jpm25]

I'm not sure what an honest appraisal of the coaching staff has to do with being in a foxhole. It seems crazy to think it, but this may be a one year administration.

just like all of your other dreams coming true, Whaler.