Patriots LB Darius Fleming Has Warm Spot For UConn's Bob Diaco | The Boneyard

Patriots LB Darius Fleming Has Warm Spot For UConn's Bob Diaco

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Read below and see what a former Notre Dame player under Diaco has to say about him. It sounds so different from so much I have read on the Boneyard. Hope this helps some who have given up on Diaco so early in the process.
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Fleming was a fifth-round draft pick by the 49ers in 2012, but he missed two seasons because of knee injuries and spent most of this season on the Patriots' practice squad. But he was active in the final five games of the regular season and in both playoffs games, seeing the field as a special teams player.
As he establishes himself in New England, Fleming expects to see his former college coach. Diaco came to Notre Dame in 2010 and Fleming wasn't sure what to make of him.

"As a young player, at first, you're thinking, 'Man, I don't like this style … he practices tough, he makes the defense run so much, he makes us practice like we're in a game,' " Fleming said. "But with him, it's all or nothing. You learn that he just wants you to be the best. When I left, I really appreciated it. You really appreciate him, because that's the kind of player you need to be at this level."

Fleming also learned that Diaco is the same on the field and off.

"He's just different," Fleming said. "He's a different coach, a different person. He's enthusiastic but he's that person every day and that's what I respect about him. Some guys, they try to be some way because they're a coach and outside of coaching they're different. But he's Bob Diaco every single moment of his life."

Fleming said he suspected Diaco would land a head coaching job, but he was just happy he remained at Notre Dame before Fleming left. When they chatted last week, the conversation turned to UConn's season. The Huskies were 2-10 in Diaco's debut season.

"It's early," Fleming said. "I don't think he recruited anyone there. Once those guys buy into what at he's coaching and his style, they'll be fine. It was a tough season, but he knows those guys are starting to believe in what he's coaching. Once that happens, it's going to be a whole different program. … I'm excited to see where it goes."

Fleming, a Chicago native, said he expects to visit Storrs and meet up with Diaco soon. Perhaps he'll be coming off a Super Bowl victory, which is unfathomable for a guy who lost so much time to injuries.

It was encouragement from Diaco that helped Fleming deal with the adversity.

"I owe him so much," Fleming said. "Me and Coach Diaco had a different kind of relationship. He coached the linebackers, I was a linebacker. He's the D-coordinator, I played defense. But we had a relationship off the field, too. We would all go over his house. I know all his kids, his wife, and, I mean, we were family. We continue to be after I left and he left. He's more than a coach to me. I love him."
 
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Just realized that FDNY99 posted the same article earlier today. Sorry for the Double dip!
 

whaler11

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Like 2 people have given up on Diaco. The hair guy and Zoo.

Hell even I have been blaming Pasqualoni for 2014.

He's got a pretty significant test: Villanova ended the season with a better team - if he can make up the difference by Labor Day that would be pretty impressive.

So the next time you want to get passive aggressive - just remember - if he can beat Villanova he would have done an impressive job. That seems pretty fair.
 
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Like 2 people have given up on Diaco. The hair guy and Zoo.

Hell even I have been blaming Pasqualoni for 2014.

He's got a pretty significant test: Villanova ended the season with a better team - if he can make up the difference by Labor Day that would be pretty impressive.

So the next time you want to get passive aggressive - just remember - if he can beat Villanova he would have done an impressive job. That seems pretty fair.

What have you been smokin? 2 people-REALLY?
 
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Ok name the people other than those two that given up on Diaco.

Safe to say a majority of the sentiment has been overly critical towards coach Diaco. Posters have had a free for all of attacks. As testimonies like Darius Fleming's surface, we see how much admiration & respect Diaco has from his players. We see the quality recruits he is bringing in. The wins will start coming, the program will begin to turn around and the nay sayers will be eating their words.
 
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You know who else has a warm spot for Darius Fleming? .... Zach Hurd!!!
That Andre Dixon game-winning OT untouched-touchdown!

Can any of you techies bring that play up?
 

whaler11

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Safe to say a majority of the sentiment has been overly critical towards coach Diaco. Posters have had a free for all of attacks. As testimonies like Darius Fleming's surface, we see how much admiration & respect Diaco has from his players. We see the quality recruits he is bringing in. The wins will start coming, the program will begin to turn around and the nay sayers will be eating their words.

I didn't see any names, so I guess 2 was accurate.

I think the number of posters who have questioned the player's respect of Diaco is zero. If the scoreboard showed respect and admiration instead of points we would have had fun at a bowl game.

I'm sorry that you think legitimate criticism of the job he did in 2014 is 'naysaying'. You might try and separate actual attacks (granting there are some) from legitimate questions on a wide variety of topics.

I judge recruiting after I see how the players pan out - but it is only in lala Husky land where the recruiting class looks good on paper.
 

Stainmaster

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To be fair, I posted a poll asking whether or not Diaco should be fired shortly after the SMU loss. IIRC there were three "yes" votes and many "no"s. (I was disappointed that the third option, "kumbaya", didn't garner more support, but that's another issue...)

Almost the entirety of the board is critical of the job Diaco did last season. That doesn't mean we've given up on him. I still think he has the potential to be a phenomenal football coach. He also has the potential to be a giant pile of cow manure. It's fair for anyone here to argue the merits of each side of that argument, and aside from those few exceptions, nobody's made their final judgement yet.
 
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To be fair, I posted a poll asking whether or not Diaco should be fired shortly after the SMU loss. IIRC there were three "yes" votes and many "no"s. (I was disappointed that the third option, "kumbaya", didn't garner more support, but that's another issue...)

Almost the entirety of the board is critical of the job Diaco did last season. That doesn't mean we've given up on him. I still think he has the potential to be a phenomenal football coach. He also has the potential to be a giant pile of cow manure. It's fair for anyone here to argue the merits of each side of that argument, and aside from those few exceptions, nobody's made their final judgement yet.

The criticism you speak of get's out of hand and creates doubt for the future.
The difference between you and me is that I don't think he has the potential to be a phenomenal coach. I believe he is a phenomenal football coach. Your believing he has the potential to be a giant pile of cow manure speaks volumes. Your cow manure apology got me thinking that the negative chants about Diaco remind me of cowbell and this skit from Saturday night live. You and Whaler just need more cowbell!
 
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Like 2 people have given up on Diaco. The hair guy and Zoo.

Hell even I have been blaming Pasqualoni for 2014.

He's got a pretty significant test: Villanova ended the season with a better team - if he can make up the difference by Labor Day that would be pretty impressive.

So the next time you want to get passive aggressive - just remember - if he can beat Villanova he would have done an impressive job. That seems pretty fair.

Haven't given up on HCBD not by a long shot but to say he came out and failed even modest expectations would be a stretch, he failed even slight expectations let alone the massive ones many on here had before the season. The concerning part for me last year was that the team did not progress over the season on the field. Maybe they did in the locker room maybe they dud in the weight room but not on the field. People have the right to be skeptical. To paraphrase Bill Parcells, you are what your record says you are and HCBD us a 2-10 coach with one of the worst offenses in D1A.
 
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Haven't given up on HCBD not by a long shot but to say he came out and failed even modest expectations would be a stretch, he failed even slight expectations let alone the massive ones many on here had before the season. The concerning part for me last year was that the team did not progress over the season on the field. Maybe they did in the locker room maybe they dud in the weight room but not on the field. People have the right to be skeptical. To paraphrase Bill Parcells, you are what your record says you are and HCBD us a 2-10 coach with one of the worst offenses in D1A.

Our offensive line was probably one of the worst in college football. It's no wonder that Foley was fired. Not saying it was Foley's fault altogether but no question THAT was the #1 problem last year. Cummings has a huge task next year. If we don't solve the offensive line problems going forward, it won't matter who the head coach is.
http://www.csnphilly.com/blog/700-level/offensive-line-most-important-position-football
 

whaler11

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The criticism you speak of get's out of hand and creates doubt for the future.
The difference between you and me is that I don't think he has the potential to be a phenomenal coach. I believe he is a phenomenal football coach. Your believing he has the potential to be a giant pile of cow manure speaks volumes. Your cow manure apology got me thinking that the negative chants about Diaco remind me of cowbell and this skit from Saturday night live. You and Whaler just need more cowbell!


How does criticism create doubt for the future? What?

Should we have ignored Pasqualoni? Just let him go on coaching the program forever because he's a good coach regardless of the results?

I'm not interested in distinctions between good bad or indiferent if the labels have nothing to do with performance.
 
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How does criticism create doubt for the future? What?

Should we have ignored Pasqualoni? Just let him go on coaching the program forever because he's a good coach regardless of the results?

I'm not interested in distinctions between good bad or indiferent if the labels have nothing to do with performance.

If you are married go and tell your wife she looks like she gained some weight today and see where that gets you.

I have no problem with constructive criticism.
Everyone is subject to it and no man is perfect. It's the gang lynch mob mentality that disturbs me.
 

Dooley

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My 2 cents (for what it's worth): I think the majority of the 'Yard has subscribed to the 2014 mulligan theory. Did Diaco make some questionable decisions last year? Absolutely. And the losses to Army and SMU didn't exactly instill confidence with our fanbase that this is turning around.

Diaco inherited a mess. If we forgot about the mess, we were surely reminded of it enough times throughout the year. But that doesn't make it any less true. 20+ scholarship players have left the program in the past 1-2 years. Our best QB made it through 3 quarters of the first game before having to retire. Our OL was horrendous for the first 8 or so weeks of the season (although this unit did appear to show improvement as the season progressed). Years of poor training habits under the PP regime finally came home to roost.

Bottomline - Diaco has gotten a full year mulligan from last year by the majority of our fanbase (I think). But that mulligan is now over. We essentially punted away 2014 for the sake of process. Needless to say, 2015 needs to show improvement in the W/L record. I think it will. One thing that I'm incredibly impressed with is our staff's ability to find talent much sooner than other programs AND (so far) the ability to keep them committed to UCONN even after another dismal season. Even our preferred walk-on group is big and athletic! We need to replenish those 20 or so empty scholarship spots in the program with quality quantity and it looks like the staff is doing just that.

I side with Fleming. This thing is turning around. I don't know when. I hope soon.
 

CTMike

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1) Given enough time, Diaco will do great things here.
2) Last year was terrible.

The two aren't mutually exclusive. I just wonder if he can turn it around fast enough to stay here a while. He hasn't shown signs of it yet.
 

Bonehead

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If we find articles from former players who talk NOT as positively about Diaco as this one does, should we post those as well?

Or would that not be as credible as the positive ones?
 

Bonehead

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I am a 9 handicap - I havent taken a mulligan in 30 years - fyi
 
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My 2 cents (for what it's worth): I think the majority of the 'Yard has subscribed to the 2014 mulligan theory. Did Diaco make some questionable decisions last year? Absolutely. And the losses to Army and SMU didn't exactly instill confidence with our fanbase that this is turning around.

Diaco inherited a mess. If we forgot about the mess, we were surely reminded of it enough times throughout the year. But that doesn't make it any less true. 20+ scholarship players have left the program in the past 1-2 years. Our best QB made it through 3 quarters of the first game before having to retire. Our OL was horrendous for the first 8 or so weeks of the season (although this unit did appear to show improvement as the season progressed). Years of poor training habits under the PP regime finally came home to roost.

Bottomline - Diaco has gotten a full year mulligan from last year by the majority of our fanbase (I think). But that mulligan is now over. We essentially punted away 2014 for the sake of process. Needless to say, 2015 needs to show improvement in the W/L record. I think it will. One thing that I'm incredibly impressed with is our staff's ability to find talent much sooner than other programs AND (so far) the ability to keep them committed to UCONN even after another dismal season. Even our preferred walk-on group is big and athletic! We need to replenish those 20 or so empty scholarship spots in the program with quality quantity and it looks like the staff is doing just that.

I side with Fleming. This thing is turning around. I don't know when. I hope soon.

Well said Dooley! If we had Casey the whole year, things may have been different. Army, USF, Tulane, SMU probably wins and UCONN is .500. If BYU didn't lose Taysom Hill, they would have gone a lot farther. That said Ohio State wins the National championship with a 3rd string QB. Talk about depth! That's invariably the biggest distinguishing factor with the G5. Lack of quality depth.
 
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My 2 cents (for what it's worth): I think the majority of the 'Yard has subscribed to the 2014 mulligan theory. Did Diaco make some questionable decisions last year? Absolutely. And the losses to Army and SMU didn't exactly instill confidence with our fanbase that this is turning around.

Diaco inherited a mess. If we forgot about the mess, we were surely reminded of it enough times throughout the year. But that doesn't make it any less true. 20+ scholarship players have left the program in the past 1-2 years. Our best QB made it through 3 quarters of the first game before having to retire. Our OL was horrendous for the first 8 or so weeks of the season (although this unit did appear to show improvement as the season progressed). Years of poor training habits under the PP regime finally came home to roost.

Bottomline - Diaco has gotten a full year mulligan from last year by the majority of our fanbase (I think). But that mulligan is now over. We essentially punted away 2014 for the sake of process. Needless to say, 2015 needs to show improvement in the W/L record. I think it will. One thing that I'm incredibly impressed with is our staff's ability to find talent much sooner than other programs AND (so far) the ability to keep them committed to UCONN even after another dismal season. Even our preferred walk-on group is big and athletic! We need to replenish those 20 or so empty scholarship spots in the program with quality quantity and it looks like the staff is doing just that.

I side with Fleming. This thing is turning around. I don't know when. I hope soon.

This business with granting him a mulligan for last year is ridiculous. I didn't expect a good season based on the roster and the mess that Diaco inherited. I hold him accountable for last year. And will continue to do so. And there's nothing wrong with that.
 

Dooley

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This business with granting him a mulligan for last year is ridiculous. I didn't expect a good season based on the roster and the mess that Diaco inherited. I hold him accountable for last year. And will continue to do so. And there's nothing wrong with that.

That's your opinion and you're right, nothing wrong with it.

Personally, I don't/can't hold him accountable for our best (and only) D-1 level QB retiring, our OL early season mess, roster attrition from our thin depth charts thanks to 20+ players leaving in the past 1-2 years, and our under-trained upper classmen who are no stronger/bigger than our incoming FR. And there's nothing wrong with that either.

I certainly have had issues with his coaching decisions from last year. The QB carousel, under-utilizing Geremy Davis (our best playmaker) for most the season, playing safeties 15+ yards off the LOS against a triple option offense, the unwillingness to at least attempt to have a balanced offense against a very weak USF defense, etc. But I am willing to write off 2014 as a "practice year" AS LONG as there is significant improvement made to the 2015 record. If we win 5-6 games in 2015, then I'm more comfortable with 2014. If we win 0-4 games in 2015, then more changes will need to be made.
 

RedSoloCup

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Our offensive line was probably one of the worst in college football. It's no wonder that Foley was fired. Not saying it was Foley's fault altogether but no question THAT was the #1 problem last year. Cummings has a huge task next year. If we don't solve the offensive line problems going forward, it won't matter who the head coach is.
http://www.csnphilly.com/blog/700-level/offensive-line-most-important-position-football
What?

Foley was fired for the way the line performed? If that didn't come from he school, then it is what you are saying.

Foley turned the line around in 2013. Foley took guys with no experience in 2014 and improved them as a unit in 2014.

Cummings does have a huge task, that I will agree with.
 
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My 2 cents (for what it's worth): I think the majority of the 'Yard has subscribed to the 2014 mulligan theory. Did Diaco make some questionable decisions last year? Absolutely. And the losses to Army and SMU didn't exactly instill confidence with our fanbase that this is turning around.

Diaco inherited a mess. If we forgot about the mess, we were surely reminded of it enough times throughout the year. But that doesn't make it any less true. 20+ scholarship players have left the program in the past 1-2 years. Our best QB made it through 3 quarters of the first game before having to retire. Our OL was horrendous for the first 8 or so weeks of the season (although this unit did appear to show improvement as the season progressed). Years of poor training habits under the PP regime finally came home to roost.

Bottomline - Diaco has gotten a full year mulligan from last year by the majority of our fanbase (I think). But that mulligan is now over. We essentially punted away 2014 for the sake of process. Needless to say, 2015 needs to show improvement in the W/L record. I think it will. One thing that I'm incredibly impressed with is our staff's ability to find talent much sooner than other programs AND (so far) the ability to keep them committed to UCONN even after another dismal season. Even our preferred walk-on group is big and athletic! We need to replenish those 20 or so empty scholarship spots in the program with quality quantity and it looks like the staff is doing just that.

I side with Fleming. This thing is turning around. I don't know when. I hope soon.

Can't entirely agree with you here - - team looked pretty damn good under TJ, smoked this year's conference champion as I recall...
 

Bonehead

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Well said Dooley! If we had Casey the whole year, things may have been different. Army, USF, Tulane, SMU probably wins and UCONN is .500. If BYU didn't lose Taysom Hill, they would have gone a lot farther. That said Ohio State wins the National championship with a 3rd string QB. Talk about depth! That's invariably the biggest distinguishing factor with the G5. Lack of quality depth.

If we had a different coaching staff things could have been different - all irrelevant.
 
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