Post Spring Game Analysis - Post Here

[ruskin]

My favorite part was when the announcer was introducing the fans to the person that was going to attempt to win the "punt-throw" game for a prize, but the team had taken the field in front of him and he had to stop before he punted....classic...

Don't forget the "rebranding" video that was being played on the screen as the team ran two plays.

Glitches happen. UConn usually does an OK job with "game presentation" (although it's easy when you're doing the same thing over and over again for 10 years). But that whole sequence was not reflective of a smooth well-run operation.

 

[J187Money]

The weather was nice.

The beer was cold.

We didn't run very well.

Passing game has some promise with Whitmer. Cochran. Didn't look good.

McCummings throws a much tighter ball.

26 is fast. Didn't see who that was but he might be able to run a little.

Overall kind of a waste of time. But at 90 minutes not a lot of wasted time.

Still not sure we can run the ball. Or block.

Shak has some promise.

Liked the speed on the double reverse.

Puyol looked good.

LBs looked good.

We caught interceptions.

Probably forgot something but that's what I saw.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

What happened to the TE Shortell? He never return for spring semester?

 

[dsturdy5]

Wait it only lasted 90 minutes?

Glad I didn't take the 2+ hour trip each way.

 

[whaler11]

Wait it only lasted 90 minutes?

Glad I didn't take the 2+ hour trip each way.

It was less than 90 minutes. It was like 12:10-1:20.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Well it sounds like I picked the right year to skip it? Less than 90 minutes? Really?

This football program needs 2 things desperately. A new conference and a new coach. There is an undeniable malaise hovering over the football program right now.

 

[pinchy]

The weather was nice.

The beer was cold.

We didn't run very well.

Passing game has some promise with Whitmer. Cochran. Didn't look good.

McCummings throws a much tighter ball.

26 is fast. Didn't see who that was but he might be able to run a little.

Overall kind of a waste of time. But at 90 minutes not a lot of wasted time.

Still not sure we can run the ball. Or block.

Shak has some promise.

Liked the speed on the double reverse.

Puyol looked good.

LBs looked good.

We caught interceptions.

Probably forgot something but that's what I saw.

I noticed 26 on that sweep also
Roster said 26 was from Hebron CT. I forgot his name

 

[huskymedic]

What happened to the TE Shortell? He never return for spring semester?

Transfered to D2 Emporia State in KS.

 

[huskymedic]

I noticed 26 on that sweep also
Roster said 26 was from Hebron CT. I forgot his name

JR Eric Brainard - walk-on from Plymouth State.

 

[Sean]

I will echo what someone else said that McCummings threw considerably better than I have seen him do in the past. He was clearly the 2nd best QB there. If he can throw like he did today, the wildcat might be SLIGHTLY less ridiculous.

 

[huskymedic]

It was what it was today. Had very low expectations after the mid-week's head's up about injuries and format.

Wide receivers looked good and will benefit from TJ Weist coaching and game planning.

QBs - not much to be gleaned due to format other than I think there may be an opportunity for Boyle or Lagow to press Cochran.

Is offense anemic again or is defense that good again? (Timmy Willman sacks for example).

It was a ok weather day, grabbed a few DDs (w/ Bailey's added @ Rent) an Egg Bomb from Ray and Mikes off i-91 exit 10, a chance to escape "honey-do" list for a while and watch an open practice w/ a shorter ride than campus would have been. Could have been worse.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Medic's and 97's posts tell me more about today than anything.

It was that brutal?

 

[huskymedic]

John Silver's view: Baby steps for offense at Spring Game

>> When offensive coordinator T.J. Weist takes Saturday’s spring game and puts it against the practices that he has had this year he sees improvement. “I am not putting everything into today,” Weist said. “It could have been more exciting today. But, I am not going to pay attention to that. We know we have talent. We’ve got playmakers. Our job is to put it together and put them in position to make plays.”<<

>> Whitmer wasn’t sharp, but he was still dangerous throwing the ball and was comfortable with the performance. What he can’t wait for is the fall when they can actually run the entire thing. to say the Huskies are keeping the offense under wraps is an understatement. Whitmer wouldn’t give a clue of the direction but did say that Weist’s impact on the unit can’t be underestimated. “With a new coordinator it’s a different attitude and different approach,” Whitmer said. “That’s something we need to bring. We were lethargic last year and didn’t have enough energy. That’s the biggest thing he brings in.”<<

 

[Lewconn]

The players who impressed me the most today where – Deshon Foxx at the slot, Tim Willman at DE, and Bobby Puyol kicking. Oh and Richard Levy lifting up my granddaughter high into the air, down on the field after the game… now that was fun... and it was great to chat with one of the hardest workers and most underrated players on this team – our punter Cole Wagner…

 

[MilliniumPrince]

Geremy is the real deal. Phillips can be a star and the defense is rather deep.

No QB controversy at all (based on 90 minutes). Casey throws way too high, but he is very young and that happens.

 

[UConnDan97]

Medic's and 97's posts tell me more about today than anything.

It was that brutal?

I'm trying to take it all in stride, and I realize that it is a free event that is put on for fun and for the fans. But the lack of a lot of little things (both on and off the field) add up to a big thing. It seemed clear to me that the team and the university didn't want to invest a lot of time and effort into this one, with the exception of the new banner in the upper deck with the new logo. The event certainly didn't inspire me to be my normal flowery self today...

 

[huskymedic]

Jim Fuller's view: Defense dominates in UConn spring game

We agree on at least one thing... "When an offensive struggles to run the ball as badly as UConn did on Saturday is that a sign of poor offensive execution or great defense? I guess you could argue that it was a little bit of both."

With only 19 attempts @ running - not sure it was a major part of the game plan anyways.

 

[huskymedic]

... and the Jeff Jacobs dissection:

"We're going to be charitable here: The UConn spring game, more of a controlled scrimmage, was a wee bit shy of SEC standards. Heck, the line at halftime for the women's room at the Alabama spring game may have been longer than the full attendance at the Rent."

Some good offense observations/opinions but little on the defense.

 

[jdb50]

One place where we should be as good or better than last year is at wideout. Whoever found a spot for D Foxx at slot hit on a winner. Davis and Phillips will do well if someone can get them the ball. I wonder if Meyers will be ready to play at TE this year? Horan at TE had a nice play and Sean McQ looked good as well. RB is a real problem. We ran LM wide on one play and he just isn't able to get away from the defense be it short stride length or needs that extra gear. A competent running game will be what this season rides on and we may have to pass first to set up the running game which is the opposite of the Edsall years. On defense we have alot of athletes, Obi and Lee at safety, Floyd as well. I thought McBryde looked a little slow at DE as far as pass rush goes but he's a big dude. Frank lookes better on defense. Stewart is quick and smart at LB. He will make plays and they put him at DE in a pass rush situation. Knappe at DT, this guy has alot of potential, he does hold his own leverage wise and 6' 9" is a weapon knocking down passes. 4 years of him will be a positive.

 

[Jerry27]

Noticed #26 as well, Eric Brainard, kid is fast as hell, saw him in warm ups but thought it was because the other players were moving half effort, not the case at all, got in a couple plays carried the ball around the end with purpose!

 

[Chief00]

Quite frankly, I don't have a lot of football observations and that speaks to the product or presentation or both. The defense would have outscored the offense if a regular game; if you count interception returns and allowed for FG's.

But more to the point the team once again lacked energy, inspiration or whatever......and besides Coach D's playbook that was the problem last year keeping the team from being respectable. Coach P's biggest problem, even more than his blind loyalty to Coach D, is he can't find the hearts of the players and bring them out. That will once again be their downfall, where they won't even achieve their talent level. It is tough to assess talent when it is not inspired.

Coach P was singularly out at mid field taking notes behind the QB. This year he won't have DeLeone as the shield representing all that is wrong.

As for the Univeristy and The Rent - I will just make two anecdotal observations - but they speak to what you could say on a host of basic things - that differentiate between a well run operation and incompetence.

1) I went to the tent to get a program - and they were selling season tickets. I overheard a guy who probably is a newbie fan and unfamiliar with the World most of us season ticket holders know - yet just the guy they need to attract to expand the base. He wanted to buy season tickets but he had an expectation they could tell him where his seat would be - at minimum he would have to drop $460 for 2 tixs and a parking pass (assuming no seat donation). They told him they couldn't tell him where his seat would be since their computer was down. He did not purchase anything and left perplexed.

2) The other observation is a basic one - it has been about 9 years, I believe, at The Rent - and I don't believe the bleachers have ever been cleaned. There is harded embedded dirt in the aluminium grooves. How much would it cost every two years to use some, powerwashers, soap and some cheap labor to give the fans a little better experience. You generally look at your seat before you sit - and that's an impression you get. What other business would have several grooves of dirt line a customers seat. The problem is the decision makers and folks who manage this state investment watch the game from the Suites and are totally disengaged from the experience of the average fan.

 

[uconnbill]

The Good- depth on defense is pretty good. I was worried about the defensive backs and linebackers coming in but feel better about both after today. Vann played well at the Mike even made an INT. He seemed to be around the action the entire scrimmage.
Ty-meer Brown was all over the field in the passing game and had one or two INT's. Showed great moves on the return of one of the ints.
Tim Willman got pressure a couple a few times and had two sacks on the day. He is not the most talented but he works his tail off.

The Bad- Offensive line didn't open up many holes for the running backs today. Pass blocking needs help at the tackle spots. Both first team and second team tackles were beaten today.
Quarterback play was disappointing overall. Chandler Whitmore looked better as the day went on but was still a little better than average at best.

The Ugly- Getting to inside the one yard line and not scoring a touchdown and settling for a field goal. I think that upset more than anything else today. Just shouldn't happen.

Overall I like Foxx, Davis, and Phillips at wide receiver. Who all showed some solid play today. I think this can be the best wide receivers since O'Neill Wilson, Feldesen and Henry in 2003.

I didn't like the format but understood with the number of injuries UCONN had this spring. Wih it was a little longer but gave me my football fix until August, I hope.

 

[Dooley]

Was there this afternoon with my brother and my niece. First of all, I think the players and coaches all do a wonderful job at every spring game. The amount of time that each player takes, posing for pictures and signing autographs for the kids or just talking with fans, is great. I heard a number of players thanking fans for going to the game and for going to games this season.

As for the "game" itself, I have no problem with whatever format they run. For all intents and purposes, it's the last allowed spring practice so I'd rather have the team work on situational stuff than playing a game for show for the fans. Iron out all the kinks...and the offense sure looked like it had some kinks. I hope no team pins us on our 1 yard line because our inability to move the ball 1 foot was troubling. Not even an inch to get a punt off. Between the 20s was vanilla but I expected that. I liked some of the first team production in the red zone but am really concerned with the amount of interceptions our QBs threw today. One INT was off a deflection but the others were all terribly thrown balls or balls thrown into double or triple coverage. No bueno. McCummings also seemed to have a hard time with handling the football...seemed like the ball was on the ground quite a bit in the "2nd half". His passes improved somewhat.

Loved what I saw out of Marquise Vann. He had a pick and should have had another one. Also showed very good speed on the edges. I also feel good about our WR depth. Foxx came away as the guy who impressed me the most on offense and someone who has a real chance of making a Tayvon Austin type of difference when we have the ball. G Davis is G Davis. Shak looked really good in the red zone and made a nice grab in the corner of the end zone on a well placed fade throw. I think our defensive secondary has some skilled speed back there...hope they can gel into a cohesive unit fast given the difficulty of our early season schedule.

I was disappointed in the turnout but I'm always disappointed in crowd turnouts at the Rent so I've grown accustomed to it. The day is completely free and the players/coaches/staff/cheerleaders/Jonathan all do a GREAT job to engage with the fans and kids after the game. Zero reason not to throw your kids in a car and go over to East Hartford for a few hours.

Saw Warde on the field after the game and saw him interacting with some fans. I was going to chat with him if my niece didn't want to play such a spirited game of tag. I really hope that our stadium gets a facelift before the season. We have a 10 year stadium that looks 100. It's a great opportunity to show a few B1G fan bases that we will continue to invest some cash in the program. The facility needs more menu options (Dairy Bar!) and a thorough cleaning/paint job. Would love to see the seating painted Husky blue.

Finally, I really wish that there were more apparel options with the new logo. I came to the stadium with some cash and really wanted to throw down some to start spreading the look of the new logo. I know it's new but it just seems that time and time again UConn misses an opportunity to really promote itself. I wound up buying the one t-shirt option that they had but it's gray (not even school colors) and I won't be able to wear it to any games. Blue. White. UConn colors. Sheesh.

Can't wait for Towson!

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

I try to give the UConn Athletic Department the benefit of the doubt as much as possible, but they certainly didn't make it easy today. I understand the changed format due to injuries, but still, only roughly 90 minutes of football didn't really give us a ton to work with. On a plus note, any time I can find an excuse to drink some beers and eat some meat in a parking lot, I'm not one to complain too much, so.

Also not sure why the program stand was setup so far from the entrance gate. Seems like such a trivial thing to get right. Also, the weather didn't really cooperate -- it was threatening to become a nice day but the wind and persistent cloud cover didn't help.

Some observations:

• Deshon Foxx looks tremendous. Hard to say whether it's poor mid-coverage, but he was finding space and making plays and really looks good out there.
• Both Geremy Davis and Shakim Philips had decent days, though I think they're still struggling to get separation -- or maybe our new CB's are just very good. Hard to say.
• Whitmer looked a little shaky in the beginning but seemed to do better as the scrimmage wore on. Cochran looked incapable of challenging him on the depth chart. McCummings looked much better than we saw him last, but still doesn't appear to be challenging for the starting spot. Though given how many mistakes Whitmer made, I can't say it's a "good" sign.
• No Joe Williams today, but nobody else at RB looked like they were going to challenge McCombs to split carries. DeLorenzo looks to be the backup (though no idea if he's ahead of Williams), but wasn't really getting much space. Same problem as always here: Is the D-line very good or is the O-line very bad? Maybe some of both. McCombs had a few decent runs, but nothing great.
• Defense was holding onto INT's, which is nice, given that we dropped quite a few last year. Think I saw Ty-Meer Brown and Graham Stewart with picks at the very least.
• Couple of disconcerting plays: Whitmer having the ball slapped out of his hands with some pressure, and McCummings fumbled a snap.
• No. 26, the walk-on from Hebron (GO NORTHEAST CT) looked alright, actually. Also Jazzmar Clax took some snaps and looked okay.
• After the top three receivers, there appears to be a significant drop-off. Didn't see too much from John Greene, Dhameer Bradley, or Noel Thomas. However, they had Cochran throwing to them and he was definitely having accuracy issues.
• Puyol nailed a 46-yard kick as well as some shorter ones. Nice to know if Christen has problems, it looks like we have a decent backup solution.

 

[ruskin]

Chief is spot-on with his comments about "finding the hearts", and Bill reminds me one of the biggest buzz-killers Saturday. What possible reason could there have been not to let the offense take a crack at going for for the TD on 4th down at the goal line?