Practice is not the be all end all.

[Palatine]

Before Super Bowl 42. David Tyree had one of his worst practices of the season, he was dropping everything.

In the game the caught a TD pass and followed that up with the surreal helmet catch that helped the Giants upset the Patriots.

So while practice will determine the starter versus ISU on Friday, I hope that P uses his often quoted measuring stick - production (or lack thereof).

 

[noeynox]

I know many people want to see Nebrich, but maybe P doesn't want to totally shatter the kids confidence if he KNOWS the kid ain't ready for primetime. Nebrich may have the best tools but P has alluded to or at least the tv announcers have, that he gets rattled in practice. If that is true that maybe why he is sticking jmac.

 

[CTMike]

While I agree, I would say that it can't be ignored, either.

 

[Husky68]

Big difference being WR and making a CATCH and being a QB for some 80 plays. If QB can't get it done in practice then seems really unlikely he will do better in an actual game. None of these guys has really stood out in 6 months of competition, so a bad "current week" of practice isn't a good omen for any of these 3 guys.

 

[Palatine]

If a good week of practice leads to a performance like Mac versus Vandy, maybe he's just a good practice player.

The only way to know what you have is to turn on the lights.

BTW, this isn't really what I'm talking about but it's GREAT!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exOxUAntx8I

 

[HuskyFan16]

sorry, but I am a little confused without a link or anything. are we having a good week of practice or a bad one this week?

 

[HuskyFan16]

also how the hell would we have any idea of this?

 

[MarbleheadHusky]

I know many people want to see Nebrich, but maybe P doesn't want to totally shatter the kids confidence if he KNOWS the kid ain't ready for primetime. Nebrich may have the best tools but P has alluded to or at least the tv announcers have, that he gets rattled in practice. If that is true that maybe why he is sticking jmac.

...and what makes you think that Johnny Mac's confidence isn't shattered after the Vandy game? He will have very little confidence going into Friday Nights game after what I saw at Vandy. If it is "virtually" a tie among the 3, it is time to give Nebrich his start.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Careful, I'm told around here that things that happen in the NFL don't apply to college football.

 

[UCDaveD]

also how the hell would we have any idea of this?

I think this thread came about from Nebrich's quote that he had a few bad practices last week. Of course that leads to some speculation that maybe those practices are why he didn't get much PT last week. So some are saying practice isn't everything, get him in there. I could be way off the mark though.

 

[HuskyFan16]

makes sense i guess, i assumed pal was claiming knowledge of this weeks practice

 

[FrostyNuggets]

Pal must have been a "Game Day" Kenneth Sims fan

 

[CTHUSKY74]

Most coaches place a lot of importance on practice. PP seems to as well. Calhoun always seems to make this an emphasis. In the situation we are in with the QB I think that will definitely determine who might get the start. But if production is not there with the starter, I think we will see the sub for more minutes than were originally planned for him. We just won't know what the plan is and how it has been modified. He could be thinking JMac for the majority of minutes and that works well so he doesn't need to modify. It also could be that JMac gets the start doesn't impress and we see MN for the majority of minutes. It also could be that MN gets the start and that is PP's plan going in. He clearly does not like to tip his hand and given that he has only inexperienced guys to choose from, he may not want to even lay the burden on them that they are starting. I'm sure he was not that thrilled with the revelation by one QB before the first game that he would be getting quite a few minutes even though everyone expected that to be the case. I expect to see a lot of all three QB's in this game and if one plays a lot better, I expect that will help their case to be the starter. But they will still have to perform well in practice following this game to continue to earn their spot. I don't think that just playing well on game day will cut it with the coaches although that will certainly argue for minutes if the other guy struggles in the game. I don't have any inside info but that's the way it always seems to me from the outside looking in.

 

[NutmegState]

There is a distinct adrenaline lift in a game that you don't get in practice. For some that adrenaline makes you do special things, or play better, and for some it's too much to handle and it makes you play worse.

Big time players make big time plays in big time games.

Let Nebrich get into the flow of the game. I'll bet the farm he doesn't go 10/27 for 99 yards.

 

[UCDaveD]

Let Nebrich get into the flow of the game. I'll bet the farm he doesn't go 10/27 for 99 yards.

Completely agree. Some people are just gamers. Give the kid a shot.

 

[CTHUSKY74]

I like that too. I'd go for that if I was making the call. I don't know what Coach will do.

 

[freescooter]

pal clearly knows more than the winningest coach in Big East history. He knew more than Edsall, so he probably knows that because a long time NFL veteran had a bad week of practice but played well in the Superbowl, that applies to a true freshman. Just because he had a bad week of practice, it stands to reason that he will play well...I'm not sure how many more opportunities Pasquolni can give the kid before he either turns the hjob over to him or doesn't. My guess is that on Saturday night he hoped to steal one based on defense and specials aand didn't want to put the kid in on the road, when the offense frankly wasn't playing at a high level and make him win the game. But I don't know for sure. Pal, on the other hand,knows that becasue Tyree made the plays he made, Nebrich would have turned the game around.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Completely agree. Some people are just gamers. Give the kid a shot.

+100

 

[Kgun7]

Pal - It all depends on what you think practice is for.

If you think practice means working on your catching skills on the week leading up to the Super Bowl, then you may be right.

If you think practice means making the proper reads, recognizing the formations, adjustments, and disguises, then executing, then you are wrong.

Watch Brady's 99 yard TD pass to Welker ... but this time, focus on the 10 things that Brady does before he throws the ball. That's what practice is for.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgNfs-dH_Yg&feature=related

 

[noeynox]

...and what makes you think that Johnny Mac's confidence isn't shattered after the Vandy game? He will have very little confidence going into Friday Nights game after what I saw at Vandy. If it is "virtually" a tie among the 3, it is time to give Nebrich his start.

It may be, but generally speaking coaches don't throw true freshman into the fire if they don't think he is ready, for fear of ruining him for good. With JMcAntee, I think they were hoping to catch lighting in a bottle. I too would like to see Nebrich, but if were not seeing him yet, given what we just saw from Mac, against Vandy, then I have to assume the coaches, P, Deleone, and Moorehead don't think he is ready.

I would love it if they start Nebrich against Iowa State. I don't think you can blitz him all day like you can Mac because he will burn you with his legs. The blue print for Mac is out. Blitz the living daylights out of him. Make him prove he will beat you if you do. Until he proves he can, I would send the house at UConn every down. Play the run on your way to the QB.

 

[freescooter]

Pal - It all depends on what you think practice is for.

If you think practice means working on your catching skills on the week leading up to the Super Bowl, then you may be right.

If you think practice means making the proper reads, recognizing the formations, adjustments, and disguises, then executing, then you are wrong.

Watch Brady's 99 yard TD pass to Welker ... but this time, focus on the 10 things that Brady does before he throws the ball. That's what practice is for.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgNfs-dH_Yg&feature=related

Exactly...and that is what can get lost when you have these silly "competitions" that go on too long.

 

[Husky68]

It may be, but generally speaking coaches don't throw true freshman into the fire if they don't think he is ready, for fear of ruining him for good. With JMcAntee, I think they were hoping to catch lighting in a bottle. I too would like to see Nebrich, but if were not seeing him yet, given what we just saw from Mac, against Vandy, then I have to assume the coaches, P, Deleone, and Moorehead don't think he is ready.

I would love it if they start Nebrich against Iowa State. I don't think you can blitz him all day like you can Mac because he will burn you with his legs. The blue print for Mac is out. Blitz the living daylights out of him. Make him prove he will beat you if you do. Until he proves he can, I would send the house at UConn every down. Play the run on your way to the QB.

Shouldn't Uconn have an offensive strategy to counter pressure. Seems teams use play action, roll pocket, screen passes, quick passes to vacant spots; not like Uconn has to invent schemes to counter pressure, just call the plays and do it. Teams win games with QB's that aren't agile runners, if JMac is the guy and Uconn has such a big playbook, use it.

 

[noeynox]

Shouldn't Uconn have an offensive strategy to counter pressure. Seems teams use play action, roll pocket, screen passes, quick passes to vacant spots; not like Uconn has to invent schemes to counter pressure, just call the plays and do it. Teams win games with QB's that aren't agile runners, if JMac is the guy and Uconn has such a big playbook, use it.

First thing JMac has to show when he is being blitzed like he was is to show he will keep his composure. Play action is great, but McCombs goes down so easy, I doubt you will scare teams with him back there. This Friday night will show a lot. Less agile QBs usually complete near 60 percent of their passes, 10-27 is a far cry from that, though he had some awful drops but even worse were a few occasions where it seemed receivers stopped running their routes. Being at home will help I'm sure. I hope the Vandy game was aberration and not a sign of things to come. I believe it was.

 

[businesslawyer]

Before Super Bowl 42. David Tyree had one of his worst practices of the season, he was dropping everything.

In the game the caught a TD pass and followed that up with the surreal helmet catch that helped the Giants upset the Patriots.

So while practice will determine the starter versus ISU on Friday, I hope that P uses his often quoted measuring stick - production (or lack thereof).

Irrelevant statement of a truism that adds nothing to the debate about who should start on Friday night. No, practice is not the be all and end all. The be all and end all if what happens on the field during games.

Having said that, coaches have to project what is likely to happen on the field during games to make decisions on play calling and personnel, and it should be obvious that practice is an incredibly important component of making those projections in a rational manner so that you can make decisions. Bottom line -- if you think that a player will do much better in games than practice you give him a shot, but how he does in practice is a key part of making that decision.

 

[Kgun7]

Shouldn't Uconn have an offensive strategy to counter pressure. Seems teams use play action, roll pocket, screen passes, quick passes to vacant spots; not like Uconn has to invent schemes to counter pressure, just call the plays and do it. Teams win games with QB's that aren't agile runners, if JMac is the guy and Uconn has such a big playbook, use it.

It's all in the playbook ... but you can't just call play action if the defense isn't ripe for it. Just got to make the right call, adjustment, audible, ... at the right time.