Shirreffs Guts alone not enough to win

[RioDog]

Then let's do something about the coaching staff now and not wait.

We're between a rock and hard place there- Bagging the staff mid-3rd season will do more harm than good in the long run. Gotta suffer with these guys at least until the end of the season and probably at least part of a 4th year. My fear is that HCBD will cobble together just enough wins to linger for 2-3 more seasons and keep us solidly ensconced in mediocrity. Combine that with our incredible shrinking revenues and our inability to pay a quality replacement will only complicate the situation. I'm an optimist by nature, and I would love to HCBD become a phenom and bring us to a New Years Day bowl, but I'm really struggling to keep my spirits up about UConn FB. Okay.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

The first rule of the Boneyard Illuminati is that we don't tell the world who's actually in the Boneyard Illuminati...

That's the second rule. I'd tell you the first rule but then I would have to kill you.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

I assume/hope you're right. I was just posing the question. I will say that we've seen plenty of head scratching decisions, like the TO taken at the end of the Navy game, so nothing is out of the realm of possibility.
Given the wide open passes that BS missed yesterday and his happy feet in the pocket, if the other quarterbacks are of lesser quality than him then we are in deep trouble in the upcoming seasons.
You can also make the case that sometimes you make a change for the sake of change, maybe catching lightning in a bottle. The offense isn't clicking as it's currently constituted, so something needs to change. Could be the OC, could be the QB or maybe it's just our philosophy. Something has to change.

Agreed. Terrible philosophy: conservative, grind it out, shrink the game, hope the defense can win it for you. Typical New England, old school. QB isn't a good enough runner OR passer - he locks on to only one receiver. Finally, the talent level on both sides of the ball need to be upgraded.

 

[BlueDogs]

Seriously worried about BS taking many more of those hits. The line and playcalling failed to counter the blitz and he's not quick enough or in some cases too brave to avoid the hit. He deserves an award for toughness but I'd rather see some adjustments made before they have to carry him off the field. Last night was bad.

Yeah, he was beat up badly this week. You just can't keep doing that week in week out. He's living on borrowed time and you can see his legs are moving a lot slower and not crisp in running. Plus, everyone is onto how operate and can tee off on shaky line. Just have to blitz to beat UConn. The Oline coach and Verducci should be shot. Simply using the TEs behind the LBs will slow that stuff right down.

 

[huskymedic]

Simply using the TEs behind the LBs will slow that stuff right down.

Interesting comment by Fuller on that topic:

>>USF exploited UConn’s decision to spread the field with three receivers and often times also sending a tight end on pass routes. Delayed blitzes resulted in Shirreffs being hit hard and hit often and taking a season’s worth of punishment in four quarters of football.<<

There are trade-offs w/ each move. Keep them in to block or send them out and pray that BS makes a quick enough decision where to go w/ ball.

 

[lavuuk153]

BS isn't a world beater, but I'm not surprised in the slightest that he has happy feet. The amount of times he's been hit hard by a defender who wasn't blocked is way too high. QB's who can take this constant pressure and stand tall in the pocket are extremely rare. Hell, Tom Brady looked like crap against the Giants in both Super Bowls because the Giants DLine was in the backfield all game. There is only so much you can expect from an ok college QB under these circumstances. Hopefully he'll learn to trust the OLine as time goes by and they prove they can give him more time.

 

[BlueDogs]

Interesting comment by Fuller on that topic:

>>USF exploited UConn’s decision to spread the field with three receivers and often times also sending a tight end on pass routes. Delayed blitzes resulted in Shirreffs being hit hard and hit often and taking a season’s worth of punishment in four quarters of football.<<

There are trade-offs w/ each move. Keep them in to block or send them out and pray that BS makes a quick enough decision where to go w/ ball.

Yup, they have to be drilling the check down so he can do it in his sleep without even looking.

 

[huskyinfl]

What is amazing is BS never blames anyone. I sat front row right behind our bench and he just comes back to the sideline and is positive trying to figure out what to do next time. Over and over. Never screams about missed blocks or that he is not going to be able to walk in his 30s.
Whitmer gets killed, Casey gets killed, BS getting killed... I am tired of seeing these guys get brutalized for our University.

 

[CL82]

You are already in...

At risk of potential expulsion, note the paws and remember your roman numerals.... I've said too much...

 

[RedStickHusky]

Even if DW is the answer at QB there is nothing on the table this year that is worth giving up his fifth year for (when we should have better talent all around him). The idea that we should "roll him out there and let's see what he's got" is just wrong-headed.

 

[RedStickHusky]

We're between a rock and hard place there- Bagging the staff mid-3rd season will do more harm than good in the long run. Gotta suffer with these guys at least until the end of the season and probably at least part of a 4th year. My fear is that HCBD will cobble together just enough wins to linger for 2-3 more seasons and keep us solidly ensconced in mediocrity. Combine that with our incredible shrinking revenues and our inability to pay a quality replacement will only complicate the situation. I'm an optimist by nature, and I would love to HCBD become a phenom and bring us to a New Years Day bowl, but I'm really struggling to keep my spirits up about UConn FB. Okay.

I don't want to rekindle the old bare-cupboard argument. Let's just say that the extreme nature of the HBCD tear down/rebuild, whether it was necessary or not, is part of the equation here. We're basically growing an offensive line from the ground up. His clock starts ticking in earnest next year when some of his RKG's are juniors.

 

[Olander12Bars]

Seriously worried about BS taking many more of those hits. The line and playcalling failed to counter the blitz and he's not quick enough or in some cases too brave to avoid the hit. He deserves an award for toughness but I'd rather see some adjustments made before they have to carry him off the field. Last night was bad.

It's been frightening the amount of punishment Shirreffs' takes on a weekly basis. He's taken infinitely more damage than Casey Cochran did in his relative short tenure at QB before retiring due to concussions. I just don't want to see BS take 3 seasons of brutal contact at QB and then become a vegetative cripple several years after playing.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Did you all notice when he did that midfield high jump against Cincy, the defenders basically caught him and placed him on the ground.. pretty gently. That could've been ugly. I still think the worst beating I've seen anyone take is when we had a concussed Whitmer catching naked bubble screens.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Did you all notice when he did that midfield high jump against Cincy, the defenders basically caught him and placed him on the ground.. pretty gently. That could've been ugly. I still think the worst beating I've seen anyone take is when we had a concussed Whitmer catching naked bubble screens.

That game against Cincy years ago. What P allowed to happen to Whitmer was criminal. Warde's biggest mistake here was even letting P address the team in the locker room. I would've canned him on the spot.

 

[ktuck911]

Agreed. Terrible philosophy: conservative, grind it out, shrink the game, hope the defense can win it for you. Typical New England, old school. QB isn't a good enough runner OR passer - he locks on to only one receiver. Finally, the talent level on both sides of the ball need to be upgraded.

IMO, so far, I think, Diaco picked the wrong guy for an OC... It was such a hush hush wait and see who he hires situation. Then, when we find out, it, by all accounts, was deflating ( womp, womp womp ) ... And that feeling has yet to go away... Yeah, it's only year 2 , but, at this level of football, ya are what ya are. with that hire, we're not gonna get the recruits that we really really wanted to huskymedic so graciously provides year in and year out on the recruiting board (thanks bro)... Look at this year's list so far.. I'm happy with whoever decided that they want to come here, but... There were guys on that list that could probably come in next year and potentially impact this team right away, IF certain things were in place coaching wise, primarily on offense...

With that said, I still bleed blue... Just frustrating to see that we seem to be right on the cusp, but still the "head scratcher" decisions made are more prevalent than the "glass half full" mindset...

 

[pnow15]

The staff needs to recruit or create a blocking fullback. Someone has to be able to pick up the blitzes. Newsome is just too small and the other guy should stay on the bench. UConn has had a history of blocking fullbacks. This team needs one now.

 

[BlueMAB]

Passing Efficiency | FBS Football Statistics - NCAA.com

In terms of passing efficency, PJ Walker is a worse QB than BS. He has a worse completion percentage, and has thrown over twice as many interceptions. And that's on an offense that picks up over 20 more yards per game on the ground.

And Walker has rushed for -38 yards this season.

I wish BS played better. I hope we find someone better. I also wish the OL would show some consistency, and allow us to protect the QB and run the ball. But BS didn't give up 42 points, and pointing to Walker as a superior QB is shortsighted. Walker is not having a good year. He was better in the past, but he had an incredible defense, and a very good running game to support him. The only place Shirreffs takes a worse beating than the boneyard is on the field.

Comments like "he has zero QB skills" are far beyond fahking stupid.

 

[uconnfn34]

I'm sure we all agree that Shirreffs is an incredibly tough kid and more than deserving of our respect. What's the most frustrating to me this season is all of the wasted low ceiling running plays we've seen. Outside of the Maine game Shirreffs has 97 carries for 136 yards for 1.4 yards a carry. Whether it's a fault of the line, Shirreffs not going through his reads, or the staff for failing to play to our strengths, we can't afford to throw away so many plays, especially with our D nowhere near as suffocating as in years past.

I'd love to see an emphasis the rest of the season on limiting Bryant's rushing attempts by getting more quick hitters to our playmakers and playing up tempo which seems to work for us. It's deflating to watch and dangerous for our QB to keep tucking the ball and running into a pile of defenders. At least with Newsome, Thomas or Mayala having the ball, there's at least a chance of something big happening.

 

[jdb50]

As Joe D said this afternoon "it is never a good thing when your QB has the dirtiest uniform on the team". And that was before half time. I wonder what was said in the film room as the O-line watched the tape from Saturday. No one can question Bryant's toughness. Anyone else want to sign up to throw a few passes for us? Putting the freshman in now would be foolish.

 

[whaler11]

Two random thoughts:

1. Jimmy Serraro as the Boneyard illuminati is hilarious. That would like me being elected Homecoming King.

2. I am getting old and soft. Now that we know Bryant's fiancee is with child I am dreading him taking hits like he did last Saturday.

 

[huskyinfl]

Yeah, these guys have a deathwish. Its like jack@$$ tv show "Im bryant shirreffs and this is the bonecrusher" everytime he takes a snap

 

[UConn66]

What is amazing is BS never blames anyone. I sat front row right behind our bench and he just comes back to the sideline and is positive trying to figure out what to do next time. Over and over. Never screams about missed blocks or that he is not going to be able to walk in his 30s.
Whitmer gets killed, Casey gets killed, BS getting killed... I am tired of seeing these guys get brutalized for our University.

The kid is a class act. Heart of a lion. When he has time, he can be accurate.

 

[UConn66]

I'm sure we all agree that Shirreffs is an incredibly tough kid and more than deserving of our respect. What's the most frustrating to me this season is all of the wasted low ceiling running plays we've seen. Outside of the Maine game Shirreffs has 97 carries for 136 yards for 1.4 yards a carry. Whether it's a fault of the line, Shirreffs not going through his reads, or the staff for failing to play to our strengths, we can't afford to throw away so many plays, especially with our D nowhere near as suffocating as in years past.

I'd love to see an emphasis the rest of the season on limiting Bryant's rushing attempts by getting more quick hitters to our playmakers and playing up tempo which seems to work for us. It's deflating to watch and dangerous for our QB to keep tucking the ball and running into a pile of defenders. At least with Newsome, Thomas or Mayala having the ball, there's at least a chance of something big happening.

Often, he simply has no time.

 

[History Geek]

Often, he simply has no time.

And while he definitely has happy feet, they have been classically conditioned.