So much pure gold here right now

[ConnHuskBask]

There are three different items to discuss:

1) Will he be fired. Absolutely not.
2) Should he be fired. Absolutely not.
3) Are we still seeing head scratching moves every single week. Absolutely yes.

I can't tell you how livid I was at seeing them punt the ball on 4th and manageable in the opponents territory again.

I was so angry at the end of the half when they didn't attempt to move the ball for a field goal attempt and then the next drive they throw the ball with 17 seconds to go in the shadow of their own end zone.

How about the passing play on 2nd down before the fg? A run play brings the clock 40 seconds further down and we attempt with what a minute left and they have zero timeouts.

I get he took us to a bowl and we are 2 and 1 so far this season, but man, is it too much to ask for gameday competencey?

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

There are three different items to discuss:

1) Will he be fired. Absolutely not.
2) Should he be fired. Absolutely not.
3) Are we still seeing head scratching moves every single week. Absolutely yes.

I can't tell you how livid I was at seeing them punt the ball on 4th and manageable in the opponents territory again.

I was so angry at the end of the half when they didn't attempt to move the ball for a field goal attempt and then the next drive they throw the ball with 17 seconds to go in the shadow of their own end zone.

How about the passing play on 2nd down before the fg? A run play brings the clock 40 seconds further down and we attempt with what a minute left and they have zero timeouts.

I get he took us to a bowl and we are 2 and 1 so far this season, but man, is it too much to ask for gameday competencey?

This is about where I am right now. Talk of firing him is just stupid. That said, some of the things he does during games leaves me speechless, angry, and makes me want to kick my dog around.

The OL has taken a step back after making progress last year. My fears about certain spots on the OL have been realized through 25% of the season.

I will take another ugly 13-10 win next week.

 

[dwalks93]

Ok, it has been a frustrating season so far. No doubt our football team is underperforming. The offense and the coaching in the first 3 games have left a lot to be desired and I can understand why the UConn nation is grumbling.

IMO, UConn's football season should be considered a huge success if UConn finishes better than .500, makes a bowl, and beats all 3 of the ACC teams. So far UConn is still on track to do this and beating UVa was a big win. Yes UVa was an ugly win, yes UVa was a frustrating win, yes UVa was a win in which UConn seemed to not want to win early on and then tried to give away late... but it was a win none the less.

Bottom line is UConn needs fan support now more than ever. The play as of late may not be helping generate excitement but UConn is 2-1 and has a huge game with a regional ACC rival next week.

I am not sure why HCBD is so afraid to take the game to an opponent or to put a game away when he has the chance. In both the Navy and UVa game the UConn offense had the ball with under 5 minutes and could have won the game on offense. Both times HCBD elected to go ultra-conservative and gave the ball back to the opposing offense. Navy made us pay, UVa came up short. As long as UConn is happy playing to keep it close with uninspired and conservative play calls and allows an opponent a chance to win it at the end, these kind of games will continue. But if UConn wins them then perhaps that is the key goal even if the games are as enjoyable as a root canal.

I don't like the way UConn is playing but they are my team and I cannot quit on them. I just hope we start playing to win...on to Syracuse.

 

[noeynox]

There are three different items to discuss:

1) Will he be fired. Absolutely not.
2) Should he be fired. Absolutely not.
3) Are we still seeing head scratching moves every single week. Absolutely yes.

I can't tell you how livid I was at seeing them punt the ball on 4th and manageable in the opponents territory again.

I was so angry at the end of the half when they didn't attempt to move the ball for a field goal attempt and then the next drive they throw the ball with 17 seconds to go in the shadow of their own end zone.

How about the passing play on 2nd down before the fg? A run play brings the clock 40 seconds further down and we attempt with what a minute left and they have zero timeouts.

I get he took us to a bowl and we are 2 and 1 so far this season, but man, is it too much to ask for gameday competencey?

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Jimdish255]

If you show up to the Rent expecting to see UConn basketball, you're going to leave disappointed. The rest will be content with grind-it-out wins over similarly handicapped teams from the north

No offense but I despise this sort of mentality. It's about coaching, not this North vs South stuff. We're not in Buffalo and play about 10 games per year in decent weather yet we prepare like we're from Alaska. Heck even Buffalo has had great passing numbers in the past! Let's concentrate on not handicapping ourselves and make other defenses take options away by proving they can cover our Wideouts and Tight Ends. Yeah the line is still spotty and the injuries have hurt there, but our problems have zero to do with our geography. Let's prepare for the 10+ games we play in good weather not the 1 or 2 that might be cold or windy.

And when we keep using Coach P as the bar it's as if we've got Stockholm Syndrome. Are we that beaten down as fans?

 

[Waquoit]

Whaler11 is a rational, dispassionate fan.

Isn't "dispassionate fan" an oxymoron?

 

[ctchamps]

Isn't "dispassionate fan" an oxymoron?

No. But a passionate fan who stays loyal to a sad franchise is probably a moron. At least my wife hints at it.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Do you believe that it's the recruiting? I don't. I think that the OLine isn't playing up to what they could be.

So what do I attribute the problem to, you might ask? Well, we haven't had a good run attack since 2011. Coincidentally, it was the same year as the last year that Mike Foley ran the OLine. I'm sure someone will tell me a little anecdote about Cummings coaching Erik Fisher for the 89th time. But my eyes aren't lying...

#whereisFoley

I don't believe we have the level of athlete on the OLine or defensive front 7 (even with a different D)as in the Randy days. Overall team quickness isn't there. Like the RT, he is big but painfully slow. Just my opinion Dan. Don't think the TEs are very good blockers and are inconsistent receivers. I think Williams was a big loss at F or TE just based on what I saw in the Spring game, he seemed to have good hands, a mature player. Ron Johnson is a bit slow for a featured back... Think about that interception in the endzone, Shirreffs knew he was throwing into coverage, knew it, yet he somehow trusted Thomas to come up with the ball. That were it begins and ends only those two. I do believe think the level of fitness is improved from the P era. I think its helped them later in the games. I was hoping to see a higher level of play this year from giving Balis a chance to work his thing but I just cant help thinking that they are not quick enough to get where there suppose to be on the field.

 

[ctchamps]

Did we really need this thread?

After yesterday's game I needed some entertainment.

 

[UConnDan97]

I don't believe we have the level of athlete on the OLine or defensive front 7 (even with a different D)as in the Randy days. Overall team quickness isn't there. Like the RT, he is big but painfully slow. Just my opinion Dan. Don't think the TEs are very good blockers and are inconsistent receivers. I think Williams was a big loss at F or TE just based on what I saw in the Spring game, he seemed to have good hands, a mature player. Ron Johnson is a bit slow for a featured back... Think about that interception in the endzone, Shirreffs knew he was throwing into coverage, knew it, yet he somehow trusted Thomas to come up with the ball. That were it begins and ends only those two. I do believe think the level of fitness is improved from the P era. I think its helped them later in the games. I was hoping to see a higher level of play this year from giving Balis a chance to work his thing but I just cant help thinking that they are not quick enough to get where there suppose to be on the field.

We've had giants on the line before. Mike Ryan and Zach Hurd were gigantic. But 2 years into a well coached position and they were knocking people around all over the place.

Compare those guys to our current roster. Similarly recruited, if not an edge to our current roster. But even in their 3rd year with Cummings, they don't seem to improve.

We can argue about the maximum upside that each player can achieve. But when there is zero improvement from year to year, even as strength and experience of the player increases, you have to assume that the coaching is not taking care of business. It's hard to draw any other conclusion...

 

[UCONN FB]

The Coach's wardrobe at yesterday's game is borderline "fireable offense"!

 

[EJHarrington]

None of which have won a championship.


Stanford is about the best school in the country and it's in.... California.

Houston has a really good team and their median distance from home for their roster is 35 miles.

Boise is impressive but they thrive off players who transfer from and can't qualify at PAC 12 schools.

They have not one a National Championship. but they have won many Division / Conference championships and major bowl games.

 

[tduconn]

Virginia is a terrible football team. I don't think anyone thinks Diaco will be fired right now they just think he sucks as a coach and haven't seen any proof that he learns from his blunders and overly conservative brand of football. . . . . . . .We were a national punchline a week ago, some of the worst coaching you will ever see. 2-1 sounds nice if you didn't watch the games and didn't know how bad Virginia and Maine are and how depleted Navy was.

Exactly! A 2-1 record is deceiving. I'm not excited about this teams performance at all!

Both Navy and Virginia are where we were two years ago........rebuilding mode. Half of the Virginia starting defense were Fr, RFr, or sophomores. 7/11 of their second team defense were Fr, RFr, or sophomores. Between Navy and Virginia, we only score two offensive touch downs.......the other two were the result of a trick play and a fumble return.

UConn's defense is very porous vs. multidimensional offenses. I fear the probable results when we play the better teams in the AAC that do not have problems scoring......Houston, Cincinnatti, Temple, ECU, So. Fla.

I know I'm beating a dead horse, but in only a few cases can you "coach up" FCS or "diamonds in the rough" talent on a consistent basis to a point where they are competitive with the better FBS schools.

I guess there's a reason the recruits are consistently ranked so low and historically preseason team projections are seldom much over 0.500....if that.

 

[champs99and04]

No offense but I despise this sort of mentality. It's about coaching, not this North vs South stuff. We're not in Buffalo and play about 10 games per year in decent weather yet we prepare like we're from Alaska. Heck even Buffalo has had great passing numbers in the past! Let's concentrate on not handicapping ourselves and make other defenses take options away by proving they can cover our Wideouts and Tight Ends. Yeah the line is still spotty and the injuries have hurt there, but our problems have zero to do with our geography. Let's prepare for the 10+ games we play in good weather not the 1 or 2 that might be cold or windy.

And when we keep using Coach P as the bar it's as if we've got Stockholm Syndrome. Are we that beaten down as fans?

My mentality is irrelevant to what happens on the field, that's the point. Nobody is suggesting that the players and coaches should embraced a depressed set of standards because they play for UConn, but policy can't be dictated by aspirations, it has to be dictated by reason. And it is not reasonable - at least not right now - to expect anything more than a program that consistently goes bowling.

I don't like the way the offense looks more than anybody else does, but at the same time, would it be better if we were Syracuse and gave up over 100 points in two games? It's hard to build consistently good units - at a lot of places, if you can get one, that's good enough. It doesn't mean it's impossible to have it all and it doesn't mean we shouldn't try, it's just that, here, a 2-1 start is not grounds for wholesale change no matter how badly you want us to be Ohio State (not saying that's what your position is, just generally speaking).

 

[kemba]

No offense but I despise this sort of mentality. It's about coaching, not this North vs South stuff. We're not in Buffalo and play about 10 games per year in decent weather yet we prepare like we're from Alaska. Heck even Buffalo has had great passing numbers in the past! Let's concentrate on not handicapping ourselves and make other defenses take options away by proving they can cover our Wideouts and Tight Ends. Yeah the line is still spotty and the injuries have hurt there, but our problems have zero to do with our geography. Let's prepare for the 10+ games we play in good weather not the 1 or 2 that might be cold or windy.

And when we keep using Coach P as the bar it's as if we've got Stockholm Syndrome. Are we that beaten down as fans?

It's not about weather its about being able to recruit the type of talent to build a consistently strong passing game.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Isn't "dispassionate fan" an oxymoron?

yeah but 'rabidly dispassionate' straightens it out.

 

[superjohn]

Whaler's expectations, the best UConn can hope to be is like modern day Syracuse, BC and Pitt. To try and strive to be like Boise State, Stanford and a couple others is hubris and never a possibility, to try and strive to be like Penn State is the most absurd thing of all-time. I don't think this way and it pains me to think there are a lot of small-time thinking "Whaler's" out there. If Calhoun thought that way we would still be UMass.

Comparing building a football program to a basketball program. Check.

Misrepresent what I said. Check

All we need now are some references to Geno next and we are home free.

"None of which have won a championship.
Stanford is about the best school in the country and it's in.... California.
Houston has a really good team and their median distance from home for their roster is 35 miles.
Boise is impressive but they thrive off players who transfer from and can't qualify at PAC 12 schools."

Your words. You've quickly gone from annoying contrarian poster to fraudulent poster. I'll dig up your post about how we can only try and be like Syracuse or BC and you laughing at Butch and saying it's impossible to ever be like a Penn State.

 

[Waquoit]

No. But a passionate fan who stays loyal to a sad franchise is probably a moron. At least my wife hints at it.

A passionate fan who stays loyal to a sad franchise is called a fan.

 

[RedStickHusky]

A passionate fan who stays loyal to a sad franchise is called a fan.

he can still be a moron, they're not mutually exclusive propositions.

 

[ctchamps]

We've had giants on the line before. Mike Ryan and Zach Hurd were gigantic. But 2 years into a well coached position and they were knocking people around all over the place.

Compare those guys to our current roster. Similarly recruited, if not an edge to our current roster. But even in their 3rd year with Cummings, they don't seem to improve.

We can argue about the maximum upside that each player can achieve. But when there is zero improvement from year to year, even as strength and experience of the player increases, you have to assume that the coaching is not taking care of business. It's hard to draw any other conclusion...

You must be the only individual who has no ceiling with anything to come to this conclusion.

 

[ctchamps]

I have mixed feelings about all of this.

I guess I'm in the minority but after the loss of the Navy game I was excited about watching the Virginia game. After the win over Virginia I'm dreading the Syracuse game. Glad for the win if it translates to other positives. Otherwise.......

I recognize that JoePa did a lot of good in his life. I also recognize we all make mistakes. But I have a tough time with what went on yesterday at Penn State. I'm a passionate fan, but at what cost do I need to see success?

I do recognize some of these play calling mistakes are purely on the coaches such as the timeout at the end of the Navy game. But I can't understand how any fan can accurately know if the problem with the overall play calling is on the offensive coordinator, the head coach or the limitation of the players in the program.

 

[CTBasketball]

I often wonder where'd we be if Casey never got hurt. I thought he had a bright future. But would Diaco let him air it out..

 

[UConnDan97]

You must be the only individual who has no ceiling with anything to come to this conclusion.

So your argument is that they all hit their collective ceilings in their freshman year??? Fascinating take! Tell me all the other stuff you were the best at when you hit age 18...

 

[Adios]

I'll dig up your post about how we can only try and be like Syracuse or BC and you laughing at Butch and saying it's impossible to ever be like a Penn State.

We're fine with each other. You can't always see emotions via text. He knows my face and so do some others here. His "LOL" was not laughing at me.

Just had to clarify. I am not into message board battles.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I don't believe we have the level of athlete on the OLine or defensive front 7 (even with a different D)as in the Randy days. Overall team quickness isn't there. Like the RT, he is big but painfully slow. Just my opinion Dan. Don't think the TEs are very good blockers and are inconsistent receivers. I think Williams was a big loss at F or TE just based on what I saw in the Spring game, he seemed to have good hands, a mature player. Ron Johnson is a bit slow for a featured back... Think about that interception in the endzone, Shirreffs knew he was throwing into coverage, knew it, yet he somehow trusted Thomas to come up with the ball. That were it begins and ends only those two. I do believe think the level of fitness is improved from the P era. I think its helped them later in the games. I was hoping to see a higher level of play this year from giving Balis a chance to work his thing but I just cant help thinking that they are not quick enough to get where there suppose to be on the field.

If I'm not mistaken, between 2007-2010 or so we played with essentially about 7 or 8 OLineman consistently starting.

Edsall's really struck gold with recruiting those players, several of which rank among the top 5 and 10 players in career starts in the entire history of the program.

We all really got spoiled on how fast those guys were in pulling and trap blocking.

That noted, when you consistently have no pace and urgency in personnel changes and play calling, huddling and getting lined up at scrimmage and are so slow in the play clock, that is a coaching issue. Both in practice and in games.

You play the way you practice.

The D has looked faster since game 1, I think.