So that happened

[mets1090]

EDIT: Watching the Boise St game right now, to quote Clubber Lang when asked for his prediction of the match, "Pain!" We are going to get bitch slapped if we play like we did today!

No doubt Boise is going to move the ball against UConn. Having said that, Colorado State lost 31-17 to a Colorado team that just beat UMass 41-38 so it doesn't look like they're very good.

Hopefully this Hedrick character takes some more hits (guy refuses to slide) and will be banged up next week. I think he might have a concussion to be honest. He got lit up earlier.

 

[CTMike]

Surely, then, the "win is a win" crowd never took any additional pleasure in beating South Carolina or Notre Dame? After all, those were just wins too right, just like barely eeking past Stony Brook today?

 

[whaler11]

No doubt Boise is going to move the ball against UConn. Having said that, Colorado State lost 31-17 to a Colorado team that just beat UMass 41-38 so it doesn't look like they're very good.

Hopefully this Hedrick character takes some more hits (guy refuses to slide) and will be banged up next week. I think he might have a concussion to be honest. He got lit up earlier.

Umm Colorado State beat Colorado.

 

[mets1090]

Umm Colorado State beat Colorado.

oops misread their record. Thought it said 0-1. Regardless, watching the game they don't look very good. Boise should still win pretty easily though so it's all a moot point anyways.

 

[Jimdish255]

Not arguing in any way. Diaco called Whitmer's performance wonderful today - so it's going to be a long time before I believe anything he says.

Didn't hear that but if he said it he was either trying to convince Chandler (sad), UConn fans (insulting) or himself (pathetic). Hope he didn't say that or you just took it out of context.

 

[Jerry27]

Surely, then, the "win is a win" crowd never took any additional pleasure in beating South Carolina or Notre Dame? After all, those were just wins too right, just like barely eeking past Stony Brook today?

How is that even relatable? Those teams were capable of those victories, and many of us expected that level of play because thats where those teams were. THIS team should not have those same expectations IMO becuase they have done nothing that would warrant them. I hate this losing BS but until they show they can elevate their level of play, coaching, schemes etc. my expectation will be that if they can get a win over anyone, I'm throwing a party for the win! (Figuratively) But ultimately right now if they play a competitive game and show consistent improvment and play I will be happy. It just hasn't happened yet and probably won't for some time yet.

 

[Jerry27]

Didn't hear that but if he said it he was either trying to convince Chandler (sad), UConn fans (insulting) or himself (pathetic). Hope he didn't say that or you just took it out of context.

It was out of context, this response was to being asked about his game management, he didn't shy away from pointing out his mistakes either.

 

[Fishy]

Didn't hear that but if he said it he was either trying to convince Chandler (sad), UConn fans (insulting) or himself (pathetic). Hope he didn't say that or you just took it out of context.

It wasn't really any of the three - it's spectacularly out of context on its on. The larger point...

"I thought [Whitmer] managed the game well," Diaco said. "He was communicative. He was engaging. He never got down on himself. I felt like he kept making the right reads. He was orchestrating things really well. Just an inch here or an inch there or inch here, you know?"

Obviously, he is taking a liberty with the measurements, but you get the gist.

 

[Jimdish255]

It was out of context, this response was to being asked about his game management, he didn't shy away from pointing out his mistakes either.

Thanks Jerry. Going back to what our expectations for this year should be I was fairly optimistic that our new coach would elevate the fitness level, energy level and skill levels of a team that did win their last three games last year against teams arguably not weaker than today's opponent. That and the absence of GDL mucking up the offense should certainly have made us better than a team that easily could have lost today's home game.

We are worse than I thought. The offensive line is more of a project than I thought. And any competitive advantage I might have expected due to better schemes, adjustments or gameplan has proven to be wishful thinking on my part. Still I don't think having those expectations was unrealistic, or expecting our coaches to share them or show a little more urgency and concern. Yesterday we saw a couple of flashes of talent but nothing really coming together for an offense that desperately needs to dominate some team in some facet of the game. If not Stony Brook then who? When?

 

[Jimdish255]

It wasn't really any of the three - it's spectacularly out of context on its on. The larger point...

"I thought [Whitmer] managed the game well," Diaco said. "He was communicative. He was engaging. He never got down on himself. I felt like he kept making the right reads. He was orchestrating things really well. Just an inch here or an inch there or inch here, you know?"

Obviously, he is taking a liberty with the measurements, but you get the gist.

I don't think the orchestration was all that great unless he had him confused with the band leader who was outstanding and hit all of his notes in stride.

 

[Jerry27]

Thanks Jerry. Going back to what our expectations for this year should be I was fairly optimistic that our new coach would elevate the fitness level, energy level and skill levels of a team that did win their last three games last year against teams arguably not weaker than today's opponent. That and the absence of GDL mucking up the offense should certainly have made us better than a team that easily could have lost today's home game.

We are worse than I thought. The offensive line is more of a project than I thought. And any competitive advantage I might have expected due to better schemes, adjustments or gameplan has proven to be wishful thinking on my part. Still I don't think having those expectations was unrealistic, or expecting our coaches to share them or show a little more urgency and concern. Yesterday we saw a couple of flashes of talent but nothing really coming together for an offense that desperately needs to dominate some team in some facet of the game. If not Stony Brook then who? When?

I'm with you, I was hopeful as well, and in 5 minutes of game one that all disappeared, these guys are being re-taught, re-trained and learning all new schemes. It's unfortunate that we fell as far as we have but it's going to take a lot of time to get the PP/GDL stink off of this team. So for now I have to find little joys and they may not be victories in the W column is all I'm saying. Who knows, maybe it clicks somewhere this season, hell after 0-9 last year I thought we were going winless so you never know!

 

[whaler11]

It wasn't really any of the three - it's spectacularly out of context on its on. The larger point...

"I thought [Whitmer] managed the game well," Diaco said. "He was communicative. He was engaging. He never got down on himself. I felt like he kept making the right reads. He was orchestrating things really well. Just an inch here or an inch there or inch here, you know?"

Obviously, he is taking a liberty with the measurements, but you get the gist.

I believe that is from the press conference. Not from the conversation with Joe D and Wayne.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

fishy, post: 1055830, member: 38"]It wasn't really any of the three - it's spectacularly out of context on its on. The larger point...

"I thought [Whitmer] managed the game well," Diaco said. "He was communicative. He was engaging. He never got down on himself. I felt like he kept making the right reads. He was orchestrating things really well. Just an inch here or an inch there or inch here, you know?"

Obviously, he is taking a liberty with the measurements, but you get the gist.[/QUOTE]
Basically....he didn't execute..

 

[whaler11]

I've been accused of taking comments out of context. There will be no transcript of the 1080 postgame - but he said what he said on the radio postgame.

 

[huskyblooz]

Positives: Wain, Puyol, we have an excellent marching band, much improved cheerleaders, our nose tackles, an ugly win is better than an ugly loss, Davis, and my kids wanting to know when they're going again.

Negatives: OL, whitmer's footwork, OL,an overrated secondary, TE, the burning of redshirts, OL, that annoying roar, and the fact that we have no verbals from any OL, sunburn, but the worst thing I took away from the game is the feeling we may never win another game...ever.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Uconn is one of the 5-10 worst FBS teams right now. I don't know if the 2001 team was this bad.

I agree with Whaler about the crowd. I paid over $100 all in for 2 tickets to that? I should get a medal.

 

[businesslawyer]

Really shouldn't be believing any thing he says publicly anyway.

OMG. Welcome to Carl is starting to get it Sunday.

 

[businesslawyer]

Thanks Jerry. Going back to what our expectations for this year should be I was fairly optimistic that our new coach would elevate the fitness level, energy level and skill levels of a team that did win their last three games last year against teams arguably not weaker than today's opponent. That and the absence of GDL mucking up the offense should certainly have made us better than a team that easily could have lost today's home game.

We are worse than I thought. The offensive line is more of a project than I thought. And any competitive advantage I might have expected due to better schemes, adjustments or gameplan has proven to be wishful thinking on my part. Still I don't think having those expectations was unrealistic, or expecting our coaches to share them or show a little more urgency and concern. Yesterday we saw a couple of flashes of talent but nothing really coming together for an offense that desperately needs to dominate some team in some facet of the game. If not Stony Brook then who? When?

Our roster isn't good enough. It doesn't matter that P recruited players who were slightly higher rated than players that Edsall recruited. He did not leave HCBD with the roster that he was left (much less the rosters that Edsall should have been being applauded not for recruiting but for building up, training and developing).

Whether our coaching is good enough remains to be seen, but Urban Meyer would not even win the American with the team HCBD has.

 

[businesslawyer]

Thanks Jerry. Going back to what our expectations for this year should be I was fairly optimistic that our new coach would elevate the fitness level, energy level and skill levels of a team that did win their last three games last year against teams arguably not weaker than today's opponent. That and the absence of GDL mucking up the offense should certainly have made us better than a team that easily could have lost today's home game.

We are worse than I thought. The offensive line is more of a project than I thought. And any competitive advantage I might have expected due to better schemes, adjustments or gameplan has proven to be wishful thinking on my part. Still I don't think having those expectations was unrealistic, or expecting our coaches to share them or show a little more urgency and concern. Yesterday we saw a couple of flashes of talent but nothing really coming together for an offense that desperately needs to dominate some team in some facet of the game. If not Stony Brook then who? When?

Our roster isn't good enough. It doesn't matter that P recruited players who were slightly higher rated than players that Edsall recruited. He did not leave HCBD with the roster that he was left (much less the rosters that Edsall should have been being applauded not for recruiting but for building up, training and developing).

Whether our coaching is good enough remains to be seen, but Urban Meyer would not even win the American with the team HCBD has.

 

[businesslawyer]

Uconn is one of the 5-10 worst FBS teams right now. I don't know if the 2001 team was this bad.

I agree with Whaler about the crowd. I paid over $100 all in for 2 tickets to that? I should get a medal.

The combination of the heat/humidity on top of the level of play in the game (both teams) made that the hardest to watch competitive sporting event that I have ever attended. I would have rather been sitting at a B-level little league game watching 6 walks an inning if it was at least a decent weather day.

 

[Uconnalliance]

Our roster isn't good enough. It doesn't matter that P recruited players who were slightly higher rated than players that Edsall recruited. He did not leave HCBD with the roster that he was left (much less the rosters that Edsall should have been being applauded not for recruiting but for building up, training and developing).

Whether our coaching is good enough remains to be seen, but Urban Meyer would not even win the American with the team HCBD has.

Thank you!!!! I think some of the momo's here think it only takes 2 games to rebuild, would love to bottle some of these posts and release them down the road under a thread called" remember when". # rebuilding !

 

[businesslawyer]

Thank you!!!! I think some of the momo's here think it only takes 2 games to rebuild, would love to bottle some of these posts and release them down the road under a thread called" remember when". # rebuilding !

Unfortunately, this. Every team we play works out with weights. Every team we play developes players. If we went three years without doing this at an acceptable level, all HCBD can do is turn that around. You can't ever undo the damage of not having pushed your players forward every minute of every day for those three years.

 

[ctchamps]

Unfortunately, this. Every team we play works out with weights. Every team we play developes players. If we went three years without doing this at an acceptable level, all HCBD can do is turn that around. You can't ever undo the damage of not having pushed your players forward every minute of every day for those three years.

I won't say you can't ever undo the damage but the chances that things could be totally turned around by getting the offseason conditioning to the standard most good programs undertake plus a short period of practice before the season begins was extremely unlikely after such a prolonged period of less than adequate standards.

As an aside and not pertinent to your commentary, there are critiques that are instructional and there are critiques that are judgmental. Some of us consider it a positive thing finding fault with how others perform. There is a fine line when the emphasis of critiquing is meant to help others elevate themselves versus when the emphasis is about elevating ourselves by pointing out the flaws in others. The latter isn't a healthy behavior neither for others and, more importantly, not for ourselves. I guess it wasn't a total aside given that most of your commentary falls within the realm of critiquing that is supportive versus undermining.

 

[ctchamps]

Whaler I have to ask. What exactly should our standards be? The team is bad period. They have been bad for three years. What have you been looking at that would make you expect more? I said it last year when the debate over when to fire the coach was raging here. You can change the coach, but it only solves half of the problem. Getting a win is above where my expectations are right now, most games I hope to just be competitive the way this team plays, but to play like crap and win, against anyone, at this point! I'll take it!

Maybe you need to curb your expectations a bit Diaco isn't the next coming of JC and doesn't walk on water, this team needs time, there are going to be many rough spots ahead so you might want to get used to it quickly. And that's not accepting the performance, that's accepting where we currently are.

This is extremely perceptive imho.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Just by looking at the schedule, does anyone see anymore wins besides Army and SMU?

Yesterday was probably one of the more brutal games I've ever been to given the quality of play, weather and 5:45 wake up my dad and me did to drive up from Jersey. Besides tailgatng with my group, it's honestly become a chore following this program.

I know I'll end up caving and getting the season tickets again, but good luck with next year's schedule with Army, Nova, Tulsa, Tulane..

 

[UConnDan97]

Positives: Wain, Puyol,...

Thank you for bringing these two names up, because I haven't seen them brought up very much (with the exception of getting one of them some work from the right hash during game time). Special teams was actually one of my biggest concerns coming into this season, and I thought that it would be a relatively big negative this year. I am very happy to say that I was wrong in that assumption, and that these two kids are doing a very nice job. Foxx also helped the special teams with a fantastic punt return.

If there's a silver lining from the first two games, I would say that it's our special teams...

 

[businesslawyer]

Just by looking at the schedule, does anyone see anymore wins besides Army and SMU?

Yesterday was probably one of the more brutal games I've ever been to given the quality of play, weather and 5:45 wake up my dad and me did to drive up from Jersey. Besides tailgatng with my group, it's honestly become a chore following this program.

I know I'll end up caving and getting the season tickets again, but good luck with next year's schedule with Army, Nova, Tulsa, Tulane..

If CC is playing when we hit the conference schedule, I think Temple at home should be 4, and the road games at Memphis, Tulane and USF are all winnable. I don't think it's likely we're a 6-6 team (never did), but if CC is healthy I haven't given up on it yet either. If CC is out, it's going to be very, very rough.

 

[junglehusky]

If CC is playing when we hit the conference schedule, I think Temple at home should be 4, and the road games at Memphis, Tulane and USF are all winnable. I don't think it's likely we're a 6-6 team (never did), but if CC is healthy I haven't given up on it yet either. If CC is out, it's going to be very, very rough.

This is very fair. Human nature dictates fans react to every game as a microcosm. I don't mind that, I understand we want the team to start winning ASAP to change the culture and perception around the program (and help UConn's chances in realignment). But to expect the program to pivot from mostly incompetent to a consistent quality team in the first half or even first 2-3 games of the season with a new staff is a little silly*. Sure, there are a few coaches who can have success out of the gate. Usually that's when they inherit a roster with deep talent (or in basketball you can revamp the roster in a much shorter time).

*I count myself among the guilty here. But I will say there's a difference between expectation and hope.

 

[ctchamps]

Not arguing in any way. Diaco called Whitmer's performance wonderful today - so it's going to be a long time before I believe anything he says.

It's a tough balancing act to address the needs of all the parties that any head coach faces. Like it or not, Whitmer may be the only good option available for Diaco given the status of the quarterbacks particularly Casey"s medical status. And it may be that CW's biggest problem is a fragile psyche. Diaco alluded to this in assessing his quarterbacks preseason. A good coach understands that every individual handles things differently. Some of us respond to criticism well and some don't. It's a dangerous perspective to look at the world as just black and white and to insist that others handle situations in the way we handle them.

I would say that after having a George DeLeone Diaco faces an uphill battle in getting many players to believe in themselves. It's imperative to get the players to change more than satisfying the fragile psyche of fans. One doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to realize that Diaco isn't just a rah rah coach. The off season movement of players and insistence of standards demonstrates, in my mind, that he is a tough coach. He doesn't chose to air the negatives in public. His only other choice is not to say anything. That certainly is preferential to some of us and in some situations. However there are negatives with silence. Just observe how people run with controversial situations before details are presented.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I would say that after having a George DeLeone Diaco faces an uphill battle in getting many players to believe in themselves.

BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish every fan of the program had even a minimal understanding of what that miserable excuse for a human being (exactly as he was described to me by someone who is very close to the program) and his best friend/boss had done with their constant berating of all of the players on the team.