Some thoughts on Illinois game

[uconnbaseball]

1. The freshman receivers stood out to me. They look like solid D-1 players already. I loved their speed, hands, and their ability to run good enough routes to get open when Illinois blitzed.

2. RB, not so much. The run blocking was mediocre, but not THAT bad - we had holes that UConn backs of the past would have gained 10-12 yards that our current crop can only get 4. Mensah is what he is - a plodder - and Thompkins does not look impressive. We need an upgrade here.

3. OL was overmatched vs an excellent DL, but not completely dominated. With a healthy Peart, they should be fine.

4. I liked the playcalling but hate the offensive schemes as a whole. What is our identity? What are we trying to do?

5. Zergiotis was very solid. Imagine if we had a back that could catch or block worth a darn.

6. DL suffocated the run apart from a 50 yard burst. I expected this - Illinois has an abysmal OL that struggled to block even Akron. Uguak is terrific.

7. There was occasional pressure, but only 1 sack vs. the aforementioned OL is disappointing.

8. Morgan is a very nice player - our best transfer by far. Other LB's were invisible. I still have high hopes for Harris though.

9. Still too many open receivers, but there were other plays where we had tight coverage and they just made quality catches. The secondary is less terrible for sure!

10. We have awful special teams, outside of a decent kicker. Just awful - no one can return the ball.

11. Nice crowd!

12. Illinois seems like a 6-6 team to me. They need some more speed and a better OL to compete with the big boys but they're long and athletic. They also tackle well although half this board could tackle our backs.

Considering the lack of senior talent out on the field today (thanks Diaco), I was satisfied. We fought hard and never gave up. If this were a bowl team, we would have won today...but most reasonable people should be happy with 4-8.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Harris and Morgan at linebacker is so much better than what we had last year. Went from the worst position on the team to an undeniable strength.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

here's a thought. it was a fun game, and completely opposite to both the 'expert' line and the loud, killjoy, end-of-the world crowd here. I like how barking, growling, and snarling dogs can open up a can of whoop- on the perpetually miserable. yup. go huskies-change has come!

 

[Uconnalliance]

Bits and pieces I saw kept it close,awesome feeling

 

[ccsuphanner]

That’s true.

 

[whaler11]

for illinois to win 6 games they would have to join the nvc

 

[uconnbill]

Still need more out of the cornerbacks as they were out of position a few times and Wilson needs to make those couple of missed tackles he had today. I liked Paul, and Williams out of the corners today.

Fortt needs to wrap up and not just throw a shoulder when tackling.

The linebackers were very good overall except for the long run

Jones and Jones played very well along the line with Kevin on the outside and Travis on the inside.

The running backs need to do better outside of the one run by Mensah on the goal line touchdown.

The wide receivers are now a solid squad overall and the quarterback looks solid and something to build off of

 

[Yup!]

Still need more out of the cornerbacks as they were out of position a few times and Wilson needs to make those couple of missed tackles he had today. I liked Paul, and Williams out of the corners today.

Fortt needs to wrap up and not just throw a shoulder when tackling.

The linebackers were very good overall except for the long run

Jones and Jones played very well along the line with Kevin on the outside and Travis on the inside.

The running backs need to do better outside of the one run by Mensah on the goal line touchdown.

The wide receivers are now a solid squad overall and the quarterback looks solid and something to build off of

I agree Fortt has to step it up big time, He doesn’t wrap up when tackling and the guy he covers are one step ahead of him most of the time. Wilson needs to do better as well.

 

[huskyrob1]

here's a thought. it was a fun game, and completely opposite to both the 'expert' line and the loud, killjoy, end-of-the world crowd here. I like how barking, growling, and snarling dogs can open up a can of whoop- on the perpetually miserable. yup. go huskies-change has come!

The board should have a separate "like" category so killjoys writing about the death of UConn football, could come forward and admit they were full of s htt, because you just got some of those "likes". Lol

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I hate Edsall's inside handoff plays. They are so slow in developing that even if the defense initially misreads the play, it can always recover. As a rule of thumb, I don't like counters out of the shotgun. Actually, I don't like any runs up the middle out of the shotgun, and I especially don't like a play where the running back sets up 2 yards to the side of the QB, has to come get the ball, and then try to run up the middle. Runs up the middle work a lot better with the QB under center.

And yet, as badly as these inside handoff plays are designed, it seems like Edsall still calls them every fourth play or so.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I hate Edsall's inside handoff plays. They are so slow in developing that even if the defense initially misreads the play, it can always recover. As a rule of thumb, I don't like counters out of the shotgun. Actually, I don't like any runs up the middle out of the shotgun, and I especially don't like a play where the running back sets up 2 yards to the side of the QB, has to come get the ball, and then try to run up the middle. Runs up the middle work a lot better with the QB under center.

And yet, as badly as these inside handoff plays are designed, it seems like Edsall still calls them every fourth play or so.

it drives me crazy that we go out of the shotgun on third and one with the RB lining up 5 yards behind the QB. Turns it into like an 8 yard play when all we need is to push the pile.