Spanos is a good guy but he makes a lot of dumb decisions.

[Palatine]

He does get kudos for bringing in a real offensive coach. And his team plays harder than we saw under Edsall.

But his game decisions are out there.

 

[Block C]

He does get kudos for bringing in a real offensive coach. And his team plays harder than we saw under Edsall.

But his game decisions are out there.

If it is wasn’t for his game decisions we could of beat Wyoming and Vanderbilt

 

[JMick]

he still outcoached wyoming and vanderbilt. their coaches were terrible. we just didn't make the plays, unfortunately.

 

[superjohn]

He's a million times better than Edsall and I thank him for playing our most talented players and making UConn football watchable again. I'll root for him wherever he ends up.

 

[BapeKidd88]

Got greedy and didn't kick the FG.

Instead tried to get the 1st down and got stuffed.

That FG changed the game. UConn kept chasing those points.

 

[Kemba429]

Got greedy and didn't kick the FG.

Instead tried to get the 1st down and got stuffed.

That FG changed the game. UConn kept chasing those points.

Yeah, that one was a head scratcher to me. Joe missed that chip shot but I think that was a 4th and what like 6? 100% changed momentum of the game.

 

[Huskygamble19]

'McFadden was injured on that 22 yard field goal. they weren't greedy, they were shorthanded.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

I am still thrilled with Spanos. Look how far UConn has come and how they continue to fight for wins. I don't think you can blame the injuries on Spanos.

 

[CTMike]

Spanos didn’t commit the dozens of dumb penalties and dropped passes.

 

[BugsyCT]

All things considered, I think Spanos has done a great job with this team. Program is finally showing signs of life again. At least he’s playing players that give us the best chance to win.

 

[LBird33]

Spanos didn’t commit the dozens of dumb penalties and dropped passes.

I lost count on the number of false starts they had

 

[Chin Diesel]

I lost count on the number of false starts they had

I'd like to know the breakdown between false starts with Fortin and false starts with Walker snapping the ball.

Whole line jumped on 2 point conversion because Walker had snap count wrong.

 

[Alum86]

'McFadden was injured on that 22 yard field goal. they weren't greedy, they were shorthanded.

Was he?

 

[Huskygrad88]

Yeah, that one was a head scratcher to me. Joe missed that chip shot but I think that was a 4th and what like 6? 100% changed momentum of the game.

If we are talking about the same play, it was 4th and 1. The exact play everyone has complained for years that we did NOT go for it.

 

[CL82]

If we are talking about the same play, it was 4th and 1. The exact play everyone has complained for years that we did NOT go for it.

That play should be automatic if you have a competent offensive line. We don’t.

 

[History Geek]

If we are talking about the same play, it was 4th and 1. The exact play everyone has complained for years that we did NOT go for it.

In the moment if I were the head coach I go for it.

 

[uconnyankee]

Got greedy and didn't kick the FG.

Instead tried to get the 1st down and got stuffed.

That FG changed the game. UConn kept chasing those points.

This line of comments just seems off.
The team is a complete 180 from RE’s last game. Took a bit as some said it was only the 2nd and 3rd string Army players that made this team look better.
now, two competitive games later, it’s obvious something positive is happening. It’s no longer debatable.
Key players down, team still rallies and almost wins. Really comes down to silly penalty on kickoff and not getting key stop.
But we have people with critical eye on coach and his play calling.
Do we not remember the fake, fake FG’s or unwillingness to return punts?
my loyalty to Spanos is about as strong as his employment is with UConn. But can we just give guy credit and let the process work before we start questioning his abilities.
In the last 6 years how many close games have we seen? I’ll take these two games against VU and Wyoming vs the 42-3 blowouts from past two coaches. This team, and coaches are learning. It doesn’t happen in one or two weeks.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

This line of comments just seems off.
The team is a complete 180 from RE’s last game. Took a bit as some said it was only the 2nd and 3rd string Army players that made this team look better.
now, two competitive games later, it’s obvious something positive is happening. It’s no longer debatable.
Key players down, team still rallies and almost wins. Really comes down to silly penalty on kickoff and not getting key stop.
But we have people with critical eye on coach and his play calling.
Do we not remember the fake, fake FG’s or unwillingness to return punts?
my loyalty to Spanos is about as strong as his employment is with UConn. But can we just give guy credit and let the process work before we start questioning his abilities.
In the last 6 years how many close games have we seen? I’ll take these two games against VU and Wyoming vs the 42-3 blowouts from past two coaches. This team, and coaches are learning. It doesn’t happen in one or two weeks.

Agreed 100%

 

[uchusky32]

Agree. Decision not to kick field goal. Guy has been money. Hooked one oh well. It wasn't like it was 4 and 1.

But all through offensive line penalties. Offensive line blown assignments. Drops/missed opportunities.

 

[BugsyCT]

Agree. Decision not to kick field goal. Guy has been money. Hooked one oh well. It wasn't like it was 4 and 1.

But all through offensive line penalties. Offensive line blown assignments. Drops/missed opportunities.

Again, it looked like McFadden hurt his hammie on the previous chip shot miss. Otherwise they probably would have kicked the FG.

 

[Jimdish255]

In the moment if I were the head coach I go for it.

You're Fired!

 

[Jimdish255]

Again, it looked like McFadden hurt his hammie on the previous chip shot miss. Otherwise they probably would have kicked the FG.

You run a backup out there to make a chip and take the lead. Can't believe anyone thinks otherwise.

 

[Palatine]

Spanos didn’t commit the dozens of dumb penalties and dropped passes.

That's not really relevant. His decisions are separate from the play of the players. The players can be take penalties and drop passes and Spanos can make dumb decisions. Both can be true.

 

[CTMike]

That's not really relevant. His decisions are separate from the play of the players. The players can be take penalties and drop passes and Spanos can make dumb decisions. Both can be true.

Ok well Spanos had us outplaying Vandy for 60 despite losing multiple key starters. We had every opportunity to win what more do you want?

 

[metsfan2323]

That's not really relevant. His decisions are separate from the play of the players. The players can be take penalties and drop passes and Spanos can make dumb decisions. Both can be true.

Can you list these "decisions" you are talking about? That way maybe he can read the thread and learn from your genius mind.

In the meantime i'm going to appreciate the 180 degree effect he has had on this team.

After the Holy Cross game I suggested our loss was "all about the coaching" and some implied that Holy Cross also had more talent than UCONN. I highly doubt anyone would say Holy Cross has more talent than UCONN now. That loss to Holy Cross was 100% about the coaching. Credit to Spanos for making that quite obvious.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I think 95% of the time I would have kicked the FG over going for it on 4th in that situation. It was a clear opportunity to take the lead in the second half. Kicker had just missed a chip shot after being solid all season. Quick chance to get him to erase the bad, make an FG and get positive thoughts back in to head.

In this situation however, I think going for it was right. Let's take a look. McFadden may have tweaked something on the missed FG and maybe Spanos wasn't sure if he was able to kick. No need to trot out the back up kicker in that situation. Yes, that's speculation, but much like Ginsu knives, there's more.

Starting C was out and back up C was in game. Your back up QB who is the holder was playing QB since the starter got hurt. If SK gets hurt, then UConn was doomed. So, back up kicker (possibly), back up C (definitely) and the chance to minimize getting QB hurt while handling his holder duties means going for it was an okay decision for me. That being said, IMO burning a TO go get everything squared away would have been a good use of a second half TO.

 

[Husker Husky]

The only "bad" decision I remember was calling his 3 time outs to ice the kicker way too early. I would have liked to see him wait until the ball was about to be snapped. In fact, I would have like to see him do that with the 1st TO, and then have the kicker assume that he would also do it on the 2nd or 3rd But, not call it and mess up the timing or have him guessing and possibly caught off guard, by not calling it.