The Diaco audio suggests that its the smarts which is not ready yet. It's not intelligence, Tim has that and then some, it's his current ability to understand what he is seeing, adding knowledge, process the information and make a decision in seconds. Oh and while this is going on 4-6 or more really big fast guys are trying to put a hurt on you. Not every physically gifted qb can do this.
Thats not happening barring something really really bad - so we will wait until next year most likely-Boyle has all the smarts and athleticism to be the best since Dan O. If Diaco plays him enough we win, period! The next great era of UConn football begins this week.
Wisdom.....
This must be the disappointment preparation area. Why do you do this to yourselves?
I hope he's Joe freggin Montana, but I'm not predicting it or rationalizing why he might be. Last week he was the distant 3rd stringer. What exactly has made him so much better?
This must be the disappointment preparation area. Why do you do this to yourselves?
I hope he's Joe freggin Montana, but I'm not predicting it or rationalizing why he might be. Last week he was the distant 3rd stringer. What exactly has made him so much better?
Here we are, debating the abilities of a true sophomore, who's 1 year plus to adjust to the speed of the FBS game, while other FBS teams start true freshmen with varying degrees of success. I'll say it again, once he enters a game, thereby throwing away his redshirt, the position should be his. If this season is designated a throwaway to indoctrinate the team into Coach Diaco's system, better to play the qb who will be here 2 more years so that he's ready to go Day 1 next season. There's nothing like game experience in a quarterback's education.
That is very true. No substitute for game time reps. But the bottom line is the coaching staff has determined that Boyle is not good enough to start over Whitmer. We don't actually see practices. Boyle may have HUGE potential, but potential doesn't win games. You can develop a QB as a #2 on the roster, with practice reps and film, and mental reps and preparation. It's a discipline, that a guy like Orlovsky for example, if you're good enough, can make a long term NFL career out of. Then when you do eventually get the call, you're ready to help the team win, at that all important position. If we get to bowl game, that's 5 more weeks of reps for Mr. Boyle in practice preparation.
So, we are 1-1 with 10 games to play, not 0-4 and just got blown out by Buffalo. I'm not ready to throw in the towel, on the post season, and I'm sure as hell going to be pissed if I find out that I paid my donations, and bought my tickets for a season that we do not intend to compete to win. I'm not at that point yet, I hope never to be. I don't actually believe that Diaco doesn't intend to win this season. I think he's juggling between getting players experience and developing his system, at the same time as trying to win, and that's totally expected - he was just dumb to say the "preparatory phase" thing in the press. But he's new at this head coach and press scrutiny and fan scrutiny thing. I have no reason to doubt he'll improve there. That's got nothing to do with actual football though.
Whitmer has 17 career starts, and is 1-0 this season as a starter. I just don't understand why this guy, who has the tools to play the position, isn't being given the same opportunity as everybody else by the fans, to show that he can actually develop as a player, with decent coaching. Seniors, can develop too.
So, until we don't have the opportunity to get Boyle that extra month of practice reps, in preparation for next season, I see no reason to put him in the game at all. That's where I differ with what's going on - with what Diaco is actually doing, not just what he has said. I just don't agree with the 2 QB system. That doesn't mean it can't work, and so far we're 1-1 with it. I do see that as bad as we played against Stony Brook, we played only 1 QB and we won the game. Coincidence? maybe, maybe not. Whatever - it's Diaco's system, and hopefully it works.
In my world, Boyle would not be playing, and would be the #2 QB, in practice and preparation, if I had my call. But it's Diaco's plan, and a man went down, and the next one is stepping in. Period. The end.
Game time in 2 days + a few hours, and for me - I just want to see an offense get through the first quarter without turning it over twice, and then the team continue to play together, and with emotion and intensity to the end on O, D, K. Until we stop doing these massive substitutions patterns, we're simply not going to get the kind of improvement we need in the basics of blocking, tackling, team speed, timing etc. You can't practice for 20+, 30+ subsitutions in a game, during the week, and narrow down those fundamentals. Too much time spent on procedure execution in practices, to simply nail down the speed, timing, and precision of blocking and tackling in the game plans.
Which, that aspect of our team, on top of the basics of being a brotherhood, and family going to bat for each other, to Diaco's credit, has been excellent. The guy can coach, and I'm impatient with his plan to settle on a roster through the beginning of this season, and I don't agree with, but it doesn't mean it won't work, and can't work.
Dan, you've torpedoed your argument when you used Dan O. as an example. As a true freshman, he was put in the same position. The incumbent senior starter left during training camp due to bad hips, then Keron Henry went down with an injury, thereby throwing Dan into the fire as a true freshman. We've seen how that worked out. In fact, the Dan O. situation supports my line of thinking.
As to Whitmer, he's a known commodity: happy feet, interception machine, less than 50% pass completion percentage. Seniors May be able to develop, but I don't have any confidence that C.W. is one of them.
Really a shame to see some posts really neglecting some basic facts on how Uconn has handled Boyle so far. For one this idea that he is what he is based off last year is totally unfair. PP was desperate and didnt want too go down without playing him (public pressure)..how do you expect Boyle who had been on campus for 2 months nevermind adjusting to college life but now was expected to play against the best teams on the schedule! Your telling me people are going to judge Whitmer and Boyle on the same level...ridiculous and 13-27 for 142 against Stoneybrook while being painfully iinaccurate is just not the answer..and this is from a 5th yr senior. I guarantee that next time Boyle starts we wont see another QB for 3 yrs.
That is very true. No substitute for game time reps. But the bottom line is the coaching staff has determined that Boyle is not good enough to start over Whitmer. We don't actually see practices. Boyle may have HUGE potential, but potential doesn't win games. You can develop a QB as a #2 on the roster, with practice reps and film, and mental reps and preparation. It's a discipline, that a guy like Orlovsky for example, if you're good enough, can make a long term NFL career out of. Then when you do eventually get the call, you're ready to help the team win, at that all important position. If we get to bowl game, that's 5 more weeks of reps for Mr. Boyle in practice preparation.
So, we are 1-1 with 10 games to play, not 0-4 and just got blown out by Buffalo. I'm not ready to throw in the towel, on the post season, and I'm sure as hell going to be pissed if I find out that I paid my donations, and bought my tickets for a season that we do not intend to compete to win. I'm not at that point yet, I hope never to be. I don't actually believe that Diaco doesn't intend to win this season. I think he's juggling between getting players experience and developing his system, at the same time as trying to win, and that's totally expected - he was just dumb to say the "preparatory phase" thing in the press. But he's new at this head coach and press scrutiny and fan scrutiny thing. I have no reason to doubt he'll improve there. That's got nothing to do with actual football though.
Whitmer has 17 career starts, and is 1-0 this season as a starter. I just don't understand why this guy, who has the tools to play the position, isn't being given the same opportunity as everybody else by the fans, to show that he can actually develop as a player, with decent coaching. Seniors, can develop too.
So, until we don't have the opportunity to get Boyle that extra month of practice reps, in preparation for next season, I see no reason to put him in the game at all. That's where I differ with what's going on - with what Diaco is actually doing, not just what he has said. I just don't agree with the 2 QB system. That doesn't mean it can't work, and so far we're 1-1 with it. I do see that as bad as we played against Stony Brook, we played only 1 QB and we won the game. Coincidence? maybe, maybe not. Whatever - it's Diaco's system, and hopefully it works.
In my world, Boyle would not be playing, and would be the #2 QB, in practice and preparation, if I had my call. But it's Diaco's plan, and a man went down, and the next one is stepping in. Period. The end.
Game time in 2 days + a few hours, and for me - I just want to see an offense get through the first quarter without turning it over twice, and then the team continue to play together, and with emotion and intensity to the end on O, D, K. Until we stop doing these massive substitutions patterns, we're simply not going to get the kind of improvement we need in the basics of blocking, tackling, team speed, timing etc. You can't practice for 20+, 30+ subsitutions in a game, during the week, and narrow down those fundamentals. Too much time spent on procedure execution in practices, to simply nail down the speed, timing, and precision of blocking and tackling in the game plans.
Which, that aspect of our team, on top of the basics of being a brotherhood, and family going to bat for each other, to Diaco's credit, has been excellent. The guy can coach, and I'm impatient with his plan to settle on a roster through the beginning of this season, and I don't agree with, but it doesn't mean it won't work, and can't work.
Dan, you've torpedoed your argument when you used Dan O. as an example. As a true freshman, he was put in the same position. The incumbent senior starter left during training camp due to bad hips, then Keron Henry went down with an injury, thereby throwing Dan into the fire as a true freshman. We've seen how that worked out. In fact, the Dan O. situation supports my line of thinking.
As to Whitmer, he's a known commodity: happy feet, interception machine, less than 50% pass completion percentage. Seniors May be able to develop, but I don't have any confidence that C.W. is one of them.
1) He hasn't thrown an interception this year
2) This is the first year his completion percentage has dropped below 50. I remember at least 3 drops, others have counted 4-5. If three of those drops are caught, his completion percentage against Stony Brook would have been 55%. If it was 5, 62.9%.
3) having a mobile QB when the OL is suspect is a good thing. There are times he takes off too soon. There are other times where he turned nothing into something. Even after subtracting sacks, the running backs got 5 more carries than he did, and only picked up 2 more yards. Those scrambles help move the chains.
This must be the disappointment preparation area. Why do you do this to yourselves?
I hope he's Joe freggin Montana, but I'm not predicting it or rationalizing why he might be. Last week he was the distant 3rd stringer. What exactly has made him so much better?
This guy has shown nothing and your still riding Whitmer.... Smh! the kid hasn't shown anything, but inaccuracy, inconsistency, Interceptions, happy feet, running into sacks, but yet you defend him because he had 29 yards rushing against SB... Wow!
Really a shame to see some posts really neglecting some basic facts on how Uconn has handled Boyle so far. For one this idea that he is what he is based off last year is totally unfair. PP was desperate and didnt want too go down without playing him (public pressure)..how do you expect Boyle who had been on campus for 2 months nevermind adjusting to college life but now was expected to play against the best teams on the schedule! Your telling me people are going to judge Whitmer and Boyle on the same level...ridiculous and 13-27 for 142 against Stoneybrook while being painfully iinaccurate is just not the answer..and this is from a 5th yr senior. I guarantee that next time Boyle starts we wont see another QB for 3 yrs.