The defensive scheme is garbage.

[SubbaBub]

I doubt the plan was for them to leave guys wide open and let them run by after they caught it.

 

[BlueDogs]

almost half of the defensive players have played in 3 college games or less

The other half are very seasoned. Why you insist in justifying this abomination is beyond me. It is a bad scheme for the personnel we have. As long as Crocker refuses to put 4 lineman across the front, we are dead. Heck, he friggin left us in 3-3 on a crucial 3rd down and half yard where anybody in their right mind goes into short yardage look. The guy is a clown and the stats don't lie.

 

[JMick]

The other half are very seasoned. Why you insist in justifying this abomination is beyond me. It is a bad scheme for the personnel we have. As long as Crocker refuses to put 4 lineman across the front, we are dead. Heck, he friggin left us in 3-3 on a crucial 3rd down and half yard where anybody in their right mind goes into short yardage look. The guy is a clown and the stats don't lie.

Why you continue to call him a "crock" a "clown" and an "abortion" is beyond me. The scheme is the scheme. I don't blame them for not wanting to change the scheme in year one because we don't have the personnel yet. We're in a rebuild that will probably take half a decade. It's not my fault or theirs that you're impatient and feel entitled.

 

[UConnDan97]

You look at a regression of 90+ spots on the defense ranks and think scheme has nothing to do with it. We suddenly have the 128th defensive personnel in football? Why? Why are they so much worse than last year?

I like to keep an open mind. But I also keep my eyes open. Watch the game. Watch the defense.

We're getting killed in the air left and right. I think that there should be MANY folks on this board who should have a new-found respect for what Melifonwu, Jhavon Williams, and John Green brought to this secondary last year.

Melifonwu was a second rounder for the Raiders
John Green signed a free agent deal with Tennessee
Jhavon Williams didn't get signed but was certainly considered for a free agent deal if you believe what you read on the internet scouting boards.

All three of those guys got killed on this board. All three of those guys are SORELY missed this year, make no mistake about it...

 

[huskyinfl]

You look at a regression of 90+ spots on the defense ranks and think scheme has nothing to do with it. We suddenly have the 128th defensive personnel in football? Why? Why are they so much worse than last year?

I like to keep an open mind. But I also keep my eyes open. Watch the game. Watch the defense.

Diaco wanted to burn as much clock as possible on offense. The new regime is hurry up. So when it doesn't work the other team is getting more possessions.

 

[ktuck911]

Didn't expect some folks to actually put players down on this thread. Fact is right now we're not very good on the back end of our D. Personnel clearly need more time to develop awareness in this scheme. Only issue I have is that it's gonna bea tough watch the rest of the way this year knowing our D will be the weak link to what we do when for awhile our D was our bread and butter.

 

[polycom]

We can not compare this team to last year on D. There were NFLers on that team there are none on this team currently.

 

[junglehusky]

I don't think putting players in a different scheme would helped them wrap up tackles or force a turnover once in a while. It might put them in better positions so they aren't 8 yards away from the WR when he catches the ball, but that's not going to be enough.

 

[BlueDogs]

Why you continue to call him a "crock" a "clown" and an "abortion" is beyond me. The scheme is the scheme. I don't blame them for not wanting to change the scheme in year one because we don't have the personnel yet. We're in a rebuild that will probably take half a decade. It's not my fault or theirs that you're impatient and feel entitled.

Because the D is among the very worst by any rational measure and it wasn't and hasnt been with a core of solid players returning. There is nothing entitled in that observation when we haven't done anything in 7 years. Getting burned on occasion is to be expected with a group of young players. Being consistently being outplayed and giving up 500+ game over game is not. The fact that you can defend the indefensible sounds more like a "you problem", but denial and excuse making are fairly standard course if I had to guess your generation.

 

[Devland]

Scheme or no scheme there are a lot of plays where players are in position to make plays and just don't. This is the worst tackling UConn team I have seen.

 

[JMick]

Because the D is among the very worst by any rational measure and it wasn't and hasnt been with a core of solid players returning. There is nothing entitled in that observation when we haven't done anything in 7 years. Getting burned on occasion is to be expected with a group of young players. Being consistently being outplayed and giving up 500+ game over game is not. The fact that you can defend the indefensible sounds more like a "you problem", but denial and excuse making are fairly standard course if I had to guess your generation.

You wouldn't know logic if it smacked you right in the face. "We havent done anything in 7 years so I'm going to cry because we still stink."

You refuse to put any sort of blame on the roster and are attacking crocker because you don't like change. Calling him an "abortion" isn't very Christian of you. You're just another elderly hypocrite and you're mad that you'll probably be dead the next time UConn football is relevant again.

 

[whaler11]

You wouldn't know logic if it smacked you right in the face. "We havent done anything in 7 years so I'm going to cry because we still stink."

You refuse to put any sort of blame on the roster and are attacking crocker because you don't like change. Calling him an "abortion" isn't very Christian of you. You're just another elderly hypocrite and you're mad that you'll probably be dead the next time UConn football is relevant again.

When exactly did you Millenials ruin things so bad that beer now comes in 4 packs?

 

[JMick]

When exactly did you Millenials ruin things so bad that beer now comes in 4 packs?

It makes sense. They're typically pints & beers with a higher alcohol percentage so it's a wash

 

[BlueDogs]

You wouldn't know logic if it smacked you right in the face. "We havent done anything in 7 years so I'm going to cry because we still stink."

You refuse to put any sort of blame on the roster and are attacking crocker because you don't like change. Calling him an "abortion" isn't very Christian of you. You're just another elderly hypocrite and you're mad that you'll probably be dead the next time UConn football is relevant again.

Ha - I knew it. Thanks for validating my supposition.

 

[JMick]

Ha - I knew it. Thanks for validating my supposition.

whatever you say, jesus freak

 

[metsfan2323]

It's only 3 games, but I think we should switch to 4 down lineman the rest of the way. I hate the way this defense conceeds the line of scrimmage. Lets try something else, it can't possibly be any worse. We're making every QB look like a first round draft pick.

 

[Palatine]

We're getting killed in the air left and right. I think that there should be MANY folks on this board who should have a new-found respect for what Melifonwu, Jhavon Williams, and John Green brought to this secondary last year.

Melifonwu was a second rounder for the Raiders
John Green signed a free agent deal with Tennessee
Jhavon Williams didn't get signed but was certainly considered for a free agent deal if you believe what you read on the internet scouting boards.

All three of those guys got killed on this board. All three of those guys are SORELY missed this year, make no mistake about it...

Yes, they are missed. But their loss isn't the reason we have given up 1,600+ yards in three games.

Did you see the three man line on third and one? Did you see the 10 and 15 yard cushions? Did you watch how easily ECU gained the edge on running downs? Every team loses players. Every team does not drop 91 places in the rankings because they lost players.

Look at the offense. Do you think our players are suddenly much better? No, we just run a much better scheme on offense and it produces points. Scheme means a lot in college. A lot.

 

[JMick]

It's only 3 games, but I think we should switch to 4 down lineman the rest of the way. I hate the way this defense conceeds the line of scrimmage. Lets try something else, it can't possibly be any worse.

I don't see it helping. if they change it, I don't care, but switching from a 3-3-5 to a 4-2-5 isn't going to stop us from blowing coverages or missing tackles.

 

[metsfan2323]

I don't see it helping. if they change it, I don't care, but switching from a 3-3-5 to a 4-2-5 isn't going to stop us from blowing coverages or missing tackles.

It might help tackling.

 

[SubbaBub]

We played a 4-2-5 most of the 2nd half.

Our DL doesn't get a push. Our LB don't cover or tackle all that well. Our DB's are lost. Discussing scheme when the players are getting beat one on one or in some cases 1 on 2 or 3 is folly.

 

[jimva]

Yup. Crocker will have a little more time to correct this mess, but many more games like this and he may not make it to the end of the season.

Really surprised Edsall let the defensive side of the ball get away from him.

Nonsense. When you inherit a sandwich you have nothing else to eat.

Great rebound by O and D in second half. Very optimistic about the future, although this year may be tough to live through at times.

 

[CTMike]

You look at a regression of 90+ spots on the defense ranks and think scheme has nothing to do with it. We suddenly have the 128th defensive personnel in football? Why? Why are they so much worse than last year?

I like to keep an open mind. But I also keep my eyes open. Watch the game. Watch the defense.

It’s not the same players, it’s not the same coaches, it’s not the same scheme. Must only be the scheme!

The scheme is executed successfully by other teams. Crocker ran it successfully Villanova over multiple seasons. Next I suppose you’ll tell me that Holy Cross and ECU are running offenses light years better than the rest of FCS?

ECU’s defense isn’t good. 4-2-5 must be bad! UCLA’s defense isn’t good. 4-3 must be bad! Baylor’s defense isn’t good. 3-4 must be bad!

 

[uconndogs]

Guarantee he's taking control of the situation. Crocker is clueless. It's now been proven over 3 games with the worst D stats in college football.

Could very well go that way. I'm not a "fire the coach" type of guy, but something is wrong here and needs to be addressed. You can't be wed to a scheme to the extent you use it despite your personnel. These QBs have forever to throw.

 

[Chief00]

The telling play to me was the key 3rd down and ECU could run out the clock if they converted. Crocker had guys playing 10 yards deeper than the first down marker. What’s the point of stopping a TD when a first down effectively ends the game. Edsall called a timeout and had everyone inside the first down marker. The defense then held. I just don’t see much intelligence with Crocker’s scheme.

Playing 8 guys 5 to 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage is silly unless you have three Reggie Whites. One of the reasons we are having tackling problems is every back has the luxury of running downhill before they encounter a tackler.

Crocker appears in over his head - Randy needs to focus on the defense - and more than likely Crocker needs to go if a replacement can be found.

Another thing, hopefully we have seen the last of Tre Bell turning into toast.

 

[Woof 101]

Scheme or no scheme there are a lot of plays where players are in position to make plays and just don't. This is the worst tackling UConn team I have seen.

Could not agree more, but having said that I am seeing it in many games. If you hit someone high it could be targeting, if you hit them low it is un-sportsmen like.
They have taken the rules to a point of ridiculous and removed any violence from what is meant to be a violent sport.
Most our defenders look like they are more worried about a flag than making the tackle.