The defensive scheme is garbage.

[scoobydoo]

I have given up - it’s just too hopeless. Can’t waste my time on hopeless.

Give Randy and Crocker more than 3 games. We need fans like you!!!

 

[scoobydoo]

Rocket scientist read the full post and you would not be so perpetually confused. I said I thought they had some more talent this year but others have made a strong case that’s not correct with two stars leaving.

If you are stilll responding to me, I think you have having trouble executing the ignore button. But don't give up on it or the team.

 

[scoobydoo]

My assessment is the talent has improved on offense, but many could make a reverse case as was done in this thread. So I considered it even big picture after sorting through Knappe and Davis.

I don't think you meant Davis. Casual fans get confused all the time but Davis left the program 2 years ago. Its a big roster.

 

[Stray_Dog]

Question is how do we get the back end of our D to tackle better????

SMU is gonna put up a 70 spot on us with no problem next week. I hate to admit it, but right now, looks like a reality. We suck back there. Horrible.
Straight up swiss chees on 3rd down tooView attachment 25010

You know the difference between us and Swiss Cheese? Answ: Swiss Cheese has stuff between the holes.

 

[Stray_Dog]

In the words

whatever you say, jesus freak

in the words of you, Millenials..."You hurt my Feelings"...now I'm going to run around and shout to everyone how important I am and why you are Bad!

 

[JMick]

In the words

in the words of you, Millenials..."You hurt my Feelings"...now I'm going to run around and shout to everyone how important I am and why you are Bad!

meet me in the 'pool if you want to get into it. I'm playing nice here upon medic's request

 

[UConnDan97]

Of course, the point is with relatively the same or worse talent - the offense is many magnitudes better, so coaching matters. I could argue the talent with Mensch, Donaldson and Dixon etc - but that’s not the point - big picture it’s relatively similar.

Only a casual fan would fail to understand that I was furthering your point, not opposing it...

 

[scoobydoo]

Only a casual fan would fail to understand that I was furthering your point, not opposing it...

@Chief00 says that losing Davis at WR was a big loss from last year. I think Donaldson will be more productive this year.

What do you think?

 

[UConnDan97]

@Chief00 says that losing Davis at WR was a big loss from last year. I think Donaldson will be more productive this year.

What do you think?

Are you referring to Geremy Davis? If so, um....not last year, my friend. I think you mean Noel Thomas.

Donaldson could have a great year, but he's going to need to do a lot more before he has Noel Thomas type numbers. Last year, Thomas had 100 catches for almost 1,200 yards. Let's hope Donaldson gets there...

EDIT: I just saw your previous post. You have to cut Chief some slack. He's only a casual fan after all...

 

[Chief00]

@Chief00 says that losing Davis at WR was a big loss from last year. I think Donaldson will be more productive this year.

What do you think?

Thomas in Lashlee’s offense is different than Thomas in Diaco’s offense.

 

[Chief00]

Somebody’s 15 seconds of fame is over and they are on ignore forever.

 

[scoobydoo]

Thomas in Lashlee’s offense is different than Thomas in Diaco’s offense.

Right, but you said Davis. It's easy for a casual fan to make a mistake like that.

Its a big roster.

 

[scoobydoo]

Are you referring to Geremy Davis? If so, um....not last year, my friend. I think you mean Noel Thomas.

Donaldson could have a great year, but he's going to need to do a lot more before he has Noel Thomas type numbers. Last year, Thomas had 100 catches for almost 1,200 yards. Let's hope Donaldson gets there...

EDIT: I just saw your previous post. You have to cut Chief some slack. He's only a casual fan after all...

You are right.

Just because he doesn't know who is on the team doesn't mean we don't need fans like @Chief00 to attend the games and support the teams.

 

[scoobydoo]

Thomas in Lashlee’s offense is different than Thomas in Diaco’s offense.

Right.

But grammar tip - if you mean Noel Thomas, you shouldn't type in D-a-v-i-s.

It can make some of us think you are talking about Geremy Davis and are too much of a casual fan to know he wasn't on the team last year.

 

[J187Money]

96 James Atkins 6-5/266 Defensive Line RS JR (INJURED)
95 Noel Brouse 6-5/265 Defensive Line RS FR (DNP)
*15 Luke Carrezola 6-3/255 Defensive Line SR
*93 Folorunso Fatukasi 6-4/303 Defensive Line RS SR
*88 Connor Freeborn 6-5/255 Defensive Line RS SO
46 AJ Garson 6-7/237 Defensive Line RS FR (DNP)
*50 Sheriden Lawley 6-4/290 Defensive Line RS JR
59 Andrew Migliaccio 6-3/266 Defensive Line RS FR (DNP)
*94 Kevin Murphy 6-1/280 Defensive Line RS SO
58 Philippe Okounam 6-5/290 Defensive Line RS SO (INJURED)
*57 Cole Ormsby 6-3/264 Defensive Line RS SR
92 Carlton Steer 6-2/255 Defensive Line JR (DNP)
*52 Caleb Thomas 6-0/289 Defensive Line FR

Is it me or are we severely underweight here?

 

[Exit 4]

Is it me or are we severely underweight here?

Yes and too many guys with skinny legs. This is area Diaco screwed us the most. Too many TE and too tall OLBs which have been converted to Dlineman simply to balance the roster.

I watched some of Connor Freeborn's snaps this week. He didn't get blown out of there, but I don't think he will get to Luke's level and Luke's level is solid (but we need more).

I think (and I hope) that three of the six guys rotating on the DL for 2018 are not on the roster yet. We could use a 5th year senior or juco here.

 

[uconndogs]

We have no speed off the edge with either our DEs or LBs.........NONE!

We spent two regimes with the stupid twins and Crazy Bob recruiting prototypes. Unfortunately, most of them can't run a lick. Edsall will address this, but it will take some time.

I'm still shocked that Edsall let the D get this bad under Crocker. We may be struggling with personnel, but we're not dead last in talent. Either Crocker, the scheme or both are playing a significant part of becoming one of the very worst defenses in college football.

 

[Coach J]

Unfortunately, as much as a revelation as it has been, the no huddle offense just exacerbates the defensive struggles whenever they they go 3 and out - because the defense never gets a chance to catch their wind and at this stage it would be best if we could just keep them off the field as much as possible with long sustained ball controlling drives. It's going to take time for the D to get up to speed on this system, but it has to improve or once we get a lead RE may have to tell the O to take their foot off the gas just to keep the opponent's O from getting the ball.

 

[Exit 4]

We have no speed off the edge with either our DEs or LBs....NONE!

We spent two regimes with the stupid twins and Crazy Bob recruiting prototypes. Unfortunately, most of them can't run a lick. Edsall will address this, but it will take some time.

I'm still shocked that Edsall let the D get this bad under Crocker. We may be struggling with personnel, but we're not dead last in talent. Either Crocker, the scheme or both are playing a significant part of becoming one of the very worst defenses in college football.

I am hoping TJ Gardner (currently red shirting) and Eli Thomas can give us the boost we need at LB next year. More speed and explosion. Considering Diggs and Joseph will be gone, there will be opportunity. And Hunter Webb has the potential to play like Graham Stewart - let's see how that senior tape looks in November.

 

[The Funster]

A lot of beef on the OLine and not enough on the Dline. So...getting back to the 335 discussion and not wanting to start a snark fight I put forth the idea of the 425 because we have little at the point of attack. If we cannot stop the run, we will constantly see ourselves in 2 and short and 3rd and short situations which only exacerbates our current shredibilty in the 335. I get the idea that we need to give it time. I'm assuming Crockers 335 is a read and react setup, with the mike calling signals for the front and a safety calling coverages? Because pressure at the point of attack has to come from outside the front 3 there has to be a strong understanding from the defensive play callers on what the offense is going to try to do and how to get bodies into the right gaps. That's a pretty high level of sophistication, IMO. I can see where you need to have a high level of intelligence, a high level of trust that the guy next to you will be where he is supposed to be and a high level of athleticism to react to any offensive variances. I also see that the 335 is a bend but don't break D (necessary against the high powered O that we see) and hopefully you have the ball hawks in the backfield to force TOs.

On a related note, as a football purist (and not the type of purist that says teams have to run the same bland offenses and defenses but a purist in the sense that for every new offense or defense that arises, adjustments are made to target and take advantage of the inherent weaknesses in those schemes) I'd like to see coaches scheme against the prevalent high powered offenses we see today. I don't see the 335 (unless its played with superior defenders) being the kind of defense that could force schools away from playing the spread, I see the 335 an attempt to mitigate the damage, which is OK, don't get me wrong. The idea is to win games, of course.

 

[scoobydoo]

Unfortunately, as much as a revelation as it has been, the no huddle offense just exacerbates the defensive struggles whenever they they go 3 and out - because the defense never gets a chance to catch their wind and at this stage it would be best if we could just keep them off the field as much as possible with long sustained ball controlling drives. It's going to take time for the D to get up to speed on this system, but it has to improve or once we get a lead RE may have to tell the O to take their foot off the gas just to keep the opponent's O from getting the ball.

Its not just wind but also time for coaching and adjustments.

We didn't really seem to put up any resistance until the D re-grouped at halftime.

 

[The Funster]

Unfortunately, as much as a revelation as it has been, the no huddle offense just exacerbates the defensive struggles whenever they they go 3 and out - because the defense never gets a chance to catch their wind and at this stage it would be best if we could just keep them off the field as much as possible with long sustained ball controlling drives. It's going to take time for the D to get up to speed on this system, but it has to improve or once we get a lead RE may have to tell the O to take their foot off the gas just to keep the opponent's O from getting the ball.

From where I sat at the game, it looked like this is what ECU did in the 4th quarter and it let us back into the game. You almost want to stay uptempo and step on the opponents throat.

 

[scoobydoo]

From where I sat at the game, it looked like this is what ECU did in the 4th quarter and it let us back into the game. You almost want to stay uptempo and step on the opponents throat.

They stopped throwing the ball (and getting TD's).

If the opponents hasn't shown they can stop your full offense (see the KY NC game), why make adjustments? With a big lead, its ok to trade scores.

 

[Exit 4]

A lot of beef on the OLine and not enough on the Dline. So...getting back to the 335 discussion and not wanting to start a snark fight I put forth the idea of the 425 because we have little at the point of attack. If we cannot stop the run, we will constantly see ourselves in 2 and short and 3rd and short situations which only exacerbates our current shredibilty in the 335. I get the idea that we need to give it time. I'm assuming Crockers 335 is a read and react setup, with the mike calling signals for the front and a safety calling coverages? Because pressure at the point of attack has to come from outside the front 3 there has to be a strong understanding from the defensive play callers on what the offense is going to try to do and how to get bodies into the right gaps. That's a pretty high level of sophistication, IMO. I can see where you need to have a high level of intelligence, a high level of trust that the guy next to you will be where he is supposed to be and a high level of athleticism to react to any offensive variances. I also see that the 335 is a bend but don't break D (necessary against the high powered O that we see) and hopefully you have the ball hawks in the backfield to force TOs.

On a related note, as a football purist (and not the type of purist that says teams have to run the same bland offenses and defenses but a purist in the sense that for every new offense or defense that arises, adjustments are made to target and take advantage of the inherent weaknesses in those schemes) I'd like to see coaches scheme against the prevalent high powered offenses we see today. I don't see the 335 (unless its played with superior defenders) being the kind of defense that could force schools away from playing the spread, I see the 335 an attempt to mitigate the damage, which is OK, don't get me wrong. The idea is to win games, of course.

Hey bottomline is this 3-3-5 system is not generating pressure, not causing pass deflections at the line of scrimmage, almost never shuts down a throwing lane and has our DBs playing on their heels. Opposing Qbs have too much room to make the right throw. They have to make some changes to personnel (Herring-Wilson for Bell, can we get Swann out there?) and they have to mix the twists, stunts and other D-line tricks to creating blitzing lanes. They are not creating the gaps to allow a DB or LB to get the QB. I suppose I am stating the obvious here. I don't care how they do it (3-3-5 something else), just start doing it.

 

[freescooter]

I think we need another big dt but not sure about the ends. The nose tackle needs to be a run stopper the ends are the pass rushers and outside contain guys so are not huge. If you look at SanDiego State who plays a very similar system, their ends are 255 and 265 and the nose guard is 285. To me the biggest issue is speed. You are asking them to cover a lot of territory and huge slow footed guys can't do that. But I kind of agree with exit4 that some of these guys look skinny. Not so much the weight as how they carry it.

 

[businesslawyer]

They stopped throwing the ball (and getting TD's).

If the opponents hasn't shown they can stop your full offense (see the KY NC game), why make adjustments? With a big lead, its ok to trade scores.

Somehow their coach thought the best way to win was to run clock. Objectively, the best way to win would have been to keep scoring until we waved the white flag.

 

[Chief00]

We have no speed off the edge with either our DEs or LBs....NONE!

We spent two regimes with the stupid twins and Crazy Bob recruiting prototypes. Unfortunately, most of them can't run a lick. Edsall will address this, but it will take some time.

I'm still shocked that Edsall let the D get this bad under Crocker. We may be struggling with personnel, but we're not dead last in talent. Either Crocker, the scheme or both are playing a significant part of becoming one of the very worst defenses in college football.

Edsall wanted to play the CEO role and empower the Coordinators. This strategy is working great with Lashlee but not so well with Crocker.

 

[Dizzy21]

The Cowboys went to a 3-2-6 with not a lot of good linemen, hurt linebackers and very young secondary in the second half of Monday nights game. The prior week Their d got crushed in different more traditional alignments and showed the same weaknesses that UConn has as far as skill and depth comparatively. When they switched to 326 they had no issue harassing the QB with 3 man rush, stopping the run, and covering their guys. Made them look like a real defense in that alignment, so you can't really say the scheme does not work against good competition

 

[Nostical]

My prediction is we will see a change in D scheme vs SMU. They've been studying the tape, licking their chops in anticipation. I see us deciding to employ more press man to man along with stunts and safety blitzes. I see us confusing and upsetting the Mustangs.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Defensive pressure on a qb is brought different ways. Blitzing is one and another is good coverage which allows the time for the DL to get to the QB. We have to bring someone to get pressure because the 3 down lineman can't do it and we are too discombobulated in the back to create coverage sacks. Crocker will need to pick his poison.