The problem with starting Whitmer

[Dogged]

If (and its a big if) Diaco has plans in the future for a mobile QB (I've heard Davis and Shariffs fit this mold?) then I wonder if Diaco is trying to implement his system using Foxx (was a HS QB?) now since the season is pretty much in the toilet anyway? Its the best straw man I can come up with

Check Shirreffs on Hudl. Strong arm- very mobile.

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/532831/highlights/21966541

 

[ctchamps]

Status quote isn't working, so starting Boyle at least would be doing something. I think most fans want something different than what is happening now.

Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is signs of insanity.

I'm going to take the opposite argument. I don't see anything in Boyle that gives me the impression he should start. So how is starting him rationale. It's a view of desperation imo. Maybe it will satisfy most of us but it isn't without serious consequences.

Here are some things to ponder. Is an injury possible? Is there a greater likelihood of that happening the more minutes he's playing? Has the offensive line and running backs shown they could protect him? Is he better at scrambling and running for gains than Chandler? What are the consequences if he gets hurt and it's a season, or worse, a career ending injury?

Every answer I come up says that he's likely to get hurt. So I'm praying like crazy that the line can improve but if that's not possible, and it doesn't appear likely, I'm praying that CW can be the guy that takes the punishment over an over again protecting Boyle for the future. And instead of making him a goat, I admire him for taking the punishment he's taken. Like him or not he's handling a poor situation much better than some of us.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Status quote isn't working, so starting Boyle at least would be doing something. I think most fans want something different than what is happening now.

Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is signs of insanity.

We almost all universally agree that we'd rather see Boyle than Whitmer.

This thread is exactly what Palatine had hoped it'd become. So congratulations to him.

 

[sportsart]

It has been said before and I'll say it again. Diaco appears to be trying to build a foundation for the future. The longer Boyle doesn't play, the more it tells me Boyle is not ready to even prepare to be "the future".

That said, we still don't know if Diaco is protecting Boyle from a beating due to our OL deficiencies. There is so much going on behind the scenes we don't know.

 

[metsfan2323]

I'd like to see 50 /50 Boyle and Foxx out of the gate and then stick with whatever is working. Foxx can put a lot of pressure on the defense with his speed. I personally love watching option football and hope we start to see it.

 

[BlueMAB]

Of course he can. Funny how our line got better last year with Cochrane at QB.

It's impressive how good you are at completely ignoring any fact that doesn't support your narrative. Much like Waylon.

Anywho.

Did Boyle get better under last year's o line? No.

Did Cochran beat the three worst teams on our schedule? Yes.

Behind this o line he suffered a career ending injury.

 

[metsfan2323]

Check Shirreffs on Hudl. Strong arm- very mobile.

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/532831/highlights/21966541

Yeah, Shirreffs certainly has potential, if he is good we might improve very quickly next year. Hopefully Diaco now realizes the importance of the QB carrying some extra weight on his frame. Shirreffs won't last very long if he checks in at 216 next year.

 

[whaler11]

How does weight keep one from getting concussions?

 

[metsfan2323]

How does weight keep one from getting concussions?

More inertia means less head whipping. Parcells always wanted his QB's coming out of college to put on weight.

 

[huskymedic]

Shirreffs won't last very long if he checks in at 216 next year.

It a shame Russell Wilson only weighs 206.

Only caveat is if that was a veiled reference to our O-Line.

 

[whaler11]

More inertia means less head whipping. Parcells always wanted his QB's coming out of college to put on weight.

I guess I'd like to see some science
before I assume that's true.

 

[UConnDan97]

I'm going to take the opposite argument. I don't see anything in Boyle that gives me the impression he should start. So how is starting him rationale. It's a view of desperation imo. Maybe it will satisfy most of us but it isn't without serious consequences.

Here are some things to ponder. Is an injury possible? Is there a greater likelihood of that happening the more minutes he's playing? Has the offensive line and running backs shown they could protect him? Is he better at scrambling and running for gains than Chandler? What are the consequences if he gets hurt and it's a season, or worse, a career ending injury?

Every answer I come up says that he's likely to get hurt. So I'm praying like crazy that the line can improve but if that's not possible, and it doesn't appear likely, I'm praying that CW can be the guy that takes the punishment over an over again protecting Boyle for the future. And instead of making him a goat, I admire him for taking the punishment he's taken. Like him or not he's handling a poor situation much better than some of us.

The calculus is simple, really: On a team of constant collapsing pockets, which quarterback can run for his life better?

I mean, that is literally the only decision that Diaco has had to make up until now. And in my opinion, he has made the correct choice. It's also the reason why we saw Deshon Foxx at QB. We need someone who is able to run for his life after a 2.5 second pocket evaporates. That's the main reason why Boyle hasn't played as much, and likely is the reason that we will continue to see a lot of Whitmer or maybe even Foxx.

I'm confident that Boyle could be a real gunslinger if he was assured to get a clean pocket on most occasions. But he won't. So he can't. Having a stationary QB with this line is literally a death sentence...

 

[BlueMAB]

Enough already. We're at 3 pages and it's nearly midnight.

Someone PLEASE start a new Boyle thread. The backup thread must be better than the original.

 

[J187Money]

I'm going to take the opposite argument. I don't see anything in Boyle that gives me the impression he should start. So how is starting him rationale. It's a view of desperation imo. Maybe it will satisfy most of us but it isn't without serious consequences. Here are some things to ponder. Is an injury possible? Is there a greater likelihood of that happening the more minutes he's playing? Has the offensive line and running backs shown they could protect him? Is he better at scrambling and running for gains than Chandler? What are the consequences if he gets hurt and it's a season, or worse, a career ending injury? Every answer I come up says that he's likely to get hurt. So I'm praying like crazy that the line can improve but if that's not possible, and it doesn't appear likely, I'm praying that CW can be the guy that takes the punishment over an over again protecting Boyle for the future. And instead of making him a goat, I admire him for taking the punishment he's taken. Like him or not he's handling a poor situation much better than some of us.

This would be 100 percent reasonable if we hadn't burned his redshirt. So let's just waste an entire year of his eligibility for nothing.

I was not one in favor of keeping his redshirt after Cochran (not Cochrane) went down because I can't care about 2017 right now. But it is simple. Play him or RS him. And since you can't RS him, the answer is clear. This just doesn't make any sense.

To me this has nothing at all to do with Whitmer. Now that this team has proven it isn't going to get to a bowl, let's get this thing set up right for next year. And that includes LOTS of reps for Boyle.

 

[Palatine]

It's impressive how good you are at completely ignoring any fact that doesn't support your narrative. Much like Waylon.

Anywho.

Did Boyle get better under last year's o line? No.

Did Cochran beat the three worst teams on our schedule? Yes.

Behind this o line he suffered a career ending injury.

Not true, Rutgers was not one of the worse teams on our schedule.

And Boyle faced many tough teams and got darn little support from our wide outs.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

This would be 100 percent reasonable if we hadn't burned his redshirt. So let's just waste an entire year of his eligibility for nothing.

I was not one in favor of keeping his redshirt after Cochran (not Cochrane) went down because I can't care about 2017 right now. But it is simple. Play him or RS him. And since you can't RS him, the answer is clear. This just doesn't make any sense.

To me this has nothing at all to do with Whitmer. Now that this team has proven it isn't going to get to a bowl, let's get this thing set up right for next year. And that includes LOTS of reps for Boyle.

If this does not happen, those who thought my criticism of Diaco earlier was harsh will probably want to put me on ignore. Fair warning.

 

[Hoophound]

It's impressive how good you are at completely ignoring any fact that doesn't support your narrative. Much like Waylon. Anywho. Did Boyle get better under last year's o line? No. Did Cochran beat the three worst teams on our schedule? Yes. Behind this o line he suffered a career ending injury.

Rutgers and Temple were not the worst teams on our schedule. Memphis looks pretty good right now too. That argument just doesn't hold water.

We lost to Towson, Buffalo and USF before Casey took over. I hate people degrading his accomplishment, especially when he took such a beating for us that he had to give up his lifelong passion.

 

[ctchamps]

The calculus is simple, really: On a team of constant collapsing pockets, which quarterback can run for his life better?

I mean, that is literally the only decision that Diaco has had to make up until now. And in my opinion, he has made the correct choice. It's also the reason why we saw Deshon Foxx at QB. We need someone who is able to run for his life after a 2.5 second pocket evaporates. That's the main reason why Boyle hasn't played as much, and likely is the reason that we will continue to see a lot of Whitmer or maybe even Foxx.

I'm confident that Boyle could be a real gunslinger if he was assured to get a clean pocket on most occasions. But he won't. So he can't. Having a stationary QB with this line is literally a death sentence...

I totally agree.

Skill sets:
1. Arm strength and accuracy: Boyle>Chandler>Cochran
2. Play development: Cochran>>Chandler>>Boyle
3. Mobility: Cochran>>Chandler>>>>Boyle
4. Seeing over the linemen: Boyle>/=Chandler>>>Cochran

With a really good pass protecting line and receivers that can get separation it would be a no brainer- Boyle should start. But with this line in it's current state of development we better hope Boyle sees the field for limited minutes. If Chandler gets injured or Warde and the heavy hitters put pressure on Diaco, the people in this thread will get their wish and I dread the consequences. With that lines inability to protect and Boyles lack of mobility, concussion is not out of the question. And I strongly doubt that getting sacked during every pass play develops a QB.

Next season the line should be better than this season. That's the time to play Boyle or one of the new QB's.

 

[junglehusky]

More inertia means less head whipping. Parcells always wanted his QB's coming out of college to put on weight.

More weight / inertia also means higher force collisions. Especially if the other guy is big too.

 

[tiger8mush]

Next season the line should be better than this season. That's the time to play Boyle or one of the new QB's.

Who do we play, then, the remaining 7 games of this season?

 

[freescooter]

I've come around on playing Boyle if he's healthy. Mostly just because it is clear that using Whitmer isn't working. Time for Plan B. I don't really expect to see much different from Boyle but we just need to find out once and for all what we have. If he is the future, and he stays healthy, we'll have a sense of that. If not, we ought to have a sense of that, too. But to me, the fact that Boyle couldn't beat out Whitmer for the #2 spot in August, and can't beat him out now, makes me think he's probably not beating out anyone next year or the year after either. I suspect we see a totally re-vamped offense in 2015 run by a quarterback who isn't on the active roster in 2014. Whether that's Davis, Shireffs, Davis or someone else like a JUCO or a 5th year guy, I don't know. But that's what I think we'll see. As for the Foxx "experiment" I take that as just an opportunity to get the emergency quarterback some experience in a game that was over. Boyle was reportedly hurting, no sense in leaving Whitmer in there to take a beating. If Boyle remains limited, Foxx might have to step in at some point, so best just give him a few plays to get acclimated to the job.

To me the big question is Boyle's health. Diaco keeps saying he's hurt, but not injured, or injured but not hurt or has a lower leg problem or variations on those themes. I'm a little surprised that somebody hasn't tried to get more information on that, being that the kid is local and somebody probably knows details. But in any case, if he is not physically up to playing this is all a completely moot discussion. Be nice if somebody, Diaco, Boyle, Des, someone, got some info.

 

[BlueMAB]

And Boyle faced many tough teams and got darn little support from our wide outs.

But they've been incredible for Whitmer.

Rutgers and Temple were not the worst teams on our schedule. Memphis looks pretty good right now too. That argument just doesn't hold water.

We lost to Towson, Buffalo and USF before Casey took over. I hate people degrading his accomplishment, especially when he took such a beating for us that he had to give up his lifelong passion.

I hate people degrading our Fiesta Bowl, and conference championships, but it still happens years (and 2 coaching staffs) later.

It doesn't matter what Memphis looks like now. They were terrible last year.

Towson would have beaten Memphis, Rutgers, and USF last year, Buffalo too. Towson lost in the National Championship game.

The fact he took such a beating is exactly the point I'm making. Palatine keeps saying Boyle should play because the O-Line last year was better under Cochran.

It's been so good this year Cochran's career was ended in the first game.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I have to believe that there is a bit more to Boyle's (non) injury than we have been told (that Diaco is keeping a player's health status quiet is fine by the way). That Boyle hasn't played much through the first couple of weeks since Casey's retirement does not mean that he won't play at all (and I imagine the additional week of practice time will lead to far more game time Saturday).

As far as Boyle's mobility (in response to Fleud's post) when all are healthy he is clearly ahead of both Whitmer and Cochran (and I believe Whitmer is ahead of Cochran, even with the all too often scrambles into pressure).

 

[ctchamps]

I have to believe that there is a bit more to Boyle's (non) injury than we have been told (that Diaco is keeping a player's health status quiet is fine by the way). That Boyle hasn't played much through the first couple of weeks since Casey's retirement does not mean that he won't play at all (and I imagine the additional week of practice time will lead to far more game time Saturday).

As far as Boyle's mobility (in response to Fleud's post) when all are healthy he is clearly ahead of both Whitmer and Cochran (and I believe Whitmer is ahead of Cochran, even with the all too often scrambles into pressure).

That's interesting. I can only assess things from the games I'm watching on television. Live in SC. I don't remember Boyle's play from last season. I'm going by this season. So if he was very mobile last season and not this season an injury is very likely.

What's do you think was the reason Boyle was third on the depth chart prior to the start of this season?

 

[Stinger92860]

How does weight keep one from getting concussions?

If one has a fat head, that would absorb some of the blow.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

I have to believe that there is a bit more to Boyle's (non) injury than we have been told (that Diaco is keeping a player's health status quiet is fine by the way). That Boyle hasn't played much through the first couple of weeks since Casey's retirement does not mean that he won't play at all (and I imagine the additional week of practice time will lead to far more game time Saturday).

As far as Boyle's mobility (in response to Fleud's post) when all are healthy he is clearly ahead of both Whitmer and Cochran (and I believe Whitmer is ahead of Cochran, even with the all too often scrambles into pressure).

groin

 

[Bonehead]

I've come around on playing Boyle if he's healthy. Mostly just because it is clear that using Whitmer isn't working. Time for Plan B. I don't really expect to see much different from Boyle but we just need to find out once and for all what we have. If he is the future, and he stays healthy, we'll have a sense of that. If not, we ought to have a sense of that, too. But to me, the fact that Boyle couldn't beat out Whitmer for the #2 spot in August, and can't beat him out now, makes me think he's probably not beating out anyone next year or the year after either. I suspect we see a totally re-vamped offense in 2015 run by a quarterback who isn't on the active roster in 2014. Whether that's Davis, Shireffs, Davis or someone else like a JUCO or a 5th year guy, I don't know. But that's what I think we'll see. As for the Foxx "experiment" I take that as just an opportunity to get the emergency quarterback some experience in a game that was over. Boyle was reportedly hurting, no sense in leaving Whitmer in there to take a beating. If Boyle remains limited, Foxx might have to step in at some point, so best just give him a few plays to get acclimated to the job.

To me the big question is Boyle's health. Diaco keeps saying he's hurt, but not injured, or injured but not hurt or has a lower leg problem or variations on those themes. I'm a little surprised that somebody hasn't tried to get more information on that, being that the kid is local and somebody probably knows details. But in any case, if he is not physically up to playing this is all a completely moot discussion. Be nice if somebody, Diaco, Boyle, Des, someone, got some info.

its a booboo...leg pain.

He is healthy enough for 5-10 snaps a game.

 

[freescooter]

its a booboo...leg pain.

He is healthy enough for 5-10 snaps a game.

Taht sort of begs the question, right? Did he play 8 snaps because that's all Dicao wanted him to play or because his leg/whatever it is hurt when he was out there, or because whatever it is made him ineffective so they decided not to use him?

 

[Bonehead]

Taht sort of begs the question, right? Did he play 8 snaps because that's all Dicao wanted him to play or because his leg/whatever it is hurt when he was out there, or because whatever it is made him ineffective so they decided not to use him?

DING DING DING - Winner!

The only way we would ever find that out is if the CT Media asked pertinent follow up questions - so we will never know.

 

[Dogged]

DING DING DING - Winner!

The only way we would ever find that out is if the CT Media asked pertinent follow up questions - so we will never know.

I will bet that the Ct media do know what's wrong with Whitmer but don't share that because it would alienate them from the coaching staff and they would end up on the "outside" of UConn football.

HCBD is a control freak and doesn't want to share any information about the team unless it suits his purposes.