- Joined
- Sep 20, 2011
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The problem with the play-calling is it’s boring vanilla no-mistakes football.
It worked OK for Randy fifteen years ago. But we had a lot of other things going for us then. We were a program on the rise, with a new stadium and a great gameday experience. We were in an auto-bid BCS conference. We had a great slate of name-brand opponents. And the NFL was a lot more conservative back then, so RE could sell boring as preparation for the league’s “pro-style” play.
We have none of that going for us In 2019, so it’s hard to see how conservative boring football helps us.
“Come play for UConn! We may not be in a P5, and we may be terrible right now, but we’re committed to boring football! Help us build a team that can run it up the gut 25 times and play conservative no-mistakes defense! Maybe by the time you’re a junior we’ll run into a MAC team that turns the ball over 4 times in the first half. We’ll cling desperately to the lead and play prevent defense for the entire 4th quarter and hang on for a W when the opposing kicker misses a 30 yard attempt in the final seconds! What do you say? Come be a part of that!”
No one wants to be a part of that and no one wants to watch that. Especially not from a non-P5 team with a mediocre schedule.
Find some mad genius who is running an uptempo never-punt offense and hand him the keys. I’d rather watch us lose 100-40 than 50-12. And it makes it easier to recruit offensive talent. Then in a few years when we’re “only” losing 100-60, you tell defensive recruits we’ve got a Top 10 offense and are just a few key guys on D away from becoming a powerhouse.
We were basically on this track with Lashlee before Randy handcuffed the offensive tempo. I think RE was technically “correct” that slowing down the pace of play increased our chances of winning a particular game. But it took the air out of something exciting/fun and replaced it with boring mediocrity. Maybe that buys you one extra win in the short term. It’s a program killer in the long term.
It worked OK for Randy fifteen years ago. But we had a lot of other things going for us then. We were a program on the rise, with a new stadium and a great gameday experience. We were in an auto-bid BCS conference. We had a great slate of name-brand opponents. And the NFL was a lot more conservative back then, so RE could sell boring as preparation for the league’s “pro-style” play.
We have none of that going for us In 2019, so it’s hard to see how conservative boring football helps us.
“Come play for UConn! We may not be in a P5, and we may be terrible right now, but we’re committed to boring football! Help us build a team that can run it up the gut 25 times and play conservative no-mistakes defense! Maybe by the time you’re a junior we’ll run into a MAC team that turns the ball over 4 times in the first half. We’ll cling desperately to the lead and play prevent defense for the entire 4th quarter and hang on for a W when the opposing kicker misses a 30 yard attempt in the final seconds! What do you say? Come be a part of that!”
No one wants to be a part of that and no one wants to watch that. Especially not from a non-P5 team with a mediocre schedule.
Find some mad genius who is running an uptempo never-punt offense and hand him the keys. I’d rather watch us lose 100-40 than 50-12. And it makes it easier to recruit offensive talent. Then in a few years when we’re “only” losing 100-60, you tell defensive recruits we’ve got a Top 10 offense and are just a few key guys on D away from becoming a powerhouse.
We were basically on this track with Lashlee before Randy handcuffed the offensive tempo. I think RE was technically “correct” that slowing down the pace of play increased our chances of winning a particular game. But it took the air out of something exciting/fun and replaced it with boring mediocrity. Maybe that buys you one extra win in the short term. It’s a program killer in the long term.
