The View From Section 241 — Army | Page 3 | The Boneyard
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The View From Section 241 — Army

All year the depth chart never reflected game participation. Didn't hear a lot of complaining about it.

I don't see the bowl game as a mistreatment of customers. Paying for 7 home games when there are only 6 would be.

Time for the Candle era and a new cycle of UConn football.
 
I would say that the bowl games still matter to the fans. That is pretty obvious by the responses here and the number of people who went to Fenway. They might matter to the players but that is based on circumstances. Us last year and 2022, Army this year. But once Mora left it was difficult to keep the players focused and involved. They don’t know what their future holds in a new regime so are looking to get in the portal even if it is just in case. The assistants were only partly focused. Mostly they were looking for or planning on moving to their next job. And while I like Sammis, he is nowhere ready to be a head coach at this point. He really didn’t do a good job on the sideline or in getting buy in for the game. I also think the opponent didn’t help. A P4 opponent would have generated some juice with then team. Army didn’t nor would any G6.
 
Just thawed out. Wasn't fun. Many factors made what happened inevitable. Not going to kill Sammis, TBH he could have bailed too. Farrar was put in an impossible position and actually started to show some skill in 2nd half, but OTOH he isn't the answer. Didn't dig the Skyler exit but his call and hope he and Joe and others do well going forward. Glad Candle was there to judge who was buying in and who wasn't. (BTW Candle smaller than I imagined but does have a commanding voice).
 
Major shoutouts to both Locked On UConn and Husky Huddle who both knocked it out if the park today. Both listing all the things wrong about how everything was handled. Certainly a better way to move forward than by denying it happened or by telling longtime fans to just “accept it”. Lots of interesting behind the scenes thoughts about what was going on the last month.



 
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I agree with this. These kids aren't football players or team players if they are choosing to sit out games

 
RitzLuce1 said:
Yeah. UConn should go out of the way to alienate the few fans they have. Brilliant point.
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I am curious on your thoughts on how you would have handled this bucket of cr-- situation differently. No one should alienate their fans and doubt that was the intent. I think Benedict has done an excellent job overall and this was a terrible situation. I prefer to judge him on the entirety of his work rather than one awful month in which he got a lot right (if you believe in Candle at all).
 
TMB4405 said:
I am curious on your thoughts on how you would have handled this bucket of cr-- situation differently. No one should alienate their fans and doubt that was the intent. I think Benedict has done an excellent job overall and this was a terrible situation. I prefer to judge him on the entirety of his work rather than one awful month in which he got a lot right (if you believe in Candle at all).
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I was responding to a fan mocking fans (many who have posted on this board for years like BL) for being upset the 2 deep not being posted. My first instinct is to defend them.
 
Folks can analyze this all they want, but this is not a UCONN problem this is a college football problem. These players are young and they are simply behaving based on what they observe. Coaches, athletic departments, conferences and the NCAA have made in very clear that you look out for your own self interest first and foremost. And make no doubt about it.......that interest is MONEY! The idea of student athlete, love of the game, brotherhood, etc. is for the most part......crap.

Major college athletics needs to bifurcate soon into a segment of full fledge professional athletics with the schools as sponsors of those franchises; and another segment that resembles something along the lines of amatuer sport with academics. The former is going to compete with the NFL, NBA and WNBA. Don't see that going particularly well.........
 
TMB4405 said:
I am curious on your thoughts on how you would have handled this bucket of cr-- situation differently. No one should alienate their fans and doubt that was the intent. I think Benedict has done an excellent job overall and this was a terrible situation. I prefer to judge him on the entirety of his work rather than one awful month in which he got a lot right (if you believe in Candle at all).
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Benedict should have gone in front of the team and gave an inspiring speech like Henry the 8th and then snapped his fingers and then Joe Fagnano would have parachuted into Fenway to save the day. Easy.
 
TMB4405 said:
I am curious on your thoughts on how you would have handled this bucket of cr-- situation differently. No one should alienate their fans and doubt that was the intent. I think Benedict has done an excellent job overall and this was a terrible situation. I prefer to judge him on the entirety of his work rather than one awful month in which he got a lot right (if you believe in Candle at all).
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I don’t understand the starting point — that if someone has done a good job overall, he can’t be criticized. Whether it’s a friend, a politician, a coach or an AD. Benedict has done a good job during his tenure here. But that means one can’t criticize him if you think he screwed something up royally?

In this instance, there were so many conflicting rumors that I don’t pretend that I know exactly what happened. But I know enough to think that while the rumors were flying around he needed to tell the fan base SOMETHING, even if all he could say was something like the following: “I know you all are seeing these rumors. Following Coach Mora’s departure, we are in fact aware that a material number of players have communicated that they do not intend to compete in our Bowl Game. We can’t provide further information now because the coaches and I are still trying to get as many as players as possible to finish the season. We will try to provide further clarity when we get close to the game and it is clear who will be there and who won’t be. We thank you for your patience,
 
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Only post game analysis I care about is anyone who played defense and wants to return next season is forced to sit down and watch their game film with the incoming staff.

Completely predictable with the weather and the offense being neutered, but there was a whole lot of 90% effort by a lot of players on a lot of plays.
 
uconndogs said:
Folks can analyze this all they want, but this is not a UCONN problem this is a college football problem. These players are young and they are simply behaving based on what they observe. Coaches, athletic departments, conferences and the NCAA have made in very clear that you look out for your own self interest first and foremost. And make no doubt about it.......that interest is MONEY! The idea of student athlete, love of the game, brotherhood, etc. is for the most part......crap.

Major college athletics needs to bifurcate soon into a segment of full fledge professional athletics with the schools as sponsors of those franchises; and another segment that resembles something along the lines of amatuer sport with academics. The former is going to compete with the NFL, NBA and WNBA. Don't see that going particularly well.........
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You are both right and wrong. The problem is college football’s, but it is a unique problem to us. Every other Division 1 school in the country, FBS and FCS, is playing the regular season for at least one of a conference championship or a place in a national championship tournament. We are not. We are playing to get into the best bowl game we can and demonstrate our level by going and winning it. A bowl for us is not a consolation prize — it is the prize.
 
Chin Diesel said:
Only post game analysis I care about is anyone who played defense and wants to return next season is forced to sit down and watch their game film with the incoming staff.

Completely predictable with the weather and the offense being neutered, but there was a whole lot of 90% effort by a lot of players on a lot of plays.
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Eh. I’m not willing to blame our poor defensive play on lack of effort. There was a lack of talent and depth, and the lack of depth meant that the front 7 were playing far more downs than they were used to. And it’s not like the defense was good over the course of the season.
 
businesslawyer said:
Eh. I’m not willing to blame our poor defensive play on lack of effort. There was a lack of talent and depth, and the lack of depth meant that the front 7 were playing far more downs than they were used to. And it’s not like the defense was good over the course of the season.
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Agree it wasn't a complete lack of effort and the defense, even at its best and full strength, was flawed all season. That being said, I definitely saw some plays where the pile was still moving or the play wasn't over and UConn's players watched the play end rather than finishing plays. So, I gave it an overall 90%. I can be moved off that number, but no way would I say the defensive players were fighting 100% like their playing time and scholarships depended on it.
 
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ZooCougar said:
Benedict should have gone in front of the team and gave an inspiring speech like Henry the 8th and then snapped his fingers and then Joe Fagnano would have parachuted into Fenway to save the day. Easy.
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Is that your Nelson Muntz imitation, attacking a position that absolutely nobody put forward? Or if I’m old and feeble minded, please be kind enough to point out the post where someone said that. Thanks.
 
businesslawyer said:
Is that your Nelson Muntz imitation, attacking a position that absolutely nobody put forward? Or if I’m old and feeble minded, please be kind enough to point out the post where someone said that. Thanks.
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It’s a joke about the ridiculous idea being put forward that Dave Benedict could have somehow “fixed” this situation. They did the best they could under suboptimal circumstances.

Coach left.

Joe opted out to get healthy

No bowl tie in so with a 9 win season we ended up in Boston again which is old hat for some, but a far better payday. We have bills to pay after all.

Can we please shut this down and look forward instead of moaning about a condition affecting all of college football and that the school has no ability to remedy?

Please, pretty please with a cherry on top?
 
businesslawyer said:
Is that your Nelson Muntz imitation, attacking a position that absolutely nobody put forward? Or if I’m old and feeble minded, please be kind enough to point out the post where someone said that. Thanks.
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What don't you understand? You (presumably facetiously -- my apologies if I misinterpreted) said that Benedict, in effect, should have magically snapped his fingers and JF would have played. So I am asking whether anyone who disagrees with you, apparently, by thinking DB should have done more, actually said anything like the argument you shot down? And assuming they did not because I don't remember that (again, my apologies if I missed something) I was comparing that tactic to Muntz telling anyone that thinks the Big East is materially down in basketball that they must want us to go back to the American.
 
ZooCougar said:
It’s a joke about the ridiculous idea being put forward that Dave Benedict could have somehow “fixed” this situation. They did the best they could under suboptimal circumstances.

Coach left.

Joe opted out to get healthy

No bowl tie in so with a 9 win season we ended up in Boston again which is old hat for some, but a far better payday. We have bills to pay after all.

Can we please shut this down and look forward instead of moaning about a condition affecting all of college football and that the school has no ability to remedy?

Please, pretty please with a cherry on top?
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My response crossed yours. Sorry for the inconvenience. I'll leave it as saying there may or may not have been anything he could have done to get more players to play (not JF, who right or wrong had a rational reason) but that is a different question than whether better communication with the fanbase was called for.
 
businesslawyer said:
You are both right and wrong. The problem is college football’s, but it is a unique problem to us. Every other Division 1 school in the country, FBS and FCS, is playing the regular season for at least one of a conference championship or a place in a national championship tournament. We are not. We are playing to get into the best bowl game we can and demonstrate our level by going and winning it. A bowl for us is not a consolation prize — it is the prize.
Expand ...

Your assuming the kids care about that. I don't think many do and it's perfectly logical that they don't given the behavior they witness from everyone else. Two years ago FSU crapped all over the Sugar Bowl. ND just bowed out of a bowl this season. Kiffen just left his team that was entering into the CFP. Mark my words, it's only a matter of time before some players bypass the CFP to assure their NFL payday.

As a side note, the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that Joe F. and Bell made mistakes not playing (or whatever the hell Bell did or didn't do). You hire for skill AND character and both showed a serious lack of that with their decisions.
 
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I can say with full confidence that Joe's decision to leave his teammates and the university on their own neither hurt or helped Joe's chances with the NFL.

And anyone defending Benedict's position to circle the wagons and give out no information is defending mickey mouse tactics.

In both cases, the decisions have minimal or no impact on anything in the future. But both choose the low road.
 
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