The View From Section 241 — Buffalo

[UConnDan97]

First home game the kids made an effort. Hopefully we will see more students on Saturday

The second game was packed also. So yesterday was the outlier. And I don't have any clue as to why, especially since the football product continues to get better and better...

 

[AllHusky]

The second game was packed also. So yesterday was the outlier. And I don't have any clue as to why, especially since the football product continues to get better and better...

Early game, 5-6 weeks into the semester, academic pressure ramping up, less sleep, alcoholic pressure relief Friday night, catch up on sleep and recover from Friday alcohol therapy, go to Soccer game
Big student crowd at Temple

 

[uconnfan68]

Nice write up.

A couple of things. The return of UConn having a punt returner is a welcome addition. Towards the end of RE 2.0 UConn was literally just letting punts roll or fair catching everything. Having Sheffield back there is great.

I mentioned in the now locked thread about what we were looking for in yesterday's game and I mentioned I wanted Evers running less and dishing off more. We see the results. As others have said in other threads, Evers is 6'0" and maybe 200lbs. He isn't built to take the beating of running 15 times a game............

That being said, future RPO QB's can see Sammis runs an offense which allows for a RPO QB to excel. If there's a 6'2" 215-220 lbs QB out there, UConn has game film to show that potential recruit how they can excel at UConn.

Speaking of coordinators,,,,,,,right now UConn has its best pair of coordinators since_________________???? Brock and Sammis have done a great job putting playmakers in position to excel.

Love how the defense is starting to wrap up the ball carrier and gang tackling. UConn's stunts and blitzes yesterday had Buffalo completely confused.

The slant pass TD from Fagnano to Bell was beautiful because both inside LB's bit on the run and left the middle of the field wide open. I don't know enough to know what it was with the formation that got both of the LB's to abandon the middle of the field near the goal line, but it worked.

Kudos to the RB's who have embraced the rotation and every one getting some. Also, the RB's as a whole have done a great job picking up blitzes and giving UConn's QBs that extra bit of breathing room.

UConn has just seal clubbed two bad teams in a row. I'd like to point out over the past decade, UConn has routinely lost, and lost big, to other FBS bottom dwellers and has also lost to FCS schools. UConn is playing and looking like a 50-70 range school right now and building confidence.

3-2 with four more games in a row at the Rent. There is a strong probability UConn will be bowl eligible before their next road game.

Evers is listed at 6’3”, 195#. But I agree he’s running too much. He’s no David Pindell.

 

[mikedog10]

Evers is listed at 6’3”, 195#. But I agree he’s running too much. He’s no David Pindell.

Can you imagine Pindell or Shireffs in this offense? They’d break records.

 

[Patman]

Have they put up QR code on the video board that you could scan to donate to NIL? If they haven't yet, they should. When people are feeling good they might want to help more.

I am a heavy minus on the usefulness of QR codes at that kind of a distance but I can see doing something

 

[Fairfield_1st]

I was hesitant on Sammis when he was hired. I had preferred a previous successful coordinator, even an FCS one. Then with the run heavy offense with NE at QB, I was concerned that he was just a run happy former OL coach. But Saturday, as soon as Fagnano came in, he completely changed his play calling to fit the QB. Very impressive switch and I'm so glad to be wrong (twice).

 

[AllHusky]

I loved the choice of Sammis, reminded me of Mike Foley, a great OL coach that had been the HC at Colgate, which took FB seriously

Sammis is bright, has HC aspirations and sees the field well. Liken hiring an OL guy as OC to hiring a catcher to be a baseball mgr. Thinking he is going to do great things as he hits his stride

 

[maple]

I was hesitant on Sammis when he was hired. I had preferred a previous successful coordinator, even an FCS one. Then with the run heavy offense with NE at QB, I was concerned that he was just a run happy former OL coach. But Saturday, as soon as Fagnano came in, he completely changed his play calling to fit the QB. Very impressive switch and I'm so glad to be wrong (twice).

It's so very nice to see a coach that is able to adapt in-game.

 

[Hamms30]

I was hesitant on Sammis when he was hired. I had preferred a previous successful coordinator, even an FCS one. Then with the run heavy offense with NE at QB, I was concerned that he was just a run happy former OL coach. But Saturday, as soon as Fagnano came in, he completely changed his play calling to fit the QB. Very impressive switch and I'm so glad to be wrong (twice).

the one thing I had in the back of my mind was that the athletic department knows the stakes of having a successful team in the very short term. So I was hoping with that in mind that giving the nod to Sammis wasn't just a "Let's give the guy a shot" decision and more that he has proven he has the knowledge of the game and ability to call an offense that put him on level with or even a better decision than hiring an OC from outside. The few whacky trick play calls in the Duke game aside, I think he's done great.

 

[Palatine]

the one thing I had in the back of my mind was that the athletic department knows the stakes of having a successful team in the very short term. So I was hoping with that in mind that giving the nod to Sammis wasn't just a "Let's give the guy a shot" decision and more that he has proven he has the knowledge of the game and ability to call an offense that put him on level with or even a better decision than hiring an OC from outside. The few whacky trick play calls in the Duke game aside, I think he's done great.

The few whacky Duke plays gave future opponents FAU and Buffalo something they had to prepare for before playing us. Although they didn't work they served a purpose.

 

[CL82]

Agree on the value of Fagnano's downfield passing vs. NE's running. Interestingly enough, Fagnano did just the right amount of running in my opinion. Just enough that it was a possibility that had to be accounted for, but not enough to endanger his long term health.

Something to think about is whether buffalo's prep for Evers helped set the table for Fagnano to have slightly wider margins passing. Someone else has said it, but I'm inclined to agree that our running back depth means that our run game can never be discounted. It's good to have options and having an aerial attack and a solid run game makes us a tougher team to plan for.

When Joe runs he needs to look to get out of bounds. We can't afford losing him.

 

[CL82]

Students dont get up until 1030 11 AM. Basically they have no chance to make a home game at noon.

Unless it is on campus?

 

[freescooter]

A couple of things.

1. I thin Sammis is doing a very good job. I like oline coaches as OC too. They need to see the field. When Orlovsky was at UConn the OC was an the offensive line coach. We were pretty good then.

2. Not sure why but the running game is back in vogue now. It has been making a comeback in the NFL and in college.

3. Unlike our 2022 team, this is a team which can and does throw the football. And does so effectively. We have had multiple long td passes as well as other chunk passing plays. It isn’t only a 3d and long passing team any more. It might be a run first team but it isn’t a run only one.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[ZooCougar]

I loved the choice of Sammis, reminded me of Mike Foley, a great OL coach that had been the HC at Colgate, which took FB seriously

Sammis is bright, has HC aspirations and sees the field well. Liken hiring an OL guy as OC to hiring a catcher to be a baseball mgr. Thinking he is going to do great things as he hits his stride

Sammis is big thinker. He might have some hiccups along the way but I think he will have a great coaching career and we should enjoy him while he is here.

Love that the trick plays have evaporated for now.

 

[rich1122]

They hit pay dirt with the transfers. The kid from Furman. Durrell Robinson was hurt and relatively under the radar. Hohe hardly played at Cuse. This has been great.

Now we know why they didn’t go after many OL in the portal. Made a good decision.

 

[Hamms30]

I loved the choice of Sammis, reminded me of Mike Foley, a great OL coach that had been the HC at Colgate, which took FB seriously

Sammis is bright, has HC aspirations and sees the field well. Liken hiring an OL guy as OC to hiring a catcher to be a baseball mgr. Thinking he is going to do great things as he hits his stride

One of the things that stuck out when I watched it on my recording later and are the types of things I miss live as I don't have that deep of a strategic knowledge of the game, but the commentators were mentioning that UConn was running the 3 bunch set out wide to pull Dolak out of the middle of the field and into coverage. I don't recall in years prior hearing that kind of call out related to our OC neutralizing the defensive threats.

 

[businesslawyer]

O.K. Medic, I’ll bite. Since you found that interesting enough to post, mind explaining to me what it shows us?

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

One of the things that stuck out when I watched it on my recording later and are the types of things I miss live as I don't have that deep of a strategic knowledge of the game, but the commentators were mentioning that UConn was running the 3 bunch set out wide to pull Dolak out of the middle of the field and into coverage. I don't recall in years prior hearing that kind of call out related to our OC neutralizing the defensive threats.

I enjoyed the analysis provided by Logan Ryan. He talked about things you usually don’t hear in a broadcast.

 

[huskymedic]

O.K. Medic, I’ll bite. Since you found that interesting enough to post, mind explaining to me what it shows us?

I’m not that bright (I still have trouble w/ drug calculations) so I cheated for the full explanation for you (other than we are on the right side of the equation) here (Football Stats nerd stuff):

 

[RedStickHusky]

Agree on the value of Fagnano's downfield passing vs. NE's running. Interestingly enough, Fagnano did just the right amount of running in my opinion. Just enough that it was a possibility that had to be accounted for, but not enough to endanger his long term health. That said, I loved the NE pitch play to the left. He made the cut north, which caused the Sam to bite, and pitched it to the RB for a nice gain.

This was our first game this year. In previous post game comments I saw a lot of complaining about UConn's pass rush. So it is probably appropriate to mention that UConn unveiled (if that is the correct term) a pretty effective pass rush yesterday. And the tackling was pretty awesome. There was one incidence of the edge rusher getting to the QB late in the game that some might have criticized for not wrapping him up. I thought, rather, that he was lucky to have gotten his finger tips to the QB's ankles. Awesome effort.

We got after the FAU QB pretty good too. He was dancing the whole game.

 

[RedStickHusky]

2. Not sure why but the running game is back in vogue now. It has been making a comeback in the NFL and in college.

Maybe RBs are cheaper than QBs.

 

[businesslawyer]

I’m not that bright (I still have trouble w/ drug calculations) so I cheated for the full explanation for you (other than we are on the right side of the equation) here (Football Stats nerd stuff):

LOL. Not trying to pick on you. One of my pet peeves professionally is watching people use charts to illustrate a point when they can't explain what the chart shows.

 

[ZooCougar]

I’m not that bright (I still have trouble w/ drug calculations) so I cheated for the full explanation for you (other than we are on the right side of the equation) here (Football Stats nerd stuff):

He doesn’t even know what it means.

 

[ZooCougar]

A couple of things.

1. I thin Sammis is doing a very good job. I like oline coaches as OC too. They need to see the field. When Orlovsky was at UConn the OC was an the offensive line coach. We were pretty good then.

2. Not sure why but the running game is back in vogue now. It has been making a comeback in the NFL and in college.

3. Unlike our 2022 team, this is a team which can and does throw the football. And does so effectively. We have had multiple long td passes as well as other chunk passing plays. It isn’t only a 3d and long passing team any more. It might be a run first team but it isn’t a run only one.

Running game is coming back because tackling went away.