The View From Section 241 — Rice

[businesslawyer]

I think the tag line for this week’s win comes down to this: we caught a big break in that Rice had to play without its starting QB, and Rice caught a big break that we were able to play with ours. Is that harsh on Evers? Well, yes for being trite. But against a lousy G-5 team, he went 9 for 24 throwing (37.5%), for a mere 128 yards (just over 5 yards a throw), with a pick, and 11 carries for minus three yards. Is JF a cure for cancer? Absolutely not. But it boggled my mind we didn’t make a change at halftime, even knowing how clear Mora is in his own mind that Evers is the clear #1. Whether you blamed it on Evers or not, the offense was so unbelievably pitiful (more on that in a moment) that is was shocking to me we didn’t do something. (In fairness to Mora, his goal is to win football games and we did. But sheesh. The first half of that game was as unwatchable a competitive football game as I think I’ve ever seen. No criticism from me for anyone who bailed. To me, the story that our QB play was that unbelievably bad is the lead — not that we managed a 7 point win that came down to the end against a really bad team, playing without its QB, at home. (Please don’t think that means I don’t care that we won — I was there through the last attempt at a pass and 30 laterals.)

O.K., let’s get to the day and game in more detail. One thing I learned is that controlling a tailgate with 11 people is far more than 3 times the work as doing my normal work for 2-4. Everyone wants to help, damn them. We didn’t get out of the parking lot until the game was already 15 minutes underway, and it wasn’t until I unpacked the car last night that I had any idea whether anything that was supposed to come back home with me did. Luckily, being 15 minutes late meant I missed absolutely nothing except seeing an extra 15 minutes of unwatchable football.

I’m sure the Defense caught a break with their QB being out, but you can’t be more dominant than they were. Less than 200 yards of total offense allowed, 2/17 on combined third and fourth downs and a shutout but for the offense giving the ball away in FG range and a special teams TD. Price Yates played most of the game and had a large impact. He started playing for Barton but finished playing for Gourdine, who I assume got hurt at some point. Tui and McDonald were outstanding, as always. Chadwick and Jordan Wright both played corner, sending Malcolm Bell back to the bench (after a number of games here he filled in more than adequately). Just a great team performance up and down the lineup.

Not a good game for special team. Yes, the wind was a huge factor but we lose yardage every week in the punting game. The KR return TD we gave up followed about a 50 yard return on the kick before. (By the way, on both of those we kicked into the wind and to Freeman’s credit the kicks reached the goal line). Freeman had another really good game, missing the 53 or so yarder notwithstanding (on a day that was so windy, even with the wind at his back that was a low percentage attempt). Sheffield did a very good job in the wind deciding which punts to try to get to and which not to, and getting some return yards.

The offense was beyond pitiful the first half — we would not have scored on Merrimack the way we played in the first half — and but for two huge individual efforts was only slightly better in the second. But Durrell Robinson turning what should have been a 6-8 yard gain into a 68 yard TD, and then Skyler Bell catching the heave into the wind into the red zone, which was a spectacular play that reflected on the pass not at all (other than credit for someone giving him a chance to make a play for the first time in weeks), was enough to win. Barely. I talked about the QB above, and won’t do so again, but we went for a fifth straight half unable to run the ball a lick. And then, even beyond the one that Robinson broke, the second half was a bit better. But if we’re going to get to 8-4 we have to be better than we were yesterday.

So there we are. 5-3, with nowhere near a halfway decent win to our name, but 5-3 nonetheless. The way we are playing offense winning in Southern Ontario is a pipe dream, but we’ll be favored in the other 3 and should be able to win. Of course, that requires winning twice on the road, where I’m not sure that we’ve won more than twice combined in 5 years or so, but UMass and UAB are both terrible football teams. But get it done, and find a bowl stuck with taking us, and being 8-4 with a chance to beat at least a decent G-5 team in a bowl game is more than most of us would have asked for at the beginning of the season. Certainly more than I would have asked for. Despite knowing how far we have to go, and not being sure being an independent with de minimus TV money leaves us much of.a chance of getting there. But doing what we can requires being ready on Friday night to get to 5-1 on this bizarre six game homestand, and 6-1 at home for the year.

 

[cttxus]

I think the tag line for this week’s win comes down to this: we caught a big break in that Rice had to play without its starting QB, and Rice caught a big break that we were able to play with ours. Is that harsh on Evers? Well, yes for being trite. But against a lousy G-5 team, he went 9 for 24 throwing (37.5%), for a mere 128 yards (just over 5 yards a throw), with a pick, and 11 carries for minus three yards. Is JF a cure for cancer? Absolutely not. But it boggled my mind we didn’t make a change at halftime, even knowing how clear Mora is in his own mind that Evers is the clear #1. Whether you blamed it on Evers or not, the offense was so unbelievably pitiful (more on that in a moment) that is was shocking to me we didn’t do something. (In fairness to Mora, his goal is to win football games and we did. But sheesh. The first half of that game was as unwatchable a competitive football game as I think I’ve ever seen. No criticism from me for anyone who bailed. To me, the story that our QB play was that unbelievably bad is the lead — not that we managed a 7 that came down to the end against a really bad team, playing without its QB, at home. (Please don’t think that means I don’t care that we won — I was there through the last attempt at a pass and 30 laterals.)

O.K., let’s get to the day and game in more detail. One thing I learned is that controlling a tailgate with 11 people is far more than 3 times the work as doing my normal work for 2-4. Everyone wants to help, damn them. We didn’t get out of the parking lot until the game was already 15 minutes underway, and it wasn’t until I unpacked the car last night that I had any idea whether anything that was supposed to come back home with me did. Luckily, being 15 minutes late meant I missed absolutely nothing seeing an extra 15 minutes of unwatchable football.

I’m sure the Defense caught a break with their QB being out, but you can’t be more dominant than they were. Less than 200 yards of total offense allowed, 2/17 on combined third and fourth downs and a shutout but for the offense giving the ball away in FG range and a special teams TD. Price Yates played most of the game and had a large impact. He started playing for Barton but finished playing for Gourdine, who I assume got hurt at some point. Tui and McDonald were outstanding, as always. Chadwick and Jordan Wright both played corner, sending Malcolm Bell back to the bench (after a number of games here he filled in more than adequately). Just a great team performance up and down the lineup.

Not a good game for special team. Yes, the wind was a huge factor but we lose yardage every week in the punting game. The KR return TD we gave up followed about a 50 yard return on the kick before. (By the way, on both of those we kicked into the wind and to Freeman’s credit the kicks reached the goal line). Freeman had another really good game, missing the 53 or so yarder notwithstanding (on a day that windy, even with the wind at his back that was a low percentage attempt). Sheffield did a very good job in the wind deciding which punts to try to get to and which not to, and getting some return yards.

The offense was beyond pitiful the first half — we would not have scored on Merrimack the way we played in the first half — and but for two huge individual efforts were only slightly better on the second. But Durrell Robinson turning what should have been a 6-8 yard game into a 68 yard TD, and then Skyler Bell catching the heave into the wind into the red zone, which was a spectacular play that reflected on the pass not at all (other than credit for someone giving him a chance to make a play for the first time in weeks), was enough to win. Barely. I talked about the QB above, and won’t do so again, but we went for a fifth straight half unable to run the ball a lick. And then, even beyond the one that Robinson broke, the second half was a bit better. But if we’re going to get to 8-4 we have to be better than we were yesterday.

So there we are. 5-3, with nowhere near a halfway decent win to our name, but 5-3 nonetheless. The way we are playing offense winning in Southern Ontario is a pipe dream, but we’ll be favored in the other 3 and should be able to win. Of course, that requires winning twice on the road, where I’m not sure that we’ve won more than twice combined in 5 years or so, but UMass and UAB are both terrible football teams. But get it done, and find a bowl stuck with taking us, and being 8-4 with a chance to beat at least a decent G-5 team in a bowl game is more than most of us would have asked for at the beginning of the season. Certainly more than I would have asked for. Despite knowing how far we have to go, and not being sure being an independent with de minimus TV money leaves us little chance of getting there. But doing what we can requires being ready on Friday night to get to 5-1 on this bizarre six game homestand, and 6-1 at home for the year.

Great summary BL, as usual. However, I can't imagine hosting a tailgate for 11, let alone a bunch attorneys who want to help. There's at least one joke in there but glad you got through it all.

Watching the game on TV from TX, I have to agree with you on the quality of play, or lack thereof, especially with some parts of the O and special teams. The D, on the other hand, seems to be much improved this year and, I think, is actually fun to watch. They've really stepped up when the O is flat or just MIA.

On that note, I assume JM is limited (and frustrated) in terms of what he can do with certain personnel (i.e. QB) due to NIL implications. To me, NIL seems to be a two-edged sword for UConn this year; mostly beneficial but the big question mark is still QB. Regardless whether NE or JF starts/plays the remaining 4 games, I'm hoping we get a chance to see what CW can do before the season ends and, if nothing else, keep him from looking too fondly at the portal this off season.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

BL, for openers, what led you to believe that you could possibly control eleven attorneys? As you were completely alone before the fourth quarter , I hope you have some all night research projects to assign to a few of them.

As we discussed yesterday, I don't know why JM didn't make the QB change at halftime but fortunately we got the W. We are not yet where we should worry about style points so the W was enough yesterday.

I don't know how well our offensive line will hold up against Syracuse but as CW could play in each of the other three remaining games and still retain a redshirt I wouldn't mind seeing him get some playing time in each of those games.

 

[Scrutineer]

I think the tag line for this week’s win comes down to this: we caught a big break in that Rice had to play without its starting QB, and Rice caught a big break that we were able to play with ours. Is that harsh on Evers? Well, yes for being trite. But against a lousy G-5 team, he went 9 for 24 throwing (37.5%), for a mere 128 yards (just over 5 yards a throw), with a pick, and 11 carries for minus three yards. Is JF a cure for cancer? Absolutely not. But it boggled my mind we didn’t make a change at halftime, even knowing how clear Mora is in his own mind that Evers is the clear #1. Whether you blamed it on Evers or not, the offense was so unbelievably pitiful (more on that in a moment) that is was shocking to me we didn’t do something. (In fairness to Mora, his goal is to win football games and we did. But sheesh. The first half of that game was as unwatchable a competitive football game as I think I’ve ever seen. No criticism from me for anyone who bailed. To me, the story that our QB play was that unbelievably bad is the lead — not that we managed a 7 that came down to the end against a really bad team, playing without its QB, at home. (Please don’t think that means I don’t care that we won — I was there through the last attempt at a pass and 30 laterals.)

O.K., let’s get to the day and game in more detail. One thing I learned is that controlling a tailgate with 11 people is far more than 3 times the work as doing my normal work for 2-4. Everyone wants to help, damn them. We didn’t get out of the parking lot until the game was already 15 minutes underway, and it wasn’t until I unpacked the car last night that I had any idea whether anything that was supposed to come back home with me did. Luckily, being 15 minutes late meant I missed absolutely nothing seeing an extra 15 minutes of unwatchable football.

I’m sure the Defense caught a break with their QB being out, but you can’t be more dominant than they were. Less than 200 yards of total offense allowed, 2/17 on combined third and fourth downs and a shutout but for the offense giving the ball away in FG range and a special teams TD. Price Yates played most of the game and had a large impact. He started playing for Barton but finished playing for Gourdine, who I assume got hurt at some point. Tui and McDonald were outstanding, as always. Chadwick and Jordan Wright both played corner, sending Malcolm Bell back to the bench (after a number of games here he filled in more than adequately). Just a great team performance up and down the lineup.

Not a good game for special team. Yes, the wind was a huge factor but we lose yardage every week in the punting game. The KR return TD we gave up followed about a 50 yard return on the kick before. (By the way, on both of those we kicked into the wind and to Freeman’s credit the kicks reached the goal line). Freeman had another really good game, missing the 53 or so yarder notwithstanding (on a day that windy, even with the wind at his back that was a low percentage attempt). Sheffield did a very good job in the wind deciding which punts to try to get to and which not to, and getting some return yards.

The offense was beyond pitiful the first half — we would not have scored on Merrimack the way we played in the first half — and but for two huge individual efforts were only slightly better on the second. But Durrell Robinson turning what should have been a 6-8 yard game into a 68 yard TD, and then Skyler Bell catching the heave into the wind into the red zone, which was a spectacular play that reflected on the pass not at all (other than credit for someone giving him a chance to make a play for the first time in weeks), was enough to win. Barely. I talked about the QB above, and won’t do so again, but we went for a fifth straight half unable to run the ball a lick. And then, even beyond the one that Robinson broke, the second half was a bit better. But if we’re going to get to 8-4 we have to be better than we were yesterday.

So there we are. 5-3, with nowhere near a halfway decent win to our name, but 5-3 nonetheless. The way we are playing offense winning in Southern Ontario is a pipe dream, but we’ll be favored in the other 3 and should be able to win. Of course, that requires winning twice on the road, where I’m not sure that we’ve won more than twice combined in 5 years or so, but UMass and UAB are both terrible football teams. But get it done, and find a bowl stuck with taking us, and being 8-4 with a chance to beat at least a decent G-5 team in a bowl game is more than most of us would have asked for at the beginning of the season. Certainly more than I would have asked for. Despite knowing how far we have to go, and not being sure being an independent with de minimus TV money leaves us little chance of getting there. But doing what we can requires being ready on Friday night to get to 5-1 on this bizarre six game homestand, and 6-1 at home for the year.

Great summary as always.

Being originally from New England, all the positives about the defense make me immediately look for something to worry about............like the possibility we'll lose the DC after this year.

He's done a great job with the 3-3-5 and seems to deserve most of the credit for the 5-3 record..............which with a competent offense would now be 7-1.

What's with the weekly slow starts?

With the almost instant disintegration of the running game the last two weeks are we seeing evidence that Ben Murawski was the key to the running attack?

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Evers can't start a game the rest of the season if we want to even remote consider ourselves a serious program.

 

[businesslawyer]

BL, for openers, what led you to believe that you could possibly control eleven attorneys? As you were completely alone before the fourth quarter , I hope you have some all night research projects to assign to a few of them.

As we discussed yesterday, I don't know why JM didn't make the QB change at halftime but fortunately we got the W. We are not yet where we should worry about style points so the W was enough yesterday.

I don't know how well our offensive line will hold up against Syracuse but as CW could play in each of the other three remaining games and still retain a redshirt I wouldn't mind seeing him get some playing time in each of those games.

You don't control a roomful of attorneys. You just hope they're not billing you for anything.

But as I said above, I blame no one for leaving that early. I question my own sanity for staying until the end.

 

[NEforceUConn]

You don't control a roomful of attorneys. You just hope they're not billing you for anything.

But as I said above, I blame no one for leaving that early. I question my own sanity for staying until the end.

Overruled counselor, the absent juniors need a pant load of paralegal work to do. And Friday please br some of the firm’s available paralegals. Certain BY members need to work off their frustrations (And stop making @sses out of themselves on this board)

ps. Great write up. Thoughtful without throwing anyone under the bus.

Bleed Blue

 

[Palatine]

We are beating teams that don't know how to win. But for a long time that was us. After the game Mora said he appreciated the team found a way to win. So do I. So should we all.

The biggest concern is the offensive line. It has gone steadily backward. First the run blocking disappeared and last night the pass blocking joined it. Worse, we still have not figured out how to snap the ball when the QB is prepared to receive the snap. Think about that for a second.

The is something about Evers throwing motion that I am not knowledgeable enough to pinpoint. It seems nonchalant. He doesn't seem to step into his throws (at least not all the time). Part of it is probably that he delivers the ball a bit late on many throws. If he anticipated better maybe the motion would be fine. I don't know.

 

[CTBasketball]

I’ve been pro-Evers all year, he’s made some progress, but the last 2-3 games have been brutal. We need to open the run game.

Have to think Joey gets a nod if this continues.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I’ve been pro-Evers all year, he’s made some progress, but the last 2-3 games have been brutal. We need to open the run game.

Have to think Joey gets a nod if this continues.

That's in of itself is a statement. 2-3 games? Season is only 8 games old and Fagnano' started 2 of them and played a lot in another.

 

[CTBasketball]

That's in of itself is a statement. 2-3 games? Season is only 8 games old and Fagnano' started 2 of them and played a lot in another.

The 2H of Wake Forest was trending up, and then yesterday vs. an inferior defense was shocking.

 

[uconnfan68]

I think the tag line for this week’s win comes down to this: we caught a big break in that Rice had to play without its starting QB, and Rice caught a big break that we were able to play with ours.

This said it all.

Is that harsh on Evers? Well, yes for being trite.

You’re too kind.

 

[Woof 101]

But sheesh.

Liked the post for the word LOL. But, but your honor sheesh...... I object.

You don't control a roomful of attorneys. You just hope they're not billing you for anything.

This is funny but assign a task so the TEAM effort is a fun event and not a burden on anyone.

I question my own sanity for staying until the end.

You should realize it is not your sanity but loyalty. Kudos to those that have respect to support the team until the end. For our group it's a 12th man thing. Start to finish............. Very good factual review.

 

[UConnJim]

On that note, I assume JM is limited (and frustrated) in terms of what he can do with certain personnel (i.e. QB) due to NIL implications. To me, NIL seems to be a two-edged sword for UConn this year; mostly beneficial but the big question mark is still QB. Regardless whether NE or JF starts/plays the remaining 4 games, I'm hoping we get a chance to see what CW can do before the season ends and, if nothing else, keep him from looking too fondly at the portal this off season.

I don't think NIL has much to do with it. Evers has been concussed twice and he has only payed 6 college games so you would expect some ups and downs. And, UConn really needs Evers to be a good QB, especially for next year. That said, he did not look good yesterday. I do think Mora has a tough choice to make over the next few games as UConn can have a very good season if there is good QB play. The only choice is Fagnano as you want to preserve Welliver's red shirt as he can only play in 3 more games. I would think Evers is on a short leash against Georgia St.

 

[uconnfan68]

I don't think NIL has much to do with it. Evers has been concussed twice and he has only payed 6 college games so you would expect some ups and downs. And, UConn really needs Evers to be a good QB, especially for next year. That said, he did not look good yesterday. I do think Mora has a tough choice to make over the next few games as UConn can have a very good season if there is good QB play. The only choice is Fagnano as you want to preserve Welliver's red shirt as he can only play in 3 more games. I would think Evers is on a short leash against Georgia St.

I hope Evers is ok, physically and mentally, but I think we need to spare feelings at this point, for players and boosters. We need to put the best chance to win on the field.

 

[CL82]

You don't control a roomful of attorneys. You just hope they're not billing you for anything.

That's a great line.

For what it's worth I've been on both sides of the "helpful guest dilemma." As a guest, you're legitimately appreciative for the invite and want to do anything you can to help out (who, in this case, just happens to be your boss). As a host particularly a host who is under time pressure, you appreciate the gesture, but don't feel like you can say "nope, I got it, just stay out of my way. I'm in a hurry"

 

[businesslawyer]

That's a great line.

For what it's worth I've been on both sides of the "helpful guest dilemma." As a guest, you're legitimately appreciative for the invite and want to do anything you can to help out (who, in this case, just happens to be your boss). As a host particularly a host who is under time pressure, you appreciate the gesture, but don't feel like you can say "nope, I got it, just stay out of my way. I'm in a hurry"

That’s exactly correct. I’m used to totally controlling the timing and the breakdown, and when I leave for the game other than a fork having been put in the trash bag instead of the identical “home to be cleaned” bag, I know I have everything I came with. I had no clue what was in the car until I unpacked it Saturday. But, especially when you’re the senior guy and want people who work for you to relax and have another beer, you don’t want to keep saying no.

 

[uconndogs]

I was stunned that JF was not starting after the Merrimack game. I know it was Merrimack, but he was flawless that game and white hot. I would have ridden that momentum to see where it went. Sometimes you catch lightning in a bottle.

The coaches must clearly see Evers as the future with more upside, but after Saturday's game you have to either conclude he's still banged up or simply not that good. I also question whether he has the physical make up to run the ball effectively and stay healthy.

I choose not to believe he's still under center because UCONN lined up some NIL money for him. That would simply be stupid.......

 

[Husky68]

NE is rated #121 out of 122 NCAA QB's in efficiency. He is terrible and not getting any better. Play someone else. If coach has no confidence in anyone else, run Rosa as a single wing QB.

Replying to myself? Just listened to Mora new conference and he stated that NE had a great week of practice before Rice game, makes me rethink my "terrible and not getting any better" as 1st you have to get better in practice before it reflects in a game. Hoping "looking great" includes accurate passing, if so, maybe more hope for future improvement than I'm seeing. Problem to me is Mora gave happy talk last 2 years about starting QB performance and improvement and proved to not be true based on subsequent game performances.

 

[AllHusky]

I never played or coached FB, and I doubt there is an athletic activity more complex athletically and intellectually than playing QB. With complex athletic tasks, often it gets worse before it gets better. Many times posters have extolled Coach Moras virtues with the "In Mora I Trust" platitude front and center. As frustrated as we all are(I was the one throwing up on Saturday, not just from the 24 hour stomach virus!!), I think we have to let this play out before slitting our wrists. "You'll never know if the program works if you quit on it now". I don't think Mora is being stubborn, I think he knows and sees something, and is willing to take the risk of losing short term gain for long term success. Remember, its always darkest before DAWN! Lets get a couple more ugly W's, and maybe dawn will break bright and sunny on November 23rd.

 

[Hskies4Ever]

I presume NE will be the starter again next season and Mora wants to get him as many live reps as he can. It’ll either help him get better, or he’ll end up with enough rope to hang himself, in which case CW, TM, or the kid from Virgina can have an opportunity.

 

[RSTuthill]

One thing we have not considered is that perhaps somehow Fagnano got banged up during the week and wasn't really available. I can think of no other reason why he did not play in the second half unless he got in the doghouse somehow. Yes, he misses receivers too, but not like that.

NE is obviously banged up. Concussions and got his toe stomped on so hard he lost a nail. Must still be hurting him to run. (Btw, I noticed he did take care how he slid head first.) Hell, CW could step in and take some of the load off. What is the worst that could happen other than injury? That he misses a few receivers?

 

[huskymedic]

NE is obviously banged up. Concussions and got his toe stomped on so hard he lost a nail. Must still be hurting him to run.

There was no stomping. He dropped a 225lb weight on his previously injured toe:

 

[RSTuthill]

There was no stomping. He dropped a 225lb weight on his previously injured toe:

Where did you get 225 lbm??

 

[huskymedic]

Where did you get 225 lbm??

I made it up…

… ”Evers was also working through a toe sprain that started bugging him during the Buffalo game. Early last week, he was in the weight room doing his first set of trap bar deadlifts and “dropped the bar weird,” causing the 225-pound weight to land right on his injured toe.”