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

The View From Section 241 — Temple

noeynox said:
You're not even the least bit curious why the same group of receivers can't make great plays on throws from Evers? Maybe if a simple slant is thrown in a manner where the WR can catch it and keep running rather than having to dive to the turf to complete the catch, we'd see similar great plays by the same WRs.

I think a lot of that is from rust and can get better, and i have to believe he nails those throws in practice cause it hasn't happened yet in games.

I think you are selling Fagnano short, the throw to Buckman after escaping a sack was a winning play.
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Absolutely I’m curious and I’m not sure why it hasn’t happened. In theory, as a better running threat, those passes should work better with Evers but I haven’t seen as many of those calls from Sammis with Evers at QB.

Already said above (or in another thread) that the play to Buckman was awesome and thank goodness because it saved the game for us. Conversely the second INT thrown was a horrific decision and throw and it almost lost us the game.
 
jbdphi said:
Absolutely I’m curious and I’m not sure why it hasn’t happened. In theory, as a better running threat, those passes should work better with Evers but I haven’t seen as many of those calls from Sammis with Evers at QB.

Already said above (or in another thread) that the play to Buckman was awesome and thank goodness because it saved the game for us. Conversely the second INT thrown was a horrific decision and throw and it almost lost us the game.
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Could be they are called and not executed. The slants we have seen have not been executed as well, on other plays he may just not be pilling the trigger on the throws.

Going forward if you want ro attract more guys like Bell and Sheffield, you need to show you will get them the ball.
 
noeynox said:
Could be they are called and not executed. The slants we have seen have not been executed as well, on other plays he may just not be pilling the trigger on the throws.

Going forward if you want ro attract more guys like Bell and Sheffield, you need to show you will get them the ball.
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Certainly possible. Another potential explanation is differences in opponent. Maybe Duke’s defence was better prepared / able to stop those. Obviously Merrimack was not.
 
No revelations here, we have 2 flawed QB’s

Assuming health for Evers Mora and Sammis have to find a way to use both while Evers gets his reps and improves, and Fagnano provides contrast in style and experienced leadership.

How the heck that works is beyond me, but clearly both add value to the Offense, while their flaws, if either is used exclusively, reduce our offensive effectiveness over time.

Sammis was exposed against Temple, he’s got to learn faster. WF is huge for the program for so many reasons.

1-0 is the goal.
 
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Why is there so much arguing over the qb position? Truth be told, we have good players and depth there for 1st time in forever. JF is fine, nothing more. But he seems to do better coming off the bench. And when he’s in, Ds adjust knowing he’s little threat to run by design or scramble, the latter which exposes our OL and their ability to build a pocket. He’s a great backup and an ok starter, but I love having both.
 
I would say Fagnano is a very good backup. Glad we have him. I also think he is a better runner than people give him credit for. He isn’t great but he’s had a few solid runs. What I like is that he isn’t a run first guy. The pass to Buckman is a good example where some guys would have tucked it and run. I’ve seen him do that several times. He had a td pass against Buffalo where he did something similar.
I think he is limited in his abilities but he has played within his limitations pretty well. When was the last time a UConn Quarterback had multiple 200 yard games? He did the job when he was asked to do it. And I think the team responds to him.
 
jbdphi said:
I’ll stick to Aussie Rules if you stick to Zoos.

Different strokes for different folks - you seem enamored with Fagnano and think Evers is dogshit. I think Fagnano has inflated numbers from passing against incompetent defenses (see Merrimack) and from great plays made by his receivers. As for Evers, I think he has better potential if he can stay healthy (which he hasn’t).

Hopefully we can win a bunch more games with either or both and move on. Maybe you can go a day or two without taking a dump in Evers’ corn flakes. You never know - anything is possible.
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I'm not enamored. Neither are great. But one is a better passer and there simply is no debate.
 
jbdphi said:
Certainly possible. Another potential explanation is differences in opponent. Maybe Duke’s defence was better prepared / able to stop those. Obviously Merrimack was not.
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Your guy barely passes for 90 yards a game. Stop talking.
 
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UConnJim said:
I think it is sustainable. Remember, there are 3 types of recruits now: high school recruits, transfers with 3 or more years of eligibility, and plug and play transfers with 1 or 2 years of eligibility. UConn is going after all three types of players which means some of the transfers are not one and done and still need to be developed. Guys like Evers, Robinson, Bass, Porter, have 3+ years of eligibility.

One other key point is finding QBs. UConn's offense in the past has been terrible, but this year, the offense is actually pretty good which will attract transfer (and maybe top HS) QBs. The availability of transfer QBs has been around for years before the portal and it will continue in the future as QBs want to play. Schools like Georgia will recruit one top 10 QB per year and all can't start, so there will be transfers available.
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i can't decide if i love or hate the portal.

without the portal, we don't get Sheffield, Bell and the RB's - Fair enough.


BUT --- Like, what is the point of recruiting anyone other than a plug-n-play player, if everyone is gonna transfer away anyway?
why invest your energy in developing a nick evers? he will suck until he doesn't suck (if he develops at all), and if he does turn a corner, he gets greedy and looks to get back into the P4, using our tape for his benefit (see Diego Pavia, Joly, Sluka, etc).

i don't know how this new normal translates into sustainable success for teams like UConn, who are spending their efforts developing kids who are probably just using us to get to where they actually wanna be.

it doesn't feel mutual. I might settle down if I saw it being fully mutual - we're gaining from them as much as they're using us. But one season of "success" doesn't erase 13 years of futility, and if every year is a major roster rebuild because of portal departures, then we have no guarantee that next year will be any good, based on how well this year went. We could go 9-3 just just go 2-10 again the next year.

and i didn't even mention the money being spent. Just coaching effort/investment.
 
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While I agree that beating the likes of Merrimack, FAU, Buffalo and Temple is not particularly impressive, especially when compared to some of the teams we beat in 2022, what is extremely impressive is how we absolutely dominated those first three opponents and how we found a way to beat Temple even when it seemed everything was going against us. Whenever we have won in recent years, including 2022 and 2023, it almost seemed that we caught every break in those games and rarely did we dominate anyone.
 
ZooCougar said:
Your guy barely passes for 90 yards a game. Stop talking.yac - and don’t say they both do, b/c you’ve been clear Evers throws all passes into ground.
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RSTuthill said:
As did we in both those games. But that's football.
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I’d argue not the same, but what’s the difference? Their guy happened to miss that game. Our guy got hurt running out of the tunnel on opening day.
 
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UConnDan97 said:
And therein lies the rub.

I don't understand why as a fan base we have to pick our favorite and trash the other. Root for both of these kids to succeed and go from there...
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I concur. I hope that I haven't been guilty of that. But given how McCummings and Nebrich were treated, I think a tradition was started back than.
 
UConnDan97 said:
And therein lies the rub.

I don't understand why as a fan base we have to pick our favorite and trash the other. Root for both of these kids to succeed and go from there...
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Fortunately there are only a few vocal ones doing this. One or two in particular.
 
I wish Evers got the start against the FCS team so people would stop gassing Joe's passing totals. They're comparable throwers at best, and Evers has way more room to grow. Joe almost lost us this game by missing wide open receivers repeatably, forcing us to run limited offense, and turning it over multiple times(the second interception could've easily been the difference in W/L). At worst Evers opens up the running playbook.

Fagnano is a fine backup, please play the most talented players first.
 
What a luxury to be able to want for better quality wins. I agree… I’d like stronger competition to measure ourselves against, but not only are we beating teams we’re supposed to (a tall order in past seasons), we’re blowing them out. I’m not going to over think this. Just win, baby.
 
businesslawyer said:
One thought on the point that you, and others, are making. I am not downplaying in any way that an 8-4 season is a step forward. Especially with a number (and, hopefully by the time we're done, many) of the wins being blow outs. The point I was really trying to make, however, is that if we go 8-4 losing to the two ACC teams, given the weakness of our schedule a really strong case can be made that, from a resume perspective, our '22 team with wins over Fresno State (which won the MWC and a bowl game against a P-4 team), Liberty (which won at Arkansas and was ranked when we beat them) and P-4 BC would have accomplished far more than this year's team. It won't have been the best season since 2010 if we go 8-0 against teams rated over 120 and 0-4 against everyone else. That's all.
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We played a one score game against a Duke team that may very well make some noise this season, in a game I think everyone would say was not our best. Moral victories don’t count for anything, but I think there’s clear progress in that vs beating a forgettable BC team.
 
Huskyforlife said:
I wish Evers got the start against the FCS team so people would stop gassing Joe's passing totals. They're comparable throwers at best, and Evers has way more room to grow. Joe almost lost us this game by missing wide open receivers repeatably, forcing us to run limited offense, and turning it over multiple times(the second interception could've easily been the difference in W/L). At worst Evers opens up the running playbook.

Fagnano is a fine backup, please play the most talented players first.
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Take out Joe's totals from Merrimack and it still isn't close.
 
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I definitely want to see Evers back for Wake. He creates havoc with misdirection and confusion. Once he does his thing, if we need more, let Joe take a shot through the air. It seems to work for us.
 
Hskies4Ever said:
We played a one score game against a Duke team that may very well make some noise this season, in a game I think everyone would say was not our best. Moral victories don’t count for anything, but I think there’s clear progress in that vs beating a forgettable BC team.
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Never, ever Pooh Pooh a win against BC - in any sport, any year. You had a good routine going, but failed to stick the landing.
 
The Evers-Fagnano debate I think has pretty much been pounded into oblivion, don't you think? A healthy fan base has these debates. But are there possibly other things to talk about that the coaching staff might possibly need our guidance on? The OL, for instance? I wasn't there last Saturday. Has that topic been thoroughly explored? We seem to be running out of things to say and the next game isn't until 10 days. Have we been fully apprised of injuries yet? Speculation on the opening line on Wake next week?
 
ZooCougar said:
Yup. We beat Fresno, Liberty and BC with Zion freaking Turner who is now a 3rd stringer at Jax State.
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Turner is one of SIX quarterbacks on the JSU roster. He has thrown one (incomplete) pass and rushed once for three yards. He did not play (or at least show up on the stat sheet) in last nights Jacksonville blowout win (54-13) over New Mexico State. Might be nice to start a thread on "Former UConn players in NCAA football."
 
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