The View From Section 241 -- Preseason Prediction

[Dann]

"Lashing himself to Hartford's rigging to see over the smoke, Farragut exclaimed "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" and led his ship into Mobile Bay with the rest of fleet following. Pressing through the torpedo field without any losses, the Union squadron poured into the bay and engaged Buchanan's ships. Driving away the gunboats, the Union ships closed on CSS Tennessee and battered the rebel ironclad into submission. With Union vessels in the bay, the forts surrendered and military operations against the city of Mobile began. In the course of the fighting, twelve sailors from Hartford earned the Medal of Honor."

The big east conference. UConn. Been facing a field of artillery looking to torpedo us for a long time.

Damn the torpedos - full speed ahead.

All aboard the USS Hartford 2012. Screw sloop of war sailing into battle.

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this immediately goes into my top 5 carl posts all time. they are sleeping on us down on tobacco road...

 

[businesslawyer]

this immediately goes into my top 5 carl posts all time. they are sleeping on us down on tobacco road...

Started to respond, but will stick with my prior comment.

 

[whaler11]

i hate when people bring up that we don't know what the teams will look like when we play them. grow some balls and make a prediction. it's not like we're asking you to stake your kids lives on it. we all realize things change. i think some of you are too quick to be happy with 8 wins. i'll be satisfied with 8, but not happy. we have our best shot ever at 10 wins, let's get them!

Um I made a prediction 7-5. Sorry to admit I have no idea how good Cincinnati will be in December.

 

[mattp]

this immediately goes into my top 5 carl posts all time. they are sleeping on us down on tobacco road...

i picture Carl on Saturdays dressed as Patton in front of a wall sized American flag with the UConn game projected onto it

 

[Carl Spackler]

I'm speechless.

well, if you can't say anything - read.

The Hartford was a magnificent ship with a 98 year service history that included serving as a flagship, making diplomatic ports of call, battling the Confederate ironcalds and running Confederate blockades. Providing a training platform for midshipmen along with hosting foreign dignitaries invited aboard for grand receptions and the enduring admiration of an American President.

http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/46/46013a.htm


For 2012, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead, we're going to hang 60 on everybody.

 

[Dann]

hang 60 on everybody!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Kgun7]

Can the MODS make it so whenever you type "Carl" ... you actually see "Farragut" ...

 

[whaler11]

well, if you can't say anything - read.

The Hartford was a magnificent ship with a 98 year service history that included serving as a flagship, making diplomatic ports of call, battling the Confederate ironcalds and running Confederate blockades. Providing a training platform for midshipmen along with hosting foreign dignitaries invited aboard for grand receptions and the enduring admiration of an American President.

http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/46/46013a.htm


For 2012, damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead, we're going to hang 60 on everybody.

Hopefully 2012 is more like your boat there and not like nuclear sub USS Hartford. At least Sardinia isn't on the schedule.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I hope the current crew of Hartford, is at least up to basic standards. New CO commissioned last november, when she put back to sea from Groton. There's a lot of supersition in the naming of a boat, and it's a testament to the strength of that name, that she's still in service given the track record of her command through 2011. She's had a couple crews that almost sank her, all on their own.


speaking of which, we can't have the 2012 UConn roster asleep at their posts, running the ship aground, or running themselves into each other to take themselves out of a play this year.

so - yes whaler, the name still fits.

Yes, that's the Navy - good and bad - not only did the SSN-768 Los Angeles class nuclear attack submarine get run-aground by her own crew in 2003 on active combat patrol, she also had a crew that while on active combat patrol operations in the Persian gulf, caused a submerged collision with U.S. Marines amphibious assault vessel in the strait of hormuz, that almost knocked the entire tower off and sank her and left a 20 some odd foot hole in the hull of that . I remember thinking it quite amazing that she was still afloat when she sailed into harbor in CT for repairs all the way from the Indian Ocean.

 

[NEforceUConn]

Wow everyone is so guarded .... 7-5. Why BL, who usually is more restrained, is more bullish at 8 -4 maybe even 9 -3.

Last year was a disaster and we ended up 5-7 with the coaches blowing 2 games to boot.

This year, with just a bit of luck from the football gods, we go 10 - 2. We have better skill positions, our D will perform better against the pass, and the coaches will remember the Larry Taylor inside reverse and have Nick Williams burn 1 or 2 teams. Our WR with Shakim and Mike Smith is ALREADY better than last year's. All we need is a mean streak on D so come on Sio and someone else get nasty.

 

[RedSoloCup]

i am liking the 13-0.. all we gotta do is win one game.

thirteen times...

 

[jdb50]

9-3(5-2) Senior leadership Sio,M Smith, Trevardo,J Joseph,T Jennings, Nick W, R Griffin, J Delahunt,A Masters, J Bennett, R Wirth, Blidi, D Gratz, Allen, Driscoll, J Mac. Take your best shot, let's see what you got, bring on your WRECKING BALL!

 

[jdb50]

Forgot Jory J, now a Captain.

 

[Mr Blueskin]

I think NC State will be our toughest game all year. Yes, at Louisville will be tough but I am not buying Louisville like every other pundit. I really like our lineup this year, probably end up 9-3 but sky is the limit if OL holds up with new mobile QB with an arm to hit old faithful Smith, new jumper Phillips and Wes Williams. Can't wait. Everyone should get one of those new navy blue tshirts and i am afraid to admit this but I actually got the chills reading Carl's post.

 

[Jarhead_1775]

"Lashing himself to Hartford's rigging to see over the smoke, Farragut exclaimed "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!" and led his ship into Mobile Bay with the rest of fleet following. Pressing through the torpedo field without any losses, the Union squadron poured into the bay and engaged Buchanan's ships. Driving away the gunboats, the Union ships closed on CSS Tennessee and battered the rebel ironclad into submission. With Union vessels in the bay, the forts surrendered and military operations against the city of Mobile began. In the course of the fighting, twelve sailors from Hartford earned the Medal of Honor."

The big east conference. UConn. Been facing a field of artillery looking to torpedo us for a long time.

Damn the torpedos - full speed ahead.

All aboard the USS Hartford 2012. Screw sloop of war sailing into battle.

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I honestly was going to start a thread wondering when we'd see Carl's motivational speech. Very nice, Carl. Clearly you put in some research time into that. Now god dammit, GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Last year our OOC performance was simply unacceptable. Losing 3 close games to OK opponents was partially the result of a new system, partially poor QB play, partially bad coaching (Vandy in particular), and partially just WTF (Griffin's fumble against WMU). Iowa State and Vanderbilt turned out to be much better than expected last year too.

This year, WMU is just good on the road. NC State feels a bit overrated to me, and they come to the rent. Maryland was terrible last year, and that team is a function of whether Edsall is in a death spiral or can turn it around. I am voting death spiral.

 

[Nostical]

Like in any successful season, the stars have to all align correctly in the heavens and be extra kind on bounces of that funny shaped ball. This weekend It would be helpful to us if NC St can beat Tennessee, allowing them to come in here overconfident and cocky next Saturday. Should they lose this week, they will be extra focused against us to avoid going 0-2.

Just for kicks (and entertainment purposes only) Phil Steele has UConn (-24.5) winning but not covering over UMass, Tenn (-3.5) beating and covering over NC St., and his upset special is Kentucky, a 13.5 underdog, not only covering, but beating an "overrated" Louisville. Should be interesting!

 

[Bootsthemonkey]

i hate when people bring up that we don't know what the teams will look like when we play them. grow some balls and make a prediction. it's not like we're asking you to stake your kids lives on it. we all realize things change. i think some of you are too quick to be happy with 8 wins. i'll be satisfied with 8, but not happy. we have our best shot ever at 10 wins, let's get them!

If you're referring to my post, calm down tough guy. I already did make a prediction on another thread. I think 10-2 is likely. But it's not like it matters, just because I say 10-2 doesn't make it so, just like any of these predictions. I only stated a fact that many seem to be overlooking or at least not mentioning. If I insulted your vast wealth of intelligence it was not intentional. I don't buy the loss @ Rutgers many are predicting. Feel better? All done crying for today?

 

[pj]

I think NC State will be our toughest game all year. Yes, at Louisville will be tough but I am not buying Louisville like every other pundit. I really like our lineup this year, probably end up 9-3 but sky is the limit if OL holds up with new mobile QB with an arm to hit old faithful Smith, new jumper Phillips and Wes Williams. Can't wait. Everyone should get one of those new navy blue tshirts and i am afraid to admit this but I actually got the chills reading Carl's post.

I think @ USF and Rutgers are the toughest games. By the time Louisville rolls around, hopefully the team will be clicking. But NC State is crucial because it's so early, and OOC games are important for prestige. A win over NC State will get everyone in Connecticut excited, and make the rest of the country sit up and take notice.

 

[gopher2]

O.K. -- for those who have followed this, we've been through the roster position by position and now comes the time when all that information has to be put to use and I have to figure out what my expectations are for the season.

Last year, I said it was very difficult to make a prediction for three reasons. First, we had no idea how the QB situation was going to play out. Second, we had no idea whether there would be a step back with the coaching change. The third was I wasn't sure how good the team was in 2010 -- was it the team that struggled the first seven games or the team that rolled off five straight to get to the Fiesta Bowl. The way 2011 played out, the answer to the first two issues was we got worse at QB (even though you could argue that even in 2010 we had the league's worst QB play) and we did take a step back as the players and the staff figured out how to work together. Those two factors led to a much worse season than I would have hoped for. The 3-4 finish in the Big East was not terrible (4-3 would have been a good achievement), but the 2-3 OOC season was much worse than I would have thought likely. The end result was a disappointing season and an end to our four-year bowl streak.

The good news about this year is that those two factors -- the QB play and the newness of the system -- both figure to be improved this year. There is no reason to think that the players won't better understand the coaches techniques and schemes. There is also no reason to think that the coaches won't better understand the players strengths and weaknesses and coach accordingly (and I did give the staff credit for making some adjustments in this area as last year wore on). The question is how much of an improvement will we see. Similarly, at QB, we would have expected to be better merely by the triumverate returning for a second bite of the apple with more experience. But the fact that Chandler Whitmer (o.k.?) beat everyone out and took the job, with McEntee and McCummings still back and hopefully improved, means QB play should be significantly better as well. The question is, by how much. The other extraneous factor is that, with WVU gone and only Temple in, I expect this to be a down year for the Big East. While someone (almost anyone) might step up, run through the conference at 6-1 and finish ranked, I'm not sure that any teams other than Louisville have a realistic shot at being one of the best 20 teams in the country this year. (That is different than running through a favorable schedule at 9-3 and being ranked). Cincy? I just don't see the overall talent. Rutgers? Please. When the OL functions as a coherent unit there, it will be the first time in forever. Not to mention the newness of the staff. USF? How many times will people pick this team to achieve something on paper. They return a lot of starters, yes, but from a team that finished a friggin 1-6 in conference. Why is returning a lot of starters a good thing for them?

Now, combine those factors with what we have returning. We have a D that returns 9 starters, many of them multi-year starters that in either '10 or '11 looked like they would be all-League level players. If there are no more struggles with scheme, and if Blidi remains healthy, I expect that the D might be able to shut down pretty much every offense on its schedule. While we have to replace a great Placekicker, we return good longsnappers, punters, kick and punt returners and kickoff specialists. I expect overall special teams play to be better. Offense remains a question mark. How good is Whitmer? How good is Jimmy Bennett and can he play a full season? Do we have a competent TB behind Lyle McCombs, and can you expect a guy that size to duplicate last year's workload without getting banged up at some point? There are no questions that the O has question marks, and that, on paper, you could look at the losses of the Moores, Petrus and Ryan and wonder if it can be worse. But, QB being better is such a huge part of Offense that I would expect even modest gains there. And, I expect the D to be good enough to allow a modest offense to win games.

I don't expect to win at Louisville. I expect to win at home against UMass, Buffalo and Temple. Beyond that, each and every week may be a dogfight. How many of those eight to we get? Question marks remain. However, my bottom line is that this should be a good team, but until I see QB play that is Big East average and an OL that can make up for the fact that it may have fewer All-Conference level performers than it's had in years, I can't say that I believe this will be a very good team that can challenge for a Big East title with four conference road games. So I will go with 8-4, 4-3 in the Big East. But I believe that is a relatively modest projection for this team, and that 9-3 is significantly more likely than 7-5.

See everyone Thursday night.

 

[gopher2]

I will consider 7-5 and a bowl bid to be a very successful campaign, given the lack experience (and I think lack of size) on the OLine. I think the D will be better, but again still prone to mental lapses and missed tackles at times. The loss of DT has to show up a little as will changes in the kick return rules which will tend to neutralize our return game somewhat.

I guess my biggest question is how strong is this team mentally and how badly do they want to win? I recall the days of Orlovsky, Fincher, Caulley etc. when mental toughness and the will to win was unquestionable. If this team has that kind of mindset then probably they can do better than 7-5.

 

[Srqhusky]

I will consider 7-5 and a bowl bid to be a very successful campaign, given the lack experience (and I think lack of size) on the OLine. I think the D will be better, but again still prone to mental lapses and missed tackles at times. The loss of DT has to show up a little as will changes in the kick return rules which will tend to neutralize our return game somewhat.

I guess my biggest question is how strong is this team mentally and how badly do they want to win? I recall the days of Orlovsky, Fincher, Caulley etc. when mental toughness and the will to win was unquestionable. If this team has that kind of mindset then probably they can do better than 7-5.

good point gopher and a few others about the mindset of the team. Our fiesta bowl team season was a tail of two Halves I the season. The first half the loss to temple and being shut out and the second half team that won four Ina row. If this team starts out on a role and believes I itself the 10-2 predictions many are making are not unrealistic. As fans get to the game and support the team. A winning season is the best way to market the team. Get people I the bandwagon and ten wins is a sure way to do it.
We have heard coach p state he was happy with two scrimmages this year. I don't think he said that once last year. He has also referred to this team as a special group of kids so lets hope they perform well and fight!!

 

[UConn9604]

I'm sure these things will be footnotes as to measures of her durability when she's fnally done. The naval yard at Electric Boat had a hell of time putting her back together after the New Orleans collision. They had to completely remove and replace the sail, and even though it' less than 20 years old, fitting new Virginia class parts to the sub. THe subs are built compartment wise these days. You can change in and out whole sections of the boat, like puzzle pieces, but not so with the Los Angeles class. I hear in the aircraft world, the L.A. class is similar to what it was like to work on F-14 tomcats as compared to the Hornets. Night and day when it comes to ease of maintenance.

The later 688s -- of which the Hartford is one (768, or about 5 from the end of the class) -- were built with a more modular design than the earlier ones. Also, you're right, Hartford kicked New Orleans in the junk right about the same time when EB was building Virginias, so the yard was up and ready to put her back together.

A further testament to the durability of American boats: hitting an uncharted sea mount at a flank bell and only losing one sailor:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:U...tely_350_miles_south_of_Guam_Jan._8,_2005.jpg

Talk about football hits -- these guys were tooling along during field day and all of a sudden the walls jumped up to smash them in the face, like an angry sequel to The Matrix.

 

[businesslawyer]

I have to hand it to Carl -- that was as successful an effort at squelching a discussion that was actually about UConn football as this board has ever seen.

 

[ZooCougar]

I have to hand it to Carl -- that was as successful an effort at squelching a discussion that was actually about UConn football as this board has ever seen.

This is first time in history that a football prediction thread was derailed by a discussion about shipyard work. I think that it could cause a tear in the very fabric of time and space.