The View From Section 241 -- Preseason

[Watchdog]

That's a very fair assessment. My major criticism of Edsall since he has been back was first hiring Crocker and letting him put that defensive scheme in place and then keeping him around for another season to really solidify the total and complete disaster that was our defense. The defense improved in 2019, but from the absolute abyss. As for the talent Edsall inherited it was obvious there was a lot of work to do and the rebuild would take time. I honestly don't know if Diaco had any idea what he was doing with recruiting. The kids may very well have assessed he was a few eggs short of a dozen and blew him off.....wouldn't surprise me. He was that bad.

We're going to get knocked around pretty good on Sat. As long as Edsall can hold the locker room together there are Ws to be had this season and invaluable development to take place. Keeping the team focused and motivated will be a big part of the challenge.

I'm actually liking the independence. I think we're in for seismic shifts in college athletics and given that we are not in the P4 (not 5 anymore) I'm not sure we have much to lose. I do know this - put a winning product on the field and the fanbase follows and your options expand.

Red Pants said at his hiring announcement press conference that "we're going to recruit big guys".
He hadn't yet learned, apparently, that speed has a lot to do with success in most sports.

 

[Pudge]

CEGEP. That's my contribution to the Canadian conversation. You can say ... why don't Canadian QBs (we actually had 2 ... and I think Spector is gonna be outstanding) go to PREP? CEGEP is PREP in Canada (in Ontario its called something different ... and do not ask me to give you the CEGEP french). This is basically 13th grade. All college bound kids basically do it. And for Sports, certain schools become All-Star teams as they draw kids from the whole province of Quebec ... and occasionally from all of Eastern Canada. Zergiotis ... and Spector ... were the best of the Province (think State the size of Maryland) over 2 years.

Football? I have watched CFL live. It absolutely is a bigtime pass oriented game. Never 3 yards and a cloud of dust.

Edsall? Knowing what I have heard from parents of Huskies players ... and my own observation: it was an absolute Godsend for a one year absence from the field for HCRE. He loves the development component of CFB. He has developed every position group - in his time at UCONN - to a very high level. One by one. Not often all at once. He absolutely can develop a QB. But he has to have the right makeup. Edsall got to play Mad Scientist for 18 months.

I think this is a fun year coming. Lot of unknowns.

 

[metsfan2323]

Thanks BL for the thoughtful write-up. I concur with most of your comments. The only thing I push back on is conference affiliation. I work at BC and have seen their football trajectory blast through the toilet like a Sunday morning bean n' cheese burrito since they joined the ACC. Same with Cuse. Independence is treating us well for recruiting and scheduling. I like the cut of AD Dave's jib regarding this decision. Let's go!

AD Dave would have kept our football team in the AAC if they were willing to allow it.

On another note I ate a rather large beef brisket burrito tonight and your post has me concerned.

 

[Bongo Fury]

I don’t recall much fanfare or excitement when Jack Zergiotis was recruited like with Steven Krajewski or Senecal. It was amazing that he started game 2 and performed well.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Red Pants said at his hiring announcement press conference that "we're going to recruit big guys".
He hadn't yet learned, apparently, that speed has a lot to do with success in most sports.

I think part of that was the complete melt down of the weight and conditioning program under the incompetent duo who preceded Red Pants.

The last year of the PP/GDL regime had an offense and defense that looked like a HS team when lined up against the FCS opponents. They were completely physically overwhelmed.

And, as happens too often, the next regime looks to do a 180 of what was happening prior to them taking over when the correct answer was to realize they needed stronger and faster, not just bigger.

 

[gioff2323]

Said differently, there are RKGs who can actually play FBS

 

[uconndogs]

I think part of that was the complete melt down of the weight and conditioning program under the incompetent duo who preceded Red Pants.

The last year of the PP/GDL regime had an offense and defense that looked like a HS team when lined up against the FCS opponents. They were completely physically overwhelmed.

And, as happens too often, the next regime looks to do a 180 of what was happening prior to them taking over when the correct answer was to realize they needed stronger and faster, not just bigger.

I think this is pretty much spot on and I had some look into the program when P was running the show and the indication was that the emphasis on off season S&C was a far cry from what it was under Edsall. It was very evident on the OL.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I think this season has a feel of maybe a solid run for a change. All the things you listed plus a far more manageable schedule. Other than the obvious ones, UCF and Clemson, who do is so good that you’d be shocked if we won? Not to say we will beat them but if we snuck out a 27-24 win over Fresno because they played badly in their opener would you be shocked ? More like mildly surprised.

You only would be "mildly surprised" if UConn, flying cross country, on their season opener, after a two year lay off, playing in 105 degree heat, as a 27.5 point underdog won the game?

 

[BugsyCT]

Good to have The View back - maybe that alone is a good omen for this season.

(Hey, we need something to hope for.)

 

[freescooter]

You only would be "mildly surprised" if UConn, flying cross country, on their season opener, after a two year lay off, playing in 105 degree heat, as a 27.5 point underdog won the game?

Well yeah. Maybe mildly is a bit strong. I don’t think they will win but it isn’t at the same level of impossible as say Clemson. As I said if they win it won’t be on the level of Appalachian State beating Michigan or JMU beating #4 VaTech. It will be a good win but it isn’t going to be the lead on Gameday. There are often opening day upsets which is another factor. After all there is a reason for the saying that the biggest improvement comes from game 1 to game 2. Final factor is that for all the talk about how good they are, we really don’t know. After all they are coming off a 3-3 season but the wins came over teams with a combined record of 2-15 or something and ended last year on a loss to a 2-5 New Mexico. They aren’t exactly Alabama. So I will be pleasantly surprised if they win but not shocked.

 

[businesslawyer]

You only would be "mildly surprised" if UConn, flying cross country, on their season opener, after a two year lay off, playing in 105 degree heat, as a 27.5 point underdog won the game?

Somehow, one would think there should be a middle ground between "mildly surprising" upsets and "all time epic" upsets. But I know the Boneyard isn't big on middle grounds.

 

[freescooter]

I think this is pretty much spot on and I had some look into the program when P was running the show and the indication was that the emphasis on off season S&C was a far cry from what it was under Edsall. It was very evident on the OL.

I don’t know if it is totally accurate but I’ve been told by a few people that P thought off season conditioning should be lest to the player. No organized program. Not even a plan for each player or group. Just left it up to them to figure it out

 

[freescooter]

Somehow, one would think there should be a middle ground between "mildly surprising" upsets and "all time epic" upsets. But I know the Boneyard isn't big on middle grounds.

Nuance is not in the yard’s dna

 

[Samoo]

Somehow, one would think there should be a middle ground between "mildly surprising" upsets and "all time epic" upsets. But I know the Boneyard isn't big on middle grounds.

The boneyard color palette has only two options; black and white...

 

[Chin Diesel]

I don’t know if it is totally accurate but I’ve been told by a few people that P thought off season conditioning should be lest to the player. No organized program. Not even a plan for each player or group. Just left it up to them to figure it out

Almost like a basketball coach telling a player the plan for improvement in the off season is to get in the gym? I kid. Mostly.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Here's the other thing I'm looking for with the proverbial "eye test".

Discipline.

This team has had over 500 days with mostly the same players, the same staff, the same schemes.

On offense.

So, I don't want to see false starts. Players should know the QB's cadence, hard counts, etc. No surprises.

Illegal procedure or formation. Everyone should know where to line up on every play. No too many on the back field, a WR line up on the line when they should off the line, etc.

Missed assignments on base plays. Yes, FSU will have some stunts and blitzes which confuse the blockers. Happens every game. On base plays, if two blockers go after one player and another breaks through untouched? Not acceptable.

No busted plays. WR breaks in, QB throws out type stuff. Everyone should know where to be on every play. QB should know ever route and every option.

On defense.

Offsides or encroachment. Can't be giving away free yards and downs.

No, busted coverages where the camera pans out and there isn't a Husky jersey to found.

Tackling. Good, solid techniques. If not a clean tackle, hold on until the rest of the players can pile on.

Special teams. Be solid. No botched plays. Yes, there is a probability of a missed FG or a shanked punt. Happens to the best of them. But keep coverages, assignments, lanes, etc and make special teams at least be a draw for impact.

 

[Nostical]

It’s easy to be skeptical of what this team might accomplish this year, however the signals are pointing to a more optimistic outlook than history would suggest. One predictor is the attention the team is receiving from NFL scouts who’ve been at several of our practices to see Travis Jones and RVD. They’ve also taken note of several other players at the suggestion of the coaches and have been “surprisingly impressed”. Does it mean much? Who knows but it certainly doesn’t hurt team confidence.

 

[Chin Diesel]

It’s easy to be skeptical of what this team might accomplish this year, however the signals are pointing to a more optimistic outlook than history would suggest. One predictor is the attention the team is receiving from NFL scouts who’ve been at several of our practices to see Travis Jones and RVD. They’ve also taken note of several other players at the suggestion of the coaches and have been “surprisingly impressed”. Does it mean much? Who knows but it certainly doesn’t hurt team confidence.

This and the quality of teams we are beating out for recruits and the quality of scheduled opponents going forward. All point to external entities looking at UConn as a "program" again.

 

[Bongo Fury]

I don’t know if it is totally accurate but I’ve been told by a few people that P thought off season conditioning should be lest to the player. No organized program. Not even a plan for each player or group. Just left it up to them to figure it out

That’s the feeling I got as well although I have no inside information. They tried to use all their recent NFL experience to run a NFL team without NFL players.

 

[RSTuthill]

That’s the feeling I got as well although I have no inside information. They tried to use all their recent NFL experience to run a NFL team without NFL players.

And while he had forgotten more about football than any of us ever knew, he saw no need to try to motivate the team. And when execution to NFL standards was lacking, he boiled over with frustration and stared at his shoes. Still, his record in the first two years looks awesome by today's standards.

 

[Pudge]

New Rule ... let's not gunk up future threads with Pasqualoni or Diaco'isms if we beat Fresno in 115 degree heat and dustbowl air.

 

[wethyhusky]

Just listened to REM's don't go back to Rockville. Kind of summed up my fandom for Uconn Football. I need HCRE to eliminate the "waste another year" aspect of that song. Hope springs eternal.... Bring that passion back!

 

[jdb50]

Our QB's need to avoid sacks which for us are complete drive killers. Jack Zergiotis in as a freshman struggled with this and Steven Krajewski really never got enough time to show his ability to avoid this mistake. Throw it, run it or throw it away!. The decision making speed has to speed up.

 

[SonsOfNutmeg]

Really don’t have any expectations for this season except to be better overall as a program. I think the time off did help us in terms of giving this young squad time to mature in the weight room, work on their bodies and hone their craft. Hoping to see a more well oiled machine from the offense with Zergiotis leading the charge and a stacked receiving core (Cam Ross, Jay Rose, Cam Hairston, Jayce Medlock to name a few) and backfield with Kevin Mensah who will hopefully break records this season.

Defensively up front should be much improved over what we saw in 2019, hopefully the young secondary isn’t our Achilles heel.

Really excited to see Joe McFadden too kicking!

 

[Chin Diesel]

Just listened to REM's don't go back to Rockville. Kind of summed up my fandom for Uconn Football. I need HCRE to eliminate the "waste another year" aspect of that song. Hope springs eternal.... Bring that passion back!

If going back to Rockville means getting Bill Romanowski as an LB for UConn, we ought to sprint back to Rockville.