The View From Section 241

[mikedog10]

The tv-sideline (opposite the press boxes) was definitely more full than the other side of the stadium, turnout was not terrible though

 

[RSTuthill]

A decent turnout given the circumstances. Gorgeous night for a game though. A few more of those would be welcome.

 

[businesslawyer]

The tv-sideline (opposite the press boxes) was definitely more full than the other side of the stadium, turnout was not terrible though

It was hot. In a half empty stadium, on hot days people migrate to the press box side and on cold days people migrate to the blue lot side. There is a significant temperature difference (at least until a while after the sun goes down).

 

[CL82]

Boise certainly noticed and he'll be targeted early and often. Hopefully he'll have learned from his inaugural effort vs UCF and improve his technique--but a factor was that Milton put balls in perfect spots for his receivers. Not sure Rypien can replicate that. Nevertheless, Paul's backup Ryan Carroll better be ready.

He's an option QB and he has to make to them pay for that. I don't see him being a tremendous deep threat, but he could be tough handle for a lot of teams.

 

[freescooter]

Decent crowd I thought. 23000 actually sounded in the right range to me.

 

[Chief00]

Good thread. We miss having a power running game in the red zone. I would like to see more slant routes on offense.

Crocker is on the clock. He needs to turn things around quickly. I don’t know if he will be able to do that.

 

[businesslawyer]

Good thread. We miss having a power running game in the red zone. I would like to see more slant routes on offense.

Crocker is on the clock. He needs to turn things around quickly. I don’t know if he will be able to do that.

He will not be able to do it with the personnel he has. At least that is my opinion.

The question is whether he'll be scapegoated and canned if the D is horrible for the second straight season, or whether Edsall knows he doesn't have the personnel and is patient. We'll see.

 

[CL82]

He will not be able to do it with the personnel he has. At least that is my opinion.

The question is whether he'll be scapegoated and canned if the D is horrible for the second straight season, or whether Edsall knows he doesn't have the personnel and is patient. We'll see.

The biggest factor may be out of his hands. If Dunn's offense scores enough to get wins, Crocker gets another year.

 

[Husky68]

He will not be able to do it with the personnel he has. At least that is my opinion.

The question is whether he'll be scapegoated and canned if the D is horrible for the second straight season, or whether Edsall knows he doesn't have the personnel and is patient. We'll see.

So he can't do it with the personnel he has, and "either" he is "scapegoated" or Edsall is "patient". Nah. Option 3 is more likely, he just isn't good enough of a coach. 126th in yards given up on defense in 2017 (ECU the worst) and this year 1st game 652 yards given up against a team that took its foot off the gas the entire 4th quarter.
So what does Crocker's defensive team performance have to be in 2018 to get him past "patience". Worst in both yards given up and points in 2018? Worst in history of FBS football?
Occam's Razor - the simplest answer is most often correct. What are the chances UConn has one of (if not the) worst defenses in FBS for 2 years straight and he is NOT one of the worst defensive coaches, probably not great. Defense needs to perform better, and it's on Crocker.

 

[businesslawyer]

So he can't do it with the personnel he has, and "either" he is "scapegoated" or Edsall is "patient". Nah. Option 3 is more likely, he just isn't good enough of a coach. 126th in yards given up on defense in 2017 (ECU the worst) and this year 1st game 652 yards given up against a team that took its foot off the gas the entire 4th quarter.
So what does Crocker's defensive team performance have to be in 2018 to get him past "patience". Worst in both yards given up and points in 2018? Worst in history of FBS football?
Occam's Razor - the simplest answer is most often correct. What are the chances UConn has one of (if not the) worst defenses in FBS for 2 years straight and he is NOT one of the worst defensive coaches, probably not great. Defense needs to perform better, and it's on Crocker.

We have been horrific defensively. Last year, Edsall obviously didn't think it was because Crocker was terrible or he would have replaced him. Most of last year's starters graduated. You do the math.

 

[freescooter]

My thought I’d that nobody would be real successful with the guys we have but Crocker isn’t going to be successful even with better guys. Even though I had and still have some problems with the solve your problems with aggression approach you won’t solve them by being passive for sure.

 

[RSTuthill]

It's on Edsall, not Crocker. Edsall is the guy playing all the frosh so that they will be seasoned next year. Nothing is gonna happen, folks. The people playing are doing so so that they will be seasoned and ready to take UConn to a bowl next year. All this has been thoroughly discussed at high levels, believe me. Right up to Suzy Lax. Two to four wins this year is the expectation. The sky is not falling. There is a plan in all this. The long game.

 

[Bomber36]

Great post. Can someone please tell me why defense has become so hard to play these days? Even the top tier teams seem willing to just out score their opponents at times. Is it the rule changes that make it harder or do the best athletes play offense in college? Honest question. Good D seems so hard to come by these days. By the way, you should write for one of the local papers, because I have seen nothing close to this in any of those rags. One other thing, I’m sure this has been covered, but we need to remember it took RE 3 years to build that 9-3 team. He inherited a disaster and we have to be patient. I know this isn’t news to anyone. I guess we have to take the little wins and hope he’s the recruiter we need to get back where we were. As bad as it’s been lately, we aren’t the Browns. And they still have fans. Just my 2 cents. I didn’t buy season tix this year but I will be at at least 4 games. And I never scalp, cuz my wife won’t go unless I guarantee her a chair back.

 

[UConnNick]

It's on Edsall, not Crocker. Edsall is the guy playing all the frosh so that they will be seasoned next year. Nothing is gonna happen, folks. The people playing are doing so so that they will be seasoned and ready to take UConn to a bowl next year. All this has been thoroughly discussed at high levels, believe me. Right up the Suzy Lax. Two to four wins this year is the expectation. The sky is not falling. There is a plan in all this. The long game.

If Suzy Lax is involved in high level discussions with Edsall about our long term football strategy and providing input, I for one would find that truly terrifying.

 

[huskymedic]

All this has been thoroughly discussed at high levels, believe me. Right up the Suzy Lax.

Curous - when did these discussions occur - when he was hired, after last season or after spring/summer camp?

 

[RSTuthill]

If Suzy Lax is involved in high level discussions with Edsall about our long term football strategy and providing input, I for one would find that truly terrifying.

She has to be given a heads up and fully understand the plan. There are financial implications if nothing else.

 

[Husky25]

Edsall went 9-3 vs an awful Independent schedule. There were no bowl tie ins

Crocker is not going anywhere and he won't be scapegoated until after next year. Certain experienced players did not buy in last year. That was made obvious after the Carrezola tweet about the 4 down linemen and #whatcouldofbeen. Now the D is more than peppered with inexperience. Boise has all the makings to be as ugly as UCF, but with the way other programs are playing defense, there is still a possibility of scratching out 6 wins before the year is out. If nothing else, the tailgates will still be fun and the offense will be entertaining. The latter is more than can be said for the last 7 years.