The View From Section 241

[ktuck911]

Not much to say. That was a horrific, horrific performance, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Reminiscent of last year. We didn't seem to care a lot, or if we did we aren't smart enough to put ourselves in a position to try to make plays. And, while I am one of the last people here to blame coaches for players not getting it done, the offensive play calling may have been as bad as I ever remember it being since moving to the Rent.

The team played like they were dead men walking. Which would be easier to take if, from a football perspective, I thought that attitude was irrational. But none of the play on the field, the coaching, the lack of support from students or other fans and the lack of announcements about future scheduling make me optimistic that my initial judgment on the effects the move to the Big East would have on the football program will prove to be incorrect.

Not much more to say.

You basically said what I was seeing.. (gulp, dare I say it) as if the coach lost the team. It was bad, especially (and surprisingly) the 2nd USF series in the 2nd half.. The meltdown on D was just awful... zero pride on D in stopping the run.. zero... It was a dumpster fire. I could stomach the butt whippins we got from UCF and Indiana moreso this past weekend at home...

 

[ktuck911]

Most UConn recruits would not be good freshmen year as they haven't developed. Look at Kendall Reyes' development:

FR: 6'4" 235 lbs.
R-FR: 6'4" 250 lbs.
R-SO: 6'4" 286 lbs.
R-JR: 6'4" 298 lbs.
R-SR: 6'4" 295 lbs.

How effective would Reyes have been as a true freshman? His last 2 years, he was at almost 300 lbs. If UConn had played him freshmen year, he would have missed that R-SR year.

The kids will get bigger and better every year they are in the program. That development is especially needed on the OL and DL.

Agreed, which leads back to recruiting.. We gotta find a way to get some transfers in here to offset that time for the younger players to grow.. or else, we're in trouble.. These kids can't hang... they're just not ready to... Get some JUCO studs in NOW... plain and simple.. start recruiting them NOW.. Don't wait til the season's over and all the P5 schools gobble them ( G5 schools too that have been kicking our tails up and down the field )... We got no choice right now... Yeah, it'll still be a learning curve, but these young kids can't hang.. We depend on way too many of them for far too long stretches in games.. way too soon...

 

[bobbyinaz]

I think it's hilarious that the RE sycophants continue to blindly defend his recruiting.

It's like UConn is the only school to ever play underclassmen.

 

[jdb50]

You basically said what I was seeing.. (gulp, dare I say it) as if the coach lost the team. It was bad, especially (and surprisingly) the 2nd USF series in the 2nd half.. The meltdown on D was just awful... zero pride on D in stopping the run.. zero... It was a dumpster fire. I could stomach the butt whippins we got from UCF and Indiana moreso this past weekend at home...

Watching the team return from the locker room after halftime I thought whatever went on in the locker room, it was not good. Watching Edsall during the game he spends the majority of the game walking by himself adjusting his headset. Very little communication with the players. On a 2nd half Beaudry to Ross incompletion on 3rd down which was either a poor pass or a bad route, it looked like both, he came over and started chewing out Ross, the assistant coach grabbed Ross and got him away from Edsall. There is a difference between teaching and blaming. This team needs a good teacher and motivator being as young as it is.

 

[RSTuthill]

That is the kind of behavior that soured me on PP. It says to the players that the HC wants it more than anyone.

 

[Chief00]

The DL problems are due to Bob Diaco recruiting. Here are the classes:

2014:
Tom Rodrick - never made it to campus
James Atkins - contributor
Luke Carrezola - played 1 year at DE

2015:
Kevin Murphy - solid backup. Transferred for 2019.
David Ryslik - transferred after 1st year to Penn.
Felton Blackwell - booted from team 2nd season.
Phillipe Okounam - contributor. Didn’t return for 5th year.
Connor Freeborn - minor contributor. Didn’t return for 5th year.
Dallas Parker - suspended indefinitely after 1st season.

2016:
No DL recruits.

2017:
Caleb Thomas - Edsall recruit, starter.

So, Edsall had almost nothing to work with at DL when he came to UConn. Think about this, no DL recruits in 2016 and no DL commits when Edsall took over in late December 2016!

Diaco was a disaster and UConn is still feeling the pain.

But the guy who hired him was a rock star per former President Herbst. That’s how bad our management has been.

 

[Chief00]

Watching the team return from the locker room after halftime I thought whatever went on in the locker room, it was not good. Watching Edsall during the game he spends the majority of the game walking by himself adjusting his headset. Very little communication with the players. On a 2nd half Beaudry to Ross incompletion on 3rd down which was either a poor pass or a bad route, it looked like both, he came over and started chewing out Ross, the assistant coach grabbed Ross and got him away from Edsall. There is a difference between teaching and blaming. This team needs a good teacher and motivator being as young as it is.

You nailed it about the poor communication and detachment. It’s now sadly just a matter of how the train wreck in progress ends.

 

[len0322]

Dallas Parker - suspended indefinitely after 1st season.

Any one have updates on the Parker suspension. If he gets reinstated, it could turn our defense/season around...hope he's learned his lesson after 4 yrs

 

[CTMike]

But the guy who hired him was a rock star pee

@JMick

 

[Pudge]

I think it's hilarious that the RE sycophants continue to blindly defend his recruiting.

It's like UConn is the only school to ever play underclassmen.

This is your contribution? so frigging insightful

 

[uconnell]

Watching the team return from the locker room after halftime I thought whatever went on in the locker room, it was not good. Watching Edsall during the game he spends the majority of the game walking by himself adjusting his headset. Very little communication with the players. On a 2nd half Beaudry to Ross incompletion on 3rd down which was either a poor pass or a bad route, it looked like both, he came over and started chewing out Ross, the assistant coach grabbed Ross and got him away from Edsall. There is a difference between teaching and blaming. This team needs a good teacher and motivator being as young as it is.

It sounds like Edsall is mentally where he was when he bolted to MD. Do us all a favor and bolt or resign. P,ease.

 

[UConnJim]

I think it's hilarious that the RE sycophants continue to blindly defend his recruiting.

It's like UConn is the only school to ever play underclassmen.

Here are the facts. Average years of college experience for the starting defensive front 3 or 4 in the AAC:

USF: 4.25 years.
ECU: 4.0 years.
SMU: 4.0 years.
Memphis: 3.75 years.
Temple: 3.75 years.
Tulsa: 3.75 years.
Houston: 3.5 years.
Cincinnati: 3.25 years.
Navy: 3.25 years.
UCF: 3.25 years.
Tulane: 3.0 years.
UConn: 2.25 years.

UConn has the youngest defensive front in the AAC by almost 1 year. If UConn was able to recruit 4 and 5 star players, they could be competitive as young players, but when you are recruiting players that generally need to redshirt a year, they will struggle.

 

[Chief00]

Here are the facts. Average years of college experience for the starting defensive front 3 or 4 in the AAC:

USF: 4.25 years.
ECU: 4.0 years.
SMU: 4.0 years.
Memphis: 3.75 years.
Temple: 3.75 years.
Tulsa: 3.75 years.
Houston: 3.5 years.
Cincinnati: 3.25 years.
Navy: 3.25 years.
UCF: 3.25 years.
Tulane: 3.0 years.
UConn: 2.25 years.

UConn has the youngest defensive front in the AAC by almost 1 year. If UConn was able to recruit 4 and 5 star players, they could be competitive as young players, but when you are recruiting players that generally need to redshirt a year, they will struggle.

But where is the correlation here between years of experience and success?

 

[RSTuthill]

But where is the correlation here between years of experience and success?

Good point, and one could argue that there are many factors besides years of experience that have significant effects on level of success.

But the correlation between years of experience and a complete lack of success is pretty self-evident.

 

[UConnJim]

But where is the correlation here between years of experience and success?

By definition, if you are a development program, first and second year players are not ready to be major contributors. Occaisionally, there is an exception. Going back to the Kendall Reyes example, would he have been a major contributor on the DL when he was 235 lbs. and 250 lbs.? Would you have said he was not a good player if he played during year 1 and year 2 as an underdeveloped DL?

 

[BNich]

Any one have updates on the Parker suspension. If he gets reinstated, it could turn our defense/season around...hope he's learned his lesson after 4 yrs

He's been gone for a while. Ended up going the JUCO route after leaving UConn.

 

[gtcam]

Boys vs Men
Nearly every game
See it on the football field and on the basketball court at UConn
That has to change
I know they are getting a more effective S&C program but UConn is behind the rest of the pack
Until you start recruiting bigger kids and developing others quickly, physically these UConn teams are going to get beat up, pushed around and abused.

 

[RSTuthill]

We are eating our seed corn by playing true freshmen, redshirt freshmen, true sophomores, and redshirt sophomores. The issue is that they are the best UConn has at the moment. Thus we are forced into the conclusion that this project may take 7 or 8 years before UConn is playing all redshirt juniors and redshirt seniors.

 

[Huskygrad88]

Watching the team return from the locker room after halftime I thought whatever went on in the locker room, it was not good. Watching Edsall during the game he spends the majority of the game walking by himself adjusting his headset. Very little communication with the players. On a 2nd half Beaudry to Ross incompletion on 3rd down which was either a poor pass or a bad route, it looked like both, he came over and started chewing out Ross, the assistant coach grabbed Ross and got him away from Edsall. There is a difference between teaching and blaming. This team needs a good teacher and motivator being as young as it is.

So he didn’t talk in the first half, which was a problem. Then he did talk in the second and it was a problem? And (seemingly) because it does not fit the narrative that conversation was “blaming”? I’m not defending anyone as the game (and likely the season ultimately) was a complete disaster, but this seems an odd connection of arguments.

 

[noeynox]

You basically said what I was seeing.. (gulp, dare I say it) as if the coach lost the team. It was bad, especially (and surprisingly) the 2nd USF series in the 2nd half.. The meltdown on D was just awful... zero pride on D in stopping the run.. zero... It was a dumpster fire. I could stomach the butt whippins we got from UCF and Indiana moreso this past weekend at home...

The players don't live in bubbles. They watch college football. Defense came out and got a 3 and out. Then they watch their coach not even try to go for it fourth and short. The Randy 2.0 experiment has failed. I was big on giving him at least 4 years, but he has just been brutally bad.

 

[jdb50]

So he didn’t talk in the first half, which was a problem. Then he did talk in the second and it was a problem? And (seemingly) because it does not fit the narrative that conversation was “blaming”? I’m not defending anyone as the game (and likely the season ultimately) was a complete disaster, but this seems an odd connection of arguments.

No, he does not communicate much all game long. Pacing by himself with his headset mostly. At least he does not stop watch the punts anymore. The team walked out of the locker room after halftime like they were walking to a practice. Now in the second half players did make plays and the TD drive and 2 point conversion had players giving their all obviously like Mensah, Beaudry and Rose. Then we had the fake FG and the final USF TD which were pathetic. Some teams have a CEO head coach. Others have the head coach as offensive coordinator. Not as often is the HC a defensive play caller. Sure you can say that it is on the players to perform. With the young team we have I think a CEO HC is not optimal. We need a high energy teacher that is involved in the whole picture IMO. Every game is a 5 alarm fire for us right now. Edsall needs to coach all game long and in a positive way, not just at practice.

 

[Nostical]

Average years of college experience of defensive fronts in the 12 team AAC.
11. Tulane: 3.0 years.
12. UConn: 2.25 years.

This tells me we've got a good chance to run the ball on Tulane. I like our chances to cover here as well.

 

[Waquoit]

This is your contribution? so frigging insightful

But shouldn't the players that played three years ago instead of the then upperclassmen be better by now? Isn't that why we didn't try to win then?

 

[huskyrob1]

Not much to say. That was a horrific, horrific performance, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Reminiscent of last year. We didn't seem to care a lot, or if we did we aren't smart enough to put ourselves in a position to try to make plays. And, while I am one of the last people here to blame coaches for players not getting it done, the offensive play calling may have been as bad as I ever remember it being since moving to the Rent.

The team played like they were dead men walking. Which would be easier to take if, from a football perspective, I thought that attitude was irrational. But none of the play on the field, the coaching, the lack of support from students or other fans and the lack of announcements about future scheduling make me optimistic that my initial judgment on the effects the move to the Big East would have on the football program will prove to be incorrect.

Not much more to say.

Unfortunately you are right. Thanks for the dose of reality.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

Any one have updates on the Parker suspension. If he gets reinstated, it could turn our defense/season around...hope he's learned his lesson after 4 yrs

What happened to Dallas? Did he do a criminal act?