The View From Section 241

[whaler11]

Do you see wins in the future with Boyle? I don't. Not based on what I saw last year. We've seen Whitmer play better.

Hopefully we get Cochran back. But the offense is still going to struggle if they don't clean up a lot. It will struggle less, but it will struggle.

Chapilvaug and everyone else saying we should burn his redshirt never seem to want to face the following fact.

Diaco hasn't hesitated to burn a redshirt of anyone he thinks can contribute. Offensive lineman, running backs, special teams players, anyone. He's made it to three deep on the roster.

Except Boyle.

We've got three talented RBs in the same class all playing with the same eligibility left. Whether Boyle red shirts or not Shirreffs is a year behind Boyle and Cochran, with David coming in next year. We have some separation thanks to the transfer.

I'm not saying Boyle can't, shouldn't, or won't play. I'm saying I don't expect the team to be any better with him over Whitmer.

Exactly. There is no obsession with creating space between them. The redshirt exists because he was maybe the least prepared quarterback ever thrust into a startimg role in FBS history (apologies to Mike Box).

 

[Palatine]

Yep BizLaw, your observation on Frank is right on. He gets to the QB but has no idea how to tackle him one he gets there. He should have had numerous sacks, for now it's baby steps.

I have also been wondering what the staff sees in Whitmer. He has no feel for the position. He is inaccurate. He runs at the first sign of pressure sometimes into the pressure. It sure doesn't look like the team responds to him. I think Casey and Boyle should be competing for the job, reshirts be dammed, let's play to win.

The holes in the secondary have been huge. I haven't seem that many guys running free since the New York Marathon. Luckily Stony Brook had terrible QBs. Against BYU, their receivers were catching passes with no one within five yards. That better tighten up.

Newsome continues to tease us with potential. Love to see him get a whole series or a drive.

 

[kris1]

Excellent post BL.
Boyle should start over Whitmer cuz he is twice as good and has 10 times more upside. Besides the point but if I were him I would transfer if he isn't the starter soon. He will be able to start for a team that would easy beat us if his redshirt is not burned.
If you look at the video of Diaco and Whitmer singing and yucking it up after a horrible game -Boyle looked disgusted as he should - at least that's my take. I also think the comments that Diaco made about how he had to work on communication and intangible leadership may have hurt Tim more than we know. Ok he may not have been ready early his FR year but really ? He has a leadership gap - he led his HS team to 3 state championships - yes - starting his Sophomore year. True CT football isn't the best but that still is a great display of leadership.

Have to disagree with you Chief. I've followed CTHSFB closely for many years, including Boyle's three varsity seasons at Xavier. He was not a three year starter, nor was he the "leader" of any of those championship teams. Boyle played sparingly in 2010 and split time in 2011, with Pat D'Amato (Stony Brook, WR). Graham Stewart was the leader in 2010, D'Amato and Sean Marinan Jr. were the leaders in 2011. Boyle was the full-time starter at QB in 2012, but that team revolved around RB, DeAngelo Berry.

 

[BlueMAB]

Casey and Boyle did compete for the job, with Whitmer, Casey got the slight nod, and Boyle sits.

 

[zls44]

Starting Boyle for conference realignment theorized reasons is insane. Even for the boneyard.

 

[Dooley]

Starting Boyle for conference realignment theorized reasons is insane. Even for the boneyard.

Not if you think the team has a better shot at winning games with Boyle than Whitmer. We need fans at games for CR and all I read on here is the need for UCONN to win to sell tickets. I happen to think that Whitmer is a backup level QB. I have more confidence in Boyle leading the team to wins than Whitmer, last season be damned.

 

[BlueMAB]

Not if you think the team has a better shot at winning games with Boyle than Whitmer... ...I have more confidence in Boyle leading the team to wins than Whitmer, last season be damned.

Based on what? Your ability to ignore everything Boyle did last year, combined with the fact he never really came close to winning the job from Whitmer or Cochran this year?

 

[Dooley]

Based on what? Your ability to ignore everything Boyle did last year, combined with the fact he never really came close to winning the job from Whitmer or Cochran this year?

Based on what I've seen from Whitmer THIS YEAR. Last year was last year. Everyone is being afforded the opportunity to show what they can do this year...except Boyle.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Yep BizLaw, your observation on Frank is right on. He gets to the QB but has no idea how to tackle him one he gets there. He should have had numerous sacks, for now it's baby steps.

I have also been wondering what the staff sees in Whitmer. He has no feel for the position. He is inaccurate. He runs at the first sign of pressure sometimes into the pressure. It sure doesn't look like the team responds to him. I think Casey and Boyle should be competing for the job, reshirts be dammed, let's play to win.

The holes in the secondary have been huge. I haven't seem that many guys running free since the New York Marathon. Luckily Stony Brook had terrible QBs. Against BYU, their receivers were catching passes with no one within five yards. That better tighten up.

Newsome continues to tease us with potential. Love to see him get a whole series or a drive.

The hope with Frank is that his mere presence is enough to slow up or re-route the RB until better tacklers get there. I hope.

 

[noeynox]

Not if you think the team has a better shot at winning games with Boyle than Whitmer. We need fans at games for CR and all I read on here is the need for UCONN to win to sell tickets. I happen to think that Whitmer is a backup level QB. I have more confidence in Boyle leading the team to wins than Whitmer, last season be damned.

I think you're really overstating how many more wins Boyle will get you over Whitmer.

I seriously doubt were going to win enough to impact fan base growth or our conference realignment hopes. Not this year anyway and I think it is unfair to expect that from this coach in year one.

 

[BlueMAB]

Based on what I've seen from Whitmer THIS YEAR. Last year was last year. Everyone is being afforded the opportunity to show what they can do this year...except Boyle.

And that doesn't tell you anything?

 

[Dooley]

And that doesn't tell you anything?

It tells me that they are trying to preserve Boyle's eligibility for an extra year to separate he and Cochran. Nothing more.

 

[Dooley]

I think you're really overstating how many more wins Boyle will get you over Whitmer.

I seriously doubt were going to win enough to impact fan base growth or our conference realignment hopes. Not this year anyway and I think it is unfair to expect that from this coach in year one.

How many wins do we get with Whitmer this year? Based on what we saw against BYU and what we saw yesterday against the worst defense that we will see all year BY FAR.

 

[noeynox]

How many wins do we get with Whitmer this year? Based on what we saw against BYU and what we saw yesterday against the worst defense that we will see all year BY FAR.

I can't believe Diaco evaluated chandler and Casey and came away thinking they were close, but I think he has a game plan and that included red shirting Boyle barring injury to both Whitmer and CC. My gut tells me that day is coming but I don't expect the head coach to show panic and deviate from that plan so soon. Whitmer did not look good no doubt about it.

 

[J187Money]

It tells me that they are trying to preserve Boyle's eligibility for an extra year to separate he and Cochran. Nothing more.

I don't get that. If he was out in front he'd be playing. At best it is a wash between Cochran and Boyle, which makes sense to sit Boyle then. If Cochran is coming back, Boyle should sit. If not, he should play IMO. Whitmer just isn't good enough. And BTW if Boyle isn't better than Whitmer this year, what makes you all think that he will be that much better next year? If we need to wait until he is a senior after Cochran graduates to unleash his greatness, we have serious problems.

 

[jackl]

I'll give you one very important reason to start Boyle over Whitmer: conference realignment. If UCONN ever aspires to get out of the AAC, it needs to generate fan support for the football program. Like BL said and I completely agree with: it's tough to attract fans to games to watch this team with 1) no hope for a win and 2) a terrible offense. Making the switch to Boyle, assuming Cochran is a long-term injury, may help to rally some fans behind the program and root for the Connecticut kid. UCONN desperately needs to sell tickets and show to the ACC and B1G that it can bring competitive football and football fans (money) to a new conference.

I'll give you another reason to start Boyle: who's to say Boyle doesn't transfer after the year is over if he doesn't play? If Cochran is a long-term injury and Whitmer leads to the team to 1 very narrow win over a FCS opponent all season, would Boyle stay at UCONN? Or would he be open to transferring to somewhere else, like BC (who will have an open QB competition when Murphy graduates after this season), to play in a Power conference and still be close to home? If the coaches all say that the best means to evaluate a player is by seeing him in games, then why doesn't that same metric for evaluation apply to Boyle? Seems like he's the only guy on the team that isn't being given an opportunity to play in games when our coaches are rolling a 3 and 4 deep depth chart at almost every single position.

Why red shirt Boyle with Sheriffs sitting out this year And Davis coming in next year it gets pretty crowded. I know injuries/concussions change things in an instant but I don't think we need to go crazy trying to keep him off the field this year.

 

[Dooley]

I don't get that. If he was out in front he'd be playing. At best it is a wash between Cochran and Boyle, which makes sense to sit Boyle then. If Cochran is coming back, Boyle should sit. If not, he should play IMO. Whitmer just isn't good enough. And BTW if Boyle isn't better than Whitmer this year, what makes you all think that he will be that much better next year? If we need to wait until he is a senior after Cochran graduates to unleash his greatness, we have serious problems.

Completely agree. Cochran beat Boyle this year to be the starter, not Whitmer. Whitmer has always been viewed as the backup QB and should be. If Cochran is going to come back in 1-2 weeks, then I can sit through a few Whitmer starts. But if Cochran is going to be out a few months, season, or end his career, Boyle needs to start this last "preseason" game.

 

[BlueMAB]

I don't get that. If he was out in front he'd be playing. At best it is a wash between Cochran and Boyle, which makes sense to sit Boyle then. If Cochran is coming back, Boyle should sit. If not, he should play IMO. Whitmer just isn't good enough. And BTW if Boyle isn't better than Whitmer this year, what makes you all think that he will be that much better next year? If we need to wait until he is a senior after Cochran graduates to unleash his greatness, we have serious problems.

I think Boyle isn't playing because he isn't as good as Cochran or Whitmer. That's what we saw on the field last year, and I expect that's what Diaco sees in practice.

I don't care if he redshirts or not, I'm certainly not expecting to "unleash greatness". But I do think it's reasonable to think a player can get better with coaching, if he's getting snaps in practice, paying attention in meetings, and putting time in watching film, but not playing in games.

I don't buy the "separation" story because Diaco isn't redshirting anyone else he thinks can contribute, and no matter the plan for Boyle, he's going to have 2 QBs with the same eligibility.

I think Boyle is physically talented, but hasn't grasped the offense and/or adjusted to the speed of the game yet at this level, and the coaches expect him to be more valuable in 3 years than right now. I think that's a logical decision. I think the most logical conclusion is the coaches don't think he's good enough to make a difference this year so they aren't going to play him unless they have to.

I would love to be wrong, but if I am, and they play him, and he outplays the other two by a wide margin, then 1) either he's the worst practice player ever. 2) the coaches are imbeciles. or 3) Diaco was willing to completely burn this entire season so he could preserve Boyle for 1-3 years when he has had a chance to recruit more talent. Of those, #3 would be most likely, and I choose not to believe he would do that.

Or...

They play him, and we see what we saw last year, which was worse than any quarterback we've had in a long time. No disrespect to the young man, he never should have been on the field last year, and he has plenty of time to develop into a good QB. But I can't understand how anyone could see how he played last year, and expect better so quickly. Statistically, he was the worst QB in the country.

 

[Woof 101]

Agree with what I see from Biz, I have commented in other locations on the 3rd down noise. Stand cover your ears and make noise for our boys! Warde will get it soon and make a change.
As for Witmere, again I agree and said it during the game he is throwing everything to avoid the defender either over the top or wide. Pick paranoia and obvious, but then again he should be. Why not some short flairs or something out of the backfield to build some confidence?
Let's get to Bob the motavator, not trying to be an energy vampire but good god. How does a punter have one hiked behind him and still get a good kick off? This would be hard even in high school. That was the play of the game hands down.
Bob said in a post game interview when asked if the linebackers have improved that yes they are reacting rather than standing around and thinking. Then why are they not allowed to rush a punt? They stand on the line and wait for the kick! They are a simply prevent a fake line. This is something I have never seen, no rush at all allowed!
The Randy play came back, pass in the flat with no blocker which means no yardage and a wasted down. Watch the film and see how SB gets at least 6 yards on the same play with a blocker.
Don Patterson AHC was asked in an interview how much Bob has or is depending on him and he said very little, he is just there to maybe reinforce a thoutht or agree on a decision. Maybe it is time to realize sooner rather than later, we may not be a great team yet but it is obvious to even a casual fan we are wasting plays on both sides of the ball. Bob has put togeather a great staff he should maybe let them do what they do and he take care of the rah rah stuff because right now the one man show is not heading in the right direction.
Again I am not trying to bring down energy but when he talks about the team being at a 101 level the play calling should not be one of the problems. This on either side of the ball.

 

[NEforceUConn]

Sorry I'm really confused when people say Boyle showed nothing last year, or Boyle was terrible last year.

We played 12 games last year and i bet Boyle played maybe 5 whole quarters. The dumb merrygo round we had with the wild cat was ridiculous. I know this its going to be a very long season if its Whitmer. If CC is out give TB a go.

Now if TB can not remember plays then thats a game changer., but that's the only reason i can understand for him sitting. this RS thing is stupid, just stupid.

 

[Uconnalliance]

Burn Boyles shirt,who knows what transfer QB can put up , who knows he may shake up the whole landscape

 

[BlueMAB]

Sorry I'm really confused when people say Boyle showed nothing last year, or Boyle was terrible last year.

We played 12 games last year and i bet Boyle played maybe 5 whole quarters. The dumb merrygo round we had with the wild cat was ridiculous. I know this its going to be a very long season if its Whitmer. If CC is out give TB a go.

Now if TB can not remember plays then thats a game changer., but that's the only reason i can understand for him sitting. this RS thing is stupid, just stupid.

If you didn't watch last year, just say you didn't watch last year. 5 quarters?

http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/546675/tim-boyle

1) 15-43, 149 yards, 35% completion, 0 TD/0 INT, 64 rating.

2) 22-39, 310 yards, 56% completion, 0 TD/3 INT, 106 rating. In his best game, by a wide margin, he threw for 0 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions.

3) 7-21, 47 yards, 33% completion, 0TD/2INT, 33.1 rating.

4) 14-29, 113 yards, 48% completion, 0TD/3INT, 60.3 rating.

5 Quarters? 133 pass attempts (+27 "rushing attempts") which means 160 snaps, not including the handoffs to McCombs in "maybe 5 whole quarters"?

"Wow. just wow."

 

[junglehusky]

Sorry I'm really confused when people say Boyle showed nothing last year, or Boyle was terrible last year.

We played 12 games last year and i bet Boyle played maybe 5 whole quarters. The dumb merrygo round we had with the wild cat was ridiculous. I know this its going to be a very long season if its Whitmer. If CC is out give TB a go.

Now if TB can not remember plays then thats a game changer., but that's the only reason i can understand for him sitting. this RS thing is stupid, just stupid.

Boyle started out okay, but he didn't appear to progress in the games he was starting. This was while Weist was interim HC. He wasn't ready for the meat of the schedule last year. He might be better this year. I kind of doubt he's had the reps in practice so far, but if they decide to burn the redshirt he will get them. Hope he's got the playbook down better, last year he looked like the least experienced of the 3 QBs and at times he looked lost. Of course with the caveat that he had to play Cincy and UCF while Cochran had to play Rutgers and Memphis.

 

[jdb50]

Woof, forgot about the SB punter being able to recover the mishandled snap and get the kick off with no pressure from us at all. At the time in that close a game thought we missed a big chance to get points. It was a real headscratcher that we had no one making sure the snap was good etc. Have to send 2 guys at least. Maybe someone wasn't doing their assignment. I hope!

 

[businesslawyer]

If you didn't watch last year, just say you didn't watch last year. 5 quarters?

http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/546675/tim-boyle

1) 15-43, 149 yards, 35% completion, 0 TD/0 INT, 64 rating.

2) 22-39, 310 yards, 56% completion, 0 TD/3 INT, 106 rating. In his best game, by a wide margin, he threw for 0 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions.

3) 7-21, 47 yards, 33% completion, 0TD/2INT, 33.1 rating.

4) 14-29, 113 yards, 48% completion, 0TD/3INT, 60.3 rating.

5 Quarters? 133 pass attempts (+27 "rushing attempts") which means 160 snaps, not including the handoffs to McCombs in "maybe 5 whole quarters"?

"Wow. just wow."

Reading these QB discussions is like watching Fox News, in that I'm fine with people having different opinions than me but have a problem with people having different facts. Each of the three CBs started four games. CC's numbers are much better than Chandler's, and Chandler's numbers were much better than Boyle.

 

[BlueMAB]

Reading these QB discussions is like watching Fox News, CNBC, MSNBC, CNN, etc, in that I'm fine with people having different opinions than me but have a problem with people having different facts. Each of the three CBs started four games. CC's numbers are much better than Chandler's, and Chandler's numbers were much better than Boyle.

FIFY

 

[NEforceUConn]

Sorry I was totally out to lunch. Last season was such a disaster that I trained my mind to forget everything after the USF game until Temple.

Upon review TB had a very rough experience. Please Riddell make a special helmet for CC.

 

[Chief00]

Reading these QB discussions is like watching Fox News, in that I'm fine with people having different opinions than me but have a problem with people having different facts. Each of the three CBs started four games. CC's numbers are much better than Chandler's, and Chandler's numbers were much better than Boyle.

Ok BL after praising your overall post, I must say you are pretty clueless about QB. I would not extrapolate someone's career based on being unexpectedly thrust into a starting position their Freshman year while a mid season coaching change was underway - that's just not very thoughtful. Again, many uninformed fans dumped on Drummond for not producing more his Freshman year when all kinds of coaching and other changes were happening. Now he has made Team USA. Quite frankly, that shows how silly that standard when applied to freshman is during a disruptive season.

 

[whaler11]

Ok BL after praising your overall post, I must say you are pretty clueless about QB. I would not extrapolate someone's career based on being unexpectedly thrust into a starting position their Freshman year while a mid season coaching change was underway - that's just not very thoughtful. Again, many uninformed fans dumped on Drummond for not producing more his Freshman year when all kinds of coaching and other changes were happening. Now he has made Team USA. Quite frankly, that shows how silly that standard when applied to freshman is during a disruptive season.

Now I've seen it all.

The only possible way you could think Boyle is the answer is if you stopped watching after the Buffalo game last year.

The only possible way you could think there is some obsession with him keeping his redshirt is if you've ignored every other piece of evidence.

I get that Whitmer is brutal to watch right now. That doesn't mean anyone available is any better.

This board has an unhealthy issue with backup quarterbacks. Over the last decade every single one that has been called for has pretty much sucked in the end except Endres - yet people still assume the next one is the savior. Even when we saw the absolute worst performance possible over a third of a season - and a performance that was deteriorating. Boyle was getting worse by the drive before our eyes.

 

[noeynox]

Now I've seen it all.

The only possible way you could think Boyle is the answer is if you stopped watching after the Buffalo game last year.

The only possible way you could think there is some obsession with him keeping his redshirt is if you've ignored every other piece of evidence.

I get that Whitmer is brutal to watch right now. That doesn't mean anyone available is any better.

This board has an unhealthy issue with backup quarterbacks. Over the last decade every single one that has been called for has pretty much sucked in the end except Endres - yet people still assume the next one is the savior. Even when we saw the absolute worst performance possible over a third of a season - and a performance that was deteriorating. Boyle was getting worse by the drive before our eyes.

Cochran didn't suck when he came in. Even against SMU he didn't look like he didn't belong.