This Isn't Working

[Chief00]

Everyone needs to calm down. As much as I hate to admit it, Syracuse is a really good team and I think we will find that out as the season progresses. They pretty easily beat Louisville and allowed Louisville to score only 7 points and Louisville just beat UCF at UCF yesterday.

As for Turner, he is a true freshman and they are bringing him along slowly to develop him. It doesn't help that UConn's WRs have been decimated with Ross and Marion out with injury, Drayton suspended and Fitzgerald has been slowly coming back from injury. I really don't think UConn has field stretching WRs right now. Does anyone remember how bad a true freshman Tim Boyle looked and he has played in the NFL.

Finally, this team is dramatically improved from last year. Tackling is much better, the OL looks better, RBs look better. That said, UConn needs to continue to improve to compete with good P5 teams.

Boyle actually did not look bad as a freshman, the results were bad. The receivers were not use to his pro type velocity and several passes went off their hands for interceptions. Admittedly, he overthrew on a few plays too.

 

[Skiblets]

Do u think we should hire a defensive coordinator?

It does beg the question

 

[BugsyCT]

Yeah, it’s hard to understand why a sputtering program which hasn’t beaten a real FBS team in 5 years can’t just suddenly get 3,4,& 5-star recruits to be able to be competitive with P5-level talent. Losing our DC and starting QB and WRs before the season barely gets going never helps much either. Oh, now our best KR is gone too.

Not that many of our problems aren't self-inflicted, but we get the absolute worst luck with injuries and key players who can’t play.

If Mora came here for the challenge, he’s got it. Welcome to UConn.

 

[willie99]

Was almost my first game since PP's first year, kinda glad I didn't go. I do like the direction of the program, I like the job Mora is doing, one bad game ain't going to change that

We made a few ridiculously bad plays yesterday that helped fuel the fire, they'll learn from this

And I will be at a game this year, at least one.

Go Huskies

 

[Tdaley]

Our lack of size in our secondary is a major issue. We are never going to competitive with these major football programs until we get much bigger athletes in are secondary.

 

[Tdaley]

The lack of downfield passing is a chicken and egg to me.

We don't have fast WR's who can get separation nor do we have big, physical WR's who can just win the 50/50 passes. So, the downfield passing plays take time to develop. DC's know this so they bring heat compressing Turner's throwing window.
It's obvious the speed and complexity of D1 defenses are too much for Turner right now. If Ibwere a DC I'd put all 11 players inside of 10 yards from LOS.
I really wish they'd do some designed run plays with Turner where they attack the pressure points from the D. Schrader had several nice designed zone read runs last night.
Maybe they are trying to protect Turner from getting hit due to lack of QB depth. I do know the passing game is a mess.

I wonder if Turner is really the only healthy quarterback on our roster right now.

 

[Huskydog45]

Totel

Before we kill the defensive backs did anybody else notice in the first half and part of the third quarter that the quarterback did not throw right away on most plays that he had all the time in the world but he had to wait and check down check down and wait till somebody broke open.

The DBS were doing their job it's just that you can't cover somebody for eight seconds for God's s

I like to preface that yes, our receiving corp is bad, but it’s due to injury. We have reason for hope in that department next season.

Coming into the season, UConn’s receiving group was one of their strengths…..but being down to your top 3 receivers, that obviously has changed…..agree that they have to figure out which receiver has the best chance to get the ball to downfield and I think it has to be Fitzgerald with his size…..doesn’t have to be 50 yards downfield bit something in the 15 -20 yard range to at least stretch the defense…there is still hope Marion can return in second half when we have more of our winnable games…..having him return would definitely change things

You haven't looked at the back half of our schedule: we still have to play FIU, Ball State, and UMass. As a bonus, Army and BC are both worse than we thought.

Just a comment filled with stupidity….totally agree the second half of the season has winnable games…the question is will many on this board give up on the team when we knew the schedule was front loaded with tough games…..

 

[LoyalFanCT]

It does beg the question

if we had a decent defensive coordinator he would have the time to work with these players during practices and help them improve.

 

[freescooter]

The lack of downfield passing is a chicken and egg to me.

We don't have fast WR's who can get separation nor do we have big, physical WR's who can just win the 50/50 passes. So, the downfield passing plays take time to develop. DC's know this so they bring heat compressing Turner's throwing window.
It's obvious the speed and complexity of D1 defenses are too much for Turner right now. If Ibwere a DC I'd put all 11 players inside of 10 yards from LOS.
I really wish they'd do some designed run plays with Turner where they attack the pressure points from the D. Schrader had several nice designed zone read runs last night.
Maybe they are trying to protect Turner from getting hit due to lack of QB depth. I do know the passing game is a mess.

There is a vast difference between throwing the ball 20 yards down field and throwing 7-10 yard passes to guys over the middle or down the sideline. We need to do something besides these bubble screens and 1 yard quick outs. Even with a true freshman teams throw the football occasionally. Good grief.

 

[UConnJim]

I wonder if Turner is really the only healthy quarterback on our roster right now.

This. UConn has 3 available QBs on the roster and 2 are coming off surgeries and don't seem to be ready to play major minutes yet. Thus, you can't have Turner run the ball. With Turner a true freshman in his 3rd game and limited QB depth, the offense is going to be conservative.

 

[Hoophound]

Am I being unfair to say that Tyler P was a more dynamic threat than ZT? That I don’t see the spirited confidence and “escapability” factor that Tyler Phommachanh displayed? If healthy, would you start him over ZT?

I absolutely would. He’s a magician on the run. We need that badly right now. Our line is good at opening up the run game but pass protection is brutal. Millen is a better runner too. I’m not really sure why we continue with Zion other than injuries to Millen and Tyler.

 

[JMick]

Am I being unfair to say that Tyler P was a more dynamic threat than ZT? That I don’t see the spirited confidence and “escapability” factor that Tyler Phommachanh displayed? If healthy, would you start him over ZT?

Tyler is definitely more dynamic but Turner does some things better. He has a much better arm (both strength and touch) and he runs the offense better. They're very different QBs. A healthy Tyler P probably helps us win more games now solely because of his wheels and our lack of skill players on O.

 

[Bongo Fury]

Good players make good coaches

 

[CL82]

Can always get worse…

Me this morning;

 

[Hoophound]

We don’t have the receivers to throw to and Zion isn’t much of a scrambler. We will likely have a QB change as soon as it is possible. It has to be injuries holding Millen and Tyler Phommachanh back.

One thing to remember, Zion earned the job playing against our defense in practice. We now know that we make life incredibly easy for a QB, so I’m not sure he’s been realistically evaluated. Scrambling is going to be far more important than throwing for this group.

Also, I don’t always buy into the idea that “no one” could succeed with this pass protection. We’ve seen time and again how immediately transformative a QB that processes things quickly can be. When Casey Cochran got his shot, it was night and day. How about when Randy went with Pindell? We couldn’t do a thing, then Shirreffs came in and lit it up instantly. Gotta try something.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I wonder if Turner is really the only healthy quarterback on our roster right now.

I have no idea but if he is healthy I would have liked to have seen Millen a bit earlier in the fourth. They played him for set packages in first two games.

 

[Chin Diesel]

This will be my first direct trash player post of the year.

Harrison cannot see the field again as a PR or WR. Maybe a place for him on KO coverage but he has hands of stone and no feel for the game.

 

[Milo65]

Here's an idea - THROW THE BALL DOWN FIELD ONCE OR TWICE A GAME!

Zion was 14 for 17 for 97 yards, take away the bubble screen to A. Turner that went for 56 and you have 13 completions for a total of 41 yards, besides embarrassing it's impossible to beat a legit opponent that way. I thought once the game was in hand against Central last week we should have worked on going downfield a little more just for future use.

As good as our running game had been, it had been easy to defend as our passing game is a disaster. Our passing game consists of bubble screens, dump offs in the flat and short in and out routes.

 

[Madmannsucks]

I have no idea what was realistically expected-I hoped for 4 wins and fewer 63 to 21 losses to sub 500 teams. Anything beyond that is a pipe dream in my opinion.

 

[Kolumbo]

It takes time to build. Or there is the portal.

Henry Colombi College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits | College Football at Sports-Reference.com

Check out Henry Colombi's College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits and More College Stats at Sports-Reference.com

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[shizzle787]

We can play a West Coast offense with Puma if he is healthy enough. He can scramble, make medium and short distance passes, and we have a tremendous running game and offensive line. Our secondary is a serious problem as is our defensive line.

 

[cohenzone]

This place is gonna be a disaster for the next few weeks…I think I might take a break for my sanity.

Exactly. Looking at some of the posts in this thread makes me wonder is some people have a clue about the distance we have fallen and the hill we have to climb. Vince Lombardi could do no better. There are several teams on this schedule we will be crushed by

I do agree that Turner does not look like a dual threat. Not great speed but also no running instinct or ability to avoud a sack. But he us young. But between jhim, our wide receivers and our pass blocking, stretching the field is nit in the picture against a bunch of teams, especially this month.

 

[wheelerdog]

Michigan ht put 70 on this defense.

I like to preface that yes, our receiving corp is bad, but it’s due to injury. We have reason for hope in that department next season.

Ah yes. Next season. Isn't that always the case.

 

[UConnJim]

We don’t have the receivers to throw to and Zion isn’t much of a scrambler. We will likely have a QB change as soon as it is possible. It has to be injuries holding Millen and Tyler Phommachanh back.

One thing to remember, Zion earned the job playing against our defense in practice. We now know that we make life incredibly easy for a QB, so I’m not sure he’s been realistically evaluated. Scrambling is going to be far more important than throwing for this group.

Go watch Zion's high school tape. He is a good scrambler and he throws well on the run.

I just can't get over how people think a true freshman QB in his 2nd start with a short handed WR corpse with apparently no fully healthy backup QB should be much better than we have seen so far. I do believe we would have seen a more dynamic offense with Roberson as he is more experienced and the QB depth was better with a healthy Turner the backup and we would have seen more QB runs.

I do agree that Turner does not look like a dual threat. Not great speed but also no running instinct or ability to avoud a sack. But he us young.

UConn has allowed 1.33 sacks per game through 3 games, so I think Turner and the offensive scheme are avoiding sacks. Last year, UConn allowed 3.33 sacks per game and was ranked 120 out of 130 schools.

 

[wheelerdog]

In a shocking development, we are learning that UConn football is pretty bad. This is going to take time to turn around.

Serious question. How many years before they can win 6 games?