This team is poorly coached.

[Palatine]

At some point, Diaco has to take responsibility for the team's constant mistakes. He's the coach.

If the team can't kick off without making a mistake, isn't that the coaches fault?

If the starting QB gives the opponents 20+ points. Should the coaches decision to keep playing him enter into the discussion?

If the team keeps committing pre-snap penalties -at home- shouldn't the coach fix it?

If the offensive line can't pick up a blitz, do they have to figure it out on their own or does the coach have to take the blame?

If the offense doesn't have plays to neutralize the blitz, is it the coaches fault for not calling those plays?

If play makers are on the bench instead of in the game, who controls the personnel decisions?

If you believe these questions are unfair, then none of it is on the coach. Otherwise the coach has to pick up HIS game.

 

[noeynox]

none of those are unfair. I believe P inherited more talent than Diaco, but early in the P tenure we didn't look as inept as we look now. The defense is getting worn out, the offensive schemes are predictable and we know about the OL, but those questions are not unfair. Year one I'll give him a pass. Have no choice really, but he has underwhelmed for sure so far.

 

[Montaleno]

At some point, Diaco has to take responsibility for the team's constant mistakes. He's the coach.

If the team can't kick off without making a mistake, isn't that the coaches fault?

If the starting QB gives the opponents 20+ points. Should the coaches decision to keep playing him enter into the discussion?

If the team keeps committing pre-snap penalties -at home- shouldn't the coach fix it?

If the offensive line can't pick up a blitz, do they have to figure it out on their own or does the coach have to take the blame?

If the offense doesn't have plays to neutralize the blitz, is it the coaches fault for not calling those plays?

If play makers are on the bench instead of in the game, who controls the personnel decisions?

If you believe these questions are unfair, then none of it is on the coach. Otherwise the coach has to pick up HIS game.

I agree...you can't continue to say "this is a process".. "we played hard"..."we improved each quarter",... etc. At some point, the coach has to be held accountable. What I saw out there today in the second half was an embarrassment. The team looked lost and so did the coach.

 

[Palatine]

Oops, left out, a coach has responsibility for halftime adjustments. If the team is worse in the second half, who shoulders the blame?

 

[stephen Henry]

Oops, left out, a coach has responsibility for halftime adjustments. If the team is worse in the second half, who shoulders the blame?

Too many still blame coach P.

 

[CoachUConn]

I think it's more the kids' fault than the coaches. The players gave up out there, very soft bunch of guys, let one thing get to them and it knocks them out. the players are the ones that have to perform, and they are the ones who are constantly messing up. Not a talented team we got.

 

[CodyJ.]

Blame Bush. It's bush's fault

 

[ATLDYKA]

Aside from a few players, most just aren't that good. They show no passion, they play like they are PP's guys and what his demeanor was on the sideline. No heart or grit. You would think this O-line would be taking it personally by now and want to knock someone in the mouth, yet week after week they are soft and emotionless.

 

[HuskyNan]

Postgame quotes:

UConn Head Coach Bob Diaco
Opening Statement:

About the game; I don’t want to inundate you with coach speak and give you 15 one-liners and walk out. We can’t play half a football game and have a game look like a tale of two cities. The opponent couldn’t really do anything in the first half offensively and our offense possessed the ball for about 20 minutes and went up and down the field. No points were produced and we have to be better in the red zone.

But we executed the plan and exited the half 7-3 before creating an explosive play; a fumble recovery in the end zone off the opening kickoff of the second half. We would have been ahead 10-7 but … penalty … freshman. So that is just where we are at right now.

We are taking turns with young guys doing bonehead things, which they will eventually stop doing. They will stop doing this because we are going to stay the course and with love, care, diligence and respect in how we communicate, we are going to keep getting better.

I know you saw the run game tonight so there is no way to say it isn’t getting better. The run game is improving and we just have to get that protection shored up and we will.

Some of the other facts of the game; 16 uncontested points make it impossible to win, period. When you look at it defensively, you have some exposure there that creates some of those circumstances. They had two scoring drives. We are unhappy with the four explosive-play passes because that is just not what we do. We don’t have our defense structured to give up explosive-play passes. So those four plays were disappointing. The other couple of field goals (produced by Temple) were plus-field setups. And then obviously 16 uncontested points.

We are disappointed but not crushed. The players understand what we are going to. We have a bye-week so we are going to practice a bunch and get better. So we are resolute and our spirit is not cracked. The team and coaches are upset but we also know, big picture, where we are going."

 

[ktuck911]

Blame Bush. It's bush's fault

Lol

 

[noeynox]

I forget what coach it was, I think it was Dave Clawson in SI, who was talking about when they first got to a particular job the oline was so bad, they decided on basically a quick horizontal passing game to make defenses have to run and cover receivers in space. I call that adapting to what you have. What Diaco seems to be trying on offense seems like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. He might as well scrap any play action passes because he is using a QB, that as soon as he looks up and sees any sign of pressure starts scrambling and the whole pass protect concept on the play breaks down. At this point we shouldn't try to pass from under center unless its a three step drop and quick pass, otherwise throw out of the shotgun. You have Davis, Foxx and today you saw Newsome as explosive players on offense. The offense seems to be regressing on a weekly basis. Tulane has looked horrible to date, I bet we make them look like the steel curtain defense because they sell out on pressure and we will have no answer for it.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I think it is pretty apparent that Diaco is in over his head. This team is playing much, much worse than the team Weist left him, and UConn had a lot of returning starters so this shouldn't have happened. I see people calling for Foley's head and I can just shake my head. Foley turned the offensive line around in 2 weeks last year, but now suddenly he sucks? I think the entire offense is faulty. We are back to zone blocking which doesn't work, and the players have no idea what they are supposed to be doing out there. I see a lot of tentative players out there trying to remember their job when they should be either hitting people (the OLine) or running away from people (everyone else). UConn is doing neither on offense.

I think it is also apparent that Weist did a really good job taking over a debacle in mid-season and making the team competitive almost immediately. Warde picked the wrong horse. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about it right now. I am less concerned about the players' learning curves and more concerned with Diaco's. He has to get that offense organized sooner than later. It isn't only the players' fault when the coach can't communicate what the coach wants done.

 

[Chief00]

I couldn't agree more, Warde without Calhoun is well University of Buffalo level. Maybe at this point you make Calhoun AD. Only problem with that is he has beaten too many schools so might not be best move favor conference realignment.

 

[Confident Carl]

At some point, Diaco has to take responsibility for the team's constant mistakes. He's the coach.

If the team can't kick off without making a mistake, isn't that the coaches fault?

If the starting QB gives the opponents 20+ points. Should the coaches decision to keep playing him enter into the discussion?

If the team keeps committing pre-snap penalties -at home- shouldn't the coach fix it?

If the offensive line can't pick up a blitz, do they have to figure it out on their own or does the coach have to take the blame?

If the offense doesn't have plays to neutralize the blitz, is it the coaches fault for not calling those plays?

If play makers are on the bench instead of in the game, who controls the personnel decisions?

If you believe these questions are unfair, then none of it is on the coach. Otherwise the coach has to pick up HIS game.

I share your disappointment however please tell me what head coach or coaching staff could win with the Offensive line we have? I see a lot of youth mistakes out there too due to young players gaining experience. This year UCONN is rebuilding. It is going to be a painful year for all of us. The recruiting up until now has been sub par. I still believe in Diaco and his concern for the kids. As bad as our Offense is, it's easier to understand the decision to run the ball against USF. Could some decisions have been changed? Sure no doubt. Unfortunately, I am afraid the outcome would be the same. I just hope we bring in some talented JUCO Offensive lineman or we will be screwed again next year.

 

[BNich]

I think it is pretty apparent that Diaco is in over his head. This team is playing much, much worse than the team Weist left him, and UConn had a lot of returning starters so this shouldn't have happened.

I disagree here. And your signal caller on offense was lost after game 1 as well which is a huge blow to this team/program. Almost a new starting line and back ups. New starters at RB and FB. WR's remained the same. You look at the defense. New starters all over the place.

 

[Hoophound]

I disagree here. And your signal caller on offense was lost after game 1 as well which is a huge blow to this team/program. Almost a new starting line and back ups. New starters at RB and FB. WR's remained the same. You look at the defense. New starters all over the place.

That's oversimplifying. The line is terrible partially because of zone blocking. Just let the guys play simple football. Even NFL reams struggle with zone blocking. You need athletic linemen to pull it off and only schools with ridiculous talent will make it work year in and year out. Foley isn't the issue, zone blocking is. Learn it, remember it, hate it. It's screwed us over before and it looked just like this.

As far as the offensive skill players, we are much better and we have a full stable of great backs that can also make a catch. Our QB is a problem and either Boyle is awful or BD is making a big mistake sitting him. Otherwise, this team can definitely win with these guys. We aren't in the SEC.

The defense isn't that bad so I consider it irrelevant. With a decent offense they'd get plenty of rest and it would be adequate to win plenty of games.

Lastly, we aren't losing hard fought games like we did when Jasper died and we were close to breaking through, we are getting our butts kicked. This is a coaching problem.

 

[Bonehead]

I share your disappointment however please tell me what head coach or coaching staff could win with the Offensive line we have? I see a lot of youth mistakes out there too due to young players gaining experience. This year UCONN is rebuilding. It is going to be a painful year for all of us. The recruiting up until now has been sub par. I still believe in Diaco and his concern for the kids. As bad as our Offense is, it's easier to understand the decision to run the ball against USF. Could some decisions have been changed? Sure no doubt. Unfortunately, I am afraid the outcome would be the same. I just hope we bring in some talented JUCO Offensive lineman or we will be screwed again next year.

I still believe part play calling. Stop calling 7 step drop passing plays and run wr screens/slants. The one big play was the RB screen pass. Quick throws instead of routes taking time.

 

[Palatine]

I share your disappointment however please tell me what head coach or coaching staff could win with the Offensive line we have? I see a lot of youth mistakes out there too due to young players gaining experience. This year UCONN is rebuilding. It is going to be a painful year for all of us. The recruiting up until now has been sub par. I still believe in Diaco and his concern for the kids. As bad as our Offense is, it's easier to understand the decision to run the ball against USF. Could some decisions have been changed? Sure no doubt. Unfortunately, I am afraid the outcome would be the same. I just hope we bring in some talented JUCO Offensive lineman or we will be screwed again next year.

I think many could. Remember he didn't even try to start winning until game four.

Go max protect. Throw more screens. Throw more bubble passes. We ran zero jets sweeps versus Temple to slow down the rush.

Hell, I'm just some smo and I have a better concept on how to move the ball than Diaco.

And, please God, stop believing Whitmer in the answer. Diaco is the only guy in the entire state that doesn't understand you cannot win with Whitmer at QB.

 

[Pudge]

Postgame quotes:

UConn Head Coach Bob Diaco
Opening Statement:

About the game; I don’t want to inundate you with coach speak and give you 15 one-liners and walk out. We can’t play half a football game and have a game look like a tale of two cities. The opponent couldn’t really do anything in the first half offensively and our offense possessed the ball for about 20 minutes and went up and down the field. No points were produced and we have to be better in the red zone.

But we executed the plan and exited the half 7-3 before creating an explosive play; a fumble recovery in the end zone off the opening kickoff of the second half. We would have been ahead 10-7 but … penalty … freshman. So that is just where we are at right now.

We are taking turns with young guys doing bonehead things, which they will eventually stop doing. They will stop doing this because we are going to stay the course and with love, care, diligence and respect in how we communicate, we are going to keep getting better.

I know you saw the run game tonight so there is no way to say it isn’t getting better. The run game is improving and we just have to get that protection shored up and we will.

Some of the other facts of the game; 16 uncontested points make it impossible to win, period. When you look at it defensively, you have some exposure there that creates some of those circumstances. They had two scoring drives. We are unhappy with the four explosive-play passes because that is just not what we do. We don’t have our defense structured to give up explosive-play passes. So those four plays were disappointing. The other couple of field goals (produced by Temple) were plus-field setups. And then obviously 16 uncontested points.

We are disappointed but not crushed. The players understand what we are going to. We have a bye-week so we are going to practice a bunch and get better. So we are resolute and our spirit is not cracked. The team and coaches are upset but we also know, big picture, where we are going."

I think this is a totally fair statement. He understands.

Anyone not giving a first time Head Coach ample room for improvement and capacity to apply coaching misses the point of UConn's current position. And, I think you are the SAME group of guys who didn't understand how truly solid Randy Edsall was at building this Program. Yes ... Pasqualoni was a really bad period.

I do Blame Bush. I cannot frigging understand why he wanted to go to Iraq ... and I don't think we ever will hear, from him/Rumsfeld/Cheney, what their true goals were.

 

[Palatine]

I think this is a totally fair statement. He understands.

Anyone not giving a first time Head Coach ample room for improvement and capacity to apply coaching misses the point of UConn's current position. And, I think you are the SAME group of guys who didn't understand how truly solid Randy Edsall was at building this Program. Yes ... Pasqualoni was a really bad period.

I do Blame Bush. I cannot frigging understand why he wanted to go to Iraq ... and I don't think we ever will hear, from him/Rumsfeld/Cheney, what their true goals were.

Pudge, he is the one responsible for the halftime adjustments. The Temple offense which gained 30 total yards came out in the second half and moved right down the field twice. Diaco was out coached. The Temple coach made adjustments that worked.

That's tough to pin on the players because they were dominating. It's on Diaco.

 

[Pudge]

I agree. The Temple Coach made some great adjustments ... simply outcoached.

But ... Whitmer was replaced by Boyle. I saw very little indication that OUR offense could have played better - more redzone scores & more first downs. I am not going to be screaming for more Deshon Foxx rotation - but he did look good.

 

[dsturdy5]

Pal echoed a lot of the sentiments I was coming to post. I can live with poor play if the players just aren't good enough but I've seen more chop blocks, offsides on kick offs, and late holding penalties in five games than in entire seasons in the past. Also, and maybe I just noticed it yesterday, it seemed like the team breaks the huddle with < 10 seconds on the play clock waaaay too often. I doubt there are a lot of audibles being made at the line BUT there doesn't seem to be a chance for that to happen given how little time the team has. Yesterday I noticed at least five times they were set at under 5 seconds and they just went on the first sound. What happened to tempo? I'm not talking Clemson-esque no huddle but break the huddle at 12 seconds at least and give your team a chance to see what is in front of them.

I want to support Diaco, I want him to succeed, I just don't see a lot of improvement from the coaches in the first few weeks and THAT needs to come before improvement in the players.

 

[huskymedic]

That's oversimplifying. The line is terrible partially because of zone blocking. Just let the guys play simple football. Even NFL reams struggle with zone blocking. You need athletic linemen to pull it off and only schools with ridiculous talent will make it work year in and year out. Foley isn't the issue, zone blocking is. Learn it, remember it, hate it. It's screwed us over before and it looked just like this..

I asked someone who watches and analyzes offensive schemes much more than I ever could for his opinion on the "zone blocking narrative" because I don't buy it. Here is his response:

"The culprit behind UConn's O-line struggles is simple, and the same that felled last year's group: blatant inability. Last season, the narrative that a zone-blocking scheme was at fault for the team's running woes was purported by a few more prominent members of UConn football media and consequently frustrated fans. But it was never, ever true. In fact, some of the Huskies' biggest running gains in 2013 came off of zone blocking. If you watched the tape, you saw this. If you didn't, you most likely accepted the narrative because it provided a simplistic explanation for UConn's troubles that didn't directly fault the team and left you feeling frustrated but not hopeless towards the program.

Furthermore, the zone blocking scheme is responsible for some of the greatest rushing teams in NCAA and NFL history. The key here is not one of the 2013 O-line starters, save for Steve Greene, was fit to block against top-100 competition in college football. This is the same case in 2014. And when you have a group that overall is incapable or lacking, utilizing a zone scheme is actually not a poor idea. In the scheme, linemen are responsible for clearing out a gap (generally to their right or left) and not a particular defender. In this case, it's rare that a blocking linemen will be matched up head-on with an defensive linemen, who could potentially overpower him in such a situation."

Take it for what it's worth...

 

[uconnflyer88]

Not to mention it's used by 95% of college and NFL teams

 

[whaler11]

Does Diaco actually believe they created an explosive play on that kickoff? No wonder he shuts down the passing game after four plays. He has some sort of voodoo.

In his defense he isn't saying so many strange things this week.

But we executed the plan and exited the half 7-3 before creating an explosive play; a fumble recovery in the end zone off the opening kickoff of the second half. We would have been ahead 10-7 but … penalty … freshman. So that is just where we are at right now.