Thoughts on the 2015 season ( v long)

[Stainmaster]

Do you think Warde approved the Army debacle? Warde strikes me as the kind of guy that plays video games, so even Warde would know from Madden or NCAA Football 13 that you defend the option with safeties right on the line of scrimmage. The Army game was not playing for next year, it was just pure stupidity.


Because no other team in college football had injuries last year.

 

[noeynox]

Last time for the muntzes of this world, Diaco tore it down. His call. Potential wins were left on the table. I'm betting this was discussed and approved by his boss. Lets see if he can build it back up before crapping on him. It is going to take some time for the coach and program. P left an undisciplined mess.

Even Diaco has come out and said the transition period from the P debacle is over. Last year is over, this year all the wins and losses and everything in between is on Bob.

 

[businesslawyer]

Because no other team in college football had injuries last year.

We went 0-8 without Cochran starting in '13, and 3-1 with him starting. After everyone thought we were dead.

Everyone has injuries. Not all teams can survivive losing their QB. Ohio State could. We're not Ohio State.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Last year I said I had one goal for the season. I wanted it to be the 4th quarter before I had a facepalm.

The team went out and fumbled the ball for a defensive TD on the first play. Then repeated four straight games.

No goals, no expectations this year. Forest Gump box of chocolates this year. Go with the flow one pkay at a time.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

We went 0-8 without Cochran starting in '13, and 3-1 with him starting. After everyone thought we were dead.

Everyone has injuries. Not all teams can survivive losing their QB. Ohio State could. We're not Ohio State.

We also aren't playing Ohio State's schedule. It is amazing the lengths people will go to make excuses for Diaco already.

If UConn is a P5 caliber program, it should finish Top 4 in this s***box of a league in its down years. UConn was the worst team in the league last year. Maybe you don't think UConn is a P5 caliber program.

 

[SubbaBub]

Bob did not have a good first season. A coach is supposed to make his team better and in the sole context of last seasons games that didn't happen by any measure. In the grand scheme it no longer matters. We'll see what he has this season. At minimum he has to not give away four games that he punted last season.

 

[blue93]

We also aren't playing Ohio State's schedule. It is amazing the lengths people will go to make excuses for Diaco already.

If UConn is a P5 caliber program, it should finish Top 4 in this s***box of a league in its down years. UConn was the worst team in the league last year. Maybe you don't think UConn is a P5 caliber program.

UConn is not a P5 caliber football program right now. If we were, we'd probably be in the P5 by now. Diaco is trying to change that by cleaning up PP's mess. We'll find out this year if we're trending in the right direction. It's really not rocket science, don't overthink it.

 

[Hoophound]

Everyone thinks Diaco has cleaned up the mess. No one is convinced he can coach.

He's done everything you can do to right the ship except show that he can coach a game. He can build a program, he can recruit, he can motivate and he is a great person. Im just not sure he can tie it all together on the field. If he can, we'll start rolling.

 

[History Geek]

Everyone thinks Diaco has cleaned up the mess. No one is convinced he can coach.

He's done everything you can do to right the ship except show that he can coach a game. He can build a program, he can recruit, he can motivate and he is a great person. Im just not sure he can tie it all together on the field. If he can, we'll start rolling.

This.

Not saying he isn't a good game day coach, but based on last year he either has 1) a steep learning curve to overcome or 2) made the conscious decision to choose development over wins/losses last year. I'm hoping (and my gut tells me) its #2. However, without enough evidence the jury is still out. We should be more competitive in more games this year, which in turn will lead to situations that will better inform our perception of him as a game day coach. I'm hoping (and my gut tells me) he will make more mistakes early, but learn from them as the season wears on. I will withhold any evaluations I make until the end of the season.

Having said all that, Hoophound is right. If he proves to have/develop the game day chops, watch out. This year will have signs of hope, and next year should be very good.

 

[whaler11]

There is a pretty big difference between a program and a team.

Did Michigan stop being a great program because they had some bad teams?

If you don't have the players to have a good team it doesn't matter what caliber your program is.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

We also aren't playing Ohio State's schedule. It is amazing the lengths people will go to make excuses for Diaco already.

If UConn is a P5 caliber program, it should finish Top 4 in this s***box of a league in its down years. UConn was the worst team in the league last year. Maybe you don't think UConn is a P5 caliber program.

You are insufferable.

 

[pepband99]

We also aren't playing Ohio State's schedule. It is amazing the lengths people will go to make excuses for Diaco already.

If UConn is a P5 caliber program, it should finish Top 4 in this s***box of a league in its down years. UConn was the worst team in the league last year. Maybe you don't think UConn is a P5 caliber program.

YOU are seriously accusing anyone of thinking uconn isn't p5 caliber? You want to go Indy!

Forget insufferable, you're certifiable!

 

[Duncan Idaho]

This is a moment of crack. This was against Army not a typical P5 school. Pay close attention to the two OT, use the pause button. This the type of thing he has been preaching about. This is the type of thing Spackler talks about, bringing it to the 4th quarter. Everything starts with the level of fitness.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...&mid=C9203683BAA4B401896BC9203683BAA4B401896B

 

[hardcorehusky]

This is a hard season to predict on many levels: the unknown factor of Diaco year 2, coaching staff and quality of opponents.

Here is how I look at it: phase 1: Villanova and Army - When you are a TOP FCS team as Villanova, the starting lineups match up well with TOP 40 - 122 teams. It's the depth that the FBS teams have that make the difference. I think our D line will do well but their quarterback is an elite runner and if this defense is not disciplined, he can gash us. Our O line will hopefully make a difference and BS doesn't have nerves throughout the game.
Army - it comes down to Defending. We did not do that at Yankee Stadium but we should be able to beat them.

Phase 2- Missouri, Navy, BYU, UCF - we are the underdogs in each game- win at Missouri and the country will be watch us. Best publicity opp this year. Navy is good, BYU is good and UCF will be better than last year and now that we have annoyed them with the rivalry, they won't overlook us.

Phase 3 : 7 conference games - Other than Cinnci, no one will be the caliber of phase 2, so the experience of going at those teams will help us. If we have a relatively injury free season on the O-Line and QB, we can beat USF, Tulane and ECU. ECU built up to last year with the QB and receivers but they are gone and have just lost their starting QB for the year.

So , to me, it is 4 wins at least, 5 on par and 6 with an upset somewhere along the road and a feeling within the fanbase that we are back on track.

 

[junglehusky]

How many of PP's recruits left the program or were buried on the depth chart in his last year / BD's first year? How many of them would have cracked the 2 deep at a peer institution, whether that be a former BE school like Pitt/Cuse or an AAC school like Temple? If PPGDL's recruiting wasn't the problem, then player development certainly was. It's probably both.

 

[Carl Spackler]

This is a moment of crack. This was against Army not a typical P5 school. Pay close attention to the two OT, use the pause button. This the type of thing he has been preaching about. This is the type of thing Spackler talks about, bringing it to the 4th quarter. Everything starts with the level of fitness.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...&mid=C9203683BAA4B401896BC9203683BAA4B401896B

Nice Duncan.

It's cliché's galore, to describe it. The moment of crack. That's a new one. I like it. Is that yours?

Fatigue makes cowards of everybody is another. Bottom line is that the mind and body work together and drive each other and your level of both mental and physical fitness and conditioning in whatever your job is, is directly related to how far you are going to be able to push yourself to perform. In my life I've seen people that look like physical monsters break down under the very first real mental or physical stress and I've seen people that on first look, you wouldn't put anywhere within 50feet of the label "tough.", seen them perfrom and never break, through any number of 'moments of crack."

That play represents two things, Whitmer's fatal mental flaw when trying to make thigns happen late in games, and our failure to be conditioned well enough for the lineman to be making blocking decisions pre-snap across the defensive front, and our tackles to keep their feet moving fast enough and their bodies grounded and balanced well enough on the last play of the game, as they are for the first.

Hopefully both issues on display on that key play during the course of the season (the slim hopes of a 6-6 season and bowl game were right there) will be fixed this season.

 

[junglehusky]

Moment of crack is a Diacoism. #momentofcrack

 

[Excalibur]

That play represents two things, Whitmer's fatal mental flaw when trying to make thigns happen late in games, and our failure to be conditioned well enough for the lineman to be making blocking decisions pre-snap across the defensive front, and our tackles to keep their feet moving fast enough and their bodies grounded and balanced well enough on the last play of the game, as they are for the first.

Certainly on the left side, Levy was completely gassed. On the right, Knappe did his job. It was five full seconds before the end was anywhere near a place where he could make a play, and that was only because Whitmer was Whitmer, and instead of sliding to open space, he dropped back all the way to the 20 and right into the defensive end who had (properly) been pushed in that direction by Knappe.

The left side, on the other hand, was a complete clusterf&#$ and a perfect example of everything that was wrong last year. We had a TE (McQuillan?) with no clue where he should be lining up a second before the ball was snapped, a LT who either thought the TE was supposed to pick up the DE on his left or missed his assignment completely, and then made no effort to get back in the play, and an apparent double team (if Levy was supposed to double the DT) get beat cleanly.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Certainly on the left side, Levy was completely gassed. On the right, Knappe did his job. It was five full seconds before the end was anywhere near a place where he could make a play, and that was only because Whitmer was Whitmer, and instead of sliding to open space, he dropped back all the way to the 20 and right into the defensive end who had (properly) been pushed in that direction by Knappe.

The left side, on the other hand, was a complete clusterf&#$ and a perfect example of everything that was wrong last year. We had a TE (McQuillan?) with no clue where he should be lining up a second before the ball was snapped, a LT who either thought the TE was supposed to pick up the DE on his left or missed his assignment completely, and then made no effort to get back in the play, and an apparent double team (if Levy was supposed to double the DT) get beat cleanly.

Tommy Meyers

 

[Duncan Idaho]

On Whitmer's earlier interception, he had trips to left with the olb or safety helping on the wideout , Levy was in good position but instead he rolled right, threw on the run to the middle of the field into traffic.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Moment of crack is a Diacoism. #momentofcrack

I love it. The possibilities of creating imagery to go with the phrase to get the point across is phenomenal. You can approach that moment of crack, from both the receiving and giving angles. So many possibilities.

THe guy really is something. I do really, really hope that he transforms into a great head coach, and it can all translate into an effective football team that can compete and win on the field, and if so, that we hang on to this young guy for a long, long time. It would be good if it all got going starting in like say 72 hours.

 

[spsct]

Good Writeup, Whaler... Pretty much covered everything.

 

[RedStickHusky]

You only need look at our OL to see why you're wrong. You won't, because your schtick is your UConn and Diaco hate, but it's clear as day. We haven't been able to block or protect for the better part of 2-3 years.

Exactly! When every play is a jail break play calling doesn't matter so much. We looked like went sent a 7 man team to play against 11 at times last year.

 

[RedStickHusky]

I love it. The possibilities of creating imagery to go with the phrase to get the point across is phenomenal. You can approach that moment of crack, from both the receiving and giving angles. So many possibilities.

THe guy really is something. I do really, really hope that he transforms into a great head coach, and it can all translate into an effective football team that can compete and win on the field, and if so, that we hang on to this young guy for a long, long time. It would be good if it all got going starting in like say 72 hours.

Approach the crack. It could be a long season....

 

[RedStickHusky]

This.

Not saying he isn't a good game day coach, but based on last year he either has 1) a steep learning curve to overcome or 2) made the conscious decision to choose development over wins/losses last year. I'm hoping (and my gut tells me) its #2. However, without enough evidence the jury is still out. We should be more competitive in more games this year, which in turn will lead to situations that will better inform our perception of him as a game day coach. I'm hoping (and my gut tells me) he will make more mistakes early, but learn from them as the season wears on. I will withhold any evaluations I make until the end of the season.

Having said all that, Hoophound is right. If he proves to have/develop the game day chops, watch out. This year will have signs of hope, and next year should be very good.

He told us it was #2 (and it smelled like #2), while it was happening. With all of his process partners and exhibition season comments... maybe he's an overly excited straight shooter and we should take him at face value....