Thoughts on the game | The Boneyard

Thoughts on the game

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uconnbaseball

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1. The offensive line was better today. The pass protection was still mediocre, but Whitmer occasionally had time to throw. The run blocking was decent, especially early. The wildcat was much more productive today.

2. The linebackers are all future NFLers. All of them. Jesus we are good there. Throw in Don Brown's blitzing schemes, and you have a fierce defense that is giving up less than 200 yards per game, despite no FCS team to beat up on.

3. Taylor Mack made some nice plays. He also had some horrible plays (including that late hit out of bounds). He's athletic, but teams will continue to target him because our other corners are just too good to go after. Mack isn't that bad, but is as close to a weak link as we have. If Blidi had played today, our defense would have absolutely humiliated Maryland.

4. Finally, a team ran the ball on us a bit. Maryland's freshman Wes Brown was a stud and will have a great career there. We still did a decent job against the run, though keep in mind we had 5-6 sacks today.

5. We had under 70 passing yards. Whitmer only turned the ball over once but is simply not a threat to hurt teams with his arm. He has to play better going forward and hopefully a mediocre WMU defense will provide an opportunity for him to shine.

6. Our receivers are disappointing. We haven't had many (if any) dropped passes this year but no one is a threat to take the ball to the house and people are struggling to get open on a consistent basis. Where'd Geremy Davis go?

7. Special teams are good. We need work on our coverage units but Diggs is a beast. Kenney needed to recognize the lack of a fair catch signal and bring him down on that big return! Cristen missed a long kick but hit an easy one and made his extra points. He has a great leg. The punting and return games are, as expected, big-time strengths for us.

8. DeLeone called a poor game today. I liked the lack of deep balls (which are wasted downs for us) and having McCummings drop back to throw twice, but hated everything else. There's too much run-run-pass.

9. Not impressed with McCombs. He's a far cry from the likes of Todman, Brown, Dixon, or even Brockington in my opinion. He had running room today but didn't hit the holes hard and didn't break tackles. The TD run was nice though.

10. We lost a close game to a good team at home and beat a bad team on the road. We're average right now. The good news is, Western Michigan isn't very good on either side of the ball and their QB Carder is struggling without White, Ravenall, and Arnaud. We should beat them. If we take care of business in Kalamazoo, we should be 4-1 going into Rutgers.

Wreh-Wilson, Wirth (who is a beast), and Joseph are all banged up. I would like at least two of them back for next week, especially Wreh-Wilson.
 

whaler11

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Yeah, Joseph didn't look good walking off - Wirth came back didn't he? BWW was just sick I thought?
 
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Yeah, Joseph didn't look good walking off - Wirth came back didn't he? BWW was just sick I thought?

On BWW, I have read two things, a slight hamstring injury and flu. Not sure which one is correct.
 
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This game will probably considered a signature win. We beat our ex-head coach right soon after he leaves us. Deleone might have tried to play the players who were emotionally linked to Edsall the most.
 
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On BWW, I have read two things, a slight hamstring injury and flu. Not sure which one is correct.

Could be both. Flu is definitely going around. Several guys had it pretty bad. Broadcasters mentioned Sio had it. Wouldnt know it though. He was a stud again today.
 
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A fabulous effort by D & Nick & all Special Teams & McCummings. Thank God the D sucked it up for one final time on that last possession. The play calling continues to be beyond awful, especially on first down. The time out in the second half because of the delay getting the play was mind boggling. We are lucky to be 2-1 because the defensive players are covering for the horrendous offensive coachng.
 
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If the offense doesn't improve significantly, both the play calling and the execution, we will not beat many of the teams remaining on the schedule. Western Michigan, maybe - Buffalo, probably, but otherwise 0 for BE even with the great D and some good special teams performances. If Whitmere doesn't show something next week, and particularly if we lose, calls for JM to start against Buffalo will be heard.
 
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Whitmer was 10-16 throwing the ball. No INTs. Don't blame him
 
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Whitmer was 10-16 throwing the ball. No INTs. Don't blame him

I will take a no INT game from Whitmer every day of the week. Throws 3 last week, 3 point loss. Throws zero this week, 3 point win.

We don't need a world beater. We need a game manager that limits his mistakes.
 

pj

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Whitmer was 10-16 throwing the ball. No INTs. Don't blame him

I don't blame him, it was his best game so far. But he clearly has a lot of development to do. Our receivers don't get open routinely, but when they do he hasn't been finding them.

I worry that with such tight reins on Whitmer and the passing game, they won't develop rapidly enough. The team lacks an offensive identity and chemistry.
 

Waquoit

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Funny, I'm a Whitmer guy and I wanted more. His short passes weren't accurate, I think that's the best part of his game. But he stayed cool and didn't make the big mistake late. His game can grow from this win.
 
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Whitmer was 10-16 throwing the ball. No INTs. Don't blame him
He had some of the best throws from a UConn QB I have seen in years today. Those two 3rd and longs he got pressured on were not something we have seen in a while. This was not a bad game from him, great no, but not bad.
 

pj

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I liked the run from him, he can move, but he needs to protect the ball and slide or go out of bounds once he reaches the first down marker. He'll be a good QB in a year or two. It just seems like some of the issues they're working through should have been figured out in spring ball or preseason.
 

formerlurker

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I will take a no INT game from Whitmer every day of the week. Throws 3 last week, 3 point loss. Throws zero this week, 3 point win.

We don't need a world beater. We need a game manager that limits his mistakes.

I'm waiting for the day we get to the level where we have both. That's my wish.
 
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Agree with most of your points. hard to criticize the receivers. They weren't a big part of the game plan.
 
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I'm waiting for the day we get to the level where we have both. That's my wish.

Who wouldn't love that? But to be successful you don't need a 50 td qb. Look at Bama last year with McCarron. He played within the system, and they won a NC.

I am watching to see Whitmer's progress regarding mistakes. I still hate that he zones in on one receiver each play, but I am happy he didn't throw any picks. Just need him to show improvement every game.
 
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Put Nebrich in!:p

Nebrich is unavailable: Fordham/Cornell game today: "sophomore quarterback Michael Nebrich was taken off the field following a hit on a failed jet sweep run which led to a knee injury. Nebrich, who was helped off the field by the Fordham staff after laying on the ground for a few moments, returned to the sidelines on crutches for the rest of the game." I don't have any further info... Sad to see.
 

formerlurker

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Who wouldn't love that? But to be successful you don't need a 50 td qb. Look at Bama last year with McCarron. He played within the system, and they won a NC.

I am watching to see Whitmer's progress regarding mistakes. I still hate that he zones in on one receiver each play, but I am happy he didn't throw any picks. Just need him to show improvement every game.

1.) I never said I expect a 50TD QB. Never mentioned any stats actually. I pretty much said I want a kid who manages the game and limits mistakes but ALSO gives off the vibe that he can beat you at any time. I'm too old to be using this term but I want a "baller". Think Zach Collaros or Tyler Palko at his best.

2.) I'm pretty sure you or I could show improvement every game. I'm setting the bar just a little bit higher.
 
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I mean no disrespect to JMac but Whitmer is an up grade from last year. Does he have a long way to go - of course. And, while I don't know Chandler, I'd bet he'd 100% agree. And I believe he will get better. But the point is that Whitmer is a significant improvement from last year. Calling for JMac to take over is foolish IMO. In a somewhat related observation, I felt the wildcat was very effective in this game.
 
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I agree. Chandler improved significantly in this game over last week. Those INT's were all mistakes on his part and turnovers in such a close game kills you. He was more effective in this game and seemed to play smarter and under control. I also thought Scott was effective and helped us to win this important game, much like he did in many games last year. I don't like how mediocre our offense is, but until we solve the Oline issues, running game issues, and passing game issues -- we will be forced to throw in every different component that we think can contribute to some offense. I still want to see some other RB's get some carries. Lyle is doing a good job but how long can he take the pounding.
 

mets1090

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Bottom line is I think Whitmer is much more likely to improve and be an average BCS quarterback than JMac is. Plus with the O-Line continuing to be shaky in pass protection, mobility is a must. Whitmer has solid speed. He's not fast but he can move in the pocket and can pick up some yards if he is given a seem. JMac has lead feet in the pocket.
 
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Imight be the only one, but this game had a feel to me almost like Pasqaloni felt he would win so the offense approached it like they were trying to work on the run game, almost like you do in a 1AA game. That it almost got away was an interesting development but largely the result of a real fluke play. I can't remember themthrowing on1st or 2nd down and even Edsall did once in a while...Semed like the flu was the Defense's worst enemy. In the 4th quarter they seemed to be running out o steam a little, though they came back at th end. But on offense, it was almost as though DeLeone just said, "ok boys, we're working on the run game today. We'll only throw on 3rd and long."
 
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Imight be the only one, but this game had a feel to me almost like Pasqaloni felt he would win so the offense approached it like they were trying to work on the run game, almost like you do in a 1AA game. That it almost got away was an interesting development but largely the result of a real fluke play. I can't remember themthrowing on1st or 2nd down and even Edsall did once in a while...Semed like the flu was the Defense's worst enemy. In the 4th quarter they seemed to be running out o steam a little, though they came back at th end. But on offense, it was almost as though DeLeone just said, "ok boys, we're working on the run game today. We'll only throw on 3rd and long."


I hope you are right, because you really have to be a fan to watch that offense.
 
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