Today's Press Conference

[freescooter]

It seemed to me he took the blame and people just want him to apparently flay himself live on television as retribution. To me, at least, it's indicative of our continued move towards a blame-first society. We don't want to accept complexity or flawed human nature or difficult times.

We just want to blame someone.

The problem is that he "took responsibility" then promptly threw his players under the bus by putting it on the "launching pad." Oh for the days when taking responsibility didn't come with all kinds of caveats.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

The problem is that he "took responsibility" then promptly threw his players under the bus by putting it on the "launching pad." Oh for the days when taking responsibility didn't come with all kinds of caveats.

He gave an influence on his choice. He said hey, they wanted to do this, and I said sure. He didn't say it wasn't his fault. He said he should've kept his call, period.

Next time I guess he shouldn't even explain his thinking process/influences so the freescooters of the world don't accuse him of shirking responsibility.

 

[huskymedic]

Mike D joins the club...

Mike DiMauro@BCgenius 3 hours ago
Upon further review ... and Diaco's detailed explanation ... I'm still confused

 

[freescooter]

He gave an influence on his choice. He said hey, they wanted to do this, and I said sure. He didn't say it wasn't his fault. He said he should've kept his call, period.

Next time I guess he shouldn't even explain his thinking process/influences so the freescooters of the world don't accuse him of shirking responsibility.

We didn't need all the gobbledygook. He still didn't know it was only 2nd dos for heaven's sake. We don't need the blaming the launching pad or the 2015 Super Bowl. Just sat "we thought we could ram it in so we called that play. In hind sight I made a bad call and credit Navy for making the stop." I still don't understand his time out explanation. "I thought he could get the play ok with 1-2 seconds to spare so I called time out when it got down to 3. ". Huh? If you didn't have questions about Diaco after the game then you surely did after his explanation. I'm trying to figure out who he reminds me of. I used to think Schiano but more and more I am starting to think the closest comparison is former Notre Dame coach Gerry Faust.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

It could well be a misinterpretation on my part but it felt his comment was more that the players were on board with (and likely preferred) the change to a running play during the final time out. I didn't see it as Diaco blaming the kids or as the players being in charge.

Of more importance, the 9/10/16 game with Navy is over and it will continue to be over forever (unless of if the UConn professor ever does build a working time machine). It may be a good idea to put it behind us.

 

[gioff23]

Ironically, 6 years ago a HC went for a power run from deep inside his own territory on 4th down to beat Pitt. It might have saved the season and put us opn another trajectory. I recall the OL getting credit for saying, let's go for it and run it. Having faith in your team to deliver in a big game is commendable. Now, having said that, I amstill not sure I'll ever understand that ending. A shot at pulling off a W in a game we should have lost by 20+ was a huge setback. The lack of explanations, the confusing and meandering storyline (recall he originally thought it was 3rd down), and frankly the lack of hard questions being asked remind me again why we are not in the P5.

HCBD has been a revelation for a program that had hit rock bottom. He has the vibe back, the program on the uptick, and the promise of better days ahead. But how much better? Are we recruiting talent that can compete with good P5 teams, do we understand the evolution of the game (towards more explosive plays), and can we adjust on the fly (in a game or within schemes across a year)? I so want to believe that the trajectory upward will continue, but in Y3 I expected more. The OL remains a huge problem; the O seems to think games start after the 1/2, the D struggles to get off the field quickly, the specials are, well, not special, and the recruiting does not align w/a P5 program or even that of the top of the AAC. Have we truly solved any of our key issues, other than a feel good atmosphere for the players?

 

[freescooter]

6 years ago we had a dominating offensive line and 2 future NFL backs 1 running and the other blocking for him in the backfield. Neither of those conditions applies today.

 

[gioff23]

6 years ago we were playing Pitt, a team loaded with talent. We played Navy - I think its fair to say none of their front 7 are going pro.

I am simply starting to feel as if this is more of an experiment by the staff to develop 0-3 star players who are really nice kids and all get along. That'd be great if we were a NE prep school. I am actually beginning to question our commitment to competing at and/or being considered for inclusion in to the P5 cartel.

And i hate having these thoughts. For many of us, we suffered trough inexcusable negligence by the entire athletic department as it relates to football. It costs us millions and set us back years. Do we have the commitment to acting like and playing like a P5 program. I'll be interested to see what team comes out of the tunnel on sat.

 

[freescooter]

I don't know about that giof. To some extent we've always been 0-3 star diamonds in the rough type of team. In fact some of our best players were 3 star or less. I just question whether the current staff is as good as Edsall was at evaluating players and quite honestly whether they are as good at getting the best out of them. I posted someplace else that this is a very crucial game on Saturday. P-5, winnable, at home chance to put Navy in the rearview mirror. And pretty important to bowl eligibility too. We have this week and Syracuse then 3 very difficult games in a row. So getting this team very focused this Saturday is crucial.

 

[UConnNick]

Ironically, 6 years ago a HC went for a power run from deep inside his own territory on 4th down to beat Pitt. It might have saved the season and put us opn another trajectory. I recall the OL getting credit for saying, let's go for it and run it. Having faith in your team to deliver in a big game is commendable. Now, having said that, I amstill not sure I'll ever understand that ending. A shot at pulling off a W in a game we should have lost by 20+ was a huge setback. The lack of explanations, the confusing and meandering storyline (recall he originally thought it was 3rd down), and frankly the lack of hard questions being asked remind me again why we are not in the P5.

HCBD has been a revelation for a program that had hit rock bottom. He has the vibe back, the program on the uptick, and the promise of better days ahead. But how much better? Are we recruiting talent that can compete with good P5 teams, do we understand the evolution of the game (towards more explosive plays), and can we adjust on the fly (in a game or within schemes across a year)? I so want to believe that the trajectory upward will continue, but in Y3 I expected more. The OL remains a huge problem; the O seems to think games start after the 1/2, the D struggles to get off the field quickly, the specials are, well, not special, and the recruiting does not align w/a P5 program or even that of the top of the AAC. Have we truly solved any of our key issues, other than a feel good atmosphere for the players?

He still thinks it was third down, at least as of the time of yesterday's press conference. I'm sure if hearing it was second down from legions of reporters hadn't sunk in by then, he still believes it was third down as of today.

Diaco makes Randy Edsall look like a riverboat gambler.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Ironically, 6 years ago a HC went for a power run from deep inside his own territory on 4th down to beat Pitt. It might have saved the season and put us opn another trajectory. I recall the OL getting credit for saying, let's go for it and run it. Having faith in your team to deliver in a big game is commendable. Now, having said that, I amstill not sure I'll ever understand that ending. A shot at pulling off a W in a game we should have lost by 20+ was a huge setback. The lack of explanations, the confusing and meandering storyline (recall he originally thought it was 3rd down), and frankly the lack of hard questions being asked remind me again why we are not in the P5.

HCBD has been a revelation for a program that had hit rock bottom. He has the vibe back, the program on the uptick, and the promise of better days ahead. But how much better? Are we recruiting talent that can compete with good P5 teams, do we understand the evolution of the game (towards more explosive plays), and can we adjust on the fly (in a game or within schemes across a year)? I so want to believe that the trajectory upward will continue, but in Y3 I expected more. The OL remains a huge problem; the O seems to think games start after the 1/2, the D struggles to get off the field quickly, the specials are, well, not special, and the recruiting does not align w/a P5 program or even that of the top of the AAC. Have we truly solved any of our key issues, other than a feel good atmosphere for the players?

6 years ago against Pitt, the call that gave us the best chance to win the game was going for it on 4th down.

Last Saturday, Diaco's call didn't give us the best odds to win that game. You can't compare these 2 situations at all. There is context to both situations. They didn't occur in a vacuum.

 

[BlueMAB]

These two situations couldn't be more different.

Jordan Todman averaged 5 yards per carry that year. Our defense wasn't getting stops that game, and everyone at that game (or watching) knew that if we gave Pitt the ball back, they'd probably score again, and only needed a field goal. They scored 21 of their 28 points in the second half. They scored with 5 minutes left in the third, 13 seconds left in the third, and their 4th quarter TD came less than 2 minutes after getting the ball back.

That 2010 team lined up on 4th down, everyone knew Todman was getting the ball, and they couldn't stop it.

Week one we lined up on 3rd and short against Maine and lost a yard. That 2010 team could have told Maine which direction we were running, who was pulling, and what the snap count was, and we still would have gotten 5 yards.

 

[freescooter]

From running backs to offensive line to defense that 2010 team as well as 2009 ( might have been the best had it not been for the Jazz incident) were really good football teams. Our current running backs need to improve by 50% just to qualify to carry Todman or Brown's equipment.

 

[Stinger92860]

6 years ago against Pitt, the call that gave us the best chance to win the game was going for it on 4th down.

Last Saturday, Diaco's call didn't give us the best odds to win that game. You can't compare these 2 situations at all. There is context to both situations. They didn't occur in a vacuum.

If I remember correctly, our defense was not having one of its better days. A punt there and we expected Pitt to easily move in for a score. Not sure it was much of a difficult choice.