Turning the Page to 2017: The Offense

[UConn07]

Turning the Page to 2017: The Offense – This is UConn Country

 

[huskyinfl]

Donovan Williams should major in physics, he is going to need a force field to protect him next year.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[mac66]

Actually a 21st century game plan that uses the whole field and exploits opponents weaknesses will go long way in improving the offense. To name a few obvious things, maybe if opponent is playing nine in the box might not be best idea to run up middle on every first and second down, or how about if blitzing up the middle throwing to tight ends or slot receivers in middle of the field or if the opposing team's secondary is decimated by injury trying testing them early and often and using that to set up the run.

 

[UConnMatt813]

We had an offense?

 

[CTMike]

Oy.

Without making it personal - the lack of criticality against the worst coached offense in the nation, and the defending of sources who have incentive to paint a rosy picture (subtly implying that people are out of their league to question things) - is an enormous turnoff.

 

[Stainmaster]

Oy.

Without making it personal - the lack of criticality against the worst coached offense in the nation, and the defending of sources who have incentive to paint a rosy picture (subtly implying that people are out of their league to question things) - is an enormous turnoff.

As is the decision to use Lamar Jackson as the first point of comparison for our QB.

 

[JMick]

God these keep getting worse. I see he's been reading the comments and has taken nothing from them. You're not better than us just because you're Bob's errand boy

 

[BlueMAB]

"The true freshman struggled in the first two starts of his career before throwing his first TD pass in the second half against Tulane on Saturday. "

Correction: The true freshman struggled in his first three starts. Though I do agree with Matt that you can't conclude how good a player will or won't be based on 3 games as a true freshman. It's why I repeatedly argued against the posters who said Williams should play so that "we can see what we have next year".

"The immediate success that UConn Nation would liked to have seen shouldn't have been expected despite the high praise from Diaco."

I don't know anyone who expected immediate success. I expected that he would give us a better chance to win if he was taking over the job. He didn't. Not even close.

"It should be noted that Diaco didn't call Williams the best quarterback in the nation, he said Williams possesses the traits that if developed and things progress as they could, that gives him the opportunity to be at that level by the end of his college career."

So? Here's what Diaco said: "His upside, at the end, all things being equal, it will be as high as any player at his position in America. He's that talented. He's big, he's fast, he's smart, he's got an excellent arm, he's got a quick release, he's elusive in the pocket."

Parse his quote all you want, that's high praise for a kid without a single P5 offer. Based on Diaco's record. Fans are entirely justified to express as much skepticism as they want.

"For as much criticism as this unit did receive throughout the year, they put together a very nice effort against Tulane in the run game against a front that featured some talent up the gut."

It's just fantastic that he goes out of his way to pat these guys on the back for a "nice effort" in a game we lost 38-13 against a team that hadn't won a conference game in two years.

"An entire spring and training camp under a new offensive coordinator is only going to aid in his development. With the chance to learn from his mistakes, Williams and the Huskies offense will not be starting from square one on August 31st."

This might be the first time someone has made the argument that switching OCs actually helps QBs develop. Typically, the longer a QB plays in a system, the better he should be able to perform. Starting over with a new OC slows the development depending on how different the new OC's vision is for the offense. We absolutely had to make a change in OC. But who knows how much of Williams learned this year for this offense will be carried over to next year. So yes, we are actually starting from square one on August 31st.

 

[JMick]

"The true freshman struggled in the first two starts of his career before throwing his first TD pass in the second half against Tulane on Saturday. "

Correction: The true freshman struggled in his first three starts. Though I do agree with Matt that you can't conclude how good a player will or won't be based on 3 games as a true freshman. It's why I repeatedly argued against the posters who said Williams should play so that "we can see what we have next year".

"The immediate success that UConn Nation would liked to have seen shouldn't have been expected despite the high praise from Diaco."

I don't know anyone who expected immediate success. I expected that he would give us a better chance to win if he was taking over the job. He didn't. Not even close.

"It should be noted that Diaco didn't call Williams the best quarterback in the nation, he said Williams possesses the traits that if developed and things progress as they could, that gives him the opportunity to be at that level by the end of his college career."

So? Here's what Diaco said: "His upside, at the end, all things being equal, it will be as high as any player at his position in America. He's that talented. He's big, he's fast, he's smart, he's got an excellent arm, he's got a quick release, he's elusive in the pocket."

Parse his quote all you want, that's high praise for a kid without a single P5 offer. Based on Diaco's record. Fans are entirely justified to express as much skepticism as they want.

"For as much criticism as this unit did receive throughout the year, they put together a very nice effort against Tulane in the run game against a front that featured some talent up the gut."

It's just fantastic that he goes out of his way to pat these guys on the back for a "nice effort" in a game we lost 38-13 against a team that hadn't won a conference game in two years.

"An entire spring and training camp under a new offensive coordinator is only going to aid in his development. With the chance to learn from his mistakes, Williams and the Huskies offense will not be starting from square one on August 31st."

This might be the first time someone has made the argument that switching OCs actually helps QBs develop. Typically, the longer a QB plays in a system, the better he should be able to perform. Starting over with a new OC slows the development depending on how different the new OC's vision is for the offense.

Spin. That's all it is. Has he always said UConn Nation or is that something he picked up from Diaco too

 

[BlueMAB]

Thinking about that Diaco quote about Williams again...

If you have a kid, that you legitimately believe "at the end" has an upside "as high as any player at his position in America", then why in God's name do you play him as a true freshman, behind a porous O-Line?? That 4th or 5th year, where he's potentially one of the most talented QBs in the country, is FAR more important than the last 3 games of a lost season.

The fact that Williams came in, and looked lost, just reinforces that terrible decision. Great, he got some experience. If the goal for this year was to get him experience at any cost, he should have started against Maine. He didn't, because he never, at any point in the season, gave us the best chance to win games.

 

[Afroabe224]

Being completely honest with myself, as much as I love UConn football I'll find a way to get excited about 2017 when the spring rolls around. The back half of 2016 was just so atrocious though I just want to be angry for a few months. I'm not ready for Matt to put lipstick on the pig and tell me everything we'll be fine. The criticism is at an all time high right now (DESERVEDLY SO) but I'm just not ready to hear the tire pumping i.e Donovan Williams=Lamar Jackson, this is an "easy fix" and so on.

The way this team regressed over three months is the evidence of one of the worst coaching jobs of all time. The UConn squad the took the field in Annapolis would completely wax the sad excuse of a team I saw in Chestnut Hill and that is not acceptable.

 

[whaler11]

I love when they call it a 'national' search.

Wow, it must be special compared to all the other FBS programs that don't have internet access.

Aside from the ridiculous content this gem is extremely poorly written.

Also I 99.9% believe the deleted post over the nonsense this staff spews.

How isn't the recruiting class at this point not enough for this pathetic administration to do the right thing.

The next guy is going to need 3 years just to get FBS players on the roster.

 

[BlueMAB]

The way this team regressed over three months is the evidence of one of the worst coaching jobs of all time.

THIS. They got worse and worse as the season went on, and it wasn't just an injured Sherriffs.

 

[ktuck911]

You can easily argue that the defense was the problem in the 2nd half.. our passive defensive play ( 8 yard cushions at the corners, bend but don't break D) had teams putting up multiple scores in the 1st quarter.. CONSISTENTLY..So, no Diaco, it wasn't mainly on the offense... When you spot the opposing teams points early on, knowing your offense isn't any good, that's gotta fall on the defense. coaching in particular.. Our defensive philosophy had us spotting teams multiple scores before we even got a first down or 2 on offense....

 

[sportsart]

After further review Matt, all I can say is....

 

[Exit 4]

"His upside, at the end, all things being equal, it will be as high as any player at his position in America. He's that talented. He's big, he's fast, he's smart, he's got an excellent arm, he's got a quick release, he's elusive in the pocket."
[/B]

Question for wacky Bob - so if this kid fails to fulfill his incredible potential as you have described, you'll have to recognize its your fault because you were the coach, right Bob? Afterall, he's can't miss according to your infallible assessment.

The reality is DW is not the guy for 2017 and its so disturbing wacky Bob doesn't see this. Maybe DW will be ready his junior year, but the gap right now is clearly very wide...too wide.

 

[Exit 4]

You can easily argue that the defense was the problem in the 2nd half.. our passive defensive play ( 8 yard cushions at the corners, bend but don't break D) had teams putting up multiple scores in the 1st quarter.. CONSISTENTLY..So, no Diaco, it wasn't mainly on the offense... When you spot the opposing teams points early on, knowing your offense isn't any good, that's gotta fall on the defense. coaching in particular.. Our defensive philosophy had us spotting teams multiple scores before we even got a first down or 2 on offense....

Yep, plus we rarely mixed things up on D. Mostly did 4 man rush (which gave the qb all kinds of time) and god knows what with our porous pass coverage. Blitzing from the LB or corner position virtually never.

 

[Confident Carl]

As is the decision to use Lamar Jackson as the first point of comparison for our QB.

I thought it was a revealing comparison:

---------LJ-------DW
YPG----123------100
TD-------2---------1
INTS----3---------5
Comp% 48%-----47%

Why are those stats not a valid comparison? Could it be that it doesn't fit the narrative?
He was just saying that getting used to the college game at the FBS level takes time. Plus Williams
was playing with a neophyte Offensive Coordinator. I am looking forward to seeing DW mature.
Sooooo glad he had a head start and won't be starting green in 2017.

 

[Stainmaster]

I thought it was a revealing comparison:

---------LJ-------DW
YPG----123------100
TD-------2---------1
INTS----3---------5
Comp% 48%-----47%

Why are those stats not a valid comparison? Could it be that it doesn't fit the narrative?
He was just saying that getting used to the college game at the FBS level takes time. Plus Williams
was playing with a neophyte Offensive Coordinator. I am looking forward to seeing DW mature.
Sooooo glad he had a head start and won't be starting green in 2017.

It's not valid because Matt has been using Heisman trophy candidates and NFL players as analogues for kids on the current roster for a while now. This shows he has no real ability to gauge our talent level. I admit that I'm more bullish about how good some of our players are than most of Matt's critics, but even I admit that it's ridiculous and not worth reading.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

A national search! My god we have the ability to get a coach from California or Texas! Hot damn!

The fact he is even being considered to come back just tells you all you need to know about Herbst's sports acumen. She literally has no clue.

Brings me back to my point that I raised about Conference Realignment that it truly bothers me when people making the decision that impact UConn's future don't have any long term attachment to the school and will be gone with the next best job offer.

 

[UConnDan97]

Can I ask a serious question? Who is Matt's audience? I'm being serious. Because it can't be us. It can't even be the average fan, for whom this article would still appear ridiculous.

Is it for Diaco, or the athletes, or the administration? I have the feeling it is mostly for Matt...

 

[JMick]

Can I ask a serious question? Who is Matt's audience? I'm being serious. Because it can't be us. It can't even be the average fan, for whom this article would still appear ridiculous.

Is it for Diaco, or the athletes, or the administration? I have the feeling it is mostly for Matt...

I have to imagine the only people that click on these are members of the boneyard, and maybe players, their friends and their families when they get interviewed.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Matt has to be trolling @whaler11

That's the only plausible explanation for this HOT steaming pile of garbage.

 

[whaler11]

Can I ask a serious question? Who is Matt's audience? I'm being serious. Because it can't be us. It can't even be the average fan, for whom this article would still appear ridiculous.

Is it for Diaco, or the athletes, or the administration? I have the feeling it is mostly for Matt...

I would imagine he's gunning to be the 4th SID. The second best thing about when Diaco gets axed is going to be his reaction.