UConn to use Whitmer AND Boyle on Saturday

[Srqhusky]

Excited to see Boyle play. Couldn't be any worse. Just hope we can keep him healthy

 

[BoatShow]

"Everyone's favorite player is the backup QB."
-Albert Einsten

 

[Palatine]

You did watch Boyle play last season right? Or no? Bias exists here, for some reason. Without a doubt. Last season it was pretty clear after a very short time on the field, that leaving Boyle in the game, was potentially a hell of lot more damaging to development, than playing him, would be beneficial. I would think that the cautious approach, rather than the dumping in the fire, approach would be a good way to demonstrate learning from past mistakes.

I actually don't want to see him at all, yet, but Diaco has a plan.

Did you watch Whitmer last year and last week. You can't win with him. Everything you wrote about Boyle is true of Whitmer and it's worse.

At least Boyle has potential. He also is a much more talented player.

 

[Fishy]

I'm very happy that Whitmer decided to come back this year - it took some guts and we would be 800 different kinds of f---ed right now if he hadn't. He deserves to be recognized anywhere UConn fans congregate until his dying day.

That said, I think Boyle is our best chance going forward. I don't care that he looked a little shaky as a true freaking freshman last year after Coach F---stick and a his evil assistant blew his redshirt.

 

[gioff23]

I'm very happy that Whitmer decided to come back this year - it took some guts and we would be 800 different kinds of f---ed right now if he hadn't. He deserves to be recognized anywhere UConn fans congregate until his dying day.

That said, I think Boyle is our best chance going forward. I don't care that he looked a little shaky as a true freaking freshman last year after Coach F---stick and a his evil assistant blew his redshirt.

just to be clear; I believe Coach TJW blew the RS, as the infamous duo was gone before USF. I recognize they did a lot wrong, but I belive it was TJ that took the RS off.

 

[Fishy]

just to be clear; I believe Coach TJW blew the RS, as the infamous duo was gone before USF. I recognize they did a lot wrong, but I belive it was TJ that took the RS off.

Don't stop me, I'm on a roll...

 

[uconnfan68]

just to be clear; I believe Coach TJW blew the RS, as the infamous duo was gone before USF. I recognize they did a lot wrong, but I belive it was TJ that took the RS off.

Well it was P that had him in the game plan that Weist got stuck with. He deserves at least an acknowledgement for the blame.

 

[uconnfan68]

I'm very happy that Whitmer decided to come back this year - it took some guts and we would be 800 different kinds of f---ed right now if he hadn't. He deserves to be recognized anywhere UConn fans congregate until his dying day.

That said, I think Boyle is our best chance going forward. I don't care that he looked a little shaky as a true freaking freshman last year after Coach F---stick and a his evil assistant blew his redshirt.

He actually looked OK at the start, then his receivers let him down big-time. He started forcing things a bit after that. I think he picked up a lot by watching CC finish the year. He is definitely a better choice than CW.

 

[Confident Carl]

Given that Chandler has had his share of concussions, BD may be preparing for the inevitable.

I keep telling you guys. Study Hayden Fry and you will better understand Bob Diaco. He was ready for Casey to go down. You know Boyle will be getting snaps!

(Having a proven winner returning at quarterback) makes you feel very confident about your offense, ... But the thing that offsets that confidence is the fact that as a coach you're always scared to death that your number one quarterback, who is really outstanding, is going to become injured. Normally, the drop-off to number two is pretty big because they are so good that it's pretty hard for the number two to fill their shoes. Hayden Fry

 

[Nostical]

Saturday will be very interesting. Like last year, Boyle will be facing his first competition against one of our strongest opponents. The difference this time is he's gotten bigger and stronger. Hopefully his back is totally healed and won't impair his effectiveness. He still has the talented arm and can run--faster than opponents expect. And he's buckled down on the playbook. What he's hopefully worked hardest on are the leadership intangibles. I do know he's been getting mentored. Boyle is a great kid in so many ways but what he lacks is that natural swagger a team expects from their QB to rally the troops as they go to battle. That's the element that separated CC from the pack. In every group of guys there's always the alpha male who others gravitate to and like to follow. As Tom Izzo says--(and I'm paraphrasing a discussion I heard) "When a quiet kid says 'Coach I lead by example' it isn't enough. The other kids can't always perceive it. There needs to be vocal demonstrative leadership from your floor leader. In the game and on the sideline. That's what we lacked at MSU last year. UConn had Shabazz. I saw him directing, admonishing, rejoicing, heck he even pushed some players. That's the kind of leadership that matters to a team. They don't come around that often. I had Mateen Cleaves--a few others. Those are the kids that can carry a team to unexpected success."
If Tim has somehow managed to uncover that leadership gene and the team responds in both its "protections and receptions"--lol---who knows where he can take the Huskies. Let the fun begin.

 

[DoctorWho85]

Last year my impression with Boyle was he has the tools just looked like he was a bit of a deer in headlights. Obviously the line and WR's gave him absolutely no help, but he also made some mental errors (I'm no QB expert just an observation). I think with a passable O-line, a run game that can hopefully move the ball against a top 10 run defense and a good gameplan for him, Boyle should look better than last year.

That being said, there better be more slants, screens and TE's over the middle to help all QB's make some throws.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Ah - becasue Cochran got hurt...He wasnt part of the answer until then. The plan was the redshirt him. Now the plan is to get him a couple of snaps in case Whitmer goes down with injury.
Think its going to be 51/49??
Thats like having a second option for a prom date in case the first one ends up with herpes.

Yes, but the plan was never to make Whitmer the starter. Agreed? So the old plan is gone and now there is a new plan. My guess is that they will see what Boyle brings now as a sophomore and what whether Whitmer can be anything other than a turnover machine. Nobody said that the "the plan is to get him a couple of snaps in case Whitmer goes down with injury". Diaco didn't say that. He said he'd play. How much he plays will depend on what he does. Wouldn't surprise me if he is starting in a few games, playing the same role that Cochran had in the original plan.

 

[UConnDan97]

The plan is clearly to have Whitmer play much more of the game than Boyle, based on Diaco's comments. There's no other way to look at it, especially when you consider that Boyle didn't take snaps against the 1-AA team. And I think it's better for our chances to win the game if 1 QB gets a majority (if not all) of the snaps during the game. Whoever that ends up being, I hope they have the game of their career.

Having said that, if we fail to establish the run the way we did last week, it's not going to matter much who the QB is...

 

[Bonehead]

Yes, but the plan was never to make Whitmer the starter. Agreed? So the old plan is gone and now there is a new plan. My guess is that they will see what Boyle brings now as a sophomore and what whether Whitmer can be anything other than a turnover machine. Nobody said that the "the plan is to get him a couple of snaps in case Whitmer goes down with injury". Diaco didn't say that. He said he'd play. How much he plays will depend on what he does. Wouldn't surprise me if he is starting in a few games, playing the same role that Cochran had in the original plan.

I disagree that they will see what Boyle Brings -

Bob Diaco Updates Quarterback Position
September 9, 2014 Football
@MattSchonvisky
We will have much more on Casey Cochran’s retirement, on The Boneyard Roadshow, which will come out tomorrow. However, football needs to be played and UCONN needs to win games.
As expected, Chandler Whitmer remains the starter, no surprise there. Diaco did say, Tim Boyle will play, convincingly. He also said that the split between the two, will not be close to what we saw when Cochran was healthy.
Translation, the job is Chandler’s, unless one of two things happen. The first, he is completely unproductive, while the second, he suffers an injury, which he was uncomfortably asked several times about, following Diaco’s meeting with the media.
Boyle will see time in case he needs to be thrown in the fire, but again, football is a very fluid game. With that in mind, here are the head coach’s thoughts on the sophomore quarterback and the role he will play.

Whitmer has zero turnovers FYI.

 

[sdhusky]

Whitmer has zero turnovers FYI.

Fumbles don't count?

 

[Bonehead]

Fumbles don't count?

my bad - 1 turnover - turnover machine is right!

 

[HuskyHawk]

The plan is clearly to have Whitmer play much more of the game than Boyle, based on Diaco's comments. There's no other way to look at it, especially when you consider that Boyle didn't take snaps against the 1-AA team. And I think it's better for our chances to win the game if 1 QB gets a majority (if not all) of the snaps during the game. Whoever that ends up being, I hope they have the game of their career.

Having said that, if we fail to establish the run the way we did last week, it's not going to matter much who the QB is...

This week? Of course. No argument. It is clear they didn't think he was ready. But these things are hard to predict. In the event that Boyle, over the next few games, shows a command of the offense, an ability to deliver the ball accurately and avoid the rush, and the team is moving the ball under his leadership better than it does with Whitmer, then he'll play more. I'd give that a 50-50 chance right now.

P.S. 16 INTs in 2012. 6 in more in 4 games last year. He has cut down the INTs by pulling the ball down and running more.

 

[Husky25]

Whitmer has zero turnovers FYI.

If a QB gets sacked and the offense is forced to punt within the next 3 plays (i.e. without getting a 1st down to erase the lost yardage), I personally count that as a turnover.

 

[UConnDan97]

This week? Of course. No argument. It is clear they didn't think he was ready. But these things are hard to predict. In the event that Boyle, over the next few games, shows a command of the offense, an ability to deliver the ball accurately and avoid the rush, and the team is moving the ball under his leadership better than it does with Whitmer, then he'll play more. I'd give that a 50-50 chance right now.

P.S. 16 INTs in 2012. 6 in more in 4 games last year. He has cut down the INTs by pulling the ball down and running more.

Well, yeah, it should go without saying that if Boyle shows he can perform better than Whitmer that he should get the nod. And I agree with your assessment that Whitmer is trying to do more with his legs as part of the way to help him avoid the costly turnovers. I would love for a situation where we don't need him to be our leading rusher though...

 

[Bonehead]

If a QB gets sacked and the offense is forced to punt within the next 3 plays (i.e. without getting a 1st down to erase the lost yardage), I personally count that as a turnover.

Thats an intersting new stat. The sack counts against the QB and the OL has no part of any of the sacks? Not saying they are always at fault but what do you do to differeniate between the two?
If a RB loses yardage on a play and the offense is forced to punt within the next 3 plays is that a turnover as well?
If a WR drops a perfectly thrown ball and the offense is forced to punt within the next 3 plays is that a turnover as well?

 

[Husky25]

Thats an intersting new stat. The sack counts against the QB and the OL has no part of any of the sacks? Not saying they are always at fault but what do you do to differeniate between the two?
If a RB loses yardage on a play and the offense is forced to punt within the next 3 plays is that a turnover as well?
If a WR drops a perfectly thrown ball and the offense is forced to punt within the next 3 plays is that a turnover as well?

Fine. Call it a team turnover I don't care. I'm not trying to get you to agree with me. It's just the way I see it by the way.

My answers are no on the RB losing yardage (unless there is a screw up with ball transfer), and yes on the WR dropping a ball, especially on 3rd down with 1st down yardage (Catching the ball is just as much mental as it is physical). Unless a blocking assignment is completely blown, the QB should be able to throw the ball away, more often than not.

That said, I'd also lump in not getting a first down after a penalty a turnover.

 

[CTBasketball]

Whitmer will never throw an INT because no one can catch his passes anyways. He throws to invisible people.

 

[gioff23]

Well it was P that had him in the game plan that Weist got stuck with. He deserves at least an acknowledgement for the blame.

I will apologize to Fishy (for interrupting the roll) and to TJW who simply had no brain and agreed to do whatever his predecessor had planned but simply failed to execute. Thanks for clarifying that TJW was PP's Sgt. Schultz

 

[Nostical]

Weist said that he was against throwing Boyle into that game but he felt hamstrung by all of the hype and the media interest that had been generated by the PP announcement. On reflection, he would have done it differently. (Perhaps if the logical alternative CC had looked better in practice he would have chosen him instead, but as you know, until things got desperate and Boyle needed to be replaced, CC wasn't on any coach's radar.)

 

[Duncan Idaho]

That is EXACTLY what I think Diaco is looking for in his quarterback. None of the current crop really has that, including Cochran. P brought in Pro-style guys. What Cochran brought to the table that the others don't is the ability to make quick decisions and hit the open receiver. That is why I say the guy he wants isn't available right now so in a sense it doesn't matter who he uses. Really, I am guessing that Diaco is just trying to get through this year at quarterback and then he'll move on to try and land his type of player in his type of offense.

Quarterbacks meeting the requirements of the staff I thinks is one reason why our offense has been less than optimal. Edsall went with pro style then seemed to switch to dual-threat near the end of his term, those guys came in and P wanted pro style. those guys came in and now D wants spread. The offense will sputter until a system is in place and stable for a longer length of time.