Well, who is our QB?

[huskymedic]

That was the most surprising thing for me after seeing that chart. You don't often see a 267 pound true freshman on the 2-deep at left tackle. Let's hope that is a decision that was made because he is freakishly athletic. Otherwise, I'm guessing that they may do a little shuffling if anything were to happen to Levy...

Point taken but as an aside - they pooched the freshman weights on today's two deep. The roster on-line has him @ 6-7 279lb.

 

[CTMike]

Should the offense be better? Yeah, they should... Line probably should have been better year 2 under P and GDL, but that didn't go so well...

We have a new OC, new QB, and new starting C. That's a lot of unknowns on offense. Right now we are healthy (thankfully) but any injuries adds that much more uncertainty.

I'm optimistic. I can't help it, I think Diaco is building this the right way. Next year they can be great. But I'm nervous until they show us what they've got.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

Tim_Fontenault 11:47am via Twitter for iPhone
UConn's two-deep depth chart for the season opener Thursday against Villanova. Shirreffs is the quarterback.

The O-line only loses one man for next season. Very promising.

 

[History Geek]

The O-line only loses one man for next season. Very promising.

And Crozier is back.

 

[Sportsman5]

I think Boyle is listed as backup in part so the opponent has to spend time preparing for two different styles of quarterback play.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

It's Sunday. I'm up. What is the point of delaying the announcement any longer?

Aaron Rogers...he decided to enroll at UConn for business administration..

 

[HuskyDogArt]

I can't imagine not wanting to devote hours into analyzing a 40-0 loss.

I think that is what Missouri will hand us...

 

[Chin Diesel]

If the offense is worse, it means we still have no answer at QB. At some point, we got to get lucky with one of these QBs. A QB that could throw for 25ooyds and 19-8, TD, Int rate shouldn't be so hard (impossible for us I know). We know 3 of the WRs on the two deep can catch it in college games Lemelle, Thomas, and Lucas. The OTs were playing solid ball toward the end of the year. Samra has a ton of playing experience, the other OG pushed Rutherford into a reserve role and I thought he was real impressive for a true frosh. Center is a total question mark. The sophomore RBs are both talented.

I realize you cannot account for injuries and the sort, but Im just looking for an incremental improvement on offense. If we are in fact worse on offense, and we were ranked like 124th, in the country, shame on this coaching staff.

I go back to Lorenzen's first game against Duke. Rolled left, tucked and ran for about 15 yards.

For the past five years this team hasn't had any way to punish a defense for flying to the line on every play. No screens, no slants, no seam patterns, nothing. Teams could stack the box and blitz and not get punished.

Properly using the skill players and a few QB runs, along with ball security, could means 4-5 more wins over last year.

The most positive thing I heard all during camp was that in the last scrimmage the OLine was making holes for Arkeel. We haven't had a line that was conditioned well enough to make a push in the 4th quarter for five years.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

We lost our top 2 receivers.

We lost our projected starting TE.

We lost our center on our already weak line.

We have an absolute unknown at QB, with the worse QB in FBS as the backup.

But I'm an idiot and ruining the board for thinking we could be worse?

 

[sportsart]

We lost our top 2 receivers.

We lost our projected starting TE.

We lost our center on our already weak line.

We have an absolute unknown at QB, with the worse QB in FBS as the backup.

But I'm an idiot and ruining the board for thinking we could be worse?

Never said you were an idiot so don't be a victim. In one thread you believe, albeit you say irrationally, that we will win and yet in another you say we could be considerably worse on offense. Tough to follow your thought process.

People love to point out we lost our 2 best WR's and our center. Fair points, but...

What about the experience our OL got last year? How about the strength and conditioning we have been hearing about? What about the unity this team appears to have...makes a big difference compared to the beaten down, fractured team that Diaco inherited.

Did you see where one of the reasons our starting QB was chosen was he took care of the ball during camp? Do people realize our QB is a dual threat and can run when things break down? Oh, and also one way to protect a QB with an OL still learning....called roll outs. We have a QB who is comfortable with those calls.

What about a stronger Newsome who appears to have done enough to be considered a starter?

Last but not least. What about our offense competing vs our, what by all accounts, a pretty damn good defense?

I did not read about fumbles, int's and fumbled snaps from our new center ( a few high snaps is all I read)

Why is it all the "contrarions" never post the positives I just did?

 

[Nostical]

The offense....could actually be worse than last year.

LOL--With all due respect, that is one wildly uninformed comment. I hope it was tongue in cheek.
First, the entire offense is way ahead of last year both in terms of scheme (new OC) and execution, as per comments by several insiders. Second, there is a level of fitness and energy on this team unlike any of the past several years. Third, the QB play and kicking game will be much better, and the OLine/TE's will vastly improve the running game. These receivers will be surprisingly efficient and explosive. And I haven't even mentioned the defense, which will be one of the best in the country. As I've said before, this UConn team will crush Villanova. Bet on it.
Based on your comment and your underwhelming expectation, please come back after the game and share your observations.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Never said you were an idiot so don't be a victim. In one thread you believe, albeit you say irrationally, that we will win and yet in another you say we could be considerably worse on offense. Tough to follow your thought process.

People love to point out we lost our 2 best WR's and our center. Fair points, but...

What about the experience our OL got last year? How about the strength and conditioning we have been hearing about? What about the unity this team appears to have...makes a big difference compared to the beaten down, fractured team that Diaco inherited.

Did you see where one of the reasons our starting QB was chosen was he took care of the ball during camp? Do people realize our QB is a dual threat and can run when things break down? Oh, and also one way to protect a QB with an OL still learning....called roll outs. We have a QB who is comfortable with those calls.

What about a stronger Newsome who appears to have done enough to be considered a starter?

Last but not least. What about our offense competing vs our, what by all accounts, a pretty damn good defense?

I did not read about fumbles, int's and fumbled snaps from our new center ( a few high snaps is all I read)

Why is it all the "contrarions" never post the positives I just did?

Tough to follow the thought process? Being irrationally confident that we can maybe beat a FCS squad at home doesn't preclude the rational observation the offense could be worse.

The bottom line is nobody knows what Shirreffs will give us. I hope he's a poor man's Lorenzen. If he is then we should be way more competent than last season.

That's a huge if.

As far as playing the victim? I don't go into threads whining about what other posters say every other topic, that would be you. We were an utter disaster last season and just because we got a guy who NC State wanted to switch to full back, doesn't win me over by reputation only.

 

[TheDoggPound]

I believe in Shirreffs. 24-21 Dawgs. Bryant has a running and passing TD. RonJon with the other.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

LOL--With all due respect, that is one wildly uninformed comment. I hope it was tongue in cheek.
First, the entire offense is way ahead of last year both in terms of scheme (new OC) and execution, as per comments by several insiders. Second, there is a level of fitness and energy on this team unlike any of the past several years. Third, the QB play and kicking game will be much better, and the OLine/TE's will vastly improve the running game. These receivers will be surprisingly efficient and explosive. And I haven't even mentioned the defense, which will be one of the best in the country. As I've said before, this UConn team will crush Villanova. Bet on it.
Based on your comment and your underwhelming expectation, please come back after the game and share your observations.

Losing the starting center and our starting TE is going make it tougher for the OL. Don't think either of the now 2 starting TEs are even decent blockers. Maybe one of the freshman may step up. The losses are something to be concerned about. Level of fitness and another year of technique work should help. Looking forward to the game and hopefully some positive signs for the season.

 

[whaler11]

LOL--With all due respect, that is one wildly uninformed comment. I hope it was tongue in cheek.
First, the entire offense is way ahead of last year both in terms of scheme (new OC) and execution, as per comments by several insiders. Second, there is a level of fitness and energy on this team unlike any of the past several years. Third, the QB play and kicking game will be much better, and the OLine/TE's will vastly improve the running game. These receivers will be surprisingly efficient and explosive. And I haven't even mentioned the defense, which will be one of the best in the country. As I've said before, this UConn team will crush Villanova. Bet on it.
Based on your comment and your underwhelming expectation, please come back after the game and share your observations.

Against my better judgment because this is a waste of time.

1. That I recognize the chance that the offense could be worse is not uninformed. Please read along I'll go slow... CHANCE is not EXPECTATION.

2. You do know that other teams have strength programs and energy right? Until you've shown it's a competitive advantage why is UConn's any better than other teams in those aspects.

3. Since I predicted them to win 4 games and said the only way they win 4 means they beat Villanova I'm not sure what you are challenging me about after the game. That it they win I wasn't confident enough going into it? You have a fundamental misunderstanding of how sports work - that you think you are inciteful enough to know what the outcome will be while ignoring the variance that can occur in one college football game is a sign of ignornance and arrogrance - not intellegence.

4. Don't know what 'inside' information you have, but if you are talking about anything posted here it has almost zero value and should be treated accordingly. If it's something Dez wrote, in general it will have a negative correlation with reality.

5. It's nice that you've decided that the OL and TE are fine. Hopefully that turns out to be true but there isn't a single player in those units who has performed to an average AAC level yet - so I'm going to hold off on annointing them as a unit until they actually acheive something.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Many of you guys are ridiculous. Offense worse than last year. Hell if it scores no points in the first quarter all year but don't spot the opposing team 7 to start the game that would still be an improvement. It couldn't possibly be worse. Worse doesn't exist.

Then there is the hating on Boyle. Worst QB in FBS? That's absurd. We were thrilled to get him as a recruit. He's a drop back passer who played behind the worst offensive line UConn has ever had or ever will have at this level. He has enough talent. Nobody here is qualified to say that he hasn't made major improvement. Yes, our QB position is an "unknown". So? Unknown can be fantastic or terrible. There is no basis to expect either at this point.

I am expecting a vastly improved running game, with young backs coming into their own and an OL that will know what it is doing. That alone will make everything else better.

 

[junglehusky]

The OL could/should take strides forward this season, but that doesn't mean they aren't vulnerable if a key injury happens. Maybe it's already happened (Crozier). Being a glutton for punishment I went back and read the report from the first summer practice. While I think/hope it's possible for the offense and the OL to make progress over the course of the season (which did NOT happen last year) it should be abundantly clear that they are starting out behind the ball (even if they've made progress since in summer camp). Although I'd like to see UConn put up more than 25 points on Nova I would definitely not bet on it at this point.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Proper preparation prevents poor performance. It's show time.

 

[J187Money]

I love the optimism here. Let's hope you all are right.

 

[sportsart]

Tough to follow the thought process? Being irrationally confident that we can maybe beat a FCS squad at home doesn't preclude the rational observation the offense could be worse.

The bottom line is nobody knows what Shirreffs will give us. I hope he's a poor man's Lorenzen. If he is then we should be way more competent than last season.

That's a huge if.

As far as playing the victim? I don't go into threads whining about what other posters say every other topic, that would be you. We were an utter disaster last season and just because we got a guy who NC State wanted to switch to full back, doesn't win me over by reputation only.

You said I called you an idiot. I said "don't be a victim" as I said I didn't call you an idiot.

Also, when you make a false statement about me whining in every other thread it tells me you have nothing to say so buy in to the whaler attack mode.

With the season approaching I really need to use the ignore button more liberally.

Negative people really bring me down. Especially the ones that say they aren't negative, just more realistic.

News flash...you can be positive as well as a realist.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Never said you were an idiot so don't be a victim. In one thread you believe, albeit you say irrationally, that we will win and yet in another you say we could be considerably worse on offense. Tough to follow your thought process.

People love to point out we lost our 2 best WR's and our center. Fair points, but...

What about the experience our OL got last year? How about the strength and conditioning we have been hearing about? What about the unity this team appears to have...makes a big difference compared to the beaten down, fractured team that Diaco inherited.

Did you see where one of the reasons our starting QB was chosen was he took care of the ball during camp? Do people realize our QB is a dual threat and can run when things break down? Oh, and also one way to protect a QB with an OL still learning....called roll outs. We have a QB who is comfortable with those calls.

What about a stronger Newsome who appears to have done enough to be considered a starter?

Last but not least. What about our offense competing vs our, what by all accounts, a pretty damn good defense?

I did not read about fumbles, int's and fumbled snaps from our new center ( a few high snaps is all I read)

Why is it all the "contrarions" never post the positives I just did?

If someone got you all riled up because they posted that they are merely concerned that the offense could be worse than last year, you need to take a hard look in the mirror.

Just because some people don't formulate their opinions based on faith and "insider info" does not make them a contrarian.

 

[whaler11]

13 year old girls spend less time talking about unfriending on Facebook and worrying about likes on instagram.

If you want to block someone how about you block them and maybe skip the drama?

If you need to stay so narrow-minded that you can't consider anyone with an opinion different that yours... bully for you but I'd probably spend less time bragging about it, it's not that great of a quality.

That you don't even understand that you went into attack mode is mind-boggling but hardly surprising.

 

[whaler11]

If someone got you all riled up because they posted that they are merely concerned that the offense could be worse than last year, you need to take a hard look in the mirror.

Just because some people don't formulate their opinions based on faith and "insider info" does not make them a contrarian.

There is a chance the offense could be worse (without even trying to quantify the chance) = YOU ARE RUINING THE BOARD. U R FAKE.

Then accusing the person you said that about as going into attack mode is gold. Self awareness for the win.

 

[Dooley]

The offense definitely could be worse than what it was last year. If Shirreffs gets hurt, the OL struggles (again), and we keep turning the ball over inside our own half of the field, then we'll get pummeled like we did last year. We lost our top playmaking wideout since Marcus Easley's SR season, our starting C, our starting TE, and a solid WR/KR player. There are definite question marks.

The offense could also be better than what it was last year. Maybe our 4th OC in 4 years in the lucky charm. Maybe Shirreffs is a comparable D-1 QB and stays healthy all season. Maybe Noel Thomas takes that much-anticipated next step towards becoming our aerial go-to guy. Maybe our OL comes together and restores our history, albeit brief, of excelling at power football.

Point is: nobody knows how the offense is going to play out this season. My opinion is that we'll struggle a bit in September to score points. I think we'll need to rely on our ST and defense to give our offense some shorter fields in the early going. I hope I'm wrong...I hope we come out of the gates like Oregon. Or Baylor. Or BYU. Or even Memphis. But that might not happen. I'm just really hoping we can get through September with 2 Ws. If we can do that, regardless of how many points we put on the board, then there will be cause for some optimism this year.

The beauty of Thursday night is that we will all find out, together, where our football program stands as of September 3rd, 2015.

 

[Dogged]

Proper preparation prevents poor performance. It's show time.

You hadn't mentioned proper preparation for a while. I was getting worried!