What's it going to take for you to consider this season a success? | Page 3 | The Boneyard

What's it going to take for you to consider this season a success?

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Devland said:
I'm not going to put a number on it. I just want to see signs of the development of a program. I think everyone needs to remember that Calhoun's first season here the team was 9-19 and Geno's teams didn't have a winning record until his third season. It takes time.
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This fact is what tempers my enthusiasm...Calhoun's NIT Championship team was barely over .500 but was getting better as the season went on. And the 1989 team actually took a little step back, and becoming the first defending NIT champ in something like 10 years not to move on to the NCAAs the next year. I'm not sure what kind of a mess diaco inherited but my sense is that it was pretty big. You can fix some problems quickly...attitude, preparation, to an extend conditioning, but I'm not overly excited about the quality of recruits Pasqualoni brought in. For all his talk about prototype players, I'm not so sure he got many. And he was fixated on Connecticut players. Nothing wrong with that in principal, but you have to question whether he took local kids at the expense of better prepared players from other areas. And you can't fix talent over night.
 
Cant' compare basketball to football this way. Can't. I wish people would stop trying. You do make sense though freescooter, just stop with the basketball comparisions. Football, is a sport where turnarounds can happen - big ways, either way winning or losing - that are dramatic, and it can happen in the matter of one season. Not unusual at all.

The real question about whether or not we are on a quick turnaround to a winning season and contending for a league title,as you note, has eveyrthign to do with the recruiting that has been done in the past 3 seasons. I think there have been enough flashes from young players projected to be in the two-deep that we are going to be able to compete, with the opposition on our schedule - given the other things are there. But it's just my opinion. You and other's don't seem to think that the talent is really there.

Reality is that with all the chaos and inconsistency of the past two seasons in leadership, direction, discipline, conditioning, preparation, attitude - our actual talent level, other than for those coaches that actually work with the players directly, is completely unknown and it's nothing more than a guess - as to what our actual talent level is.

Are they the players that took a 2 TD lead against Michigan late into the game before crumbling, or are they the players that probably should have gotten beaten 70-0 by UCF and crumbled in the first quarter? Are they the players that set record against Memphis?

None of us will know until they start playing again.
 
Our talent level is fine. We'll win 7 games. Anything less than 6 is a disappointment.

My biggest concern is the possibility we get 6 wins and no bowl game. I haven't looked at our tie-ins because, well, it's depressing.
 
I think this is the longest I've ever sen a thread stay on topic on this board! Carry on!:D
 
HuskyHawk said:
Six wins is critical. It is also important that they pass the eye test. I am taking Diaco at his word. He described poor conditioning, poor mental attitudes and lack of cohesiveness. Those are things he can fix in short order. He can also fix the schemes and play calling. Last year's pathetic team won three games as soon a PP was gone. This team simply has to be better than that, by a reasonable magnitude. That team lost games to teams with less talent, who played harder and were better coached and conditioned. I expect that will never happen again and I expect this team to steal a couple of wins against more talented teams because it played harder, was better coach and better conditioned.
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My expectations increase as I listen/read random BD comments. It's subtle, but I get the feeling he's finding an inheritance that's worth more than he originally thought. Or, maybe I'm hearing voices.

The major problem might be convincing the guys that they are better than the record shows; that improved conditioning and focus will lead to wins. My major fear is that an early catastrophe, like an interception or fumble return for a touchdown, will allow "here we go again" thoughts to creep in. The reaction will be telling as it relates to the players and, especially, the staff. Hopefully, it's, "Sh't happens. Deal with, and fix it."

In any event, I'll be disappointed with less than seven wins. Ain't playing the NFC West.
 
Fair. I agree with all you posted except the last sentence. I just want to see the guys playing with confidence and joy, hopefully the rest will take care of itself.

This team has been through a brutal 3 years, but sort of redeem themselves the last 3 games of the year, hopefully they remember what that felt like.
 
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I would love to see 6 wins and get back to a bowl game. Even if we fall just short but are competitive and well coached in most games I think it can still be a successful season.
 
There was only one game last season (Michigan) that I lost my voice. That's sad. Like Carl said earlier, like everyone else, I knew the season was over in the 4th quarter of the Towson game. I remember making a "boy, this is gonna be a LONG season" to the security guards on the way out of the stadium that night and feeling the most dejected that I've ever felt after a loss. There is nothing more deflating that knowing full well that your season is over and you are still in August. There wasn't a single game on the schedule that I thought UCONN could win under the old coaching staff.

In past seasons, it would be more difficult for me to remember games that I did NOT lose my voice. Even the cupcake FCS games would cause me to lose my voice. Last year was such a ' drag. We lost half of our tailgate crew of 6. One guy moved to FL (can't fault him), another guy went to the Towson game and then never showed up again, and another guy didn't go to a single game (including the Michigan game...of which he graduated from). So our diminished group did exactly what other smaller groups do in the lots: talk to other tailgaters. What we found out was that every tailgate crew lost 1, 2, 3, 4+ members who have sworn off the program. At least half of the people we met in the lots never went into the game towards the end of the season. In past seasons, this would frustrate me. Last year, I was simply impressed that they drove to the stadium just to tailgate. We didn't even get much pleasure ribbing on Rutgers' fans in our section last year.

Give me a team that plays with heart and energy. That gets excited to get a big stop on defense. To convert a crucial 1st down. That stands up for teammates. That fights until the final whistle no matter what the score. With energy, excitement, and unity comes wins and confidence. And once a college team gets some confidence to go with their energy, then the sky is the limit.
 
I think a bowl game is the expectation for success at this program, and it shouldn't be reduced just because the previous regime drove the car into the ditch. Having said that, if the team wins 4-6 games and shows some signs of improvement, that may be an encouraging / positive sign and give the fanbase something to look forward to going forward. But it is not "success".
 
Carl Spackler said:
Cant' compare basketball to football this way. Can't. I wish people would stop trying. You do make sense though freescooter, just stop with the basketball comparisions. Football, is a sport where turnarounds can happen - big ways, either way winning or losing - that are dramatic, and it can happen in the matter of one season. Not unusual at all.

The real question about whether or not we are on a quick turnaround to a winning season and contending for a league title,as you note, has eveyrthign to do with the recruiting that has been done in the past 3 seasons. I think there have been enough flashes from young players projected to be in the two-deep that we are going to be able to compete, with the opposition on our schedule - given the other things are there. But it's just my opinion. You and other's don't seem to think that the talent is really there.

Reality is that with all the chaos and inconsistency of the past two seasons in leadership, direction, discipline, conditioning, preparation, attitude - our actual talent level, other than for those coaches that actually work with the players directly, is completely unknown and it's nothing more than a guess - as to what our actual talent level is.

Are they the players that took a 2 TD lead against Michigan late into the game before crumbling, or are they the players that probably should have gotten beaten 70-0 by UCF and crumbled in the first quarter? Are they the players that set record against Memphis?

None of us will know until they start playing again.
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Only us FB first guys know this......thats why FB is SO important in CR...excellent observation on the FB/BB observations. Really can't compare the two sports but FB's popularity shows in its TV worth to the networks!! Dramatic moments forever ingrained in our minds! Next month...the FB countdown begins.
 
Diaco is exactly right when he says success will be improving every day. This season is about getting a complete cluster duck* back on track. I fully expect we get handled easily by BYU. It's just a terrible opening day match-up for us. But, we need to come back and beat Stony Brook and get more and more competitive as the season progresses. We need to get back to running the ball effectively. We will need a group of LBs to really step up in this new system.

If we end up in a bowl at the end of the season I would consider it remarkable progress. If we end up with 4 or 5 wins, but the progress is evident, I would consider that successful as well. This season, like last, has a 2-3 wins on the table and Diaco needs to avoid that.
 
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freescooter said:
You can fix some problems quickly...attitude, preparation, to an extend conditioning, but I'm not overly excited about the quality of recruits Pasqualoni brought in. For all his talk about prototype players, I'm not so sure he got many. And he was fixated on Connecticut players.
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You always do this. Many of the players he had a hand in coming here will see the field this year and next. Reserve judgment until then. In fact this is an area where fans should get excited about, a lot is going to rest on their shoulders..
 
A successful season for me has two components, one of which was adequately and realistically expressed by many in this thread.......the performance of the team. Simply put, the season could be a challenge for many reasons to the coaches and players, and W's or L's, all I look for this year is exciting, competitive games with no silly or stupid mistakes. Bowl game? Would be nice, but not a defining factor.

The other component....fandom. You'll hate me for saying this....but go ahead. I just don't buy into the excuses for "fans"not being in the stands before games or leaving early. Everybody has other things to do at all college football vistas across the country.......yet they show up and add to the image of a big time program.....fanny's in the seats. Must say it looks good on TV.

There are 365/366 days a year. UConn FB asks its fans to set aside six.....SIX......days a year for fans to show up in force to support them. For me, its easy........I certainly can schedule activities the other 360 days or so a years so I can support the team from beginning to end.

And absolutely I understand that at times conflicting events arise........but on every game day? for everybody in Ct?

To suggest fans of other prominent programs around show up in droves because there is "nothing else to do" is, in my mind, nothing short of baloney and a lame excuse for empty seats.

A big time program shows two aspects on TV........team competitiveness W or L, and an engaged and enthusiastic fan support. UConn needs to show P5 conferences that it is a "fit" on two fronts for future realignment considerations.

OK...I vented......so if you so desire you all can blast my opinion.......which is just that....an opinion of a long time (decades) FB fan of UConn.
 
tduconn said:
A successful season for me has two components, one of which was adequately and realistically expressed by many in this thread..the performance of the team. Simply put, the season could be a challenge for many reasons to the coaches and players, and W's or L's, all I look for this year is exciting, competitive games with no silly or stupid mistakes. Bowl game? Would be nice, but not a defining factor.

The other component....fandom. You'll hate me for saying this....but go ahead. I just don't buy into the excuses for "fans"not being in the stands before games or leaving early. Everybody has other things to do at all college football vistas across the country..yet they show up and add to the image of a big time program.....fanny's in the seats. Must say it looks good on TV.

There are 365/366 days a year. UConn FB asks its fans to set aside six.....SIX.days a year for fans to show up in force to support them. For me, its easy...I certainly can schedule activities the other 360 days or so a years so I can support the team from beginning to end.

And absolutely I understand that at times conflicting events arise...but on every game day? for everybody in Ct?

To suggest fans of other prominent programs around show up in droves because there is "nothing else to do" is, in my mind, nothing short of baloney and a lame excuse for empty seats.

A big time program shows two aspects on TV...team competitiveness W or L, and an engaged and enthusiastic fan support. UConn needs to show P5 conferences that it is a "fit" on two fronts for future realignment considerations.

OK...I vented.so if you so desire you all can blast my opinion..which is just that....an opinion of a long time (decades) FB fan of UConn.
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A full and engaged Rent is every bit as important as what happens on the field. We all know that PP was a disaster and left a mess. But every program has a bad hire. The difference between P5 fanbase perception and us is that "big league" fans come back after the bad hire. I really hope ours come back too. If not, we aren't leaving the AAC any time soon.
 
Anywhere from 7-5 with bowl game to a competitive 5-7. Competitive 5-7 meaning no blow-outs and losing only to favored teams in close games and beating weaker teams on schedule (stony brook and army) handily. Outside of record, want to see the future being built by seeing improvement as year goes by of players with eligibility beyond this year with some redshirt freshmen and sophomore stepping up as key contributors and not having to burn redshirts of pure freshmen. Good attendance at Rent at all games for all four quarters and off the field no arrests or suspensions for bad behavior.
 
tduconn said:
A successful season for me has two components, one of which was adequately and realistically expressed by many in this thread..the performance of the team. Simply put, the season could be a challenge for many reasons to the coaches and players, and W's or L's, all I look for this year is exciting, competitive games with no silly or stupid mistakes. Bowl game? Would be nice, but not a defining factor.

The other component....fandom. You'll hate me for saying this....but go ahead. I just don't buy into the excuses for "fans"not being in the stands before games or leaving early. Everybody has other things to do at all college football vistas across the country..yet they show up and add to the image of a big time program.....fanny's in the seats. Must say it looks good on TV.

There are 365/366 days a year. UConn FB asks its fans to set aside six.....SIX.days a year for fans to show up in force to support them. For me, its easy...I certainly can schedule activities the other 360 days or so a years so I can support the team from beginning to end.

And absolutely I understand that at times conflicting events arise...but on every game day? for everybody in Ct?

To suggest fans of other prominent programs around show up in droves because there is "nothing else to do" is, in my mind, nothing short of baloney and a lame excuse for empty seats.

A big time program shows two aspects on TV...team competitiveness W or L, and an engaged and enthusiastic fan support. UConn needs to show P5 conferences that it is a "fit" on two fronts for future realignment considerations.

OK...I vented.so if you so desire you all can blast my opinion..which is just that....an opinion of a long time (decades) FB fan of UConn.
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What UCONN fans do, the non-season ticket holders, the season ticket holders that aren't diehards, invariably do, is show up for big events. It is what it is. The bigger the games, the more important the games, the bigger the audiences. It's a pretty much direct correlation proven over and over, across all three money making sports.
 
For me a bowl game would constitute a successful season. I've said it before, Charlie Strong took over a terrible team down at LCC, and brought them to 6-6 his first year with none of his own recruits and was regarded as a huge success. IMO, the team Strong took over was worse than UConn last year. I think that bench mark should be somewhere around what that team did over the course of the season.
 
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junglehusky said:
I think a bowl game is the expectation for success at this program, and it shouldn't be reduced just because the previous regime drove the car into the ditch. Having said that, if the team wins 4-6 games and shows some signs of improvement, that may be an encouraging / positive sign and give the fanbase something to look forward to going forward. But it is not "success".
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Not success compared to where the program was pre PPGDL, but the damage done by that previous regime can't be underestimated. It was a heckuva big ditch.
 
In a word...DISCIPLINE... I want to see a team that knows what this means through action and not hype. No missed assignments and fundamentals in football. Look our competition will have guys that are better talented. We may only be able to slow them down. I'll accept this but only if I know our guys are playing with as much heart and as much discipline as they can muster. This is what I expect to see, less than that, and I'll show them the same respect, I'll be in the Parking Lot at kickoff!
 
One thing Carl kind of skirted but hasn't really been hit in this (awesome) thread to the extent I would've expected is that I want the games to mean something. I understand that success or failure will ultimately be measured in wins but if we are doing something other than playing out the string after three weeks, it'll be a massive improvement. Do you remember when we played games that had consequences?
 
SeoulHuskyFan said:
One thing Carl kind of skirted but hasn't really been hit in this (awesome) thread to the extent I would've expected is that I want the games to mean something. I understand that success or failure will ultimately be measured in wins but if we are doing something other than playing out the string after three weeks, it'll be a massive improvement. Do you remember when we played games that had consequences?
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I do. I remember flying to Tampa alone and drinking myself half to death in the parking lot. And screaming BCS till I couldn't talk. That's what I want.
 
J187Money said:
I do. I remember flying to Tampa alone and drinking myself half to death in the parking lot. And screaming BCS till I couldn't talk. That's what I want.
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That game was awesome. UConn fans were packed into a couple of sections. I was near the top and we had a USF heckler hang out with us for the second half until the ball sailed though the uprights, when he quickly bailed. What a blast.
 
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For a succcessful season I think we need at least 6 wins, and a bowl game. No bowl- no success in my mind. Diaco has his work cut out for him this season, but he's already chnaged the culture at the Burton, got the team thinking and beliving they CAN win and be successful again, and helping to put UConn Football back on the national map, P5 or no P5...
 
A successful year in my book is one where the team will look each other in the eyes at the end of the season and say that gave their best every day for each other. The worked hard, they learned, and they were a team. They stood in the trenches and fought together.

Wins come and go. I want a team.
 
1. Players knowing their assignments. I think their is a talent issue right now at some positions, so battles might be lost. But I want to see players aggressively going where they are supposed to.

2. Discipline. Man did we have an undisciplined team last year. I blame the players for some absolutely bone headed plays (see safety who had to late hits in one series) and I blame coaching staff for not doing anything about it. Play smart.

Those are the two key things I am looking for.
 
There are several things that will convince me the season was a success. Some or all have been discussed above.
  1. Being competitive in every game, winning games we should win, stealing some wins from better teams and having no bad losses where we are not in the game at all.
  2. Having a highly conditioned team that can play with energy and discipline for four quarters.
  3. Development of competent and physical linemen to allow us to run our offensive and defensive schemes. Return of a competent physical running game as a key component of our offense. Development of a pass rush.
  4. Development of numerous skill players and special team players who can give the opposing teams plenty of different looks that they have to deal with and that can give us some game-breaking, game-winning and game saving plays that you have to have to succeed in football.
  5. Return to a team that takes the ball away from the opponent rather than gives the ball away.
  6. Coaching competence where we see good organization of the team on the field, smart time-outs, good strategies in defending the opponent, and in running offense, and very important--good adjustments to what the opponent is doing well.
  7. Ability of the coaching staff to find productive roles for numerous players who don't make it onto the starting squads.
  8. Return of exciting football and the development of an 'edge' by the team where they really bring it to the opponent.
Obviously these things will result in winning some games and prevent many of the WTF losses that ripped our guts out the last three seasons. Whatever the final win/loss if we improve greatly in how we play each game and play exciting football to the end of each game, I'll consider the season successful.
 
Yeah, if we lose to Stony Brook this season, I would guess that the only fans in the stands come November will be in the family/friends sections.

Aside: I went to get my oil changed last night at one of those express places. The dude saw my UCONN stuff in and outside of my car and asked if I was a big UCONN fan. We got to talking about basketball and how excited we are about Kevin Ollie. He clearly was a hoops fan. When the topic changed to football, he said that he has gone to 1 game..."it was last year against Toosown, Townson, something like that...they lost and I had enough." I told him that last year was awful but, thankfully, that head coach is gone and has been replaced by a MUCH better coach. I urged him to give the program another chance this year and that there is a reason, finally, to get a little excited about football. He said he would consider it (but I'm not sure if he was just trying to get me out of there).

While it's just a one-person sample, the negative effect that the PP era had on UCONN and UCONN football can't be overstated. Casual fans, like the guy I encountered last night, who had given UCONN a "shot" in the past 3 seasons were left feeling disappointed and confused as to why people would go to games. So yes, arse-whipping Stony Brook, like they should, would go a long way towards getting some confidence on the field and in the stands.
 
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