Who should lose their job because of today?

[Stainmaster]

He recovered the fumble.

ESPN gametracker says that he fumbled it and Newsome recovered.

 

[cohenzone]

If Clax doesn't know that a throat slash is an automatic penalty. Is that his fault?

Yes.

 

[coachRD]

He recovered the fumble.

I agree with your recent post that things are looking up for sure. In my mind, recovering the fumble doesn't get him any points in my book because he is the reason that situation came up in the first place.

 

[ctchamps]

ESPN gametracker says that he fumbled it and Newsome recovered.

They got it wrong. Watched game and Clax ended up with ball.

 

[ctchamps]

I agree with your recent post that things are looking up for sure. In my mind, recovering the fumble doesn't get him any points in my book because he is the reason that situation came up in the first place.

Ball took funny hop into him. It happens. Can't control some things.

 

[sportsart]

Diaco sounded like he was at a wake on post game. Twice said coaching needs to be better. I agree Bob.

 

[Fishy]

My honest answer? I don't think that this warrants dismissal/benching for any of the people I listed. I'm just a) extremely pissed off right now and b) trying to spark discussion. Reiterating, I don't think jobs need to be lost, but this football team needs drastic drastic changes to be made. Maybe here some specific ideas will come up.

I think the game moves too quickly at times for the head coach.

He's all impulse with no situational awareness.

You can see where he's improved things so much from Sunday to Friday and then his brain falls out on Saturday morning.

Frustrating.

 

[coachRD]

If Clax doesn't know that a throat slash is an automatic penalty. Is that his fault?

Actually the throat slash has been identified for quite a while now as a play that gets an automatic penalty-even my students who don't play football but watch it a lot know that. Plus-no one should have to tell you

Ball took funny hop into him. It happens. Can't control some things.

upbacks are coached to catch it, or move up and block so the personnel they WANT handling the ball can get it. He screwed that play up. As you said though, it happens. These are young men not robots. I was "fine" with the mistake because it was a mental mistake, not one of laziness. BUT, when you get nailed for taunting on the very next kick return... I think that warrants losing that up back position and then having to work to earn it back.

 

[Jarhead_1775]

Amazingly I'm usually drunk and pissed about now. Not really this time though. Mistakes were made that cost the games. Blame? I dunno. What I do know is 28-41 for 365. That's some shat I haven't seen in a looooong time. Start to clean up the other crap and we are a serious contender. For what I don't know.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Actually the throat slash has been identified for quite a while now as a play that gets an automatic penalty-even my students who don't play football but watch it a lot know that. Plus-no one should have to tell you.

Bingo. It's like the kicked ball at BYU - dumb rule, but well established as a rule, you have to know that as a player and keep your composure. It's not something obscure in the rule book.

 

[ctchamps]

Actually the throat slash has been identified for quite a while now as a play that gets an automatic penalty-even my students who don't play football but watch it a lot know that. Plus-no one should have to tell you

upbacks are coached to catch it, or move up and block so the personnel they WANT handling the ball can get it. He screwed that play up. As you said though, it happens. These are young men not robots. I was "fine" with the mistake because it was a mental mistake, not one of laziness. BUT, when you get nailed for taunting on the very next kick return... I think that warrants losing that up back position and then having to work to earn it back.

I didn't see what he did on the taunting play to know how much was just lack of restraint and how much was pushing the limit. Either way I would love to see 90% of the posters in these forums demonstrate self control during every game especially those insisting players and coaches show control. Won't happen. Human behavior being what it is there will always be an excuse to justify certain behaviors.

I was bummed out as much as the rest of you. Nursing a bad back and it got a whole lot worse tensing up throughout that game. It's easy for each of us to insist on others behaving and performing a certain way when the majority of us lack that same self control. It's easy to sit behind a keyboard or touchpad and find fault with players, coaches, and execution of plays. I'm just not sure most of us could do better if we took control of things. So even in my most vulnerable moments when I let my emotions get the best of me, there is a part of me that reminds myself that it's easy to be a back seat driver and complain.

 

[ctchamps]

I think the game moves too quickly at times for the head coach.

He's all impulse with no situational awareness.

You can see where he's improved things so much from Sunday to Friday and then his brain falls out on Saturday morning.

Frustrating.

I think it's the opposite. He's got players that lack situational awareness and has to keep making adjustments to accommodate for this.

 

[cohenzone]

For cra*p sake. Yeah, there's a lot of coaching to do. But - We had 500 yards of O. Which means the coaches get some credit for starting to overcome the misery of our lousy O of the last several years. A lot of the O issues come down to a few questionable play calls. I was at the game. I thought the first failed 4th and 1 should have been a fg attempt. If we are going to go for it, were are starting to have a pretty clear picture that a QB sneak of more than 3 inches is a rough go for the O line. I thought it a mistake to leave some pretty sure points on the field in that situation even though fans love to see the team go for. Somehow those 3 little points often become important.. The clock management at the end of the half was more in the iffy but not outrageous range and had as much to do with Newsome trying to make a play than anything else. 8 seconds is long enough to run two plays, but if the first play isn't thrown into the end zone, the player who receives a sideline pass needs to know that struggling for yards is a bad move. That's a potential 6 points they didn't have in the half. This might seem inconsistent, but I thought the attempted 44 yard fg in the 4th was also a mistake instead of going for it. They had two shots at a half yard The wind was a definite factor and it was actually impressive that Puyols almost made it. I think that overall, they run certain plays way too often, in particular the virtual lateral to Newsome is overdone and predictable and the short, quick hitter over the middle is almost never used . Aside from that, our pass protection is too often terrible, making the failure to use the quick hitter even more puzzling. Anyway, I still find the games interesting now. We have some good skill players on O. Newsome has to be used as much as his body can be asked, Sherriffs is good enough, Bloom has great hands and Thomas will play on Sundays. He seems to make at least one "wow" catch every game.

I think in a lot of ways our D is behind our O. We're horrible at covering edges on runs and we have zero pass rush. Using a four man rush has been futile. On every long pass play today, their QB had all day plus an hour to let plays develop. Our defensive backs can't cover for 6-7 seconds on every pass. We don't have play-making linebackers.

The most troubling action all day was at the end of my aisle where a sixtyish woman collapsed and for several minutes seemed to be in major trouble. It took a while for EMTs to show up, just as a few MDs in the stands got to her. Ultimately she was responding but was taken away on a stretcher.

For a slightly cool but decent day, I thought attendance was lousy, at least in the blue seats which were at best 1/3 full. Many of those are sold, corporate seats. I'm sure the ticket sales do not reflect the actual. thousands lower fannies in the seats.

 

[JMick]

I didn't see what he did on the taunting play to know how much was just lack of restraint and how much was pushing the limit. Either way I would love to see 90% of the posters in these forums demonstrate self control during every game especially those insisting players and coaches show control. Won't happen. Human behavior being what it is there will always be an excuse to justify certain behaviors.

I was bummed out as much as the rest of you. Nursing a bad back and it got a whole lot worse tensing up throughout that game. It's easy for each of us to insist on others behaving and performing a certain way when the majority of us lack that same self control. It's easy to sit behind a keyboard or touchpad and find fault with players, coaches, and execution of plays. I'm just not sure most of us could do better if we took control of things. So even in my most vulnerable moments when I let my emotions get the best of me, there is a part of me that reminds myself that it's easy to be a back seat driver and complain.

This is a load of crap. I played football for 10 years and never felt the need to make the throat slash gesture. Tons of other players never make the throat slash gesture. Some used to do it and now don't because it's against the rules and an automatic 15 yard penalty. So if you're going to be selfish and do it anyway, you deserve a seat on the bench. We don't need selfish players and we don't need players prone to lapses in judgement.

 

[Chin Diesel]

For cra*p sake. Yeah, there's a lot of coaching to do. But - We had 500 yards of O. Which means the coaches get some credit for starting to overcome the misery of our lousy O of the last several years. A lot of the O issues come down to a few questionable play calls. I was at the game. I thought the first failed 4th and 1 should have been a fg attempt. If we are going to go for it, were are starting to have a pretty clear picture that a QB sneak of more than 3 inches is a rough go for the O line. I thought it a mistake to leave some pretty sure points on the field in that situation even though fans love to see the team go for. Somehow those 3 little points often become important.. The clock management at the end of the half was more in the iffy but not outrageous range and had as much to do with Newsome trying to make a play than anything else. 8 seconds is long enough to run two plays, but if the first play isn't thrown into the end zone, the player who receives a sideline pass needs to know that struggling for yards is a bad move. That's a potential 6 points they didn't have in the half. This might seem inconsistent, but I thought the attempted 44 yard fg in the 4th was also a mistake instead of going for it. They had two shots at a half yard The wind was a definite factor and it was actually impressive that Puyols almost made it. I think that overall, they run certain plays way too often, in particular the virtual lateral to Newsome is overdone and predictable and the short, quick hitter over the middle is almost never used . Aside from that, our pass protection is too often terrible, making the failure to use the quick hitter even more puzzling. Anyway, I still find the games interesting now. We have some good skill players on O. Newsome has to be used as much as his body can be asked, Sherriffs is good enough, Bloom has great hands and Thomas will play on Sundays. He seems to make at least one "wow" catch every game.

I think in a lot of ways our D is behind our O. We're horrible at covering edges on runs and we have zero pass rush. Using a four man rush has been futile. On every long pass play today, their QB had all day plus an hour to let plays develop. Our defensive backs can't cover for 6-7 seconds on every pass. We don't have play-making linebackers.

The most troubling action all day was at the end of my aisle where a sixtyish woman collapsed and for several minutes seemed to be in major trouble. It took a while for EMTs to show up, just as a few MDs in the stands got to her. Ultimately she was responding but was taken away on a stretcher.

For a slightly cool but decent day, I thought attendance was lousy, at least in the blue seats which were at best 1/3 full. Many of those are sold, corporate seats. I'm sure the ticket sales do not reflect the actual. thousands lower fannies in the seats.

I agree that Newsome should have gone down as soon as he caught the ball at the end of the first half, or even knocked the ball down for an incomplete pass to stop the clock. Catching it and trying to turn it in to six was all balls, no brain. But the staff screwed the pooch letting 23 seconds go off the clock two plays earlier.

I agree with the FG on the first drive. Points matter here going forward. Keep putting points on the board every time. I disagree about Puyol's FG in to the wind. I liked the call and he missed it by 3 inches on the bar with plenty of leg. Staff knows going forward he has a game leg out to 50 yards, which is 5-7 yards longer than they thought earlier in the year.

Defense didn't adjust to the full back field, but USF going to the full backfield was a result of UConn's defense playing great against the run and the pass. The DB's picked off two passes and the DLine was getting pressure with rushers. Both INT's were a result of a QB getting happy feet.

 

[ctchamps]

This is a load of crap. I played football for 10 years and never felt the need to make the throat slash gesture. Tons of other players never make the throat slash gesture. Some used to do it and now don't because it's against the rules and an automatic 15 yard penalty. So if you're going to be selfish and do it anyway, you deserve a seat on the bench. We don't need selfish players and we don't need players prone to lapses in judgement.

I'm not saying his play was good or correct. It deserves punishment. Just not the degree of punishment you insist. BTW, glad you never committed this act.

Based on your first sentence, which demonstrates impatience with my answer, I would guess there are moments when you are out of control. To satisfy my curiosity I checked the game thread. And lo and behold I saw a couple of your posts that demonstrated this. As I mentioned in that "load of crap post" you quoted we are frequently guilty about the things we hate. When you and others can refrain from the gut emotional reaction to things, I might reconsider my position. I'm pretty certain that I won't have to change my thinking.

 

[JMick]

I'm not saying his play was good or correct. It deserves punishment. Just not the degree of punishment you insist. BTW, glad you never committed this act.

Based on your first sentence, which demonstrates impatience with my answer, I would guess there are moments when you are out of control. To satisfy my curiosity I checked the game thread. And lo and behold I saw a couple of your posts that demonstrated this. As I mentioned in that "load of crap post" you quoted we are frequently guilty about the things we hate. When you and others can refrain from the gut emotional reaction to things, I might reconsider my position. I'm pretty certain that I won't have to change my thinking.

lol k

 

[BoatShow]

How many points do we get per yard?

 

[ctchamps]

lol k

There are certainly people who are in a constant state of control. Bully for them. Personally I love passion, and accept the bad with what I consider the beauty of it. I just don't want to be hypocritical about it. I'm stating this just to be sure you or anyone who missed my first post won't misinterpret my intentions and think I was coming down on you.

 

[Doggie Style]

Mayala needs not to see the field for the foreseeable future. The whole way home his $hitty effort has stuck in my head and I was actually pretty glad to see this thread bcuz I didn't want to start one to single him out but he actually he deserves it! The kids effort today was nothing short of pathetic!! His feeble attempts at multiple blocks on running plays were a joke! More importantly, his lack of effort to get open as a receiver should buy him a seat on the bench for the rest of the season! MULTIPLE passing plays that were not to his side got Sherriffs hammered when Sherriffs didn't have the primary receiver only to scramble to Mayala's side only to have this kid half a$$ing it by giving no effort to get open at all. If we weren't as desperate as we are at the receiver position, this Frosh shouldn't see the field until his Junior year at the earliest because he has that much growing up to do. Just pi$$ poor.

 

[ktuck911]

Wow.....lmao. can't believe this thread is 2 pages long now.

Definitely a frustrating loss today. Couple of mistakes in offensive playcalling as well offensive players having a few brain freezes doomed us today. How much can you ask of our defense. After awhile the opposing team's offense is gonna step up. Its kinda been a trend for us this year. Offense moves the football up and down the field, then sputters, scores little to no points. Our defense holds up, for the most part, then gives up a key play here and/or there. Opposing team scores, takes the lead, then our offense continues its pattern offensively... moves the football up and down the field but then we call a play in a big spot that loses yardage, a head scratching "why on Earth did we call that play?" Headscratcher. End results are we get into 3rd, then 4th down and can't convert or we do, pulling within one score behind then by that time our defense is either worn down or exposed for yet another big play putting the game out of reach.

Our offense has to be called out. Its all mental from what I see.

I'm glad Diaco finally got pissed off. What he needs to do is have a closed door meeting with the entire unit, offensive coaches included.

It's CLEAR AS DAY this offense has ability. Maybe they need a good tongue lashing, something.

I know this is only year 2 under the new coaching staff, but this team can be really good. The only game on our schedule so far, imo (if you watched the Mizzou, BYU, and this games) that wasnt a winnable one was Navy, so far. The other 3 losses our D wore down while our offense simply moved the ball, filled the stat sheet, except for the most importantpart, the scoring column.

 

[JMick]

There are certainly people who are in a constant state of control. Bully for them. Personally I love passion, and accept the bad with what I consider the beauty of it. I just don't want to be hypocritical about it. I'm stating this just to be sure you or anyone who missed my first post won't misinterpret my intentions and think I was coming down on you.

What you call "passion" I call severe selfishness and an extreme lack of judgement. You don't make a gesture like that for any reason other than "look at me, look what I did." It hurts your team on the field and it's bad for your locker room/team culture. If we're still using this season as a stepping stone for the future, Diaco should sit Clax for the rest of the year to make it known that selfishness will not be tolerated.

 

[ctchamps]

Mayala needs not to see the field for the foreseeable future. The whole way home his $hitty effort has stuck in my head and I was actually pretty glad to see this thread bcuz I didn't want to start one to single him out but he actually he deserves it! The kids effort today was nothing short of pathetic!! His feeble attempts at multiple blocks on running plays were a joke! More importantly, his lack of effort to get open as a receiver should buy him a seat on the bench for the rest of the season! MULTIPLE passing plays that were not to his side got Sherriffs hammered when Sherriffs didn't have the primary receiver only to scramble to Mayala's side only to have this kid half a$$ing it by giving no effort to get open at all. If we weren't as desperate as we are at the receiver position, this Frosh shouldn't see the field until his Junior year at the earliest because he has that much growing up to do. Just pi$$ poor.

Have to agree that his play was poor. That one play on third where he missed the catchable pass forcing UConn to punt was a critical miss. However this was his first game with meaningful minutes so I'm guessing he's behind the rest of the team with respect to development. I think the kid is going to be great in the future.

I'm hoping he doesn't get down on himself and the staff continues to work on his development.

 

[mauconnfan]

I can't read all of these but the fact they're down 8 on their own side of the field with a 4th and inches and elect to kick a FG when even if good, they need a fn TD anyway, is beyond crazy. Some of the decisions are simply puzzling at best and I must say the OC has not creativity on 2nd down, or at least not consistently.

This one should be in the W column and I say screw the bad tackles and bad angles, blame this sole on the staff. (minus the bad move to throw to Newsome with 8 seconds left that he shouldn't have, and Newsome should have gone OB too, take the 3). The fact they EVER hand it off to Johnson wide is terrible never puts his foot down to just to go forward always looking for an edge that is never there and loses chunks of yardage. But that's not he staff too not to recognize that.

I will say not to be too picky but their WR Adams definitely got an advantage extending his arm in the end zone on the option pass, as little as it was #7 ws ready to turn as he was supposed to and was unable to with the push.

 

[Doggie Style]

Have to agree that his play was poor. That one play on third where he missed the catchable pass forcing UConn to punt was a critical miss. However this was his first game with meaningful minutes so I'm guessing he's behind the rest of the team with respect to development. I think the kid is going to be great in the future.

I'm hoping he doesn't get down on himself and the staff continues to work on his development.

I agree with you, and the fact we have to rely on a Frosh at such a critical position is not helping at all but speaks volumes re our depth. If we didn't have Sherriffs scrambling ability, this would be a long season..... The kid needs to understand the opportunity he has been given, and play every down like he could lose his job at any time. Based on what I saw today, it's seems clear that there is no one challenging the receivers for playing time. We are paper thin there.