Why does Diaco coach scared?

[Palatine]

It's not arguable that he does. The question is why?

I really want to see the guy succeed. But Geez Louise. I think his teams might perform a little better, if he showed more confidence in them.

 

[UConn66]

It's not arguable that he does. The question is why?

I really want to see the guy succeed. But Geez Louise. I think his teams might perform a little better, if he showed more confidence in them.

I thought the last two drives were coached pretty well, no? That must be done throughout the game.

 

[Husky68]

I've seen enough to come to the conclusion that he is coaching exactly how he wants to coach. He's picked all his assistants from a pool he is familiar with, he hasn't taken over the offensive play calling 'cause he doesn't like it, he's a 2 time Big10 defensive 1st team player so he knows what it takes to get stops, he works from 4:30am to 10:30pm during fall camp - unless he is a complete idiot he sees what is going on. His team will do the basics better than anyone else and that will keep the game close 'til the 4th qtr. where superior execution of the basics and superior physical stamina will win most games. It's a bonus if other team is reckless and gives UConn a chance to jump on them early but UConn will grind it out from the 1st play.

 

[Confident Carl]

It's not arguable that he does. The question is why?

I really want to see the guy succeed. But Geez Louise. I think his teams might perform a little better, if he showed more confidence in them.

Agree. He is extremely risk avoidant. I was thinking about why he is this way and the only answer I could come up with is he is developing a long term strategy that keeps all games close, within striking distance. He believes that this is the best shot at winning. That is why he is emphasizing closing at the end of games so much. With him it's all about, old fashioned smash mouth, defensive oriented, ball control, clock chewing football - the antithesis of up tempo run and shoot. I don't think you will see Diaco at Foxwoods at the crap table any day soon. Crazy thing is this team will win more this year and probably go to a bowl game. This team will not win many style points. They win ugly and are blue collar all the way. Where the lack of confidence comes into play is he doesn't seem to feel we can win against, Houston, Cincy, VA, BC, USF, etc without controlling the tempo of the game with a run oriented approach. The team seems to have bought into this philosophy.

 

[Doggie Style]

The real question is why aren't our Fng tight ends the focus of every pass!? We clearly don't have the time or skillsets to go deep so why not factor them in consistently? These guys average 6'5 250 and aren't seeing the ball!!??? What.. is that opening up the play book on that level too much? Tommy Myers catch at 12:00 in the 3rd was a broken play as Shirreffs was running for his life again. If they are gonna dumb this book down, TE's should play a HUGE role but yet they're not. I have no idea what these clowns are doing!

 

[Chin Diesel]

He coaches like a defensive coordinator who was known for bend but not break defense turned head coach calls a game.

He is trending towards Wade Phillips or Norv Turner territory.

 

[zls44]

This is the same guy who, last year, went on the road to an SEC team and was faking every damn kick. Flea-flickers. With a team that had just come off 2-10 and had no reasonable right to think they'd be in the game.

Now that they improved to mediocre, he's coaching terrified. I don't get it.

 

[Palatine]

This is the same guy who, last year, went on the road to an SEC team and was faking every damn kick. Flea-flickers. With a team that had just come off 2-10 and had no reasonable right to think they'd be in the game.

Now that they improved to mediocre, he's coaching terrified. I don't get it.

That's a really good point. He coached that game like he had a pair, so he has it in him. But he came out against Maine like there wasn't a pass in playbook. And he won, so I think this will reinforce his worst instincts.

 

[whaler11]

This is the same guy who, last year, went on the road to an SEC team and was faking every damn kick. Flea-flickers. With a team that had just come off 2-10 and had no reasonable right to think they'd be in the game.

Now that they improved to mediocre, he's coaching terrified. I don't get it.

This is what for the life of me I can't understand.

Scoreless tie against Maine and he's punting from their 40 on 4th and 1. Last play of a game with a chance to beat an SEC team on the road and he's drawing up craziness in the dirt.

There is no rhyme or reason to his decision making.

 

[CTMike]

I've seen enough to come to the conclusion that he is coaching exactly how he wants to coach. He's picked all his assistants from a pool he is fami with, he hasn't taken over the offensive play calling 'cause he doesn't like it, he's a 2 time Big10 defensive 1st team player so he knows what it takes to get stops, he works from 4:30am to 10:30pm during fall camp - unless he is a complete idiot he sees what is going on. His team will do the basics better than anyone else and that will keep the game close 'til the 4th qtr. where superior execution of the basics and superior physical stamina will win most games. It's a bonus if other team is reckless and gives UConn a chance to jump on them early but UConn will grind it out from the 1st play.

Really nailed this.

 

[NEforceUConn]

He still needs a real Offensive Coordinator to call plays. Yes he has friendship with Verduci, but christ sake watch some film. Third and two, in Hartford, and he allows going shotgun. That;s a game breaker! Sabermetricts will undoubtably show with our Oline and backs we have the QB should take the snap under center and send johnson or Arkeel straight up the line. After all we are power football. We all know that. Now 3rd or 4th and 3 its a very different story.

I'm all in for this year, but if you are HC making $2.5+ mio per year do some fricken research.

That's going to be our season 3rd/4th and 1 or 2 yards - should be set plays with an audible to switch if you don't like the D. But come out strong.

 

[wethyhusky]

I just think he's a really odd dude. He goes to Missouri and fakes 15 field goals, and plays FCS teams to tie. Fish cakes, batman, vampires? I think he had a few concussions at Iowa

 

[BlueDogs]

Diaco is very metrics driven. He quantifies and measures factors correlated with success. He has said as much many times. So, if a negative turnover ratio is highly correlated with losing, he is obsessively focused on no turnovers. That was one of his first goals coming in. The strength program works the same way. Measure, measure. He recruits the same way. Body frame matters. But, there is more to the game than that and he is turning these kids into little zombies in a box with no latitude to make plays because he won't take the risk. They are very short leashes. He is arriving in the same suffocating place as PP GDL just from a different angle. The only time anything was opened up was when TJ took over a sinking ship.

 

[wethyhusky]

Diaco is very metrics driven. He quantifies and measures factors correlated with success. He has said as much many times. So, if a negative turnover ratio is highly correlated with losing, he is obsessively focused on no turnovers. That was one of his first goals coming in. The strength program works the same way. Measure, measure. He recruits the same way. Body frame matters. But, there is more to the game than that and he is turning these kids into little zombies in a box with no latitude to make plays because he won't take the risk. They are very short leashes. He is arriving in the same suffocating place as PP GDL just from a different angle. The only time anything was opened up was when TJ took over a sinking ship.

If you are trying to gain fan interest then run, run, run, and punt isn't going to pull in any casual fans. He really isn't a very good game day coach. I support him as a fan, but am nervous about our direction.

 

[sportsart]

Watched the replay and saw this nugget.

The Arkeel TD late had something interesting take place. The 2 plays before the TD and the TD:

Play 1

Did anyone notice that Peart was moved to TE on the right side while they over loaded the left side? They then ran it towards Peart for minimal gain.

Play 2

Pass int gives us 1st and goal.

Play 3

Knappe was moved to the left TE spot, again overloaded on the left and Arkeel runs that way for TD

That will cause future opens to pause.

 

[Alum86]

I just think he's a really odd dude. He goes to Missouri and fakes 15 field goals, and plays FCS teams to tie. Fish cakes, batman, vampires? I think he had a few concussions at Iowa

You nailed it. Dude is a kook. We want so much to believe after the Pasqualoni nightmare he gets the benefit of the doubt. This team is pretty damn good despite of, not because of, pretty boy Bob

 

[zls44]

Watched the replay and saw this nugget.

The Arkeel TD late had something interesting take place. The 2 plays before the TD and the TD:

Play 1

Did anyone notice that Peart was moved to TE on the right side while they over loaded the left side? They then ran it towards Peart for minimal gain.

Play 2

Pass int gives us 1st and goal.

Play 3

Knappe was moved to the left TE spot, again overloaded on the left and Arkeel runs that way for TD

That will cause future opens to pause.

If he tries a FB dive on the goal line, that's when we'll confirm that his playcalling philosophy comes straight out of playing Madden 06. Loading the TE to the side of the run was easy money.

 

[Waquoit]

I think part of the conservatism comes from having a QB that can't throw.

 

[sportsart]

If he tries a FB dive on the goal line, that's when we'll confirm that his playcalling philosophy comes straight out of playing Madden 06. Loading the TE to the side of the run was easy money.

My point was the use of our tackles as TE's on their opposite sides and then running each way, with one side loaded and the other not.

 

[atom58]

Years ago I read that college teams play the game to win (enthusiasm, trick plays etc.) while professional teams play the game to avoid loss so the latter tend to be more conservative. As long as the NFL approach does not give a clear advantage to the other team, the coach and players keep their jobs - survive and advance. Run-oriented offenses tend to be that way too. Woody Hayes at Ohio State was known for "three yards and a cloud of dust". Paul "Bear" Bryant at Alabama once said "three things happen when you throw the ball and two of them are bad" - interceptions and incompletions. Wishbone and power run teams were once dominant in CFB history. Of course, with the exception of Army, Navy, Ga Tech, Ga Southern, Stanford, and BC, pass oriented offenses are the norm now. I would guess that your man Diaco in being averse to taking risks is more like the classic NFL coach than a college coach. Also, in close games you really want to avoid doing something that causes you to lose. Your older readers will recall the Puntrooskie that Bobby Bowden at FSU used against Clemson in the late 1980s. It was a daring maneuver and had it failed, it would have been seen as a glaring error. One other advantage of a conservative approach is if you do lose b/c you are outmatched you may not lose by much - you avoid embarrassing blowout losses.

 

[auggie22]

I used to play tennis quite a bit, with varying levels of success. When I was at my worst, I would try to be a big hitting, baseline playing Andre Agassi. The problem was I did not have the precision to avoid making tons of unforced errors. It felt good to swing hard, and every once in a while I could groove some winners that looked good and impressed my opponents. I got tired of losing though, so I changed my game. Less baseline play, more easy to execute, high probability swings. I was a lot more successful in terms of W-L.

I would love to some day be able to consistently hit winners on the baseline. But I also prefer winning matches. Sometimes you have to choose between two competing interests.

I'm thinking that Diaco and his staff have determined based on what they have seen in practice, that they are not yet ready to win on the baseline. What IS inexcusable to me is the clock management, and the seemingly irrational risk-taking when they deviate.

 

[Hoophound]

I used to play tennis quite a bit, with varying levels of success. When I was at my worst, I would try to be a big hitting, baseline playing Andre Agassi. The problem was I did not have the precision to avoid making tons of unforced errors. It felt good to swing hard, and every once in a while I could groove some winners that looked good and impressed my opponents. I got tired of losing though, so I changed my game. Less baseline play, more easy to execute, high probability swings. I was a lot more successful in terms of W-L.

I would love to some day be able to consistently hit winners on the baseline. But I also prefer winning matches. Sometimes you have to choose between two competing interests.

I'm thinking that Diaco and his staff have determined based on what they have seen in practice, that they are not yet ready to win on the baseline. What IS inexcusable to me is the clock management, and the seemingly irrational risk-taking when they deviate.

I get your analogy, as I played competitive tennis. The issue with it is that you decided to do what works to win matches against people you could beat with more consistent play. You were playing defensive tennis to beat inferior/equal players. With that method you would never beat a better player, only players you should beat. You would play very close matches with players similar in skill to you and you wouldn't improve much because you were afraid to get better.

UConn is trying to move up the food chain. In order to do that we have to make big plays (winners). Diaco is coaching this like a scared tennis player. Imagine you are standing at the net and your opponent dinks a pop fly right to you, you smash it and put away the point. Diaco lets it bounce and just keeps it in play. Better to hit the ball back than make a mistake getting aggressive. Now maybe you know you miss those a smashes a lot and it is risky, but it is a major part of the game. You are putting yourself in position to get that easy put away, it is the whole point of the game. You have to try and smash it.

Diaco put himself into position for a walk off the field at the half field goal and opted not to kick it. He has a kicker who is strong well beyond 50 yards in practice. He recruited kick returners to catch the ball and run it back, he doesn't run it back. He recruited big TE's to catch passes and score points, he doesn't look for them.

He is afraid to use his weapons but even if he misuses them now and then, it is better than not using them at all. We have some great offensive players and one or two more scores wins almost every game we've lost in recent years. Take a few shots at using your big guns rather than keeping them in the safe where they have no use at all. Kill or be killed.

 

[Bubba1957]

Bobby would probably play a round of golf using only a putter. Wouldn't be much fun, wouldn't score very well but would probably come home with a full sleeve of balls. (he's take the long way around water)

 

[Chin Diesel]

Watched the replay and saw this nugget.

The Arkeel TD late had something interesting take place. The 2 plays before the TD and the TD:

Play 1

Did anyone notice that Peart was moved to TE on the right side while they over loaded the left side? They then ran it towards Peart for minimal gain.

Play 2

Pass int gives us 1st and goal.

Play 3

Knappe was moved to the left TE spot, again overloaded on the left and Arkeel runs that way for TD

That will cause future opens to pause.

The announcers brought up the unbalanced line formation. This is actually something that opponents have to figure out. UConn can run it directly over the left side; even if the opponents know that run is coming, it's a matter of numbers and size. If defenses compensate, in theory a TE can leak off the right side for a 1 on 1 jump ball. It's almost strategic football.

 

[Chief00]

I think part of the conservatism comes from having a QB that can't throw.

But is that the QB type he is comfortable with? You also can't write-off the bizarre clock management to conservatism. The whole process of calling a play, getting it in to the huddle and the getting it off before zero time is too often a needless drama.