Why is the board so hard on Dez Conner? | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Why is the board so hard on Dez Conner?

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ruskin said:
I just love playing Devil's Advocate on the BY, you know how it is. If there's another way to read that other than "Hey Des, look at me, I was just talking with the idiots over the BY" please educate me.
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I don't know, have you tried... literally? I do love playing Devil's Advocate on the Boneyard. I'm sorry that you heard the words "you're all a bunch of idiots." But that's between you and your insecurities, not me.

ruskin said:
Yes, Edsall lost at home because his offense only had 205 yards against a defense with four future NFL draftees - that he recruited.
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Dang, if only Edsall had inherited a talented team at Maryland. Per chance to dream.

ruskin said:
I've actually defended him several times on this board. Trashing the PP hire, you for reveling in being a contrarian and too eager to blaming players instead of coaches, maybe.
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Sorry for not towing the party line, sir!

ruskin said:
. It's not just "one pass play". It's the "body of work" over two hard-to-watch years as you smart guys like to say. Not using time outs at Rutgers, playing turtle-ball vs. Buffalo and Temple, not making second half adjustments, not even knowing when to take a freaking knee. And yes, people making $1.6 million a year should be held to a higher standard than us regular working Joes.
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Hey, P has had some issues. But he was a field goal away from going bowling last year with a team that I know you can see in a BCS, but I beg to differ. I'm sorry I don't think they're a super talented football team.

UConn has always had great defense. But we've also generally had at least one great player at a skill position. Orlosvky, The Great Donald Brown, Andre Dixon, Marcus Easley, Jordan Todman.

To you, that's worth nothing. You are unimpressed. It's all on Pasqualoni. It's never talent. It's never luck.

I don't think we're nearly as far away from those 8-5 teams you keep dreaming about. I mean, I remember our BCS run. That's the same year we got blown out by Temple. Okay? That was a lucky team, too. If WVU doesn't drop that ball in OT, who knows. If Christen makes just one friggin' kick against Temple, who knows.

I keep saying there's a lot of reasons why the past two seasons haven't gone our way. You keep hearing "it's all the talent and Pasqualoni has been a saint." Then again, you heard "I like playing Devil's Advocate" as "you all are idiots." So maybe it's just a simple matter of reading comprehension.
 
LIUCHusky said:
ZooCougar, How about giving it a break. Your comments have to be the most negative on the board. Do you think your comments help in any manner shape or form? What exactly have you done to help grow the UConn football program? Enough!! Let the coaches do their job.
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Kiss my !
 
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Offensive coordinator says: "We need the defense to win games for us."

Truth.

That statement is a fireable offense anywhere else.
 
That's "toe the party line", BTW.

Use the whole quote, bro "I like playing Devil's Advocate ON THE BY. . . YOU KNOW HOW IT IS"

Now 8-5 in 2010 was a couple of lucky bounces and breaks. While you're at it add in 2007 (9-4), 2008 (8-5), 2009 (8-5).

A lot of people at the NFL Combine were wondering how UConn did not win the Big East with all these great defensive players. You know, experts who really know the fine art of offensive line play, like yourself.

Oh well. At least I extracted "P has had some issues" out of you. Progress.
 
Over spring football, folks? C’mon
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I do think that Dez sometimes gets a raw deal on the board... but the above quote sums up my frustration with the level of coverage. Yes Spring Football is a big deal and until the fan base (and frankly the media) regard it as a big deal UConn football will not reach its potential in this state (and ultimately will cause issues in realignment, if you can get the entire state invested, like with Basketball, you have a winner and a must add for TV reasons, without that in the state its easy to be shunted aside for similar sized DMAs with a more invested fanbase). While its not Dez's job directly to do this, I think you start to build readership and interest by treating the sport that drives the bus in college athletics (and that ultimately holds the fate of Men's Hoop in its hands) as a big deal. It can become a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy, helping to drive the profile of the sport, drive readership, and help to build the overall importance of this assignment, but to Dez it's just spring football. I mean c'mon its just spring football, not the only shot to see live coverage of the team until August, not the chance to frame the stories for the coming season, not the best chance to build those relationships with the team and coaches in a more relaxed setting that can lead to the better stories and/or greater insight down the road, its just spring football, ugh!

Ultimately I think the thin-skinned comments have been proven on multiple occasions to be fair. In the end, he devoted one of the longest blog posts of the offseason to defending himself regarding the level of coverage provided about Spring Practice. If you are doing a good job, if your management has no issue with it, you let those complaints be. Instead you invest this much time in defending the job being done by you and your colleagues (and I certainly don't blame him for not making it up there with a bum knee, I get it, life happens) it just serves to those who are complaining to a) know they have gotten to you and can push your buttons and b) indicates that maybe you believe some of the complaints could be seen (even if you disagree) as having merit.

Its partially a function of the lock down on access and partially a function of the level of coverage, but I feel much less involved and less invested in the coming season's team at this point of the season than at any time last season, or any season prior to the 1A upgrade, and fair or unfair, that is in part a reflection of the coverage and the information available to me as a fan. Even year's that had much less hope (think the Bones at QB seasons), I was much more invested at this point of the year.
 
A lot of people were pissed last season that Dez didn't grab the torch and pitchfork and lead the march up 195 for Pasqualoni's head. And as the beat guy for the team, he does not have that freedom, regardless of if he agrees or disagrees. He has to maintain professional relationships to do his job. Jacobs has a different role - opinions. Thus you got more tough words out of him towards the end of the season.

I don't always agree with what he writes but I appreciate his coverage.
 
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I remember the lack of coverage under FHCRE and the Horde being upset but I will say this spring has been about as bad as it has ever been with coverage. I don't blame the horde but they need to ask why. Big time means having access which is not happening this spring. I think that frustrates me the most right now about HCPP.
 
The first few years I ate up of all Dez's coverage. Somewhere along the way, I guess particularly in the second half of the first year under PP, I noticed that he seem to infuse some sort of personal agenda to his coverage. The reporting no longer seemed objective, but rather extended PR for the coaching staff. I understand he probably cannot be too critical of the program as the primary beat reporter, but he also doesn't have to be as cozy and comfortable as the UConn marketing department. Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of Dez's coverage is his thin skin. When he is bothered, you tend to see it in his public interactions.

At this point I just read Joel Silver's blog.
 
CTMike said:
A lot of people were pissed last season that Dez didn't grab the torch and pitchfork and lead the march up 195 for Pasqualoni's head. And as the beat guy for the team, he does not have that freedom, regardless of if he agrees or disagrees. He has to maintain professional relationships to do his job. Jacobs has a different role - opinions. Thus you got more tough words out of him towards the end of the season.

I don't always agree with what he writes but I appreciate his coverage.
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I agree 100%. And by the way, if someone asks me whether I prefer Dez or Jacobs, it would be Dez by a landslide!!! Jacobs is a contrarian nimrod...
 
CTMike said:
A lot of people were pissed last season that Dez didn't grab the torch and pitchfork and lead the march up 195 for Pasqualoni's head. And as the beat guy for the team, he does not have that freedom, regardless of if he agrees or disagrees. He has to maintain professional relationships to do his job. Jacobs has a different role - opinions. Thus you got more tough words out of him towards the end of the season.

I don't always agree with what he writes but I appreciate his coverage.
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I think a more accurate statement is that a lot of people realize that Dez was not in a position to grab the torch and pitchfork and lead the march but became pissed when Dez dismissively told angry/irritated fans that there was nothing wrong with the coaching staff.
 
Bottom line......I like Dez. I think the criticism that he's thin skinned is fair and he'd probably agree with that to a man. I don't always agree with his perspective but so what? People who look to these beat writers as their voice are continually going to be disappointed. It's not their job. I wanted P gone after last year more than anyone, but asking Dez to carry that torch is neither fair nor a reasonable expectation.

As for the spring coverage, I blame the school more than anything else for shutting down access. And the guy ruptured his Achilles. Give him a break.
 
Irish Loop said:
Because he doesn't agree with the central premise of most Boneyarders that Pasqualoni and George DeLeone are unholy monsters sent from the future to destroy UConn Football before it gets too good.

This is the Internet. We don't allow nuance. It can't be because we started a first-year BCS QB or an almost entirely new and pretty unspectacular offensive line or wide receivers who have trouble making the big play or running backs who can't produce yards. And it sure as heck can't be a combination of things.

It's Pasqualoni. It's DeLeone. And if you disagree, duck you because you're a ducking idiot.

That's pretty much it.

I will say there are other writers I prefer, like John Silver, but preferring someone and feeling the need to constantly over someone are two very different things.
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Thats hardly "pretty much" it. Irish is one of the Kool-aide drinkers that willingly suspends rational arguments and facts in favor of a healthy dose of alternate feel good reality. Dez is a poor writer. His prose is below basic standards for his industry, his work is superficial and lacks critical depth and analysis, and he is belligerent, dismissive and defensive when challenged. He is a poor excuse for a beat guy. Worst of all, in my mind, he's another Syracuse drone, as if upstate New York is some utopian ideal that Nutmegers to should aspire to. Dez is not cool, notwithstanding his assertions to the contrary. What is needed is an enthusiastic Uconn journalism grad who loves Uconn for itself. One that had passion for the idea of Uconn football and will critically assess the program, hold folks accountable and believe Uconn is and can be a Championship level, rather than some weak sister experiment to the real football schools like Syracuse, etc.
 
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Bottom line for me is I want more information. Spring football, recruiting, conference realignment -- there are a ton of things I'm curious about, and hardly any information in the Connecticut media.

Maybe there's just no reward in today's media world for gathering that information. If so, media will continue to decline, and we'll get our news off message boards and press releases. If media's function is to repeat what the coaches tell them, the coaches can speak to the fans directly on uconnhuskies.com.

Personally I like Dez. I like that he tweets his Christianity. It's the most personable thing about him. But give us some red meat news!
 
pj said:
Bottom line for me is I want more information. Spring football, recruiting, conference realignment -- there are a ton of things I'm curious about, and hardly any information in the Connecticut media.

Maybe there's just no reward in today's media world for gathering that information. If so, media will continue to decline, and we'll get our news off message boards and press releases. If media's function is to repeat what the coaches tell them, the coaches can speak to the fans directly on uconnhuskies.com.

Personally I like Dez. I like that he tweets his Christianity. It's the most personable thing about him. But give us some red meat news!
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IMO - info is out there... you just can't use one source anymore. Some things make it out through Twitter only, some on-line only, and some in print only. I need different views on the same subject (kinda like when a major event happens - if you only watch CNN, you only get one view. I need to see what Fox and BBC are saying.
 
I think part of the issue is the blurring between writing articles, blogging and social media. For example Des is professional about his cuse background not getting into articles, but he sometimes tweets as a syracuse fan. I don't mind that but I can see how other fans do (and seeing the tweets makes them assume he's biased in his writing). You can see the Courant (and other papers) pushing their writers to use blogging and social networking platforms, which means anytime you write something with a point of view (or even something from a neutral point of view) you'll instantly hear from people with the other point of view. Especially when fans are angry about a losing record. Some of those responses will be nasty and/or personal. In this business you have to be thick skinned, and DC is the opposite of that. With the newspaper business cutting jobs every year or so, and Dez being on the beat of a struggling program and being pushed to engage the fans more, I don't envy his position. It's easy to say "just ignore them" but I'm sure it's harder than that.
 
IMO, Dez's coverage has gotten progressively worse over the past two seasons. He became way too defensive. There was a point last season when there was little to no coverage and I thought he no longer covered the team.

Silver is not great either.
 
There is one area where the entire hoarde falls down. We have been at the center of the realignment whirlwind from the start in 2003. Why has no one from the local press taken a really good look inside these decisions, relationships, media contracts, etc.? If Yahoo can uncover the stories it does, why not anyone around here?
 
SubbaBub said:
There is one area where the entire hoarde falls down. We have been at the center of the realignment whirlwind from the start in 2003. Why has no one from the local press taken a really good look inside these decisions, relationships, media contracts, etc.? If Yahoo can uncover the stories it does, why not anyone around here?
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Because that's not at the level of the people sportswriters deal with, namely the coaches. I seem to recall Jacobs getting a nugget or two about Hockey East and KO's contract before anyone else got that info, which may have been through one of Warde or Susan's underlings and (my guess) probably was done with their OK. All the realignment stuff is happening at the president level, not even the AD level (aside from Tom Jurich). For all we know, some of the sportswriters or other reporters have probably tried to build a story of what went down from UConn's side of things but since we're still hoping for an invite somewhere else and there's probably nothing on the horizon at the time, people probably don't want to talk. And the real story about what went down is at FSU and other ACC schools anyway.
 
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I don't read Jacobs day in and day out but he's seemed pretty reasonable the past year or so when I have read.
 
Between reporting on the facts of what's going on with the the program (the majority of his job), a blogging platform (which is typically a venue for opinions or loosely verified facts), and twitter (where he offers many personal thoughts)... those 3 are often at odds with each other, and people often are left disappointed with some combination of the 3. The thing is, it wasn't that long ago where all we had was the nuggets we could find in the Courant. The rest came in effort to give us more coverage. Pretty close to a no-win situation.
 
A problem I have is that while it isn't his job to call for the coaches head, then it shouldn't be his job to adamantly defend Coach P and the staff as well.

You can't play that card and have it both ways.
 
CTMike said:
A lot of people were pissed last season that Dez didn't grab the torch and pitchfork and lead the march up 195 for Pasqualoni's head. And as the beat guy for the team, he does not have that freedom, regardless of if he agrees or disagrees. He has to maintain professional relationships to do his job. Jacobs has a different role - opinions. Thus you got more tough words out of him towards the end of the season.
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It's not that he "didn't grab the torch and pitchfork and lead the march up 195 for Pasqualoni's head." It's that he wouldn't even acknowledge that there was a issue. He described the program as a trainwreck before P got there. Well, if it was has he made it at all better two underachieving years later? Almost as sad is Loops defense. We're not too far way from 8-5 he says. We were at 8-4 last year, but P coached that team to 5-7. Just awful. P is just pathetic. But the Spring Game is Saturday and I'm ten toes in. I would love a winning year. C'mon P prove wrong!
 
Waquoit said:
It's not that he "didn't grab the torch and pitchfork and lead the march up 195 for Pasqualoni's head." It's that he wouldn't even acknowledge that there was a issue. He described the program as a trainwreck before P got there. Well, if it was has he made it at all better two underachieving years later? Almost as sad is Loops defense. We're not too far way from 8-5 he says. We were at 8-4 last year, but P coached that team to 5-7. Just awful. P is just pathetic. But the Spring Game is Saturday and I'm ten toes in. I would love a winning year. C'mon P prove wrong!
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This.

And I don't remember him defending Coach Pasqualoni so much as him reporting the AD told him that Coach Pasqualoni's job was not in danger. Many fans didn't want to hear it and when they challenged this, he got defensive. Fault can be laid on both sides.

Secondarily, he toed the company line and fell back on the, "The team lacks talent" mantra. I mean that's got to be it because the coaches are in the office for 18 hours a day. The problem with this line is that it tosses the kids, who have had past success, under the bus. Is it not remotely possible that the coaches were not working in the most efficient manner during those 18 hour days? Mr Conner did not acknowledge this and 35,000 armchair QBs did not want to hear what he was reporting.
 
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