Hail to Jacobs!

[uconnfan68]

I thought Jacobs was pretty fair to Coach P. That it was still a damning article speaks to the how bad things are right now.

I'm pretty sure being fair to Coach wasn't the foremost thought in Jacobs' mind.
You guys are getting a little whacked.
We DO NOT have a team of 4-5* players. We DO NOT have a lot of depth to cover the injuries we've had. I was ambivalent about the choice, but thought that bringing in NFL experience could be a good thing for UConn, and especially for the players. Let them see what the big leagues were about kind of preview. It's pretty obvious we have a lot of immature kids on the team, and quite a few in the stands too. Just support the team and coaches we have now. They all need it. The off-season is the time for all the wailing and gnashing of teeth.

 

[Husky68]

I'm pretty sure being fair to Coach wasn't the foremost thought in Jacobs' mind.
You guys are getting a little whacked.
We DO NOT have a team of 4-5* players. We DO NOT have a lot of depth to cover the injuries we've had. I was ambivalent about the choice, but thought that bringing in NFL experience could be a good thing for UConn, and especially for the players. Let them see what the big leagues were about kind of preview. It's pretty obvious we have a lot of immature kids on the team, and quite a few in the stands too. Just support the team and coaches we have now. They all need it. The off-season is the time for all the wailing and gnashing of teeth.

We have immature fans and players. But yet no comment on the coaches? Are they not part of this, you have no critique?

Why support a coach who can't even manage time outs?

You are pretty immature for calling questions about PP/GD performance wailing and gnashing teeth. PP is just an employee of Uconn, has a job to do, and is doing it very, very poorly. Not only that he is doing it poorly and enjoying it (per his words, not the poorly part), which makes him doubly clueless.

So where are all the injuries - "on defense" so stop wailing and gnashing your teeth about injuries. Offense has no significant injuries and is # 112 in country. You saying you need 4 and 5 star recruits to have a better offense than that, stop wailing and gnashing you teeth about recruiting. This is poor coaching of Krathorpean proportions.

 

[huskymedic]

Husky 68 - what % of the problem do you target as "coaches/play-calling" related and what % is "execution/player related"?

 

[sportsart]

I'm pretty sure being fair to Coach wasn't the foremost thought in Jacobs' mind.
You guys are getting a little whacked.
We DO NOT have a team of 4-5* players. We DO NOT have a lot of depth to cover the injuries we've had. I was ambivalent about the choice, but thought that bringing in NFL experience could be a good thing for UConn, and especially for the players. Let them see what the big leagues were about kind of preview. It's pretty obvious we have a lot of immature kids on the team, and quite a few in the stands too. Just support the team and coaches we have now. They all need it. The off-season is the time for all the wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Please give examples of the players being immature. The vast majority of the starting players are RE's players and that has never been an issue when he was here.

 

[Nostical]

PP is just an employee of Uconn, has a job to do, and is doing it very, very poorly.

In Susan Herbst's world, that's a sure path to a pink slip. There is too much invested in the football program for her to tolerate mediocrity. It's pretty simple now for PP. No Bowl--No Job.

 

[mets1090]

I was just going to post the exact same thing!

(wtf?)

Excellent

 

[ZooCougar]

Only really bad teams in BCS conferences don't go to a bowl. Two years in a row with no apparent upside is a reasonable case for dismissal.

 

[johnhuskies95]

Please give examples of the players being immature. The vast majority of the starting players are RE's players and that has never been an issue when he was here.

Really? Did we not have multiple players kicked off the team when he was here?

 

[CodyJ.]

Check out Jacobs article on courant.com. Someone please create link. Finally someone speaks up for the frustrated boneyarders. Love the line about PPs press conferences.

Amen. Jacobs should be put on a pedestal

 

[Waquoit]

It's pretty simple now for PP. No Bowl--No Job.

So if I read you correctly Coach P, like many, really needs a Bowl Job.

 

[ZooCougar]

Amen. Jacobs should be put on a pedestal

That's going a bit too far.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

Husky 68 - what % of the problem do you target as "coaches/play-calling" related and what % is "execution/player related"?

That's an excellent question. But let's look at one difference between Rutgers and UConn. How many times did Jamison get hit and stay up and get a few extra yards? Now ask yourself that same question about McCombs, Hyppolite, and DeLorenzo.

You can't scheme your way out of a talent gap. And I honestly saw a significantly more talented Rutgers team across the field. I don't like it. And I don't think it absolves the coaches of poor decisions. But all coaches make bad choices from time to time, I think (they're human, after all). But people on this board are acting like this is 100% on Pasqualoni and DeLeone, and I think that's a naive way of looking at it, personally.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

That's an excellent question. But let's look at one difference between Rutgers and UConn. How many times did Jamison get hit and stay up and get a few extra yards? Now ask yourself that same question about McCombs, Hyppolite, and DeLorenzo.

You can't scheme your way out of a talent gap. And I honestly saw a significantly more talented Rutgers team across the field. I don't like it. And I don't think it absolves the coaches of poor decisions. But all coaches make bad choices from time to time, I think (they're human, after all). But people on this board are acting like this is 100% on Pasqualoni and DeLeone, and I think that's a naive way of looking at it, personally.

I'm curious as to what the talent gap was with WMU (and in which direction).

Altering what was a very effective blocking scheme is entirely on the coaches.

Taking three TO's into halftime in order to attempt a 51 yard field goal is entirely on the coaches.

Not finding some way to win back to back games by the midpoint of their second season here is entirely on the coaches.

Turning the Buffalo game from approaching a blowout to the point where one mistake by our defense or one successful trick play on their part would have put that game in overtime is entirely on the coaches.

 

[freescooter]

I'm curious as to what the talent gap was with WMU (and in which direction).

Altering what was a very effective blocking scheme is entirely on the coaches.

Taking three TO's into halftime in order to attempt a 51 yard field goal is entirely on the coaches.

Not finding some way to win back to back games by the midpoint of their second season here is entirely on the coaches.

Turning the Buffalo game from approaching a blowout to the point where one mistake by our defense or one successful trick play on their part would have put that game in overtime is entirely on the coaches.

I have to agree on all of these points...plus I'd add running up the gut on almost every 1st down is on the coaches. And while I agree with Loop that you can't scheme around alack of talent, and on the offensive side of the ball we do lack talent, you can use schemes that highlight the talent you do have. When your oline struggles with run blocking and you have a 165 pound tailback, running up the middle into an 8 or 9 man front doesn't maximize your talents...

 

[Palatine]

In reality - do you really think he cares what people think anymore?

All football coaches care about the fans. All of them.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

I'm curious as to what the talent gap was with WMU (and in which direction).

Altering what was a very effective blocking scheme is entirely on the coaches.

Taking three TO's into halftime in order to attempt a 51 yard field goal is entirely on the coaches.

Not finding some way to win back to back games by the midpoint of their second season here is entirely on the coaches.

Turning the Buffalo game from approaching a blowout to the point where one mistake by our defense or one successful trick play on their part would have put that game in overtime is entirely on the coaches.

Again, I'm not saying the coaches are without blame.

But let's look at some of these. For one, let's look at Western Michigan. With their senior QB. Who time and time again eluded pressure and made accurate throws on the run. Good decisions. The difference between Carder and Whitmer is significant. And maybe Whitmer can grow into it -- he's only a RS Soph.

Sure, the 51 yard FG wasn't great, but again, as I said, all coaches mess up. It's the nature of the game.

As far as Buffalo goes, okay, yeah, should we have been so conservative and taken our foot off the gas? Probably not. But we did win. Wins count for something, ugly or not.

Again -- I'm not implying that the coaches are without blame. But people act like we have some sort of Orange Bowl-caliber team talent-wise, and I just don't believe that's the case. Is the OL unable to block because of schemes or simply because we don't have the talent/mass? Is our running game sad because oo the OL or because we don't have a great RB? Is Whitmer making bad decisions because it's always 3rd and long or because our receivers get no separation or because he's just not that experienced and makes bad decisions?

These are complex questions and I refuse to believe the answer is always "DeLeone's fault." That's all. I am not trying to be an apologist. I am trying to be a realist with realistic expectations for this team and what it's capable of.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Again, I'm not saying the coaches are without blame.

But let's look at some of these. For one, let's look at Western Michigan. With their senior QB. Who time and time again eluded pressure and made accurate throws on the run. Good decisions. The difference between Carder and Whitmer is significant. And maybe Whitmer can grow into it -- he's only a RS Soph.

Sure, the 51 yard FG wasn't great, but again, as I said, all coaches mess up. It's the nature of the game.

As far as Buffalo goes, okay, yeah, should we have been so conservative and taken our foot off the gas? Probably not. But we did win. Wins count for something, ugly or not.

Again -- I'm not implying that the coaches are without blame. But people act like we have some sort of Orange Bowl-caliber team talent-wise, and I just don't believe that's the case. Is the OL unable to block because of schemes or simply because we don't have the talent/mass? Is our running game sad because oo the OL or because we don't have a great RB? Is Whitmer making bad decisions because it's always 3rd and long or because our receivers get no separation or because he's just not that experienced and makes bad decisions?

These are complex questions and I refuse to believe the answer is always "DeLeone's fault." That's all. I am not trying to be an apologist. I am trying to be a realist with realistic expectations for this team and what it's capable of.

How dare you present rational thought when the rest of us are in a emotional disarray and lynch mob frenzy?

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Again, I'm not saying the coaches are without blame.

But let's look at some of these. For one, let's look at Western Michigan. With their senior QB. Who time and time again eluded pressure and made accurate throws on the run. Good decisions. The difference between Carder and Whitmer is significant. And maybe Whitmer can grow into it -- he's only a RS Soph.

Sure, the 51 yard FG wasn't great, but again, as I said, all coaches mess up. It's the nature of the game.

As far as Buffalo goes, okay, yeah, should we have been so conservative and taken our foot off the gas? Probably not. But we did win. Wins count for something, ugly or not.

Again -- I'm not implying that the coaches are without blame. But people act like we have some sort of Orange Bowl-caliber team talent-wise, and I just don't believe that's the case. Is the OL unable to block because of schemes or simply because we don't have the talent/mass? Is our running game sad because oo the OL or because we don't have a great RB? Is Whitmer making bad decisions because it's always 3rd and long or because our receivers get no separation or because he's just not that experienced and makes bad decisions?

These are complex questions and I refuse to believe the answer is always "DeLeone's fault." That's all. I am not trying to be an apologist. I am trying to be a realist with realistic expectations for this team and what it's capable of.

We are playing well below our talent level. Way below it.

I've posted recently in the last few weeks that the players should not be absolved for what is going on here. But the coaches are not putting them in the best position to succeed (on offense). Running LM up the middle on dives as much as we have is not putting him in the best position to succeed. Having CW throw on 3rd and long most of the time is not putting him in a position to succeed. Continuing to ask OLinemen to play a scheme that they are A) incapable of grasping and B) incapable of executing is not putting them in a position to succeed. Not utilizing a proven commodity at TE is not putting him in position to succeed.

I can go on about clock management, burning redshirts when you don't have to, losing close games, not winning 2 games in a row, and other things that haven't shown any improvement in year 2, but why bother. Go read the Cuse board. We are saying the same things they said 10 years ago. GDL will not be fired by P. The good news for us is that by time we get to the Dome we'll have about 26 timeouts in our back pocket.

 

[CodyJ.]

That's going a bit too far.

ok. on a box

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I don't believe that we are an Orange Bowl caliber team but I do believe that if we appear to be so completely inept on offense I have a difficult time placing this on the talent.

Yes, the talent doesn't really match what they have attempted but they've been around football (as coaches) since Urban Meyer was in grade school. They should be able to assess the talent and formulate something that would utilize the few strengths we have and work a little better than what we have seen.

Save a QB who most fans despised, a quality TB & FB (along with a competent backup), we brought back almost the entirety of the Fiesta Bowl team for this staff's first season yet they couldn't finish .500.

Per our HC, the problem is Red Zone efficiency (we are @ 40% and he believes a quality team need sto be 55% or better). The way I see it, a bigger problem is the lack of appearances in the Red Zone.

Per our OC, third down is the issue (we aren't executing well enough on third down to sustain drives). I happen to believe that if we had a few more first down plays that gained moer than a yard or two we would have more situations where we got the first down before third down or were in a third and short.

If (as the HC/OC claim and you apparantly agree) the problem is that the players cannot get the job done, what are our options? Do we say "the players aren't very good so if we go 3-9 this year, so be it"? Should we expect the coaches to find a way to alter our approach so that perhaps we can score a few more points per game? Can we expect the coaches to at any time state "we need to do a better job of getting the kids in a position to succeed" or does the "they did not executeir assignments" wash their hands of culpability?

 

[mattp]

Again, I'm not saying the coaches are without blame.

But let's look at some of these. For one, let's look at Western Michigan. With their senior QB. Who time and time again eluded pressure and made accurate throws on the run. Good decisions. The difference between Carder and Whitmer is significant. And maybe Whitmer can grow into it -- he's only a RS Soph.

Sure, the 51 yard FG wasn't great, but again, as I said, all coaches mess up. It's the nature of the game.

As far as Buffalo goes, okay, yeah, should we have been so conservative and taken our foot off the gas? Probably not. But we did win. Wins count for something, ugly or not.

Again -- I'm not implying that the coaches are without blame. But people act like we have some sort of Orange Bowl-caliber team talent-wise, and I just don't believe that's the case. Is the OL unable to block because of schemes or simply because we don't have the talent/mass? Is our running game sad because oo the OL or because we don't have a great RB? Is Whitmer making bad decisions because it's always 3rd and long or because our receivers get no separation or because he's just not that experienced and makes bad decisions?

These are complex questions and I refuse to believe the answer is always "DeLeone's fault." That's all. I am not trying to be an apologist. I am trying to be a realist with realistic expectations for this team and what it's capable of.

You're saying there was an obvious talent gap between Rutgers and us when we were on offense, so don't you think that's more of a reason not to just try running up the middle every 1st and 2nd down? When your out gunned, you need to try to out wit your opponent. All we did was go through the motions of Football 101 play calling. That's my biggest gripe with the play calling. Playing that way is fine against UMass, but against Rutgers it looked like we didn't even try to win the game. Last season I thought we called good plays but failed to execute due to lack of talent, this season Deleone's just going through the motions. We're not taking advantage of McCombs shiftiness, we're running him up the middle. Even our wildcat last year I thought we called plays to keep the defense off balance, now we're just having McCummings hand it off up the middle

 

[ZooCougar]

We are playing well below our talent level. Way below it.

I've posted recently in the last few weeks that the players should not be absolved for what is going on here. But the coaches are not putting them in the best position to succeed (on offense). Running LM up the middle on dives as much as we have is not putting him in the best position to succeed. Having CW throw on 3rd and long most of the time is not putting him in a position to succeed. Continuing to ask OLinemen to play a scheme that they are A) incapable of grasping and B) incapable of executing is not putting them in a position to succeed. Not utilizing a proven commodity at TE is not putting him in position to succeed.

I can go on about clock management, burning redshirts when you don't have to, losing close games, not winning 2 games in a row, and other things that haven't shown any improvement in year 2, but why bother. Go read the Cuse board. We are saying the same things they said 10 years ago. GDL will not be fired by P. The good news for us is that by time we get to the Dome we'll have about 26 timeouts in our back pocket.

It doesn't matter how good or bad our players are. The defense knows what's coming and they just have to execute in order to get our offense off the field.

Our initiative is sacrificed on every posession.

 

[Stinger92860]

I'm pretty sure being fair to Coach wasn't the foremost thought in Jacobs' mind.
You guys are getting a little whacked.
We DO NOT have a team of 4-5* players. We DO NOT have a lot of depth to cover the injuries we've had. I was ambivalent about the choice, but thought that bringing in NFL experience could be a good thing for UConn, and especially for the players. Let them see what the big leagues were about kind of preview. It's pretty obvious we have a lot of immature kids on the team, and quite a few in the stands too. Just support the team and coaches we have now. They all need it. The off-season is the time for all the wailing and gnashing of teeth.

WMU, nor Buffalo have 4-5* players. We have lost to WMU twice and we barely hung in against Buffalo. There are only 8 teams with a more inept running game. When do you get worried?

I will support the players but GDL deserves no support. If PP continues to support GDL, then he deserves to lose his job.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Save a QB who most fans despised, a quality TB & FB (along with a competent backup), we brought back almost the entirety of the Fiesta Bowl team for this staff's first season yet they couldn't finish .500.

You make a lot of valid points in your post, but you need to stop touting this. We had so much more offensive talent on the Fiesta Bowl team it wasn't funny. It's not so much the number of players we lost in 2011, it's the positions they played. The dropoff from Frazer is Mac is bad enough. But our backfield in 2010 was Todman (with Frey as backup) and Sherman compared to 2011 with McCombs (no backup) and Rueben Frank. And I haven't mentioned the OLinemen or Mike Smith........not even close.

 

[Husky25]

All football coaches care about the fans. All of them.

That's not exactly true. Desmond Connor quoted Coach Deleone as saying that he is aware that his play calling is not fan-friendly ("That may not be fan-friendly but it’s going to be a way to win a game in that situation. For us it’s about winning a game." - G. Deleone -10-2-2012). When I read between the lines, I read obstinence...as in, Tough for them. I'm the one with the clipboard and whistle.

Unfortunately for Coach Deleone, he is plying his trade in Connecticut and this is not the NFL where viewership is virtually guarunteed. As soon as the novelty wore off the FBS jump (circa 2007), college football in this state became just another form of entertainment vying for the casual fans' entertainment dollar. Deleone's brand of offense is forcing that dollar elsewhere and that way of winning games almost blew it vs a historically sub-par MAC opponent.