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Maybe a tad overcritical on defense line and a bit soft on secondary but he sees things from a former defensive player perspective.
Sean Mulcahy’s Report Card
October 15th, 2012 10:24 am
Mulcahy’s Report Card Former UConn defensive end and SNY studio analyst Sean Mulchay grades UConn’s 17-14 loss Temple.
Quarterback: Grade: B-
Mulcahy’s comments: Chandler Whitmer arguably had his best game on Saturday (22-39, 293 yards, 2 TDs ). His first half was lights out (12-17 205 yards 2 TDs), his second half was mediocre at best (10 for 22 88 yards), but no turnovers. He has to do a better job of throwing the ball away as to not take any sacks. The field position battle kills drives as much as turnovers. He spread the ball around beautifully finding eight different targets, four receivers, two tight ends and two running backs. He has to use his mobility better; I know he can run and scramble better than what we have seen.
Running back: Grade: B-
Comments: I was very pleased to see the CT. native Max DeLorenzo get the start with Joseph Williams contributing as well. These two had great springs, and I am surprised we didn’t see them spell Lyle McCombs more often. DeLorenzo has a great combination of size and speed, plus he is just about as tough as any player on that roster and had 91 yards on 23 carries with a long of 20. He had no touchdown but he did average 4 yards per carry. Joe Williams is a special player, he might be the fastest guy on the team and can run away from any defender to break a big play. The only guy who might beat him in a ”Game Speed” race is Nick Williams. Joe Williams needs more carries!
Wide receiver: Grade: B
Comments: Another good performance. There isn’t much I can criticize here. Shakim Phillips(7 catches,100 yards) and senior Michael Smith (5 catches, 54 yards) had breakout games. It’s a shame it did not carry over to the second half to win the game. I would like to see Geremy Davis and Nick Williams get more targets, especially down field to stretch the defense. This will in turn open the gates for the run game, which UConn relies heavily on.
Tight ends: Grade: B+
Comments: This group in Ryan Griffin and John Delahunt is the most consistent group on the offense. They block well, catch well, and run well. Throughout the season, they have had only two drops to the receivers of 10+. Delahunt and Griffin gives the offense a more potent and dynamic attack. UConn needs to exploit this more often, and the only way they can do that is to sustain drives and be more consistent in both the run game and the passing game.
Offensive line: Grade: F
Comments: Well, they have certainly showed consistency, they are consistently terrible. They can barely run block (I have not seen one pancake), they can barely pass protect, and you never see maulers like my former teammate in tackle Ryan Krug (UConn captain ’04). That is what the offensive line needs more of, a tough, hard-nosed mauler. The line gave up six sacks, only had 88 net yards rushing on Saturday.
Defensive line: Grade: D+
Comments: I am very impressed by the play of ST Ryan Wirth. He is built like a refrigerator and has been playing like it (immovable). He even had a sack yesterday from his 3-technique position. Shamar Stephen is playing better, but UConn needs more out of him because of his size and strength inside. DE Trevardo Williams got back on track with a sack and continues to lead the Big East. Even Tim Willman did a decent job with a sack as well. Now, here’s is the problem –UConn gave up over 200 yards rushing and Montel Harris had 142 yards rushing on UConn. Awful! It starts upfront, and this group can’t allow that to happen.
Linebacker: Grade: C-
Comments: Sio Moore had a great game with 1.5 sacks and 9 tackles. Jory Johnson continued his stellar play with 12 tackles and 1 TFL. Yawin Smallwood has been consistent too with 13 tackles 1 PBU and a fumble recovery that he forced. All these stats are great, but they have to stop the run. The linebackers are just as guilty as the defensive line for giving up 200 yards on the ground. They need to read the play sooner and make plays in the backfield. For example, they only had 2.5 TFL’s yesterday as an entire group. The three of them are so good they should have two per game per person.
Secondary: Grade: C+
Comments: Byron Jones showed up on Saturday. The second year player, a redshirt sophomore, had a team-high with Smallwood for 13 tackles including a great interception at his safety position. Dwayne Gratz and Blidi Wreh-Wilson had two pass break ups despite the fact Temple passed 26 times. They did limit Chris Coyer to 50 percentpassing (13-26 132). Taylor Mack had one tackle, Gratz had 4 tackles, and B.W. Wilson had 1 tackle. But, Gratz cost the team the game with the long 33-yard pass completion with less than 30 seconds left in regulation. And, the game-tying touchdown came when Mack feel in coverage allowing Temple’s Jalen Fitzpatrick to break free in the right corner of the end zone.
Special team: Grade: D-
Comments: Cole Wagner was good in the punting game with three inside the 20 and a long of 51 to average 42.0 per punt. Now the killer was Chad Christen, who missed from 36, 42, blocked from 44 and missed a 28-yarder in OT.
Coaching: Grade: F
Comments: Pass/fail grade…Fail
Sean Mulcahy’s Report Card
October 15th, 2012 10:24 am
Mulcahy’s Report Card Former UConn defensive end and SNY studio analyst Sean Mulchay grades UConn’s 17-14 loss Temple.
Quarterback: Grade: B-
Mulcahy’s comments: Chandler Whitmer arguably had his best game on Saturday (22-39, 293 yards, 2 TDs ). His first half was lights out (12-17 205 yards 2 TDs), his second half was mediocre at best (10 for 22 88 yards), but no turnovers. He has to do a better job of throwing the ball away as to not take any sacks. The field position battle kills drives as much as turnovers. He spread the ball around beautifully finding eight different targets, four receivers, two tight ends and two running backs. He has to use his mobility better; I know he can run and scramble better than what we have seen.
Running back: Grade: B-
Comments: I was very pleased to see the CT. native Max DeLorenzo get the start with Joseph Williams contributing as well. These two had great springs, and I am surprised we didn’t see them spell Lyle McCombs more often. DeLorenzo has a great combination of size and speed, plus he is just about as tough as any player on that roster and had 91 yards on 23 carries with a long of 20. He had no touchdown but he did average 4 yards per carry. Joe Williams is a special player, he might be the fastest guy on the team and can run away from any defender to break a big play. The only guy who might beat him in a ”Game Speed” race is Nick Williams. Joe Williams needs more carries!
Wide receiver: Grade: B
Comments: Another good performance. There isn’t much I can criticize here. Shakim Phillips(7 catches,100 yards) and senior Michael Smith (5 catches, 54 yards) had breakout games. It’s a shame it did not carry over to the second half to win the game. I would like to see Geremy Davis and Nick Williams get more targets, especially down field to stretch the defense. This will in turn open the gates for the run game, which UConn relies heavily on.
Tight ends: Grade: B+
Comments: This group in Ryan Griffin and John Delahunt is the most consistent group on the offense. They block well, catch well, and run well. Throughout the season, they have had only two drops to the receivers of 10+. Delahunt and Griffin gives the offense a more potent and dynamic attack. UConn needs to exploit this more often, and the only way they can do that is to sustain drives and be more consistent in both the run game and the passing game.
Offensive line: Grade: F
Comments: Well, they have certainly showed consistency, they are consistently terrible. They can barely run block (I have not seen one pancake), they can barely pass protect, and you never see maulers like my former teammate in tackle Ryan Krug (UConn captain ’04). That is what the offensive line needs more of, a tough, hard-nosed mauler. The line gave up six sacks, only had 88 net yards rushing on Saturday.
Defensive line: Grade: D+
Comments: I am very impressed by the play of ST Ryan Wirth. He is built like a refrigerator and has been playing like it (immovable). He even had a sack yesterday from his 3-technique position. Shamar Stephen is playing better, but UConn needs more out of him because of his size and strength inside. DE Trevardo Williams got back on track with a sack and continues to lead the Big East. Even Tim Willman did a decent job with a sack as well. Now, here’s is the problem –UConn gave up over 200 yards rushing and Montel Harris had 142 yards rushing on UConn. Awful! It starts upfront, and this group can’t allow that to happen.
Linebacker: Grade: C-
Comments: Sio Moore had a great game with 1.5 sacks and 9 tackles. Jory Johnson continued his stellar play with 12 tackles and 1 TFL. Yawin Smallwood has been consistent too with 13 tackles 1 PBU and a fumble recovery that he forced. All these stats are great, but they have to stop the run. The linebackers are just as guilty as the defensive line for giving up 200 yards on the ground. They need to read the play sooner and make plays in the backfield. For example, they only had 2.5 TFL’s yesterday as an entire group. The three of them are so good they should have two per game per person.
Secondary: Grade: C+
Comments: Byron Jones showed up on Saturday. The second year player, a redshirt sophomore, had a team-high with Smallwood for 13 tackles including a great interception at his safety position. Dwayne Gratz and Blidi Wreh-Wilson had two pass break ups despite the fact Temple passed 26 times. They did limit Chris Coyer to 50 percentpassing (13-26 132). Taylor Mack had one tackle, Gratz had 4 tackles, and B.W. Wilson had 1 tackle. But, Gratz cost the team the game with the long 33-yard pass completion with less than 30 seconds left in regulation. And, the game-tying touchdown came when Mack feel in coverage allowing Temple’s Jalen Fitzpatrick to break free in the right corner of the end zone.
Special team: Grade: D-
Comments: Cole Wagner was good in the punting game with three inside the 20 and a long of 51 to average 42.0 per punt. Now the killer was Chad Christen, who missed from 36, 42, blocked from 44 and missed a 28-yarder in OT.
Coaching: Grade: F
Comments: Pass/fail grade…Fail
