"The expectation is to win every football game." Diaco

[weyuo]

Why, you think Nick Saban could have won with that team? That's ridiculous

Nick Saban would have found a way to win that USF game.

 

[SubbaBub]

Nick Saban would have found a way to win that USF game.

USF, Army, and SMU are the big dents to Bob's cred. Can't have a repeat of that. Though it's hard to give any kind of pass for losing to Tulane or a 3 pt win vs Stony Brook.

 

[EJHarrington]

I promise this is my last post on the topic, because it's clear that you, sportsart and a few others do not understand my position.

For the 7,541st time, my criticism of Diaco is not, and never has been, about the number of wins he put up last year. You can continue to mischaracterize my opinion (as sportsart has done) all you want, but I've repeatedly stated that I didn't think we had the horses last, that the program was in shambles, and that I still think Diaco can become a good coach here. I maintain that stance. But none of that absolves him of some of the mind boggling things he did last year. I'm not going to beat the dead horse and list all of my criticisms, but I'm hopeful that he's learned from last year. He had a rough first year, and you can make all the excuses you want for him (you played sports!) but I won't. As many times as you guys claim that players are willing to run through a wall for him based on tweets from the players, my eyes told me a different story the last 3 games of the season.

I'm moving on, because it's a new season. But I'd advise that if you don't want to hear my opinions of Diaco's performance last year, than don't troll me and throw out bait.[/QU

Jimmy Serrano - I made a post in support of Coach Diaco and his attitude they can win every game this year. It was not in response to any one of your, or anyone else's, posts. YOU responded to MY post so if either of us was trolling it is you. It was not about you or your criticism and I did not mischaracterize anything. BTW, I don't know sportsart or any other poster on this board, including you. I'm just a hardcore fan and I don't want anything to do with online drama.

I agree with much of what you say above but I also stand by my original (and subsequent) posts.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Jimmy Serrano - I made a post in support of Coach Diaco and his attitude they can win every game this year. It was not in response to any one of your, or anyone else's, posts. YOU responded to MY post so if either of us was trolling it is you. It was not about you or your criticism and I did not mischaracterize anything. BTW, I don't know sportsart or any other poster on this board, including you. I'm just a hardcore fan and I don't want anything to do with online drama.

I agree with much of what you say above but I also stand by my original (and subsequent) posts.

I love Diaco's attitude. All the trolls and naysayers can pound sand. Whether they go 13-0 or not, Diaco is installing a winning attitude and is not afraid to shake things up. After having a zombie at coach for three years, the players were out of shape, mentally soft, and expected to lose. It was pathetic and I was embarrassed for the players. When losing stops hurting a program is in trouble. Now if they lose, it will hurt because they expect to win and they will hold each other accountable.

I question whether the naysayers / trolls / critics ever played sports seriously because they clearly don't understand the mentality it takes to be a winner.

- EJHarrington

 

[EJHarrington]

I love Diaco's attitude. All the trolls and naysayers can pound sand. Whether they go 13-0 or not, Diaco is installing a winning attitude and is not afraid to shake things up. After having a zombie at coach for three years, the players were out of shape, mentally soft, and expected to lose. It was pathetic and I was embarrassed for the players. When losing stops hurting a program is in trouble. Now if they lose, it will hurt because they expect to win and they will hold each other accountable.

I question whether the naysayers / trolls / critics ever played sports seriously because they clearly don't understand the mentality it takes to be a winner.

- EJHarrington

...and somehow I was referring to Jimmy Serrano???

 

[UConnDan97]

Diaco made many mistakes last year. Anyone who argues to the contrary is just arguing with their heart, not their head or their eyes. And I'm one of the most positive guys in the room.

Having said all that; we are going to punch some people in #@king mouth this year! Diaco will be better. The team will be better. I will be better. BOOM!!!

Pride. Heart. UConn.
#DezcantstopUConnfromundefeatedseason

 

[freescooter]

My point was the "Ivy League also ran" had a much more potent offense than UConn did LAST YEAR. Just having "better athletes" on the field does not always equate to wins.

A year's more experience on the field and on the sidelines as a staff makes a big difference.

It was the Ivy League. Wesleyan had a great offense too. Glad we didn't have to play them last year. This is like the guy who plays tic tac toe againt a chicken in Chinatown and loses. All kinds of excuses... The chicken got to go first. The chicken plays all the time. So what? It was a chicken! We lost to Army. And SMU who people were calling the worst team in the country. Good grief. There is no excuse for those losses. None!

 

[huskymedic]

There is no excuse for those losses. None!

Okay sunshine, I'm wrong, you're right, you win... Here's your prize.

 

[huskysupporter]

The only thing I am clinging to is the hope, as Huskymedic mentioned, that a year of experience will help tremendously.

I guess the major thing I am hoping helps is another year in a first class weight program. Bigger, stronger, faster is my hope.

I also hope Coach D looks back on his many mistakes last season and learns from them.

We will find out shortly.

 

[J187Money]

It was the Ivy League. Wesleyan had a great offense too. Glad we didn't have to play them last year. This is like the guy who plays tic tac toe againt a chicken in Chinatown and loses. All kinds of excuses... The chicken got to go first. The chicken plays all the time. So what? It was a chicken! We lost to Army. And SMU who people were calling the worst team in the country. Good grief. There is no excuse for those losses. None!

Classic! Lmfao.

 

[Srqhusky]

The hcbd has admitted he made mistakes last year and is learning on the job. He grew as a person. This is good enough for me. We all scratched out head last year and his learning curve is what gave us the preseason we had to endure. Given that the guy is a winner and has a winning attitude and he will right the ship

 

[FfldCntyFan]

This is like the guy who plays tic tac toe againt a chicken in Chinatown and loses. All kinds of excuses... The chicken got to go first. The chicken plays all the time. So what? It was a chicken!]

Have you ever beaten that chicken? Unless you have I don't see how that can be an appropriate analogy.

One reality is that we seemed to find new ways to hand the ball over to our opponents every game. I don't know how much of our lack of ball security can be blamed on a first year head coach but I am willing to give him a bit of time with the personnel before stating that he failed in correcting the problem.

I will make a deal with you however, if you ever feel up for the challenge to take on the chicken, I'll pay for it, I'll bet $500 on you and if you win you can keep the $500.

 

[BNich]

How many more days? Sick of hearing all the whining and it's only August!

 

[freescooter]

Have you ever beaten that chicken? Unless you have I don't see how that can be an appropriate analogy.

One reality is that we seemed to find new ways to hand the ball over to our opponents every game. I don't know how much of our lack of ball security can be blamed on a first year head coach but I am willing to give him a bit of time with the personnel before stating that he failed in correcting the problem.

I will make a deal with you however, if you ever feel up for the challenge to take on the chicken, I'll pay for it, I'll bet $500 on you and if you win you can keep the $500.

I take it you lost

 

[RedStickHusky]

A lot of angst in here as the normal anticipation of a new season is tempered with recent reality. Personally, I'm looking at 12 opportunities to go 1 - 0... we can add them up at the end of the year.

 

[jdb50]

"I'm a winner. I'm going to win." Coach Boone. We will win more this year, I hope we can add em up to 6.

 

[junglehusky]

...and somehow I was referring to Jimmy Serrano???

Jimmy has a tendency to have burning ears when the conversation may or may not be about him. He probably thinks Spiro Agnew('s ghostwriter William Safire) was talking about him when he made his quip about the nattering nabobs of negativism.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Exactly right, Carl.. TBD. But all due respect, quit harping on it until he proves he can't.

Edsall took a team who won a 1-AA playoff game the year before and fell flat on his face. It took him 4 seasons and a future 10+ year NFL veteran QB to even reach bowl eligibility. Reference the 68 schlorship limit all you want, Diaco had less scholarship players than that by the time last season ended.

With all due respect, I won't stop. I wrote this summary in another discussion last week.

http://the-boneyard.com/threads/201...onference-media-day.78713/page-4#post-1383070

I'm excited for a new season, but I'm balanced by a lot of realism. The potential that Diaco has is enticing. My biggest concern with him is that he drives our program to a string of losing seasons, gets his education as a head coach and then goes and applies it elsewhere to win. That would suck. I have great confidence in his recruiting though, and his recruiting plans over a few seasons I believe will leave this program in far better condition than what Pasqualoni found in March 2011 for spring ball, and what Diaco found in March 2014.

I do hope he follows the trend of UCONN athletics sports coaches and stays in his position for a long time, with lots of success.

Either way, we're witnessing the education of a head coach in real time. People need to realize that. You expect improvement, that's all.

As for all this media stuff, I've listened and watched the actual stuff I can find everywhere again. Diaco talks about the expectation to win every game. Much better (and different than last season) than talking about winning at getting out of bed on time and winning at eating 3 squares a day. That's all, and it's good.

The undefeated season and NCG playoff thing is a media fackup misquote taken out of context because the coach panel was discussing the AAC conference and its place in the current landscape. Diaco's point was that given our schedule, IF we do go undefeated we absolutely would deserve a spot in that playoff, and he's right. FWIW, if that were to actually happen, it would be a hell of a discussion after the Fiesta Bowl appearance 4 years ago in 2011. But back to reality.

His words were taken out of context. Period. Idiot, stupid media problems. Of all the things Donald Trump has said and done,the most important is he is the only one to point out how much of a problem our media is for taking out of context and twsting reporting. It's not unique to politics.

I know of some discussion among uconn alumni, that were like "really, coach relax!!" After the headlines of "don't expectto ever lose again." was out. Out of context info,twisted, affects people. Writers need to be accountable somehow, and really websites like this is the only way, so i write my diatribe.

So, we are approaching this season withthe expectation to win games, and our player leaders think we have the ability to do it against our schedule. This is a good thing.

Diaco though, education of a coach, what happens if we lose a game? We'll see. Can the attitude be maintained, are we going to be consistent in preparation through all the highs and lows of a game and a season?

We'll see. I can't look past Villanova, I'm concerned about them, and its not 1991 anymore. That is aggravating - for me.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Fwiw: #25 - do you think that Edsall would have had job security and handled questions well while HE was getting his education as a first time head coach at UCONN and his string of losing seasons?

I like that Diaco is able to say publicly that he thinks UCONN can win the national championship. We can, if we win games. That is something Edsall never believed, even when we were at our best in 2008-2009, he let the program fall in recruiting and was one foot out the door.

It all starts with Villanova.

 

[Husky25]

Fwiw: #25 - do you think that Edsall would have had job security and handled questions well while HE was getting his education as a first time head coach at UCONN and his string of losing seasons?

Edsall's job security came from low expectations through the transition seasons from 1AA to 1A. And I don't think Edsall handled the media fairly at all. He was confrontational before he earned the right to be confrontational.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Edsall's job security came from low expectations through the transition seasons from 1AA to 1A. And I don't think Edsall handled the media fairly at all. He was confrontational before he earned the right to be confrontational.

True. Its inevitable that discussion will lead to Edsall. Low expectations were fine and a multiyear losing process was acceptable because there was no significant fanbase, and we had our silver spoon in mouth for BCS money from the Big East, and even got it early.

In our Division 1 existence, he is the only coach so far to build a winner. As for expectations, I personally opine and just think it irked Edsall that the UCONN fanbase which built under his program had the gall to expect more than what he accomplished and that UCONN had a higher ceiling, rather than just accept how amazing it was that we came from trailers to play the likes of Michigan and Oklahoma. Just my opinion.

I do know that he did not like that UCONN leadership demonstrated no understanding and appreciation, or 'gulp' humility, for the situation we were handed by the Big East to join the big money group, and the way we went about our business about it.

That said, he never demonstrated through actions or words that he believed UCONN could do any more than what he accomplished.

So we get to Diaco 5 years later. Still rebuilding after the 2010 season. Expectations are different. We no longer have the ticket buying fanbase we had 6-7 years ago, have a different league schedule, and no BCS silver spoon golden goose.

Yet, this guy, can say with conviction and belief, that if we win the games, we should be,and expect to be in the national championship picture. He's right. Edsall would be in danger of soiling himself saying the same things when we were a legit top 25 team, even though, he also would have been right.

I will not trade consistent mediocrity for failure to reach full potential.

If Diaco isn't the guy, we'll eventually move on to someone else. His throwaway season is over.

He knows it, we all know it. Start showing improvement, and it starts with protecting home field.

 

[huskymedic]

RandyEdsall 8:49am via Twitter for iPhone
"A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her."-David Brinkley

 

[Waquoit]

Yeah, the team he was given was pretty bad. But Diaco was worse. The year before they finished strong, last year they quit. They never looked prepared. Now Bob has won me back a bit with the incredible Civil ConFLiCT trophy, but he is going to have to pick up his game immensely and show some improvement.

 

[RedSoloCup]

Yeah, the team he was given was pretty bad. But Diaco was worse. The year before they finished strong, last year they quit. They never looked prepared. Now Bob has won me back a bit with the incredible Civil ConFLiCT trophy, but he is going to have to pick up his game immensely and show some improvement.

The year before they had an experienced oline that could be coached up by their original recruiting coaches.

Last year new coaches across the board worked to change a culture and build a foundation.

Not sure how that translates into Diaco was worse. Different, yes. Lost more games, yes. Worse, not sure.

 

[Waquoit]

Not sure how that translates into Diaco was worse. Different, yes. Lost more games, yes. Worse, not sure.

I'm sure. They way I saw last year is that we kept hitting rock bottom, even after we seemingly couldn't get any worse. That USF game was pathetic. Then I went to the Army game. What a debacle, how can we sink any lower? Finished up with the SMU travesty, at least I had no trouble getting out of the parking lot. The fact is after a year and a half, all Diaco has given us is talk. The reality is that may be all he has. Believe me, I hope that isn't the case, but it just may be so.