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The View From Section 241

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I watched the play live, and I watched the play again on tape. And you're right; good for him and UConn...

And I as well. He was able to make an accurate throw, but it appeared his first instinct was to tuck and run. Theres a stutter/hesitation after his drop back but he actually stepped into it and made a nice throw.
 
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BNich said:
Even on the touchdown to Bloom, he looked like a deer in head lights wasn't even ready to throw and appeared to be ready to tuck and run until he saw Bloom slip open in the back of the end zone.

If you are going to bust his balls don't do it on that play. Seriously.
 

UConnDan97

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And I as well. He was able to make an accurate throw, but it appeared his first instinct was to tuck and run. Theres a stutter/hesitation after his drop back but he actually stepped into it and made a nice throw.

What you think was a "tuck and run instinct" was actually him reacting to #8 coming through the OLine, and once he saw that Marriner picked him up, he got his eyes back down field to Bloom and delivered the strike. It wasn't "deer in headlights". It was, "If the RB misses this guy again, I have to get movin'." Pretty simple, really...

http://espn.go.com/ncf/video?gameId=400547661
 
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On the TD to Bloom, there was good protection and a large comfortable pocket. Whitmer does fine with a large comfortable pocket. I suspect most college QBs (including Boyle) do just fine when there is both time and room to pass.

That's not really the issue is it?
 
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Here are the stats on Whitmer. His QB rating is #100 in college football. Honestly, that is not good enough to win, but he is our QB and we have to support him.

Hopefully, Boyle is the future and Diaco can bring him along slowly over the next few games to see if he can play more this year. Until then, Whitmer is the best option.
 
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Whitmer is far from "clearly better" than Boyle...his happy feet and one look at a receiver before tuck and running are concerning. It seems as though after that first look, he doesn't have the size (to see over the line) or confidence to hang for a split second like CC used to do. Everyone says he's the fastest QB we have yet he seems to run nowhere extremely fast...He definately is not Lorenzen with finding the holes which he needs to be considering his happy feet...it's Boyle time!

I only disagree slightly. CC's strength was his pre-snap read. He had confidence to hang for a split second because he knew where he was going with the ball based on his reads and adjustments.
 
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Thanks Biz.

First, the atmosphere was great and I think we may have had 30k in there when all was said and done. You can tell this fan base wants something to cling to. I hope Diaco can get us over the hump.

I saw the same things on defense. The only disappointments from an outstanding effort were the breakdowns in the secondary. I also think Byron Jones needs to be much more physical.

The turnover issue is just huge. These early turnovers are just absolute killers and have got to stop. We've got four backs. You fumble you sit. They'll stop fumbling.

On offense I saw things a little differently. I thought the OL showed noticeable improvement. To my eye there is a good and a bad CW. The good one makes quick decisions, steps up in the pocket and gives his young OL a chance to be successful. The bad one starts dropping back at the earliest sign of pressure and then eventually makes bad decisions. I think some of the sacks were more on Chandler than the OL. I thought the running game showed some semblance of life, but I did expect we would run the ball better than we have...or at least I hoped we would.

What I saw Sat. more than anything else is progress and that is most important.

Fri. night in Tampa is a tough turnaround for college kids. I am not hopeful. I think bowling this season is a very tough task. Hope I'm wrong.
 
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The positive is that for several more than brief moments UConn was playing like a team that can beat a good a opponent and even took a lead after what usually is a game destroying fumble on the first series.

Now they just need to put all together starting Friday.
 
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I think defensively we played well, and on occasion the offense looked ok. I think its hard to tell exactly what that means though. Last year for 3 quarters we looked like a team that could beat Michigan...then we self destructed and the following week looked utterly embarrassed getting blown out of the building by Buffalo. One game doesn't really tell too much. But I will say that I thought the run defense continued to look solid, something that started in the 2nd half of the BYU game. When you see a trend like that I think it gives some hope. So was this a one off game where we played up to a good opponent or is it a sign of continued growth? To me it is the next 2 weeks that will really tell the story.
 
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I think defensively we played well, and on occasion the offense looked ok. I think its hard to tell exactly what that means though. Last year for 3 quarters we looked like a team that could beat Michigan...then we self destructed and the following week looked utterly embarrassed getting blown out of the building by Buffalo. One game doesn't really tell too much. But I will say that I thought the run defense continued to look solid, something that started in the 2nd half of the BYU game. When you see a trend like that I think it gives some hope. So was this a one off game where we played up to a good opponent or is it a sign of continued growth? To me it is the next 2 weeks that will really tell the story.

I'll take any progress at this point but I agree. It is one game. Just because this was improvement does not mean I expect to go down and beat USF. Boise is not a great Boise team and they were playing at 9am their time. I think a good team could have won that game. We did some good things but good teams don't give away that many points.
 
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I'll take any progress at this point but I agree. It is one game. Just because this was improvement does not mean I expect to go down and beat USF. Boise is not a great Boise team and they were playing at 9am their time. I think a good team could have won that game. We did some good things but good teams don't give away that many points.
I think this is my point, too. We played better than we played against Stony Brook. No question. But there are lots of reasons why that might have been a bit of a "false positive." You listed many of them. We'll just have to see. I personally think USF is not a good football team, but a young team going on the road for the first time could have its hands full, too. Plus, even when we've won down there it has been a struggle. So a win would really show that we are making pretty significant progress. A loss could go either way but a Buffalo-type loss would really be a sign that Boise was more an illusion than a step forward.
 
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Look. Chandler is far from a Heisman candidate as a QB. But I can't put all the bad game results on him......or any UConn QB. They see games from the perspective as something headed right at them as opposed to the view a fans has from the comforts of a sideline seat. As BD has suggested more than once before the season started........it isn't fair.

CC had to leave FB because of concussions. Chandler has had his own share of concussions. With that history being said, which one of us wouldn't run like crazy at the first sign of protection collapsing. There's a lot more to life after FB.......that's my first thought wearing Chandler's shoes.

Dropped passes......no QB throws the perfect pass all the time, but how often have any of us heard commentators, at any level, suggest is wasn't pretty pass, but should have been caught.

Widely missing connections with receivers........who's fault.......again, many of us may have heard commentators suggest the QB reads one type of coverage, the receiver another type. The ball lands not too close to the receiver. Often you hear spectators say "Where the "H" is he (fill in any QB's name) throwing? Who's fault? Probably both, but it happens on all levels of play.

Throwing the ball into the ground or out of bounds. Could be an effort to avoid sack. Or it can just be a very bad throw. Any QB can be a hero or goat in that scenario.

Receivers stopping on routes and/or dropping a pass that hits them in numbers. That's on the receiver, but QB gets tagged with an incomplete. And I'm not suggesting receivers can not loose control after a wicked hit. That is excusable.

Running backs falling, fumbling, failing to gain any positive yardage. A lot more than any QB contributes to those failures.

I'm with HCBD. Any QB at any level receives undue acclaim or ridicule for the success or failure of a team. I'm not just defending Chandler, I'd make the same commentary for any of UConn's QB's.

The team wins as a team, and looses as a team. One or two plays out of 60-70 opportunities doesn't necessarily define a game. There may have been plenty of lost opportunities throughout any contest made by any of the teams offensive, defensive, or special team players.
 
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Just watch the play again. It was on the big board. He looked scared. And you're right threw an accurate pass. Good for him and Uconn.

The one thing about CW that is absolutely unfair to question is his courage. I've watched him finish two runs by going head-first in an attempt to make the first down. The color guy that did the BYU game mentioned his willingness to "stick his nose in."

By the way, on two runs against BYU and one against BSU, I thought I saw CW shaking his head like a guy trying to clear the cobwebs. I confirmed the observations when I got home. If he keeps taking (and giving) hits, you Boyle folks will get your wish. The guy makes his share of mistakes, but he's not afraid to get hit. He took a running back type beating against Boise. Guts he's got.
 

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The one thing about CW that is absolutely unfair to question is his courage. I've watched him finish two runs by going head-first in an attempt to make the first down. The color guy that did the BYU game mentioned his willingness to "stick his nose in."

By the way, on two runs against BYU and one against BSU, I thought I saw CW shaking his head like a guy trying to clear the cobwebs. I confirmed the observations when I got home. If he keeps taking (and giving) hits, you Boyle folks will get your wish. The guy makes his share of mistakes, but he's not afraid to get hit. He took a running back type beating against Boise. Guts he's got.
He was 4 inches from losing his helmet on one SB run... that would have been an interesting series to see what happened. Remember that CC was not gone yet... the guy doesn't have quit in him, you see that by him coming back this year.
 
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The one thing about CW that is absolutely unfair to question is his courage. I've watched him finish two runs by going head-first in an attempt to make the first down. The color guy that did the BYU game mentioned his willingness to "stick his nose in."

By the way, on two runs against BYU and one against BSU, I thought I saw CW shaking his head like a guy trying to clear the cobwebs. I confirmed the observations when I got home. If he keeps taking (and giving) hits, you Boyle folks will get your wish. The guy makes his share of mistakes, but he's not afraid to get hit. He took a running back type beating against Boise. Guts he's got.

I don't think anyone has ever questioned his guts or grit. The kid does stick his nose in. Even against Stony Brook he slid and still got hit. It would appear he is one more concussion away from Boyle taking over as well. He needs to be careful, but surely can't question his heart/guts/or grit thats for sure.
 
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I don't think anyone has ever questioned his guts or grit. The kid does stick his nose in. Even against Stony Brook he slid and still got hit. It would appear he is one more concussion away from Boyle taking over as well. He needs to be careful, but surely can't question his heart/guts/or grit thats for sure.

No, plenty of people around here have accused our QB of being scared on the field. It's just annoying and wrong.
 
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No, plenty of people around here have accused our QB of being scared on the field. It's just annoying and wrong.

In the next two weeks, he will show that he can make plays while reducing turnovers, or not, and get off this "either or" track he's on. Or he won't show it. If he doesn't show it, the QB story against Tulane might be different. But until we get to the first off week, we're just going to have to see how he does.
 
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In the next two weeks, he will show that he can make plays while reducing turnovers, or not, and get off this "either or" track he's on. Or he won't show it. If he doesn't show it, the QB story against Tulane might be different. But until we get to the first off week, we're just going to have to see how he does.

I agree. We ride Whitmer as far as he can take us. Rhetorical reminder: This is a player, at the QB position, that has had a new offensive coordinator, for every season of his eligibility, and hindsight has proven had some very ineffective coaching during the majority of his career. it's just unfortunate, that he has so little time left, to actually develop as a player, and hopefully has the effective coaching now - it appears so. I hope he makes the most of it.
 
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No, plenty of people around here have accused our QB of being scared on the field. It's just annoying and wrong.
Scared? I don't know about that. Kid's best attribute is his toughness. Does he vacate the pocket too quickly at times? Absolutely, probably because he has taken a pounding, but that kid is tough as frigging nails. That is the one thing you can't take from him.
 
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When watching this UConn team, I am reminded of what Bill Parcell did with his early 1980's NY Giants. Parcell built the team defensively and limited Phil Simms and the offense, emphasizing the importance of not turning over the ball. The Giants got better and better, many times with the defense scoring enough points off turnovers to win. Parcells expected little from his offense, just wanted to limit turnovers.
 
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When watching this UConn team, I am reminded of what Bill Parcell did with his early 1980's NY Giants. Parcell built the team defensively and limited Phil Simms and the offense, emphasizing the importance of not turning over the ball. The Giants got better and better, many times with the defense scoring enough points off turnovers to win. Parcells expected little from his offense, just wanted to limit turnovers.

I really don't think so. We have taken shots deep just haven't connected too much. I think P actually tried the style your mentioning using a 165lb back as a battering ram on first and second down.
 
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