Honey Moon is Over

[Chin Diesel]

For those who were asking before the season started, eight games.

The beginning of the season showed hope because offense and special teams looked dramatically better. Most fans accepted it's a process and not every unit progresses at the same rate.

2/3 the way through season one and Edsall has put a choke on the offense, specials have slightly regressed and defense still stinks.

Edsall has puckered up each of the past four games becoming more and more conservative and trending towards a Diaco mindset of minimizing any risks.

It's 2017. You have to put 40 points on the board to be a 7+ win team and have a defense that creates turnovers as a means of keeping the other team of getting 41 points.

 

[FDNY99]

For those who were asking before the season started, eight games.

The beginning of the season showed hope because offense and special teams looked dramatically better. Most fans accepted it's a process and not every unit progresses at the same rate.

2/3 the way through season one and Edsall has put a choke on the offense, specials have slightly regressed and defense still stinks.

Edsall has puckered up each of the past four games becoming more and more conservative and trending towards a Diaco mindset of minimizing any risks.

It's 2017. You have to put 40 points on the board to be a 7+ win team and have a defense that creates turnovers as a means of keeping the other team of getting 41 points.

Disagree about your views on the offense and specials...those dropped passes and poorly thrown balls had more to do with the point total than the play calling did. You can't really say specials have regressed either...Puyol was a very good kicker..and Wain flat out spoiled us as fans as a punter in comparison. Those 2 things are personnel...the return game and coverage games have been pretty good IMHO.

 

[RSTuthill]

I think that Bryant and the receivers were over-amped for the game. The D played scared.

 

[firstnline]

Special teams have been average at best. But Edsall needs to amp up the recruiting for UConn. We have to give him a chance to get 2 recruiting classes under his belt. The need for team speed has never been more evident. I will say this, that this off season will be the most important in UConn football or at least in recent memory. The staff needs to do whatever it takes to get the 4-star guys because 2 and 3 star guys aren't enough for success. Edsall's overall record is below 500 avg. so even he will have to exceed any expectations.

 

[noeynox]

Diaco was so bad. This is a mostly barren cupboard type situation. Next year may be worse. I do want to see some DB coaching competency, the coverage and tackling, and even just taking angles to the ball are terrible. What is Scott Lakatos up to these days?

 

[BugsyCT]

And we don’t have the players on D to stop any passing game in this system, so nothing has nor will significantly change by season’s end. It’s one thing to shut down Tulsa (a running team) for 3 1/2 qtrs, it’s another to stop a team with SEC-level speed, size, and skill.

That said, Crocker has still done an abysmal job this year.

 

[freescooter]

Our freshman dbacks were totally overmatched. That we have 1 upperclassman starting there tells you all you need to know about our recruiting over the last few years. It was clear that they weren’t strong enough to handle the Mizzu receivers. Another year in the weight room is needed. And a couple of recruiting.

 

[businesslawyer]

The game was utterly unwatchable. Like a few before it. But if you expected that our defensive problems were going to be solved by defensive tweaks, rather than having the time to upgrade personnel, that's on you.

As for the offense, there were some brilliant play calls (like the WR option throw). The players didn't excecute as well as they did in other games, against a defense that wasn't significantly better than other defenses they put points up on.

But if you didn't stay past half time -- that just makes you rational. I got no joy by hanging around for the third quarter before I bailed.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

These are all wonderful insights about what needs to happen over the next few years with UConn football but there is a team this year that may be able to turn things around and win three more games. How can this be accomplished? What advice would you give Randy for 2017? I am not convinced that there is only one possible win left in this season.

 

[huskysupporter]

We must have been watching a different game on offense. It was the same as it has always been. 12 drops. Terrible execution (mensah missed a wide open receiver for a sure TD on an awesome play call).

And defense? It would’ve nice to have dbs that can tackle and linebackers who don’t get blocked 15 yards down the field.

I have seen enough in 8 games to realize the issue is not scheme, it’s personnel. HCRE should just spend the rest of the year on tackling drills.

That was an abomination last night.

 

[huskyrob1]

Disagree about your views on the offense and specials...those dropped passes and poorly thrown balls had more to do with the point total than the play calling did. You can't really say specials have regressed either...Puyol was a very good kicker..and Wain flat out spoiled us as fans as a punter in comparison. Those 2 things are personnel...the return game and coverage games have been pretty good IMHO.

No amount of play calling from Lashlee was going to help what I saw yesterday. First, I had not seen a defensive front put pressure on Bryant and run right through our offensive line like I saw yesterday, not talking at all about blitzing LB's or DB's, just the defensive front. Our offensive lineman were like soft butter to those guys. I know Bryant tried to take the fall for passes off the mark, but if he had some blocking I think he would have settled down. Also think the refs should have thrown the flag on the two DT's that sandwiched Bryant like a pannini several seconds after the pass and hurt his arm. Newsome not playing hurt alot, Missouri's defense manhandled us yes, big and strong yes, but in general not nearly as speedy or agile as other SEC teams. Newsome's shifty running on short passes would have helped alot, and helped to set up Dixon and Skanes. That being said the dropped passes were inexcusable. I don't think Bryant and the younger receivers were over amped just scared of getting clocked. The result was dropped passes and passes not on the mark. A learning experience for Dixon and Skanes, that's for sure. We have a weak defense that, except for one or two of the freshman, seemed to not want to play yesterday. It will not surprise me if Summers is benched for USF.

 

[06029]

Going from run the table to Edsall has caused the team to regress in 7 days. I love this board.

Edsall is playing with a team he inherited that is largely lacking in P5 talent. The kids are playing as hard as they can and probably above their true ability level but they are not P5 players. The entire MO team is P5 talent. That showed as they are stronger and faster. Similar talent level is coming the next 3 games.

Uconn has already exceeded my expectations this season by beating Temple on the road and Tulsa. I saw a 3 win season because of the talent gap. Edsall needs 2 recruiting years at a minimum to close the talent gap. Hopefully, he has the energy and plan to pull it off.

But to say the honey moon is over because Uconn was blown out by an SEC team, where were you when Uconn gave up 198 points in a series of 4 games earlier this year?

Two wins in a row really skewed some expectations.

 

[coachcap]

On offense there were some brilliant plays that were poorly executed, wide open receivers who dropped very catchable passes & very minimal running game. On defense, a totally exposed backfield. Too many mistakes to recount. A roster overhaul, which is forthcoming, is vastly overdue. The roster that HCRE is playing with is akin to playing setback & being dealt a hand of 6's & 7's.

 

[whaler11]

The play that got Missouri their last TD wasn’t so much scheme as one guy running around like Pac Man and the entire UConn defense being Clyde the ghost.

 

[B1GEast]

I don't know what to think anymore. I'm just confused.

Two years ago Diaco's team was competitive at Mizzu.

Mizzu is not that good of a team.

It is what it is I guess. We just have to move forward.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

You noticed how the Mizzou running back(s) would make these juke moves and get past our defenders with athleticism? Well, we don't have players like that. And it was pretty obvious. From the pass catching, to the missed tackles, to the poorly thrown balls, to the inability to shut down receivers. We didn't look remotely talented enough to keep up with Missouri.

 

[Exit 4]

I don’t know what to say anymore other than the talent is not there. It’s not a scheme thing, it’s a talent issue. The O line was butter as others have noted and the DBs don’t have the foot speed or pure tackling ability/strength necessary to compete at the P5 level. Hopefully a couple of them can improve in the years to come, but it’s not likely more than one or two of the young DBs really makes a true leap forward in the quality of their play.

We will have to wait to see on Randy’s diamonds and if his big recruiting effort for Oline players this cycle can turn the tide.

I think we the Qb talent - adequate to win - here in Pindell, Washington, McAfee and Krajewski, but none of them can succeed without a o line.

Four star talent is not coming. This place will be rebuilt on Randy’s diamonds, one of the aforementioned QBs and the new o line recruiting push in the 2018 class. Those three ingredients or bust.

 

[Exit 4]

I don't know what to think anymore. I'm just confused.

Two years ago Diaco's team was competitive at Mizzu.

Mizzu is not that good of a team.

It is what it is I guess. We just have to move forward.

Mizzu got better. Way better.

 

[UCFBfan]

I know we all want to put a face on our defensive woes but the reality is, we don’t have the talent yet to be an effective defense. RE said so a few games back. We can’t run any other formation due to a lack of skill at any position. So i can’t sit here and blame Crocker. It’s his first year with players he inherited. We are playing almost an entire secondary made up of freshmen or sophomores who have little experience. Next season hopefully they will improve. Until then, I have to reserve some judgement on the defense. The only thing that concerns me is the d line as we lose our starters there. Can’t recall if we lose Diggs of Joseph at LB. if we do, that’s also a concern.

Just not sure what some of you expect when we are starting true freshmen. They are going to make mistakes. If Crocker played press coverage you’d all be complaining that our DBs are too slow and getting burned on routes and we should give them some buffer space. There’s no winning here......

This team is so young, nothing will fix that this season. It’s building a foundation and moving on. Having RE do that to Summers sets a tone that you will play the right way or you’re out. That’s what he needs to do this season. Set the tone and build.

 

[BugsyCT]

Not that it would have changed anything, but the option pass botch was just a microcosm of players with little margin for error not executing.

All he had to do was LOB the ball downfield and it's a TD pass. Instead he throws a dart too far to his left for the receiver to lay a paw on. Just maddening.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

There were plays to be made all over the field in all three phases of the game. We are just not good enough to make enough of them. I doubt the coaches teach the tackling and other techniques that we saw demonstrated by Swann and others. This will take awhile(again)

 

[businesslawyer]

I don't know what to think anymore. I'm just confused.

Two years ago Diaco's team was competitive at Mizzu.

Mizzu is not that good of a team.

It is what it is I guess. We just have to move forward.

Not a video game. TEams don't play equal games every week. Mizzou is not a good team, but last night was a way below average effort on our part.

Plus,despite TDhusky's lunacy, a good defensive team can keep you in games with an ugly offense. No offense is going to be able to compensate for our level of defense.

 

[coachcap]

I don’t know what to say anymore other than the talent is not there. It’s not a scheme thing, it’s a talent issue. The O line was butter as others have noted and the DBs don’t have the foot speed or pure tackling ability/strength necessary to compete at the P5 level. Hopefully a couple of them can improve in the years to come, but it’s not likely more than one or two of the young DBs really makes a true leap forward in the quality of their play.

We will have to wait to see on Randy’s diamonds and if his big recruiting effort for Oline players this cycle can turn the tide.

I think we the Qb talent - adequate to win - here in Pindell, Washington, McAfee and Krajewski, but none of them can succeed without a o line.

Four star talent is not coming. This place will be rebuilt on Randy’s diamonds, one of the aforementioned QBs and the new o line recruiting push in the 2018 class. Those three ingredients or bust.

Just think calm before the storm in reverse: HCRE is committed to strength & conditioning. As recruits come in, I foresee only players at skill positions seeing more immediate playing time. Linemen on both offense & defense will be redshirted to be chiseled into the players that Randy envisions them being. (That's why it's beneficial for any recruit to enroll for the Spring semester-to get a jump on conditioning & for the coaching staff to assess progress during Spring training)

 

[LoyalFanCT]

For those of you who are interested, here is an article written by Bill Parcells about turning around a team. Not all of it applies to college teams, especially those with younger players, but it is interesting nevertheless.

He says in part:
Those turnarounds taught me a fundamental lesson about leadership: You have to be honest with people—brutally honest. You have to tell them the truth about their performance, you have to tell it to them face-to-face, and you have to tell it to them over and over again. Sometimes the truth will be painful, and sometimes saying it will lead to an uncomfortable confrontation. So be it. The only way to change people is to tell them in the clearest possible terms what they’re doing wrong. And if they don’t want to listen, they don’t belong on the team.

The Tough Work of Turning Around a Team

 

[NE Football]

Anyone still going to Fenway????