Eventually selective amnesia will kick in, but that defense was so horrific the memories of how bad they were are still burned like a laser in my mind. The Memphis and Missouri games stand out. Our defense was only marginally better than 11 traffic cones.
People say I’ve become too negative, but there is no way I’d throw 11 random traffic cones under the bus like that.
Wasn't it Whitmer whose concussion protocol involved moving to wideout for a play or two?
Donovan Williams, followed a year later by Tyler Davis were both Diaco recruits and crazy Bobby talked up their abilities. He moved Williama to TE (and said Davis was going to push him out of QB anyway) and then did the same with Davis.
Don't know, but that would violate the intent of any concussion protocol that I am aware of. Even of you are running decoy routes with no intention of the QB to pass to you, you can still get hit. If that happened it was crazy.
Thanks.
Agreed. But regarding run blocking, in the recent past pulling linemen to lead the run blocking sucked. And I am not confident that it will be much better this year (we shall see). In the days of Jordan Todman and Anthony Sherman, having a fullback in the backfield that could hit the point of attack much quicker and with a lot more northbound kinetic energy (like a ton of bricks) was hugely successful. I really wish they would get back to that some. The last time UConn played Temple they killed UConn by doing that. Pulling linemen who have to first run east or west (and often make a cut north) before they make contact is more difficult to execute correctly and with the right timing. Being able to run the ball between the tackles really opens up the passing game as we all know. And it has been a long time since UConn has been able to do that effectively.
True enough. But it allowed us to transport ourselves to the days of the Yankee Conference with that highly entertaining game against Rhode Island, won by the last team to possess the football. The last time I had seen Rhode Island play was in 1967 at Centennial Field, a 0-0 tie against UVM.
Wasn't Donovan Williams the one who Diaco said was the best he had ever seen at his position? Even for Diaco that was crazy talk.
I was being a little flippant calling it a protocol, but they did line him out wide as a decoy when he was too groggy to play his position.
I remember posting on the Courant message board about that and got flamed by the moderator (the beat writer) for even suggesting that. BS, it was an obvious case of mismanagement that would get a coach fired today.
PP liked Tim Boyle. The entire staff at the time was willing to let Boyle develop.
Technically, we did not play a 1AA team in Ps 2d year. UMass played role of cupcake game that year.
I'm more confident about beating UConn beating FCS teams this year. Why? 1) I think a dual threat QB will help UConn's offense considerably against an FCS opponent, and 2) Mora has brought in more beef in the defensive front 7. Although size isn't the only factor to consider, but UConn was not physically much bigger than Holy Cross last year and at some key positions, Holy Cross was bigger (LB and RB). Last year, UConn had 1 d-lineman heavier than 300 lbs. This year's roster (although not updated), lists 5. And, last year, UConn listed 0 LBs greater than 234 lbs. This year's roster lists 6. Last year's starting LBs averaged 219 lbs and this year's starting LBs should average 235 lbs +.
I am reminded of Ryan Fine, transfer from Miami. He was big too. But my grandmother could move quicker and tackle better than him. I do like your approach to the question, though.
I think the 3-3-5 defense that Crocker brought to UConn was a disaster and it lead to some poor recruiting decisions on defense that were felt for years. (The portal now allows you to fix mistakes much quicker.) In 2016, the defense was ranked 65th in yards per game at 410.8. In 2017, with 7 starters returning and Crocker's new defense, they were ranked 127th in yards per game at 519.0. Then the bottom fell out in 2018 with the historically worst defense.
That dumb gimmick and recruiting tweens killed us. It was concept that doesn’t fly with FBS personnel that are both bigger and faster.
FWIW, I believe Iowa St runs a 3-3-5. It works well when you have a great Nose Tackle and ends, with solid Linebackers and a hybrid LB who is mainly a DB, but only way it truly works is having a workhorse safety that can play both the pass and the run and with dbs that know their assignments. It is a difficult scheme to master when you don't have the players who know what to do/know their assignments pre-snap.