Yeah. It was that damn bad.
UConn could do nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing. Donnie Brown actually saved a kitten from a tree and help a blind elderly woman cross the street between gashing the Cavalier defense and Tyler Lorenzon was seen composing sonnets in the backfield. The performance was so impressive that it forces us to raise the "Syracuse Conundrum". Are we that good? Or are they that bad?
The truth, of course, is somewhere in between.
Onto the review.
The Good
Donnie Brown- 206 yds and 3 TDs on 20 carries. Mmmhhhmmm, thats over 10 per carry. Just think about that. Impressive, no?
Jordan Todman- The true freshman from MA made his much awaited (by me, at any rate) debut against the Cavs. And what a debut he had. The 48 yard run he had to end the 3rd quarter showed that he can fill the Slash-type roll this team desperately needs.
Rob Ambrose- I knew that this game had promise from the very first play. Brown lined up in the slot with Lorenzon directly under center, Brown went into motion and the ball was snapped as Brown fell in behind the near tackle, from there it was that familiar stretch-zone play...but with that funky motion wrinkle. Ambrose ran that play again and again with both Todman and Brown to great success. This was also the first time I've seen us use Steve Brouse effectively. He lined up in the slot, he split out wide, he lined up at fullback, he lined up at H-back. Ambrose had the creativity to move Brouse all around the field and, while the box score shows but a single 18 yd catch, he was able to exploit whatever mismatched linebacker he found covering himself.
It pleased me to no end to see our offense line up in formations other than double-tight. The four wide set looks to have potential.
And we're damn certain to see more Darius Butler and Jordan Todman.
The Defense- While Mike Verica was able to go 22 for 30, the secondary kept the deep ball under lock and key (hence Verica's very pedestrian 5.3 yds per att). While we were treated to a few blitzes (I'm used to a John Chavis defense, I'm sorry but I demand a hyper-aggressive hornet's nest of a defense), the d-line was able to generate enough pressure on its own to keep Verica off balance all night.
Jasper Howard seems to be coming into his own opposite Darius Butler; he batted down a number of balls, including one inside UConn's 10.
T-Lo- His much heralded decision making, so sorely, and obviously, lacking against Temple and Hofstra, returned. While, as was his wont, he was unspectacular, he turned in a rock solid 13/15 game with one touchdown and no picks. His 29 yard bomb (yes, a 29 yard pass is a bomb by UConn's tight buttoned standards. Tresselball what?)
But most impressive were his 10 carries. Lorenzon never panicked when a play broke down or he couldn't find an open man, rather he calmly scanned the field and tuck the ball and ran off like he stole something. He has some wheels for a 6'4"-ish white boy from Iowa.
The Bad
This is all nit-picking. Its difficult, if not impossible, to complain a game in which your recently beleaguered quarterback goes 13/15, you run for 382 (what the fuck? 382!) yards, and your defense surrenders a mere 31 yards. Once again, this is ALL nit-picking.
T-Lo- He lacked any touch on the short passes and both Sherman and Brown had to make some pretty fantastic leaps to catch a few of his passes to the flats.
Down-field tackling- Too much arm tackling by the secondary, UVA had far too many yards after the catch. Again, nitpicking.
Kick Coverage- Now this isn't nitpicking and is close to becoming a point of legitimate concern. Tony C should not be making the tackle on kick offs, ever. Our kick off squad kept their lanes and played disciplined on special teams, they just failed to get off their blocks. This could be a huge, huge, huge problem against UNC.
Grade: A+.
Truly impressive showing. Let's shut down Robert Griffith (easier said than done, ask Wazzu) and get ready for a tough road stretch.
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