Friday, September 17, 2010

From the mailbag

It's always good to hear from readers, no matter where they are. This week, Scott from California posed a question about the Huskies' upcoming game against Temple.
Scott writes:
Dear Joe,

Thanks for your great coverage of the Huskies. I was reading before the season about Moorhead installing a new no-huddle, up-tempo offense, and how Frazer was the type of QB who could run that system. Has that been an emphasis in practice? Is that something we would expect to see against Temple? I see UConn has run about 58% of the time for the season.  I appreciate hearing any opinions or insight that you may have on this.
Thanks for the e-mail. Joe Moorhead brought in the no-huddle last season, but it wasn't used nearly as much as people would have liked. Part of the problem was the Huskies really struggled in the passing game and the running attack usually worked.

This year, UConn still wants to use the no-huddle. The media hasn't been allowed to watch practice since before the Michigan game, so I can't tell you what's being worked on specifically. I can tell you this: During training camp, they worked the no-huddle extensively.

Then where is it, right? I think it was difficult to use it against Michigan because the Wolverine's 3-3-5 formation makes passing difficult and that's what the Huskies needed to do to climb back into the game. As you mentioned, the Huskies have run the majority of the time, and I think last week's game skews the numbers. Versus Texas Southern, UConn had to run otherwise it would have been running up the score in a 62-3 game.

Against Temple, which allowed almost 300 passing yards to Central Michigan last week, I suspect we'll see some no-huddle. Look for it on the drives where the Huskies are moving the chains and the Owls are sort of on their heels. It's the ideal situation to use the no-huddle and really crush a defense's spirits.

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