Friday, September 01, 2006

An exciting start to the 2006 season for the UConn Huskies Thursday at Rentschler Field.

Sure they were facing a lesser opponent, but the truth is you can only play who the schedule gives you. Of course, the Huskies have a say in whether they play Rhode Island or someone of a higher caliber. That is not the point.

I thought the offense, which seemed to have the biggest question marks, performed as well as could be expected. Coach Randy Edsall was concerned about depth on the o-line and whether his wideouts were able to get the job done. Both showed they are capable and have potential. Obviously Larry Taylor makes a big difference. He may not be your prototypical WR, but he has good hands, is fast and can make defenders miss. One of the freshmen, Terence Jeffers, impressed me. I thought he ran his routes well and will become a factor before long.

The running game was incredible. Top to bottom, everyone contributed and it had to make Edsall feel good when he thinks about the eventual off-game players eventually have. To have four solid options is a luxury few teams have.

Defensively, I have to agree with the coach. There was some suspect play from his secondary, which was a strength last year. In my opinion, the defensive backs were too busy trying to make plays happen then let the plays come to them. I don't care what level of football you play or how much talent you have; you can't do that. If this was Cincinnati, think about that, Cincinnati, the Huskies would have gotten burned frequently.

The d-line did a good job, often getting penetration and applying pressure on Rams QB Derek Cassidy.

What I am interested to see is how this team responds with two weeks between games.

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