Mailbag Sept.3: Overused Scott McCummings, Conservative Play-Calling?

By On September 3, 2012 · 7 Comments

 

Q: Liked your story, Dez. Awesome performance by the D. I am a big McCummings fan, but I thought he actually got too many snaps [Thursday]. They shoulda let Whitmer get into a rythm and flow, take over the team. And the offensive play calling was unimaginative until they used that trick play with two QB’s. But when McCombs is held to under 100 yards by a UMass, something has to change and I think it is the conservative play calling. We are going to find out about the O-line next week. RST, Bolton

A: Hey Richard I think we’ve gone a little overboard on whether McCummings was overused, rhythm, flow, etc. First off, this is the same young man everyone was nervous about leaving not too long ago, remember? Why? Because of his ability to run the Wildcat. Whitmer looked pretty sincere to me after the game when he said the shuffling doesn’t affect him at all; that he can still get in rhythm when he comes back. I think the fans’ rhythm and flow was disrupted the most.  I think one way to look at the UMass game, essentially a glorified scrimmage, is it gave the coaches an opportunity to see some things and see a lot of kids it wants to play  in a real game atmosphere. They were able to get a good look at who could play and how players would react to certain situation. To try and determine what this team is going to do and be based on the UMass game I think is a bit of a stretch. UConn goes into a serious upgrade in competition this week and a 2-0 start would be huge for this program right now. Working toward that right now has to take precedence over what was  pleasing to the eye in Game 1 against a program playing its first Division I A game. Thanks Richard

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7 Responses to Mailbag Sept.3: Overused Scott McCummings, Conservative Play-Calling?

  1. RST says:
    September 9, 2012 at 10:49 am

    After the NCST game it occurs to me the McCummings doesn’t really run the Wildcat. He is a QB handing off to the RB from the shotgun three quarters of the time. To be effective he has got to run it more (but not up the center) and — dare I say it — actually throw the ball once in awhile. If they are afraid to let him do those things, then he shouldn’t be out there.

  2. Mike Falko says:
    September 4, 2012 at 3:51 pm

    The wildcat is garbage in the pros but it still can be effective at the college level. I’ve never been terribly impressed with McCummings(was hoping that Nebrich would’ve been the other option), but I am glad he got those snaps against UMass. Every one of those plays was a rush, I think the coaching staff wants to get those plays on film so that when Scotty finally does air it out, teams are surprised. Hopefully that means some wide open receivers down the field against NC State.

  3. Rich G. says:
    September 4, 2012 at 10:14 am

    The Wildcat hasn’t worked in years so enough is enough. UConn must be fans of the NY Jets since they seem to be the only team that thinks the Wildcat is still some magical weapon that everyone fears. Doing it last year was fine with JMac back there. Now that we have an upgrade at the position let’s stop fooling around and let the QB do his job.

  4. Frank yah says:
    September 3, 2012 at 12:04 pm

    I think the conservative play calling was not to give anything away to NC State and to see how different players respond to the same plays.

  5. Steve says:
    September 3, 2012 at 12:00 pm

    As Des said, this was a glorified scrimmage. McCummings missed a good portion of the preseason, so this essentially for him was one of his first times in a game like situation. I would say getting him in there was more to just get some snaps under his belt with a new center than it was to rip off big runs. The Wildcat has huge potential with Nick Williams coming across the field in motion, the more film a team sees to prepare against that, the more options that open up for you. They played it safe in week one because let’s be honest, why show NC State and future opponents alot to prepare for when you know it’s not needed to beat a team like UMass.

  6. John says:
    September 3, 2012 at 11:16 am

    “Hey Richard I think we’ve gone a little overboard on whether McCummings was overused, rhythm, flow, etc. First off, this is the same young man everyone was nervous about leaving not too long ago, remember? Why? Because of his ability to run the Wildcat.”

    Against the worst team on the schedule, McCummings gained 13 yards on 7 rushes. 1.9 yards per rush.

    Des, you or I could have done the same thing.

    The Wildcat stinks. The Wildcat has always stunk under DeLeone, and will always stink.

    Whitmer was pulled from the game immediately after 7 of his 9 completions that went for 10+ yards (thx UConnBlog). That’s insanity.