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Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 09-22-2019, 11:14 AM:

After taking some time to digest what I saw yesterday, here are my thoughts on this football team:

(1) Our defensive line is awesome. Often a 3-man rush was sufficient to pressure the QB; a 4-man was devastating. While they occasionally got burned up the middle for a significant gain, for the most part they are a solid, fearsome front.

(2) Our offensive line is almost as good for running plays as our defensive line. I can't remember a time when UK had such talent and power on both side of the trench.

(3) The offensive line, however, really needs to work on pass protection. Smith isn't particularly quick on his check-offs, and the MSU defense got to him often.

(4) We have two excellent running backs. Rose responded to the coach's challenge and broke several long runs, and Smoke is a up-and-coming runner.

(5) Our secondary actually played "ok". They play OK man defense, but they easily get picked and switched in the zone.

(6) Smith played fairly well until he injured his shoulder. Following that, his passes were sometimes low, often too high. I think we will see Walker Wood get some snaps. Not sure how we will do in the SEC with our third-string QB.

(7) Lynn Bowden had a nightmare start, with two catchable TD passes dropped. But he made up for it as the game progressed, with impressive effort after the catch to get extra yards. He ran the wildcat quite well, and did his usual job as a returner the few times they gave him the chance to field the ball.

(8) We have some good receivers, and many of them are TALL. Wagner in particular is a towering giant. Smith had him at the pylons twice with a chance to score, but his pass was frankly uncatchable both times. Wagner is a real asset to just go up and grab a pass above the defenders. In fact, once we had a 'flood left' set with three wide receivers on one side, and they ALL looked to be significantly taller than the DBs facing them.

All in all, this is a solid, even a very good football team. We definitely let two victories slip away against Florida and MSU. But keep in mind that both of those games could easily have been wins, and we could be sitting at 4-0 and probably ranked in the top 15. But our execution on half-a-dozen key plays turned victory into defeat. Dropped passes (difficult, to be sure, but catchable), missed field goals, and missed sacks turned this game from a UK win to a loss. Can this team fix that? I hope so. It is all fundamentals -- kicking, tackling, throwing, catching... Our players continue to impress me with their skills overall.

I really hope they can avoid going into a funk following these two losses. The next two games are winnable against South Carolina and Arkansas. Going into Georgia at 4-2 would make that likely loss more tenable, then the home stretch of Missouri, Tennessee, and Vandy might just put us at 9-3

Posted by ukcatfannfl (Member # 1425) on 09-22-2019, 01:06 PM:

Sounds good on Paper tip but watching it - we have a back up qb coming from a lower tier div 1 school as a starting qb in the SEC - not good!

A D line who allowed a true freshman qb look like a all sec performer!

A secondary who is still trying to face guard someone..and maybe even make a play or two.

A linebacker crew who looked awful yesterday with little pressure on the qb and unable to stop their running back..not to mention the qb rushed for 125 yrds.

I do agree that we could have won yesterday but if that performance wasn't like the old ky team that most were used to I don't know what was!!

Maybe last yr was the one yr that we had everything come together and know back to ky being ky?? I hope not but they better play better next sat or the terrible SC will beat them..

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 09-22-2019, 04:36 PM:

I would also like seeing it happen Tip but I just don't see it. We would need some miraculous plays. So far I have predicted the results and am 4 for 4. Before the season I printed out Keith Taylor from the Herald Leaders' predictions. He is 3-1 by picking UK to beat MSST. I hate to be there live and see them blow games like Florida and I'm worried we will do it again. Overall I feel we just don't have the experience, skill and ability to go much better than 6-6 without some devine intervention. That's why mI have reached the point of bring on the BB.

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 09-22-2019, 04:37 PM:

I would also like seeing it happen Tip but I just don't see it. We would need some miraculous plays. So far I have predicted the results and am 4 for 4. Before the season I printed out Keith Taylor from the Herald Leaders' predictions. He is 3-1 by picking UK to beat MSST. I hate to be there live and see them blow games like Florida and I'm worried we will do it again. Overall I feel we just don't have the experience, skill and ability to go much better than 6-6 without some devine intervention. That's why I have reached the point of bring on the BB.

Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 09-22-2019, 08:44 PM:

I guess time will tell. I have more optimism than you two, for sure. That running back that burned us was damn good (reminded me a little of Snell), and has been churning out big yardage all season. And the freshman QB seems to be a real gem -- not a fluke. I have to give credit to talent where appropriate, and those two were truly good football players. So, of course they are going to get their yards.

But we have talent also. Lynn Bowden has grit, playing hard and tough despite some early gaffs. Rose and Smoke are going to carry this team, but we have just enough talent in the receiving corps to balance the running attack. Our defense isn't quite like last year (neither is our offense), but it is a darn good defense that will only get better.

All in all, I have not lost hope. If the players also dig in and play to their potential, this could still be a good season.

It is easy to be pessimistic about Kentucky football. Believe me, I understand that. I have witnessed UK get shellacked so many times over the past 40 years it isn't funny. But Stoops and company really have changed the culture. They have vastly improved the talent and the depth. They have changed the expectations. I just get the feeling that these kids will find a way to win

Posted by ukcatfannfl (Member # 1425) on 09-22-2019, 09:28 PM:

Tip we will see about their true freshman qb but one thing is for sure - he got zero pressure on him to the point even the commentators were talking about how little pressure was applied.

I am not down on UK as I stated the first of the season that we will be 8-4 and I still believe that. We however must beat the teams that we are supposed to beginning with SC this sat...If we lose that one then 6-6 comes into play as we wont beat Missouri, ga and anyone else on the road!!

Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 09-23-2019, 10:54 AM:

Ed, we actually did put pressure on Schoeder. He just beat us with his legs when we did. Twice he eluded what looked like a sure sack and burned us for a big gain. Other times he just got the ball off at the last second (usually a completion) and took the hit. He is a sturdy kid (6'4" and 220lbs) and didn't flinch when he went down hard.

I prefer rushing 4, but that really leaves us vulnerable to a QB who can run (or can get a quick pass to the RB in the flat). Our 3-man rush was actually fairly effective, but not enough to hurry him. Honestly, IMO it wasn't bad defense, but just good solid play by MSU.

Posted by MountainMafia (Member # 2066) on 09-24-2019, 07:20 AM:

I'm not very good at breaking down a team's performance, but I know a good team when I see one.

It takes two things to be a good/great team.

1. Talent, and lots of it.

2. Good coaching, and lots of it.

The less you have of one, the more you need of the other. The more you have of both the better a team will be.

If your receivers can't catch, your QB can't throw, or your linebackers can't tackle..you need better players.

If your receivers can catch, your QB can throw, your linebackers can tackle, and you still lose...you need better coaches.

Would've, could've, should've simply means you didn't.

You are who you are, either coaching or playing.

[ 09-24-2019, 07:25 AM: Message edited by: MountainMafia ]