Position group evaluation (long)

[gamecockcat]

QB: did not meet expectations; accuracy was not as advertised; too many balls batted down; limited mobility; did not seem to read coverage any better than Levis
RB: Davis far exceeded expectations; DSK exceeded rather low expectations; McClain did not meet expectations and was rarely a factor; Jefferson met low expectations
OL: exceeded low expectations; still not at the level we expect and need; better than last year; still not sold on Eli and Burton as solid SEC starters; expectations will be pedestrian again next year
TE: below expectations; weren't used in the passing game enough again; lot of missed blocks and penalties; never really developed into a difference maker unit; part may be Leary, part Coen and/or over hyped in preseason
WR: early edition was way below expectations; last half they were solid and met or slightly exceeded expectations; still need work on becoming good WRs with route running, making tough catches, blocking, getting open against press coverage, etc

DL: Walker exceeded, the remainder did not meet expectations; thought our DL would be a strength but it was mainly adequate most of the season; other than DW, no playmakers
LB: did not meet expectations; no one developed into a pass rusher; lot of missed tackles and blown coverages with this group; looked overmatched for too many games at times
DB: met rather low expectations; Hairston was pretty consistently good, the others had their moments; safety play was atrocious for much of the season; way too much cushion given every game by CBs

Special teams: PK was money and far exceeded expectations; P was way below expectations; KR was lights out and above expectations; PR below expectations, too many punts were allowed to drop and bounce, never was much of a threat to get a good return; coverage teams met expectations

DC: White fell below expectations; was too passive too much of the time, especially on first drive or two by the opponent, end of half and end of game; did not get creative often enough to generate pressure on the QB

OC: slightly below expectations; had good sequences in every game but then had too many series where we were too predictable, too conservative, went away from things that were working, seemed to be too concerned with making specific players happy vs moving the chains; did not feel Leary improved over the course of the season

HC: below expectations; again the team was plagued by stupid penalties, miscommunication, poor clock management, losing their poise, lack of overall discipline, not doing their job; horrendous middle eight and end of game coaching; once again, did not play to get big leads and rotate in a bunch of players; went conservative at odd times to the detriment of the team

What did I miss?

 

[PensacolaBlue]

Good write up. I would disagree a little on some. I don’t think the WRs ever exceeded expectations. They were bad all year for the most part. I also think the offense was pretty bad all year so it’s hard to say that Coen just came up a little short.

 

[KYWC36]

Yea I’d agree … when a team finishes losing 6 out of their last 8 and in the manners they do it … it’s hard to be positive about anything on this team …. Disappointing season for the wrong self inflicted reasons, never thought I’d say this but I’m glad the season is over

 

[PensacolaBlue]

I would add that our portal recruiting was a mixed bag. Cox, Raynor, and Davis were great pickups but Leary wasn’t good and our DBs flat out were awful. Can’t think of many instant impact freshmen except the DB in-state guy.

 

[know1]

The WRs were an abject failure all year. I'd personally help Key pack if he would just transfer out. Hopefully to Louisville so he can drag them down. He has loads of talent, but clearly not much motivation to truly take advantage of it.

Davis was awesome for most of the season, but we got nothing from any other back. And Davis' production dropped off in the last few games.

The OL was just not good.

TEs were nonexistent.

Punting was not good. Kicking was pretty good.

Kick and punt return game was excellent, obviously.

I was pretty happy with the defense the entire year. Gave up too many points a few times, but they had help from the O in those.

 

[ManitouDan]

QB: did not meet expectations; accuracy was not as advertised; too many balls batted down; limited mobility; did not seem to read coverage any better than Levis
RB: Davis far exceeded expectations; DSK exceeded rather low expectations; McClain did not meet expectations and was rarely a factor; Jefferson met low expectations
OL: exceeded low expectations; still not at the level we expect and need; better than last year; still not sold on Eli and Burton as solid SEC starters; expectations will be pedestrian again next year
TE: below expectations; weren't used in the passing game enough again; lot of missed blocks and penalties; never really developed into a difference maker unit; part may be Leary, part Coen and/or over hyped in preseason
WR: early edition was way below expectations; last half they were solid and met or slightly exceeded expectations; still need work on becoming good WRs with route running, making tough catches, blocking, getting open against press coverage, etc

DL: Walker exceeded, the remainder did not meet expectations; thought our DL would be a strength but it was mainly adequate most of the season; other than DW, no playmakers
LB: did not meet expectations; no one developed into a pass rusher; lot of missed tackles and blown coverages with this group; looked overmatched for too many games at times
DB: met rather low expectations; Hairston was pretty consistently good, the others had their moments; safety play was atrocious for much of the season; way too much cushion given every game by CBs

Special teams: PK was money and far exceeded expectations; P was way below expectations; KR was lights out and above expectations; PR below expectations, too many punts were allowed to drop and bounce, never was much of a threat to get a good return; coverage teams met expectations

DC: White fell below expectations; was too passive too much of the time, especially on first drive or two by the opponent, end of half and end of game; did not get creative often enough to generate pressure on the QB

OC: slightly below expectations; had good sequences in every game but then had too many series where we were too predictable, too conservative, went away from things that were working, seemed to be too concerned with making specific players happy vs moving the chains; did not feel Leary improved over the course of the season

HC: below expectations; again the team was plagued by stupid penalties, miscommunication, poor clock management, losing their poise, lack of overall discipline, not doing their job; horrendous middle eight and end of game coaching; once again, did not play to get big leads and rotate in a bunch of players; went conservative at odd times to the detriment of the team

What did I miss?

Excellent write up Gamecock . I would be little more blunt on the Head Coach and DC .... I watched every minute of Mizzu last night .. they blitzed relentlessly . Total opposite approach of our defense , a total 180 . I dont think Mz had any more talent or weapons than we did , they win 11 games inc a HUGE bowl win while we limp away with a 7 win season . Another thing of note , other than # 15 getting a brain dead penalty for taunting their players kept their mouths shut. I loathe Tosu so much its unhealthy --- but their players NEVER ran their mouths and posed and got in the face of their opponent last night . We did it all day long and its embarrassing , not worthy of the commonwealth of Kentucky , its not who we are . Stoops needs to clean a ton of stuff up , in general , far harder practices leading to more on the field discipline . Quit tolerating the nonsense , #15 got jerked out after his loss of composure , yesterday Hairston gets a 15 yarder on the first play , no where near his 1st one of those , and Stoops never yanks a guy for a series over stupidity like that . We seem to be cultivating a culture of guys acting like they play on a team of legends , instead of also rans .. Finebaum referred to us as the " 8th best program in the conference" but we strut around like we are Bama or Ga . Its unseemly . ok rant over .

 

[CatPatrick13]

Excellent write up Gamecock . I would be little more blunt on the Head Coach and DC .... I watched every minute of Mizzu last night .. they blitzed relentlessly . Total opposite approach of our defense , a total 180 . I dont think Mz had any more talent or weapons than we did , they win 11 games inc a HUGE bowl win while we limp away with a 7 win season . Another thing of note , other than # 15 getting a brain dead penalty for taunting their players kept their mouths shut. I loathe Tosu so much its unhealthy --- but their players NEVER ran their mouths and posed and got in the face of their opponent last night . We did it all day long and its embarrassing , not worthy of the commonwealth of Kentucky , its not who we are . Stoops needs to clean a ton of stuff up , in general , far harder practices leading to more on the field discipline . Quit tolerating the nonsense , #15 got jerked out after his loss of composure , yesterday Hairston gets a 15 yarder on the first play , no where near his 1st one of those , and Stoops never yanks a guy for a series over stupidity like that . We seem to be cultivating a culture of guys acting like they play on a team of legends , instead of also rans .. Finebaum referred to us as the " 8th best program in the conference" but we strut around like we are Bama or Ga . Its unseemly . ok rant over .

interesting observation... but I think Missouri pressured the OLine of OSU because their play has been lousy all year long. A good offense can stop that pressure with misdirection most of the time.

 

[ManitouDan]

^ Well Tosu is littered with 5 stars and won every game but 1 up until last night . Regardless of Tosu offensive woes and 3rd string QB can you say with a straight face Stoops would have Bludgeoned them like Mz last night ? NO WAY , we woulda did what we do , bend bend bend bend , and bend some more .. passive vagina football. And lost the game 18-14 .