After all of the frustration, can we eliminate the mistakes and still have a big year?

[catben]

Everything that caused us to lose yesterday is fixable.

-long snapper issues
-Levis holding onto the ball, fumbling and reading the defense pre and post snap
-establishing even a little more of a pass rush
- O-Line picking up the blocking scheme

Are those FIXABLE???

 

[HerrosHeroes]

Yes, but we must stay relatively healthy from here on out. We can beat USCjr while letting a few players lick wounds. However, we will need all hands on deck v State as they are legit. Fortunately that game is in Ky. as well.
Then UK gets a bye at the perfect time and can get healthy and prepare for the 2nd toughest game of the season at UT.
UT will not have a bye and have extremely tough games before UK v Bama and after UK at Georgia. They do have a cupcake immediately before the Cats but no bye.
Then the Cats have two very winnable games at Mizzou and v Vandy before the showdown with Georgia in Ky. Followed by a cupcake to end the season.
Im not going to say UK wins out and wins the East but until they lose another SEC game its possible.

 

[EliteBlue]

The long snapper I feel like will be a struggle all year. He’s consistently low on FG attempts even before this game.

But yes, UGA is vulnerable to a slip up. We can win out if we clean up the east stuff.

 

[ManitouDan]

Yeah its possible , but there are very few if any push overs in the SEC .. we aint Bama or Ga , we play a bad game we can certainly lose to So Car or Missouri or MSU .. but we are capable of beating Ga and UT . I dont know about fixable but we are good enough and talented to only drop one more game .. if the stars align . But donating yesterdays W to the loss column hurt to the bone ( Vince) Marrow

 

[bbncal02]

Clean up the line and Will not freak out and we could easily beat UT and give UGA fits.

But this was a sucky loss. Demoralizing for sure. We will see how they respond against USC. We better come out on fire and sharp. Crush their souls early.

 

[K_TIME]

Let's be realistic

- I don't feel good at all that this offense can score 35+ vs. Tennessee. The line is just to shaky to sustain drives throughout a game. Levis could get hot...but he can also be up and down in a game. Then you're asking the D to hold Tennessee under 30-iish...I don't know about that on the road.

 

[HerrosHeroes]

Let's be realistic

- I don't feel good at all that this offense can score 35+ vs. Tennessee. The line is just to shaky to sustain drives throughout a game. Levis could get hot...but he can also be up and down in a game. Then you're asking the D to hold Tennessee under 30-iish...I don't know about that on the road.

Why? Our D is playing lights out.

 

[catben]

I'm concerned most about Levis.

Does he have the fortitude to bounce back after all of the simple mistakes?

Will this game resonate with him going forward?

Is it too late to fix his internal clock that keeps him from getting rid of the ball faster?

Is the fumbling from the dislocated finger or something like Andre Woodson went through?

Will he ever go to his check down receivers quicker?

 

[ManitouDan]

I've stated this before , like last year -- I set in the end zone and watched patterns develop and watched where Will was looking .. man he locks on 1 guy so hard , and last year he would take off and scramble and make things happen .. this year he's holding it but I dont recall any long runs offsetting the sacks . Maybe I'm forgetful .. but I'm afraid he wants to impress the scouts and the scouts want him to be a prototypical pocket passer .. we need him. to make plays with his feet here in the college game .. But I'm afraid the ability for Will to progress thru a couple reads isnt gonna happen any time soon. It just doesnt seem natural for him ..

 

[sieken]

Why? Our D is playing lights out.

Jones missing snaps really hurt us against Ole Miss. Dude is always in the right spot. Not sure why that is being discounted in reasons we lost.

 

[dallasg23]

Losing flax at then really hurt. Thin at the tackle spots is an understatement. Wohlabaugh is as good as hot dog water. And that last play from him is utterly embarrassing to think about. Until the line performs this could easily become an 8-4 season. Miss St looked very impressive the other day and has become a much more important. Hopefully home field advantage will help.

 

[JHB4UK]

Levis is staying in the pocket and not scrambling because he is doing what the coaches tell him to do. Period. 100%. Not scouts or his own selfishness.

Go listen to Coach Scan talk about this exact thing in Spring. He wants Levis to be a point guard - deliver the ball to teammates so they can score. Him scrambling and being reckless gets his body beat up, shortens his career. or worst takes him away from the team this year.

So we are watching the harsh learning curve of Will developing pocket presence. He holds it too long because his 1st instinct of scrambling is a no go, he hasn't learned the instinct of quick read, throw, if not there, throw it away.

He'll get it down, I have faith, he's grown so much in all other aspects.

 

[Lost In FL]

Yes, but we must stay relatively healthy from here on out. We can beat USCjr while letting a few players lick wounds. However, we will need all hands on deck v State as they are legit. Fortunately that game is in Ky. as well.
Then UK gets a bye at the perfect time and can get healthy and prepare for the 2nd toughest game of the season at UT.
UT will not have a bye and have extremely tough games before UK v Bama and after UK at Georgia. They do have a cupcake immediately before the Cats but no bye.
Then the Cats have two very winnable games at Mizzou and v Vandy before the showdown with Georgia in Ky. Followed by a cupcake to end the season.
Im not going to say UK wins out and wins the East but until they lose another SEC game its possible.

Mostly agree, but dont sleep on mizzou. They had auburn in the plains and literally gave it away at the goalline. They almost bested uga too. 2 weeks in a row is not a fluke

Edit: to answer op. Yes, i think most of the mistakes we see can be corrected.

 

[UKUGA]

Yes. But kicking is sooooooo psychological.

 

[ManitouDan]

Levis is staying in the pocket and not scrambling because he is doing what the coaches tell him to do. Period. 100%. Not scouts or his own selfishness.

Go listen to Coach Scan talk about this exact thing in Spring. He wants Levis to be a point guard - deliver the ball to teammates so they can score. Him scrambling and being reckless gets his body beat up, shortens his career. or worst takes him away from the team this year.

So we are watching the harsh learning curve of Will developing pocket presence. He holds it too long because his 1st instinct of scrambling is a no go, he hasn't learned the instinct of quick read, throw, if not there, throw it away.

He'll get it down, I have faith, he's grown so much in all other aspects.

Good post , I didnt mean to imply Will was being selfish in deciding to stay in the pocket more or exclusively this season. I know its a coaching staff decision. Not sure I agree with it , maybe they were counting on More solid O line protection for him .. but staying in a pocket that isnt there isnt working out very well. Just need that O line to be a little more trustworthy and Levis and our great group of wide outs will light it up .

 

[Kattopper]

Our defense is good enough to keep us in or win most games. I think we start to see more of Rodriguez and maybe Levis corrects himself. We have some big plays that can happen with Brown as well. I think there is still hope for a 10-2 regular season but I think 9-3 is more likely. As a long suffering UK fan I will take it everyday and twice on Sunday. I was disappointed as anyone Saturday but it’s still a great time to be a UK fan.

 

[MrHotDice]

Clean up the line and Will not freak out and we could easily beat UT and give UGA fits.

But this was a sucky loss. Demoralizing for sure. We will see how they respond against USC. We better come out on fire and sharp. Crush their souls early.

No game for UK at Tennessee will be easy. History repeats itself.

 

[Mark80]

He’ll yea

 

[Rockfly78]

Yes. Although our margin for error is less now. But we have enough talent to have a special year

 

[cathouse]

Why? Our D is playing lights out.

Tennessee has the #1 offense in BCS. We held them to 48 last year at home. They are BETTER this year. They actually have a running attack to go along with that crazy good passing game.

We could not get the defensive plays called in time for Ole Miss offense and OM is no where near the pace of UT offense.

And if this offense can't figure out how to score more than 19 points against an SEC opponent, buckle your seat belt. We are in for a bumpy ride for the rest of the season.

Other than that, we good.

 

[LeadBellyofTheBeast]

Not as long as Mark Stoops is here. He is never going to win the big ones. It's not in his DNA. He is a coach that can take a program a long way, but there are limits to his abilities. If we ever want to contend for the EAST, SEC or playoffs, we will have to move on from him at some point. Otherwise, I hope meaningless bowl games and pre-season hype are good enough for you!

Before some moron takes offense: notice I never said Stoops sucked, just that he isn't going to get us to the highest level.

 

[sieken]

Not as long as Mark Stoops is here. He is never going to win the big ones. It's not in his DNA. He is a coach that can take a program a long way, but there are limits to his abilities. If we ever want to contend for the EAST, SEC or playoffs, we will have to move on from him at some point. Otherwise, I hope meaningless bowl games and pre-season hype are good enough for you!

Before some moron takes offense: notice I never said Stoops sucked, just that he isn't going to get us to the highest level.

Did you create this account so that you didn't have to be accountable to this take in the future?

 

[ganner918]

Did you create this account so that you didn't have to be accountable to this take in the future?

They've had multiple accounts, at least some of them banned. Must have had their most recent one shut down.

 

[LeadBellyofTheBeast]

Did you create this account so that you didn't have to be accountable to this take in the future?

Nope. I get banned because I say things others don't want to accept. Anyone with eyes should be able to see Stoops has done well at taking UK from a bottomfeeder program to above average. The issue is this is his ceiling. He has shown time and again that he doesn't do well in big games, nor road games. If going to an annual bowl game that really holds no significance or having tons of pre-season hype and hope is good enough, then kudos to you. I am sure you are enjoying this run. However, if the goal is really to be winning the east, playing for an SEC champ and playoff spot, then we need someone that can coach a team to that level.

 

[catben]

Nope. I get banned because I say things others don't want to accept. Anyone with eyes should be able to see Stoops has done well at taking UK from a bottomfeeder program to above average. The issue is this is his ceiling. He has shown time and again that he doesn't do well in big games, nor road games. If going to an annual bowl game that really holds no significance or having tons of pre-season hype and hope is good enough, then kudos to you. I am sure you are enjoying this run. However, if the goal is really to be winning the east, playing for an SEC champ and playoff spot, then we need someone that can coach a team to that level.

How long did it take Kirby Smart at UGA to get his team to the national championship game and win even with all of the 4 and 5 Star core recruits he brought in??

The SEC is EXTREMELY difficult!!! The schedule is a grind and road games are hell. Coach Stoop has done a terrific job and all of our team’s pre-season goals are still attainable. Did the loss at Ole Miss make it much harder, YES. But we still have a lot of football left before we just label Coach Stoops in any way.

Considering what we are going up against, our program is light years ahead of where we have been since the Bear Bryant days.

 

[sieken]

Nope. I get banned because I say things others don't want to accept. Anyone with eyes should be able to see Stoops has done well at taking UK from a bottomfeeder program to above average. The issue is this is his ceiling. He has shown time and again that he doesn't do well in big games, nor road games. If going to an annual bowl game that really holds no significance or having tons of pre-season hype and hope is good enough, then kudos to you. I am sure you are enjoying this run. However, if the goal is really to be winning the east, playing for an SEC champ and playoff spot, then we need someone that can coach a team to that level.

What's the lottery numbers for Saturday? This working for a living is getting old!

 

[LeadBellyofTheBeast]

How long did it take Kirby Smart at UGA to get his team to the national championship game and win even with all of the 4 and 5 Star core recruits he brought in??

The SEC is EXTREMELY difficult!!! The schedule is a grind and road games are hell. Coach Stoop has done a terrific job and all of our team’s pre-season goals are still attainable. Did the loss at Ole Miss make it much harder, YES. But we still have a lot of football left before we just label Coach Stoops in any way.

Considering what we are going up against, our program is light years ahead of where we have been since the Bear Bryant days.

He won it all in his 6th season. Went to a NY6 bowl every year except his first. Won the east 4 out of 6 years. Won the SEC and went to the playoffs in only his 2nd season.

Stoops has done well, but he has hit his ceiling here. So, if you are good with that ceiling, then more power to you, but if you want to reach UGA level, we need an even better coach.

I remember Rich Brooks having a team ranked in a very similar spot at Stoops.

 

[catben]

He won it all in his 6th season. Went to a NY6 bowl every year except his first. Won the east 4 out of 6 years. Won the SEC and went to the playoffs in only his 2nd season.

Stoops has done well, but he has hit his ceiling here. So, if you are good with that ceiling, then more power to you, but if you want to reach UGA level, we need an even better coach.

I remember Rich Brooks having a team ranked in a very similar spot at Stoops.

How many 10 win seasons did Coach Brooks attain here? I loved him, but we were NO WHERE NEAR where we are now as a program.

I will reserve judgement on this season and Coach Stoops until this season plays out.

Are you of the opinion that UK Football could reach the UGA/Bama level with a different coach?

 

[LeadBellyofTheBeast]

How many 10 win seasons did Coach Brooks attain here? I loved him, but we were NO WHERE NEAR where we are now as a program.

I will reserve judgement on this season and Coach Stoops until this season plays out.

Are you of the opinion that UK Football could reach the UGA/Bama level with a different coach?

Brooks coached during a better era of football and a stronger SEC top to bottom. At least in my opinion.
Sec now usually has only 2 or 3 great teams a season.

I have watched the man for 10 years now, and in big games, he coaches not to lose instead of to win. He just lacks confidence in those situations. And it would happen to a lot of us, it takes a monster ego to win at the top level. And Stoops doesn't seem to have an ego. Which would normally be a good thing, just not in head coaching.

Yes. I think with what we are now investing in the program, we could easily compete for titles if we had the right coaching staff. We also have to be able to recruit top 10 classes consistently. Stoops and co are good recruiters, but not that level.

 

[KMKAT]

I've stated this before , like last year -- I set in the end zone and watched patterns develop and watched where Will was looking .. man he locks on 1 guy so hard , and last year he would take off and scramble and make things happen .. this year he's holding it but I dont recall any long runs offsetting the sacks . Maybe I'm forgetful .. but I'm afraid he wants to impress the scouts and the scouts want him to be a prototypical pocket passer .. we need him. to make plays with his feet here in the college game .. But I'm afraid the ability for Will to progress thru a couple reads isnt gonna happen any time soon. It just doesnt seem natural for him ..

This simply helps both the passing game and running game; Levis just needs to make his decisions sooner and I think he succeeds the majority of the time.
FWIW, its another OC in his first year, so all the lingo gets moved around and you can't say that Levis has all this lingo in his head w/o some confusion.

 

[JHB4UK]

Thinking Kentucky could just hire some coach who turns us into Bama or Georgia or Clemson or Ohio is just stupidity on a high level

The same 10 to 12 teams compete for national championships over the last 50 yrs since integration. 1 or 2 fade away, like Nebraska, New one develops, like Oregon. Kentucky is with the other 115 or so who structurally will never be among the elite consistency.

Population, wealth, commitment, history - the stuff that factors into the DNA of a program, and UK is lacking, period. Not nearly enough good ballplayers nearby who's family have loyalty to the program. Nowhere near enough big boosters who want to help. And for damn sure no administration committed to winning, ask Chris Rodriguez.

We've got a coach overcoming the obstacles and is putting a top 20 team on the field. Putting helluva lot better team consistently out there than other "powers" do. There might be a coach who could do better in the job. But asserting someone could make UK a top 4 program is just really dumb and ignorant of CFB realities.

 

[CapnBlubs]

If we get the ball in the hands of Brown (especially) and Robinson as much as possible (like 8-10 each per game instead of 3-5), that can make up for at least a couple of the issues listed. Ole Miss was fortunate that a couple of Brown's breakaway plays didn't break ALL the way.

 

[hmt5000]

I'd rather have talent that is making mistakes then have a really polished untalented team that just can't win. If we clean up just some of this stuff we could still win 11 games this year... but we have to fix it soon.

 

[JHB4UK]

If we get the ball in the hands of Brown (especially) and Robinson as much as possible (like 8-10 each per game instead of 3-5), that can make up for at least a couple of the issues listed. Ole Miss was fortunate that a couple of Brown's breakaway plays didn't break ALL the way

I still think Key can he the most explosive productive WR we've got. Wish he was on sched for 8 to 10 balls a game.