Pretty much what Stoops said this morning. I definitely agree but can’t abandon it when it’s working like we did vs Mizzou,
Can’t grow as a program without a passing game
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The program isn't growing any losing games either.
If running the ball a ton meant beating Missouri then we should have kept with it.
If running the ball a ton meant beating Missouri then we should have kept with it.
I didn't see all of Stoops comments, so my view is without the whole context, but I disagree on the face of it. If running is what UK does best, then you got to pound the rock. The off-season is for thinking strategically for the 2024 and beyond seasons. Now the priority should be maximizing the number of wins this season.
Can't force Leary to try to adapt to a pro-style scheme when he's clearly still uncomfortable seven games in. Can't force two of the three main WRs to stop dropping passes when they've displayed it's a feature of their games for the last 1.5 seasons. Can't suddenly have TEs making individual plays when we don't have any to do so.
Don't try and force what can't happen. Sanders is a (very) fringe Heisman candidate and a solid Doak Walker candidate. Feed him as much he can handle and/or until the defense cheats enough that the passing game is able to contribute.
I will say the OL is much better this year. Yenser has shown why he was retained.
Can't force Leary to try to adapt to a pro-style scheme when he's clearly still uncomfortable seven games in. Can't force two of the three main WRs to stop dropping passes when they've displayed it's a feature of their games for the last 1.5 seasons. Can't suddenly have TEs making individual plays when we don't have any to do so.
Don't try and force what can't happen. Sanders is a (very) fringe Heisman candidate and a solid Doak Walker candidate. Feed him as much he can handle and/or until the defense cheats enough that the passing game is able to contribute.
I will say the OL is much better this year. Yenser has shown why he was retained.
Agreed...if Leary were a Fr....maybe I can see we need to grow with him. But dude is gone after thsi season....so we're only getting 12 games to grow him....not 3 years
Agreed. Then it's rinse and repeat and start over again.
This comment by Stoops reads like a goofy Calipari comment to me.
Jmo but I think this was roster based statement both focused towards recruits and probably current players whining about touches.
Normally I agree but not sold on it this year. Depends on how one defines "run heavy". Should we abandon the pass? No. Should we go long stretches without giving ray touches? Definitely not.
There is no excuse for a guy to start with 9 rushed for 75 yards in the first quarter (plus a receiving TD) then basically get nothing till the second half. If we're trying to be balanced, then maybe I get it. But it sure seems to all go back to making sure some drama queen wrs get their touch chart met.
Do what wins games. Ray Davis is one of the best backs in the nation. Lean on him and supplement it with pa pass. If wrs start crying, tell them to catch the ball or transfer and go drop ball for someone else
Normally I agree but not sold on it this year. Depends on how one defines "run heavy". Should we abandon the pass? No. Should we go long stretches without giving ray touches? Definitely not.
There is no excuse for a guy to start with 9 rushed for 75 yards in the first quarter (plus a receiving TD) then basically get nothing till the second half. If we're trying to be balanced, then maybe I get it. But it sure seems to all go back to making sure some drama queen wrs get their touch chart met.
Do what wins games. Ray Davis is one of the best backs in the nation. Lean on him and supplement it with pa pass. If wrs start crying, tell them to catch the ball or transfer and go drop ball for someone else
Need a passing game before you abandon it. Haven’t had one yet.
Stoops has taken UK as far as he ever will. He cannot recruit an SEC level QB so we will always be in trouble against the good SEC teams. We can beat Vandy occasionally and a terrible Florida team, but he will never be able to compete with UGA, Bama, or EWE TEA.
Yeah...maybe it's a message to Bolley/Saunders and the WR recruits in 2024.
But as far as current roster...I want to keep Dane. I think he's a fine WR and his early season drops have not been happening for 2 games. But Barion, it would suck to have him leave and his best years we don't get....but if we can't run the offense without him pouting....then I'd be fine to let him walk out after UL game. Just silly what we've seen from WR room in 2023.
Supposedly that is what Cutter Bowley (4 star) is supposed to bring to the table. They have talked about having a homegrown freshman QB to learn the offense and then hang around for three of fours years to make the most of it.
It should work, but this is UK football. It seems like we never have all the pieces to the puzzle at the same time. Will they have any receivers to put around him when he is here? A line to protect him? A running back to take the pressure off? idk. I hope so.
It should work, but this is UK football. It seems like we never have all the pieces to the puzzle at the same time. Will they have any receivers to put around him when he is here? A line to protect him? A running back to take the pressure off? idk. I hope so.
I feel like for the Cats to truly be competitive year in and year out the QB needs to be a threat with his feet. Having 2021 Levis did a lot more for the offense with his feet then we probably give him credit for. Last year they took that out of the play book and the season went to shit. Leary has bricks for feet and most of this board is faster than him.
Abandoning the passing game is what got Gran fired. We'd become so one-dimensional year after year that teams could stack the box and whip us. We literally had no passing threat in Eddie's last two seasons and a moderate at best passing attack in 2018. Hinshaw couldn't develop a QB so we just rode Snell all the way to the Citrus Bowl.
The guys need reps passing. Linemen, receivers, tight ends, and apparently even Leary. What do we do next season when Davis is gone? No golden goose running back unless we hit the portal.
We can lean on running more than passing, definitely, but we can't do 70/30 or whatever we did in the Gran years. That hampers 2024 and beyond.
Boley and Saunders can't get here quick enough.
The guys need reps passing. Linemen, receivers, tight ends, and apparently even Leary. What do we do next season when Davis is gone? No golden goose running back unless we hit the portal.
We can lean on running more than passing, definitely, but we can't do 70/30 or whatever we did in the Gran years. That hampers 2024 and beyond.
Boley and Saunders can't get here quick enough.
Dude skedaddled in the Mizzou game, though. Enough that he scored two touchdowns (I know one was called back, and the refs can bite my lily white butt).
Who will train Cutter? What will they teach him?
Passing games require more "teamwork" than running games. Can the coaches currently at UK teach all the rules and nuances of "the passing game" ?
UK presently ranks #103 in passing offense. Just "asking"if the present staff knows and can "install" an effective "passing game". IMHO, Stoops can certainly stay as HC but deserves "help" in anything other than hard-nosed running game football.
I was with you till the end. Leary showed much better speed than I gave him credit for. He does need to run sparingly though. He isn't built like a tank ala will Levis.
I can't grow without lifting weights but that doesn't mean I start out benching 450. You have to work your way up and can't just will it into existence. Stoops should have been developing a passing game in his FIRST year here. It took him 10 years to learn that throwing the ball is kind of important.
We won some big time games with little to no passing game. We have the best RB Stoops has had at KY. Win the damn game!
You can’t even think about passing the ball if you don’t have WRs who can catch. It’s hard for me to blame Leary. Can’t imagine how frustrated he is.
You can’t even think about passing the ball if you don’t have WRs who can catch. It’s hard for me to blame Leary. Can’t imagine how frustrated he is.
Stoops literally hired a man known for his passing attack and who played in an air raid system as the first OC of his tenure.
Gran was renowned for his passing game at Cincy while also developing stellar RBs.
It hasn't worked out, obviously, and we can put the blame on Stoops as HC. However, all three of Stoops' OCs who've been at UK more than one season were brought in because they had a reputation for a good or great passing game.
We’ve had Snell,CRod and now Davis, it’s ridiculous that we haven’t had and don’t have a good passing game. If they have to stack the box to stop the run the pass should be easy enough.
We have 2 passing coordinators on staff and no passers or catchers. Kids shouldn’t be afraid to come here and play immediately,
I mean he’s right lol. We will never go where we want to until we can throw the ball. Doesn’t mean Ray should go long stretches without touches tho. Plus we finally got 2 highschool QBs that look like they might be worth a damn. Not gonna keep them running the ball every play
And yet, all 3 OCs never really resembled having a passing attack. Who's the common denominator?
Brown had Joker's players to work with; Gran had a good 2018 before we realized Hinshaw couldn't develop a rash, let alone a QB; and Coen had a good passing year with Levis in 2021.
I think it's a bit disingenuous to say Stoops has never had a passing attack. He has. He just hasn't been able to keep his best OCs because they leave for bigger jobs and the one he was able to keep put too much faith in a crappy QB coach who couldn't recruit for s**t.
If you can score points, you can win. Any team worth their salt can shut down a run game. A little more tough to shut down 5 wides flying all over the field and a qb that can distribute the ball. Defense is guessing 5 vs 1 or 2 options.
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True. But this is exactly why someone like Coen was brought in. UK had success with ground & pound against the bad to middling teams in the SEC. In order to have a chance to beat teams like UGA or Bama, you have to be able to throw the ball as well. I've seen other teams put up good offensive performances against UGA and Bama in the league in recent years. The only team that NEVER seems to be able to do that is UK (or maybe Vandy).
Even on his long run he wasn’t moving very fast lol just had nobody around him.
After listening to the full PC, I'm more surprised than before. Stoops said he knows they could've had more success on the ground and potentially won that game but we wouldn't grow as a program. Pretty shocking statement to hear a coach say they basically sacrificed a very winnable game for some future return.
Shocking because this isn't a rebuilding year. Shocking because ray Davis is a fantastic young man, hard worker, and amazing talent that deserves his opportunities too. Shocking because although we need wrs, we need OL and RB too; and this sends a clear message to recruits playing those positions.
We ran the ball very well vs Georgia until we just abandoned it altogether. Florida was the #1 rush defense and a top defense in the nation.
When we play teams like Mizzou and UT, the run game is crucial to keeping their pass rush from just teeing off. Balance goes both ways, but to force balance in any given year is just a wasted sacrifice imo
Definitely not what I saw. Even on his QB draw he showed very capable speed. I was shocked as was probably everyone else. No one is saying he's running a 4.4 or has elite speed, but he has plenty enough to keep teams honest as long as he can also stay healthy
Shocking because this isn't a rebuilding year. Shocking because ray Davis is a fantastic young man, hard worker, and amazing talent that deserves his opportunities too. Shocking because although we need wrs, we need OL and RB too; and this sends a clear message to recruits playing those positions.
We ran the ball very well vs Georgia until we just abandoned it altogether. Florida was the #1 rush defense and a top defense in the nation.
When we play teams like Mizzou and UT, the run game is crucial to keeping their pass rush from just teeing off. Balance goes both ways, but to force balance in any given year is just a wasted sacrifice imo
Definitely not what I saw. Even on his QB draw he showed very capable speed. I was shocked as was probably everyone else. No one is saying he's running a 4.4 or has elite speed, but he has plenty enough to keep teams honest as long as he can also stay healthy
This all BS, our mantra is to slow the game down and play to keep it close. No elite will ever be at the bottom of The NCAA in total plays. We are 133/133, Stoops said he was gonna add tempo this year, we’re as slow as we’ve ever been.
^^^THIS
This falls directly on the shoulders of the man who tells the OC to go slow.
If you want to have the new age offense, let the guy you brought in(TWICE) run it the way and the pace he deems fit.
Stoops micro manages a little too much in the offense. Leave Liam alone!
I think the bigger question is ...will Stoops ever "honestly" change his philosophy?
I feel like he has to at this point.
I also think it really is understated how much piss poor luck CMS has had with QBs. Barker injured, Wilson injured, Stephen Johnson was basically held together with Scotch tape and prayers by the end of his college career, and then Levis injured.
I'm not debating that CMS doesn't deserve criticism. He does because he leads the program. It's just unfortunate that from the time Brown left until we got Coen, we didn't have the chops to recruit a top QB or develop them. I think Coen can work wonders with the recruits and guys we have, but it'll take time and a consistent system.
No more ultra complex blocking schemes that confuse our own linemen, no more three yards and a cloud of dust, and yes to developing the QB like what Coen did with Will.
Next on the docket is receivers doing their job. Yippee.
Sometimes some guys can. But, in the big picture, a change in philosophy is a pretty big change.
Peace
While Stoops has fallen short with a consistent passing attack year over year....I think we're acting like this is days of Bil Curry/Elliot Uzelac offensive years.
1. Levis 2,800 yards in 2021 was 8th best single season. And to be fair 5 of the top 10 are Mumme QB season which is a total anomaly. Levis at 66% completion percentage is 2nd best season for a UK QB (Behind one of Couch)...
2. Wandale is single season receiving leader in UK history with 1,334 yards. Juice Johnson for a career is 4th with 2,089 yards.
So while I agree I am not happy with how Terry Wilson Sr year panned out, Levis Sr year panned out, etc...but there is some extreme over-reacting to act like we can't throw a forward pass under Stoops. I do feel like long term Coen is a talented offensive coordinator and we can have good balanced offenses as we stay the course with Coen.
Stoops is the problem. 5 offensive coordinators in his tenure and same results.
