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Closing in on the season opener

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UKErik

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With spring practice and a couple of weeks of fall camp in the rear view mirror, I think we have a pretty good handle on what this team will look like (well, as much of a handle as you can have considering we haven't seen them play). The three biggest remaining questions for me...

1. Quarterback (of course). Kentucky's failure (over the last ten or so years) to develop a play maker at QB is about as frustrating as it gets. Stephen Johnson was a solid player, but nothing close to what this program needs. Heading into 2018, here we are AGAIN hoping one of the guys on campus can establish himself. OC's seem to favor the dual threat guys because it makes their job easier. I prefer a guy that can make plays in the passing game. Unfortunately, UK has had virtually no luck finding a guy that can do both.

2. Defensive Line. Historically, this has been Kentucky's albatross. Will 2018 by any different? I think we're better off than last season, but is there any high end talent? The Cats are probably good enough at linebacker to put a solid front seven on the field, but I'm not sold on the DL.

3. Kicker. Think about the terrific career of Austin MacGinnis and what he meant to the program. Kicker seems like a non-descript concern until you need a 50-yard field goal at the buzzer to beat Mississippi State.

Overall, I don't think there's any question that Stoops has more depth and talent than he's had previously. How Kentucky performs at the spots above will probably determine whether or not this team is able to do things like win at Florida or come out on top against pier programs (Missouri, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, etc...).

Glad UK football is back!

GBB!!!
 
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Quarterback, I think we'll be fine with whoever gets the nod. DL is the best since Stoops arrived and I think we'll be alright at kicker as well with Miles Butler or with the freshman Chance Poore. Butler hit a 45 yard FG in the spring game and Poore has a strong leg as well. I think I've seen Twitter posts of him hitting from 50 yards easily. I haven't really seen what Max Duffy can do yet at punter. He did alright in the spring game but didn't see him enough.

Anyway, you know it's football season when you see a UKErik post. Let's get it rolling.
 
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UKErik said:
With spring practice and a couple of weeks of fall camp in the rear view mirror, I think we have a pretty good handle on what this team will look like (well, as much of a handle as you can have considering we haven't seen them play). The three biggest remaining questions for me...

1. Quarterback (of course). Kentucky's failure (over the last ten or so years) to develop a play maker at QB is about as frustrating as it gets. Stephen Johnson was a solid player, but nothing close to what this program needs. Heading into 2018, here we are AGAIN hoping one of the guys on campus can establish himself. OC's seem to favor the dual threat guys because it makes their job easier. I prefer a guy that can make plays in the passing game. Unfortunately, UK has had virtually no luck finding a guy that can do both.

2. Defensive Line. Historically, this has been Kentucky's albatross. Will 2018 by any different? I think we're better off than last season, but is there any high end talent? The Cats are probably good enough at linebacker to put a solid front seven on the field, but I'm not sold on the DL.

3. Kicker. Think about the terrific career of Austin MacGinnis and what he meant to the program. Kicker seems like a non-descript concern until you need a 50-yard field goal at the buzzer to beat Mississippi State.

Overall, I don't think there's any question that Stoops has more depth and talent than he's had previously. How Kentucky performs at the spots above will probably determine whether or not this team is able to do things like win at Florida or come out on top against pier programs (Missouri, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, etc...).

Glad UK football is back!

GBB!!!
Click to expand...
Erik, I’m glad you brought up something that’s very important but rarely gets talked about, the kicking game.
Punters and place kickers can win or lose 2-3 games a year. A great punter dictates field position. Place kickers are just as important.
 
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Kicker: it’s starting to look like this may be a kick by committee approach. Grant Mac has been practicing at kickoffs with others. Butler looks like the regular PAT/FG guy, but I suspect his leg is not as strong as the others. It may be that Poore is brought in when UK needs to try from distance, as the coaches have commented on his leg strength. He or Grant McKinniss may be kicking off for the same reason. That is my read-between the lines impression. It could be way over in left field on the new baseball stadium. Maybe Poore improves his accuracy and transition to the speed of the game and just wins the job?
 
Welcome back UKE for the 2018 season... It's always good to be back.
Each season I look upon the 1st game with great anticipation... Been underwhelmed too often during the CMS era when playing teams I thought we should'a dispatched convincingly but didn't. So here we are again and I am anxious to see what we got!... I also have concern with the QB position... I do not think it a good sign (again) we don't know who man's the position.... What I will be looking for most intently is UK's ability to protect the QB.... If C-Mich. is the least bit disruptive then it'll have to be a mobile QB and we have 1..... :pray:
I would prefer Hoak have the time to run the offense...... I think that's who starts. OMO
 
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Caveman Catfan said:
It may be that Poore is brought in when UK needs to try from distance, as the coaches have commented on his leg strength. He or Grant McKinniss may be kicking off for the same reason.
Click to expand...

Another somewhat overlooked skill that Austin had was directional control of the kickoff. You don't want the ball going down the middle - that's were big returns get setup, but you don't want it to go out of bounds either giving the opponent the ball in great field position. AM was really good at getting the ball into one particular side of the field which greatly helped the coverage teams. So I would say directional control as well as the leg strength to get the ball into or out of the endzone would be a big consideration of who kicks off.
 
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shutzhund said:
Eventually it comes down to two questions. Can you run the ball and can you stop the run? If the answer is yes to both then 7-8 wins. If you can only do one then 5. If you can't do either it will be a long season.
Click to expand...

We have had no issues whatsoever running the football the last 2 years so that isn't a concern. But stopping the run is and until I see it then I can't be confident in our ability to do so.
 
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Good to see this post, it means football season is getting closer.

I agree with all three concerns. I think those three are unquestionably the biggest question marks.
 
I'll relate my thoughts of the "questions" as they relate to last yr.....

1. QB - SJ didn't turn the ball over, was a great leader, and made some crucial plays (like running for a first down when he had to)......but he wasn't the best passer and was very beaten up. Wilson has a large edge in running ability over SJ. Hoak is almost as good of runner as SJ and is a much better passer. Leadership is unknown. But I think both Wilson and Hoak have a much higher ceiling than SJ. They are unproven and inexperienced, but they will have a great ground game to lean on. Conrad is healthy, Riggs has come on....and they won't have to rely on the TE's to block nearly as much. Baker is back and we should have some maturation with guys like Richardson/Bowden. So, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that whomever plays at QB will see better production numbers than SJ had. I'm not predicting crazy stats, but I think we'll be better.

2. DL - Paschal.....ouch. I pray that he heals well first and foremost. Prayers be with you. But his indefinite absence hurts. But I think the DL will be considerably better than last yr......and moreover will be boosted by an improved LB corps. That being said, I'm not predicting an SEC dominate DL, but I don't think they'll be ranked at the bottom. I'd guess middle of the road (or lower middle) SEC production.

3. Kicking - It'd be shocking if we were as good or better this coming yr. Losing the starting punter.....and the program's all-time leading scorer hurts. I really like our ST coaching the last couple of yrs.....so, I have faith that the staff will maximize what we have. So, there will be a drop off. I just hope that the position is not a liability......
 
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Here's what I want to see this year:

1) Consistent play making ability out of the receivers. Specifically, I want to see somebody emerge as "the dude" who can blow the top off a D and gain chunks of field for the offense, thus opening things up for Benny.

Secondly, there's been too many dropped balls in the CMS era thus far, not just incomplete passes but momentum stifling game altering dropped balls that hit the hands. In addition to "the dude", we need a "Mr. Reliable", somebody who isn't necessarily the primary/play making receiver, but who can be counted on to catch the short underneath stuff to keep drives alive.

2) Better offensive play calling. Too many drives last season were killed with head-scratching play calls. Drives that would be rolling with Benny moving the chains, then all of a sudden 3 incomplete passes in a row...not one of them being a PA to even attempt fooling the D and sucking them in...straight up passes that everyone in the stadium saw coming.
 
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I was very much sold on the DL before the new on Josh. Thought it not only made us more athletic and disruptive up front but allowed us to get better athletes like Boogie on the field as well. And I love the potential of several of our Dline guys that are going into their break out year IMO. Without Josh it certainly is not as rosey but still feel good about them.

The question I hear little discussed that I think is a much bigger issue is the play of the secondary. Will they bounce back for a tough year last year and show the experience and potential we all think they have? If so it's a game changer by itself. Last year everybody played pitch and catch on us and it had little to do with a lack of pass rush. They could throw three step slants and skinny posts all day long on us with little resistance on first or third down. Those guys have to tighten up and cover this year to give the defense a chance to get off the field. It think our front seven will make more TFL this year and put the bad guys in more third down passing situations and we have to get off the field more and create more turnovers from the most talented and experienced unit we have.
 
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UKErik said:
OC's seem to favor the dual threat guys because it makes their job easier. I prefer a guy that can make plays in the passing game. Unfortunately, UK has had virtually no luck finding a guy that can do both.
Click to expand...

Since hartline, this program struggles to find someone who can do either
 
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Larry Skaggs said:
If Hoak is as good as Jonhson, why didn’t he play even one snap when Johnson could barely raise his arm?
Click to expand...
This was/is the most puzzling question of last year. We had absolutely nothing to lose playing Gunner Hoak on several game situations last year - so why didn't the staff play him? Does this really speak about how our coaching staff is that unprepared to make decisions when the game is going on - could be just another example of it- we all saw the many coaching mistakes that occurred during the games. Two uncovered receivers in the Florida game, the blown coverage at Vandy before halftime, the mismanagement of the clock at Mississippi State before half time, the reluctance to play Drake Jackson sooner, not playing Benny Snell until game 3 two years ago - these are all coaching decisions that will make you scratch your head and wonder if the job is too big for the head coach- no matter who is suppose to be responsible for these things - it always comes back to the guy who is being paid $4 Million a year to get these things right. The coaches raved about Gunner in spring games and him being a great team member, etc. - which I do believe. There is an old saying that everyone needs to remember, "Actions speak louder than words". The coaches actions have told us how they really felt by their "actions". I hope I am wrong and Gunner, Terry and Danny all do well this year.

Go Big Blue!
 
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Soupbean said:
The question I hear little discussed that I think is a much bigger issue is the play of the secondary. Will they bounce back for a tough year last year and show the experience and potential we all think they have? If so it's a game changer by itself. Last year everybody played pitch and catch on us and it had little to do with a lack of pass rush. They could throw three step slants and skinny posts all day long on us with little resistance on first or third down. Those guys have to tighten up and cover this year to give the defense a chance to get off the field. It think our front seven will make more TFL this year and put the bad guys in more third down passing situations and we have to get off the field more and create more turnovers from the most talented and experienced unit we have.
Click to expand...


The secondary has proven to be decent. The QB's, K's, or DL's haven't. That's why it's not brought up much.

The soft coverage is not a talent issue. They're being told to yield the shorter routes to prevent the bigger routes. So, you'll likely continue to see teams through quick slants and routes on us routinely. It's the "bend not break" approach.
 
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Deeeefense said:
One thing evident is there is very little if any debate about our strengths and potential weakness(s) this year as we normally have.
Click to expand...
Honorable mention for our potential weakness, or at least a major question mark, has to be the WR rotation. I'm a big fan of Lynn Bowden & Tavin Richardson, but we just don't have an over-abundance of proven, returning talent. The potential is there for them to be much better than most of us expect however.
 
ukalum1988 said:
Honorable mention for our potential weakness, or at least a major question mark, has to be the WR rotation. I'm a big fan of Lynn Bowden & Tavin Richardson, but we just don't have an over-abundance of proven, returning talent. The potential is there for them to be much better than most of us expect however.
Click to expand...

I would throw Baker in there as another experienced guy that understands the offense, gets the reads, runs the routes well and also blocks well in the run game. We also are very strong at tight end this year with Conrad and Riggs back form injuries ready to go full tilt and some good underclassman backing them up. Juice was a loss but we have a lot of younger players that are ready to step up.
 
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One concern I haven't seen mentioned very often is the play of the CB's. We MUST get better play from that group. I realize our pass rush was a big reason for our DB's getting abused so often last year, but with our experience on the back line, you would think our results will be improved this season.
 
shutzhund said:
Eventually it comes down to two questions. Can you run the ball and can you stop the run? If the answer is yes to both then 7-8 wins. If you can only do one then 5.
Click to expand...

Shutz, I agree with your basic analysis, more and more each year.

But your numbers are off. We have achieved 7 [+] win seasons 6 or 7 times since 2006 without being able to stop the run.

We might have finished in the top half of the conference in run defense in 2008, but otherwise, even in our bowl seasons, we've been pretty damn mediocre up the middle.

If we can do both, i.e., run the ball and stop the run, we could easily be eyeing a double-digit win total.
 
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gamalielkid said:
This was/is the most puzzling question of last year. We had absolutely nothing to lose playing Gunner Hoak on several game situations last year - so why didn't the staff play him? Does this really speak about how our coaching staff is that unprepared to make decisions when the game is going on - could be just another example of it- we all saw the many coaching mistakes that occurred during the games. Two uncovered receivers in the Florida game, the blown coverage at Vandy before halftime, the mismanagement of the clock at Mississippi State before half time, the reluctance to play Drake Jackson sooner, not playing Benny Snell until game 3 two years ago - these are all coaching decisions that will make you scratch your head and wonder if the job is too big for the head coach- no matter who is suppose to be responsible for these things - it always comes back to the guy who is being paid $4 Million a year to get these things right. The coaches raved about Gunner in spring games and him being a great team member, etc. - which I do believe. There is an old saying that everyone needs to remember, "Actions speak louder than words". The coaches actions have told us how they really felt by their "actions". I hope I am wrong and Gunner, Terry and Danny all do well this year.

Go Big Blue!
Click to expand...
Would the coaches ever have played Johnson if they hadn't been forced into it. This is biggest question/concern about the coaching staff,they don't seem to see what they have or don't have at the QB spot until they get hit up beside the head with it. I wonder if that is a call that Stoops is making while ignoring Gran and Hinshaw's input/advice or do Gran/Hinshaw not see it either?
 
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Baker is a proven WR although it's been interrupted b/c of injury. I have little doubt that we have a known quality there.
 
UKErik said:
With spring practice and a couple of weeks of fall camp in the rear view mirror, I think we have a pretty good handle on what this team will look like (well, as much of a handle as you can have considering we haven't seen them play). The three biggest remaining questions for me...

1. Quarterback (of course). Kentucky's failure (over the last ten or so years) to develop a play maker at QB is about as frustrating as it gets. Stephen Johnson was a solid player, but nothing close to what this program needs. Heading into 2018, here we are AGAIN hoping one of the guys on campus can establish himself. OC's seem to favor the dual threat guys because it makes their job easier. I prefer a guy that can make plays in the passing game. Unfortunately, UK has had virtually no luck finding a guy that can do both.

2. Defensive Line. Historically, this has been Kentucky's albatross. Will 2018 by any different? I think we're better off than last season, but is there any high end talent? The Cats are probably good enough at linebacker to put a solid front seven on the field, but I'm not sold on the DL.

3. Kicker. Think about the terrific career of Austin MacGinnis and what he meant to the program. Kicker seems like a non-descript concern until you need a 50-yard field goal at the buzzer to beat Mississippi State.

Overall, I don't think there's any question that Stoops has more depth and talent than he's had previously. How Kentucky performs at the spots above will probably determine whether or not this team is able to do things like win at Florida or come out on top against pier programs (Missouri, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, etc...).

Glad UK football is back!

GBB!!!
Click to expand...
Would Andrea Woodson have a shot in the type offense Stoops wants to run?
 
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shutzhund said:
Eventually it comes down to two questions. Can you run the ball and can you stop the run? If the answer is yes to both then 7-8 wins. If you can only do one then 5. If you can't do either it will be a long season.
Click to expand...
Whoever/whatever it is it better be an offense that scores more points instead of playing hide and seek/four corners in the second half.
 
The-Hack said:
Shutz, I agree with your basic analysis, more and more each year.

But your numbers are off. We have achieved 7 [+] win seasons 6 or 7 times since 2006 without being able to stop the run.

We might have finished in the top half of the conference in run defense in 2008, but otherwise, even in our bowl seasons, we've been pretty damn mediocre up the middle.

If we can do both, i.e., run the ball and stop the run, we could easily be eyeing a double-digit win total.
Click to expand...

You're right. I'll try and remember my numbers. I used to forget the snap count on a few occasions also. Mia culpa.
 
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sluggercatfan said:
Would Andrea Woods on have a shot in the type offense Stoops wants to run?
Click to expand...

Good question. Not much hype but he showed a lot of speed on the one run in the spring game, and he did throw a very good long pass on the one TD, even if it might have been a bad call. Probably not this year though and hopefully we have all three of the other candidates for a while. Probably a long shot but they signed him for a reason whether it is at QB or not.
 
UKErik said:
Glad UK football is back!

GBB!!!
Click to expand...
Amen, brother.

And thank you for having the courage to speak the truth about SJ. It continues to amaze me how overrated he is by our fan base. Great kid, had some great moments, but overall very limited skill-wise. We need to improve drastically at QB, but it's the toughest position to develop in all of college football. Even most 5-stars don't turn out to be stars, or even starters. We will have to rely on running the ball, playing strong D and special teams -- and home to at least have a solid, heady game manager at QB.
 
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