Flax gets the start on Saturday

[Rembrandt90]

Yeah he did. He said we had best start respecting Flax's improvements in practice and within the system. How would one do that? Through praise. I'm with Allen Iverson on this one. And stop being so melodramatic. Geez.

LOL! I said it is time to respect Flax for hard work and improvement. That seems reasonable. What else should we expect from our guys? But if you don't want to, then don't.

Who says Flax has worked hard and improved? Coach Stoops does. So this boils down to whether you believe and trust our head coach. Again, if you don't want to, then don't.

BTW, JP Fisher wasn't being melodramatic. In so many words, he was showing you that you are melodramatic. But it's all good. I don't think anyone on this board will be satisfied unless our OL plays better than last. I know I won't. So let's see what happens.

 

[hmt5000]

I'm sure he won't but he's going to have to REALLY f up to lose the spot and going into game 5, that could be too late. Just my thoughts.

So bet?

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Your comment that the Oline wasn’t that bad last year…I think they were a bottom handful Oline for any P5 program…that is really bad. Not many are exaggerating …that group was the second worst Oline under stoops (his first year was the only worse unit

That's by sack numbers which definitely weren't all on the OL. QB owned many of those, maybe as many as half.

The ol really struggled early, especially with stunts, but got much better as the season went. Last third of the season they were very good but no one gave them credit. Played great against Georgia and Louisville despite having a QB that was very slow making decisions. Also helped Levis finally decided to run some, which he admitted in an interview before the Georgia game he was holding back.

Yes there was much left to be desired but it wasn't all on them. Not by a long shot

 

[JPFisher]

Yeah he did. He said we had best start respecting Flax's improvements in practice and within the system. How would one do that? Through praise. I'm with Allen Iverson on this one. And stop being so melodramatic. Geez.

If you think respect and praise are the same thing then there's no conversation to be had. That's a you problem.

If I stumble across a grizzly in the Alaskan bush then I'm gonna show respect by giving it space. I'm not gonna tickle its chin and ruffle its fur and tell it how it's been a good bear getting real fat and cute for the winter.

It's not a particularly difficult concept.

 

[K_TIME]

That's by sack numbers which definitely weren't all on the OL. QB owned many of those, maybe as many as half.

The ol really struggled early, especially with stunts, but got much better as the season went. Last third of the season they were very good but no one gave them credit. Played great against Georgia and Louisville despite having a QB that was very slow making decisions. Also helped Levis finally decided to run some, which he admitted in an interview before the Georgia game he was holding back.

Yes there was much left to be desired but it wasn't all on them. Not by a long shot

UK scored 26 pts vs another pitiful UL defense. UK Defense turned UL over 3 times and basically set up 10 pts on the D alone. UK had to settle for 4 Ruffalo FG and could not jam it down UL throats like we've done every year since 2016. So UK offense line did improve from abysmal to bad as the year wore on...but nowhere did I see even a mediocre Oline.

It is fine to move the page to a new year and Coen can coach up our deficiencies better than Scangerello. But to put lipstick on that pig of an Oline last year....I'm not down with it an inch. That was damn near Joker Phillips level bad Oline play.

 

[UKnCincy]

UK scored 26 pts vs another pitiful UL defense. UK Defense turned UL over 3 times and basically set up 10 pts on the D alone. UK had to settle for 4 Ruffalo FG and could not jam it down UL throats like we've done every year since 2016. So UK offense line did improve from abysmal to bad as the year wore on...but nowhere did I see even a mediocre Oline.

It is fine to move the page to a new year and Coen can coach up our deficiencies better than Scangerello. But to put lipstick on that pig of an Oline last year....I'm not down with it an inch. That was damn near Joker Phillips level bad Oline play.

I’m not sure I’d call UL’s defense last season pitiful. Their season averages look pretty comparable to our season averages.

Even if you assume that they faced less competition than we did, their averages would suggest they were still a pretty good defensive team last year, and certainly not pitiful.

• Scoring defense:
  • UL: 19.2 pts
  • UK: 19.2 pts
• Yards allowed per game:
  • UL: 330
  • UK: 311
• Yards allowed per play:
  • UL: 5.1
  • UK: 5.2
• Turnovers per game:
  • UL: 2.3
  • UK: 1.3

2022 College Football Team Defense | College Football at Sports-Reference.com

Check out the 2022 College Football Team Defense and more about College Football at Sports-Reference.com

www.sports-reference.com

 

[JHB4UK]

Like Michigan QB last year, it doesn't really matter who starts for UK at right tackle week 1.

Who starts week 4 in Nashville?

That will be the ultimate winner of the competition. These first 3 games is just an extension of fall camp for Flax & Ford.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

UK scored 26 pts vs another pitiful UL defense. UK Defense turned UL over 3 times and basically set up 10 pts on the D alone. UK had to settle for 4 Ruffalo FG and could not jam it down UL throats like we've done every year since 2016. So UK offense line did improve from abysmal to bad as the year wore on...but nowhere did I see even a mediocre Oline.

It is fine to move the page to a new year and Coen can coach up our deficiencies better than Scangerello. But to put lipstick on that pig of an Oline last year....I'm not down with it an inch. That was damn near Joker Phillips level bad Oline play.

Like @UKnCincy pointed out, they definitely were not pitiful. We just made them look that bad. Iirc coming into that game they were leading the nation in sacks and maybe even takeaways.

Everyone assumes both they and Georgia would wreck our OL and pass protection but instead there was only 1 or 2 sacks total in those two games. Some of that was due to the QB no longer holding himself back (which he admitted in an interview) but there is no discounting the outstanding job by the OL towards the end.

Like Michigan QB last year, it doesn't really matter who starts for UK at right tackle week 1.

Who starts week 4 in Nashville?

That will be the ultimate winner of the competition. These first 3 games is just an extension of fall camp for Flax & Ford.

I agree but iirc you were one of the posters who guaranteed Ford would start because "he didn't transfer here to sit".

Hopefully Ford proved me wrong, but it's concerning if he had issues with speed off the edge at USC because he's taking a giant leap up in competition here. Granted he's moving to RT which will help but still.

 

[CRZ4UK]

Good. Obviously the coaches know that he is ready.

Which coach?? Last year Wolly started at LT the 1st game?? Whose decision was that?? Scang?? Yenser?? We gave up 4 sacs to Miami Oh and he performed so badly he was replaced never to play LT again. Who knew he was ready?? Obviously he wasn’t. I just know this. We all have to be in wait and see mode. Some on here are panicking like me. Some are gobbling up the coach speak like gospel believing we will be greatly improved. No one knows till game one. If we are in a 3 point game at halftime like last year we will know.

 

[SosaUK1987]

Agree, both will clearly be needed. Ford now becomes our only experienced depth at OT although Dylan Ray has become one of the stories of camp. Looks like we got a steal from the portal in Ray.

With due respect to all concerned, it's high time for people to respect Flax for his hard work and improvement. This happens a lot in our football program, but it is still worth discussing in this case. I want to see the improvement in games, but I trust our coaches. Flax was a highly recruited prospect out of Robichaud hs in Detroit where he was a 3 year starter and also played basketball. He attended Independence CC to improve his academic status, then picked UK over AU and TX Tech. Flax has talent and good size. The SEC is the best football conference in the country and all of us know Flax gave up sacks on the edge in 2022. But he has always been a physical run blocker. When a player fights to keep his job and works hard to improve, he earns the respect of his teammates and coaches. He should earn the respect of the team's fans too.

Why are you always trying to tell the fans what to do? Get off your high horse. You aren’t the President of BBN.

 

[secrules3]

So bet?

I agreed with you. ???

 

[cathouse]

UK scored 26 pts vs another pitiful UL defense. UK Defense turned UL over 3 times and basically set up 10 pts on the D alone. UK had to settle for 4 Ruffalo FG and could not jam it down UL throats like we've done every year since 2016. So UK offense line did improve from abysmal to bad as the year wore on...but nowhere did I see even a mediocre Oline.

It is fine to move the page to a new year and Coen can coach up our deficiencies better than Scangerello. But to put lipstick on that pig of an Oline last year....I'm not down with it an inch. That was damn near Joker Phillips level bad Oline play.

I'm just gonna leave these facts about how bad our O Line was, AND IT WASN'T JUST ONE PLAYER, right here for those who are having memory lapses.

Kentucky's offensive line has nowhere to go but up
Adam Stratton•08/19/23•
comments

The Big Blue Wall, a nickname earned from multiple years of extraordinary play from Kentucky’s offensive line, looked more like a medium-sized yield sign last season. The eye test made this evident from watching a hobbled Will Levis sustain sack after sack, however, advanced analytics show just how much the Wildcat’s front crumbled.
According to PFF, a premium statistics website that I will likely reference way too much this season, Kentucky’s starting offensive line averaged next to last in the SEC when it comes to performance. That’s right, the only team with a worse offensive line rating was Vanderbilt.
PFF ranks players on a normalized scale between 0 to 100 where 60 is average, 90 is exceptional and 30 is about as bad as you can get. Between all five starters last season, Eli Cox, Jager Burton, Tashawn Manning, Kenneth Horsey, and Jeremy Flax, Kentucky averaged a rating of 58.34.


SPONSORED CONTENT
For comparison, Arkansas led the SEC with an average rating of 76.66.
PFF further breaks offensive linemen’s performance down into pass-blocking and run-blocking categories, and as you might guess, those numbers don’t get much better. Kentucky averaged 10th in the SEC in pass blocking last year with an average of 64.14, boosted largely by Tashawn Manning, now with the Baltimore Ravens, who had a rating of 77.2 rating.
As for run blocking, Kentucky’s starters averaged a rating of 56.32, coming in 12th in the SEC just ahead of Vanderbilt and South Carolina. That really makes you admire what Chris Rodiguez did that much more.

Kentucky’s 2022 Offensive Line PFF Ratings​

Player	Position	Overall PFF	Run Block	Pass Block
Eli Cox	C	58.6	53.9	64.8
Jager Burton	G	48.2	47.1	46.8
Tashawn Manning	G	68	66	77.2
Kenneth Horsey	T	66.8	63.4	68.5
Jeremy Flax	T	50.1	51.2	63.4

Team	Overall	Run Block	Pass Block
Arkansas	76.66	75.44	76.54
Florida	73.88	73.4	75.6
Alabama	73.78	70.52	79.36
Georgia	72.58	69.26	77.34
LSU	64.78	65.38	64.24
Miss St	64.6	59.7	73.34
Texas A&M	62.14	65.84	55.72
Missouri	61.48	60.92	62.54
Tennessee	59.98	58.32	60.28
Ole Miss	59.92	57.84	64.74
South Carolina	59.38	55.44	68.88
Auburn	58.82	57.78	64.9
Kentucky	58.34	56.32	64.14
Vanderbilt	53.04	52.4	57.02

 

[blue cincy]

While I feel pretty good about the 2023 offensive unit....I'd argue we have more questions than RT spot.

1. Are we really sold on RB spot. Ray Davis is solid but not great talent to me. Backup RB is a big iffie spot IMO.
2. Will Dingle actually try to block somebody this year at TE? At least we have Kattus who is an elite blocking TE...but those 2 TE sets....Dingle has to get much tougher at point of attack.
3. Significant depth issues at WR...outside of Anthony Brown backign up Tayvion....we feel good at WR rotation?
4. Flax, as noted, had a bad year at RT....but also Jager Burton was a mess as well. Will he be fine at Center....he needs to show it as well.
5. The huge issue to me is Yenser as Oline coach in general.

All in all, I think many of these issues will not turn out to be a negative in 2023....but a few might be a true issue in the end. But UK offense has some questions beyond 1 spot.

Since we did not get to see Jefferson last year due to his injury and Coen was not here I will wait and see how our RB room is. Coaches seem to think it is good to go.
Dingle, if not that young guy behind him will move up.
WR, our defense thinks we are loaded on that spot. Plus having our RB and TE line up in the slot will make it deeper.
Flax starting was to keep Flax from leaving as a Grad in the fall. If he does not do it he will be replaced quick fast and in a hurry.
Yenser at coach is a point but I do not know if he was the issue or the OC last year. Seems like our guys were good enough to go to other power 5 schools and start. So we will see. If we have struggles all year this year then it might just point to Yenser.

 

[gamecockcat]

One positive I'm counting on re: OL, I think it was JJ Weaver said in a recent interview that last year, the DL had no problems shredding our OL in practice. This year has been completely different. This from a guy who plays against the OL every day in practice plus the experience he's had against opponents' OL. He's saying the OL is doing well and holding its own against our DL unlike last year. That's a very good sign, imo.

 

[Swan Song]

LOL! I said it is time to respect Flax for hard work and improvement. That seems reasonable. What else should we expect from our guys? But if you don't want to, then don't.

Who says Flax has worked hard and improved? Coach Stoops does. So this boils down to whether you believe and trust our head coach. Again, if you don't want to, then don't.

BTW, JP Fisher wasn't being melodramatic. In so many words, he was showing you that you are melodramatic. But it's all good. I don't think anyone on this board will be satisfied unless our OL plays better than last. I know I won't. So let's see what happens.

I think Stoops is straight shooter, for a coach. But what's he going to do, say "Flax gets the start because we couldn't get the new guys up to speed in time. Fingers crossed!". No. He's going to talk about the improvement, the process, etc. I'd like to be wrong on Flax, but his issues weren't just lack of effort or scheme. We shall see. Seeing him named starter made me groan, but you do you.

 

[Swan Song]

If you think respect and praise are the same thing then there's no conversation to be had. That's a you problem.

If I stumble across a grizzly in the Alaskan bush then I'm gonna show respect by giving it space. I'm not gonna tickle its chin and ruffle its fur and tell it how it's been a good bear getting real fat and cute for the winter.

It's not a particularly difficult concept.

You really struggle to read. Is it fair to say that on a message board, one might express respect through praise? How else would you do it, on a message board?Simple question, you might even get it. Sorry I disagree with your hero, Rembrandt.

 

[K_TIME]

I'm just gonna leave these facts about how bad our O Line was, AND IT WASN'T JUST ONE PLAYER, right here for those who are having memory lapses.

Kentucky's offensive line has nowhere to go but up
Adam Stratton•08/19/23•
comments

The Big Blue Wall, a nickname earned from multiple years of extraordinary play from Kentucky’s offensive line, looked more like a medium-sized yield sign last season. The eye test made this evident from watching a hobbled Will Levis sustain sack after sack, however, advanced analytics show just how much the Wildcat’s front crumbled.
According to PFF, a premium statistics website that I will likely reference way too much this season, Kentucky’s starting offensive line averaged next to last in the SEC when it comes to performance. That’s right, the only team with a worse offensive line rating was Vanderbilt.
PFF ranks players on a normalized scale between 0 to 100 where 60 is average, 90 is exceptional and 30 is about as bad as you can get. Between all five starters last season, Eli Cox, Jager Burton, Tashawn Manning, Kenneth Horsey, and Jeremy Flax, Kentucky averaged a rating of 58.34.


SPONSORED CONTENT
For comparison, Arkansas led the SEC with an average rating of 76.66.
PFF further breaks offensive linemen’s performance down into pass-blocking and run-blocking categories, and as you might guess, those numbers don’t get much better. Kentucky averaged 10th in the SEC in pass blocking last year with an average of 64.14, boosted largely by Tashawn Manning, now with the Baltimore Ravens, who had a rating of 77.2 rating.
As for run blocking, Kentucky’s starters averaged a rating of 56.32, coming in 12th in the SEC just ahead of Vanderbilt and South Carolina. That really makes you admire what Chris Rodiguez did that much more.

Kentucky’s 2022 Offensive Line PFF Ratings​

Player	Position	Overall PFF	Run Block	Pass Block
Eli Cox	C	58.6	53.9	64.8
Jager Burton	G	48.2	47.1	46.8
Tashawn Manning	G	68	66	77.2
Kenneth Horsey	T	66.8	63.4	68.5
Jeremy Flax	T	50.1	51.2	63.4

Team	Overall	Run Block	Pass Block
Arkansas	76.66	75.44	76.54
Florida	73.88	73.4	75.6
Alabama	73.78	70.52	79.36
Georgia	72.58	69.26	77.34
LSU	64.78	65.38	64.24
Miss St	64.6	59.7	73.34
Texas A&M	62.14	65.84	55.72
Missouri	61.48	60.92	62.54
Tennessee	59.98	58.32	60.28
Ole Miss	59.92	57.84	64.74
South Carolina	59.38	55.44	68.88
Auburn	58.82	57.78	64.9
Kentucky	58.34	56.32	64.14
Vanderbilt	53.04	52.4	57.02

Thank you...I've never been to PFF stats. But my eye test told me Flax and Jager were really bad. Horsey was out of position but not that bad and once Manning got healthy....he was pretty solid. These numbers pretty much back up the eye test.

To argue the Oline wasnt' that bad last year....just silly to put lipstick on a really ugly pig last year.

 

[Rembrandt90]

I think Stoops is straight shooter, for a coach. But what's he going to do, say "Flax gets the start because we couldn't get the new guys up to speed in time. Fingers crossed!". No. He's going to talk about the improvement, the process, etc. I'd like to be wrong on Flax, but his issues weren't just lack of effort or scheme. We shall see. Seeing him named starter made me groan, but you do you.

I'm not sure what that means. I trust our coaches, but not because my fingers are crossed. If you don't, then don't. What else can I say?

In our program, players are encouraged to leave egos at the door and work hard for the benefit of the team. It is a team first program. That is the culture, and it is a strength of the program. When players work hard and improve, that comprises a measure of success in Stoops' system. Someone has to start. When a player is chosen to start at RT, I am confident the HC and the OC have picked him because it is the best decision for the team. If you ascribe another motivation to it, then go right ahead. I see that as you overthinking it, but maybe I will be wrong.

 

[JPFisher]

That's a very good sign, imo.

Is that PRAISE?! What kind of bird brained psycho looks through the tea leaves and comes up with something positive?

 

[SosaUK1987]

Is that PRAISE?! What kind of bird brained psycho looks through the tea leaves and comes up with something positive?

Bro, don’t act like questioning our OL is out of bounds. After last year, criticism is deserved and the wait and see approach is smart.

 

[SosaUK1987]

One positive I'm counting on re: OL, I think it was JJ Weaver said in a recent interview that last year, the DL had no problems shredding our OL in practice. This year has been completely different. This from a guy who plays against the OL every day in practice plus the experience he's had against opponents' OL. He's saying the OL is doing well and holding its own against our DL unlike last year. That's a very good sign, imo.

Very true but then you hear we had to take Walker out because he was abusing the offense too bad. Lol. Hopefully Walker is just that good and our OL isn’t that bad.

 

[JPFisher]

Bro, don’t act like questioning our OL is out of bounds. After last year, criticism is deserved and the wait and see approach is smart.

I've never said that questioning our OL is out of bounds. It's a new year with a thousand different variables, so seeing players that bust their asses getting dunked on constantly becomes annoying. It's not like incessantly dog-talking the players actually does anything productive, either. Criticism of last year's line is deserved. The wait-and-see approach is wonderful, but that's not what I'm going after with my comments.

 

[hmt5000]

I agreed with you. ???

My bad. I read it the other way.

 

[SosaUK1987]

I've never said that questioning our OL is out of bounds. It's a new year with a thousand different variables, so seeing players that bust their asses getting dunked on constantly becomes annoying. It's not like incessantly dog-talking the players actually does anything productive, either. Criticism of last year's line is deserved. The wait-and-see approach is wonderful, but that's not what I'm going after with my comments.

Gotcha. Proceed sir. I apologize.

 

[Cefiro]

This is a huge red flag! Basically saying neither is ready but Flax has more experience

 

[JHB4UK]

And I'll definitely own my preseason claim, I thought Courtland Ford would be RT #1 immediately. What i didn't consider is that would cause Flax to instantly go in the portal - and probably land at another SEC school, as a starter. So Flax is being given every opportunity to firmly win and keep the job. By Vandy week we shall see if he was successful.

 

[THE_HOOK]

Which coach?? Last year Wolly started at LT the 1st game?? Whose decision was that?? Scang?? Yenser?? We gave up 4 sacs to Miami Oh and he performed so badly he was replaced never to play LT again. Who knew he was ready?? Obviously he wasn’t. I just know this. We all have to be in wait and see mode. Some on here are panicking like me. Some are gobbling up the coach speak like gospel believing we will be greatly improved. No one knows till game one. If we are in a 3 point game at halftime like last year we will know.

Obviously the coaches that say he is ready to start including stoops.

 

[CRZ4UK]

Obviously the coaches that say he is ready to start including stoops.

That’s kind of what I’ve been trying to say to no avail. You will. NEVER….NEVER hear a coach say man. We Suck at right tackle, we’re screwed. It’s ALWAYS. He’s working hard. He’s improving ect. People hear this every year and gobble it up as gospel. I trust my own eyes, past performance, athleticism ect. I’m really nervous about our line. Hope I’m wrong.

 

[Deeeefense]

If you just look at the bios Flax had over 30 offers including Tennessee and Auburn while Ford had offers from Bama, Georgia, LSU, FSU and many others. You have to conclude that the talent and potential is there. So you would think the odds are at least one of the two would emerge to be a solid RT for us this year. They don't have to be great, just dependable with some level of consistency.