Really excited to see what he can do with more playmakers & talent in the mix… Especially Barion Brown
Liam Coen Offense
- Thread starter 1_Cool_CAT
- Start date
Good grief.
His single year here essentially produced 50 percent more production than the years framing it?
Wow!
His single year here essentially produced 50 percent more production than the years framing it?
Wow!
Well, he had Levis and one of the best backs and one of the best WRs to play at UK his first go here, plus an awesome OL. He may have more playmakers now, but will they be better and will the line get back to UK BBW standards? Let’s hope Barion and Key are as good as WR1 and Ali, Davis emulates CRod, the OL can improve, and Leary can stay healthy.
Yes. Although Coen is certainly a welcome upgrade as OC, I agree with the idea that the missing, critical piece is OL recovery of the BBW we were famous for.....to Schlarman standards.
We lost UK alumnus and OL Coach John Schlarman to cancer in Nov 2020. Without dispute, he was the Yoda-architect of the BBW, but I have wondered over the years if 2021's success (including the dominance of the OL) was simply the extension of Schlarman's training from previous years. We dropped off on our OL edge as his players graduated...some going to the NFL. Either by scheme, players, development, or a combination, we were flat-out UNSAT last year getting our superman QB (Levis) hurt and having to rely on our sledge-hammer of a RB (C-Rod) as our offensive foundation...C-Rod made something out of nothing with good yards-after-contact game-in & game-out.
For this coming fall, we've portal-reloaded in a couple of key positions, and skill players look good. The big question is do we have OL recruiting, coaches, and development processes to reconstruct the Schlarman-quality in the BBW? If so, we have a nice season before us. If not, we could be scrapping for third or fourth in the east and a "Brand-X" bowl game.
It always comes back to the lines....blocking & tackling.
GBB!
He must have taken the OL with him when he left because Levis had no line after that.
Well, he did not take them, but two ended up in the NFL with one being a real contributor and a third left early for the NFL on bad advice.
The good news is he has all the pieces, the bad news is there isn't much from the 2021 team left so it will be virtually a complete new install.
2021 was a complete install as well! Levis didn't get here until June. Leary has been learning the system since January.
First 3 weeks are manageable opponents to get all the new offensive contributors integrated and that side off the ball fine tuned.
First 3 weeks are manageable opponents to get all the new offensive contributors integrated and that side off the ball fine tuned.
To be fair about the O Line, most reports say the issues were two fold. The first was that Schlarman made sure to get the back ups reps so they were ready to perform when they were called. The O Line coach who replaced Schlarman for the one year before leaving for Bama never played those back ups so when they needed to play and perform last year, they weren't ready. Many of the O Line starters had little if any in game experience or were playing positions new to them. The second is the blocking scheme that Rich S. wanted to use was extremely complex and was difficult for NFL veterans to learn let alone collegiate players without much game action. I bet Coen and Yinser have gotten together and put together a blocking scheme that puts the O line in the best position to be successful. The experienced transfers will help as will moving people like Horsey back to their natural position.
You nailed it on the head. Levis came in and performed well. Crod was very good. Wandale was explosive and reliable. The OL was great.
The potential is here, but the OL probably determines how far this team can go.
3rd issue of O line problems- most all the guys recruited in previous 3 classes didn't develop into quality SEC starter level like those who manned The Big Blue Wall 2016-2021.
Maybe they would have playing in Eddie Gran's scheme. Or maybe they were recruiting misses, kids who ultimately didn't have the ability to be high power 5 level talent, not at Kentucky or anywhere else.
Maybe they would have playing in Eddie Gran's scheme. Or maybe they were recruiting misses, kids who ultimately didn't have the ability to be high power 5 level talent, not at Kentucky or anywhere else.
I truly think Leary will be significant upgrade to even the 2021 Levis. He missed to many easy throws, didn't go through progressions and way to many interceptions. I think Leary has close to his 35 TD and 5 Int numbers from 21'
Skill guys are definitely an upgrade. Wandale was great but Ali was hurt from Florida game on. Brown, Key, Robinson and Dingle at TE could all easily be NFL draft picks.
OL- obviously the big question mark. But I actually think our Tackles could be just as good as in 21' Cox was very good in the Spring and 4 year starter. Our 21' LT had a ton of talent and was solid but still wasn't an NFL draft pick. Horsey is a couple years older at LG. Eli Cox is Teo years older at RG. Ford is the wildcard...per JR, very encouraging reports currently. And he is probably a more pure Tackle verses Kinnard who is in NFL currently in reserve roll. BIG question is Burton at Center. Definitely not anywhere near what Fortner was in year 6. And he's turned into a stud Center in NFL. But the pedigree and athleticism is there with solid Spring practice reports.
Count me as one who thinks our Offense makes major strides and is on of the best in the SEC this year. IF we stay healthy...if not all bets are off
Yes I am LC!
And I wish he would have made that reference to me, I would have said “good since you hold him in such high esteem, you should adopt his policies especially the ones on taxes and government policy”
-Levis did his line no favors...slow on reads, rarely stepped into the pocket (rolled into a ton of sacks).
^point being it ain't all on the oline...they weren't great, but scheme (mostly) and the qb had plenty to do with the problems last year.
-leary/Cohen will make the same(ish) o-line look *much* better this year. Mark it.
^point being it ain't all on the oline...they weren't great, but scheme (mostly) and the qb had plenty to do with the problems last year.
-leary/Cohen will make the same(ish) o-line look *much* better this year. Mark it.
Coen is why I'm quietly confident about this year.....
Last year people acting like Kinnard, Fortner and Rosenthal were hall of famers. Good Oline but not better than Kinnard, Landon Young, Drake, Fortner and Stenberg from a few year back. And we did fine after Young, Drake and Stenberg left.
And Horsey and Cox (while playing new spots...and that was coaching decisions) just didn't play good at all.
I think Coen will coach the QB to play with the Oline abilities very well and Leary is not scrub. I think the ball will get out quick and to our 3 headed WR trio and do the damage that our opponents will feel in a real way. Scang was a complete mess and we're lucky to get Coen back.
Last year people acting like Kinnard, Fortner and Rosenthal were hall of famers. Good Oline but not better than Kinnard, Landon Young, Drake, Fortner and Stenberg from a few year back. And we did fine after Young, Drake and Stenberg left.
And Horsey and Cox (while playing new spots...and that was coaching decisions) just didn't play good at all.
I think Coen will coach the QB to play with the Oline abilities very well and Leary is not scrub. I think the ball will get out quick and to our 3 headed WR trio and do the damage that our opponents will feel in a real way. Scang was a complete mess and we're lucky to get Coen back.
Hes an offensive genius. We better enjoy it while we have it because he will be somebodies head coach sooner or later.
I think Coen should only call passes that take a while to develop – ESPECIALLY if our line is a weakness.
I hope he does it how he did it before. Sometimes people regress the second tome around. I don't think he will but I've seen it a thousand times, expectations lead to disappointment. That's why being a football fan is funner than basketball.
This football board has felt like a dinner party where someone was pretending they were Napolean and no one said anything. I'm glad someone finally told Napolean to get his hand out of his jacket.
I was recently watching some highlights from 2021. I had forgotten how much the offense struggled in the first part of the season. It got ramped up by the LSU game but before then it wasn't super pretty. I think the install will be smoother this time, but we should probably expect some growing pains early on.
