Quarterback
- Thread starter BARRYBLUE1
- Start date
Really good post. I would just point out that looking at some of the film Johnson did not have the ball improperly secured at times which lead to fumbles. I agree that a guy that handles the ball on every play in this kind of offense is susceptible to fumbles, but I think with better technique Johnson can improve in this area. The coaches have stated that Johnson has really worked on this in the off-season and that should hopefully pay off this year.
Ever heard of Dust Bonner and Jared Lorenzen? Mumme was being a little too loyal to Bonner because he had a decent season in 1999. But, there was a lot of pressure from the fanbase and the administration to play Lorenzen in 2000. Dusty Bonner is never heard from again and Lorenzen is one of the all-time best at the position for UK.
My point is simply, coaches don't always make the right decision from the beginning. Now, I don't think the same talent disparity exists between SJ and Barker or Hoak.
In the end, I want UK to win no matter who the QB is. Again, I'm not a SJ hater. If he kicks ass this year, awesome!
Read up on Dusty if you really think he was "never heard from again"! D11 player of the year two years in a row and much much more that I don't feel like typing. Dusty was a heck of a player!
@Gabewcat - There may be people on the board who want to see SJ fail, but I haven't read them in this post. Most everything in this post has focused on wanting SJ to succeed, but expect coaches to have a shorter leash than previous years because of the drop-off after the starter.
I agree 100% with your statement about the importance of stability at QB. But, I disagree that different qb's early in the season leads to a doomed season. Ala has done it the 2 out of the last 3 years. (Hurt was not even the starter in game 1 last year. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong. If he did start, then he was pulled early for another QB.)
Like you, I think Stoops will settle on one predominant QB because of the stability factor. I just don't expect it to be settled before game #1. I don't care if it's Johnson, Barker or Hoak. Each bring a different element. Iron sharpens iron, so I expect fall competition to make all 3 of them better.
I have zero problems if SJ takes command of the position as long as he's improved in some areas. I like him as a player. But, there's no denying that we have to have better QB play to climb that next tier in the SEC. (Btw - that can be said of most positions on our team.)
It simply would not be football season if there was not angst in the UK fanbase about the QB position. I really believe the last year there was no "QB anxiety" was in Andre Woodson's last year!
Johnson just led UK to its' first winning season since 2009 (?) and fans are wondering about the QB position. With the possible exception of Steve Spurrier, coaches are very reluctant to change QBs as long as you are winning. Could the QB play be better? Of course it could. But at the QB position "winning" transcends stats. JMO
Peace
Johnson just led UK to its' first winning season since 2009 (?) and fans are wondering about the QB position. With the possible exception of Steve Spurrier, coaches are very reluctant to change QBs as long as you are winning. Could the QB play be better? Of course it could. But at the QB position "winning" transcends stats. JMO
Peace
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Great post.
Where each QB was last season & where they are this September can't be known on this thread.
Ok, how long did he play in the NFL? Lorenzen at least got the opportunity before he ate his way out of a career. My point wasn't to belittle Dusty Bonner, he had a good college career. But, if you're comparing him to Lorenzen talent-wise, I don't get that.
I actually watched Dusty play I didn't have to read up on him. If you watched them both play, the talent disparity was more than evident.
And I didn't intend to belittle your post, really I didn't. As far as talent,I know Jared had a much stronger arm than Dusty but there is so much more that makes for a successful QB and I know I am probably in the minority to believe that pulling DB for Jared may have been the biggest blunder Mumme made at UK, he lost many on the team with that decision!
Well, Mumme made a lot of dumb decisions. For the record, I was a Dusty fan. I enjoy it when a guy gets the most out of what he's got. He was pretty efficient and he and Whalen seemed to have pretty good chemistry together.
Mumme's worst decision of all-time was letting Claude Bassett decide who was going to kick field goals vs Louisville. Remember when Bassett chose Brandon Sanders to kick the game winning field goal from 18 yards out and thevkick was blocked. That was the end of Sanders career at UK.
Probably his worst decision was having Bassett on the staff at all, cost us dearly. Then he had the nerve to try to sue UK.
The limited time he played on a weak team proves nothing of the sort.
The problem with testing UK qbs in practice is UK's defense is so poor any qb might look great in practice. Proving to be the best choice will only come against an SEC defense.
That might be a whole lot more revealing about the qb and receivers. I'm more concerned about the ground game. If it's clicking the passing is probably going to take care of itself.
That might be a whole lot more revealing about the qb and receivers. I'm more concerned about the ground game. If it's clicking the passing is probably going to take care of itself.
What? We have arguably one of the best LB and Secondary units in the SEC....we are an SEC defense
Dream on. With our projected defensive line production those two groups are going to be very busy in SEC and OOC play with any team that can field a runner.
But I gave you a "like" for your attitude.
We are returning the 2 top tacklers in the SEC, 2 excellent JR CBs, and 2 excellent pass rushing OLBs. So what exactly makes us not a "SEC" defense?
Why would you think the DL play would regress going into this year, if anything there should be at least some improvement and a new scheme. I dont get the pessimism in your post
Last year at this time the biggest question mark on the team was the O-line and that worked out pretty well.
We have some impressive guys coming off redshirt and if it's true they have been working very hard we may be ok baring injuries along the d/line... I'm happy K Daniel is finally coming around according to Stoops. He made a great play last season vs Vandy or Miss St I can't remember which. He didn't get much action but did a hell of a job knowing the situation and squeezing on that down block and making that Tackle that helped win the game...
Probably all the near bottom SEC defensive stats. As discussed in another thread individual tackles are somewhat meaningless relative to team defense.
And I don't think a new scheme is going in; just a new DC running what Stoops wants run. Over the years it has been my observation that defensive improvement happens more frequently with better talent in the game than more experience. JMO
Peace
Some of my pessimism is that most of the tackles are coming 4 to 8 yards downfield. There's more but that gets into either naming names or alluding to individual players on defense.
This threads not worth that. It's interesting although it's a same ol', same ol' quarterback discussion. Only the names have changed.
UK Team Defense:
Tackles: 4th in SEC
Pass Yds/Game: 5th in SEC
Interceptions: 7th in SEC
Sacks: 11th in SEC
Fumble Recoveries: 10th in SEC
Rush Yds/Game 12th in SEC
So sure, some team stats (mostly rushing and DL based problems) are near the bottom but we are not a bottom feeder SEC defense.
LeBlanc specifically said that we are going to have a much more aggressive DL scheme that focuses on penetration and getting after the QB.
Just a marginal increase in DL production will pay dividends across the entire defense.
AT the risk of stating the obvious, when you look back on a season and you can easily cite several games that were close wins or close losses, it's a sure indicator that your defense just isn't getting the job done. We all know the issues we had last season upfront, but there is renewed hope IMO with several new faces along the D-line and new leadership there. It will be fun to see what progress they have made, if significant we could be in store for a big season. JMO.
Very few football people would deny that we're still thin on numbers and talent on the defensive line compared to other SEC schools. (Especially the schools which we want to surpass.) Its definitely heading in the right direction and many years brings a surprise player.
My point about QB is that Stoops will create a competition as well as he should. (Harbaugh announced yesterday he has a 3-way tie for starting QB and that's with last year's starter returning.) This is not a knock on Johnson. He definitely showed some intangibles last year. He also showed a lot of warts. Stoops and Gran won't look the other way this year with enough talent at the position to create a healthy competition. When Johnson took over for an injured Barker it was all about building Johnson's confidence. They had no other choice but to ignore the warts. We saw what happened when they tried to rest his knee.
The good thing about healthy competition is it pushes players to another level. Our QB's will push each other this fall. Coaches will be less patient in early fall. UK will be better because of it. I don't have a dog in the hunt but think the returning QB having to earn his job instead of it being handed to him is the natural progression of building a program. Maybe Saban and Harbaugh don't know what they're doing and are hurting their teams by making returning QB's compete again for their positions ;-)
You would fall on a grenade for your buddies' without batting an eye. I'm giving you another "like" because you deserve it for being so loyal.
What can I say, I always have my UK blue shades on over my eyes lol.
I guess I'm just trying to say that I'm optimistic for the season and the future is brighter for the defense
