"Deserves"?!?!?! What world do you live in? Playing time is earned in practice. If he "deserved" the job he would have earned it already Monday-Friday. Classic liberal mentality. Ridiculous.
So...whats the excuse now?
- Thread starter Jared1985
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"Deserves"?!?!?! What world do you live in? Playing time is earned in practice. If he "deserved" the job he would have earned it already Monday-Friday. Classic liberal mentality. Ridiculous.
And you have deduced this from watching him in all his game appearances this year, right? Maybe the way he walks on the sidelines.
The backup quarterback is usually the most popular player on any team. The Barker cheerleaders are out in force again today. LOL! Towles played a very strong game except for the 2 picks on passes that should not have been thrown. Towles' strengths are still largely in terms of physical talent. With 17 starts under his belt and 19 more still ahead of him, he makes some mistakes with his reads, just as most quarterbacks do. He threw both of the picks to the wrong receiver without setting his feet, into the teeth of cover 2. The main problem has been obvious all along, so it amazes me that most of our fans still don't see it. Our edge blockers are subpar, so our quarterback is being sacked and hurried more than any other SEC quarterback. This is not an opinion, it is a fact. Kentucky has given up 16 quarterback sacks. We are #119 in the nation in quarterback protection. This keeps every game close. Dawson has been making adjustments, like rolling the pocket. They have rotated players on the left side of the line. Towles is doing a better job of stepping up into the pocket and looking for the 2nd receiver. But unless Dawson can fix our line, our offense will continue to struggle at times. Of course, Barker is not the answer to a problem at left tackle, but some of our fans might never be able to get that through their skulls.
One day the Barker cheerleaders will figure out the OL bears the brunt of the responsibility....One day.
LOL! Wake up. Amazing that people just can't or won't see the obvious. Barker is being groomed as the starting quarterback for 2017 and 2018. By then, he will have some big shoes to fill. Towles is on a pace to finish his career as 1 of the 2 or 3 most productive quarterbacks in Kentucky football history. He is already in the top 10. Too many people are just blind to all of this now, but most will eventually get it.
One day the Towles apologists will quit blaming every struggle he has on the offensive line. Do they need improvement?! Heck yes! Does him holding onto the bal and not knowing how to step up into a pocket make their jobs A LOT harder, you better believe it!
It's amazing you all want to blame all of his woes on the Oline every year. They aren't the reason he under throws or throws behind every receiver. Good grief
Thank goodness for that win and the fact our Cats are 4-1. Can't help but think back to last week when Stoops said Barker would definitely play. When I first read that statement, I thought "oh no...don't say that". We aren't quite to the point where we are going to walk all over anyone and assume our back up QB is definitely going to get into the game. Coach...please don't give the opposition any more bulletin board material.
I also think these guys took EKU for granted. Wins over SC, Mizzou and a close game against Florida had them looking down their noses at the Colonels. Again...guys...you aren't there yet. Regardless...I've watched UK football a long time and seen us lose plenty of games like this. Everyone here has. But at the end of they day, they found a way to pull it out. I'm as frustrated as anyone, but I'll take 4-1 going into the bye week with our only loss a close one to the Gators vs. 3-2 with an embarrassing defeat by the Colonels any day of the week.
I also think these guys took EKU for granted. Wins over SC, Mizzou and a close game against Florida had them looking down their noses at the Colonels. Again...guys...you aren't there yet. Regardless...I've watched UK football a long time and seen us lose plenty of games like this. Everyone here has. But at the end of they day, they found a way to pull it out. I'm as frustrated as anyone, but I'll take 4-1 going into the bye week with our only loss a close one to the Gators vs. 3-2 with an embarrassing defeat by the Colonels any day of the week.
nope, i know players and parents of players. and i watched Drew play since he was in the boone county pee wee football league
Not knowing what you don't know is a problem you should really take to heart. You stated that Barker has already been recruited over. LOL! That statement says a lot about you. If you think a 2016 commitment from Gunnar Hoak means Barker has been recruited over, then let me explain it. Generally, SEC teams sign a quarterback or 2 in every class. Stoops didn't sign a quarterback in his 2015 class, although he could have. By the time Hoak is a redshirt freshman, Barker will be a senior with a year of starting experience already under his belt. You admit you know Barker and his family. Did you actually expect Stoops to stick Barker into a contested game with an uncertain outcome, so our intoxicated fans could question the coaching decision and dump on Barker after the fact? That kind of a gaffe would have translated to a loss yesterday. Do you actually think Kentucky would have won with Barker? Does playing Barker fix our offensive line? Wake up.
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A lot of people who think they know the game simply look at the pressure and assume it's all the OL's fault. They don't see the QB holding onto the ball too long, and think the five guys on the OL should be able to pick up 6 and 7 blitzers sent so often because the QB doesn't get rid of the ball quickly.
As you said, the OL needs to improve, but PT continues to put them behind the 8 ball with his own lack of development. The game is still too fast for PT. Opposing DCs recognize that and, as a result, their defensive gameplan is to make it even faster using stunts and blitzes. His accuracy is shoddy enough that they're willing to take the trade off of single coverage against dangerous receivers in order to increase the pressure on PT- with the belief that he won't make enough plays to win the game. The OL is constantly fighting an uphill battle because the guy behind them hasn't learned how to climb.
Guys on the OL are going to get beaten sometimes, they're going to miss some assignments and sometimes their gap is overloaded and they have to make a choice. The PT apologists are going to have to realize that he can't expect a perfect pocket on every play. He has to overcome some adversity as well, and help out his line by making a defense pay for blitzing. I'm still not seeing pre-snap reads, where he might be able to discern where the blitz is coming from and put the ball there. I never see him throw to his hot read. I just continue to see him wait until he's at the back of his drop before reading the defense, then getting flustered when he can't camp out in the pocket before finally making a questionable decision for which he is occasionally bailed out by a receiver. He now has 17 starts under his belt, but he looks no different than he did when he had 0. No matter how hard some may try, they can't blame the OL for that.
Yes, other teams receivers aren't worth a sheet & their QB's always put the ball on the numbers. 13 other All-American QB's in SEC. He does hold the ball too long vs. throwing away, but that doesn't make him the cause of our struggles. With you & others, no matter who we play poorly against the problem is always Towles, isn't it? Guess he couldn't block EKU's DL either.
Towles had an average game. Oline was the real problem. Towles is constantly pressured and that effects all QBs. PT is a winner and he showed it on the last 3 touchdowns to win the game.
He hit 70 percent of his throws with eku defenders in his face all night.
Also we are 4-1 and second in the SEC east.
He hit 70 percent of his throws with eku defenders in his face all night.
Also we are 4-1 and second in the SEC east.
The first one is his fault - you should always be ready to throw it away instead of taking a sack for loss, regardless of situation.
The last four things you listed are all heavily affected by having zero time to throw - so, thanks for making the point for us?
Really? You think his inaccuracy of throwing behind receivers, throwing at receivers feet, and under throwing receivers are the fault of the offensive line? Wow.... Just wow
This is all true - but there's a difference between your line missing assignments/getting beat a couple times per possession and the constant barrage of defensive ends and DBs who come flying through the gaps at Towles during half of these games.
You say that they load up that way and leave receivers with single coverage because they don't respect his accuracy. Look, he makes plenty of mistakes, but at the end of the day, he has a 61.5 completion % on the year - so while you're right about how opposing DCs configure their strategy for us, it's much more plausible to say that it's because they see how easily our line is overwhelmed by a simple blitz and they punish us for it.
I didn't say that. Don't put words in my mouth. You're the one who is making it all or nothing - laughing at the notion that the OL affects that stuff. That's grade school thinking. At the end of the day, everything is influenced by multiple factors.
So of course he's not perfectly accurate, but it's also obvious that him being on the run every other play makes it tougher to make pinpoint throws - and even still, he has way above average numbers for a QB in CFB.
Please just stop watching football if you think the problem all night was the QB. Honestly, that's all anyone should say in response.
Get out
Get out
The problem with this team is their ability to deal with pressure. Sometimes its Towles not making the read or making a bad throw, sometimes its the line not picking up the Blitz or simply getting beat by their man, sometimes its the back who is too busy dancing to hit the holes or they simply can't pick up the blitzer and give the QB the extra time they need; and sometimes it is the WR who doesn't catch the ball or who doesn't run their route. It isn't one thing. It is several.
Late in the 4th, EKU moved into coverage and stopped blitzing and suddenly we see plays being made. But this team can expect a heavy dosage of pressure until they can prove they can deal with it. If we make the adjustments then this team has the schedule and the talent to do something special this season. If we can't then we might see last year play out all over again.
Late in the 4th, EKU moved into coverage and stopped blitzing and suddenly we see plays being made. But this team can expect a heavy dosage of pressure until they can prove they can deal with it. If we make the adjustments then this team has the schedule and the talent to do something special this season. If we can't then we might see last year play out all over again.
Jesus. How old are you? 5?
Look, we all get it. You want Barker to play. He didn't. Get over it.
Yup. I was screaming my head off and got nasty looks because of it. It was almost like cheering was a sin last night, until the end.
Awww, did you come to his rescue a day late? And I don't care who starts, I want whoever gives us the best chance to win to start. I would love for people to quit blaming every mistake he makes on the offensive line, coaching, etc.
I would love for all of you on here after the Missouri game yelling for everyone to "eat crow" to leave posts like that for when he shows some consistency, seeing as how that most of us (at least mine) major concern
It's a valid point, but I don't think it's fair to say it's "much more plausible". Both QB and OL play need to improve, that's one thing I think most of us can agree on. One major difference in those two units is the QB has been the same player all season and all of last season, while the OL has been a constant game of musical chairs.
61.5% isn't too bad in a pro style offense, but because of the design of the air raid offense, the QB's completion percentage should be up around 70 if he's actually getting it done.
The total bogus idea that those criticizing the QB play are saying that it was the only thing wrong with the play of this team and a new QB would solve all of our problems is a huge fallacy. No one on this post or any post for that matter has said anything close to that. I agree other parts of the team need improvement. This fallacy is completely made up because those who refuse to criticize the QB play or see it for what it is live in a fantasy world and are arguing from a very weak position.
You won't get them to understand that. You can't criticize Towles at all or you're blaming all of the teams issues on him.
I guess it's the chicken or the egg...
I get tired of them making excuses for everything he does and blaming it on everyone else, they'd probably say they do that because they get tired of "us" only picking on him... It's a vicious cycle...lol.
Few refuse to criticize him. But many don't think he's the biggest issue yet he gets the disproportionate share of the blame. And that's why many come to his defense. Put me in that camp, please.
Instead of replacing Towles, why don't they suggest replacing the OL and see what happens?
Come to who's rescue? I don't care who starts. You think solving the problem is to get on here and attack other posters that disagree with you? What an Internet bad ass.
Well then what the hell are you saying exactly? Just bashing Towles, to bash him?
Pot meet kettle....
The only people I may have possibly even "attacked" are those who try to call out anyone who criticizes the team at all. Those who get on here and tell people to "eat crow" after Towles plays one good/decent game. People who bash fans who leave early (which I actually have never done but to each their own) or don't buy tickets.
You simply do not know football.
We all know PT has issues with pressure and accuracy at times.
We also know that protection, a solid run game, wr's getting open are all crucial to a QB's success.
So when you have an imperfect QB, it makes it tough when these things do not happen.
We also know that a wr's job is to catch the ball, did you miss the UF game with all of those amazing catches? Do you not see great catches every week in college and pro.
Some of this is so stupid. We defend PT, not because he is so great but because of the undeserving amount of idiotic trash idiots spew at him. He played worse than his stats, no doubt, but he was 11/12 the last 2 series and helped bring us back.
Giving the kid zero credit is pathetic and most of us real fans would defend any player that was getting shit on this bad by people who do not understand the game.
So here is a crazy idea ... step up into the pocket lol ... the pressure rarely comes up the middle, he runs outside EVERY single time ... why? Step up in the pocket and tuck it and run or find someone in 5-6 seconds which should be pretty damn easy for a college level QB
I have forgotten more football then you will ever know. I've been reading your posts and you have finally realized (after multiple people have explained it to you) the final stats (against an FCS team) can be deceiving. And not once have I refused to give him any credit, and I usually just lurk, but I can no longer sit back and watch clowns like you get on here and blow smoke and rip anyone who criticizes him every week... While blaming all of his flaws on everyone else...
As I said, I want him to be successful bc I want the Wildcats to win... But it isn't against the law to criticize him.
Did YOU miss the Florida game? He missed more than his fair share of wide open receivers. You blame everyone but Towles constantly, then you claim you are right and everyone is wrong because "you know football" ... really? I wasn't aware that you were such an expert and the rest of us plebs were just remedials who can barely turn a T.V. on.
You are lying.
You do not want him to be successful.
Your comments:
Cant keep blaming the oline - when he was flushed out 90% of the plays every time in 3.5 qtrs. And no run support. These are essential to a QB Mr. Football.
WR's bail him out - really? Did you watch UF bail out their QB? Do you not watch football every week and see WR's do their jobs and make catches?
I dont care who QB is but you peole are not going to shit on our players with these totally false statements.
