So I guess I'll start off this mashup with the thought that everyone is sharing right now... GREAT GAME!!!!
Had to. Sorry about that.
My real thoughts on this game:
>The first half team showed a sloppy but promising start. Towles had a few errant passes, but overall, the offense went deep early and often- regularly taking advantage of ULL's secondary and slicing them apart.
>Boom's run was incredible to start the game off and to open a new CWS to the public. Add into the mix several burns that should've been touchdowns and this game is done early at a score of 35-0 in the first half.
> Now, Towles showed no improvement in my opinion one way or the other. I am not worried about this probably as much as everyone else is. If anything, I think this game showed that Towles has the staff's trust. IF the QB race was really close, then don't you think the staff would've subbed Barker in around the 3rd after Towles' 100th under/overshot? The staff was waiting, IMO. I honestly think the staff knew that Towles was having a bad (really bad) night and kept him in to see if he jump-started.
> The offensive line woes seemed really bad tonight, but I know that every time I saw Towles hurried or sacked, GAA missed his block, call, or even blocked his own receiver out of the backfield at one point. Adjei has talent, but he is also a true freshman and will make mistakes. In a pass-happy offense, those mistakes will get magnified. I'd say give Meadows shots down the stretch and ease GAA into his position. The guy got exposed tonight.
>ULL's backs were very.... friendly. They were extremely physical tonight and our guys did well in spite of that... at least in the first half.
> Where's Conrad and Long?
> On defense, the line play was putrid, but I can't be upset at the line solely when Eliot failed to blitz on several occasions where a timely sack or hurry would've been invaluable. Our guys need to practice shedding blocks, and recognize that some folks aren't going to fall over just because we have the SEC logo on our jerseys.
> Our secondary performed admirably again. Good to see that again this year.
> Our OLBs failed to set the edge at all the entire game- sorry to see that again this year.
> Blake McClain, McWilson, and Stamps all had VERY quiet nights. McClain especially. I never heard his name called once.
> A lot of defensive woes can be blamed on true freshmen at key positions. ULL went straight after Allen, Westry, Ware, and Jones all night long. This is the burden, folks. Look for substantial improvement when we get Flannigan and Hatcher back. Those two will help solidify that edge, and hopefully this baptism by fire helps prepare the youth for what lies ahead.
> J.D. Harmon and Cody Quinn are my defensive MVPs. Never thought I would type that. Solid performances all night.
>Special teams bright spots: KOR has the chance to be LETHAL. King and Harmon can flat out get to the endzone in a hurry. PR also looks promising as Timmons had the chance to bust out several big returns. He's by far our best option at that position, and I hope he can hold onto the ball to stay on his throne.
>Special teams "Oh SH*T" spots: Kick-off coverage. Arm tackles, missed assignments, whatever it was, it wasn't good. MacGinnis had a rough night. I'm not sure what it was, but him and Towles were visibly shaken IMO. Nerves in a new stadium, sell-out crowd. Dunno. I hope it gets fixed, though.
> Crowd: Get back in yo damn seats! FFS, if I had been able to go, you would've had to have tackled my sorry behind to get me to move from my seat. STICK AROUND. You want a program that doesn't give up? Then stick around and model it like the coaches do. Disgraceful.
> First Half: WHOA, sloppy, but nice effort and some points.
> Second Half: WHOA, sloppy, no effort, and hardly any points. I honestly think that the guys weren't taking this game seriously the entire time and took for granted the fact that we had a sizable lead at one point.
> Defense, for being gassed, showed a whole lot of potential at the end of the game. The reason I think they weren't taking things seriously is because of how effective the defense was when it came to be crunch-time.
> Resolve: congrats to the Cats for having some.
>Towles' throwing issues will be corrected. He wasn't used as a running threat at all tonight, which hurt the offense, I think. Last year, defenses had to keep a man spying in case Towles tucked it. Without that threat, the defense can focus more on the receivers and running backs exclusively. Not a fan. I'm also not a fan of the intermediate throws. Towles showed just the slightest improvement in that area tonight, but when the deep ball, dump pass, and quick out-routes are going your way, why risk throwing the ball into the danger zone?
> Kentucky played a lot of 4-3 tonight. Probably due to lack of linebacker depth, but I personally liked the defense we saw when we had a 3-down set. Lewis was usually doubled and Elam was... pushy. A lot easier preparing your defensive scheme when the NT takes up 1.5 to 2 blockers.
> Overall, I feel like a few calls were completely and utterly stupid tonight. I feel like the staff was experimenting and holding a few plays back even though shat almost hit the fan.
-----
Considering that UK never went to its TE's, had several huge missed assignments by a true freshman lineman, was missing two starting linebackers, and was shaking off the off-season rust, I will still consider this game a success. Was it an absolute embarrassment at times? Yes. Yes it was. Does this team have a huge ceiling? Yes. Yes it does. Do I think we will make huge strides in practice this week? Yes. Yes I do. Do I think We will beat S.Car next Saturday? No. I can't make that call. One thing I can call, though, is that regardless of the chicken-littles, this team has come a long way and still has a long way to go. We're still starting true freshmen at key positions, so the depth isn't quite where it needs to be. However, this team will continue to improve, IMO, for the rest of the season and onward.
Mashup Question: Who were your MVPs of the game? One offense, one defense.
Have a great weekend, folks. Stay safe! Enjoy the lengthy stay at home or the lake or wherever your plans lead you. As always, God Bless... and Go Big Blue!
Had to. Sorry about that.
My real thoughts on this game:
>The first half team showed a sloppy but promising start. Towles had a few errant passes, but overall, the offense went deep early and often- regularly taking advantage of ULL's secondary and slicing them apart.
>Boom's run was incredible to start the game off and to open a new CWS to the public. Add into the mix several burns that should've been touchdowns and this game is done early at a score of 35-0 in the first half.
> Now, Towles showed no improvement in my opinion one way or the other. I am not worried about this probably as much as everyone else is. If anything, I think this game showed that Towles has the staff's trust. IF the QB race was really close, then don't you think the staff would've subbed Barker in around the 3rd after Towles' 100th under/overshot? The staff was waiting, IMO. I honestly think the staff knew that Towles was having a bad (really bad) night and kept him in to see if he jump-started.
> The offensive line woes seemed really bad tonight, but I know that every time I saw Towles hurried or sacked, GAA missed his block, call, or even blocked his own receiver out of the backfield at one point. Adjei has talent, but he is also a true freshman and will make mistakes. In a pass-happy offense, those mistakes will get magnified. I'd say give Meadows shots down the stretch and ease GAA into his position. The guy got exposed tonight.
>ULL's backs were very.... friendly. They were extremely physical tonight and our guys did well in spite of that... at least in the first half.
> Where's Conrad and Long?
> On defense, the line play was putrid, but I can't be upset at the line solely when Eliot failed to blitz on several occasions where a timely sack or hurry would've been invaluable. Our guys need to practice shedding blocks, and recognize that some folks aren't going to fall over just because we have the SEC logo on our jerseys.
> Our secondary performed admirably again. Good to see that again this year.
> Our OLBs failed to set the edge at all the entire game- sorry to see that again this year.
> Blake McClain, McWilson, and Stamps all had VERY quiet nights. McClain especially. I never heard his name called once.
> A lot of defensive woes can be blamed on true freshmen at key positions. ULL went straight after Allen, Westry, Ware, and Jones all night long. This is the burden, folks. Look for substantial improvement when we get Flannigan and Hatcher back. Those two will help solidify that edge, and hopefully this baptism by fire helps prepare the youth for what lies ahead.
> J.D. Harmon and Cody Quinn are my defensive MVPs. Never thought I would type that. Solid performances all night.
>Special teams bright spots: KOR has the chance to be LETHAL. King and Harmon can flat out get to the endzone in a hurry. PR also looks promising as Timmons had the chance to bust out several big returns. He's by far our best option at that position, and I hope he can hold onto the ball to stay on his throne.
>Special teams "Oh SH*T" spots: Kick-off coverage. Arm tackles, missed assignments, whatever it was, it wasn't good. MacGinnis had a rough night. I'm not sure what it was, but him and Towles were visibly shaken IMO. Nerves in a new stadium, sell-out crowd. Dunno. I hope it gets fixed, though.
> Crowd: Get back in yo damn seats! FFS, if I had been able to go, you would've had to have tackled my sorry behind to get me to move from my seat. STICK AROUND. You want a program that doesn't give up? Then stick around and model it like the coaches do. Disgraceful.
> First Half: WHOA, sloppy, but nice effort and some points.
> Second Half: WHOA, sloppy, no effort, and hardly any points. I honestly think that the guys weren't taking this game seriously the entire time and took for granted the fact that we had a sizable lead at one point.
> Defense, for being gassed, showed a whole lot of potential at the end of the game. The reason I think they weren't taking things seriously is because of how effective the defense was when it came to be crunch-time.
> Resolve: congrats to the Cats for having some.
>Towles' throwing issues will be corrected. He wasn't used as a running threat at all tonight, which hurt the offense, I think. Last year, defenses had to keep a man spying in case Towles tucked it. Without that threat, the defense can focus more on the receivers and running backs exclusively. Not a fan. I'm also not a fan of the intermediate throws. Towles showed just the slightest improvement in that area tonight, but when the deep ball, dump pass, and quick out-routes are going your way, why risk throwing the ball into the danger zone?
> Kentucky played a lot of 4-3 tonight. Probably due to lack of linebacker depth, but I personally liked the defense we saw when we had a 3-down set. Lewis was usually doubled and Elam was... pushy. A lot easier preparing your defensive scheme when the NT takes up 1.5 to 2 blockers.
> Overall, I feel like a few calls were completely and utterly stupid tonight. I feel like the staff was experimenting and holding a few plays back even though shat almost hit the fan.
-----
Considering that UK never went to its TE's, had several huge missed assignments by a true freshman lineman, was missing two starting linebackers, and was shaking off the off-season rust, I will still consider this game a success. Was it an absolute embarrassment at times? Yes. Yes it was. Does this team have a huge ceiling? Yes. Yes it does. Do I think we will make huge strides in practice this week? Yes. Yes I do. Do I think We will beat S.Car next Saturday? No. I can't make that call. One thing I can call, though, is that regardless of the chicken-littles, this team has come a long way and still has a long way to go. We're still starting true freshmen at key positions, so the depth isn't quite where it needs to be. However, this team will continue to improve, IMO, for the rest of the season and onward.
Mashup Question: Who were your MVPs of the game? One offense, one defense.
Have a great weekend, folks. Stay safe! Enjoy the lengthy stay at home or the lake or wherever your plans lead you. As always, God Bless... and Go Big Blue!
