Why was the defensive line so pathetically bad this year?

[screwduke1]

I know most of the line talk is about the o line...but one thing we all thought this team would at least have is an elite (or at least would be pretty good) defensive line. They got their asses kicked all year. What gives? And this is with a 1st round pick in Deone Walker...

 

[TuckyBlue]

 

[WildcatofNati2]

They started off pretty good. At some point, they probably just got demoralized. They were particularly bad in the last two games.

 

[mrschwump]

First part of the season the talking heads were giving them high props then it was like they hit a wall. Will say, however, that Walker played the season with 2 OL hanging on each shoulder. Guy was blatantly, overtly held worse than any player I've ever seen but could not get a call to save his life. Rybka, Oxendine, Silver especially just vanished.

 

[Soupbean]

I’m no DLine coach but if your slow and stand straight up on the snap it can’t be good

 

[The_Catfather]

First part of the season the talking heads were giving them high props then it was like they hit a wall. Will say, however, that Walker played the season with 2 OL hanging on each shoulder. Guy was blatantly, overtly held worse than any player I've ever seen but could not get a call to save his life. Rybka, Oxendine, Silver especially just vanished.

We started countless drives 1st-and-20 or had them stall because of holds. And I know our OL sucked. But then you'd see a replay of Deone Walker in a chokehold after he beat his defender over and over and over and there was never a flag thrown. It's infuriating.

Stoops isn't respected or feared by officials so judgement calls like holding or PI are never going to go his way.

 

[Blueaz]

I know most of the line talk is about the o line...but one thing we all thought this team would at least have is an elite (or at least would be pretty good) defensive line. They got their asses kicked all year. What gives? And this is with a 1st round pick in Deone Walker...

Terrible “get offs”.
Just terrible.
That is player and coach.

 

[yoshukai]

I’d love to know exactly what all went on during the bye week after beating ole miss .

 

[rolaid]

Anwar Stewart is a very bad Coach
Players were lazy and enabled similar to rest of team
No discipline in program whatsoever

 

[seccats04]

Anwar Stewart is a very bad Coach
Players were lazy and enabled similar to rest of team
No discipline in program whatsoever

Yes. Last week Jesse Palmer said Stewart is one of the best DL coaches in college football. I about spit out my drink from laughing so hard. His lines never get pressure. Our players do not get better over time. Ox is a prime example. He was really good as a young player but constantly gets blown off the ball now. Deone takes half the plays off. Silver is a non factor. It’s maddening.

 

[seccats04]

I’d love to know exactly what all went on during the bye week after beating ole miss .

Camp Cal.

 

[Blueaz]

Camp Cal.

The “tweak”

 

[catsfan325]

Yes. Last week Jesse Palmer said Stewart is one of the best DL coaches in college football. I about spit out my drink from laughing so hard. His lines never get pressure. Our players do not get better over time. Ox is a prime example. He was really good as a young player but constantly gets blown off the ball now. Deone takes half the plays off. Silver is a non factor. It’s maddening.

Have our D-Lines ever gotten real consistent pressure over the last 12 years? Have had some pretty good players during that time too. May be a feature, and not a bug...

 

[mrschwump]

Anwar Stewart is a very bad Coach
Players were lazy and enabled similar to rest of team
No discipline in program whatsoever

Here again, the early season talking heads called Stewart "an outstanding young DL coach." He also signed a contract extension last summer. He's a young guy, a UK grad who had years of DL experience in Canada. FWIW. The whole lack of discipline issue just permeated the entire team.

 

[seccats04]

Have our D-Lines ever gotten real consistent pressure over the last 12 years? Have had some pretty good players during that time too. May be a feature, and not a bug...

Well I remember how we got consistent pressure under LeBlanc. I know it’s been a big drop off since he left.

 

[howercat]

Lack of discipline. Guys just quit playing hard, and quit. Too hard for them to sustain a high level for 8 sec games. Meanwhile, the elite teams and coaches, they're players give max effort all sec games.

 

[ManitouDan]

Terrible “get offs”.
Just terrible.
That is player and coach.

I’d say he played himself out of the first round

 

[rolaid]

Yes. Last week Jesse Palmer said Stewart is one of the best DL coaches in college football. I about spit out my drink from laughing so hard. His lines never get pressure. Our players do not get better over time. Ox is a prime example. He was really good as a young player but constantly gets blown off the ball now. Deone takes half the plays off. Silver is a non factor. It’s maddening.

Yes I called out the Host of the Bachelor right after he made that ridiculous comment

 

[ArtLaibsGhost]

I’m no DLine coach but if your slow and stand straight up on the snap it can’t be good

That's the the thing. UKs line was big but not quick over overly athletic. They struggled with quick high speed offenses

 

[K_TIME]

Uk defense line is coached to consume blockers and let the Lb make most plays…that is alotnof 3-4 schemes. Not big on penetration

This unit was good early and just fell apart down the stretch. That Florida - auburn was a disaster. But regardless of the offense…you need to play hard

 

[jeffky]

Stoops

 

[blue cincy]

DLINE- You cannot have 1 or 2 guys and win out. You have to have a really great front 7, meaning if I double team 1 guy (walker) then the other 6 will get all the pressure on the QB. Stoops thought Walker would cause the double/triple team and others would dominate off their single block or chip block. Heck every SEC coordinator just game planned around Walker and around Harriston as well. The problem is that Silver was beaten by 1 guy way too much. The problem is that our scheme did not put pressure from LB enough. We also hardly ever got our hands up when a QB would pass the ball. Making throws in smaller windows at the line of scrimmage. Having 6'5 or 6'6 DLINE does nothing if they are not jumping with hands up after not getting pressure on the QB. Far too many times a QB could just throw darts without having to put a little lift on the ball due to our line not having their hands up. I mean our QBs could not get the short pass game going in the middle because of DLine putting hands up and blocking passes. That is just a little of the issues. We did not see the drive we had seen in the past. I still think Stoops lost our team after trying to go to TEX AM. Guys just did not go as hard.

 

[Tskware]

I posted this yesterday on HOB:

I have felt for several years that Kentucky has to get some smaller, more agile defensive linemen. We have way too many guys that weigh 300+ with no lateral speed, and next to no ability to pressure the QB. Thus, we give up a surprising amount of yards, considering the recruiting hype around some of our players. Look at Gillotte at UL (270); the two DEs at South Carolina (250 or so) - that is what I am talking about. Sure it is great if you have the two DTs like Michigan has (Graham and Grant) who are 300+ but can really move, but we don't recruit at that level, so we need to get some much needed quickness and lateral movement up front on defense to turn this back around. If we had that, all of a sudden, our LBs and secondary would look better vs. the run and the pass.

Watching Indiana play in the last few weeks proves my point: Cignetti added a bunch of smaller fast guys on defense from lower level football teams when he got hired and their defense is way better than ours, no comparison. IU doesn't have the overall talent to go far in the playoffs, but the improvement from last year to this year is like night and day.

 

[optimus-blue]

they stayed on the field the whole game…. if our offense could have generated 21 points a game in the SEC play and keep them off the field for a reasonable amount of time I think they would’ve played about a lot better. And quite frankly, at the end of the year they were burnt out effort was not there

 

[comebackcats1]

It’s called they quit. No other way to look at it

 

[Stretch98]

The loss of Jackson at LB was devastating

 

[gamecockcat]

Personally, I don't like the 'DL eats up blockers' mindset of our scheme. I think it leads to DL not doing their level best on every play to be disruptive. It's a very passive mindset for a DL to have as his goal on every play 'eat up a blocker or two'. Is our DL coach teaching techniques to shed blocks and get by his man or are we teaching the DL how to hold their ground and neutralize the OL? I know which way I'd want to play if I were a DL and it wouldn't be trying to eat up as many blockers as I can. Very, very few of our opponents' DL play the same passive way ours plays. That should tell you something.

 

[runthedangball2]

As others have said, scheme calls for huge d-line that eats blockers. Linebackers are the play makers in this scheme. D-Jack was one of our best players. When he went down that was a HUGE blow. I’m very concerned about the lack of development at both inside and outside backer the last few years. The fact we have to keep going to the portal for inside backers is an indictment on Mike Stoops as inside backer coach. The guy needs to move on.

Honestly Brad White leaving wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Our overall scheme/philosophy is Stoops’. Fresh blood/ideas might not be the worst thing. Could result in an upgrade in EDGE play which has fallen off since Boogie Watson and Josh Allen. The risk is Stoops hiring a dud and putting final nail in the coffin.

 

[truebluewildcat]

I’d like to see a stat about time on field for defense.

I would guess that this year with the offense being so bad the D got a lot more time to get run over and scored on.

 

[YaketySax]

Injuries and low morale because the offense was that bad saddling them with poor field position. I don’t think it’s more complicated than that.

 

[Deeeefense]

To answer the OPs question and others like it, I suggest you quit looking at the trees and instead look at the forest.

 

[mrschwump]

To answer the OPs question and others like it, I suggest you quit looking at the trees and instead look at the forest.

Or look at the pic on the front page of this very site and see the U6 OL with a handful of Walker's jersey. Fan's ire doesn't need to be directed at the player or the DL coach but at the SEC stripes who allows this BS play after play after play.

 

[gobigblue812]

Injuries and low morale because the offense was that bad saddling them with poor field position. I don’t think it’s more complicated than that.

Yep. A lot of Dline injuries to start the season plus the Defense was on the field way too much due to poor offensive production.

 

[seccats04]

Or look at the pic on the front page of this very site and see the U6 OL with a handful of Walker's jersey. Fan's ire doesn't need to be directed at the player or the DL coach but at the SEC stripes who allows this BS play after play after play.

Then Walker needs to be taught to sell it. Flail your arms around, fall down from being held so long, yell, scream, something. He instead just takes half the plays off.

 

[mrschwump]

Then Walker needs to be taught to sell it. Flail your arms around, fall down from being held so long, yell, scream, something. He instead just takes half the plays off.

Yeah, he does all that, even goes to the official but they just laugh at him. Stripes need to do their freaking job.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Injuries and apathy. Djack going down put afari inside. No depth on the dl. Apathy from the offense being hopeless.