Brooks needs to win next 2 or ship sinks

[Radiated]

Brooks needs to win next 2 or ship sinks

By Mark Story
HERALD-LEADER SPORTS COLUMNIST

Brooks now has two weeks to salvage his coaching tenure at Kentucky.

In sports, there aren't many truly must-win games, but UK fans are about to see two.

Coming off Sunday night's worse-than-the-final-score-indicates 59-28 debacle at Louisville, Brooks and Kentucky have to beat I-AA Texas State and they have to beat Mississippi.

Period.

--more-- (http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/sports/colleges/university_of_kentucky/15440663.htm)

[Athens2005]

"All we've heard from the UK spin machine in recent years is how little talent Brooks inherited in Lexington.

But three of the times when Kentucky had more total offense than its foe came with Jared Lorenzen at quarterback in Brooks' first year of 2003.

So, using total yardage as a gauge, it looks like Brooks' teams are becoming less productive the longer the coach has to recruit and teach his own players.

That is not an encouraging sign."

[Mike B]

Brooks needs to go, period. He's had enough time. I see no progress from year to year at all. When you aren't providing any solution you are part of the problem.

I didn't expect to beat Louisville, but I did expect us to put forward a credible effort.

What I saw wasn't even close to that. When your team looks like the keystone kops on the field, the fault isn't the players, it's poor coaching.

[johnkyblue]

The team that took the field this time was better coached than the last JLo team. We got off all our punts, there was one delay of game penalty that I remember, there were missed assignments on defense at times, but not more than expected when the team is that young.

[Buddah]

Mike B wrote: Brooks needs to go, period. He's had enough time. I see no progress from year to year at all. When you aren't providing any solution you are part of the problem.

I didn't expect to beat Louisville, but I did expect us to put forward a credible effort.

What I saw wasn't even close to that. When your team looks like the keystone kops on the field, the fault isn't the players, it's poor coaching.






i agree.but it really shouldn't surprise anyone really... some of the same people that were here when curry was here, a head coach in that same mold, doesn't shock me in the least... we will see what happens.

[Athens2005]

johnkyblue wrote: The team that took the field this time was better coached than the last JLo team. We got off all our punts, there was one delay of game penalty that I remember, there were missed assignments on defense at times, but not more than expected when the team is that young.


Isn't it the same coach?

[kevinlw1974]

You know, Mumme's best success was really with mostly Curry's recruits. It is hard to argue with most of that article. I have always wanted to give RB a chance. I mean I want some continuity with our football program and changing the guard every few years just isn't going to cut it. However, I am starting to believe that he simply can't cut it. If you doo not win the next two, he needs to go. However, I will wait until the Ole Miss game.

[johnkyblue]

yeah.. but if people are going to say that the coaching is worse then I look at the things that would point to that.... Delay of game, illegal formation, wrong formation on 'd', personnel changing difficulty and I didn't see but a tad of that. Once a LB tapped a DL to move over a shade and there was one delay of game penalty.

The playcalling was okay, it's hard to look good when your team is used to your second string instead of a #13 team.

Nah, if the players looked like Keystone Kops it wasn't the coaches fault. Either they suck and will forever or they will get better. I think I'll take the latter.

[trublue4life]

It pains me to give a lot of credit to a LHL writer, but Story is sopt on with this article. The next two weeks will tell the tale.

[MSU Cat]

johnkyblue wrote: yeah.. but if people are going to say that the coaching is worse then I look at the things that would point to that.... Delay of game, illegal formation, wrong formation on 'd', personnel changing difficulty and I didn't see but a tad of that. Once a LB tapped a DL to move over a shade and there was one delay of game penalty.

The playcalling was okay, it's hard to look good when your team is used to your second string instead of a #13 team.

Nah, if the players looked like Keystone Kops it wasn't the coaches fault. Either they suck and will forever or they will get better. I think I'll take the latter.

All you have to look at to see that the coaching is absolutely terrible is the first play of the game when Louisville ran the reverse. It was obvious to me that our players weren't coached to do one of the most fundamental things in football - - stay home on defense. We didn't have one player who stayed home. Our linebackers continually left their tight end wide open on that little out pattern. Once again, we saw shoddy tackling. I think the overriding factor in all of this is that we came out and looked as unprepared as we ever have. We let them score and go up 31-0 and looked absolutely horrible doing it. We had no ground game. Little and Dixon could neither one get the ball before a Louisville defender was in his face. Let's face it. Rich Brooks and his staff have had enough time to build a respectable program. Did I think we'd beat Louisville? Certainly not. Did I expect to compete? Not really. That is what is sad about this staff. We've gone from the point where I actually thought we had a chance to beat some of the teams we played to where I think we'll be lucky to get by Central Michigan. It'll be another long year of 3 to 4 wins and more excuses and pleading for the fans to "Wait, we will get better."

[The Old School JPS]

johnkyblue wrote: The team that took the field this time was better coached than the last JLo team.

Unfortunately,this team and each one since has been worse coached than the second to last JLo team, or the one before that.

[johnkyblue]

On that reverse... they stayed at home, they were on their butts.

[poodoo]

It was obvious to me that our players weren't coached to do one of the most fundamental things in football - - stay home on defense. We didn't have one player who stayed home. QUOTE

________

Well, to be honest, I was only watching Bush run and so hating that the game had started in that fashion (and, yes, I give Petrino credit for drawing up that first play).Yet, I listen to almost every radio show that I can. In other words, I hearmany comments from the coaches, including Coach Archer, and the players themselves.

FWIW, Archeroften complains about the players' not "staying home" on defense, and the players themselves will say things about how they must make themselves "stay home" on defense, rather than be tempted to just go after the ball, etc. So, it seems logical to me that the problem on that play was not that the players had not been coached to "stay home on defense."

In regard to the column, Mark Story is probably right that the team needs to win the next two games, or the sink ships. That does not mean that losing to Ole Miss, to be specific, would mean that these guys could not recover and still go to a bowl game. It is logical, though, that the ship would be sinking in negativity, making it most difficult to get itself back to the water's surface.

I thought Story's comment about the talent Brooks inherited was pretty ridiculous, though, Sure, he still had some of the talent left (although he lost the most impressive talent from the previous year, includingBESTS in the SEC, Pinner, Pakulak, and Robertson),BUT some of that talent was still loyal to their former coach and reluctant to listen to Brooks and his assistants. Then probation hit really hard. So I do think that comment was unfair, especially considering the youth of the talent Coach Brooks has himself brought to the program. That we only have a single-digit number of seniors contributing at all speaks volumes. Too, it is the past two recruiting classes that have been the most heralded. There is no way we can tell how the younger players are going to contribute as they mature. There is certainly no way we can tell that after ONE game this season.

However, as the season progresses, these guys obviously MUST play better, including the offensive numbers we put up, to which more of Story's column is addressed. I am in no way defending Sunday's disappointing performance, and this coaching staff definitely bears a lot of the responsibility for that debacle. Most of all,Story is still right that the next two games are HUGE for the future of this team AND its coaching staff.

My attitude is to wait and see and meanwhile support these guys and hope for the best. Yes, although a lot of improvement must be shown for it to happen, we CAN still win those two games and continue to improve throughout the season and reach ourgoal, and our players had better be thinking that way, for certain.I wish more fans would have that attitude, too, rather than jumping off the ship before it potentially sinks. :(If it sinks, at least our players will know that they were not alone. If it doesn't sink, it's going to be a FUN trip for the ones of us still on it. :)

[kevinlw1974]

Great post Poodoo.