Cats made some progress in a loss

[ukbob]

IMO...here is what we know:

- We have a bad offensive line and a great QB. Not a great combination in big games. AW is really playing great this year. Imagine what he could do if he had blockers. (Haven't we been saying this every year?) What disturbs me is that there has been more than one year when we were supposed to havea decent O-Line only to have it become our weakest link. Hard to understand.

- With a bad O-Line comes the lack of a running game. But I do like A. Smith. He needs more touches.

- Enough has been said on our defense. They made big plays and played with heart but we gave up well over 400 yards once again. Poor tackling in crucial situations killed us. But they played tough for a while.

It is obvious what we lack to be a good SEC team. And it will have to take time for us to get that. We need recruits...big ugly linemen and tons of them.

But we came out and laid it on the line....fought against the bad calls and a strong defenseand likely gained some respect. However, we just cannot sustain it against real teams like this one. That is has to be the goal. A great offensive game plan in the 1st half...some breaks on turnovers.....pretty entertaining. But we got only 60 total yards in the 2nd half and that won't get it against anyone good.

I know it is not Kosher toclaim moral victories, but with UK football, I disagree. You take what you can and build on it. Even a loss like this can be built on.

Win the games you should and keep playing hard against the big boys. Fortunes will change at some point if we continue to do that, IMO.

[Will Lavender]

I was pretty pleased. I thought Florida would score in the 40s, so I guess you would have to say Archer's defense stepped up to the challenge.

I thought the playcalling was a little...vanilla in the second half. Not much you can do when your O-line is getting carved up, but those three straight 3-and-outs were the difference in the game. I thought at some point Woodson would roll out on first down, or we'd throw it downfield, or something.

The players and the coaches seemed to panic once Florida got their focus.

[CatFanInTheBathtub]

I think the number one thing that kept us in the game (for awhile) was the catching. It seems that Keenan, Dicky, Curtis, and co. actually caught alot of passes that in past years havebounced out of uk receivers' hands. I was definitely impressed with the hands. Now, the refs don't screw us on a crap offensive interference and there may have been a different story going into the locker room. Urban sure coached up that d line though, took the wind right out.

[ukbob]

CatFanInTheBathtub wrote: I think the number one thing that kept us in the game (for awhile) was the catching. It seems that Keenan, Dicky, Curtis, and co. actually caught alot of passes that in past years havebounced out of uk receivers' hands. I was definitely impressed with the hands. Now, the refs don't screw us on a crap offensive interference and there may have been a different story going into the locker room. Urban sure coached up that d line though, took the wind right out.
Good point on the catches. Great hands on our receivers....Tamme, Pulley, Lyons, Grinter and Burton. Something to build on. Now if we could get someone to block for Andre so he can throw it to them. :(

[Will Lavender]

CatFanInTheBathtub wrote: I think the number one thing that kept us in the game (for awhile) was the catching. It seems that Keenan, Dicky, Curtis, and co. actually caught alot of passes that in past years havebounced out of uk receivers' hands. I was definitely impressed with the hands. Now, the refs don't screw us on a crap offensive interference and there may have been a different story going into the locker room. Urban sure coached up that d line though, took the wind right out.
I mentioned this to my brother-in-law.

Andre had a fine game, but our receivers played about as well tonight as I've ever seen Kentucky receivers play. Curtis Pulley was flat-out outstanding.

[Caveman Catfan]

Pulley made tough catches and ran well after the catch. I liked what I saw.

Don't think Johnson got a catch tonight.

Andre gave a lot of guys the ball. Andre just played like a star.

[RedandBlackATTACK]

Game effort by the Cats, just not enough players and IMO a lack of imagination on the O-side, albeit Andre was running for his life. IF you going to beat Florida in the Swamp with a depleted squad, find a way to throw the ball downfield. Next game is HUGE for Coach Brooks and Staff.

Rick

C-Bus

[JOHN BLUEBLOOD]

500 yards isn't exactly progress is it? Come-on,

[ukbob]

JOHN BLUEBLOOD wrote: 500 yards isn't exactly progress is it? Come-on,
Don't get me started again on the consistently last place Archer defense. UK will never be competitive in the SEC until we start thinking DEFENSE first. And that would require a better DC..but....

But yes, we did make progress in my mind. We came out prepared with a solid game plan and executed it for the most part......in the 1st half. That is improvement. We fialed to adjust as they did, but their superior talent just flat overwhelmed us in the 2nd half. The talent margin in the trenches is staggering.

I think the "bend, don't totally break" reaction defense has done all they could in that scheme. Our turnover ratio is excellent. However, we still know nothing of tackling which is disturbing. I guess it is all about the points given up and not the yards. But 514 yards is ridiculous week after week. We gave up over 400 yds to a terrible Ole Miss team. Improve that defense and UK becomes a winner every year.

One game at a time now. Win the games we are supposed to win. The next game is such a game.

[Mark Blueblood]

I agree with what you say Bob - especially about the big, ugly lineman. On both sides of the ball. I remember telling my son during the latter part of last years Louisville game (that we should have won) - "we're running out of big guys". Skill players we have, "trenchers" we're short on. But hey - that's the way this team was recruited for up until Brooks showed up. We're making progress, but for the most part, these guys are still y-o-u-n-g.

And I'm not gonna beat Archer up. I know LOTS of people are hanging him out to dry, but face it - (and I'm not saying I'm happy with the defense all the time) - but those guys had to stay on the field the whole second half. And against Florida, when that's the case, you're gonna give up yards. Lots of them.

But you're right Bob - I saw progress. I'm proud of these guys.

[Trueblujr]

CatFanInTheBathtub wrote: I think the number one thing that kept us in the game (for awhile) was the catching. It seems that Keenan, Dicky, Curtis, and co. actually caught alot of passes that in past years havebounced out of uk receivers' hands. I was definitely impressed with the hands. Now, the refs don't screw us on a crap offensive interference and there may have been a different story going into the locker room. Urban sure coached up that d line though, took the wind right out.

THis has been the case in all of our games this year. The number of dropped balls is way down. Our recieving corp was generally observed as an inexperienced group of nobodies other than Burton and maybe Tamme. I think we are proving to have one of the better recieving corps in the league which is awesome for next year because we bring them ALL back (unless Burton goes pro)

We didn't embarrass ourselves last night and for the most part proved we aren't going to be a pushover this year. However we have to continue to follow losses like this up with strong performances. We have an excellent opportunity to solidify our Bowl hopes with two good wins the next two weeks. We can beat South Carolina...We NEED to beat South Carolina. The win over Ole Miss got one monkey off our back, a win over South Carolina would be monumental in showing that the progress we are making is in fact real. A win over USC could propel us to a 7 win season (and after the way UGA played against Colorado yesterday, UGA ought to be a fun home game..oh but Colorado had a defense) Anyways, a 7 win season this year...bring virtually everybody back...next year could be memorable.

[Aike]

I thought we played about as well as we are capable of playing.

Our offense did a nice job of keeping Florida off-balance in the first half and using some clock. Unfortunately, in the second half a vastly superior defensive line pinned their ears back and man-handled our front.

A couple of people have commented that we needed to find a way to go downfield. It looked like to me that any time we tried to, Florida was on Woodson before he could get his arm cocked.

Our defense was OK. It was certainly better than it was last week, imo. The play where we sacked Leak on 4th and 3 in the first half is the kind of play that we NEVER seem to make.

What happened last night is that we forced Florida to turn up the heat. Last year against Florida we were getting trounced so badly that Florida quit playing by halftime. I know that isn't a popular opinion with some, but that's what happened. Last night, we witnessed one of the top defensive teams in the country being forced to come out in the second half and act like it. The result was expected, if disappointing. We better get used to it, though, because we will have three more games just like it unless we do some shoring up in our O-line.

The good news is that we gave an effort last night that is sufficient to beat five other teams on our schedule. Here is where Brooks earns his money. We can't afford to come out flat in any of those five. Even with maximum effort, we still would be lucky to win more than four of them. Our margin for error is just not that good. Fortunately, four is enough.

[rickdacatkilla]

Have to say, when Woodson had time he wasmoney...

[CatFanInTheBathtub]

Aike wrote: I thought we played about as well as we are capable of playing.






yeah, without Raphy.

watching the replay this morning, as well as we played in the first half, it was uf's last drive that, imo, did us in for the game. We take a 7-6 lead with less than 2 min. left, have a nice clothesline tackle on the kickoff and all the momentum in the world going into the locker room knowing we get the ball back in the 2nd. Then what....our D goes into a coma for about 1:40, gators march downfield like they're going against the powderpuff team and you got Brooks and Archer yelling at each other after wynn runs it in to cap the drive. Momentum completely shifts before the half and if you ask me that was the drive of thegame.

[7lives]

"Poor tackling in crucial situations killed us. "



I wonder if the quick as lightening Florida offensive talent had anything to do with that? Why don't we give credit where credit is due instead of belittling our players and coaches?

[bamacat]

7lives wrote: "Poor tackling in crucial situations killed us. "



I wonder if the quick as lightening Florida offensive talent had anything to do with that? Why don't we give credit where credit is due instead of belittling our players and coaches?

I agree 100%

[BigBlue75]

bamacat wrote: 7lives wrote: "Poor tackling in crucial situations killed us. "



I wonder if the quick as lightening Florida offensive talent had anything to do with that? Why don't we give credit where credit is due instead of belittling our players and coaches?

I agree 100%
As I do.

[Blue Heaven]

I was surprised we didn't see Woodson in the shotgun more in the 2nd half. We ran a lot of inside handoffs and Woodson was under center most of the 2nd half and I think that killed us. The play calling was brilliant in the 1 st half. The second half play calls, I was scratching my head. We did rush for more yds. than UT had on the Gators. Alphonso Smith needs more touches. When he turned the corner on that run around the left side, I was VERY impressed. We are light years better than last year and will upset someone this year.

[Will Lavender]

Blue Heaven wrote: I was surprised we didn't see Woodson in the shotgun more in the 2nd half. We ran a lot of inside handoffs and Woodson was under center most of the 2nd half and I think that killed us. The play calling was brilliant in the 1 st half. The second half play calls, I was scratching my head. We did rush for more yds. than UT had on the Gators. Alphonso Smith needs more touches. When he turned the corner on that run around the left side, I was VERY impressed. We are light years better than last year and will upset someone this year.
I agree.

He did get sacked a few times out of the shotgun though.

I'm not sure if it was the playcalling or if Andre just wasn't making decisions fast enough. Yes, there were times when he didn't have any time at all; but there were other times when I thought he should have stepped up in the pocket and thrown a quick pass to to the flats.

So I don't know who to blame other than the O-line. The playcalling definitely got more sporadic in the second half, but what are you gonna do when you just get whipped repeatedly in the trenches? I did keep wondering where that roll-out pass went. That play was very good to us when we ran it in the first half.

[Doug Hardin]

7lives wrote: "Poor tackling in crucial situations killed us. "

I wonder if the quick as lightening Florida offensive talent had anything to do with that? Why don't we give credit where credit is due instead of belittling our players and coaches?


I tend to think the same thing. I hear people in Commonwealth and see posts on these boards along the lines of, "Arm-tacklin'! Aint' nothin' but arm-tacklin'! Hit somebody!"

I haven't played tackle football since 6th grade, so I'm not expert on technique, but it's pretty hard to line up your shoulders, put them into the ball carrier's numbers, and make a textbook tackle every single time. A lot of the "arm-tackling" that people complain about is a last resort; often the defender is being blocked or the runner hasmade a good spin or cut-back move, and the only hopethe defenderhas is to reach out and grab at the runner and hope it's enough to slow him down for someone else to make a play. I'm not saying UK's players have textbook tackling technique (how's that for alliteration?). There were some horrible examples last night, such as Ben McGrath whiffing on Wynn that allowed him to turn a 2-yard gain that would'vebrought up 3rd and long into a 15-yard first down run. But I think a lot of times people that complain about "arm-tackling" when the ball carrier doesn't go down on first contact are being overly critical of the defenders when it's more a case of the offense just making a good play.

[sardiscat]

Tackling ability is not one of the things that UK looks for when recruiting. Have you ever heard a UK coach say, when discussing that year's signees, "The kid can really tackle." No, you haven't. I've been following UK football for 40 years, and I've never heard any UK coach say that about any recruit. I've heard a number of coaches who know a thing or two about defense, including Joe Lee Dunn and Tommy Tuberville, say that they have seen very few players learn how to tackle after getting to college, that a player can either tackle when he first arrives on campus or heis never able to tackle. Dunn and Tuberville each said that tackling ability is one of the foremost things they look for when evaluating high school players for defense. UK coaches just look at their size, speed, what program they come from, what kind of frame to they have. Tackling ability never is mentioned. As a result, UK has about a 15 year string going of fielding defenses that can't tackle.

[poodoo]

A couple of people have commented that we needed to find a way to go downfield. It looked like to me that any time we tried to, Florida was on Woodson before he could get his arm cocked. QUOTE by Aike

_________

FWIW, I thought the same. Similarly, our receiver has to have the time toGET downfield and the defenders were, time after time,immediately on Woodson.

Regardless, I agree with ukbob's post and others' post that wemade some PROGRESS. While I still give UK some credit for its comeback against Floridawith its second- and third-stringers last season,especially since we wereplayingwith second- and third-stringers because of injuriestoso many starters last year,there was a DEFINITE difference this year. :)

Progress was made, too, in that we were in the game until the fourth quarter. We were NOT embarrassed on national television. We got some positive publicity from the announcers for a change, which could be a positive for recruiting, in my opinion. Yes, it was PROGRESS. While I didn't like that drive by Florida that put them into the lead and our lack of offensive production in the second half, it was progress. :)

[Spanish Moss]

[Chaz]

Spanish Moss wrote: sardiscat wrote: Tackling ability is not one of the things that UK looks for when recruiting. Have you ever heard a UK coach say, when discussing that year's signees, "The kid can really tackle." No, you haven't. I've been following UK football for 40 years, and I've never heard any UK coach say that about any recruit. I've heard a number of coaches who know a thing or two about defense, including Joe Lee Dunn and Tommy Tuberville, say that they have seen very few players learn how to tackle after getting to college, that a player can either tackle when he first arrives on campus or heis never able to tackle. Dunn and Tuberville each said that tackling ability is one of the foremost things they look for when evaluating high school players for defense. UK coaches just look at their size, speed, what program they come from, what kind of frame to they have. Tackling ability never is mentioned. As a result, UK has about a 15 year string going of fielding defenses that can't tackle.

Well said.

I believe what Dunn and Tuberville said is true.

:thumbup I can believe it also and have been very disappointed and mad when it seem that we can never tackle anyone as the guy goes flying by for a big gain.:X Maybe some industrial strength velcro gloves could help our tacklers.:)