Putting a different twist on March Madness, the University of Kentucky kicks off spring football drills Wednesday.
The Wildcats will hold 14 practices before wrapping up with the Blue-White Scrimmage in Commonwealth Stadium on April 21 at 6 p.m. (The scrimmage is the only practice open to the public.)
http://www.kentucky.com/2012/03/20/2...s-excited.html
Good read, in my opinion.
Blue I am, and Blue I'll always be.
Thanks, Matt.
Is RV posting anywhere these days? His ST posts were invaluable.
If I'm not mistaken, he was posting on bleedbluekentucky. I don't know if he is now, or not.Originally Posted by I. Melvin
Blue I am, and Blue I'll always be.
He is still posting there but not often.
gerntz, also CTTH
Kentucky's football players talked about Maxwell Smith being confident in the huddle last season.Even though the true freshman quarterback was forced into duty after the injury of Morgan Newton, he seemed to play the role convincingly.
Offensive coordinator Randy Sanders is glad it looked that way, but things aren't always as they seem.
"Max didn't know anything last year," Sanders said. "He knew just enough to survive for the most part."
http://www.kentucky.com/2012/03/21/2...nding-out.html
With Newton recovering, from shoulder surgery, this is Max' opportunity to step up. Let's hope he does so.
Blue I am, and Blue I'll always be.
You know... stories like this don't really do much to disprove the myth that Kentucky's playbook is much too complicated and requires a quarterback who has been in the system for several years to operate effectively.
The wages of sin is death, but so is the salary of virtue.
It may not be a myth, BGUKG. Perhaps, they need to dumb the playbook down, or try to sign some potential Rhodes Scholars to play QB.
Blue I am, and Blue I'll always be.
So what's Sanders' explanation why Newton folded like a cheap suit? He knew the playbook, yet know-nothing Smith was, by far, the better QB as was Matt Roark.
I don't know about Sanders, 'tower, but my explanation is that Newton isn't SEC QB material, in my opinion. I say move Newton to TE sooner rather than later.
Blue I am, and Blue I'll always be.
Only one open practice. That's disappointing.
I'm gonna say something I hope I regret real soon:
In spring practice you're going against your own team. If your offense is pretty bad and your defense isn't very good....you may actually look like a decent team. Trouble is, you're gonna hit the other team.....and if they really are pretty decent on offense or defense....well, you got issues.
Florida was the worst team they had in years last year. It wasn't even a game against us. We came mighty close to putting Western into a bowl...and they likely should have been.
My biggest hope is that the team did play more as a team against both Georgia and UT. I know Georgia isn't what they were and UT was just a flat out disaster, but it was competition against two legitimate SEC teams, and Kentucky lined up and played football. If that carries over into this season, perhaps we have a chance and Joker has a chance at redemption.
Very good points, Bill. While many hope for a winning season and maybe even a bowl game to redeem this coaching staff. My expectations are so low that I will be happy if I don't see this kind of crap this year:
I've never been a fan of complicated playbooks. Only the pro's need such a convoluted thing. At this level, you need to groom some basic looks. And then tweak those looks based on the opponent. I'm not a coach, but I've seen great coaches, and it's generally philosophy that makes them winners, not numbers. Philosophy and creativeness. You can be a genius, but be a chalkboard genius. Keep the players on the level and then change accordingly.
In essence, you run your 28 iso the same every time, but ON THIS PLAY, you tell the QB to tell the TE to line up opposite and draw the LB away. If they play zoneAnd the LB/or safett doesn't follow the TE), audible the play reverse side and run the play. You started the play with the idea of your back making a play, and you're still there.
But don't call a play, call for motion to reveal coverage, then call the play reversal, then see them go man afterward, then they show blitz, then you audible to pass audible short, then see them drop off in the zone look because they were trying to bait that audible out of you (If anyone would like to cut and paste this, this is the Steve Spurrier playbook on defense for....decade?.. against UK), and then snap the ball.
My philosophy has always been this. Keep it simple, until you can't. Don't try to get your TE to do a double move in the middle unless they can do, and the QB can read it. Just 3 to 4 steps, turn and wait.
Don't run reverses unless you have the speed to guarantee a corner on the backside. In the SEC this also reads: Don't waste time on reverses.
The list goes on.
Has anyone posting on this site ever actually seen the UK Football offensive "playbook?" Just wondering where all the expertise about its complexity are coming from. Certainly any pro-style offense is going to be more complex than your typical spread-option, but I don't know for certain that our offensive system is any more complex than most pro-style offenses. I have seen a lot of schemes for pro-style and spread-passing attacks and can certainly tell you that, in my experience, the progressions, reads, schemes, etc. are every bit as complex in spread passing attacks than in your standard pro-style.
Most run schemes now depend upon zone-blocking techniques, though you will see some "gap" runs still at the college level. Not rocket science.
Now, statements about evaluation, recruiting, and implementation are a completely different animal...
I have a man-crush on Rich Brooks. . . There, I said it. . . I have a man-crush on Rich Brooks and I am simply NOT going to lie about it anymore!
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Haven't seen. But I think the complexity comes from a) the QB & WR "reads" on pass plays such that they get on the same page as to where the WR is going, and b) the QB deciding which receiver to throw to off his reads. Of course when the R's do what they should do, the QB needs to be accurate & the R run precise routes. But he latter two are true of any pass game.
gerntz, also CTTH
I think the playbook has gotten a reputation among fans as being overly complicated because of comments the UK coaches have made to that effect, and the fact that it seems young quarterbacks have a lot of trouble picking it up.
The wages of sin is death, but so is the salary of virtue.
It's a reasonable conclusion from the info available.
gerntz, also CTTH
I think so too. I suppose Brett disagrees with that assessment though.
The wages of sin is death, but so is the salary of virtue.
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