Agree on Barker starting, just hope Stoops leave him in the game so he can prove himself .
Barker named Starter Per KSR
- Thread starter wbryant316
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Agree on Barker starting, just hope Stoops leave him in the game so he can prove himself .
We have certainly been good in the red zone.
Well said Jauk11. - Frustration sometimes gets the best of me. No one wants this Team, Stoops and staff to succeed more than me.
We got to hope that this team refocuses with Drew starting, the oline, backs, and receivers need not miss their blocking assignments, the receivers need to catch the ball and the staff needs to have them ready to play. Barely beating Charlotte and looking bad doing it will almost be as bad as losing. We need momentum going into the Louisville game and we need as a team for them to feel better about themselves.
I think the team rallies around him. Look at the excitement after his TD pass from the whole sideline compared to the one,later when JoJo scored. I think the team is loaded with younger players and wants Barker to lead them.
I think they can win out and make a bowl and really get true momentum in to next season. We are starting way to many Fr and So on the depth charts to compete when compared to other SEC schools.
I think they can win out and make a bowl and really get true momentum in to next season. We are starting way to many Fr and So on the depth charts to compete when compared to other SEC schools.
I for one was debating wasting time by going. But now I will. Net, you're correct.
To have a chance against Louisville we have to leave Barker in for the entire Charlotte game . We are playing catch up with his development because he hasn't been acclimated to game speed or schemes . Barkers problem is like most inexperienced players in that he locks on targets but more importantly loses sight of off the ball defenders .
The Vandy pick six was due to him failing to see the lb zone and throwing between the coverage , instead he saw man coverage and when he threw the guy was open . Play calling can help Barker with that , stay away from a bunch of posts , drags or any slant other than a quick one . You can still attack the middle of the field with seam routes to Conrad , just limit crossing the middle and run routes up the middle which will help Barker notice zone or help coverage . Sideline patterns such as outs , corner , hitch will help eliminate defenders .
Barker can pass with accuracy , his problem is identifying the defense and making adjustments to it . If we run heavy for the Charlotte game then it's a fail , to have any chance against UL he has to pass as much as possible imo .
The Vandy pick six was due to him failing to see the lb zone and throwing between the coverage , instead he saw man coverage and when he threw the guy was open . Play calling can help Barker with that , stay away from a bunch of posts , drags or any slant other than a quick one . You can still attack the middle of the field with seam routes to Conrad , just limit crossing the middle and run routes up the middle which will help Barker notice zone or help coverage . Sideline patterns such as outs , corner , hitch will help eliminate defenders .
Barker can pass with accuracy , his problem is identifying the defense and making adjustments to it . If we run heavy for the Charlotte game then it's a fail , to have any chance against UL he has to pass as much as possible imo .
Here is my concern and two cents. I understand that a change needs to be made. There were at least 4 drops in that Vandy Game that he threw a great ball. Barker will play great against Charlotte but Louisville just as strong of a D as Vandy does. If the team will rally around Barker that is great but agree above the problem is Stoops and his unorganized coaching style.
Prove himself against Charlotte? What a joke dude. If he has to prove something against those bums we are in deeper **** than I thought, and I thought it couldn't get any deeper
Brian, you are an excellent poster that is very rational. However, can we please stop spreading the misconception that the staff took Barker out after the interception? They gave Barker 2 more series (3 if you count the mismanaged one before halftime) after that and allowed him to take the first series after halftime. I know he didn't get to throw it a whole lot in the Vanderbilt game, but he did get several more chances after the INT.
I think the reason he was taken out was because after his first drive the offense again became stagnant and I think Barker became a bit hesitant after throwing the interception. I am not saying it was the right decision as I think that Barker did provide a spark, but the spark never ignited the fire. It was just that... a quick and simple spark. Hopefully with a week of taking number 1 snaps and with him starting the spark actually does ignite the fire. Lord knows we need it.
I know one thing, if Barker comes in and guides us to wins against Charlotte & UL the kid will have earned a place in UK lore. I really am rooting for him and hope he comes in and just lights it up the rest of the year.
Towles may have taken his last significant snap at UK if Drew does well. Feel bad for the kid but he'll have an opportunity to make an NFL roster somewhere when his time is up here.
Towles may have taken his last significant snap at UK if Drew does well. Feel bad for the kid but he'll have an opportunity to make an NFL roster somewhere when his time is up here.
Unfortunately, logic tells me that the issues on offense will expose themselves once again when UK faces a decent defense.
I'll be stunned if Towles doesn't get some time vs. UofL. Not because he deserves it, but more because I fully expect that offense to crap the bed once again and the staff will try any desperate move available in able to get something going.
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UKNC...I'm with you on this, but I'm feeling with MS like with JP...he can't do the job...it is not in his makeup
If it looks like the staff is ready to move on permanently with Barker there is no reason for Towles to waste his last year of college eligibility sitting on the bench. To keep any hope & prayer of a shot at the NFL he would have to transfer down to a FCS school to play his 5th & final year.
The coaches know that, hence all the talk after the season will be to keep him in the fold. But it is a delicate balancing act, because to do that also will cause Barker to be more likely to move on.
The coaches know that, hence all the talk after the season will be to keep him in the fold. But it is a delicate balancing act, because to do that also will cause Barker to be more likely to move on.
It still wouldn't make a lot of sense for Barker to transfer, because he has to sit out a year if he transfer to a FBS school. So, his options are to transfer to a FCS school, which is not a good decision if he wants to play on Sundays; transfer to a FBS and have to probably compete for a starting job in 2017; or stay here and probably be the heir apparent in 2017.
For Towles, he could probably directly transfer to a FBS school next year, though I would hope that he does not do that. As long as he graduates, he can be a graduate transfer. Russell Wilson did that, had a great year at Wisconsin, got drafted, and the rest is history.
Has to be a different conference; has to a school that offers a grad program, that UK does not offer. But, if someone wants to do it, it's usually pretty easy to get it done.
Wouldn't Dawson need to tweak his play calling or Offense in general? We need to lean on Drew's ability to run and move the chains. Our O line needs to step up next two games.
5 for 8 with 1 TD and 1 INT ........ Barker made 1 mistake against a top 15 defense. And you are acting like he played horrible? After the INT the staff ran the ball on 1st and 2nd downs..... afraid he'd throw another INT.
Bingo. Stoops was a CATASTROPHE this weekend and made this move simply so he could get some sleep this week.
Louisville will have a full game tape to gameplan for Barker. Kind of takes away the surprise element of using your backup QB.
you cant count the last possession of the first half when all we did was hand the ball off twice to run out the clock as giving Barker a possession so it was in fact two possessions following the Int. He did manage one first down on the 17 yard run before the staff screwed the pooch with their play calling at midfield on 3rd and 4th and 1. He got to throw 3 passes (1-2, 4 yards) following the interception in those two possessions. Hardly enough of a sample sized to call the offense stagnant at that point.
The truth of the matter is Stoops was reluctant to go with Barker in the first place and jumped at the first chance he could to get Towles back in the game. Towles responded by going 3 and out on 3 of 5 possessions (some hot hand). Again not hating on Towles at all, just bad coaching. The two possessions where the ball was moved for the TD and missed FG was very run oriented 9 rushes, 3 passes. The other three possession were just the opposite, 7 passes (one resulted in a sack), 2 runs. PT overall was 5-9 for 45 yards after coming back in.
I didn't count the last possession before the half. Only his full possessions. Fact of the matter is that he had 3 whole possessions after the touchdown and our offense continued to struggle. There were probably several instances where Barker became gun shy and ran the ball instead of sticking in there and throwing it. That could be part of the reason the staff took him out.
Barker isn't that much different in skill set than Towles so video of him probably won't change anything Louisville does.
Agreed. Anyway, the advantage of getting Barker to have 4 quarters of game experience against Charlotte outweighs any disadvantage of giving Louisville more film, especially when they already have film from his previous outings anyway.
I don't know how you can say that when he's not had enough reps in games to make an honest assessment.
What little we've seen of Barker, he has more zip on his passes and gets the ball to the receivers out in the flat. I have no idea if he is a good running QB, but that would be an added plus.
Barker and Towles have similar skill sets. They both can make pretty much all the throws and they both have a similar running ability. So, our offense won't change very much because of the switch of quarterback. Barker might be a bit more consistent and that is where the difference will come. However, Louisville won't be planning for inconsistency.
Regardless of whether Towles or Barker play, Louisville is going to key on the run and try to get Kentucky in third and long. Then they are going to pin their ears back and try to come at UK with just 4 guys. If they can get to UK with 4 then we'll struggle regardless of the quarterback. So, regardless of the quarterback the game should hinge upon whether the offense is able to stay out of third and long and if they are able to protect the QB and force Louisville to bring more than 4.
Seeing a game tape of Barker won't change how Louisville wants to approach the game. It won't tell them that Barker is more consistent because the level of opposition. The only bad thing the Charlotte game can do in terms of tipping off Louisville is if they see that Barker has some sort of tendency, such as staring down receivers, or preferring to go to a certain route or receiver. However, that is a risk we will have to take in order to give Barker some experience before such an important game.
Why do people say dumb stuff? Barker wasn't pulled after the pick 6, he was pulled 4-5 drives after that once he proved Vandy's defense was more than he was ready for.
The change was made because Towles could still win the game, and really he did but he can't outplay the bad coaching, dropped passes and himself it was just too much.
I'm sure if the coaches had to be honest when they put barker in they knew then they were making a change, realized they didn't want to crush Barker's confidence on Vandy, put Towles back in knowing Charlotte is a better "experience" game for Barker before UL.
Could/should play out to give us a great shot at a bowl but does not gurantee anything.
The change was made because Towles could still win the game, and really he did but he can't outplay the bad coaching, dropped passes and himself it was just too much.
I'm sure if the coaches had to be honest when they put barker in they knew then they were making a change, realized they didn't want to crush Barker's confidence on Vandy, put Towles back in knowing Charlotte is a better "experience" game for Barker before UL.
Could/should play out to give us a great shot at a bowl but does not gurantee anything.
5-8 for 60 yards 1 TD 1 INT. vs 5-17 for 22 yards and 0 TD and 1 INT. those were the 2 players stats when he decided to replace barker. You're telling me it was the smart move to go with the player who's 5-17? Did you see the hell the announcers were giving stoops for that decision? It was a very dumb decision. He was not pulled 4-5 drives after that. I don't even think he had 4 or 5 drives the entire game! You being serious right now?! Towles is the one who proved he wasn't ready for the Vandy defense. Barker proved he was ready to play and win the game for us, if given the chance. He at least showed the ability to do such against Vandy unlike towles. No justifying that decision. Just no way you can word it and make it sound like the right decision it doesn't work like that.
Probably and you would also likely see the fans in attendance run towards the exits in a dead sprint. It would extinguish the last tiny flicker of hope for this season and for this football program.
Well my NFL team is going to be starting a new QB this week so why not UK to. There's really nothing to lose, and if he has a good game and carries some confidence into the UL game perhaps it will give us a better shot. Then again we barely beat ULL and EKU so there's no guarantee this won't be a close game especially if the team's moral is anything like the fan base's. And while Towle's performance this year hasn't been anywhere near as good as I thought it would be this team's problems go much deeper than just the QB position. What I hope Stoop's does not do is bench Barker, and put Towles back in if the game isn't going well. Putting the young man in, and then taking him right back out was probably the worse decision Stoop's has made since he's been at UK imo. If your going to start him then stick with him.