Fixing this mess with what we have

[UKErik]

Looking at the Cats roster, what things can the coaching staff do to right the ship THIS YEAR? This is probably a case of trying to make Kool-Aid without water, but what the hell. I'll give it a shot. Please add your thoughts. Five things I'd do to get the Cats rolling;

1. Go under center and add a TE to the LOS. Not flexed, but in a three point at the snap. Basically, get away from this spread stuff and go with a pro style offense. IMO, CJ Conrad would be outstanding in a traditional offense (I'd even go with the old "I" formation and double TE sets on occasion). In this formation, you can play power football. You can use play action. Generally, the QB has an easy time getting into max protect if he sees something that he wants to go to off of play action. With seven in the box (at least), three WR's would have to deal with four DB's (off of play action). I like UK's WR's in that numbers game. Also, today's defenses are geared to deal with spread offenses. Going to a more traditional offense might actually give UK an edge against certain opponents.

2. NEVER call a play that requires Mosier or Meadows to block one-on-one for more than a three step drop. Neither is good enough to be put on an island like that. Maybe they'd be more effective in a run based scheme pulling down the line of scrimmage. I have no idea, but I never want to see either one of them asked to block one-on-one for more than 2-2.5 seconds.

3. No hurry on offense! UK has zero quality depth with their front seven. I mean none! Stoops is eternally concerned about his defense getting tired. So why in the hell isn't UK running the play clock down to about 6-7 on every offensive play? Hell, if you almost exhaust the play clock on every snap, even one first down will probably give the defense an 8-10 minute rest (assuming we hit a commercial timeout...LOL)! More importantly for Kentucky, taking time off the clock shortens the game in terms of possessions. The best thing about a 10-minute drive for a team like UK is that you just burned off 1/6th of the game. The fewer possessions, the better chance Kentucky has to compete.

4. Defensively, crowd the LOS on damn near every snap. Put a man in every gap ON the LOS. Pressure the opponent. Bring pressure from different places. Bring 5-6 on occasion. Make the opposing QB uncomfortable. Make the opposing OL uncomfortable. Quarterbacks look SO comfortable when they play against Eliot's scheme. It's like they know they'll have all day to stand around. It's like a 7-on-7 drill. I'd like to see Eliot get away from the conservative garbage and become extremely aggressive. Sure, UK would give up some big plays. That beats the hell out of a 14-play drive that ends with the same result while exhausting the defense. We've seen some perfectly mediocre quarterbacks have a career day against Eliot, and that's because his scheme is predictable and less aggressive than Canada.

5. UK's strength on defense is at corner. Roll the dice and stick them on an island. Not on every play, but WAY more often than we do now. Be more creative with the safeties and backers.

Clearly, following this advice will lead to a 10-2 finish [laughing].

GBB!!!

 

[willyclyde]

Get rid of stoops now and hire ukerik!!

 

[UKErik]

LOL...I like it! Hell, I'll even work for free :smiley:!!!

GBB!!!

 

[Goingfor9]

Let stoops take over the defense and take the most charismatic coach on the team be co-coach with stoops.

 

[Goo19]

Agree across the board. I'd like to see them run some 2 TE sets, using Hart to help the tackle on passing downs. Even in the run game it gives another hammer.
Love getting into gaps, making teams uncomfortable. Of course you have to get there some to do that but beats standing around.
While I'd rather not ever lose, if I'm going to get my *** handed to me by UF or anyone else, I'd rather it be a balls to the wall, aggressive, reckless abandon defense that got beat than getting it pounded down my throat all afternoon.

 

[KY1WING]

LOL...I like it! Hell, I'll even work for free :smiley:!!!

GBB!!!

No sir, to present a reasonable plan to "right the ship" like that you did deserve pay! Significant pay!

I see consultant in your future. You clearly have the makings for a needed football czar.

If you get the chance, look seriously at John M. Thomson/Bill Arsparger's 2-Level Model for defense. I think it would fit your pressuring scheme ideally while providing the final compnenet needed to prevent the big play (which we've shown we need)

http://files.leagueathletics.com/Im.../Intermediate/Level 2 Defense by Ted Seay.doc

Good luck sir! I hope to see you on the sidelines soon!

 

[Bluetick2100]

Somebody please send this to Stoops.
The hurry up offense is clearly working better for our opponent than for us.

Pre season Conrad was suppose to be a big part of the offense.
He hardly touched the ball in 2 games.

Stoops better make some major changes because he's going to come out of the tunnel to play a game and UK's opponent will have more fans in the stands than UK will.

 

[Catapult_rivals218351]

LOL...I like it! Hell, I'll even work for free :smiley:!!!

GBB!!!

I'll be one of your assistants, but I want twice what you're getting!:smiley:

 

[Kooky Kats_anon]

LOL...I like it! Hell, I'll even work for free :smiley:!!!

GBB!!!

Pffft. You can work Mitch for a guaranteed 5-yr $15M MOU, with a buyout.

 

[BigBlueFan1963]

Somebody please send this to Stoops.
The hurry up offense is clearly working better for our opponent than for us.

Pre season Conrad was suppose to be a big part of the offense.
He hardly touched the ball in 2 games.

Stoops better make some major changes because he's going to come out of the tunnel to play a game and UK's opponent will have more fans in the stands than UK will.

Agreed.

He is too good not to be getting any targets. He better get some play or he is the kind of player that could easily transfer to a football powerhouse like in Alabama.

I was thinking to myself the other day if Elam could play like a LB. He obviously is not a very good lineman. Maybe if he could come with a head of steam.

 

[WeepNoMore]

Looking at the Cats roster, what things can the coaching staff do to right the ship THIS YEAR? This is probably a case of trying to make Kool-Aid without water, but what the hell. I'll give it a shot. Please add your thoughts. Five things I'd do to get the Cats rolling;

1. Go under center and add a TE to the LOS. Not flexed, but in a three point at the snap. Basically, get away from this spread stuff and go with a pro style offense. IMO, CJ Conrad would be outstanding in a traditional offense (I'd even go with the old "I" formation and double TE sets on occasion). In this formation, you can play power football. You can use play action. Generally, the QB has an easy time getting into max protect if he sees something that he wants to go to off of play action. With seven in the box (at least), three WR's would have to deal with four DB's (off of play action). I like UK's WR's in that numbers game. Also, today's defenses are geared to deal with spread offenses. Going to a more traditional offense might actually give UK an edge against certain opponents.

2. NEVER call a play that requires Mosier or Meadows to block one-on-one for more than a three step drop. Neither is good enough to be put on an island like that. Maybe they'd be more effective in a run based scheme pulling down the line of scrimmage. I have no idea, but I never want to see either one of them asked to block one-on-one for more than 2-2.5 seconds.

3. No hurry on offense! UK has zero quality depth with their front seven. I mean none! Stoops is eternally concerned about his defense getting tired. So why in the hell isn't UK running the play clock down to about 6-7 on every offensive play? Hell, if you almost exhaust the play clock on every snap, even one first down will probably give the defense an 8-10 minute rest (assuming we hit a commercial timeout...LOL)! More importantly for Kentucky, taking time off the clock shortens the game in terms of possessions. The best thing about a 10-minute drive for a team like UK is that you just burned off 1/6th of the game. The fewer possessions, the better chance Kentucky has to compete.

4. Defensively, crowd the LOS on damn near every snap. Put a man in every gap ON the LOS. Pressure the opponent. Bring pressure from different places. Bring 5-6 on occasion. Make the opposing QB uncomfortable. Make the opposing OL uncomfortable. Quarterbacks look SO comfortable when they play against Eliot's scheme. It's like they know they'll have all day to stand around. It's like a 7-on-7 drill. I'd like to see Eliot get away from the conservative garbage and become extremely aggressive. Sure, UK would give up some big plays. That beats the hell out of a 14-play drive that ends with the same result while exhausting the defense. We've seen some perfectly mediocre quarterbacks have a career day against Eliot, and that's because his scheme is predictable and less aggressive than Canada.

5. UK's strength on defense is at corner. Roll the dice and stick them on an island. Not on every play, but WAY more often than we do now. Be more creative with the safeties and backers.

Clearly, following this advice will lead to a 10-2 finish [laughing].

GBB!!!

I really appreciate the effort you put into your preview posts and respect your opinion.

BUT, IMHO, with this post you couldn't be more wrong. Put simply, you can't scheme your way out of being a bad FB team, regardless of the talent level.

By a "bad FB team" I mean one that has way too many players (not all, but way too many) that are fundamentally flawed (can't block, can't tackle, etc.), out of shape, feel entitled, play with no sense of urgency, don't know their assignments, are not mentally or physically tough, give in to fatigue, quit when adversity strikes. I could go on and on.

Rather than try to out scheme our opponents, which BTW hasn't worked during the Coach Stoops era and IMHO reflects a sense of desperation, I suggest the following which I have copied and pasted (Call me a lazy poster if you like. :sunglasses from another thread:

"Here's what I would have liked to hear Coach Stoops say in his interview right after the (Florida) game:

'We are obviously a very flawed team in terms of football fundamentals. We can't tackle, we can't cover receivers, we can't pressure the QB, we can't get off blocks and are blocked too easily. We can't block, we can't pass with accuracy, we can't catch the football, we can't get open, we can't take care of the football.

Our schemes are too complex.

We don't play with any enthusiasm or sense of urgency. As players and coaches we are complacent and entitled. We are mentally and physically a weak football team.

We clearly wasted much of Fall camp on schemes and spent too little time on football fundamentals and conditioning.'

[A LITTLE HONEST SELF-ASSESSMENT NEVER HURTS!!!!!]

'Starting tomorrow (Sunday) at 7:00 am that all changes. We will practice for 2 hours exclusively on blocking and tackling.

We will practice again at 11:00 am for 2 hours and focus on simplifying our schemes.

We will practice again at 3:00 pm for 2 hours focusing on conditioning. We will find out who really wants to play football at UK.

We will practice again at 7:00 pm for 2 hours focusing on the entire gamut of football fundamentals.

We will implement a curfew of 10:00 pm for the remainder of the season, with no exceptions, unless announced otherwise. We will issue each team member and each coach a football which they will be required to carry at all times, no exceptions and no excuses for players or coaches.

We will post a new depth chart on Monday based on our observations of Sunday's practices and have a light 2 hour practice to focus on perfecting our simplified schemes.

We will have a 3 hour scrimmage on Wednesday, 1s vs 1s, 2s vs 2s, 3s vs 3s, to see if we've accomplished anything and make any necessary revisions to the depth chart..

We will take Thursday off except for position meetings to review the results of the scrimmage and review the depth chart for Saturday.

We will install the game plan for Saturday's game on Friday.

This will be our modus operandi for the remainder of the season.

Those players and coaches who find this schedule or the curfew or the requirement to carry a football at all times as too burdensome or too harsh can clean out their lockers and find another place to play or coach. We will give such players and coaches their unconditional release.'"

Oh, and before someone calls me a dumbass and points out the NCAA 20-hour rule, here's my response (Again copied from another thread.):

"Screw the NCAA rules. :smiley::smiley::smiley:

I'd rather have a fundamentally sound, well-conditioned football team on probation, than to watch another down of this fundamentally flawed, out of shape, entitled excuse for a football team! :grimace::grimace:

Just take the UNC approach to its players being ineligible for academic fraud. Lie. Deflect. Blame the NCAA. Run off any compliance personnel who fail to toe the line. Repeat. :smiley::smiley::smiley:

If it sounds like I'm frustrated with this team and these coaches and administrators, well . . . I AM!!!!!!!!!!"

 

[truebluewildcat_rivals34254]

I think CMS needs to let the offense go and focus more on defense. Tell Gran and Hinshaw to let it rip.

DJ simply was not ready to be a DC in a P5 conference, especially at a bottom tier program facing an up hill battle to get to competitive consistency.

Maybe CMS has secretly taken the D over, maybe it's been that way for a while. If that is the case there is really no excuse or hope, but perhaps he has not and getting back to his roots by taking up a larger more defensive focused role will help.

 

[Mboro Cat]

The hurry up O is fine as long as your consistent. We are not at this point. We have to establish a run game. It will open up everything else. Still have tackle issues. I think UK should use one to two TEs every formation against most opponents for base situations to help with this. If we can't line up this weekend and smash them we are in trouble.

 

[WildcatDJ]

"Less aggressive than Canada"

Nice! haha

 

[Pulaski Cat Fan_rivals377587]

Looking at the Cats roster, what things can the coaching staff do to right the ship THIS YEAR? This is probably a case of trying to make Kool-Aid without water, but what the hell. I'll give it a shot. Please add your thoughts. Five things I'd do to get the Cats rolling;

1. Go under center and add a TE to the LOS. Not flexed, but in a three point at the snap. Basically, get away from this spread stuff and go with a pro style offense. IMO, CJ Conrad would be outstanding in a traditional offense (I'd even go with the old "I" formation and double TE sets on occasion). In this formation, you can play power football. You can use play action. Generally, the QB has an easy time getting into max protect if he sees something that he wants to go to off of play action. With seven in the box (at least), three WR's would have to deal with four DB's (off of play action). I like UK's WR's in that numbers game. Also, today's defenses are geared to deal with spread offenses. Going to a more traditional offense might actually give UK an edge against certain opponents.

2. NEVER call a play that requires Mosier or Meadows to block one-on-one for more than a three step drop. Neither is good enough to be put on an island like that. Maybe they'd be more effective in a run based scheme pulling down the line of scrimmage. I have no idea, but I never want to see either one of them asked to block one-on-one for more than 2-2.5 seconds.

3. No hurry on offense! UK has zero quality depth with their front seven. I mean none! Stoops is eternally concerned about his defense getting tired. So why in the hell isn't UK running the play clock down to about 6-7 on every offensive play? Hell, if you almost exhaust the play clock on every snap, even one first down will probably give the defense an 8-10 minute rest (assuming we hit a commercial timeout...LOL)! More importantly for Kentucky, taking time off the clock shortens the game in terms of possessions. The best thing about a 10-minute drive for a team like UK is that you just burned off 1/6th of the game. The fewer possessions, the better chance Kentucky has to compete.

4. Defensively, crowd the LOS on damn near every snap. Put a man in every gap ON the LOS. Pressure the opponent. Bring pressure from different places. Bring 5-6 on occasion. Make the opposing QB uncomfortable. Make the opposing OL uncomfortable. Quarterbacks look SO comfortable when they play against Eliot's scheme. It's like they know they'll have all day to stand around. It's like a 7-on-7 drill. I'd like to see Eliot get away from the conservative garbage and become extremely aggressive. Sure, UK would give up some big plays. That beats the hell out of a 14-play drive that ends with the same result while exhausting the defense. We've seen some perfectly mediocre quarterbacks have a career day against Eliot, and that's because his scheme is predictable and less aggressive than Canada.

5. UK's strength on defense is at corner. Roll the dice and stick them on an island. Not on every play, but WAY more often than we do now. Be more creative with the safeties and backers.

Clearly, following this advice will lead to a 10-2 finish [laughing].

GBB!!!

Forward this to our staff. Awesome post and I agree completely. Well done.

 

[LeonThe Camel]

No sir, to present a reasonable plan to "right the ship" like that you did deserve pay! Significant pay!

I see consultant in your future. You clearly have the makings for a needed football czar.

If you get the chance, look seriously at John M. Thomson/Bill Arsparger's 2-Level Model for defense. I think it would fit your pressuring scheme ideally while providing the final compnenet needed to prevent the big play (which we've shown we need)

http://files.leagueathletics.com/Images/Club/3392/Defense/Intermediate/Level 2 Defense by Ted Seay.doc

Good luck sir! I hope to see you on the sidelines soon!

Before we sign him up to coach for free, can we negotiate a buyout of $100 million if we ask him to leave in the next 20 years. I know he has not coached a game yet, but it seems reasonable.

 

[olblue]

Let stoops take over the defense and take the most charismatic coach on the team be co-coach with stoops.

That's the ticket - charisma. Just like Saban and Belichick.

 

[EliteBlue]

Option football. Run the clock as mentioned to shorten the game and take away the 0 and negative yardage plays.

It no coincidence that the only win we have over UT in 30 years is when we had no option but to stick a wr at QB and control the clock.

When other teams are 4 deep at every position and you are lucky to be 2 deep with quality then you need to shorten the game.

 

[trav55_rivals214556]

Looking at the Cats roster, what things can the coaching staff do to right the ship THIS YEAR? This is probably a case of trying to make Kool-Aid without water, but what the hell. I'll give it a shot. Please add your thoughts. Five things I'd do to get the Cats rolling;

1. Go under center and add a TE to the LOS. Not flexed, but in a three point at the snap. Basically, get away from this spread stuff and go with a pro style offense. IMO, CJ Conrad would be outstanding in a traditional offense (I'd even go with the old "I" formation and double TE sets on occasion). In this formation, you can play power football. You can use play action. Generally, the QB has an easy time getting into max protect if he sees something that he wants to go to off of play action. With seven in the box (at least), three WR's would have to deal with four DB's (off of play action). I like UK's WR's in that numbers game. Also, today's defenses are geared to deal with spread offenses. Going to a more traditional offense might actually give UK an edge against certain opponents.

2. NEVER call a play that requires Mosier or Meadows to block one-on-one for more than a three step drop. Neither is good enough to be put on an island like that. Maybe they'd be more effective in a run based scheme pulling down the line of scrimmage. I have no idea, but I never want to see either one of them asked to block one-on-one for more than 2-2.5 seconds.

3. No hurry on offense! UK has zero quality depth with their front seven. I mean none! Stoops is eternally concerned about his defense getting tired. So why in the hell isn't UK running the play clock down to about 6-7 on every offensive play? Hell, if you almost exhaust the play clock on every snap, even one first down will probably give the defense an 8-10 minute rest (assuming we hit a commercial timeout...LOL)! More importantly for Kentucky, taking time off the clock shortens the game in terms of possessions. The best thing about a 10-minute drive for a team like UK is that you just burned off 1/6th of the game. The fewer possessions, the better chance Kentucky has to compete.

4. Defensively, crowd the LOS on damn near every snap. Put a man in every gap ON the LOS. Pressure the opponent. Bring pressure from different places. Bring 5-6 on occasion. Make the opposing QB uncomfortable. Make the opposing OL uncomfortable. Quarterbacks look SO comfortable when they play against Eliot's scheme. It's like they know they'll have all day to stand around. It's like a 7-on-7 drill. I'd like to see Eliot get away from the conservative garbage and become extremely aggressive. Sure, UK would give up some big plays. That beats the hell out of a 14-play drive that ends with the same result while exhausting the defense. We've seen some perfectly mediocre quarterbacks have a career day against Eliot, and that's because his scheme is predictable and less aggressive than Canada.

5. UK's strength on defense is at corner. Roll the dice and stick them on an island. Not on every play, but WAY more often than we do now. Be more creative with the safeties and backers.

Clearly, following this advice will lead to a 10-2 finish [laughing].

GBB!!!

I'm with you on your first point. I said this last week to a friend of mine. If your lineman are getting abused, you have to do something that gives the lineman an advantage and working under center helps that with some plays.

Also, with the QB in shotgun formation all the time, the snap counts are all different. Now it's a check with me, or the QB lifts his leg twice and the guard taps the center or whatever else. Problem is, the advantage of a hard count is as they've said for 100 years, you know the snap count! The defensive line doesn't, so you have to take advantage of that. If you change the count up (which people seem to struggle with for god knows why) you have the defense in their stance when the ball is snapped. Then your lineman are able to fire off and be the aggressors. So far this year, I've seen zero push from our o-line and I think this would be another advantage of the QB being under center.

Anyway, I agree with you. It's not a "scheme". It's actually back to basic fundamentals. And on defense, I agree. Clog that s**t up. If we're not gonna get pressure, the least we can do is make the QB think about what he's doing.

 

[gamecockcat]

I've often wondered about running our smaller RBs between the tackles without a FB to lead them into the hole. Seems like when John Connor was here, it worked wonderfully. Too many times we hand the ball to Jojo or Boom with no one blocking in front of him and he gets hit early. Maybe another stride or two before being hit would allow them to get through the line easier.

Have no clue what has happened to our use of the TE. It's truly a mystery.

Love the idea of being more aggressive defensively. Very, very tired of seeing our DL purposely trying to only hold their position and read the play rather than shooting a gap and blowing it up in the backfield. By the time our DL has made the correct read, the ball carrier is already past them. I think it leads to poor technique, also, as you see guys not even trying to keep their pads low and shed blocks and disrupt the play. I never liked Joe Lee Dunn as a DC, but we could and should be more aggressive up front, create some negative plays and make the offense beat our supposed best unit -the secondary- rather than the 10+ play, dying-by-a-1000-cuts type of defense.

 

[KentuckyStout]

Here are my suggestions:

1. Bring back the wishbone.
2. Put Elam in on short-yardage situations, should we happen to ever find ourselves in one.
3. Defensive backfield stays in a 2-3 zone.
4. No more punting on 4th down.
5. Run the flea-flicker more often.
6. No more fair catches, under any circumstances.
7. All kickoffs are now onside kicks.
8. Coal whistle blows on every play, whether on offense or defense.
9. Run the no-huddle offense, but on defense.
10. Use more face paint, especially the linebackers.
11. All players mic'd up.
12. Go-Pro camera mounted to Mark Stoops' head.
13. Former coaches like Curry and Joker Phillips come out to be the "Y" between downs.
14. THREE Cat Walks.
15. Have coaching staff lead players onto field while riding race horses.
16. Have the QB draw up some plays on his own on 3rd and long.
17. Let the players take a vote on every down on what play they would like to run.
18. Head coach gets Gatorade bath after every game regardless of outcome.

Those are just some off the top of my head.

 

[kyjohn]

To pay basic fundamental football you have to have something UK does not,football players.

 

[KY1WING]

I really appreciate the effort you put into your preview posts and respect your opinion.

BUT, IMHO, with this post you couldn't be more wrong. Put simply, you can't scheme your way out of being a bad FB team, regardless of the talent level.

By a "bad FB team" I mean one that has way too many players (not all, but way too many) that are fundamentally flawed (can't block, can't tackle, etc.), out of shape, feel entitled, play with no sense of urgency, don't know their assignments, are not mentally or physically tough, give in to fatigue, quit when adversity strikes. I could go on and on.

Rather than try to out scheme our opponents, which BTW hasn't worked during the Coach Stoops era and IMHO reflects a sense of desperation, I suggest the following which I have copied and pasted (Call me a lazy poster if you like. :sunglasses from another thread:

"Here's what I would have liked to hear Coach Stoops say in his interview right after the (Florida) game:

'We are obviously a very flawed team in terms of football fundamentals. We can't tackle, we can't cover receivers, we can't pressure the QB, we can't get off blocks and are blocked too easily. We can't block, we can't pass with accuracy, we can't catch the football, we can't get open, we can't take care of the football.

Our schemes are too complex.

We don't play with any enthusiasm or sense of urgency. As players and coaches we are complacent and entitled. We are mentally and physically a weak football team.

We clearly wasted much of Fall camp on schemes and spent too little time on football fundamentals and conditioning.'

[A LITTLE HONEST SELF-ASSESSMENT NEVER HURTS!!!!!]

'Starting tomorrow (Sunday) at 7:00 am that all changes. We will practice for 2 hours exclusively on blocking and tackling.

We will practice again at 11:00 am for 2 hours and focus on simplifying our schemes.

We will practice again at 3:00 pm for 2 hours focusing on conditioning. We will find out who really wants to play football at UK.

We will practice again at 7:00 pm for 2 hours focusing on the entire gamut of football fundamentals.

We will implement a curfew of 10:00 pm for the remainder of the season, with no exceptions, unless announced otherwise. We will issue each team member and each coach a football which they will be required to carry at all times, no exceptions and no excuses for players or coaches.

We will post a new depth chart on Monday based on our observations of Sunday's practices and have a light 2 hour practice to focus on perfecting our simplified schemes.

We will have a 3 hour scrimmage on Wednesday, 1s vs 1s, 2s vs 2s, 3s vs 3s, to see if we've accomplished anything and make any necessary revisions to the depth chart..

We will take Thursday off except for position meetings to review the results of the scrimmage and review the depth chart for Saturday.

We will install the game plan for Saturday's game on Friday.

This will be our modus operandi for the remainder of the season.

Those players and coaches who find this schedule or the curfew or the requirement to carry a football at all times as too burdensome or too harsh can clean out their lockers and find another place to play or coach. We will give such players and coaches their unconditional release.'"

Oh, and before someone calls me a dumbass and points out the NCAA 20-hour rule, here's my response (Again copied from another thread.):

"Screw the NCAA rules. :smiley::smiley::smiley:

I'd rather have a fundamentally sound, well-conditioned football team on probation, than to watch another down of this fundamentally flawed, out of shape, entitled excuse for a football team! :grimace::grimace:

Just take the UNC approach to its players being ineligible for academic fraud. Lie. Deflect. Blame the NCAA. Run off any compliance personnel who fail to toe the line. Repeat. :smiley::smiley::smiley:

If it sounds like I'm frustrated with this team and these coaches and administrators, well . . . I AM!!!!!!!!!!"

My question is ... What is spring and fall practice for?

I thought these are all things that are to dealt when then ... Not three games into the season.

Is there another team in the country having to resort to such methods this late in the season?

 

[UKWinsAgainYep]

Looking at the Cats roster, what things can the coaching staff do to right the ship THIS YEAR? This is probably a case of trying to make Kool-Aid without water, but what the hell. I'll give it a shot. Please add your thoughts. Five things I'd do to get the Cats rolling;

1. Go under center and add a TE to the LOS. Not flexed, but in a three point at the snap. Basically, get away from this spread stuff and go with a pro style offense. IMO, CJ Conrad would be outstanding in a traditional offense (I'd even go with the old "I" formation and double TE sets on occasion). In this formation, you can play power football. You can use play action. Generally, the QB has an easy time getting into max protect if he sees something that he wants to go to off of play action. With seven in the box (at least), three WR's would have to deal with four DB's (off of play action). I like UK's WR's in that numbers game. Also, today's defenses are geared to deal with spread offenses. Going to a more traditional offense might actually give UK an edge against certain opponents.

2. NEVER call a play that requires Mosier or Meadows to block one-on-one for more than a three step drop. Neither is good enough to be put on an island like that. Maybe they'd be more effective in a run based scheme pulling down the line of scrimmage. I have no idea, but I never want to see either one of them asked to block one-on-one for more than 2-2.5 seconds.

3. No hurry on offense! UK has zero quality depth with their front seven. I mean none! Stoops is eternally concerned about his defense getting tired. So why in the hell isn't UK running the play clock down to about 6-7 on every offensive play? Hell, if you almost exhaust the play clock on every snap, even one first down will probably give the defense an 8-10 minute rest (assuming we hit a commercial timeout...LOL)! More importantly for Kentucky, taking time off the clock shortens the game in terms of possessions. The best thing about a 10-minute drive for a team like UK is that you just burned off 1/6th of the game. The fewer possessions, the better chance Kentucky has to compete.

4. Defensively, crowd the LOS on damn near every snap. Put a man in every gap ON the LOS. Pressure the opponent. Bring pressure from different places. Bring 5-6 on occasion. Make the opposing QB uncomfortable. Make the opposing OL uncomfortable. Quarterbacks look SO comfortable when they play against Eliot's scheme. It's like they know they'll have all day to stand around. It's like a 7-on-7 drill. I'd like to see Eliot get away from the conservative garbage and become extremely aggressive. Sure, UK would give up some big plays. That beats the hell out of a 14-play drive that ends with the same result while exhausting the defense. We've seen some perfectly mediocre quarterbacks have a career day against Eliot, and that's because his scheme is predictable and less aggressive than Canada.

5. UK's strength on defense is at corner. Roll the dice and stick them on an island. Not on every play, but WAY more often than we do now. Be more creative with the safeties and backers.

Clearly, following this advice will lead to a 10-2 finish [laughing].

GBB!!!

Agree with every point. Seems like common sense, no?

Why does Stoops not understand that our tackles cannot block on the O-Line?

 

[Nuke99m.]

My question is ... What is spring and fall practice for?

I thought these are all things that are to dealt when then ... Not three games into the season.

Is there another team in the country having to resort to such methods this late in the season?

The problem is, We practice against our defense and offense and then think we have something great.

 

[Mr Schwump]

Looking at the Cats roster, what things can the coaching staff do to right the ship THIS YEAR? This is probably a case of trying to make Kool-Aid without water, but what the hell. I'll give it a shot. Please add your thoughts. Five things I'd do to get the Cats rolling;

1. Go under center and add a TE to the LOS. Not flexed, but in a three point at the snap. Basically, get away from this spread stuff and go with a pro style offense. IMO, CJ Conrad would be outstanding in a traditional offense (I'd even go with the old "I" formation and double TE sets on occasion). In this formation, you can play power football. You can use play action. Generally, the QB has an easy time getting into max protect if he sees something that he wants to go to off of play action. With seven in the box (at least), three WR's would have to deal with four DB's (off of play action). I like UK's WR's in that numbers game. Also, today's defenses are geared to deal with spread offenses. Going to a more traditional offense might actually give UK an edge against certain opponents.

2. NEVER call a play that requires Mosier or Meadows to block one-on-one for more than a three step drop. Neither is good enough to be put on an island like that. Maybe they'd be more effective in a run based scheme pulling down the line of scrimmage. I have no idea, but I never want to see either one of them asked to block one-on-one for more than 2-2.5 seconds.

3. No hurry on offense! UK has zero quality depth with their front seven. I mean none! Stoops is eternally concerned about his defense getting tired. So why in the hell isn't UK running the play clock down to about 6-7 on every offensive play? Hell, if you almost exhaust the play clock on every snap, even one first down will probably give the defense an 8-10 minute rest (assuming we hit a commercial timeout...LOL)! More importantly for Kentucky, taking time off the clock shortens the game in terms of possessions. The best thing about a 10-minute drive for a team like UK is that you just burned off 1/6th of the game. The fewer possessions, the better chance Kentucky has to compete.

4. Defensively, crowd the LOS on damn near every snap. Put a man in every gap ON the LOS. Pressure the opponent. Bring pressure from different places. Bring 5-6 on occasion. Make the opposing QB uncomfortable. Make the opposing OL uncomfortable. Quarterbacks look SO comfortable when they play against Eliot's scheme. It's like they know they'll have all day to stand around. It's like a 7-on-7 drill. I'd like to see Eliot get away from the conservative garbage and become extremely aggressive. Sure, UK would give up some big plays. That beats the hell out of a 14-play drive that ends with the same result while exhausting the defense. We've seen some perfectly mediocre quarterbacks have a career day against Eliot, and that's because his scheme is predictable and less aggressive than Canada.

5. UK's strength on defense is at corner. Roll the dice and stick them on an island. Not on every play, but WAY more often than we do now. Be more creative with the safeties and backers.

Clearly, following this advice will lead to a 10-2 finish [laughing].

GBB!!!

Plot and scheme all you want but until UK's coaches start coaching football and football players start making football plays not much will change. This team plays with no confidence, drive or focus. They lack physicality and leadership, I'm talking leadership from upperclassmen. Block and tackle, it's the name of the game.

 

[Stonewall12]

Agree with everything Erik.

 

[LeonThe Camel]

I am willing to be Ukerik's offensive coordinator. My suggestion is to recruit 85 defensive players because I will be punting on first down a lot. This is an effort to confuse the heck out of the other team.

 

[Soupbean]

Looking at the Cats roster, what things can the coaching staff do to right the ship THIS YEAR? This is probably a case of trying to make Kool-Aid without water, but what the hell. I'll give it a shot. Please add your thoughts. Five things I'd do to get the Cats rolling;

1. Go under center and add a TE to the LOS. Not flexed, but in a three point at the snap. Basically, get away from this spread stuff and go with a pro style offense. IMO, CJ Conrad would be outstanding in a traditional offense (I'd even go with the old "I" formation and double TE sets on occasion). In this formation, you can play power football. You can use play action. Generally, the QB has an easy time getting into max protect if he sees something that he wants to go to off of play action. With seven in the box (at least), three WR's would have to deal with four DB's (off of play action). I like UK's WR's in that numbers game. Also, today's defenses are geared to deal with spread offenses. Going to a more traditional offense might actually give UK an edge against certain opponents.

2. NEVER call a play that requires Mosier or Meadows to block one-on-one for more than a three step drop. Neither is good enough to be put on an island like that. Maybe they'd be more effective in a run based scheme pulling down the line of scrimmage. I have no idea, but I never want to see either one of them asked to block one-on-one for more than 2-2.5 seconds.

3. No hurry on offense! UK has zero quality depth with their front seven. I mean none! Stoops is eternally concerned about his defense getting tired. So why in the hell isn't UK running the play clock down to about 6-7 on every offensive play? Hell, if you almost exhaust the play clock on every snap, even one first down will probably give the defense an 8-10 minute rest (assuming we hit a commercial timeout...LOL)! More importantly for Kentucky, taking time off the clock shortens the game in terms of possessions. The best thing about a 10-minute drive for a team like UK is that you just burned off 1/6th of the game. The fewer possessions, the better chance Kentucky has to compete.

4. Defensively, crowd the LOS on damn near every snap. Put a man in every gap ON the LOS. Pressure the opponent. Bring pressure from different places. Bring 5-6 on occasion. Make the opposing QB uncomfortable. Make the opposing OL uncomfortable. Quarterbacks look SO comfortable when they play against Eliot's scheme. It's like they know they'll have all day to stand around. It's like a 7-on-7 drill. I'd like to see Eliot get away from the conservative garbage and become extremely aggressive. Sure, UK would give up some big plays. That beats the hell out of a 14-play drive that ends with the same result while exhausting the defense. We've seen some perfectly mediocre quarterbacks have a career day against Eliot, and that's because his scheme is predictable and less aggressive than Canada.

5. UK's strength on defense is at corner. Roll the dice and stick them on an island. Not on every play, but WAY more often than we do now. Be more creative with the safeties and backers.

Clearly, following this advice will lead to a 10-2 finish [laughing].

GBB!!!

Great topic Erik was going to start one like this myself.

Agree most with #3 and #4. You don't have to hurry to play fast. Huddle up but when you get to the line go! First sound go! Standing at the line freezes the line and your skill guys and takes all the starch out of your offense IMO. It also makes a marginal line look even worse by putting them on their heels. Plays fast and leaning forward on every play and watch the effectiveness increase.
Same on defense. When you know you are undermanned you HAVE TO make up for it in aggressiveness. You saw what we looked like in the first half of the USM game. We attacked the gaps with our speed and completely disrupted them. They decided to run in the second half but not sure whey we didn't stay just aggressive in the gaps against the run too.

Other than that, get Kash Daniel/Firios a look at MLB. Absolutely have to have an aggressive wrecking ball at that position, cannot be soft or slow.

Get Timmons/Badet more involved in short passing. Just get the ball in their hands quickly and let them make plays.

 

[TBCat]

1. I don't have any issues with this suggestion. Conrad appears to be able to flex out as a split, line up tight, block as a TE, block as a wing back or just about anything else. We don't have a lot of game film on him doing this because he's been under utilized but when we have used him he seems to do well at anything. The only concern I have with going to a more I-formation system is that we haven't recruited for it. I'm not sure we have Pro-I style RBs or FBs. Still I'd give it a shot at this point. I don't see the benefit of having more WRs in the formation if we aren't throwing to them.

2. No kidding on this one. I really don't know what to say about our O line. We have been recruiting well but we are still at the point that we have no OTs. If you miss on a recruit here or there then you just move on to the next player. But we have missed on every single one. I can't fathom that all of them have been over rated. There has to be some coaching issues that has caused the lack of development. Has to be.

3. Again this is something that is worth trying at this point. This could be something that back fires though. The reason for the hurry up offenses is they keep defenses off balance and lead to conversions. This clearly hasn't been happening though so I'd try anything. We are going 3 and out from a hurry up now so going 3 and out by controlling the clock would be a win at this point.

4. Also something worth trying. The problem with our defense is that we seem to be playing a base 3-4 all the time. The big advantage of a 3-4 is that you can mix things up a little more. We aren't doing much of that. I would really like to see more 4-3 right now. I believe we are a better fit personnel wise.

5. Not really sure on this one. Going into the season I would agree but one of the big issues we've had is that our secondary has developed into being a weakness this year. I'm not sure I trust them in isolation much. Too many blown coverages as it is.

 

[jnewc2_rivals30628]

Looking at the Cats roster, what things can the coaching staff do to right the ship THIS YEAR? This is probably a case of trying to make Kool-Aid without water, but what the hell. I'll give it a shot. Please add your thoughts. Five things I'd do to get the Cats rolling;

1. Go under center and add a TE to the LOS. Not flexed, but in a three point at the snap. Basically, get away from this spread stuff and go with a pro style offense. IMO, CJ Conrad would be outstanding in a traditional offense (I'd even go with the old "I" formation and double TE sets on occasion). In this formation, you can play power football. You can use play action. Generally, the QB has an easy time getting into max protect if he sees something that he wants to go to off of play action. With seven in the box (at least), three WR's would have to deal with four DB's (off of play action). I like UK's WR's in that numbers game. Also, today's defenses are geared to deal with spread offenses. Going to a more traditional offense might actually give UK an edge against certain opponents.

2. NEVER call a play that requires Mosier or Meadows to block one-on-one for more than a three step drop. Neither is good enough to be put on an island like that. Maybe they'd be more effective in a run based scheme pulling down the line of scrimmage. I have no idea, but I never want to see either one of them asked to block one-on-one for more than 2-2.5 seconds.

3. No hurry on offense! UK has zero quality depth with their front seven. I mean none! Stoops is eternally concerned about his defense getting tired. So why in the hell isn't UK running the play clock down to about 6-7 on every offensive play? Hell, if you almost exhaust the play clock on every snap, even one first down will probably give the defense an 8-10 minute rest (assuming we hit a commercial timeout...LOL)! More importantly for Kentucky, taking time off the clock shortens the game in terms of possessions. The best thing about a 10-minute drive for a team like UK is that you just burned off 1/6th of the game. The fewer possessions, the better chance Kentucky has to compete.

4. Defensively, crowd the LOS on damn near every snap. Put a man in every gap ON the LOS. Pressure the opponent. Bring pressure from different places. Bring 5-6 on occasion. Make the opposing QB uncomfortable. Make the opposing OL uncomfortable. Quarterbacks look SO comfortable when they play against Eliot's scheme. It's like they know they'll have all day to stand around. It's like a 7-on-7 drill. I'd like to see Eliot get away from the conservative garbage and become extremely aggressive. Sure, UK would give up some big plays. That beats the hell out of a 14-play drive that ends with the same result while exhausting the defense. We've seen some perfectly mediocre quarterbacks have a career day against Eliot, and that's because his scheme is predictable and less aggressive than Canada.

5. UK's strength on defense is at corner. Roll the dice and stick them on an island. Not on every play, but WAY more often than we do now. Be more creative with the safeties and backers.

Clearly, following this advice will lead to a 10-2 finish [laughing].

GBB!!!

I agree with many of your points and I've had a lot of the same thoughts lately. I think what it boils down to at the end of the day is a problem with Mark Stoops and his philosophy. He wants to be able to run the ball AND pass the ball at a high level, but he doesn't want to FULLY commit to either one. He doesn't want to be a pro-style offense that pounds the rock and he doesn't want to be a pure Air Raid/spread offense that slings it all over the place and runs tempo a majority of the time. What it ends up doing is instead of being balanced we become mediocre at both facets because we're not willing to fully commit to either one.

Stoops constantly seems unsure of himself and what kind of philosophy he wants to employ and it ends up biting him because he never fully commits to an idea. He always wants to be "multiple" or "balanced" and that's just a really hard thing to do at a place that doesn't have superior talent to their opponents.

 

[Perrin75]

We are most certainly not running option. The option takes a ton of practice time and skill to implement and we do not have the time or the ability. Any deviations we do make will have to be within the concepts of our current offense. It would take several weeks to move our team from what we are now to something that resembles a team from the 90's. These guys have been studying the current schemes for months. There is no possible way to put in a new scheme in a couple of weeks and expect it to succeed. I wonder how many times our center and QB have ever worked with a traditional snap in their entire career. Working under center is a completely different technique for both of them which could lead to a ton of botched snaps.

Simplifying the playbook makes sense. More quick hit options so he can get on rhythm and gain confidence. Plus, it puts less pressure on the O-line. Personally I have less concerns about the offense. I feel confident that Grinshaw (my celebrity couple pairing) will get it worked out. Our defense on the other hand is an unmitigated disaster and it doesn't appear that anyone on the coaching staff has experience in running or developing a defense focused around pressure. So, we will continue to 'tweak' something that doesn't work, hasn't worked and that never will work with the personal on hand. Basically it's time to head to the L'Oréal counter because our pig needs to look their best this weekend.

 

[bigbluegrog]

Get rid of stoops now and hire ukerik!!

UKerik has my support as well........

 

[megablue]

The problem is, We practice against our defense and offense and then think we have something great.

This is a point that can easily be overlooked. Practice self-evaluation is often misleading.
You never know what you really have until you go live against an opponent.

I would like to see more play action, with a moving pocket.
I realize that throwing on the run accurately is difficult for many quarterbacks, but If ours can do it, despite splitting the field in half and reducing possible targets, I'd like to see some of it.

 

[UKNothinButNet]

Get rid of stoops now and hire ukerik!!

My first thought exactly!

 

[Jgreenewpb_rivals17209]

Here are my suggestions:

1. Bring back the wishbone.
2. Put Elam in on short-yardage situations, should we happen to ever find ourselves in one.
3. Defensive backfield stays in a 2-3 zone.
4. No more punting on 4th down.
5. Run the flea-flicker more often.
6. No more fair catches, under any circumstances.
7. All kickoffs are now onside kicks.
8. Coal whistle blows on every play, whether on offense or defense.
9. Run the no-huddle offense, but on defense.
10. Use more face paint, especially the linebackers.
11. All players mic'd up.
12. Go-Pro camera mounted to Mark Stoops' head.
13. Former coaches like Curry and Joker Phillips come out to be the "Y" between downs.
14. THREE Cat Walks.
15. Have coaching staff lead players onto field while riding race horses.
16. Have the QB draw up some plays on his own on 3rd and long.
17. Let the players take a vote on every down on what play they would like to run.
18. Head coach gets Gatorade bath after every game regardless of outcome.

Those are just some off the top of my head.

This is very creative but on #13 I would have the former football coaches Curry and Phillips come out to be the "WHY" between downs.

 

[sluggercatfan]

Somebody please send this to Stoops.
The hurry up offense is clearly working better for our opponent than for us.

Pre season Conrad was suppose to be a big part of the offense.
He hardly touched the ball in 2 games.

Stoops better make some major changes because he's going to come out of the tunnel to play a game and UK's opponent will have more fans in the stands than UK will.

Talked to someone at the game on Saturday closely associated with the family or is part of the family ( I did not ask which one) because he had on a Conrad t-shirt and needless to say the Conrad family are not happy campers

 

[Soupbean]

This is very creative but on #13 I would have the former football coaches Curry and Phillips come out to be the "WHY" between downs.

Or have one be the "Why" and the other "Not". It would work either way.

 

[CrustyCat]

1. Go under center and add a TE to the LOS. Not flexed, but in a three point at the snap. Basically, get away from this spread stuff and go with a pro style offense. IMO, CJ Conrad would be outstanding in a traditional offense (I'd even go with the old "I" formation and double TE sets on occasion). In this formation, you can play power football. You can use play action. Generally, the QB has an easy time getting into max protect if he sees something that he wants to go to off of play action. With seven in the box (at least), three WR's would have to deal with four DB's (off of play action). I like UK's WR's in that numbers game. Also, today's defenses are geared to deal with spread offenses. Going to a more traditional offense might actually give UK an edge against certain opponents.

4. Defensively, crowd the LOS on damn near every snap. Put a man in every gap ON the LOS. Pressure the opponent. Bring pressure from different places. Bring 5-6 on occasion. Make the opposing QB uncomfortable. Make the opposing OL uncomfortable. Quarterbacks look SO comfortable when they play against Eliot's scheme. It's like they know they'll have all day to stand around. It's like a 7-on-7 drill. I'd like to see Eliot get away from the conservative garbage and become extremely aggressive. Sure, UK would give up some big plays. That beats the hell out of a 14-play drive that ends with the same result while exhausting the defense. We've seen some perfectly mediocre quarterbacks have a career day against Eliot, and that's because his scheme is predictable and less aggressive than Canada.

Nicely done, Erik, as usual. I particularly like the two excerpted above. I cannot for the life of me understand why Conrad is not made an integral part of this offense. It is, in my opinion, a true indictment of the coaching staff's collective failure.

I also have thought for years, across many head coaches, that the players are made or encouraged to play timid by virtue of the schemes set for them by the coaches. The schemes seem to be focused on "safe" alignments that never attempt to dictate play but rather react to it and "hope for the best." This tells players, whether intentional or not, that the coaches don't much if any confidence in their ability to play the man across from them. That is death to a football team.

One of the reasons I think Mumme was successful on offense was because of his aggressiveness in scheme and playcalling. He was telling his players, "we're going to attack, attack, attack." They felt like they could land blows rather than always taking them.

 

[Soupbean]

Talked to someone at the game on Saturday closely associated with the family or is part of the family ( I did not ask which one) because he had on a Conrad t-shirt and needless to say the Conrad family are not happy campers

On this topic I do think we need to be more creative in how we use him. Why don't we split him out more to get some matchup problems. Move him outside and move Badet or Juice inside tight. Conrad on DB or LB covering the quick guys. They would have to mad up on us or we clear out with the big guy and run the little guys underneath . . .like everybody else does to us.