Jury is still out on Stoops IMO

[brianpoe]

Still can't believe how bad UK gets beat and some fans are just ok with it. "We're going to a bowl". Just sickens me. It's part of the reason UK is awful at football and will continue to be.

For some of us who are not sold on the staff we are willing to take a reasonable reality check.

Lost QB
Overcame awful start - even if competition was bad
Revamped the defense to a level to beat lower level SEC
Revamped offense to a running game which required much improved oline.
Defense are all sophomores.

Demanded bowl game this year - looks they reached that.


WR's still cant catch.
Defense has zero depth.
In game decisions still way too conservative and sometimes just head scratching.

We need to look much better next year AND win 7 to prove continued improvement.

 

[CapnBlubs]

For some of us who are not sold on the staff we are willing to take a reasonable reality check.

Lost QB
Overcame awful start - even if competition was bad
Revamped the defense to a level to beat lower level SEC
Revamped offense to a running game which required much improved oline.
Defense are all sophomores.

Demanded bowl game this year - looks they reached that.


WR's still cant catch.
Defense has zero depth.
In game decisions still way too conservative and sometimes just head scratching.

We need to look much better next year AND win 7 to prove continued improvement.

7 will be tough.

Games ranked from most to least winnable, in my eyes

1) EKU
2) Eastern Michigan
3) Missouri
4) at Southern Miss
5) at Vanderbilt
6) at South Carolina
7) Ole Miss
8) at Mississippi State
9) at Georgia
10) Tennessee
11) Louisville
12) Florida

Problem is, some of the most winnable SEC games from this year, PLUS the Southern Miss game, shift from home to road.

The only significant positive is replacing Alabama with Ole Miss (plus that's a home game).

 

[CB3UK]

It's really hard to believe how bad some of the SEC east offenses really are. We actually looked like we had a pulse until we played UT.

I repeatedly stated that the defensive improvement was fool's gold. We're making progress but we are where I figured we we were...better than the cellat but not ready for primetime.

 

[CB3UK]

For some of us who are not sold on the staff we are willing to take a reasonable reality check.

Lost QB
Overcame awful start - even if competition was bad
Revamped the defense to a level to beat lower level SEC
Revamped offense to a running game which required much improved oline.
Defense are all sophomores.

Demanded bowl game this year - looks they reached that.


WR's still cant catch.
Defense has zero depth.
In game decisions still way too conservative and sometimes just head scratching.

We need to look much better next year AND win 7 to prove continued improvement.

Fair and reasonable IMO

 

[CapnBlubs]

I repeatedly stated that the defensive improvement was fool's gold. We're making progress but we are where I figured we we were...better than the cellat but not ready for primetime.

I feared that was the case...but tried to give us a chance. The UGA loss was another in a long line of depressing missed opportunities. I went home from Commonwealth pretty much 100% sure we'd only be able to beat Austin Peay the rest of the way.

 

[Kats23]

What's funny here is you have so much black and white. Either Stoops get canned this year or he gets 5 more years. There's not much inbetween. Both sides are narrow minded for me.

I can appreciate the fact UK is likely to win 6 games with not a great QB, lack of depth, and first year staff again. However, failure to realize the SEC is way down and UK took some advantage to it they didn't take complete advantage. Some of it was bad breaks, some of it was coaching. It was also some breaks and good coaching that lead to winning 4 games in the SEC.

Defensively we stink. Just not athletic enough anywhere on the field. When Stoops took over, there was some scheming changes that have probably been figured out by opponents by watching game film since Stoops has taken over.

Give Stoops next year bc he deserves it for this year but for me he's a bridge coach. He steadied the ship w/ some solid recruiting but I think we've seen the pinnacle of Mark Stoops at UK. I think the best plan of action is start looking for a new coach next year. While I don't think Stoops stinks there are better coaches who would come here with the roster and get Kentucky better.

 

[UKCatNnc]

It's not the way it should be but if we go 6-6 next year Stoops will be given even more time because there are so many people that only care about 6 wins. That is all he ever has to do to stay here nothing more and nothing less.

6 - 6 is not a winning season. I want winning seasons. Go Cats!!

 

[Sparkaces]

7 will be tough.

Games ranked from most to least winnable, in my eyes

1) EKU
2) Eastern Michigan
3) Missouri
4) at Southern Miss
5) at Vanderbilt
6) at South Carolina
7) Ole Miss
8) at Mississippi State
9) at Georgia
10) Tennessee
11) Louisville
12) Florida

Problem is, some of the most winnable SEC games from this year, PLUS the Southern Miss game, shift from home to road.

The only significant positive is replacing Alabama with Ole Miss (plus that's a home game).

Ole Miss and Georgia will have 2 0f the best qb's in the country next year. I think Florida and UT will lose a lot, @ Georgia and Cards will be toughest games.

 

[Chuckinden]

The jury is still out. We will learn more from the play next season.

THIS^^^^

I targeted this season to see if we are improving. We are. I target next season as being the best of the Stoops era. We'll just have to wait and see.

 

[Shavers48]

Yes I know all that and I know that flailing around constantly changing coaches is not going to work. We now have facilities in place we need some stability to grow the program. The trending is up not down.

3 coaches in 13 years is not constantly changing coaches. it is constantly not being very good though.

 

[SanAntonioCat_rivals376502]

we've made some progress.....but he has to find a SEC-level QB for next season. Love his heart, but Johnson is a backup at best.

Really? We didn't know that.

 

[Levibooty]

3 coaches in 13 years is not constantly changing coaches. it is constantly not being very good though.

Really? How many OC have we had in those 13 years? Everytime you change a head coach you change a whole lot of coaches and that means kids learning new systems then you add all the changes within the staffs year to year and it makes a big difference.

 

[brianpoe]

7 will be tough.

Games ranked from most to least winnable, in my eyes

1) EKU
2) Eastern Michigan
3) Missouri
4) at Southern Miss
5) at Vanderbilt
6) at South Carolina
7) Ole Miss
8) at Mississippi State
9) at Georgia
10) Tennessee
11) Louisville
12) Florida

Problem is, some of the most winnable SEC games from this year, PLUS the Southern Miss game, shift from home to road.

The only significant positive is replacing Alabama with Ole Miss (plus that's a home game).

We are in the SEC, regardless of how weak it may be now, it will usually be tough.

If you accept 6-6 or less as the norm from here on out then I understand your position.

I'm willing to be 6-6 this year due to the factors mentioned earlier.

However, if this team is ever to breakout of the bottom tier and become, at the least, a middle of the pack program then we need 7 wins next year.

SEC East will still be rebuilding and we will have our best roster in many years.

If this staff cannot win 7 next year then it is time to accept the rebuild and move on to a coach without a ceiling that can take us to consistent 7-8 win seasons.

 

[sluggercatfan]

Think we could start 5-0 and lose every game after that.

 

[sluggercatfan]

Think we could start 5-0 and lose every game after that.

Oops...I miss read that as the schedule. 5-7 at best and if I had to bet it would be 4-8.

 

[School boy]

We have to deal with not having a good coach that can recruit with the big boys in the SEC.

I just wish Mark was a good sideline coach but that has cost us games over the years in him sucking.

 

[jauk11]

I expected a loss to UT today...should have beaten UGA last week...another step back at the end of the season...

Didn't Georgia just beat a team that many were speculating could get into the NC playoff?

And yeah, we could have easily beaten Georgia even though we were the underdog, couple of big mistakes, mostly by the players. And yes, most thinking people expected a loss to TU on their field after their recovery week.

 

[jauk11]

Didn't Georgia just beat a team that many were speculating could get into the NC playoff?

And yeah, we could have easily beaten Georgia even though we were the underdog, couple of big mistakes, mostly by the players. And yes, most thinking people expected a loss to TU on their field after their recovery week.

I don't disagree with much of anything you say BigBlueCatNation. It's just frustrating to come out and lay an egg against a team that is injured as hell. I didn't expect to win today but I did expect to be competitive until the final horn and they really just weren't. I like the offense in Gran's hands, especially with a QB that can throw with accuracy. But the D, they just seem to be light years away from being a solid unit.

Getting their RB and DB back made a lot of difference, and us losing Badet and Jones probably did also.

 

[jauk11]

Missed my point. Wasn't talking about that particular year. Just any year in general. Expectations every year between football and basketball are totally different.
To me, the NIT in basketball is like a minor bowl with a .500 record in football.

"Expectations every year between football and basketball are totally different."

LOL, at least you got that part right, but the NIT in basketball would be (and was) a tremendous disappointment, while at UK now a bowl game is a success this year, hard to believe we made it after losing to Southern Miss AND losing our QB.

Next year the goal should be eight wins, and I think we can do that=====and maybe even better.

 

[jauk11]

We have to deal with not having a good coach that can recruit with the big boys in the SEC.

I just wish Mark was a good sideline coach but that has cost us games over the years in him sucking.

Did you happen to notice where our recruiting rankings were before he got here? And I think some of our players weren't ranked nearly high enough.

 

[School boy]

Did you happen to notice where our recruiting rankings were before he got here? And I think some of our players weren't ranked nearly high enough.

But hey we only lost by 13 to ut and are beating Kent St and Toledo out for the 3 stars in Ohio recruiting. We may not have top classes but as long as we recruit in Ohio all is well.

Also looking forward to a louisville beat down. But hey recruiting is better then before Mark came on board.

 

[jauk11]

But hey we only lost by 13 to ut and are beating Kent St and Toledo out for the 3 stars in Ohio recruiting. We may not have top classes but as long as we recruit in Ohio all is well.

Also looking forward to a louisville beat down. But hey recruiting is better then before Mark came on board.

And the spread was the 13 or higher, and based on the number of four AND five stars they have it probably should have been much higher, and that includes injuries. We probably lost our most important player at the half of the first game, we also lost our most important player on offense AND defense during the game.according to one pre game analysis.

 

[ukgrad83]

THIS^^^^

I targeted this season to see if we are improving. We are. I target next season as being the best of the Stoops era. We'll just have to wait and see.

I hope you are right but I wouldn't put money on it at this point. This year will end with 6 victories at least. Not seeing that many next year.

 

[Lionel_Hutz]

*bump*

 

[How Blue Can You Get?]

From week to week everyone's opinion changes, this program is headed in the right direction. It's all about building depth.

s all about building depth, but the reason opinions change week to week is cause peeformance changes week. We arw inconsistent. That is a major problem!