Let's have a serious discussion. Is it overall lack of talent, or is it poor coaching, or a combination of both?What can be done to get this team to 7-8 wins? We should never lose to Vandy or blow a 24-7 lead.
So what is the real problem?
- Thread starter TNCatfanforever
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It's the low expectations. 7-8 wins should be the low end of the spectrum. 10 wins should be the goal.
The real problem is we do not recruit linemen well, especially DL. We have some good OL in this next years class if they stick with their commitments but we just do not win in the trenches much----on the field or on the recruiting trail. Next year our DL will be atrocious and I don't have any faith in the staffs ability to develop the players.
How can our defense get any worse. How does a guy like Mason at Vandy have such a solid defense.....other than last night in Knoxville.
I think that has a lot to do with coaches that know what they are doing. I'm not convinced Elliot is good at his job by a long shot. I certainly have very little confidence in Brumbaugh.
The only problem is coaching. If you say we don't have enough then that falls on the coach to recruit more/better players. If you say we have the talent but they don't execute then that also falls back on the coach for not doing a better job of developing the talent we have. No matter what excuse is offered up it boils down to the fact that the coaching staff is inept from top to bottom. Thankfully the season is at its end and I can say personally, another season won't start for me until we have a new head coach and a new staff and, hopefully, a new athletics director. I am done with this situation and will hibernate on college football until it is corrected.
I hear Brumbaugh is HS caliber coach. I mean, the move from JUCO to SEC school is quite a leap, isn't it? No ones ever questioned this in the three years he's been here. Another decent recruiter that lacks on field results.
It is the coaching. Stoops has no experience as HC the OC and DC have no experience, I don't know the ages and resumes of all of the assistants but I seriously doubt their is any real experience there either. Nothing replaces experience.
When you have teams like Eku and Ull run all over you and put consistent pressure on your qb the problem is more than getting better players.
The biggest issue I see is lack of discipline by the head man. 2nd is there are a few assistance that need to go.
Stoops needs to sit down and take a honest look at what this staff is missing.toughness,discipline,motivation,teaching fundamentals. Then he needs to go and fill those needs.
Also don't think Dawson has it as a OC.
Here is why,you have a iffy oline so what would be the best thing to run to be successful? ( not run up the middle then chuck it 20 yards)...As much as fan hated Brown last year that is what needed to be run to be successful til a better oline is in place,the only exception would be a few more shots down the field..
1: Get a experience ST coach that can help with game day adjustments ect.
2: Get a OC that knows how to score with less talent.and adapt to the talent that he has available.
3: Get a DC that is aggressive and knows how to build a tough fundamentally sound defense.
You start by beating the teams you should win against, then you pull a few upsets. We had more talent then ul/vandy/ Eku,and Eku fired there coach who coached circles around this staff.
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anon_q409idbs5m40a
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I agree that coaching is the root cause. Big difference being a Defensive Coordinator at an ACC school than a head coach at a SEC school. Our staff is clearly way over their heads. I've watched UK football for close to 50 years and the administration has yet to make a "home run" hire regarding a head coach.
Well a new AD wouldn't hurt but the immediate problem is the coaching staff. We are getting exactly what we should expect from an inexperienced staff. Inconsistency, lack of preparation, and no in game adjustments.
We won't see improvement on the field until OL/DL recruiting gets better. Stoops gets kudos for recruiting but his OL/DL recruiting has been extremely poor. The OL product looks better this time around but they're a good 2 years away from helping. He needs to step it up or he won't be here much longer.
TNCat - see the light and come on over to the good guys. #4of5 #itswhatwedo
You can even enjoy elite baseball along the way and enjoy player personalities for more than one season. Stay at home and emerge from the Mist.
But seriously, Stoops seemingly doesn't have either gameday ability or staff in place to coach up what Marrow and he recruit. Stoops' reputation as a competent coach is taking a hit and that will make recruiting more difficult. Despite Mason's difficulties, he may have turned the direction enough to get ahead of Mizzou, UK and South Carolina for awhile. In contrast, Stoops is sinking and it is difficult to find a positive looking ahead to 2016.
Player quality is the biggest problem and has been for decades. You think Elam would have ever seen the field if he had gone to Bama? I'm sure he tries as hard as he can but that is just an example of the type players of which we have too many. Apologies to Elam, his fans and family because there are many more less qualified than him who are starters.
Bad coaching being the fault is a joke. The laws of probability, if there are any, that all of our past and present coaches were bad are astronomically against. Yet we have played poor football for over a half century. Curci being the exception and even he failed in the end.
He, Curci, is a great example. Great players and great teams. Poor players and poor results. Same coach. Hugely different results.
Bad coaching being the fault is a joke. The laws of probability, if there are any, that all of our past and present coaches were bad are astronomically against. Yet we have played poor football for over a half century. Curci being the exception and even he failed in the end.
He, Curci, is a great example. Great players and great teams. Poor players and poor results. Same coach. Hugely different results.
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anon_q409idbs5m40a
Guest
How can anyone say bad coaching is not the problem? Look at the number of stupid penalties on both sides of the ball, poor clock management, total disorganization on the sidelines and atrocious play calling. ALL of that points to bad coaching. Our talent level is probably better than what Vanderbilt has but we can't even beat them now. All of that points to poor coaching.
I've been saying this all year in a bit less blatant manner. Some of the better known posters were very adamant I was wrong.
To answer the original question, its position coaching. Dropped balls and missed assignments kill us over and over. Assuming that you start the best available player at any given position and still have issues, then it's time for a change. The blame reaches from coaching all the way down to each player.
You have to be able to catch the ball or run without fumbling it. That's coaching and player execution. Several things need fixing. Not an easy thing but also not impossible.
You have to be able to catch the ball or run without fumbling it. That's coaching and player execution. Several things need fixing. Not an easy thing but also not impossible.
We have to hire a coach who is a damn good recruiter and then can develop players. And the 2nd characteristic is more important than the first. We got one of the two in Brooks, but he was too old and did not hire the right assistants to recruit at least a good enough roster to compete against the top teams in our league.
It can be done here, just like Mullen did it at MSU, Franklin at Vandy, Pinkel at Missouri, etc. But I am getting older and have about lost patience.
It can be done here, just like Mullen did it at MSU, Franklin at Vandy, Pinkel at Missouri, etc. But I am getting older and have about lost patience.
THE PROBLEM is the lack of talent on the field. A problem can be sideline errors but dropped passes, porous offensive line, erratic qbs and poor tackling lost the ball games.
UL and WKU have better top to bottom players than UK, at present. I may be a little off on WKU but I'm glad we didn't play them this year.
There are some disagreeing with you on the UL comparison. You sure we don't have better recruits?
We looked much worse than EKU, we looked worse than ULL. If you look bad against Bama you can blame talent disparity. If you get outplayed by FCS team who has 3-4 players in the program that would even be on the 85 man scholarship roster, you can't blame talent. How many years in the last 5 would you guess EKU has outrecruited Kentucky? How many years has ULL?
Talent's not where it needs to be to routinely beat Bama. Coaching is not where it needs to be to consistently beat EKU.
Talent's not where it needs to be to routinely beat Bama. Coaching is not where it needs to be to consistently beat EKU.
There are expectations and goals and then there is reality.This team(or any other team for that matter)isn't magically going from 5 wins to 10 in one season,not in the SEC anyway.A progression to the 6,7 or 8 win season is a necessary evil.The three years of the Stoops era raise serious questions as to whether or not he can get UK to that level.
I get your great dislike for the AD but the on field issues currently do more to prevent us from taking a first/next step in the direction we want to go.At the time Stoops appeared to be a good hire but three years in that may not be the case.I think he is effectively done here,he will be here for at least one if not two more years but his chance to get anything done here is over.