And that's alright, because year in and year out, UK and UGA will both have to play those programs. At the end of the day, you play who's on your schedule and make the best of it. Georgia did that, and Kentucky did exceed all expectations. I don't care one way or the other if UK has the best secondary, but I do want them to be the most efficient secondary in the country based on their schedule.
Tell ya what, you show me one defense in college football or the NFL that plays press coverage exclusively, and I'll show you a team that has a bad pass defense. Go ahead, pick Alabama, pick LSU, Florida, whatever elite defense you want. Maybe Arkansas, Mizzou, Clemson. How about ya go to the pro level, check out Seattle, Denver, Carolina. I guarantee you that not a single one of those teams plays press exclusively like you're suggesting that UK should do.
You can have the baddest secondary on the planet, and the reality is, every once in a while, a wide receiver will get behind you if you press them. That 2 steps behind the receiver means that you could very well give up a 30, 40, 50 yard gain, or even a touchdown. What about when the CB inevitably gets turned around while defending the WR (because you can't backpedal as fast as those guys sprint, just not gonna happen)? The WR always has the advantage to make the quick cut and get the step on the CB, so majority of the time, as soon as that wideout makes his hitch, he's open against the press. At least when you're playing 7-10 yards back, it allows your DB's to make reads and try to jump the pass to make a play, and at the very least, keep the ball in front of them. That's why defenses do that. All of them. Not just UK.
You cannot have a defense where you play the press exclusively. I don't care if you have Richard Sherman, Josh Norman, and Chris Harris Jr. defending the wide receivers, if you play press against a decent wide receiver that can make sharp cuts and attack the football when it's thrown to them, you're going to give up yardage all the same. The only differences are that in the press, it's absolutely more difficult to get the ball to receivers, but you're that much more susceptible to giving up explosive plays because wide receivers will occasionally beat you and get behind you, just the nature of the game. Conversely, if you play 7-10 yards off the receiver, it's very difficult to make explosive plays, you make the field for the offense to work with smaller, but you're going to give up the occasional dink and dunk passes. There has to be a good balance. There's more to back end play than "line em up and let's go", especially in a defense where your CB's and safeties are used in blitz packages.
