Michael Hartline: We just need a little patience

This might not reflect the views of the KSR staff, but I guarantee they all support Axl Rose. No sooner had the final Cards fan filtered out of the amazingly overrated Papa John's Cardinal Stadium did the online debate start about whether or not Randall Cobb should replace Michael Hartline at quarterback. Message boards filled up with speculation and the "need" to have more athleticism and speed at the quarterback position. On the walk back to Old Cardinal Stadium, I heard several people talking about turning the offense over to Cobb. People even called into SportsNight on Monday preaching the good word about Randall. But, was Hartline really that bad? Here is how he stacked up against the other SEC quarterbacks - most of whom where also making their debut - on opening weekend.

	Team	Comp/Att	Yards	Comp %	TDs	INTs	QB Rating
Chris Smelley	South Carolina	5/5	92	100	2	0	386.6
Jarrett Lee	LSU	6/10	116	60	2	1	203.4
Matthew Stafford	Georgia	13/21	275	61.9	2	0	203.3
Tim Tebow	Florida	9/14	137	64.3	1	0	170.1
Jevan Snead	Ole Miss	10/22	185	45.5	2	0	146.1
John Parker Wilson	Alabama	22/30	180	73.3	2	0	145.7
Casey Dick	Arkansas	25/41	318	61	2	1	137.3
Chris Nickson	Vanderbilt	9/16	91	56.3	1	0	124.7
Andrew Hatch	LSU	7/14	77	50	1	0	119.8
Tyson Lee	Mississippi State	10/15	85	66.7	0	0	114.3
Wesley Carroll	Mississippi State	12/25	172	48	1	3	95.0
Michael Hartline	Kentucky	16/31	147	51.6	0	0	91.4
Chris Todd	Auburn	9/18	70	50	1	1	89.9
Jonathan Crompton	Tennessee	19/41	189	46.3	0	1	80.2
Tommy Beecher	South Carolina	12/22	106	54.5	0	4	58.7
Kodi Burns	Auburn	4/9	15	44	0	0	58.4

Now, obviously Hartline is down in the dumps compared to the other quarterbacks in the conference. But, wouldn't it be fair to say that had he played Georgia Southern, Appalachian State or even Hawaii, that his numbers would be a little better? I'm not saying that Louisville is the 1985 Bears defense, but they're not a I-AA team either and Hartline did what he needed to do to get a victory on the road and that's all we were all really hoping for in his first game under center. Sure, he missed some throws, but the receivers dropped more balls than Hartline missed them with. In my humble opinion, it's just a timing issue between a guy that hasn't had his top receivers healthy over the past few weeks and they'll likely right themselves in the next three blowouts. Does the coaching staff agree with me? I don't know. But, if I've got a gun to my head and I have to roll the dice with one guy under center, I'm banking on the guy who's in his third year in the system and wasn't lining up at wideout just a few weeks ago. But, if he craps the bed in the next few cupcakes, all bets are off.  In the meantime, let's all just try to have a little patience.  Hartline will get it done for the Cats.