Joker Under Paid?

Just kidding. This is old news but sometimes you need to turn up the heat when cooking up a pot of football. How anyone can ask or expect a top name coach to come to Kentucky when we pay our head coach the least money of any school in the SEC is beyond any rational explanation. Vandy is a private school and doesn’t release their coaches pay but what ever they are paying their coach they are getting their moneys worth and will probably give him a contract extension and a pay raise after this season. Apparently we to are getting our moneys worth since Bottom Pay=Bottom Coach=Bottom dweller according to my football 101 class.

Heck even renown coach Pete Carroll mentions it in his football primer in chapter two, The Administration Doesn’t Care.

Leach To Arizona?

A lot of the talk on Kentucky boards as the season has progressed has been about replacing Joker Phillips with Mike Leach. It might have reached an impasse as Arizona released Mike Stoops today after he had a Joker like start to the season.

Arizona has a quarterback in Nick Foles that Leach could build around, while Kentucky has Morgan Newton who doesn’t fit in Leaches offense and no receivers to boot.

We will just have to wait and see how things play out but Arizona seems a better fit for Leach than Kentucky does.

Tim Beckman For Head Coach

I’ve been thinking about this since the second game of the season.We need to get rid of Joker, even if it costs us money.

Mike Leach seems to be the coach on every ones want list but I have another coach who I think fits the bill. Tim Beckman the head coach at Toledo. When the season is over he is going to be a hot item so why not him. His teams play hard, don’t quit and score points.

They have taken both Syracuse and Ohio St to the wire, lost to Boise St but still managed to put up 349 yds of offense on them, and stomped a good Temple team so far this season.

They are 35th in passing , 54th in rushing and 27th in scoring which shows they are a well coached team.

Since its sure to snow on Waikiki beach before we get a coach of Urban Meyers or Saban’s stature a coach like Tim Beckman seems to make sense.

A Suggestion For Joker

I know the seat is getting hot Joker but I doubt you will be fired this year. Next year is another story and from what I can see with the players we are losing and those we have coming in we are at least one if not two years away from being competitive in the lower rungs of the SEC.

Your going to have to do something this off season if you want to keep your job, so BigBlueRules has a suggestion for you, and it has nothing to do with cactus, dead goldfish or any of those things so I’ll save them for next year for you.

Fire Sanders and bring in Sonny Dykes as OC. He is probably going to lose his job when Stoops is let go so chances are he will need the work. He’s been an offensive coordinator under Mike Stoops, Mike Leach and Hal Mumme so you know he knows offense. He probably has a black mark for working under Mumme but who cares, not me.

If that doesn’t work hire Brent Pease who was the offensive coordinator at Kentucky under head coach Guy Morris, and is currently the OC at Boise St. With the overall improvement the team made under Morris. I’m sure he would have no problem improving Jokers offense.

Both are former coaches at Kentucky and unless the administration has a beef with them, they might help you keep your job. Of course there is always the possibility that they don’t think much of a job at Kentucky.

Good Philosophy, Joker!

Just read where Joker had made the comment that he would emphasize taking speed over skillset at any position. Let me say (for what it’s worth) outside of Kickers and QB, that is exactly the right idea.

Some of you may recall the prime of Nebraska under Tom Osborne. Now, despite the fact that Osborne had his flaws, he had a great philosophy that was the cornerstone of his programs. He recruited speed and then added size. Osborne would take a guy recruited as a big corner, and beef him into a safety. He would take guys recruited as safeties and beef them into OLBs. LBs in DE’s, and DE’s into DTs. Obviously, he had a big head start to doing this, and that didn’t mean he always did that with every player, but it was a general practice. He could preserve some speed and add beef, but it’s hard to add beef AND develop speed.

THAT was what lead to so many of those great Husker D’s. A guy recruited as a 6’2″ 194 lb safety with a 4.48, was a monster at 225 with a 4.5-4.6 (See Danny Trevathan). A LB that was 6’1″ 231 was DE beast at 252.

This is what I felt UK should have done with Micah, two years back. Made him a DE and let him attack the backfield. Might have spared him some knee injuries from the blind sided cut blocks and O line doubles that come with playing the middle.

The nice thing is, I think UK is almost to the point where we can ‘afford’ to make those kind of changes in a player while he isn’t pivotal in the current plan.

Of course, one of the things that Tom DIDN’T have to contend with as much was players telling recruiting coaches “what” they were, which is also something I *think* was involved in Micah’s career. Too many players think they KNOW what they are or what they will allow a team to play them as, and pick accordingly to the school that signs the promise.

At any rate, Joker has the right idea. McDermott is a prime example.

Almost Football Time

Not to exaggerate, but this really has been the longest most dreadful sport summer I’ve endured in many years. BUT.. I’m super psyched about UK football this fall, and I think others will be too. Joker is impressing the hell out of me, more than I thought he could. Yes, I know that could easily evaporate with a bad season, but I don’t get that feeling. He’s not just talking, he’s doing. He’s making BIG TIME moves and has worked his ass off to get his mission statement out there, and ingrained. I just don’t get the feeling this is false. I think the energy and power we are afraid to believe in is really there. Not in the way we all “believed” that Rich could win six games in his second year, if you get my drift.

I want to float my feelings out there and see if you folks think they make sense, or if I’m imagining, whatever. The reason I think so many lost faith with Rich early, and that so many failed to see his goal was that we really didn’t understand his mission. We might have thought we did, but we really didn’t. Rich was working on a “program” scale. All of it. Top to bottom. And not just the actual program, but the entire entity of UK Football. From fans to facilities.

Joker is doing what we THOUGHT (or at least I wrongly did) Rich should have been doing, he’s working on the “team.” The program is established, if not an SEC contender, it’s the TEAM that needs to take it to the next level, and that’s what he’s doing, IMO. He’s getting guys to believe in themselves and each other. He’s getting them to believe in the coaching staff. He knows, again IMO, that getting this team to love to play the game with each other, and for the coaches, to love the promise of what practice means, and to embrace the confidence that their training is as elite as any and they will be “gameday ready” for any opponent, even florida. I mean, is there anyone here who think those wonderful guys aren’t training harder than ever? Not just on command, but putting in EXTRA time? Pushing themselves? Doing more on their own? You know it has a lot to do with Rock, but if I asked you if you felt that, with no inside knowledge, would you have the same feeling that I do that it’s happening?

That’s my feeling. You know, when Rich was coaching, you could always tell that he never really had confidence that we would beat the Florida’s and Bama’s of the league, you know. He spoke conservatively, and coached the same, and GOD did it fix our program. But you could just predict some losses, because we knew, and he knew, that he didn’t expect or need to win those games, he needed to set trends. He needed to impress a standard, and losses would do that as much as wins, so long as the losses were to top tier teams and coaches and were respectable. It was just getting us out of the basement so that there would be other SEC teams getting used to being the dogs that was important. He got media and fans to respect us.

Joker does not give me that vibe. I believe that Joker is coaching today with a firm belief he can beat Florida, and that the only way he’s going to lose to them is if they get lucky. I’m not suggesting he lacks respect. I’m saying he’s not gonna think they should lose to Florida until after they HAVE lost to Florida. It’s a subtle but significant difference.

It’s just a feeling I’m getting. This TEAM may lose games, but it will not be because they played second best, or were coached second best, or had second best abilities or talent. At least, that what I think THEY will believe for the first time.

That’s it. That’s my thoughts. Did I make any sense? Look forward to hearing from you. GO CATS and GO JOKER!!!

I’m behind Joker, and here’s why

Yes, God himself knows I’ve gone a mile out of my way to discuss my distaste with Joker’s playcalling, but all that is over. I’ve said before, and I’ll say again, I truly think that Joker will have better success as a head coach, than he did as a playcaller. He’s a tremendous recruiter, and he has a team building personality.

Allow me to entertain you with a bit deeper analysis of my predictions, and I’ll use some examples to show you what I mean. BTW I’m going to use layman’s terms, but some of you may know exactly what I’m talking about and may know what ideology I’m referring to. If so, no problem. But, I think it’s time I did a little bit of explaining as to WHY I’m so adamant in my evaluations. Plus, it might convince you that I’m not just pulling my opinions directly from my behind without a slight bit of filtering…

If there’s one thing that my considerable training on human traits and leadership has taught me, it’s that everyone has strengths. And, when those strengths are matched to the job right, it can be dynamic. and when they aren’t, it can be disastrous. To use one particular idea, there are four basic personality types. Some are thinkers, some are doers, some are collaborators, etc. you get the idea. Well, I’ve been thoroughly tested, and I am a doer. I’m a guy who specializes in crisis management, and immediate decision-making. *I* am better at evaluating plays and playcalling than Joker. That’s right. I said it. I DO know football, maybe not as much as some, but I know the game like it was my wife. I can look at a defense, and tell you what a good play might be in seconds. I can also tell you what a bad play might be at the same time. I say might, because sometimes, even the wrong play can be made good with good playmakers.
Now, I can do that and do it well. What I do NOT do well, is interpersonal management. I’m not someone who has the inspirational personality. I come off as direct, and abrasive, even when I don’t mean to. IT’s the way I’m wired. But, in a crisis, people are glad I’m around because I can make immediate decisions to manage the problem. But, this isn’t about me, it’s about Joker…

Joker IS NOT like me. Joker is not a crisis manager, and that’s what makes him a generally poor playcaller. He is however, a good leader. He can get the most out of people because he can manage them and their feelings. He comes across as a family member, not a boss. And that’s why I think he’ll make a good head coach.

Now, let me give you an example that should clarify why I believe you need doers as coordinators, and leaders as HCs. Florida State. Think about Florida State. Imagine Bobby on the sideline, or after the game. Remember the way he was? A salesman. The guy could sit down with anybody and make them comfortable. Make them believe him. You agree?

Now, think behind Bobby. Think Mickey Andrews. What did he look like during a game? Chewing the gum rapidly. Barking out orders. Never still always moving. He’s a kinesthetic doer. Are you starting to see what I’m getting at? They were perfect for each other and the team. It was the perfect fit.
Now, this is not to say that a doer can’t make a good coach (Urban Meyer) or that they WILL make a good coach (Charlie Weiss), but the best programs tend to have AT LEAST doers as head men or coordinators (Saban), or they have a leadership guy (Brooks) in charge that gets everyone to work well together.

BUT when teams inevitably go wrong is when they DON’T have a doer as a coordinator/playcaller. This has been the Achilles heel of UK for years now. Both Phillips and Brown are not critical thinkers. They are not crisis managers. They have milder personalities and are more interpersonal oriented. This leads to conservative decisions and playcalling. It just does.
UK needs to have DOERS as it’s coordinators. On both offense and defense, you have to have guys who think quickly, can adjust on the fly, and will gamble as often as they can, as opposed to as little as they can. Not that you need to onside kick it at the Swamp after you just scored, but things like CORNER BLITZES. 1st down hitch and go’s for the TD. Those type of things.

Joker is a collaborating type guy. He’s a guy who can bring people together and make them like him. Which is a great thing for leadership, but not for playcalling. In playcalling, you need guys who flourish under pressure. Like pit bulls and pain, they just wag their tail faster when the pressure increases. That’s what UK needs.
Sanders will be that guy, I think. (hope) His personality is more suited to the bang bang, and when he’s in the box making the calls, he’ll be better at making adjustments. I almost guarantee it.

Now, after that long walk in some minor psychology, back to the point. I’m behind Joker, and think he will do well. But, I can almost guarantee you that, unless he goes and gets a doer for his defense, he’s never going to get over the big hump. I still think he’ll be successful, maybe get an 8 win season here or there, but he’s never gonna challenge for the SEC, U-N-L-E-S-S…. Brown makes a dramatic change in his personality/philosophy and starts being a doer. To be frank, that’s just not likely.

Joker should be fine, and may be great. But, he’s gonna have to look past his feelings when it comes to Brown, IMNSHO, and realize that Brown is not a compliment for him. He needs a guy like Chuck Smith as Def Coordinator. Chuck is a doer. He’s a run the sidelines, screaming out stuff coach.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, even if you disagree.

Where to begin?

This will be multiple thoughts. No high horse. As few “I told you so as possible” and will surely echo some of the sentiments and thoughts that my esteemed friends here on this board have already voiced.

Let’s start with talent. At no time, and in no way, did any Kentucky fan I know of suggest that UK had more talent than Florida. I, and others, asserted that we had more talent at our wide receiver positions, and that was, and is, true. However, talent had little to do with what happened on the 26th.

Coaching: As bad as I have ever seen it. To be blunt, because it’s so fresh, I’m wont to call it the worst I’ve seen, but the truth is I’ve seen this program get humiliated so many times in the last 15 years that common sense tells me this can’t be any worse than those many others.

Joker Phillips: You are, without doubt, the worst play caller in the SEC. I’ve said it for years. The simple fact is that the shining moments in your career have come only because you had NFL quality players who could throw, catch, and run their way out of your philosophy. Sure, sure, some will say that’s obvious, but it really isn’t. You call games with three degrees of incompetence that I am going to eloquently describe, so that readers can fully understand why my label is fairly placed.

Your first level of incompetence begins with your own personnel. Regardless of the lack of ability of your own personnel, nor where the better strengths of your team lie, you want and impose a ‘throw first’ philosophy that consistently leaves your team in long yardage situations. You have had one, exactly ONE quarterback in your entire coaching experience who was good enough to make some of the toughest throws, a guy who holds the record for throws without an interception, and yet you somehow think that YOUR genius is what made that happen. That somehow, if you keep calling the plays that that ONE guy could perform, they will be performed by any other player you put in that position. As Ron White famously said, “You can’t fix stupid”. You have a weak and inexperienced Receiver corps. You have a Quarterback who has never been, and will likely never be, a game winner. You admit your tight ends aren’t as productive. Then, you have the fastest running backs that UK has ever had in it’s history. With all that, you still don’t run. You have DECADES of SEC and NCAA football statistics that clearly show that the team with the better running game wins over %70 of games, and yet you still think throw first.

Perhaps you will one day be proved to be genius in your play calling, but I somehow deeply suspect that that day will come when a player appears who is NFL caliber, and not because your philosophy or insights to the game sharpen. And, I suspect that day will fade just as quickly when the next guy, who likely will not be as gifted, takes over.

YOU should know your team better than anyone else. YOU should be able to decipher where your strengths lie. My only question now is, when you are head coach, and a new OC takes over, will you be able to tolerate the fact that he will almost certainly be a a more savvy, and intelligent coach than you are? Will you be able to let him shine to the harassment of your own tenure?

Your second level of incompetence is in knowing the fundamentals of football. You simply have displayed an indifference to the fundamentals of winning football. It does not, will not, can not, be any simpler than this: Teams that run the ball win more games than those that don’t. It’s been true for more years than all the coaching staff on the side line have been alive, combined. It can only be willful spite that could describe the manner with which you seem to think that these rules will suddenly be bent and rewritten because of your dedication to a pro style offense, that hasn’t produced a single .500 or better conference record in your tenure.

Your play calling consistently leaves this team in third and long situations that expose our passers to blitz packages that, when coupled with the fact that we already need 7+ yards to continue a drive, make it a continual uphill battle four our teams to have to perform individual feats of athleticism to succeed. All of this when better play calling could simplify the needed play, and reduce pressure, allow for possible running solutions, and simply generally increase our chances for success.

The Last area of coaching that you display incompetence in, may be the worst. You have no idea of the strategy to defeat an opponent. Last night was as clear cut an example of that, as ever could be. To use a well understood analogy, it’s a lot like a pressing basketball team. When you KNOW you are playing a pressing team, the last thing you should do, when you KNOW their talents in the open floor exceed your own, is play THEIR game with them. To his credit, this is why Tubby Smith consistently played the Pitino teams closer than even his talent should have allowed. He reduced possessions. Used the shot clock. Made you defend. It would be very fair to describe this Florida Football team to that 96 UK team. And you came out and tried to run with that team. You took quick shots. You let your worst players take any shot that looked open. You lost, as predictably as rain in the rain forest. And, to make matters worse, you even had a complete scout film of how to affect the game, from LAME KIFFIN. Think about this Joker, Kiffin showed more intelligence and tactical ability in his third game at UT than you did, with all your experience at UK (most of it bad, that you fail to learn from).

AND, I’d like to take this time to exonerate Rich Brooks, a bit. I don’t know if any of you folks caught this in the game, there was a video capture of Rich on the sidelines, and he and Joker were having an exchange. I hope someone can pull this up, but I am all most certain, I could CLEARLY read Rich’s lips as he appeared to say, “Run the football. Get first downs!” If someone TVoed or DVRed this, it was in the third Quarter. Immediately, the camera cut to the shot of Joker in the booth, and he replied with a word that starts with “F and then the words “Run” or “Running it” No imagination, here folks. I’m serious. If ANYONE can pull this up, it’s clearly an exchange between coaches. I’m a lot more certain about what Rich said. It was clear, but take a good look at what Joker said immediately and tell me what you think.

Fidler leads Blue Team to Win over White….28-23

Randall Cobb caught four passes for 70 yards, and his 26-yard TD reception on the game’s first drive, set the tone for the Blue team, which held off the White 28-23 at Commonwealth Stadium. “If that guy is on the bus you’ve got a chance,” UK offensive head coach Joker Phillips said.

The UK staff has been disappointed that none of the young receivers have stepped up this spring, but a “walk on” made the most significant contributions for a squad that has been thin on kids who can catch a football.

Nick Melillo, made a name for himself yesterday…The 6’2”, 215 lb, former Trinity star, caught 4 passes, 2 of which went for touchdowns, to help keep the game close. Rich Brooks was effusive in singing his praises, “One guy stepped up from nowhere and made some plays and that was Melillo, so guess what, he’s going to move ahead of some scholarship players right now. He deserves a look and deserves to move up the depth chart.”

Mike Hartline had a sub-par performance missing on 8 of his first 9 passes, but in all fairness, the Blue Team was stacked with such defenders as Jeremy Jarmon, Trevard Lindley, Micah Johnson, and Danny Trevathan, and the offense had Cobb. Between missing the long passes, and seeing the short ones dropped by the receivers, Mike had a difficult day with his playmaking, even though he would wind up with superior numbers on paper to Fidler…

Will Fidler, the oft forgotten backup to Hartline/Cobb, had his best day ever as a wildcat, leading the Blue team on a 12 play 93 yard scoring drive on the Blue’s first possession, that set the tone of the game, and contrasted with the difficulties that Hartline was having completing a pass early on, even though Fidler competed only 4 more passes the rest of the way.

Brooks reportedly had a meeting with the Newton family this weekend, whose son, Morgan, is one of two high profile QB’s recruits the cats have signed for the fall. Brooks is said to have stated: “GET READY” when speaking to Morgan and his dad, which indicates that Rich has no problem throwing the freshman signal caller into the thick of the QB race.

Brooks told the Newtons that Morgan absolutely had a chance to be the starter in the fall.

PLAYER STATISTICS:
RUSHING
White – A. Smith, 18-67; Conner, 10-33; Bowland, 1-4; McCaskill, 1-minus-11
Blue – Allen, 16-96; C. Williams, 7-56, TD; Cobb, 1-6

PASSING
White – Hartline: 17-33, 208 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Blue – Fidler: 10-24, 110 yards, 2 TD, INT

RECEIVING
White – Melillo, 4-43, 2 TD; A. Smith, 3-54; Drake, 3-22; Bowland, 2-17; McCaskill, 2-17; Conner, 1-29; Adams, 1-18; Boyd, 1 -8
Blue – Cobb, 4-70, TD; Grinter, 2-26; Roark, 1-9, TD; Bogue, 1-7; Allen, 1-0; C. Williams, 1-minus-2