Assignment: Define Success.

SUCCESS:
1. the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.
2. the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.
3. a successful performance or achievement: The play was an instant success.
4. a person or thing that is successful

Not to be confused w/Expectations.
Expectations:
1. the act or the state of expecting: to wait in expectation.
2. the act or state of looking forward or anticipating.
3. an expectant mental attitude: a high pitch of expectation.
4. something expected; a thing looked forward to.
5. Often, expectations. a prospect of future good or profit: to have great expectations.
6. the degree of probability that something will occur: There is little expectation that he will come.

Clearly, expectations can be weaved right into the oh so tempting but deadly web of Hope.

We all know what the Media thinks– we define Success only in  terms of a National Championship. WRONG! Most of those analysts, guru’s & know it all’s must have been sleepin through English Class & have chosen to take the easy route by labeling & writing w/o all the facts.
Myth:
KY FANS DEFINE SUCCESS as winning a National Title every single season.
Fact: We measure our SUCCESS  on how we compete every season. Here in lay’s the expectation….. for, our definition of compete is a lot of different than — oh let’s say Towson’s. You know what I mean & if I haft to explain well… Go Copy off Hubert Davis when you take your quiz.

So exactly what would a Successful Season entail for the Mega-Talented Cats. A smart Cat knows there are no WRONG ANSWERS to that question but at the same time it delivers a lot of debate & when it’s at its best is HEATED– which is one of the things that makes us HATED BY MANY, REVERED BY THE KNOWLEDGEABLE & ADMIRED BY MOST.
So….. Here is what I’m grading on for a SUCCESSFUL SEASON.
1st off: We’re on our way, the effort is showing great promise of doing exactly what a TOP 10 team is supposed to do—- OBLITERATE CUPCAKES! These games are nothin but glorified practices and as we learn, we are also forcing our opponents to STAND UP & RECOGNIZE. I HEAR THUNDER!!! — now We’ll Wait for Late January to bring the Lightning that will announce the coming Storm that will REIGN down through March! Success always has a beginning….
2. Carolina goes down & we beat them to 2000….. No fret Cats— this will be a WAR, but I’m tellin you right here, right now, tackling them early on & in RUPP— this is the YEAR & WE WILL PREVAIL!
3. Which brings me to UofJail.  This almost by itself has the power to make or break a SUCCESSFUL SEASON. As bad as I hate to admit that, it’s true.
W/that said— YES LOSERVILLE MUST BE BEAT!! BADLY—is most preferred. (:
4. You know,  it does NO justice for the SEC  Conference (as a whole) when KY is down. Like it or not, our conference relies on us to be BIGGER THAN LIFE & WIN, WIN BIG. Let’s face it when the Media looks to the SEC, all eyes are on Lexington.
It’s time to TAKE BACK OUR KINGDOM!!
SEC outright CHAMPIONSHIP & A solid SEC TOURNAMENT RUN is a MUST.
5. Sweet 16 in the Dance. (Remember this is SUCCESS, not EXPECTATIONS)
I really don’t think that’s asking a whole lot but at the same time I challenge them to meet and/or exceed these goals. Rupp forbid, if it doesn’t happen…. Well, I STILL LOVE MY CATS & ALWAYS WILL.
One thing you can rest assure— WE WILL COMPETE & IT WILL BE FUN! Really, you can’t ask for much more– but this isn’t Towson now is it?! (: (Sorry Towson, you’re my whippin boy this week— deal!)

Let’s tap “DANCE” right into that tempting web of Hope & Expectations for a spell.
I EXPECT TO RULE THE SEC
I EXPECT TO GET NO LESS THAN A 3 SEED IN THE DANCE
I EXPECT A FINAL FOUR APPEARANCE.
I HOPE & PRAY FOR A SHOT AT THE NATIONAL TITLE.
Hey, the Yankees just broke in their NEW HOME under a NEW KING—- WHY CAN’T WE TAKE BACK OUR HOME & TITLE W/THE NEW KING OF THE BLUEGRASS.

There’s a big difference between those 2 isn’t there. Funny thing is… the Media discredits us by using our hopes against us which blinds college bb to the greatest gift KY FANS offer— KNOWLEDGE of the game.

Things to watch for this season:
Cal weaving his magic in getting our Freshman to gel w/our veterans. This is not going to be an easy spell to cast. THERE IS NO I in TEAM & making KIDS not only comprehend that BUT BELIEVE IN IT is a CHALLENGE. If this doesn’t happen, we’ll never see what this team is truly capable of… Oh sure, it would probably be a successful season but just THINK OF THE POTENTIAL of this team as 1—– LOL Skeery HUH! (:
Patterson learning his new position & getting more touches on the ball. This will come w/time, I’m sure.
Wall & Bledsoe rippin defenses to shreds! YIKES! Dare I say we possibly have the BEST backcourt in the nation…. I’m a watchin for it, how bout you?!
Witnessing this team of Boys become MEN on the Court!

Agree or not: these are my standards & I’m stickin to em…. course I’ve been known to grade on the “Billy Curve.”
Now it’s your turn!
Assignment Define Success. No copying! I’m watching you! You have 1 week so get on it!
LUVTHOSECALICATS!
Ms.Cats~

Is Hartline the Next Woodson?

Most everyone, including me, has been looking at Hartline this year with starry eyes and optimism.  Can he be the next Woodson?  Some say the comparison is skewed and it might well be.  Maybe not for the reasons they think it, but it still might be skewed.  Some say that Woodson’s Sophomore year was tougher than Hartline’s.  I am gonna go out on a limb and disagree.  On any given Saturday, any team can play well above their normal ability just like they can play well below their normal ability.  Just ask LSU on the night that UK (Woodson) stopped them in overtime. 

And even if he does well and UK wins games they are not “suppose to”, it still doesn’t mean Hartline has become the next Woodson.  Hartline will have some advantages Woodson did not.  Let’s face it, the defense was a major weakness in Woodson’s final two years.  Hartline’s offensive line will be much improved over either of Woodson’s.  Woodson did have two future pros at receiver but who is to say that UK doesn’t have the same thing this year?  On paper this year’s Cats, over all is simply a better team.  But the games are not played on paper. 

Woodson had his faults just like Hartline.  He was, and probably still is, notorious for going to one too many reads.  He was always good for at least a few big loses of yardage a game.  But he did have some things Hartline has not shown that will flat out win you games.  Time and time again in the crunch, you knew Woodson would make a play and he rarely let us down.  He also had one of the best touches down field I have seen at UK, and that includes Couch.  For me, a comparison to Woodson would be justified if he can continue doing the things he did well last year, was able to instill that confidence in the clutch, and was able to throw down field half as good as Woodson. 

I’m at a point where I’m with coach Brooks.  I’m tired of talking about it, let’s just play the games and see!

The Hartline Evolution

Or maybe that title should read revolution instead?  I can not remember a player moving so far on the popularity scale in the off season than that of Mike Hartline.  I am actually very happy for the kid.  I thought he took way too much heat last year.  He can probably thank Woodson, a lot.  After all, EVERYONE is looking at the changes Woodson made between his Sophomore and Jr years when they look at Hartline today.  He can thank Brooks who has gone to great lengths to keep the positive vibes flowing where his starting QB is concerned.  Brooks usually shoots it straight and there is absolutely no player that is going to please him every day in fall camp.  Yet Brooks has been very careful to avoid any critical remarks and I am sure I know why.  He has two very gifted players that simply are not ready and rightfully so.  He doesn’t need another season where the fans are ready to throw Hartline under the bus on the first dropped pass.  The need to throw Cobb in the mix last year underscores the dire need UK had at QB much more than Cobb’s ability to run an SEC offense.  That isn’t a knock on his talent by any means.  The kid is extremely special.  But the demands of running a pro style offense in college requires experience and repetitions far and away above what would be possible with an incoming true freshman.  And you simply do not tell the other 80 something players that you are going to change your system for a freshman.  Will Fidler was suppose to be ready to compete last year but several factors like shoulder surgery and an off the field situation set him back.   
 So how much further along will Hartline be when he takes the opening snap?  Its hard to say at this point but my guess will be that he hasn’t come that far at all.   He may be a little stronger, a little smarter and a little more accurate.  But I thought last year that all he needed was to be a little stronger, a little smarter and a little more accurate.  He was already quite smart and managed the game much better than any other QB in recent history.  The smarter part would be dealing with the other players and the media.  He had a decent arm and was able to thrown the out pattern.  He had major issues with his release point when trying to throw the same distance down the field so he would have done himself a major favor by working on his down field form.  He was actually quite accurate on his mid range passes.  His biggest issue last year was dropped passes.  Passes that should have been caught.  Passes to places that receivers should have been at but were not.  It could very well be that the biggest part of the Mike Hartline evolution could come in the form of receivers. 

While I do think Brooks may be holding up a tad when talking Hartline, I am quite certain that he is much more pleased with the offense at this point than he was last year.  The line is more solid, the runners are gifted, the receivers are producing and the QB position is set.  Now all they have to do is show us in a game.

The Tomato Man

In a time when UK coaches and ex coaches seem to be making the National news on a daily basis, there is one set of coaches we hardly hear about.  And trust me; making the National news is usually not a good thing.  We hear about the vacated final fours, the wild women, the fruity golf outings at 2 am, but we just don’t hear anything at all about the tomato man.

If you get Coach Brooks’ tweets, and I don’t but I have seen a few, you know that his off season was spent raising some tomatoes.  I have no clue what Joker, and the rest of the staff has been up to, and in this day and age, no news is great news.  Of all the coaches in modern day UK history, no coach has been hated from the start for no good reason any more than Brooks.  And the really sad part is he heard every word of it.  And the saddest part is he deserved none of it.  At this point I must confess that I was either close to the front of the pack or leading the way, which is a mistake I will not make again.

So what does a man do when he has the moral fiber of a Coach Brooks in this situation?  Something much bigger than me; this I know for sure.  He puts his head down and plows.  He plants his tomatoes as seeds and he brings them up as best as he can.  The ground isn’t the best, but he adds as much nutrients as he can and he protects his young plants.  He gets the help he needs from a solid group of assistants and finds a way to make them feel like his tomato field is their own.  Pretty soon, his tomato field is a family of stronger and stronger plants.  He doesn’t cut corners and he doesn’t cheat.  And if things do not go well, he doesn’t twist them or turn them into something they are not.  He takes a few plants that no one wanted and turns them into some of the best there is. And because of this, the new plants he brings in each year are better than the year before. Every year his little tomato field gets a little bigger and better. 

Pretty soon Coach Brooks will be able to work in his little home garden all he wants.  And when he does, he will be able to look back at an incredible job well done, all at a place that didn’t want him and frankly didn’t deserve him.

We will only have coach Brooks around for a very short time.  In that time, we should all make sure to pass along how much we love him and the job he has done.  After all, his garden is our garden.

How can the Wildcats beat the mighty Gators?

I know that there’s no way this can happen. I know there has been this much agreement as to a number one team in AP history. I know the Gators have returning a fully stocked defense. I know this. Yet, I also know that some teams will play this team close. Likely, ONE team will beat this team. Teams will score touchdowns. Teams will move the ball. Teams WILL deny the Gators the endzone, sometimes. So how does a team like Kentucky do it?

Well, that’s what I’m here for.

The biggest worry we have to take into consideration is gonna be the kicking game. From all indications, the kickoffs have been inconsistent in their depth. Combine that with Florida’s speed and you have the makings for a LONG day full of short series on defense. No coaching ideas I can offer here. You either can get the ball deep enough or high enough to get the stop or you can’t. My suggestion to the coaches would be to consider free kicking the ball. The punters seem to be able to get over 40 on most every kick, and you get the hang time. Chances are you can force a fair catch on the 30 to 35 yard line that would be better than letting them catch it on the run at the 15-20. Just a thought.

So, let’s start where we likely will, no matter what. Defense. Opening thought. Team is full of energy. Snapping at the leash. You’ve got better DBs than they have receivers. Start the day with a blitz. Doesn’t have to be a sell out. And, I certainly wouldn’t advertise it. But send one side and Micah. Objective: Get into the backfield early. Even if they hand the ball to a back, get in there early. If they don’t; if Tim keeps the ball for a play action, then hallelujah. Hit HIM! Throw or no throw. Get the hit, and set the tone. Chop the throwing arm if you can get there early. Remember. You’re not trying to win the game in one play. You’re trying to make this guy thinking about himself, not the play, late in the game.

Obviously, Florida has a lot of weapons. And, they have their best play maker handling the ball. But, Tim Tebow is human. He can be caught up in a number of things. 1st: You have to attack HIM for the game. Not waste time with assignment here or there, or this or that. Yes, you need to honor the assignments you have, but when all esle fails go hit Tim Tebow. Have somebody, as often as you can, not spying on him, but running toward him. And I don’t mean the DT and DE who are pushing every play. I mean a LB. A safety. A corner. MLB. MLB again. Safety. You’re gonna have to mix coverages and you’re gonna have to play up and back with your spacing, but this will be effective. You run your DBs up to play press or to blitz, then you back them up and leave the safety in. The snap of the ball he lunges then falls back into a zone about 8 yards off the ball to the slot side. Instead, your MLB some hard on a blitz to the opposite side of the DT the safety lunged to and the press is on. Tim is good enough to beat you. Yes. He’s good enough to make tough throws. But, NOW, at least, YOU are deciding how long he has to do it, and what routes he’ll have time to see develop before he gets rid of it.

Offensively (which I’ll get to ) I’d all but guarantee screens will be a waste of time. Screens just aren’t that effective outside of high school. Florida’s defense is gonna be too experienced. I think UK will call a screen. Probably a couple, and I’ll go on record telling those coaches ahead of time that they will be terrible plays and that the Gators will smell everyone of them out and be all over them. Cut and paste it. The screen is great if you catch a blitz, or if the other team is slow. But Florida’s DT’s will smell it out and be in the middle of it.
About the only way I’d call a screen is if I was running double screens and had a QB who could fake to the heavy screen a throw to the weak one. And even THEN that’s not a good call.

Trick plays are for tricks. I don’t mind the occasionally punt fake, or field goal fake, but most everything else is just too chancy. If we’re in third and short (3yds or less) Florida will be bringing heat. And they will have some of the, if not THE, fastest linebackers we’ll see. They will be in the backfield and trickery will likely mean a fumble or sack.

Florida will be a game where the judicious use of the tight end will be key. Like I’ve described MANY times, there is little defense for having the TE come off the ball, go 5-7 yds, turn and sit. All the QB has to do is burn a shot right to the side opposite the defender and then they guy just has to catch it and fall.

The Wildcat package will be neat, but I’m not sure how much. Against a deep and experienced front seven, some times you just need to be able to reduce the variables, put helmet on helmet and just get three yards between the tackles. It’s not flashy, and it won’t make we the fans go oooohhh. But, gets the ball moving, keeps the defense honest, and gives the defense some rest. Can’t do it every play, but we also can’t consistently scheme up wildcat option draw passes. And, yes, we do have the lineman and full back to get yardage up the middle. The one thing UK CANNOT DO (are you listening Randy) is run hope plays. We need to run consistent plays. If you are in 2nd and 7 and you can either run it up the gut for three yards, try a screen (and we all know how badly those can go), or runa post pattern, TAKE THE THREE YARD RUN. Get it to fourth and four. Extend the defenses time on the field and give yourself options. Now you only ned four yards, but you can go as deep as you want. You can expect a blitz, and run a slant, a draw, or a screen (still, I think, not a good call against florida’s speed) You can hit the TE short. And, depending on field positions, if you’re say… inside their 45, you call a hope play and leave yourself the option of faking the punt because you ONLY need four yards, not 7.

A big weapon offensively for us, will be the big weapon we’ve all known about from Florida. You set up in a shotgun formation with either Hartline (who runs fairly well) Cobb, or Newton and spread the field. On the snap the QB just runs a BQ draw and tries to get three or four yards without fumbling. This can be a cheap, easy, play, and the formation is such a problem. run it with Cobb and you’ve got a real passer, who’s a better runner, with a speed back. Call this play out of no huddles and it drives defenses crazy.

My next bit of advice is for Steve Brown.

Umm.. blitz. Hit Tim Tebow early in the game. hit him late in the game. Hit him when it’s a draw play. hit him when it’s a trap. Okay,.. okay. Clearly we can’t hit the guy with no reason, but you get my point. I strongly encourage you, Steve, to look at some of the blitzes that Joe Lee Dunn used to come up with as Miss. St. Safeties, covers, every LB, one LB, Middle and weak LB, Zone blitz. LBs and no ends. You are going to have to call a game that PREVENTS Florida from being able to assume anything.

As a defensive coach, You cannot play a veteran team by doing what they’ve seen time and time again. You have to create mismatches. you have to limit Tebow’s time to make reads. You have to shorten their passing game by making Tebow protect himself from hits.

Here’s another HUGE tip from the guru. During pass rush situations, You need to train your defensive lineman to rush for two seconds. TWO SECONDS. In TWO SECONDS if your defensive lineman doesn’t have the advantage against the offense, if they aren’t in a seam heading for the QB, or if they are running straight into a double team, they need to back up, get their hands up and jump into passes. It’s a waste of energy for a d-lineman continue to struggle for another second and a half to two seconds just to have the play go by them, anyway. I know many coaches teach this. I KNOW it. But, I still see teams that are getting out there and not doing it.

No More White For Rick

The sporting news is full of the Pitino-Sypher encounter. Encounter meaning he nailed her in a frigging restaurant probably next to the meat grinder in the kitchen. Heres a few of the things being said.

http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2009/08/12/the-pitino-affair-sex-in-a-restaurant-a-job-in-jeopardy/
Think of it this way: The enthusiasm for and scrutiny of basketball in Kentucky can be likened to the fervor for football in Alabama. And wasn’t Mike Price dumped as head coach by the Crimson Tide before coaching a game after reports surfaced that he’d had sex with a stripper in Pensacola, Fla.?

Price denies to this day such an encounter took place. (He settled a lawsuit with Sports Illustrated, which had reported the alleged assignation, out of court.) Pitino has admitted to having sex with Sypher and giving her $3,000. (Though his lawyer claims the money was for her to buy health insurance, not to have an abortion.)

http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/12/whats-next-for-rick-pitino/
There aren’t a lot of historical touchstones here, especially for college. The Patriots never considered firing Bill Belichick when his name popped up in as the “other man” in a bitter New Jersey divorce case.

http://www.aseaofblue.com/2009/8/12/986230/where-have-you-gone-joe-dimaggio
Instead of looking for heroes on television or in arenas, we should be looking for heroes in our everyday lives. Because our everyday lives are filled with people we love, and who love us. Our everyday lives are filled with people who love us in spite of our quirks and short-comings; who love us even when we are unlovable. The father who plays catch with his son, the mother who teaches her daughter the art of cooking, the grandfather who takes his grandchildren fishing, the grandmother who reads tales of dogs and cats to her grandkids. These are the true heroes. Not some ballplayer who can hit better than most, or a coach who wins more often than not.

http://www.examiner.com/x-2108-Love-and-Marriage-Examiner~y2009m8d12-Joanne-Pitino-the-sad-case-of-adultery-and-abortion
We are hearing words of sympathy for Coach Pitino, his wife, Joanne, and his family. And we should. But our hearts must ache for Joanne Pitino who joins the ranks of wives and mothers tarnished by adultery.

The story of adultery is becoming all too common — an indiscreet move on the part of their husbands’ leaves the families vulnerable. In the world of politics it was Elizabeth Edwards and more recently Jenny Sanford. Love and marriage gone awry.

http://www.east-coast-bias.com/2009/08/extortion-is-easier-than-being-groupie.html
This is getting ridiculous. What ever happened to the good old days when a groupie would carry Shawn Kemp’s Travis Henry’s the father’s child to term and THEN extort child support from him? Rape is a serious crime and I try not to base any judgments based on pieces of news reports, but between Pitino and Roethlisberger, this is getting ridiculous.

http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/hawk-umentary/2009/aug/12/gimme-shelter/
In case no one noticed. Rick Pitino is Slick, not Bill Clinton smooth, but incredibly slippery nonetheless.

Married man + High Stress Job + Temptation = No moral Backbone.

The comments that are being posted on blogs put all this mainstream reporting to shame. Some of them deserve a Nobel Prize for creative writing.

“Kentucky’s a part of the country where this is a BIG deal to many people”
Easy, chief, the dude coaches in Louisville, not Pulaski County.
I do suppose this means that Pitino can’t wear white anymore.

Papal agenda, Wednesday, April 12, 2009:
1. Excommunicate Richard Pitino (multiple infractions of conduct clause)
2. Place Karen Sypher on 15-year penance list (whore)
3. Clarify papal decree on restaurant floor sex
4. Tune in to the Dan Patrick Show

Can anyone say “….and providing the commentary for tonight’s matchup here on TNT between the Warriors and the Heat, Coach Rick Pitino!”

So, Marvin Stone transfered before this? Man, the evil this man did during the 2003 era is off the charts…who knows what else this man has done?!

I know that Fr. Bradley pays for hotel rooms for players…I wonder what else is hidden under Rick’s rocks???

Rupp Arena should take the seats behind the other goal and call it the “Erection Zone” and have Karen Sypher present in that area during the UK/Loserville game.

An ode to Pitiner

When he was coach at Kentucky
He was king of the world
His adultery much more secretive
With much hotter girls
His teams were set for Glory
As coach rebuilt the team
Destined to be on top forever
At least that’s how it seemed
Then he left for Boston
He had something else to prove
Once he got to beantown
Pitino lost his grove
The girls were not quite as hot
His teams just could not play
He traded in Ashley Judd
For his ho of the day
So as the controversy thickens
And Vinnie is still on the floor
Will U of L be strong
Or will Pitino get the door
Once a king of the bluegrass
Know known as Richard Pitiner
The bluegrass waits for an answer
From the man who plays too much with his Weiner.

Regarding Pitino, he once again didn’t cover the one inbounding the ball…so to speak.

Two lessons to be learned in Rick Pitino situation: Wrap it up and Take it to go.

Quick — the restaurant table ricky had sex is now up for auction on ebay —— Word is out that the U of L alumni association is pooling their funds in an attempt to purchase the table and have it mounted under the speakers at freedom hall.

Sypher or a stripper I got to think about this for a while. I thought about this for a while and said self can I have both. Self answered nope so I take the stripper. Coaching in El Paso can’t be that bad can it.

More UK thoughts,… from yours truly

1st: Randy Sanders will be calling the plays, NOT Joker. Can’t be overstated. This will make a huge difference.

2nd: The more I think about it, the more I find myself overlooking the UK UL game. My mind has it penciled in as a win. Most of the fans I talk to are also just as dismissive. Well, let me show some respect and offer the thought that, if UK isn’t ready to play against UL, they have a chance of starting 0-3. So, with that thought in mind, let me focus my energy (and somehow transfer that to the team) on UL, and concentrate on whipping our in state rival to start the season. Let’s don’t give Kragthorpe his signature win to prove he belongs. Let’s hit em mouth from the jump, and practice winning against them. GO CATS!!!

3rd: I have stated many times that UK HAS to beat Alabama to get off to the 2-1 start. But,… there’s that part of my mind that says…. Florida may be ripe for the picking. I know it’s crazy. I know it’s hypocrisy. I know the media tells us that, on paper, no way UK can beat…. not Florida, but Tim Tebow. I just get that feeling. Maybe it’s the optimist. Maybe it’s the critic. This Florida team should be good. But, let’s not kid ourselves, or let the what-can-you-sell-for-me-now media kid us either. Florida is beatable. And, I can’t think of a more hostile, hungry crowd, PARTICULARLY after beating an LSU that won the title with a two loss season, than these fans at commonwealth. I think it will be emotional. I think this team will play harder than any team we’ve seen in over twenty years.

So, the ole Katmen is gonna lay it out now. If UK comes into that game 2-0, they will beat Florida. Commonwealth will be so loud and packed with fans that I think the energy will be palpable. There it is. I throw out the caveat of the 2-0 and because football is a game of momentum, and energy. An upset loss to Loserville, or a letdown against Alabama will make room for doubt, and deflate fans. BUT… come in 2-0, and UK will headline the early season by beat Florida.

4th: Folks, I love the SEC. Love it. Admire it. Respect it. But this is the facts. The best conference in college football, THIS year, is the big twelve. AND, the top two teams in the big twelve (OKLAHOMA and Texas) are better than the top two in the SEc. Fact. My early money says, barring critical injury, One of those two teams Will win the national title.

5th: I think the media needs to quit storking its… feathers to Nick Saban and get a reality check. Alabama at #5? Tell you what, if Alabama is in the top ten at the end of the year, I’ll get on this board and call myself stupid. They will be solid, maybe touch good. But, they are an 8 win team at best.

Alabama has got a tougher road than many think, and let me put a little bug in some people’s ears. Like it or not, Bobby Petrino can coach. He’s dirty. he stinks. But, he gets talent on the roster and gets it to perform on the field about as good as some of the best that are in the game. My early predictions are Alabama losing to Va Tech and Arkansas.

A SEASON ON THE BRINK FROM INSIDE THE HUDDLE PT 2

Part 2 in a series with a first hand view from inside the huddle on the1955 football team that played under head coach Blanton Collier in his second year at Ky.

The 55 team did not have a “special teams coach” as such, several coaches coached the various special teams. We had kick off and punt teams usually the same team unless some one was injured. We had return teams for both kick offs and punts the same team. We had a team that ran the field goal and extra points the same team.

This team is vital. I just saw where UK was ranked #8 in special teams last year. I remember when Guy Morris had a very good special teams coach. Very good and “special teams”go together don’t they???

Successful play calling by the quarterback and successful defensive signal calling by the MLB is a very complicated process and goes far beyond just one player getting out in front of 10 of his teammates on the field and through the use of numbers, letters and signs in an effort to get his team mates to join him in a common effort against the day’s opponent on the next play don’t guarantee success. It’s complicated, it involves hours an hours of work by the coaching staff scouting teams, watching game film and preparing a game plan. It involves meetings, practice, game input from the sideline coaches and the coaching box upstairs. It involves the situation at hand, line of scrimmage, first down marker, and down marker as well as present score especially if it’s late in the game. And yes it demands confidence. Confidence that the next play//signal you call will be the right one for the play coming up. All this churns around the play clock and if it’s late in the game the time clock. Tough task and not a lot of players can handle this job.

When Bob Hardy was in at quarterback he called about 60% of the plays on the field, no cheat sheets. The other 40% of the calls came from the sideline by substitutes, timeouts, or signals. With back up qb’s in more calls were made from the sideline.

When Dave Kuhn was in at mlb he called about 60% of the defensive signals from the field I don’t recall any cheat sheets.About 40% came from the sideline by subs, timeouts, and signals–with backups in that number called from the sidelines went up.

The 54 team struggled with the play calling process, a new staff, a new offense and defense and everything was slow which resulted in.

#1–Delay of game penalty’s which killed a lot of drives and ended up losing possession of the ball.
#2–Wasted timeouts to prevent delay of game penalty’s.
#3–Poor selection by the signal caller due to being rushed
#4—More play//signal calling

After the problems in 54 with play and signal calling asst. coach Ermal Allen created a process, a strategy, a system that gave the person on the field and the coaches up stairs a 12 second earlier notice over what they had received in the past. This cut back on

#1–Delay of game penalty’s
#2–wasted use of valuable timeouts to prevent delay of game penalty’s
#3–rushing of the signal callers and coaches upstairs to make calls in order to beat the play clock–
#4—In 55 i don’t know if 2 way radios were around I couldn’t afford one anyway. I don’t exact know when cell phones came in or text messaging and now twitter.

I don’t know what is being used out there today to transmit information quicker and more reliable and after all that’s part of the play and signal calling process to find out what the line of scrimmage is and how much more to go for a first down or td isn’t it??? There has to be a way to give me and my team that 5 second edge on play calling every down.

Take a stop watch when the guy with the ball goes down start the clock, when the ball is marked and the down marker/line of scrimmage stick is moved stop the clock. How much time did you get??? That’s what you’re working with–saving 5 seconds off that dead time is money in the bank–

It worked for us but wasn’t widely known or discussed. Ii don’t think anyone ever picked it up after coach Allen left for the Cowboys. I am not sure what system was used though coach Bradshaw did talk to me once about it but i wasn’t around much in those days.

Play calling today is even far more complicated than it was in 55. The expanded use of the “spread offense” and use of changing defenses to defend them makes it a new crap shoot entirely. Coach Collier brought the Cleveland browns offense to Ky in 54. It was on the edges of the “spread offense” with wide outs and slot backs and splitting the ends out.

Sid Gilman, head coach at Cincinnati had created a offense that later became known as the “west coast offense” and many people have been credited with it’s invention including the Forty Niner’s coach who won a couple of super bowls with Joe Montana using it, but it was Sid Gilman who created it and it was a beginning strain of “the spread offense”.

Successful Juco Class Could be a Key to the Season

This could be the most successful Juco class of football players that UK has had since they have been tapping into the ranks. They are being counted on by many to bolster us on the defensive side of the ball, as well as at the WR spot. Both Chris Matthews and DeQuin Evans are in the Top 20 of all Juco’s and Crawford ranks in the Top 100. Here is a rundown of the kids.

2009- 2-4 Stars From the JUCO RANKS!

Chris Matthews WR 6-5 210 4 STAR ****
Mark Crawford DT 6-1 305 3 STAR ***
DeQuin Evans DE 6-2 275 4 STAR ****

 
Chris Matthews is the highest rated juco signed by UK this year and perhaps ever. He has a measured skill set that exceeds anything we’ve seen in the Juco Ranks for some time. I don’t think it will take a long time for him to develop, since unlike Stevie Johnson, he is not coming into a great receiving corps to start the season.

Has great hands, and just outruns people catching the football. He is going to make the UK QB job much easier. Caught 80 balls last year and is the second rated Juco WR by Rivals, behind Halo Carpenter…., AND, from a raw athletic standpoint…, How many 6’5 210lb receivers will UK have this year who run 4.4 forties?

My hunch is that Matthews locks down one wide spot, and will be very good in short order. Randall Cobb will play the slot, and the other WR spot goes to Lanxter.

We received an interesting quote  from Los Angeles Harbor College Coach Brett Peabody about Chris, “Chris is probably the best junior-college wide receiver in the country,” Peabody said. “He lives up to the saying that ‘big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.’ He can beat you short, he can beat you deep, he can beat you across the middle.”

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Mark Crawford was one of the nation’s top 100 junior college prospects at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College after making 41 tackles and getting 6.5 quarterback sacks last year. He only played two years of high school football in Indianapolis, one reason he redshirted his first year at Coffeyville. Certainly UK is not taking this Juco out of desperation like they were a few years ago when they were coming through the probation.

By all accounts Crawford is looking good and making strides at the DT position: “I am adjusting real well. It is a new experience with coach Petri teaching me how to play better and teaching me stuff I never knew in junior high or high school.”

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 DeQuin Evans: Defensive Ends are sorely needed, a known fact, and “DE”, as I’ll be calling Dequin Evans, needs to hit the ground running. Watch him on film and you see what amounts to a man among boys. Now granted that wasn’t SEC competition, but the film says a lot about what type of player we are getting. Simply stated, I don’t think we have seen a Defensive Juco player who looked any better than DE did on film.

Making up the loss of a Jeremy Jarmon may be a daunting task,  therefore this makes it even more important that someone from our stable of players at the Defensive End position step up and make a big splash there. DE  has all the tools. Evans (6-2, 275) is rated the No. 15 junior college prospect in the nation by Rivals.com, as well as one of our 4 Star athletes. He was a teammate of Chris Matthews. Did I mention he ran a 4.6 forty according to Scout…That is truly smoking for a man his size! GBB!!!

The Wait is Killing Me

The NCAA has got to do something about this wait between basketball ending in April, and football not starting until August.

We basically have to go 4 1/2 months with no UK sports fix. We won’t hire Cal every year, and have a #1 recruiting class to talk about. We may eventually drop as low as 2 or 3.

We won’t always have something to hate the NCAA for. Well we can always find something. Like an illegal dietary supplement sold over the counter. Ironic that he was taking this to lose weight, and the Redskins want him to put on about 20 lbs.

We won’t always have a BCG lawsuit to keep us distracted.

My friends, I am disgusted by the summer sports blackout, and I need for something to happen very soon.

Posted on the forums by ukn96 you can read the whole thing here.

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