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Posted by handycat (Member # 2323) on 09-29-2019, 06:46 AM:

Either we’re back to UK football of old or USC is one of the top 3 teams in the country. That game last night was painful to watch. Kind of sad when your best player is the punter.

Lot of us made predictions on the regular season a while back. I wish to change mine. I think maybe we win a couple of more this year.

We have some pretty good recruits coming in for next year and maybe it’s time to start saying “wait to next year”.

Sorry to sound so negative.

[ 09-29-2019, 07:43 AM: Message edited by: handycat ]

Posted by EnterpriseCat (Member # 2881) on 09-29-2019, 07:32 AM:

I really thought we had a shot at 8 wins, but we’ll be lucky to win 6. We look horrid on both sides of the ball. I hope we don’t lose a lot of recruits because of this embarrassing play.

Posted by PaulCat (Member # 513) on 09-29-2019, 09:19 AM:

The defense is just horrible. Poorest tackling I have ever seen, and I'm a Bengals fan!

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 09-29-2019, 09:36 AM:

I don't want to say "I told you so" but I guess that's where I'm coming from. Watching this team for three straight Saturdays, up close I could see that my worse thoughts were probably going to come true, unless they started looking different. NOT! This team lost so many good players last year and these kids just don't have the same capabilities.....yet. Maybe never. I'll be happy with a 6-6 record as I have predicted and get a bowl game. However, I don't think we will be bowling this year unless we have a lot of luck in the next 7 games.

I have predicted a win against AR but I am doubtful they will keep my 5-0 prediction record clean.

Good luck cats.

Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 09-29-2019, 10:13 AM:

I could not watch the entire game; it was too painful. Like in most sports, we looked bad, but it is a matter of poor execution, not necessarily lack of skill.

(1) Smith needs to sit. For the rest of the season. According to the SEC network guys, he transferred here to begin his quest to become a coach, and I am all in favor of him pursuing that without the distraction of pretending to be an SEC-caliber quarterback.

(2) Our receivers drop way too many passes. Part of that is the touch and timing and accuracy of those passes, but part of that is just them not catching it.

(3) Our offensive line has got to perform. Last year they were beasts, and dominated the line of scrimmage. This year, although expected to be our strongest asset, they cannot protect the quarterback, nor can they open the same kind of holes for Rose and Smoke as they did for Snell. Yeah, yeah, neither are as good as Snell, but they are SEC-caliber running backs. They need more daylight.

(4) WHAT IS UP WITH OUR PLAY CALLING? On third and 2, third and 3, we are usually throwing deep. On third and long, we throw short. With a receiving corps with a bad case of the dropsies, and a QB who can't deliver the ball accurately, why aren't we running the ball 80% of the time?

(5) Our defensive line is good, but sometimes they get doubled and our linebackers/safeties are not able to come up and stuff the run. As a result, teams are just running it between the tackles against us with great success.

(6) And when they do need to pass, our secondary is really, really struggling. When we play zone, a simple pick or a curl-back is usually enough to get 10 yards of space for their receivers. When we play man, it seems far to easy to just throw over the top of our defenders to a streaking receiver.

(7) While our punter is truly excellent, our field-goal kicker is... not.

Play calling, a poor QB, a less-than-stellar offensive line, and receivers who drop the ball all add up the the offensive impotence we have seen the last few games. Throw in a defense that is not playing well, and you get two blowouts.

Honestly, after the Florida game, I was fired up about this team. That is all gone now. Watching MSU thrash us and South Carolina steal our manhood, I am losing my optimism.

But then again, playing on the road in the SEC is crazy difficult, especially for a team with a new QB and lots of newer players stepping into starting roles. Next week is a bye week, and then we get Arkansas at home. If we can reignite the fire, then other than Georgia, the rest of the season looks to be games we might have a shot at winning. As crazy as it sounds, with a new QB, better mental focus, and renewed focus on fundamental execution, this team can still be 8-4. I would not bet on it, but it the pieces can be put back together if we haven't lost our mojo completely.

Posted by handycat (Member # 2323) on 09-29-2019, 10:29 AM:

Tip, you just posted the most encouraging thing in this entire thread and I admit it gives me hope. Next week is a bye week.

Posted by Bama Cat (Member # 153) on 09-29-2019, 10:48 PM:

That it is! Looking forward to it. Then I'll have to go back to Kroger Field and probably suffer some more. At least I know now not to get my hopes up too high. Thank goodness we only have 5 more home games.

Posted by Jarcat (Member # 95) on 09-30-2019, 07:22 AM:

Relax, guys, Big Blue Madness is only 10 days away!

Posted by GA Cat (Member # 642) on 10-02-2019, 03:26 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by Jarcat:
Relax, guys, Big Blue Madness is only 10 days away!

8 days now!

Posted by rlt4uk (Member # 3194) on 10-03-2019, 10:50 PM:

I want to be excited, but it's hard with the product that we've had on the field the past two weeks. If we as fans can see that kovasia Smoke is clearly the best running back we have then why can't the coaches? Give him the majority of the reps.,and play calling has to get better. We run screen plays horrifically. Just a couple of my thoughts.

Posted by m hamilton (Member # 127) on 10-04-2019, 06:14 AM:

I think one of our problems is the fact that we lost a team leader when Wilson went down!

Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 10-09-2019, 01:03 PM:

I'am afraid it's going to take a lot more than a team leader to make this years team competitive in the SEC this year.

[ 10-15-2019, 05:00 PM: Message edited by: catmandoo ]

Posted by EnterpriseCat (Member # 2881) on 10-09-2019, 09:46 PM:

I just read a report by Mark Story (LHL beat writer) that predicts us losing at home to Arkansas by 8 points. Arkansas? Wow, we must really, really stink.