Brooks didn't reverse the UofL series, Kragthorpe reversed the UofL series. Just ask your current defensive coordinator:

 

 

Personally, I think UK should keep Joker. He recruits well. Fans should give him time, this was going to be a down year from any perspective that was being objective with the talent that went out the door last year.

 

Big difference between a "down year" and a team on par with the worst I've watched as a UK fan. But, I can see you wanting Joker to stick around. I wish Kragthorpe was still at U of L. Of course, I'm not as sold on Charlie Strong as most seem to be. We'll see if he can get it done.

The program is lacking energy right now. This train just didn't come off the rails, this has been percolating since the end of last year. I claim ever since Joker passed on 4th and 2 in UT territory with game in the balance he lost a lot of fans in thinking he could make the big call.

 

I thought Joker did a very good job as play caller when Woodson was the QB. It's weird, because he seemed to regress in that area. If you want to go back further, nothing will ever explain the inexplicable decision to take Cobb off the field after he had driven the offense inside the opponents 10.

I'm starting to think Joker just doesn't have the passion and energy to be a head coach. As terrible as the team is, he only ever looks mildly irritated. How do you expect the team to play their hearts out if Joker isn't all that fired up. I'm not saying he doesn't care, just that maybe his personality is too subdued.

 

I love going to the games. I have been attending since the early 90s. I watch the game on the field as well as the game on the sidelines. I have seen:

1. Rich Brooks go after Mike Archer when his defense could not stop Louisiana -Monroe (I think)

2. Steve Spurrier get in coaches and players faces for screw ups

3. Rich Brooks chase down one of his kickers for missing a punt BAD. The kicker tried to get lost in the team, but Brooks still found him.

4. I got so I could find Mumme and determine whether it was going to be a punt or a fake just by watching him.

And all the other antics that coaches do when players miss passes, blocks, tackles, etc. The coaches always let the players know about the screw up. I have yet to see Joker get into anyone. Twice against Florida, Newton and his receiver were definitely on two different pages. No emotion at all from Joker. Is he scared he is going to hurt a players feelings and they will not want to come out an play with him anymore?. Do the players respect him as a coach? When is he going to light a fire under someone?

I love going to the games. I have been attending since the early 90s. I watch the game on the field as well as the game on the sidelines. I have seen:

1. Rich Brooks go after Mike Archer when his defense could not stop Louisiana -Monroe (I think)

2. Steve Spurrier get in coaches and players faces for screw ups

3. Rich Brooks chase down one of his kickers for missing a punt BAD. The kicker tried to get lost in the team, but Brooks still found him.

4. I got so I could find Mumme and determine whether it was going to be a punt or a fake just by watching him.

And all the other antics that coaches do when players miss passes, blocks, tackles, etc. The coaches always let the players know about the screw up. I have yet to see Joker get into anyone. Twice against Florida, Newton and his receiver were definitely on two different pages. No emotion at all from Joker. Is he scared he is going to hurt a players feelings and they will not want to come out an play with him anymore?. Do the players respect him as a coach? When is he going to light a fire under someone?

 

I saw one sideline shot where one of the UK assistants looked like he chewed on Newton pretty good. As Newton walked back toward the sideline, the coach still yelled a couple things. Reading the look on Newton's face as he turned and looked back at the coach, it was more being ticked at the coach yelling at him than anything else and wishing the coach would just shut up. It is hard to describe it but it is not what I want to see out of my QB.

If Calipari was 2-1 in his second season with a loss to Louisville, fans would be saying we need to give him a full four years to establish his system with his players. I think the same was said about BCG early on before the wheels fell off.

 

There is 2-1 and then there is 2-1.

 

UK got outplayed by Western Kentucky, now 4-37 in the last 3+ years.

UK got an unimpressive, uninspiring win over a bad Central Michigan team.

UK lost to a bad U of L team.

 

 

2-1 would be different if we'd trounced the first two and lost to a solid Louisville team.

 

Again, I'm not calling for Joker to be fired right now. But, there's no excuse for the drop in quality since he took over. He's not getting fired during the season and he deserves to finish it out, but if they continue playing this poorly, we're looking at 3-9 (0-8 in the conference). At that point, all bets are off. He should be feeling the heat right now. Through 4 games, UK has been abysmal.

 

Unfortunately, the Calipari comparison has no merit, because he put UK back in the elite from day one. The key phrase in the BCG comparison is "before the wheels fell off." The wheels are looking pretty wobbly right now.

I saw one sideline shot where one of the UK assistants looked like he chewed on Newton pretty good. As Newton walked back toward the sideline, the coach still yelled a couple things. Reading the look on Newton's face as he turned and looked back at the coach, it was more being ticked at the coach yelling at him than anything else and wishing the coach would just shut up. It is hard to describe it but it is not what I want to see out of my QB.

If you watch, every game Woodson is telling Newton something when he comes off the field and he acts like he doesn't want him telling him anything. You would think he would want some advice but he acts like he doesn't need anyone telling him what to do.

Newton is as unimpressive as his WR's.

If you watch, every game Woodson is telling Newton something when he comes off the field and he acts like he doesn't want him telling him anything. You would think he would want some advice but he acts like he doesn't need anyone telling him what to do.

 

That is the attitude I saw. And that is absolutely the worst attitude I can think of in anything in life. You always have to look to learn more and get better.

If you watch, every game Woodson is telling Newton something when he comes off the field and he acts like he doesn't want him telling him anything. You would think he would want some advice but he acts like he doesn't need anyone telling him what to do.

PASSING GP-GS Effic Cmp-Att-Int Pct Yards TD Long Avg/G

Ryan Mossakowski 4-4 173.4 85-137-3 62.0 1299 15 79 324.8

Domonique Harris 2-0 85.6 3-9-0 33.3 56 0 36 28.0

Total.......... 4 168.0 88-146-3 60.3 1355 15 79 338.8

Opponents...... 4 151.1 75-128-4 58.6 1072 11 64 268.0

 

http://sport.northwestms.net/football/stats/2011%20stats/teamcume.htm#TEAM.IND

 

PASSING GP Effic Cmp-Att-Int Pct Yards TD Long Avg/G

Morgan Newton 4 102.8 59-110-6 53.6 590 5 46 147.5

Maxwell Smith 1 85.9 6-11-0 54.5 41 0 10 41.0

TEAM 1 0.0 0-1-0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0

Total.......... 4 100.4 65-122-6 53.3 631 5 46 157.8

Opponents...... 4 98.2 53-112-7 47.3 649 5 45 162.2

 

http://www.ukathletics.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2011-2012/teamcume.html

Rich Brooks inherited a program that was in shambles. He was something like UK's 8th choice as a coach when he was hired. He was given time & proved he could turn it around. Four straight bowl wins, at a place like UK, speaks for itself.

 

Joker inherited the program that Brooks left, which was one that had gone & won four straight bowls. He had his foot in the door, knew he was taking the job in advance, & had recruited most of his players. So for my money, it's a huge difference between the two.

 

I'm not as frustrated with UK football this year as I was last year. Programs like UK simply cannot reload when losing their four premiere playmakers (Cobb, Locke, Matthews, Hartline). I expected a drastic drop-off this season & I don't understand why so many people had such high expectations. The disappointment I had with Joker was last season, when he had a talented team that underachieved.

 

Having said that, I do think Joker needs this full season & next full season. Unless he does something BCG-like (meaning off the field), I think he needs three full seasons at the minimum. I believe he has earned that as an alum & long-time coaching staff member. His play-calling is incredibly frustrating at times, but the man deserves a fair shake. Calling for his head after 16 games as head coach isn't a fair shake at all IMO.

 

Some very good points here!

 

I will say that the reason so many people had such high expectations for this season is because the media through the football coach were saying what a good team we were going to have this season. Joker Phillips even came out and told everyone that you won't even recognize Morgan Newton this season because he had gotten so much better.

 

'Aint gonna happen!

PASSING GP-GS Effic Cmp-Att-Int Pct Yards TD Long Avg/G

Ryan Mossakowski 4-4 173.4 85-137-3 62.0 1299 15 79 324.8

Domonique Harris 2-0 85.6 3-9-0 33.3 56 0 36 28.0

Total.......... 4 168.0 88-146-3 60.3 1355 15 79 338.8

Opponents...... 4 151.1 75-128-4 58.6 1072 11 64 268.0

 

http://sport.northwestms.net/football/stats/2011 stats/teamcume.htm#TEAM.IND

 

PASSING GP Effic Cmp-Att-Int Pct Yards TD Long Avg/G

Morgan Newton 4 102.8 59-110-6 53.6 590 5 46 147.5

Maxwell Smith 1 85.9 6-11-0 54.5 41 0 10 41.0

TEAM 1 0.0 0-1-0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0

Total.......... 4 100.4 65-122-6 53.3 631 5 46 157.8

Opponents...... 4 98.2 53-112-7 47.3 649 5 45 162.2

 

http://www.ukathletics.com/sports/m-footbl/stats/2011-2012/teamcume.html

Apples and hand grenades. Different schemes, opponents, etc. I could have thrown for 100 yards a game in the Hal Mumme system and I'm nowehere near a college-level quarterback. Heck, I'm not even an XBOX level quarterback.

If you watch, every game Woodson is telling Newton something when he comes off the field and he acts like he doesn't want him telling him anything. You would think he would want some advice but he acts like he doesn't need anyone telling him what to do.

 

Excellent observations.

 

Morgan Newton does the same thing to Joker Phillips.

 

There are some things that Morgan Newton could do to help himself. The first advice would be to work on his body language. It is the worst I have seen since I last watched Chicago Bear quarterback Jay Cutler play. Reminds me a lot of fellow Hoosier and former quarterback Jeff George. Extreme arrogance and an air of thinking he is better than thou.

Why does Joker deserve the same grace period? The situations are very different. The football program Joker inherited was in much better shape than the one Brooks inherited. Big difference, IMO. UK was 17-29 in the four years prior to Brooks, he was second coach in 3 years since Mumme left, and they had scholarship restrictions to deal with. UK was 30-22 in Brooks last 4, and they had scored some big wins over teams that they would have previously rarely beat...

 

Auburn, Georgia, Florida State, a win over then #1 and eventual national champion LSU, and he reversed the U of L series and put UK in the drivers seat of that rivalry

 

The program was on the upswing and coming off its most successful run in the last 30 years. Supposedly the recruiting has improved and the talent level is better. The SEC East is still down compared to what it has been in the past. I'm not calling for Joker's head 3 games into his second season, but there's no excuse for the quality of play dropping off a cliff as it seems to have done. And, he doesn't deserve the same amount of time that Brooks got.

 

Excellent post!

If you watch, every game Woodson is telling Newton something when he comes off the field and he acts like he doesn't want him telling him anything. You would think he would want some advice but he acts like he doesn't need anyone telling him what to do.[/QUO

 

Exactly,,,,and multiply it by 85 players or so No leaders on the staff or among the players. No one seems to want to be engaging in intercollegiate football. It seems to be a chore. No fun or excitement.

 

I hope I am way off base.

Edited September 26, 201114 yr by tcjkbt