ActionDan

I stand corrected. I dont know all the nuances with how a player not graduating or leaving after one year affects the scholarship situation, but if there are no ill effects then as long as they stay eligible for that year and play ball, I dont care.

I am a huge fan of the University and I want UK to look good... but you better believe that football and basketball get schools more credit and recongnition than their academics 9/10 times.

Incorrect... or they would have been ruled academically ineligible and no one on this years team was.

2.07 average? Looks like thats good enough to stay eligible to play. Which is all they and I are worried about. I dont care how good or bad they (or the guy who does their work) are doing as long as that GPA is high enough to stay academically eligible.

Injuries derailed the offensive line (and the rest of the team) after the 02 season. That 02 line actually gelled fairly well (and until the 07 team was the best line the browns had since their return), especially towards the end of the year. Willie Green ran for over 700 yards the last 7 games of the year.

Kelly started the first two games and also the playoff game against Pittsburgh. He also came in several times throughout the season when Couch got hurt. He finshed off the W against ATL in the final game.

I was a big Kelly Holcomb fan in 02 but the facts still stands that Couch won 8 games and Kelly 1 that year.

Couch was a decent QB on some bad Cleveland teams but still never "got it" either. No where near the level of bust that Russell is. Couch has a 75 career QB rating.... average.

Ok, lets be fair about this. Zoubek... as a 7'1 McDonald's AA still only averaged 5 and 8 a game as a senior. His career averages were a mind blowing 4 and 4. If the Wear twins turned out to be as good as Zoubek, I would be very happy.

Again, those people are the EXCEPTION. A much higher % of D1 players make the NFL than D1-AA or DII... however, your argument makes no sense as Joe Flacco was offered and ACCEPTED a D1 scholarship out of HS. He was at Pitt for two years before transferring.

Now if only Barnes decides that he wants out of his LOI...

No, of course they are good, they made it to the NFL. However, the post above mine was disputing the claim that D1 was the best of the best... and % wise it is.

And those are great examples...but are also EXCEPTIONS. If you looked at the % of players in the NFL, it obviously would be overwhelmingly D1 schools.

Im worried about the defense. The best lineman and only guy who provided a disruptive force on a consistent level from a line that didnt get much pressure anyway is gone (Evans will definitely play at a high level but he didnt seem to bring it consistently last year). With a shaky secondary, the cats will need to find a way to generate some pressure and Im hoping a senior Lumpkin, Taylor Wyndham and Evans will make a solid line and allow McCord or Cobble (or whoever steps into the other tackle spot) to get comfortable. Also gone is All SEC LBer Sam Maxwell and Micah Johnson. It will be interesting to see how the defense gels and who emerges to fill the voids.

Micah was a really good LBer for UK, just because he might not have the speed or quickness for the NFL doesnt mean that he wasnt a bigtime contributor for the Cats defense.

Dont know about St Pat. Cofer has been at NC for several years now.

Word is now that its a minimum of two games and that will probably be it

The best HS football game I have been too. Amazing atmosphere and amazing game. Took a video of the winning FG and the team celebrating at the 50 after. The effort and emotion put out by both teams is what makes HS football great.

Because this years team was so close to many of the talented UK teams of the past...

Cleveland got a 2nd this year and a 5th next year

This is what I am getting at. I understand the Browns are not a good team, there is no getting around that... and K2 was our best receiver... but, its not like the Browns were gonna compete this year, so why not get extra picks to fill the MANY holes this team has and prepare for the future? TE is one of the few positions where Cleveland has several serviceable players with Heiden being a real solid player.. good hands and good blocker and Rucker being a young guy touted as being a good receiver. We'll see how things work out, but we werent going to compete, so why not get draft picks? As for #4, our corners did look pretty bad last year but I am undecided as to whether that is a complete lack of coverage skills or the fact that we had NO pass rush at all (or a combo of both). The whole defensive backfield looked crappy last year and there is no doubt in my mind that if we had some rushers off the edge that this area would improve atleast a little.

And to add one more thing to this... I really wouldnt be surprised if Braylon is dealt before draft day. There is speculation that it could happen and it seems that Mangini and Kokinis are trying to rebuild from scratch and stockpile picks.

And again, if he reverts back to 2007 form, this wont be a problem. His hands were never the best but he was VERY MUCH a big play threat and you HAD to respect that. He was good for atleast one long bomb TD a game it seemed like. Like I said before, Heiden is not the vertical threat K2 is, but he has good hands and is a very solid TE and a much better run blocker. This team has way too many holes and picks are a must. To be honest, as bad as the offense was in some stretches last year it still was average until we were down to our 3rd string and then 4th string QB. The defense is what has been killing Cleveland the last couple of years. If you wanna talk about a side of the ball that needs improving the most, its the D, not the offense.

Heiden is a very solid TE and has done very well the past couple of years in K2s absence. Rucker is the wildcard. Here is thing, as much as I love K2 and his passion for the game, this team NEEDS picks. There are so many holes on this team and picks are the only way to fill them. From that stand point, I cant be upset with the trade. If you dont understand that, then I dont know what to tell you.

And then the next game against Buffalo, Cleveland scored 29 and Braylon had 8 for 104 yards and K2 had 3 for 40. Quinn didnt just rely on K2. Cleveland does NOT have a talented offense and so no, no one really scares you. But at the same time, Kellen has just a few years left IMO because of how bad his knees are. He rarely practiced in 2007 or 2008 to let his right knee heal. And this past year, he was constantly getting called for pushing off because he simply cant cut like he used to. Now, he is still an elite TE and has some of the best hands in the game and I love the guy to death, but I cant criticize Cleveland for getting picks for him when this team has SOO many holes to fill. Like i said before though, if Braylon can revert back to 2007 form (still dropped passes but had a lot of game breaking plays) the offense will atleast be respectable. Braylon is a pro bowl number one when he is like that, and JJ and Stallworth are competent #2 and #3 receivers. Jamal is getting older but still had 1,000 yds last year on a team that the last half of the year was using the #3 and then #4 QB and everyone was stacking the box.