What a weekend! Madness, the loss to USC and Daniel Orton commits. Quite a bit of happenings in Lexington this weekend.
USC Game and Quarterback Questions
Holy Crap what an awful game that was Saturday. It was by far one of the worst games I’ve seen two teams play in a while. Although the final score was 24-17, it shouldn’t have been nearly that close. South Carolina tried to give it to the Cats but the Cats, being the nice guys that they are, wouldn’t accept the gift. They knocked it away like a receiver trying to catch a Mike Hartline pass. I cannot remember the last time I watched so many balls hit receivers in the hands and then fall to the ground or into the opposition’s hands.
Now, I’ve seen a lot of people saying that Hartline has to be blamed and that the Cats cannot win unless he is benched in place of Randall Cobb. I have arguments both ways for that but I continue to return to the belief that this team can win with Hartline behind center. Before you jump on me with insults hear me out.
Hartline did make a few mistakes in the USC game. Some of his passes were not thrown where they needed to be and he did throw two interceptions that hurt. However, I think he still gives this team the best opportunity to win right now. With Randall Cobb still not completely healthy, I think it’s better to have him in only sparingly at receiver. Plus, he seems to be one of the only guys who can catch the ball consistently when he is in there.
The dropped passes have to stop. I do not care if a ball is high or low or thrown to far or behind a player. If it hits them in their hands they must catch the ball. These guys are at Kentucky to catch balls. That’s what they do. They were not given scholarships to swat at balls and just get their hands on them. That’s why we have defensive backs. It is their job to bail their quarterbacl out and come up with any ball that is thrown anywhere close to near them. Mike Hartline would be a good quarterback and this post wouldn’t exist if he had the receivers from last year’s team. Those guys made plays for Woodson and caught anything near them. Maybe this year’s team should go back and look at the film to learn something.
Another reason you can’t take Hartline out just yet is because the running game still sucks. A defense that is not made to fear the run will play the pass every down until they are shown they must stop the run with more than the front four. Part of this problem falls on the offensive line. Blocking and creating holes have not been strong points so far this year. If a running back has no hole to get through or the quarterback has to hurry his decisions, problems will arise. Being that Hartline is very young, our o-line has to give him more time to make decisions and then execute them. I think several of his passes that may not have been on the mark were due to him rushing to avoid a sack. One think Andre Woodson had last year was time and he made good choices when he had it.
Another factor in this weekend’s debacle was the fact that USC’s defense is pretty good, one of the best in the SEC in fact. The true test of the Mike Hartline era will take place this weekend when Arkansas comes into Commonwealth. If he has another game like the USC one, we should probably let Cobb see a little more time behind center. If he excels, then he stays the quarterback and the fans should shut up. It’s that simple.
Dicky Lyons Jr.
We don’t know much about it right now (waiting on MRI results) but I think that Dicky is the type of kid that unless his leg falls off, he feels like he should be on the field for his team. I wouldn’t be suprised to see him back on the field in a few games if no mjor damage was done. BTW, why was there no flag on that play for a horse-collar? So much for protecting players, NCAA.
Big Blue Madness and Daniel Orton
I was there and thought the players were pretty pumped and it showed in their performances. Not a lot to talk about. Everyone seemed tight at first and then by the time they got loose the practice was ending. I’m glad to see Patrick and Jodie back healthy again. I expect a big year from both like everyone else. Meeks has one of the best jumpers around and should see a lot of shots this year. I’m glad the crowd got into the recruiting mix with their chants. As it turned out, it must have worked because Daniel Orton liked his weekend here so much he committed on Sunday afternoon. Nice work Big Blue Nation.
