UK Football: Removing the Blue Colored Glasses

If there was ever a season where the above statement was true, 2011 is going to be it for the Kentucky Wildcats. Now, I know I am treading in deep waters here, and this is going to upset a few people but bear with me, and just hear what I am saying rationally.

The 2011 version of the UK Wildcats Football squad is going to be arguably the thinnest on offense and defense in the last few years. The offensive line not withstanding (yes, even I believe that they are some of the best in the nation), we are sorely lacking in a lot of other areas that are going to be really big question marks for this year.

Morgan Newton: Now the Mossy is gone, the pressure rests squarely on Newton’s shoulders. Ryan Phillipi is listed last on the depth chart, yet may be the backup for this season, which seems to be the problem for UK lately. We get a decent QB, and cannot get another one at the same time. I sincerely hope that Newton is ready to take the reigns, but I have some serious questions as well. Let’s face it, if Newton has a big year, UK will have a big year. If he doesn’t, well, let’s just say that bowl streak might be in jeopardy.

Andrew Joseph: Why is the fullback a really big problem for UK? Simple, we have had a string of really good ones, and now we need Joseph to step up and continue the trend. Is he ready? That question won’t be answered until the season starts. BTW, we have ZERO backups at Fullback on the depth chart. ZERO.

McIntosh, Mansour, and Tydlacka: Sounds like a law firm doesn’t it? Well, in this case we better hope that our kicking game is in top form, because I have a feeling that the end zone is going to be hard to find. Kicking is going to have to win us at least two games.

Randall Cobb: Wait a minute. Cobb is gone, isn’t he?? Why yes, he is. And so is a major portion of UK’s offense (like maybe 85%). So where is it going to come from? The answer is, anywhere they can find it. And they had better be finding it and quick.

The Defensive Line: Our linebacker corps may not be too big, but they should return some experience this year, as they lost very little. However, our D-Line is still shaky and should not be counted on to hold any one’s running game down for very long. We will probably see at least 2-3 200 yd rushers against UK this season. Those games are probably in the loss column already.

The Coaching Staff: It is time for Joker to prove once and for all that he has the right people in the right places. We didn’t lose anyone we didn’t want to lose, so the guys Joker has are his guys. Now they have to prove that they and their recruits are what we need at UK to build a winner. Let’s say I am cautiously optimistic about this one.

Overall: I cannot bring myself to get excited about this season for the Cats and their Football hopes. As much as I would like to, I cannot see us beating UL again (it kills me as much to write it as it does you folks to read it), and although there are some opportunities in the SEC portion of the schedule this year, they are few and far between. If we get back to 6-6 it will surprise me greatly. we make it to 7-5, and I will print a retraction story and apologize to everyone profusely for my lack of faith.

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