Kentucky’s loss to Mississippi State drops the Cats to a 1-5 record at the halfway point of the 2012 season. While there are some serious deficiencies on this team, it’s impossible to even attempt to talk about its current status without discussing the injury situation.
Injuries:
The pileup that’s occurred in the training room this season is becoming remarkable. Injuries are just a part of football and should be expected to an extent. What makes this team’s issues unique is that they all seem to be hitting the same positions, and have effectively destroyed depth at those spots. Notably, quarterback, running back and defensive back have been hit particularly hard. Now, the team will continue the season without its top quarterback, top two running backs, two of its top three safeties, and multiple players that are fighting through various injuries. The team has remained relatively healthy along the offensive line, wide receiver, and on the defensive line at this point, but the linebackers have had their dings too. The roster is starting to look more like a M*A*S*H unit.
The positives:
– Patrick Towles was phenomenal in limited time. His final line was 5 completions out of 6 attempts, 71 yards, and one touchdown. I know that the sampling is small, but its hard not to be excited about his future.
– Despite the injuries to Smith and Towles, the offensive line continues to exceed expectations. The team has kept some of the best pass rushers in the conference at bay, and have opened running lanes against some of the top defenses in the conference as well.
– The receivers have had limited abilities to make plays with all of the quarterback injuries, but have been consistently good.
– You just have to love the future of the defensive backfield. Tiller, Harmon, Quinn, Z. Blaylock, and D. Blaylock have been surprisingly efficient despite their youth. That’s without even considering Marcus Caffey, Jonathan Reed, Shawn Blaylock, or Sterling Wright, who are all sitting out the season due to various reasons.
– Landon Foster is without a doubt the best freshman punter I’ve ever seen.
Room for improvement:
– The defensive line was supposed to be the strength of the team. While the unit has not been bad, it hasn’t been the strength t should have been.
– The running backs just never got going against Mississippi State.
– The linebackers have had some injuries this season and no one expected them to be the team strength this season after turning over the top four players from last season. That said, only Avery Williamson has been a consistent threat at the position.
– The returners have got to learn when to take the touchback.
Overview:
Moving forward, this staff has its work cut out for themselves. The team is still ravaged by injuries and the remainder of the season looks like it might be lost. The Mississippi State game was a good effort, but it may be time to start working the freshmen and sophomores into the rotation and using youth as an excuse to try to keep their jobs. Whether this will work or not, I don’t know…but it’s about the only hope left.