I was in Louisville for the game this week, and those of you who have seen a game there are aware that it's impossible to see anything beyond the 35 yard line. So I basically saw it for the first time this evening. Their visiting fan seating is probably the worst I've ever experienced as far as sight lines are concerned.
I want to start with the offensive line. Yesterday I saw someone made the comment that the OL was garbage. Incorrect. They very well may be the most improved unit on the team over last year. Hell, their execution even vs last week against Tenn Tech was vastly improved yesterday. No, they're not the most talented group. But their performance and execution, specifically in the run game, have improved dramatically. I was suspect when I heard CTH comment on how pleased he was with their progress, but he's 100% correct. They do need some work in pass pro, and it'll be interesting to see how far they can go with that during the season, but their work is encouraging.
Man it's fun to watch Greg Ward.
I'm so glad to see us pushing tempo again. We pick and choose our spots with it and we caught UL off guard a few times yesterday.
The way Farrow runs, he reminds me of a smaller version of Ron Dayne. (Hear me out.) Just like Ron, he needs the ball for consecutive carries to really get going and I think the coaching staff started figuring that out yesterday. He's also got great feet for a guy his size, again, just like Ron.
Orlando did a good job of getting pressure by blitzing yesterday. He ran a number of delayed blitzes from different positions that UL was rarely able to pick up on. That blitzing also resulted in some of the larger plays in the pass game. There were still some coverage breakdowns between the LB's and secondary, and those resulted in some of the larger passing plays over the middle. It's obvious this is still an area where there's significant room for improvement, but it was improved over the Tenn Tech game.
Several have commented that yesterday verified that Levine was a great recruiter. I disagree, and I look at yesterday as an example of why. All you need to see to verify that is when UL started lining up in 22 personnel and running the ball down our throats. We couldn't have stopped that if we wanted to. Bottom line is UL is biggerstrongerfaster than us and it was obvious a number of times throughout the game. How'd we win then? We won because a) we schemed around our deficiencies (something the previous staff was either too stubborn to do or simply incapable of doing) and b) because it's obvious that everything CTH has been preaching about focus and winning every rep has sunk in. This team was more prepared and dialed in for this game than any game since the 2011 season. You could see it in the players eyes. We won in spite of our talent deficiency, just like we used to.
That being said, if this staff sticks around more than a couple years, it appears as if talent gaps with teams like Louisville will not be much of a concern.
I want to start with the offensive line. Yesterday I saw someone made the comment that the OL was garbage. Incorrect. They very well may be the most improved unit on the team over last year. Hell, their execution even vs last week against Tenn Tech was vastly improved yesterday. No, they're not the most talented group. But their performance and execution, specifically in the run game, have improved dramatically. I was suspect when I heard CTH comment on how pleased he was with their progress, but he's 100% correct. They do need some work in pass pro, and it'll be interesting to see how far they can go with that during the season, but their work is encouraging.
Man it's fun to watch Greg Ward.
I'm so glad to see us pushing tempo again. We pick and choose our spots with it and we caught UL off guard a few times yesterday.
The way Farrow runs, he reminds me of a smaller version of Ron Dayne. (Hear me out.) Just like Ron, he needs the ball for consecutive carries to really get going and I think the coaching staff started figuring that out yesterday. He's also got great feet for a guy his size, again, just like Ron.
Orlando did a good job of getting pressure by blitzing yesterday. He ran a number of delayed blitzes from different positions that UL was rarely able to pick up on. That blitzing also resulted in some of the larger plays in the pass game. There were still some coverage breakdowns between the LB's and secondary, and those resulted in some of the larger passing plays over the middle. It's obvious this is still an area where there's significant room for improvement, but it was improved over the Tenn Tech game.
Several have commented that yesterday verified that Levine was a great recruiter. I disagree, and I look at yesterday as an example of why. All you need to see to verify that is when UL started lining up in 22 personnel and running the ball down our throats. We couldn't have stopped that if we wanted to. Bottom line is UL is biggerstrongerfaster than us and it was obvious a number of times throughout the game. How'd we win then? We won because a) we schemed around our deficiencies (something the previous staff was either too stubborn to do or simply incapable of doing) and b) because it's obvious that everything CTH has been preaching about focus and winning every rep has sunk in. This team was more prepared and dialed in for this game than any game since the 2011 season. You could see it in the players eyes. We won in spite of our talent deficiency, just like we used to.
That being said, if this staff sticks around more than a couple years, it appears as if talent gaps with teams like Louisville will not be much of a concern.
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