What Did You Learn About Your Team In Week One?

Written by Ian | 09 September 2009

The Kentucky football Wildcats started off the season on Saturday with a 42-0 drubbing of Miami Ohio on a "neutral" field in Cincinnati.  Things seemed to be on the up-and-up for the Cats, and the fans were enjoying the beating throughout.  One question remains from the weekend though.  What did we learn about the 2009 team?

In short, not a lot.  There were some good takeaways from the game.  Mike Hartline looked to be on target going 18 for 27 with 2 TD's and no picks.  He looked comfortable in the pocket, but he didn't face pressure all day from the Redhawks' pathetic defensive line.  Mike's decision making under pressure has always been pretty good.  Last year, in game management mode for most of the season, he showed a good knack for throwing the ball away under pressure.  When the defensive pressure steps up against Louisville in two weeks will Mike be able to stand tall in the pocket and find open receivers or will he tend to get happy feet and toss the ball away?  UK fans have to hope for the former, but Saturday's game didn't tell a lot about the QB position.

The same goes for the receivers and defense.  While I can't recall a lot of dropped passes from the Miami game, Coach Brooks noted that there were a lot of busted routes on the game film.  Casual fans can get caught up in the speed, athleticism, and catching ability of a wideout.  What really makes a great college receiver is the ability to beat your man running the route that was designed.  The quarterback can't get you the ball if he doesn't know where you're going to be.  UK's receiving corps needs to improve on this facet of the game in order to give Hartline good targets to throw to as the season progresses.

Defensively, the Cats looked tough on Saturday.  The shutout on the scoreboard attests to this, but Brooks also noted a lot of busted coverage in the secondary over the weekend.  Louisville has enough skill at quarterback and wide receiver to make UK pay for any broken coverage deep.  With two weeks to prepare, look for UK's secondary to be very conscientious of tracking their man and being in position to make a play on the ball.

The performance on Saturday was a great confidence builder for the team and for the fan base, but it shouldn't be dwelled upon in the least.  UK needs to get back to work over the next two weeks and address some of the weaknesses that can be counteracted by coaching like route running and coverages.  If they can get back to basics and play the game fundamentally the team has plenty of talent to beat Louisville in two weeks and have some success in SEC play.  If they don't do the little things that make a decent team good, then they will be looking at a tough rivalry loss heading into a brutal schedule with Auburn and two BCS championship contenders in Alabama and Florida on the docket next.

Image courtesy: www.ukwildcatcountry.com