LEXINGTON, Ky. --- This story marks the continuation of
a new weekly feature we'll have called "Coach's Corner." They will include
observations from the UK coaching staff --- primarily the offensive and defensive
coordinator --- after review film from the preivous game. This piece features the thoughts
of OC Brent Pease:
BBD: What did the game film reveal from your loss
to Louisville?
"Running game wise, we need to move people off the
ball a littlle bit better. And the backs need to see the seams a little better. There were
times when no seams were there, but there were others when there was a nice seam, and the
just didn't get up into it. That's the first thing we've got to work on.
Shane Boyd (7) makes the
fake to Chad Scott
and prepares to roll out
|
"Throwing the ball, we've got to start running crisper
routes, and when the route's run right, we've got to have the quarterback deliver the ball
where it's supposed to be. We've got to have better anticipation from both our
quarterbacks. We were waiting for people to get open instead of putting the ball where
it's supposed to be and having the receiver be there at the right place and time.
"I think (quarterbacks Jared Lorenzen and Shane Boyd)
were also following the receivers too much and not reading the coverages, knowing where
the zones are and where our best matchup is in the man.
"I thought our tempo and getting in and out of the
huddle was pretty good. We just couldn't seem to get into any kind of flow. Our continuity
was up and down, up and down, and consequently, I was probably a little inconsistent in my
play calling and putting them in better situations. I've got to do a better job of that
this week and from this point on."
BBD: How difficult is it to get into a flow as
frustration mounts over the course of a game?
"It can be tough. The biggest thing is we let
(Louisville) dictate the game. They didn't throw a scheme that we couldn't handle or
anything that we didn't expect, but they changed things up a bit, and we didn't adjust
well.
"We also didn't do a good job of getting into better
second down and third down situations. You don't want to be in second-and-eight or
third-and-nine all day, but it seemed like we were. We've got to do a better job on first
down."
BBD: Was there anything you thought you'd be able
to take advantage of going into the game that never materialized?
"We thought we'd be able to throw a little more
three-step game, but their corners came up and got aggressive, and we couldn't throw as
much as we had in mind. We made some plays there, a few in the second half, but not nearly
as much as we anticipated.
"When people take initial things away, we've got to,
instead of forcing things, go to the proper reads and find a higher percentage spot."
BBD: One question we heard asked quite a bit
concerned the lack of crossing routes, slants, and using the middle of the field in
general. Was that taken away, or was it something you did not plan to do?
"Well, what they were playing, and what we originally
planned for, we thought we could go to the outside. And then they came out and pressed our
guys, kept their backers inside, and we felt like we couldn't attack those lanes. So we
tried to focus more on the second-level stuff, the outside stuff. From what I'm seeing
upstairs, I can't put our quarterbacks in that position to be throwing into a lot of
double-traffic over the middle."
BBD: You turned the ball over four times.
Obviously, that's never going to bode well for your chances of winning.
"No. And when you turn the ball over, you don't get
the opportunity for reps. I think we had 65 plays. A realistic goal is 75, 80 plays a
game. When you don't do that, first of all, you leave your defense on the field too long.
We saw that Saturday. And then you never get into that flow. You start relying on big
plays, and we just didn't have any big plays. We have some goals for big plays like
25-plus passes and 15-plus runs, but we didn't have any of those. Dougie (Allen) got one
late in the game, but nothing until it was out of control."
BBD: Did film review reveal that anyone played
particularly well?
"Well, on offense, you've got to have 11 guys playing
together. It really doesn't do you any good to have one guy over here doing a good job and
another guy over there doing a good job. If just one guy out of those 11 breaks down, the
whole play can break down. And it all starts with the quarterback bringing the play in.
Then the communication between him and the center and all down the line. If that
information doesn't get to the receivers, we're going to have a breakdown somewhere.
You've got to have everybody on the same page."
THE TEAM NUMBERS:
n Kentucky Rushing:
28-58 (2.1 per carry)
n Kentucky Passing:
15 of 37, 155 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT (41% completion rate)
n Sacked: 3
n Turnovers: 2 INTS
(Lorenzen, Boyd), 2 Fumbles Lost (Lorenzen, Boyd)
THE INDIVIDUAL STANDOUTS:
n None.