Reality Check ends rough week for Kansas Athletics
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I saw a video on facebook Friday afternoon of the Jayhawks getting off the team plane in Fort Worth but it appears that was about all that went smoothly on the trip. It looked like the Jayhawks of old in the first half with just over 40 total yards and 38 points on the board for the home Horned Frogs. But Les Miles and Co with the aide of vanilla play calling from TCU were able to keep it from being a national embarrassment winning the second half 14-13. I was fairly surprised that the game wasn’t closer but it is a good lesson for people that thought that this program would be an easy fix. Injuries at several key positions on defense and word that leading rusher Herbert wouldn’t be making the trip as rumors of his transfer developed, this game was doomed from the get go. It wasn’t hard to see the lack of depth or how out manned we still are in the trenches Saturday morning.
I probably take most issue with the offense and lack of creativity. The playing calling has rivaled that of David Beaty and its not hard to understand why its not working. You can have the best running back of all time and it wouldn’t matter if he has break 2 tackles to get back to the line of scrimmage. Running simple draws over and over on 1st down hasn’t worked all season outside of an obviously super weak BC team. I have not idea why we continue to do so or why we continue to ride Carter Stanley’s coat tails. When has flatout sucked all but one game, obviously the QB wasn’t even a contest at this point. But even if it wasn’t what is the logical reasoning for not trying some else in the second half. I know this is a helleva rebuild and it’s unfair to expected much in year one but I’d still like to see some progress.
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Miles needs to get some of his guys in the system. Nearly every position needs an upgrade. Patience my friend. Any progress this year is just from coaching. Recruiting is getting better too, but that takes time to get the pipeline full again.
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I think this is the first game where it’s immensely obvious how bad the roster actually is. It showed some down the stretch against WVU where the defense was gassed and couldn’t get off the field, but without Prox and Herbert this thing was toast when we got off the plane. I do see signs of improvement. The defense is giving up fewer big plays, tackling better, and taking better angles to the ball. Both sides of the ball have fewer penalties. Clock management is better (we haven’t taken a TO just to punt!). The offense is more efficient in terms of yards/play. Ditto the defense. Carter Stanley has a better passer rating and QBR than Bender had last year. In fact, Stanley has been an above average QB this year according to QBR. This staff is recruiting a bunch of HS kids and will have a full class this year, perhaps with a big cherry on top with Clayton.
It’s obvious to me this staff has the program going in the right direction. This year was always going to really suck since there just aren’t that many good players. But the signs of a pulse are there.
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When the QB is as bad as Stanley is, it severely limits the options the OC has when it comes to play calling. Because Stanley isn’t much of a threat with his arm, teams are loading up to stop the run. With Herbert gone, the RB depth has largely disappeared as well. That freshman had some moments so hopefully he can fill that void Herbert is leaving.
The players Miles has also weren’t recruited to play in a more pro style offense that Miles and Koenning prefer. They were recruited for the spread that Beaty ran which we started to see make some strides last year when most of the players fit that system.
It’s going to take Miles time to recruit to his preferred offensive system.
Having a good QB can mask many problems, but KU doesn’t have that right now so the flaws get exposed much more easily.
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Texas Hawk 10 said:
When the QB is as bad as Stanley is, it severely limits the options the OC has when it comes to play calling. Because Stanley isn’t much of a threat with his arm, teams are loading up to stop the run. With Herbert gone, the RB depth has largely disappeared as well. That freshman had some moments so hopefully he can fill that void Herbert is leaving.
The players Miles has also weren’t recruited to play in a more pro style offense that Miles and Koenning prefer. They were recruited for the spread that Beaty ran which we started to see make some strides last year when most of the players fit that system.
It’s going to take Miles time to recruit to his preferred offensive system.
Having a good QB can mask many problems, but KU doesn’t have that right now so the flaws get exposed much more easily.
Velton Gardner is a pretty good little back . 1st time he touched the ball - -rushed for 11 yards , think you’ll see more now IF Herbert is gone - -they had planned on getting him in some , he got us just about as much offense when he entered as we had the entire game and bust that 45 yard run - -made a pretty decent juke move at the end. - If Stanley is as bad as you say – then that says a hell of a lot just how fricken bad our QB situation is.
You can’t even put McVittie in for ONE fricken snap when his helmet came off against West Virginia - -put his son in instead.
Yet all we heard was how close of a battle it was for the starting spot - -finding out just taking the lesser of the two evils - -we got bad ( Stanley ) - -then we have worse(Mc Vittie ) Doesn’t really matter who your RB is if your line can’t sustain a block create a hole for them to run through - -doesn’t help when the defense is stacking the box daring ya to throw
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jayballer73 said:
You can’t even put McVittie in for ONE fricken snap when his helmet came off against West Virginia - -put his son in instead.
It doesn’t have to be McVittie. It could be the kid selling peanuts. It could be one of the cheerleaders. It could be one of the chain gang guys. Smacker Miles. Me…
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nuleafjhawk said:
jayballer73 said:
You can’t even put McVittie in for ONE fricken snap when his helmet came off against West Virginia - -put his son in instead.
It doesn’t have to be McVittie. It could be the kid selling peanuts. It could be one of the cheerleaders. It could be one of the chain gang guys. Smacker Miles. Me…
Lol
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@nuleafjhawk Haha I enjoy your company. I’d be happy with Smacker, shes pretty cute. At least we would look better lol. In all seriousness the lack of development of the offensive line when we returned everyone but the center is a big disappointment. Pooka averaged 7 yards per carry with over 1000 yards while Herbert averaged 4.5 yards per carry and gained over 500 yards a year ago. It also was against 8 and 9 man boxes. I’d be shocked if Pooka didn’t transfer if this keeps up, hopefully he doesn’t do it mid season 12 hours before a game like Herbert.
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@kjayhawks I doubt he does, coach did say he was going to get pooka more carries.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 I wonder why Miles hasn’t tried anyone else at QB? Everyone was in agreement with Miles sticking with Stanley through the first two rough games. After the BC game, Stanley hasn’t done well. Does it surprise you that MacVittie hasn’t played at least a few series. or even one of the other backups?
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@stoptheflop Yes, I’m at a loss for it. Supposedly the QB competition was neck and neck but Stanley plays terrible for 2 games and nothing? Even if it wasnt close, why not get someone else some snaps in a 40 point game.
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@stoptheflop It tells me MacVittie’s probably not grasping the offense or he just sucks. At this point, I’m waiting for when they decide to give Torry Locklin a shot.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 I’d like to see someone else for sure if this is the blowout we expect.
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Texas Hawk 10 said:
@stoptheflop It tells me MacVittie’s probably not grasping the offense or he just sucks. At this point, I’m waiting for when they decide to give Torry Locklin a shot.
I think it’s more he just sucks. - - I mean and as others have pointed out – -Miles wouldn’t even put him in for ONE play when Stanley’s helmet came off and he had to come out. - -Might suggest something
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Think he’ll put in his son?
