My Concerns: Emotion-Free Edition

[Empire Lindy]

Trying to convey my concerns free from the f-bombs and ranting, here is what I see so far.

* Louisville misses Joe Whitt and co-defensive coordinator Kevin Wolthausen more than I could have imagined. Whitt was the DB's coach last year and Wolthausen in charge of the defensive line in addition to his DC duties. Is it any coincidence that our line is getting no push in the trenches and zero QB pressure while the secondary looks completely lost? I say no.

There were serious concerns even when Cassity was hired that he was a short-term fix. Great when his system debuts with a new team in a new conference, but easy to pick apart once opposing coaches saw it once or twice. Look at his stops at Illinois (2001 Big Ten Champs behind a Top 25 D, but second worst D in the Big Ten by 2003 as well as #92 in total D overall) and Oklahoma State (great in 1999, bad in 2000) for proof.

Naming Wolthausen a co-coordinator last year may have been a stroke of genius by Petrino as maybe he saw the same progression in a Cassity D as stats geeks would have seen when he was hired. Despite zero coordinator experience, you have to think the slightly new looks threw teams expecting the same old Cassity scheme. Also, what does it say when Kevin is the coach in Atlanta and not Mike?

* Where are these penalties coming from? This is certainly not a Steve Kragthorpe thing, so how do you explain the apparent lack of composure and football smarts (ie, knowing where the OB line is)? At Tulsa, Kragthorpe's teams were always among the Top 50 in fewest penalties per game. They were in the Top 35 his last two seasons with the Hurricane. I can understand a few of the penalties (ie, Mario sticking up for Harry when the MTSU defense was trying to rough him up), but all the late hits and retalitation flags are a problem.

* Mario Urrutia is still scared of contact and loses concentration too often. A player with his experience and physical advantages shouldn't get gator arms going across the middle like he did last night. I know that hit was coming fast and MTSU was trying to decleat our guys all night long (see: Harry across the middle earlier in the game), but you have to hold on to that ball when it hits you square in the numbers. He dropped a couple other passes he shouldn't have. The only positive was he had a big night statistically and reeled in that lazer on the second drive.

We still have a lot of talent on this team, but also a lot of work to do before the conference season begins. Our OOC schedule may have taken a nose dive with Utah and NC State losing key players, but the Big East is going to be TOUGH with Cincinnati starting like gangbusters and WVU, Rutgers, and USF gunning for our crown.

[Junkman]

Good post Empire!

[cardfaninpittsburgh]

i honestly don't know what the deal is with the defense. but, from where i was sitting, the intensity increased noticeably in the 2nd half. the hits were harder. far fewer tackles were missed. once someone was in the grasp, that someone went down. usually under a pile. i'm really hoping that what we've seen is a poorly focused, mentally unprepared team that will turn it up a few notches once the competition improves. having never played football, i don't know how possible it is to turn that kind of focus on and off depending on who you are playing.

good job, el, pointing out the penalty thing. a lot people, including myself, have been worried that louisville is returning to the bad old days of cooper or smith and the lack of discipline. but, this is definitely not a kragthorpe thing. last year the cards were penalized 66 times for 582 yards. tulsa 66 times for 572 yards. it really doesn't make sense what's happened so far.

[CardAlum]

For the penalties, there is no excuse. Those were just plain stupid.

As for everything else. We have to remember we did lose Amobi Okoye and Nate Harris to graduation and this is the first year of the Kragthorpe era. We have to give this some time and see where it goes (after all Cooper DID get three years). Kragthorpe comes in with a much better resume than Petrino did. There are always some type of an adjustment period for the players to get used to the new coaches. I think you have to give Krag some kudos for at least TRYING to make the adjustment as smooth as possible.
Im just saying give it some time and you'll see a rapid improvement and I think the team will be even better than last year.

Oh and one more thing:

IN TOM WE TRUST!!!

[AACardFan]

Originally Posted by CardAlum

Kragthorpe comes in with a much better resume than Petrino did. There are always some type of an adjustment period for the players to get used to the new coaches.

I'm not sure I agree with either point. Petrino let a high-powered Cardinal offense under John L. and produced good offenses while at Auburn and as the QB coach in Jacksonville. All the press I've read to date report that Kragthorpe hasn't done anything to change the offense. So I can't credit Kragthorpe with anything the offense has done to date except to continue feeding the studs.

On the defensive side, Cassity continues to lead the schemes. EL might have a point about losing the other assistants on defense, but the scheme is the same, but that doesn't explain what I say and what Curry kept repeating throughout the game...that the defense wasn't running to the ball. With all the speed we are supposed to have on defense, a running back should not be able to outrun those DBs. The defensive line should have been all over that inexperienced O-line of MTSU, but managed a mere sack on a QB who was in the process of running rather than passing.

The penalties are simply stupid and come from a lack of individual discipline. Urrutia was flagged twice last week and dropped balls. That comes from a lack of concentration. Urrutia jumping in to defend Douglas IMO was inexcusable. He took the team from a 3rd and goal at the one to a 3rd and goal at the 16. That is simple immaturity.

I still love this team, but there is no way they can compete against the likes of USF, UC and WVU on the road with such an impotent defense.

[Empire Lindy]

Originally Posted by AACardFan

EL might have a point about losing the other assistants on defense, but the scheme is the same

From my view last Thursday, I don't know if I buy that entirely. The scheme is more or less the same, yes (we run a 4-3), but the stunts and movement along the line looked very different to me from a year ago. Now I am not a defensive coordinator, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night. And what I saw Thursday was one of the weirdest, most ineffective stunts played over and over again.

Basically what would happen is the defensive front would split out wide on either side, allowing two linebackers to come to the line and create a 6-man front. I don't know if this was intended to confuse MTSU's quarterback or create additional pressure, but the result darn near every time was a quick pass across the middle for a big gain (where the LB's had vacated) or a run between the tackle and guard where the D-linemen were too wide to stop and the LB's too far into the backfield to pursue properly.

I saw this "Cover 0" no less than 8 times against Middle Tennessee. Maybe I wasn't paying as close of attention last year, but that formation and defensive attack just seemed completely new and ineffective.