The House of Blue

I'll take it farther. Next year we will hear how much Newton has progressed all summer long. How much work he put in getting better. He will start next year and UK will be looking for a new coach ther year after. I hate being this negative towards the football team but Joker is welded to the back of Newtons train.

Yeah Joker completely plays favorites with Newton. Hartline definitely should've started last year. I mean that's a no brainer. Then when Morgan wasn't doing well agaisnt LSU or South Carolina, Joker should've pulled him and seen what Max could've done (possibly go as far as to start him in the second half)!! It makes me sick.

Is it fair to judge anyone's performance against USC (#1 ranked pass defense) and LSU? Name a QB that has looked good against them. I'll wait. And please, no Geno Smith, that's a gimmick offense and LSU thoroughly pounded them. I'll agree with you that it isn't fair to judge Max off those two games, but is it fair to Newton as well? Look at what LSU has done to teams this year. Remember, even Andre struggled against LSU in 06 and USC his senior year.

And yes, Max was second string for a reason. I don't know what goes through your head to make you believe that starting a true freshman at the beginning of the season in the SEC is a good idea, but it isn't. Joker doesn't have some conspiracy scheme going to fool us into believing Max is no where near as good as Newton. Max performed well against Miss State because every day in the system your first year helps. And he's had more days now. As such, Joker has opened the QB competition. Will he beat out Newton? His play suggests he will. But don't expect him to light the world on fire. Our fans will be calling for his head too if he fails. And then who do we go to?

Back to the original thread topic... You forgot to answer this; if Newton is Joker's boy, why did Hartline start last season?

Hartline started last year because he was clearly better than Newton. Is Newton clearly better than Smith? IMO, No. So why does Newton get such a long leash?

Newton has started enough games to get a pretty good idea of what he brings to the table. My opinion of him as a QB is based on more than the LSU and USC games.

I've NEVER said Smith should have started from the beginning of the season. But I do believe he should have been getting half the 1st string reps starting on the bye week. And he should have been splitting time with Newton during the Jacksonville game and the rest of the year. We need to start playing for next year.

I bought into Joker's hype of Newton. It's now obvious that Newton hasn't improved that much from the bowl game last year. Why lead the fanbase on and set Newton up to fall flat on his face? Just another questionable situation that Joker tends to put himself into.

Matt i get you're a reporter for UK and totally buy into the staff. however, Max looks just as good as Newton if not better. that's a big problem considering Newton is a JUNIOR and Max is a FRESHMAN. please look at it objectively instead of take everything Joker says as gospel.

About this:

"Why was Coshik behind Sanders? Williams hits the hole better and runs harder than Sanders. Why was he behind him?"

Sanders weighs 205 and Williams 178. We need runners that can block. Before the past couple of weeks our line has been shot due to injury.

Next...

"Why move Dupree to LB where he rarely sees the field and we have decent depth. When he could have helped at TE THIS year. IMO, the kid doesn't play like he likes being on defense."

Not sure. Is Dupree playing LB or the LB-DE hybrid spot? But, we have a lot of depth at TE we don't have at LB/DE.

Next:

"I wonder why Gainer sticks around? Why does a fumbling problem in practice for Gainer prevent him from seeing the field when Newton fumbles and tosses picks in gameday situations."

Newton's back up is Smith who is a true freshman and has had very little time to grasp the offense. Yanking him earlier would have accomplished nothing except to help Smith develop bad habits (dumping too fast, locking onto a receiver, etc.) that would have slowed down his development. Other than Gainer in the backfield we have Sanders (currently injured), Clemons (out for the year), and Williams and Jonathon George. Sanders, Williams, and George all have more experience in the system than Smith. Plus, Gainer had a serious elbow injury followed by a serious infection.

This:

"Obviously ball security isn't that important to Joker."

IS NOTHING MORE THAN MADE UP NONSENSE.

This:

"Give Gainer a shot during a game,"

He got some carries against Jacksonville State. I didn't see any need to put him in against MSU. Two other backs that have been working hard without putting the ball on the ground in practice got carries. They have been waiting and working to play too.

This:

"I don't care if it puts the ball on the ground during drills. Some kids are just "gamers" with poor practice habits."

My guess would be that most coaches in America don't put in kids with poor practice habits. Gainer did OK versus an outmatched Jacksonville State but his accomplishments (against an outmatched opponent) didn't scream for playing time. No proof of being a "gamer" in that game.

About this:

"What's up with keeping a guy like Crawford on the team if your never really going to forgive his past mistakes?"

He gets in and plays. But, he is behind Rumph and Cobble. I don't see any reason for him to start.

This:

"And then there's the Moss situation. Just never felt like the kid got a fair shot."

This is a case of feelings not matching reality.

Good for you rompcat +1

I find this statement blatantly asinine! Matt is as fair and balanced as they come from what I have read. I don't really care what you post on here, but I will call out falsehoods when I see them, and this is a biggie.

I didn't blame you for anything. You asked who the talented players were. Hell, if anybody should know the answer to that question, it should be you and your staff.

Because after all, isn't that what you charge $9.95 a month for?

If you are suggesting that we not put any stock in your evaluations of recruits, just let me know and I'll cancel my subscription.

I did neither:

"Who, exactly, are all these talented players you're referring to?"

"The home for the most in-depth coverage and discussion of Kentucky football"

Those are your words not mine. And they seem a little contradictory.

It's your site. You can run it how ever you want. You don't seem to have the traffic over here that you probably hoped to have which I'm sure creates some stress. That's understandable.

But getting testy with the paying customers is never a good idea even in good times.