Monday, September 05, 2005

Wake Me Up When September Begins

Well, autumn is almost here, which makes me happy. The Fall season happens to be my favorite time of year. The smell in the air, the colors, Halloween, football. It all adds up to create something that no other season can compete with. There's something about the atmosphere that I can't quite put my finger on, something that makes it more unique than any other time of the year. Perhaps it is seeing the world around you die in a glorious spectacle of red, yellow and orange. Perhaps it is the rustling of the of the leaves as they drift down the streets in the wind. Perhaps it is the eerie forboding of the approaching winter. Whatever it is, I like it. Spring is nice, but it makes me sneeze. Summer means no school, but it is too hot. Winter has snow but it is too cold. Autumn, however, is perfect. Some of the more tangible reasons why it is my favorite season:

1) The weather. Could you ask for better weather? I love the fact that I can step outside without SPF-ing it up and not get sunburned in half an hour.

2) The colors. For a couple of weeks, before all the leaves have fallen, it is a magnificent sight to behold.

3) Halloween. One of my favorite holidays. Do know that smell that Halloween has? I can't describe it, but it seems to be a smell that only comes around on All Hallow's Eve.

4) Thanksgiving. This needs no explanation.

5) The sounds. Leaves rustling, the wind blowing, the quiteness of night. All add to the mystic sura of autumn.

6) Football. Yes, that's right. Fall means the start of a new football season, which leads me into my next topic: opening day for UK.

While I was disappointed that we lost, I can't tell you how pleased I was with the performance of this year's squad. While many will look at this as just anotherletdown against a highly-ranked opponent, I look at is a huge step forward for the program. Two things stuck out to me while watching the game: 1) We moved the ball effectively. 2) We actaully made defensive adjustments at halftime, and held the 'Ville to 3 points in the second half. Here are my thoughts about how each position performed:

QB: Woodson exceeded my expectations, despite his fumbles. He throws the ball extremley, and makes good decisions. He seems to be lacking some pocket-presence, however. He has to recognize when his protection is breaking down, and either roll out or tuck the ball and run. I think this will develop as the season progresses.

RB: Rafael Little played well considering he had some very small holes to run through. He will be a major threat on offense, both recieving and rushing. He reads blocks well and has the speed to get around most defenders. I expect big things in the future from him.

O-Line: This was UK's undoing if you ask me. 7 sacks is unacceptable. However, the good news is that the O-line played much better in the secong half. All the lineman are over 300 pounds, and are coached by a man who coached the O-line at FSU for 17 years. They will get much better as the season goes on.

Receivers: By far the teams strong point. Burton looked phenomenal and has potential to become a big-time playmaker. Mitchell, Holt, Cook, and Tamme all also played well. I saw only one dropped pass the whole game, which is pretty darn good. This will be UK's bread-and butter this year.

D-line: They looked shaky in the first half, but got it together in the second half. They have to close those holes up. It might be important to mention that their best defensive end missed the game due to injury. This will be paramount to the teams success.

Linebackers: Nothing spectacular but nothing too bad either. Need to be able to put more pressure on the QB.

Secondary: Played extremely well, depite the fact that they had to worry about the run and the pass. UL had no pass plays over 20 yards. They kept everyting in front of them, and made big stops on third down, breaking up passes and making key tackles. This may be the best secondary we have had in quite a while.

Special Teams: Punter looked rattled, but that is to be expected when you are told you will be starting unexpectadly just days before. Kicking game was solid. Burton looked good returning kicks. Look for him to take one to the house before years end.

I am excited about this season. I think we may have finally started to turn things around. I know it is still early, but I think this team has the potential to do some great things this year. Hopefully we will draw some national attention and be able to bring in a solid recruiting class next year.

Fianlly, some random notes:

-Official song of the summer: Sugar, We're Goin' Down by Fall Out Boy.

- Troy Woodyard Quote of the week: "Man, I used to go up to Kroger all the time and get some of that grape soda and then throw it up later."

-Dick's Sporting Goods highlight of the week: Today a fellow employee suggested that we make up a game to play to pass time when business is slow. My boy Byron's suggestion for a fun game: "Slap That Booty". He then proceeded to demonstrate by making a booty-slapping motion with his hand while saying "Bhap!". That's pricleless.

posted by Wes @ 10:23 PM

7 Comments:

At 9/06/2005 01:32:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bhap!!! HAHA HAHA HAHA HA

I Love It!!!1

 
At 9/06/2005 05:32:00 PM, Blogger JTapp said...

Good breakdown of the game. My knock on Woodson is of course the FUMBLES!

 
At 9/06/2005 08:58:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

that sounds like a fun game, thanks byron! Wherever I go and there is nothing going on and we are trying to figure it out I will recommend this newly found game! Here's to you Byron!

As for the game, I was very happy with their play! To play the #12 team in the nation to seven points and to beat the spread by 15 points is pretty impressive, we had our chances and couldn't convert... if we work on blocking on the offensive line and ball security then i think this is a 6 win team headed to a bowl game come december/january!

 
At 9/06/2005 10:36:00 PM, Blogger Justin said...

kudos to the secondary they looked real solid!!!

 
At 9/07/2005 11:11:00 AM, Blogger d blake said...

i like john wiley... he's the eternal optimist when it comes to the sports teams he supports.

 
At 9/07/2005 03:44:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

thanks dave...

As for another team, the Reds, I still believe we can be a .500 ball club and take hold of third place over top the Cubbies! We hit a nice little win streak there a couple weeks ago and now seem to have hit a brick wall and can't get a win against teams like the Braves, Astros, or even Brewers.

 
At 9/07/2005 09:27:00 PM, Blogger Colby said...

Only knock I have on the cats other than the obvious is that a member of the secondary, Bo Smith, had over 15 tackles and let the team. But that is also a bright sign considering he was out last year after an unfortunate incident, and also that our secondary is tackling people.

 

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