As a die hard U of L fan and alumni, I want to see all of our teams do well. Like most red-blooded American males, though, football and basketball are the most important to me. So, watching the first two games of the University of Louisville football team's season has been painful. We have struggled against opponents that should not be able to compete with us. Especially on our home field. Replacing our starting quarterback is not the answer though. Not yet!
We have not looked great on either side of the ball. Our defense gave up several big plays in the loss to Florida International, and our offensive line couldn't block anybody. As a fan, it is sometimes hard to keep things in perspective. After all, fan is short for fanatic! It is easy to let your emotions get the best of you because you want your team to win so badly. If you take a step back, however, you can see why this Cardinal football team is having such a difficult time.
Louisville lost 26 seniors from last year's squad. Regardless of the talent level of those departed, it is a tall order to replace that many players, not to mention their leadership and intangibles. We have no returning starters on our offensive line (Mario Benavides was supposed to return as the starting center, but he is injured). We have had several key injuries on our defensive line including starters Greg Scruggs and B.J. Butler, and both cornerbacks are first-year starters. The Cards are an extremely young team, and consequently, rely on underclassmen (including many freshman) to help win ball games. Several of our young players have performed well. In most cases, they are more talented than their upperclassmen teammates. But playing at this level is a very difficult transition for most kids right out of high school.
Everybody has an opinion, but we aren't the coach. I am extremely confident in Charlie Strong and believe he will do everything possible to give us the best opportunity to win. Getting Teddy Bridgewater to sign with U of L was huge for coach Strong and his program. Don't you think he would play him if he thought Teddy was ready? Will Stein has not been the reason we have performed badly in the first two games. I am not saying he has been spectacular, but he has had very little support from his teammates. We haven't been able to run the ball effectively and Stein has been scrambling for his life to avoid sacks (FIU recorded 6 of them).
Coach Strong feels Will gives us the best chance to win right now and I don't have the credentials to argue with him. Frankly, most Stein detractors don't either. Be patient! This team will improve. As a fan, though, I certainly hope to see vast improvement from our squad in Saturday's game against that team down the road!!
Go Cards! Beat UK!!
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