LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A week ago coach Jeff Brohm said he was concerned that more fresh playmakers had not emerged on his second University of Louisville football team.
On Saturday, Brohm restricted his critical comments to his offense, but cranked the volume up to 100.
“The offense had a really bad day,” Brohm said.
Anything else?
“It was a really dismal day on offense with bad, negative plays and turnovers,” Brohm said.
I could sense from Brohm’s facial expression that he was not finished. So I asked him if the defense was dominant on the line of scrimmage, in the secondary or other aspects of the game.
“You name it,” Brohm said.
“Today the defense, without question, got after the offense and it was a butt-kicking from play one until the end.”
Allow me to call the first timeout of the season. I remember sitting in the press box at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta last Sept. 1 and watching flags fly on social media as Brohm and his team trailed Georgia Tech, 28-13, at halftime of the season opener. The Cards delivered a marvelous impression of a 2-10 team.
For a half.
Then, they rallied to score 26 points in the second half of a 39-34 road win over the Yellow Jackets, the first step in a 6-0 start as well as a 10-2 regular season.
Overreact to early scrimmage takeaways at your own risk.
Louisville has two weeks until its opening game against visiting Austin Peay on Aug. 31, followed by another winnable game against Jacksonville State, followed by an off week before Georgia Tech visits for the Atlantic Coast Conference opener.
Yes, the news that arrived Saturday afternoon that receiver Caullin Lacy will miss extended time after suffering a broken collarbone during the scrimmage added another frown to the day.
But the Cards don't face something like Clemson opening against Georgia or Notre Dame starting against Texas A&M. The Cardinals certainly have time to find their groove.
But Saturday was the second time in eight days that Brohm found little to nothing to compliment about his offense. He has only mentioned the names of two offensive players in both post-scrimmage media scrums — reserve halfback Isaac Brown last week and quarterback Tyler Shough on Saturday.
No praise for the starting halfbacks.
No praise for the offensive line.
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Mixed reviews for the receivers.
Brohm made certain to say that he needed to coach better.
And Brohm’s quick analysis of Shough’s performance was less than glowing.
“It’s not a great day by Tyler,” he said. “He didn’t get a ton of help.
“We had some turnovers. There was some aggressiveness that we like. But today it didn’t work, that we’ve got to be smart with.”
Make a note that Brohm did sound legitimately impressed by the performance of the U of L defense. The push and disruption from the front. The tackling ability of the linebackers. The coverage skills of the secondary.
“I just think today, containing the edge, disrupting routes, getting in the quarterback’s face, challenging the receivers to win one-on-one, the defense won the battle,” Brohm said.
“If I wasn’t on offense, it’s fun to watch a defense challenge and be that dominating, when they want to be and when they’re doing a lot of things right.
“Obviously, it makes you refocus on offense as well … for some reason we’re not throwing the ball well and making plays. The running game has to pick us up.”
Replacing Jawhar Jordan and Isaac Guerendo at running back was never going to be a snap of the fingers. Jamari Thrash was a consistent playmaker at receiver until injuries limited his effectiveness.
Bryan Hudson was an all-conference performer as well as leader on the offensive line. Quarterback Jack Plummer had his issues but he also had his moments. You don’t win 10 games with awful quarterback play.
Maybe the Cards’ defense is better than advertised. Maybe Brohm is sending a message to his offensive unit. Or maybe the Cardinals have considerable work to do on that side of the ball.
“Today,” Brohm said, “I think I could actually tell. It was really good by the defense and really bad by the offense.”
Message delivered.
More Louisville Football Stories:
- LUNCHEON BITES | The 4 best things Brohm said at Louisville's annual kickoff event
- BOZICH | Can Louisville offensive line keep Tyler Shough at QB for more than 7 games?
- BOZICH | Brohm disappointed by lack of emerging playmakers in Cards' first scrimmage
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