Steve Kragthorpe speaks, still manages to say nothing

by Mike Rutherford on Oct 8, 2007 7:29 AM EDT in News Comment 17 comments

Brian Bennett sat down for a candid interview with embattled Louisville football coach Steve Kragthorpe on Sunday, and what transpired was every bit as underwhelming as you'd expect it to be.

Bennett was appropriately tough, and should be commended for trying, but over the course of a 13-question interview ~~Scott McClellan~~ Kragthorpe pretty much managed to say nothing more than that the defense against Utah was bad.

You can read the full interview here, but if you only want the ultra-sexy highlights then I've got you covered.

Q: Obviously this is a tough time right now. Do you worry about the players' spirits, and what kinds of things will you say to them to make sure you don't lose them?

A: We're constantly talking about coming out and being a better football team. I know our guys want to do that, and we'll come back out tomorrow and continue to work.

Q: Do you feel like the coaching in general is getting through to the players? Because there do seem to be several recurring problems.

A: We've got to do a better job of not making mistakes, and if we make mistakes we've got to get them corrected to where we don't make them again.

Q: Could you be any more specific about how you can ...

A: No, that's my statement

Q: So was it Utah snapping the ball quickly then that had defensive players not lined up in time?

A: They did some of that. And they did some motions and shiftings, and we didn't adjust properly

Q: That seems to be a recurring problem, or at least players have said similar things most of the year. Have you seen any improvement in that area, or is this just a season-long problem?

A: I've seen some improvement in it, but we're not consistent. We've got to be consistent on defense to be a good football team. We're not consistent on offense and special teams either. Right now we're not playing consistently.

Chris Hansen couldn't get a decent quote out of this guy.

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Comments

The defense was bad?

No f'in way! RU 4 REALZ?

This guy needs to take a class from Pitino on PR. Even if you know what Pitino is giving you is complete BS, at least he sounds like he's being open and giving detailed answers.

To paraphrase Quinn1979, there is just this awful aura around the whole Kragthorpe era right now, and interviews like this after a 2-game home losing streak (first since 1999!!!!!!) to 1 decent and 1 awful team only add to that.

Other than trying to enjoy the last 6 or so times we get to see Brohm, Harry, and whoever else is leaving in cardinal uniforms, is there ANYTHING positive about ANY part of the football program right now?

by CardsFan922 on Oct 8, 2007 7:50 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Short bathroom lines?

by Mike Rutherford on Oct 8, 2007 7:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Ha!

I'll have to ask my wife, since I don't use the restrooms at PJCS, and generally only interact with them while impatiently waiting for her, whose insistence on stopping might make me miss the opening kickoff.

by CardsFan922 on Oct 8, 2007 8:12 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

don't use the bathroom?

Why not? I met Larry Craig there last season.

by Blocky on Oct 8, 2007 8:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ha

We've got Larry Craig and Scott McClellan references on the same post. This blog is slowly turning into Murphy Brown...not that I watched Murphy Brown or have a Candice Bergen poster on my wall or anything.

by Mike Rutherford on Oct 8, 2007 8:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Umm, or ceiling?

by frankpos on Oct 8, 2007 9:21 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

More than anything...

..I think you are dating yourself with this one, frank!!

by CardsFan922 on Oct 8, 2007 9:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ha!

how true

Farrah was nice...

by frankpos on Oct 8, 2007 9:29 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don't drink beer..

...or anything else for that matter.

I'm kinda weird about games. Totally about the game, hate leaving my seats, hate the big crowds on the concourse, hate halftime, hate TV timeouts, hate the walk from the car to the stadium...just want to be in my seat and watch the game.

by CardsFan922 on Oct 8, 2007 8:29 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That's because you,

like me, have a direct effect on what actually takes place on the field. It's a large burden to bear, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

by Mike Rutherford on Oct 8, 2007 8:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Man, that's some dedication

No beer, no peeing, no tailgating

Food? I don't need no stinkin' food!

Play Ball!

I dig it

by frankpos on Oct 8, 2007 9:26 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

When a person has no answers

how can he give any?

This bland no- detail gibberish has gone on since at least Mid Tenn game-- and started in earnest with UK loss.

There's always been BS

Now we have -- KS (Koach - speak)

by frankpos on Oct 8, 2007 9:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Dear jesus

This hype machine is the most frustrating thing I've ever heard in my life. It's time he comes open and really talks to the fans. Since we won't win too many more games this year, do SOMETHING, ANYTHING for the fans. Christ almighty.

That's my statement.

Kentucky fans are bitches.

by CaptainPiCARD on Oct 8, 2007 11:08 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Vapidity

That's what's happening here. This guy is vapid, vacant, and in way over his head. The "that's my comment" stuff is used by weak-minded politicians when they're scared of perhaps telling the truth. Same with this coach who's managed to turn two programs around -- Tulsa's and ours, though ours he turned in the wrong direction.

By sticking to the silent treatment, he thinks he's presenting an aura of mental toughness. "You're not gonna get me to talk; I stick to my guns." Unfortunately, those guns are shooting his feet to pieces.

Let's face it. This guy could be here a half-dozen years or so and things won't change, I don't think. This season is costing us recruits, not just losses. We're going to have to deal with the effects of this nonsense for years, just as the nation will have to deal with the effects of our foreign policy blunders of the past half-dozen years.

If he truly was a super-religious man, as he tries to project, he'd have the decency to admit this is a bad fit and move on. But he won't; he's say that being tough, sticking to it and seeing it through is the only way. (Sounds like Bush in Iraq, doesn't it?)

Until this guy is gone, we're doomed.

by theoldman on Oct 8, 2007 11:13 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I just figured out what his answers remind me of

For some reason they remind me of the answers that contestants give in the Miss America pageant. You know, the contestant has to comment on some topic du jour like bringing about world peace or something. She just says the same cliche-ridden lines over and over again until her time expires. It's the segment that's painful for everyone: the contestant, the emcee, and especially the viewer. After it's over, you just scratch your head and say "What the fuck was that?" That's how Krag's responses struck me.

by louisville lisa on Oct 8, 2007 4:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Come to think of it

He does sort of remind me of Miss Teen South Carolina.

Like in places such as secondary and the, uh defensive line, and everywhere like such as.

by Mike Rutherford on Oct 8, 2007 8:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Pitiful and Pithy

So the viceroy of verbosity has nothing more to say? When asked for something actually specific, you reply that 'No, that's my statement'? A word to the wise Koach - tell us something! Give us something! We're drowning, and you keep pushing our heads down under water.

Stay strong my Cardinal brothers and sisters. We're about to declaw the Bearcats.

Is Koach the man for the job? For now I'll just say No...that's mt statement.

CARDINAL PRIDE

by BR on Oct 8, 2007 10:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs