RCT Roundtable - Episode 2: The Weaknesses Strike Back

Today we are looking at the weaknesses for this 2022 Kansas Football team. Are there weak spots in KU football? Is the Pope Catholic?

Tim: There are plenty of candidates to consider. I naturally turned my eye to the defensive side of the ball. There are a lot of new faces, but not a lot of proven ability outside of Kenny Logan. I considered special teams, mainly the punting and place-kicking positions, but though not great, I am not sure they will get the opportunity to cost KU games this fall. In the vein of costing KU games, I even considered going with Big 12 refs as KU’s biggest weakness. They were awful last season, and I have little hope they will be better this season, but they are not really a KU weakness. KU is just a victim of their ineptitude.

Then last Thursday the news came out of the arrest of two KU players, who both are part of the wide receiver group. In the end, only one of the players has been charged, and Trevor Wilson is the only one suspended at this point. This takes a group already thin on experience and proven ability and made the group a bigger question mark than it already is. KU may have a competent offensive line and talented running backs, but if the passing game is unable to keep defenses honest, there will be little room for the linemen and backs to operate and that will quickly cost KU opportunities for victories this fall.

David: The defensive line caused problems last year, and I expect that they will still be a weak point. The team lost Kyron Johnson, and even with him on the field they didn’t generate a lot of pressure. That starts up front, specifically with the interior line. If the tackles can occupy a few blockers and open things up on the edge and for blitzing linebackers, it will make a huge difference. But unless we see drastic improvement from last year, I don’t think opposing offenses will be concerned with containing KU’s front four when they drop back to pass.

Fizzle: This team still has a ways to go (Miles to Go? I’m sorry). Like David and Tim said, the defense is a big worry. Dumb decisions is setting the wide receiver core back and this team has zero margin for error this year. If the offense has to fight for every point on the board while opposing teams can bull rush through the defense, its going to be a long season in Lawrence.

Come back tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion of the RCT Roundtable