Under the most pressure

[teamchemistry15]

Watching the SEC media day got me thinking. They were just talking about the pressure on Alabama's QB. Do you think the Alabama QB is under more pressure or criticism than the PG at UK? What do you think the most stressful positions in college are? How about all of sports?

Other stressful and criticized positions are:

Cowboys QB
Yankees SS
Lakers C/PF

Now, no college position can compare to a professional one if you ask me. In college sports the two that are at the top is Saban and Cal. We often compare the two. Who has the team that is under more pressure to perform?

[GOCAT15]

It was be hard to say that there is many other positions under more pressure than just about every college football QB in the south, and Alabama would have to probably be #1.

And I kind of disagree that a college position can't compare to a pro, there are a lot of pro teams out there that have less fans and less criticism than a football school like Alabama and a basketball school like Kentucky.

And in college you have to be on campus around a bunch of people that may or may not be happy with you....when you are a pro, at the end of the day you go home to your family and it is much more business like in my opinion.

[teamchemistry15]

I just meant the heavily scrutinized ones like I listed. No one cares about the SF for the 76ers and I agree college kids can be under more pressure than guys like that.

[KevinHall]

Undoubtily is the QB. Nowdays if you don't have a good QB then your team is going nowhere. You can have a pg who is just so-so and still be very good.

[GOCAT15]

QB is by far the most scrutinized position, in college and the pros. It's one of those few positions where you are playing an individual game within a team game. Obviously being a pitcher is stressful as well, especially in a big market area, but since there are multiple pitchers on a team they still don't seem to get scrutinized like a QB.

I would have to agree that the Dallas cowboys QB has to be one of the most scrutinized athletic positions in the world though, they have a huge fan base and are always expected to be good, since they are "america's team".....which is BS.

I think the QB for the Green bay Packers would rank pretty high up there too, those people are nuts over their football.

[Blue Heaven]

The whole Kentucky Basketball program is under more pressure than any program in any sport. That's what makes it the best ever as well as the most hated. The numbers bear it out. The fandom bears it out. Thank God I'm a Kentucky Boy!

[Lighthouse]

The player under the most pressure is, the FT shooter in a tie game with .001 on the clock, or the QB with time running out, score tied and he has to scramble trying to find an open receiver, or in the same situation, the FG kicker, or the batter with 2 out, bottom of the 9th and the winning run on 2nd base. Or........

[Matt Dillon]

In my opinion, pressure isn't always felt by those at the top. A lot of people believe this is a pivotal season for the UK fb team. If so, I bet coach Stoops and co. are feeling a fair amount of pressure themselves.

[Joneslab]

In college generally it's the coaches who are under the most pressure. Usually (usually) the players are protected. It's an unspoken rule that you really don't rip college kids the way you do pros. Some fans do, but usually they'll vent their spleen on the head coaches.

So I don't think any college player could touch the pressure that some of these pros feel, but I do think people like Calipari and Saban are under enormous pressure totally unlike things you see at midmajors. But in this day and age they're all under pressure. As the contracts become astronomical and so many of these guys are fired, it's a pressure-packed job. The good news is that they're compensated hundreds of times better than the average American.

I agree with Matt Dillon. There's a ton of pressure on Mark Stoops this year. It's arguably one of the most critical seasons for UK football in recent memory. John Calipari is under a different kind of pressure--what he gets is more like an assault--but I doubt he's had to endure anything like Stoops is about to endure since he was at UMASS.

[KevinHall]

I have said for a long time that one big reason we see such conservative play in college basketball is the pressure on the coaches to win. It's easier for them to play a slow style they can control than to turn the players "loose" and run/press a little. The coaches know if they fail to make the tournament their job is under a lot of fire. Miss it a couple of years in a row and their job is doomed.

[Joneslab]

I have said for a long time that one big reason we see such conservative play in college basketball is the pressure on the coaches to win. It's easier for them to play a slow style they can control than to turn the players "loose" and run/press a little. The coaches know if they fail to make the tournament their job is under a lot of fire. Miss it a couple of years in a row and their job is doomed.

I agree with this, but I also think the new statistical models have something to do with it.

The Pomeroys of the world would tell you that low-risk play is better because of its efficiency. I don't know if it's better--I tend to think that if you have good players you'll win playing slow, fast, or in between, but definitely we've seen a move in the last 10+ years to kind of play slow and turnover-free, keep the game close, and then try to break the other team's back with late three-point shots.

[TrueblueCATfan]

The whole Kentucky Basketball program is under more pressure than any program in any sport. That's what makes it the best ever as well as the most hated. The numbers bear it out. The fandom bears it out. Thank God I'm a Kentucky Boy!

I could not agree more