Bits & Pieces: Florida vs. Iowa

[cover2]

If nothing else can be said, it was nice to see the bowl outcome today on the heels of the end to this season (and last). Seemed to be a better attitude and certainly effort this year compared to the last bowl and that was surely heartening given the depleted roster. The biggest question I have now is what type of impact will this game have on the remaining weeks of this recruiting cycle? Most definitely it would have to give a little confidence in the program to some of the remaining targets and perhaps bolster the committed to prevent any last minute flips? I would like to think that a couple of staff changes would also help as well, but that remains to be seen. So for a few moments, maybe it's best to just enjoy a bowl outcome that was once consistently expected and reflect on a game that didn't end as closely as many of us initially thought:

• The way Appleby started, I couldn't help but think that we were going to be down a couple of scores and fail to get any closer given our offensive woes and Iowa's defensive rep. But that wasn't the case. He shook off some early gaffs and settled in to do enough good to help us win. I wouldn't say he "carved" the Hawkeyes up by any means, but he made a few nice throws and managed the lead. Again, I think he's a good young man, but not a particularly great QB (better than LDR), so it was good to see him go out on a positive note. That said, I hope we are past the transfer QB's for a while even though the fact that we didn't pull a red shirt off even as bad as we struggled from this position this year doesn't exactly fill me with confidence!
• Marcel Harris continues to improve. Nice to see him becoming a leader of the D by his improved play and aggressiveness. Several other youngsters gave notice...Vosean Joseph and Chauncey Gardner did a lot of good things obviously and maybe even without the recognizable depth, we are developing a nucleus of the next great unit? Time will tell, but the aforementioned depth, especially at LB, has to begin being addressed now. We'll see if any can be added at this late date.
• Stopping the Hawkeyes drive to begin the second half was big. They were running it up our @ss and a score could have given them the momentum and created some doubt on our part. But we avoided it and went on to put some points of our own up on the board. Kudos to our guys in this regard.
• A few things that concern me still are the poor fundamentals that we seem to display every game. Defensively, the two most concerning are the tackling errors (high, poor wrap-up, flying in out of control with no break down) and loss of contain by the DE's, particularly against the boot action where we flatten out and can't redirect once the QB changes direction. This continues to speak to shoddy coaching IMO seeing how it has been continuous. Youth of the players is a contributing factor but shouldn't be an excuse at this point.
• Digging up an old debate, I'll be glad to not have to see Appleby try the little pitch to his left ever again. Sure, it would have had a positive outcome if it could have been executed. Poor guy looked like he was wearing two slick furry mittens. Thank goodness that play wasn't for the win.
• OL was decent in pass pro and erratic with run blocking. I'd still have to say that they ended the season better than they began, but this is a group that will need to be much more consistent next season. We all know this, but can it happen?
• DL, with a few exceptions, was pretty decent most of the game and got some pressure on the Iowa QB. Nice to see Brantley and Ivie make a couple of plays and go out on a high note. Most think we've got a few good youngsters, but we need some more bodies and talent as well. Kid from Leesburg would be a great addition if we could add him. Our high school played him this year and he pretty much wrecked us single-handedly, and we've got a RB committed to Bama who is pretty special but was held to far less than what he usually averages rushing.
• I was glad to see Garcia get to step in and play. Another good kid who is also a great citizen and representative of the Gators. That said, he struggled, but benefitted from our DL play. He didn't hurt us and will take some great memories with him.
• Got tired of hearing the announcers beat the Iowa QB's hamstring injury and him staying in the game to death. It's football. Players are supposed to play through some pain, or at least they used to.
• Hate to see our punter leave. He was a good one. Could flip the field as good as anyone. Hope he has a career at the pro level that equals Ray Guy.

Now comes the key part. Can Mac salvage the recruiting this year or maybe even get a little sugar to close? I'm still not sold on his abilities in this area or his approach (what I know and have seen/read about it), so I'm looking to be pleasantly surprised. If so, maybe we got a chance. If not, I'm afraid this win won't be the turning point we need, but we'll see. At least we don't go back to work tomorrow having to eat a sh!t sandwich served up by rival co-workers. For that we can all be thankful! Go Gators!

 

[Alagator]

Great post, Cover! Go Gators!

 

[Gulfstream]

As usual great post Cover!

I was wondering what your thoughts were regard Shannon specifically, as the permanent DC?

The defense while short handed seemed to play better, or with more energy in this bowl game than last year IMHO.

 

[Since65]

Good analysis as usual. In light of the fact that this staff has been regularly criticized for lack of "adjustments" I thought it interesting that they employed a different defensive scheme than usual. Comments from the Iowa side indicated that the schemes used were not the norm and not what they were expecting. It seemed to cause some small degree of confusion in their offensive plan.

Not sure if that is a result of having Shannon running the defensive show or a desperation move based on so many injuries on that side of the ball but it does seem to fall under the heading of adjustments. Also interesting that McElwain mentioned being more physical on the defensive side next year. Again, is that an indictment of Collins or more a reflection of Shannon's style and perhaps an indicator that he will be retained as DC?

There continued to be some ugly moments but a win is better than a loss. As Herm Edwards once said "you play to win the game".

 

[MJMGator]

Haven't seen the game...did we play man coverage and load the box? I thought that would be our best bet with the injuries at LB and safety.

 

[Gulfstream]

Haven't seen the game...did we play man coverage and load the box? I thought that would be our best bet with the injuries at LB and safety.

Yes.

 

[Lake Gator]

Cover, this was a thoroughly enjoyable game. Iowa may not be ranked but they are a very respectable team. Some thoughts:

1. Considering all the defense injuries before and during the game, to hold a physical team with 2 - 1000 yard rushers to 3 points is a job well done. If Mac can give him some recruiting hotshot assistants, Shannon may have earned himself a permanent job title as DC.

2. Eddy, Eddy. What a 180 deg change from last year when an extra point was a 50/50 proposition.

3. Playcalling didn't turn stagnant after the first drive or two as in games past. This renews my hope for the future, especially with a more consistently accurate QB (Franks?) at the helm.

4. Recruiting...this game can't hurt....I pray for a strong finish.

 

[NavetG8r]

Haven't seen the game...did we play man coverage and load the box? I thought that would be our best bet with the injuries at LB and safety.

Go watch the game, silly. Stop asking questions. These bozo's ain't gonna answer honest anyway, and you know it.

 

[MJMGator]

Go watch the game, silly. Stop asking questions. These bozo's ain't gonna answer honest anyway, and you know it.

It's too late. I couldn't stay awake long enough to watch a game tonight.

 

[NavetG8r]

It's too late. I couldn't stay awake long enough to watch a game tonight.

If you can make it through the first quarter, you'll have no problem staying awake after that. Our boys played well, I thought.

 

[Lake Gator]

Haven't seen the game...did we play man coverage and load the box? I thought that would be our best bet with the injuries at LB and safety.

Lost yet another linebacker (K Johnson) during game and shifted from a 4-3-4 to a 4-2-5. Still held up well when it counted. 3 interceptions with long returns including a pik-6.

 

[BMF]

Good analysis as usual. In light of the fact that this staff has been regularly criticized for lack of "adjustments" I thought it interesting that they employed a different defensive scheme than usual. Comments from the Iowa side indicated that the schemes used were not the norm and not what they were expecting. It seemed to cause some small degree of confusion in their offensive plan.

Not sure if that is a result of having Shannon running the defensive show or a desperation move based on so many injuries on that side of the ball but it does seem to fall under the heading of adjustments. Also interesting that McElwain mentioned being more physical on the defensive side next year. Again, is that an indictment of Collins or more a reflection of Shannon's style and perhaps an indicator that he will be retained as DC?

There continued to be some ugly moments but a win is better than a loss. As Herm Edwards once said "you play to win the game".

I thought his "we need to get tougher" comments were specifically directed at the OL.

 

[Since65]

I thought his "we need to get tougher" comments were specifically directed at the OL.

Upon further review....he said "more physical up front". Guess that could mean OL....or DL. But the OL is clearly the unit that needs more physicality.

 

[bayou gator]

Great post, Cover! For me, the best thing to see was the good guys show up and play a "meaningless" bowl game with some pride. We haven't always done that over the years, and these boys seemed to really enjoy playing the game, and playing like they had something to prove. That gives me some positive feelings headed into the offseason. I'm just hoping the inspired play bleeds over into some momentum on the recruiting trail. That is our best hope at this point. I am not sold on Mac's coaching, but all of that won't matter without better recruiting results.He doesn't stand a chance if he can't turn it around on the trail.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Great post, Cover! For me, the best thing to see was the good guys show up and play a "meaningless" bowl game with some pride. We haven't always done that over the years, and these boys seemed to really enjoy playing the game, and playing like they had something to prove. That gives me some positive feelings headed into the offseason. I'm just hoping the inspired play bleeds over into some momentum on the recruiting trail. That is our best hope at this point. I am not sold on Mac's coaching, but all of that won't matter without better recruiting results.He doesn't stand a chance if he can't turn it around on the trail.

Bayou, why aren't you posting more?

You don't love us anymore?

We need your input. Glad to see you back.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Good analysis as usual. In light of the fact that this staff has been regularly criticized for lack of "adjustments" I thought it interesting that they employed a different defensive scheme than usual.

Getting rid of Sidehat was a great adjustment. He is thoroughly mediocre.

I still have trouble swallowing Shannon, but I guess he is doing his thing in orange and blue to the best of his ability. I guess this will hurt me more than I will ever know.

 

[rogdochar]

The display of pride & joy at playing for the Gators will resonate maximally with recruits considering UF.
Mac&crew have to translate this into as high ranked recruit class as possible.
His Crew has to "school" our defenders to hit,wrap-up,tackle, to not speed-rush headlong out of the play.
Got to have a decisive accurate firing QB next year. OL needs continued improvement.
Mac must cause these improvements to happen. He must be the CEO of a sharp staff rebuild.
Our coaches must start training, developing increased talents in all their players.

 

[Yankeetown]

Getting rid of Sidehat was a great adjustment. He is thoroughly mediocre.

I still have trouble swallowing Shannon, but I guess he is doing his thing in orange and blue to the best of his ability. I guess this will hurt me more than I will ever know.

When you consider that we're missing both our starting DEs,
AND our LB corps was basically 2 true freshman and a walkon (Garcia)
AND Iowa has a strong run-first offense,
AND (per what the TV announcers kept telling us) Iowa's OL was judged best in the country at the end of the season,
...
the defensive performance was just OUTSTANDING.

Somebody sure as heck coached 'em up.

And kudos to Caleb Brantley and Teez and Quincy Wilson, they did not hold back at all. When the leaders set that kind of example, good things happen.

 

[bayou gator]

Bayou, why aren't you posting more?

You don't love us anymore?

We need your input. Glad to see you back.

Thanks, brother! I love this place! Life has been pretty hectic as of late, and I haven't had the opportunity to consistently log in and give my 2 cents. Though, I am not sure it's really quite worth that much. Hopefully things will be slowing down for me, and I can take part more often in the debauchery and immorality that makes this place so warm and cozy!

 

[stephenPE]

1. Considering all the defense injuries before and during the game, to hold a physical team with 2 - 1000 yard rushers to 3 points is a job well done. If Mac can give him some recruiting hotshot assistants, Shannon may have earned himself a permanent job title as DC.

This^

Hopefully things will be slowing down for me, and I can take part more often in the debauchery and immorality that makes this place so warm and cozy!

Dont let sweet talk you..........his intentions are always suspect...........as we used to say in the good old days...............How bout them gators?