Captain's Cogitations - Charleston Southern

Captain Sasquatch

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Hoo boy that was a good time! The Swamp was happy, the players were fired up, nobody was miserable except the opposing fans. Hasn't been that way in a little while, has it? Now before I go any further, it was just Charleston Southern. But in a game like this, you can still see some trends, even with the absurd talent gap.

The biggest and most obvious trend from last night was the resurgence of Feleipe Franks as a viable quarterback. He looked more comfortable and confident last night than any of us have ever seen. Maybe part of that was the opponent, but I think Mullen deserves a lot of credit for getting this kid to pull his head out of his ass and snap out of whatever funk he was in last year. You can blame it on Mac, laziness, arrogance, or whatever you want, but the Feleipe Franks we saw last night is a new player.

He made a couple of ridiculously nice throws into tight windows, especially the last touchdown to Jefferson and the preceding throw to Massey. Regardless of who the opponent is, a throw into a tight window is a throw into a tight window. And the moment I truly knew Franks had changed was early in the 2nd quarter. It's not a play that will show up on highlight reels, but it looked like they were trying to run a fake quick screen to the outside, then hit someone streaking up the sideline. CSU had it covered, so instead of panicking, throwing it away, or scrambling, he stayed in the pocket, worked through his progression, and hit the TE wide open across the middle of the field for a first down. To me, that was his best play of the night and a true harbinger for things to come. I really liked what Jefferson and Grimes brought to the table, too. We've got a scary bunch of receivers this year, might be fun.

The running game wasn't quite what I was hoping last night. It didn't seem to me like Scarlett or Davis were reading their blocks well, and we weren't exerting our physical dominance over them as much as I was hoping. It could be something as simple as CSU's defensive gameplan was to limit the run game and force us to pass (like literally every other team has done for years), so it was nice to see us exploit the edge with the passing game and get chunks of yards that way. We'll see what happens from here on out now that we seem to have a competent passing attack.

Defensively, we'll know more after next week. The aforementioned talent gap was almost embarrassing at times. The long run they got towards the end of the first half seemed to be the result of our defense not being lined up/still coming on the field after a substitution. Would have liked to see us call a timeout to get everything in order.

Special teams haven't looked the way they looked last night in a long time, either. Blocked kicks, great kick coverage, emotion, all things we haven't seen since the pre-Mac days.

All in all, it was an extraordinarily satisfying and fun night, even if we knew going in the result was going to be lopsided. What I really wanted to see was the team having fun, playing with heart, and not making egregious mental mistakes. Can't say I didn't get what I wanted. Go Gators, best thing about being 1-0 is the chance to go 2-0!

Oh, and Kyle Trask now has one more college football touchdown than Law. So suck it, asswipe.

:finger:
 

78

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I'm glad you noted the tight throws in the red zone because they punctuated just how different Franks looked. And I mean real different. You can't be a big-time D-1 quarterback until you learn how to make those throws under pressure.
 

TN G8tr

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Very impressed with his accuracy, and toch. Loved the TE utilization, Krull will be a difference maker. Good stuff Sas!
 

Gulfstream

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Checking down to Gamble over the middle was a thing of beauty, and not seen done by a Gator qb in some time.
 

maheo30

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I'm glad you hit on the run game. I watched us try to run between the tackles with little success. That is worrying.
 

G8trwood

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Some of those tight windows concerned me (as he can be a bit late) as we approach better competitors. He did have a quick read and a rocket..

But as to are we having fun yet,

yes, yes I was. The Gator Nation needed that
 

gatormandan

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That TD catch by Jefferson was pretty. He was obstructed and was able to grab the ball anyhow. I felt good about our receivers.
 

GBHOR

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It was a lot fun, but.......as others have stated run game was concerning, and I’m in wait and see mode with Franks.
 

Swamp Donkey

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Some of those tight windows concerned me (as he can be a bit late) as we approach better competitors. He did have a quick read and a rocket..
It's just what he has to do. For a long time, since Driskel basically we have been claiming the WRs weren't open if they didn't have three steps. That just isn't going to happen in real games. He has to be able to hit those.

He is actually pretty good at hitting the longer stuff and the deep outs. That is something. Many QBs can't.
 

ergator920103

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My only complaint about Franks last night, is many of his balls are thrown high which can lead to deflected balls and interceptions. Those tight windows will not be there vs. many of the SEC teams ...
 

G8trwood

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It's just what he has to do. For a long time, since Driskel basically we have been claiming the WRs weren't open if they didn't have three steps. That just isn't going to happen in real games. He has to be able to hit those.

He is actually pretty good at hitting the longer stuff and the deep outs. That is something. Many QBs can't.

He had some nice touch on the outs which surprised me. Clearly he is learning when and when not to light the cannon.
 

ThreatMatrix

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Great post game. Keep it up, Sas.

Defense (3s?) did look confused prior to snap on that TD. Kinda like they looked consistently under Mac.
 

EuroGator

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the Feleipe Franks we saw last night is a new player.

Franks definately played better last night. I want to see more samples and see it against better competition before I'll believe that he's a new player. I hope he is, but time will tell.

The game was a blast!

:chomp:
 

GatorMan5K

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Great breakdown of the game. It's nice to see positivity on the board again. I feel like some probably didn't like what they saw cause they have nothing to bish about. I feel like there are some here that, maybe one a subconscious level, root against the Gators so they can be right about their gloom and doom predictions. But anyway, so glad for what I saw last night.

I guess I'm gonna have to go buy some shades, cause the future looks bright.
 

Swamp Donkey

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Franks definately played better last night. I want to see more samples and see it against better competition before I'll believe that he's a new player. I hope he is, but time will tell.

The game was a blast!

:chomp:
Errbody is cautious but you can't take the next step til you take the first step.

It may be next year before he is really ready. He hasn't had coaching, basically, ever, including high school. I'm not even certain Id call myself optimistic, just wait and see.
 
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Tay Bang

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Great breakdown of the game. It's nice to see positivity on the board again. I feel like some probably didn't like what they saw cause they have nothing to bish about. I feel like there are some here that, maybe one a subconscious level, root against the Gators so they can be right about their gloom and doom predictions. But anyway, so glad for what I saw last night.

I guess I'm gonna have to go buy some shades, cause the future looks bright.

I always get chills and goosebumps during the intro video and as the Gators run out of the tunnel. I also get some dust in both eyes for some reason during that intro.

One of the curses of some of us with high expectations is the inability to celebrate the little victories along the way. Last night was a little victory and I hope for many bigger ones.

 
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rogdochar

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Of course the OL has to give Franks time. Yet, Franks fired the ball pretty quickly. Further, he "fit" the ball into some tight spots, especially on TD passes. Thus, FF's effectiveness may stay up even against better teams. What we most need is much better run blocking with maximum Damien Pierce running. Hope KToney is at full capacity?
Hope UK plays like a worthy SEC opponent, but hope we thrash them as that.

Hey, let's get a read on our Offense's national ranking, now.
 

CapitalGator02

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Very impressed with his accuracy, and toch. Loved the TE utilization, Krull will be a difference maker. Good stuff Sas!
Result of a coach who is more interested in actually coaching than someone who slathers himself in BBQ sauce and beats off to Shark Week
 

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