- Jun 12, 2014
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Founding Member
After reading a couple of threads, I think we'll start out with a joke to lighten the mood a little. Here goes...What did Bennie Snell say to the Florida defense when he ran into them at the bar in Club Park Avenue? "Excuse me guys, but may I push your stool in?"
Bad joke, but you get the point. Snell ran for 175. He's a good back, but I couldn't believe just how many missed tackles we had. I was hoping we had that leftover habit repaired, but apparently not. I was not quite as surprised that the OL stunk, unfortunately. You won't win many when the opponent dominates both lines of scrimmage. Big story of the game as far as I'm concerned, but let's talk about some of the moving parts:
*Franks was not consistent tonight and it would be easy to say he either regressed from the first game or he just fooled us against an over matched opponent. Maybe a little of both. Though he wasn't real sharp, he was better when the game was close and made some good decisions and good reads and throws in the first half. I didn't think he handled the pressure when behind with the clock ticking. To be fair, the OL didn't make his job any easier. The missed opportunity on the two point conversion attempt was a text book case of Franks making his mind up to throw back across the formation, which we scored against CSU with, and completely missing a wide open Davis...on the side he rolled to! He may be better, but there's still work to be done, especially with composure.
*Poster boy for our OL woes is Martez Ivey. Tackle body; Guard feet. Poor Fred Johnson is a close second. But really they all seem to play with cement shoes and look confused on their assignments frequently. The SEC Network commentator made a good point on the step-gap responsibility that remains backside that wasn't fulfilled. Got to at least be able to get a punch and slow the guy up a step. Ground Hog Day.
*The entire D was not good. It starts with the DL, who simply got manhandled the majority of the game (when they weren't being held; a lot of no calls IMO). Our LBs aren't good, but they're really not good when the DL can't protect them. Henderson looked like our best cover guy in the secondary and I can't say much bad about Chauncey, but we gave up two TD's that certainly should have been better covered IMO. First one was a young guy that got caught peeking at the QB when he should have been in the receiver's jersey with him. The second I thought the safety had plenty of time to read the route and adjust, but it never happened. Losing Wilson will definitely hurt. Even though they did have a couple of good stops, the entire D better grow up in a hurry.
*I've alluded to what I believe were several missed holding calls by the officials, so you can read that as I'm not impressed with their performance. I won't say "we was robbed," but they didn't help matters. The homer in me also says as close as the field goal attempt was, it was hard for me to see justification in the no good call. I guess I understand the rule change that the ball must be inside the upright when it crosses, but I'm not agreeing with it tonight. Could have made a difference, particularly if Franks would have seen Davis! Moot point I guess.
*High point in the game was the 99 yard drive. It wasn't smooth, but the ending was beautiful.
*Freddy Swain was announced as the player of the game. Toney looked good. Franks, again, wasn't consistent with all his throws, but we had some drops. Cleveland had some stone hands tonight.
*I'm sure Mullen (and the staff) will be raked over the coals and surely they deserve some criticism. Personally, I felt like we didn't rush the ball to set up the pass nearly enough at the outset, but maybe what they knew about the OL influenced that decision? Poor tackling has to fall in the coach's lap. Illegal substitution penalty after the time out was inexcusable. I'm sure there are more. But if you didn't think that there was going to be some of what was on display tonight from this roster, you were kidding yourself. The fact that we saw it this early was a kindling point. The fact that UK was better than they have been, got pretty good play from their QB, Snell, and didn't shoot themselves in the foot like last year had a bearing on the outcome.
Back to the drawing board and another week of bitchin' in store. Got to find away to get more wins on the LOS. For as much as the average fans these days want to focus on the skill positions and the need for entertainment, the game is still usually won or lost at the line. I believe tonight helped remind us of that. Still a lot of football to be played, but it's got to get better in all phases as we move forward. Go Gators!
Bad joke, but you get the point. Snell ran for 175. He's a good back, but I couldn't believe just how many missed tackles we had. I was hoping we had that leftover habit repaired, but apparently not. I was not quite as surprised that the OL stunk, unfortunately. You won't win many when the opponent dominates both lines of scrimmage. Big story of the game as far as I'm concerned, but let's talk about some of the moving parts:
*Franks was not consistent tonight and it would be easy to say he either regressed from the first game or he just fooled us against an over matched opponent. Maybe a little of both. Though he wasn't real sharp, he was better when the game was close and made some good decisions and good reads and throws in the first half. I didn't think he handled the pressure when behind with the clock ticking. To be fair, the OL didn't make his job any easier. The missed opportunity on the two point conversion attempt was a text book case of Franks making his mind up to throw back across the formation, which we scored against CSU with, and completely missing a wide open Davis...on the side he rolled to! He may be better, but there's still work to be done, especially with composure.
*Poster boy for our OL woes is Martez Ivey. Tackle body; Guard feet. Poor Fred Johnson is a close second. But really they all seem to play with cement shoes and look confused on their assignments frequently. The SEC Network commentator made a good point on the step-gap responsibility that remains backside that wasn't fulfilled. Got to at least be able to get a punch and slow the guy up a step. Ground Hog Day.
*The entire D was not good. It starts with the DL, who simply got manhandled the majority of the game (when they weren't being held; a lot of no calls IMO). Our LBs aren't good, but they're really not good when the DL can't protect them. Henderson looked like our best cover guy in the secondary and I can't say much bad about Chauncey, but we gave up two TD's that certainly should have been better covered IMO. First one was a young guy that got caught peeking at the QB when he should have been in the receiver's jersey with him. The second I thought the safety had plenty of time to read the route and adjust, but it never happened. Losing Wilson will definitely hurt. Even though they did have a couple of good stops, the entire D better grow up in a hurry.
*I've alluded to what I believe were several missed holding calls by the officials, so you can read that as I'm not impressed with their performance. I won't say "we was robbed," but they didn't help matters. The homer in me also says as close as the field goal attempt was, it was hard for me to see justification in the no good call. I guess I understand the rule change that the ball must be inside the upright when it crosses, but I'm not agreeing with it tonight. Could have made a difference, particularly if Franks would have seen Davis! Moot point I guess.
*High point in the game was the 99 yard drive. It wasn't smooth, but the ending was beautiful.
*Freddy Swain was announced as the player of the game. Toney looked good. Franks, again, wasn't consistent with all his throws, but we had some drops. Cleveland had some stone hands tonight.
*I'm sure Mullen (and the staff) will be raked over the coals and surely they deserve some criticism. Personally, I felt like we didn't rush the ball to set up the pass nearly enough at the outset, but maybe what they knew about the OL influenced that decision? Poor tackling has to fall in the coach's lap. Illegal substitution penalty after the time out was inexcusable. I'm sure there are more. But if you didn't think that there was going to be some of what was on display tonight from this roster, you were kidding yourself. The fact that we saw it this early was a kindling point. The fact that UK was better than they have been, got pretty good play from their QB, Snell, and didn't shoot themselves in the foot like last year had a bearing on the outcome.
Back to the drawing board and another week of bitchin' in store. Got to find away to get more wins on the LOS. For as much as the average fans these days want to focus on the skill positions and the need for entertainment, the game is still usually won or lost at the line. I believe tonight helped remind us of that. Still a lot of football to be played, but it's got to get better in all phases as we move forward. Go Gators!