Bits & Pieces: Florida vs. Florida State

[cover2]

It's just the beginning of the 4th quarter and I'm starting this thread! To say that I'm not feeling very confident right now is an understatement (and as I typed this, we let Francois escape the pocket and convert on 3rd and 7)! And just now we let the FB dive and score on what should have been a 1 yard 1st down conversion attempt. As bad as I hate to say this, we are at the stage with F$U, a heated in-state rival who has been kicking our @ss on the field and with the top Florida prospects in recruiting, where we think we can beat them and they know they can beat us. Started with Muschamp in 2013 and continues with Mac, who has yet to score a TD against them in the two games he has faced them (and won't barring a fluke at the end of the game). And like that, there's the fluke! Fumble on the punt return and Marcel scoops and scores (I need to keep bitching, I guess)! Still, it'd be nice if the O could put one across the line (didn't happen, unfortunately). Well, a TD pass just erased the defensive score. And a few minutes later at 00:00 the scoreboard reads 31-13 F$U. I'm sick of this trend.

But enough of my piss off screed. Here's some thoughts and my impressions of what I saw:

• I thought it was a big mistake to forsake the FG on the first drive. Many will say Mac wanted to make a statement and put them on their heels with the TD. Well, the statement I got was "I don't think we can win this one without a TD here!" So, instead of getting something out of it, we give them the confidence of recovering from a great drive and keeping us out of the end zone and off of the scoreboard. Maddening. And while I'm at it, with 1st and goal at the 7, why was there no Scarlett in for that series to at least make the only rush attempt?
• Brantley had a good game as did some of his mates on the DL. But the LB's, as good as they played last week, Reese especially, were invisible for the most part tonight. Khylan either runs himself out of plays on false keys or he gets blocked and stays blocked. Little wonder we held Cook to 96 yards in the 1st half!
• Appleby wasn't extremely accurate tonight, but the OL didn't slow the rush down very consistently and looked to take some steps backward tonight. There were at least three passes over the top that should have been converted, but save the one that Callaway might could have hauled in, he wasn't really close. His turnovers didn't help matters. He's a good kid and better than LDR, but right about now, those facts and a buck will get you a coke. It is imperative that we get a difference maker at that position very quickly. Otherwise, it'll be same song, different verse next year and possibly beyond.
• The TD pass to Rudolph should have been an easy break up at worst and maybe a pick. But the Safety on the left hash looked like he jumped the guy up the seam and let Rudolph cross his face wide open. Our kid made this error while the ball was in the air. He obviously didn't have an eye on the QB. To his credit, he did have an "Oh sh!t" reaction, but too late to recover.
• Somebody needs to apologize to Ed Zaunbrecker. The dink and dunk passing reached new heights this evening. But why should I be surprised? It looked like another harem-scare 'em offensive game plan. I know we had a lot of injuries to deal with, but hell, it's been that way for two years now. The thing everybody needs to understand is that yes, Nuss isn't very good, but Mac's signing off on this sh!t. And another thought is that we look like from an offensive standpoint we are preparing for Idaho, Montana, or whoever it was that Mac faced at Colorado State. F$U ain't great, but their personnel is better than we seem to give them credit for while planning.
• On the bright side, Marcel Harris looks like the light has come on. He made several big plays and save the super soft coverage on the wheel to cook that converted a 3rd and long, he was pretty solid otherwise. Gardener played pretty decent for a frosh as well.
• Just heard where we were 0-12 on 3rd down conversions
• Our TE's are about as bad blocking as I've ever seen. Why the hell we even attempt to run off tackle behind them is ridiculous. One instance was on a Scarlett run where he was across the LOS and Goolsby just stopped blocking and let his guy keep what looked like a long run held to 3 yards. We are an A/B gap rush team with an occasional stretch or sweep...to the weak side. We'd be better off running 3 receivers with a FB.
• Jimbo's halftime interview showed him happy and smiling and praising Cook's efforts. He knew he had this one in his back pocket. Right now, he owns Mac and the rest of us I suppose. The result tonight did nothing but ensure they get who they want from the best in-state recruits and we get the leftovers. Another "State Championship" as well (my aching @ss).
• I almost joined Kev in the crow eating thread. Glad now I didn't. Oh I'll still eat a plate full, but I'm inviting Mac to eat one with me, especially after his remark about the fans that haven't been real pleased with our offensive performances despite 8 wins. I just don't think he gets the importance of his role as the face of Gator Nation...at all. Maybe I'm wrong and I hope so, but right now, I'm having a hard time seeing us being any better than we are at this juncture. I'm happy that we've won the East two years in a row, but sooner or later, some of the teams on this side of the SEC are gonna get better, and if we aren't one of them, well, you know where we'll be. I think he and the staff have done well picking some mid-level recruits that are becoming good players, but unless he finds a way to get more of the top-level guys, I think we'll struggle to push through the envelope we currently find ourselves in.

So, we now limp into ATL against the SEC West champs (and national #1). It would be nice if I felt confident we could have an LSU redux, but I'm not feeling it at this moment. They (LSU) were a good defensive team, a little better than us maybe, but their offense was at least as bad as ours. After reflecting on that game this week, I'm no less proud of the win, but I know that if they don't make a couple of key mistakes, we probably walk out of Tiger Stadium with nothing more than a moral victory. But we made the plays when we had to, so there's that. But I believe Bama is potentially another story.

I'm sorry if this offends, but I just think we are seeing Mac at his best right now. Hope I'm wrong and maybe my frustrations from the Muschamp era are influencing my perceptions, but we've been doing the same thing offensively over and over this year and have beat the weak sisters, but save LSU, the better teams on the schedule, all both of them, have kicked our @ss. We are what we consistently do. The one thing I am pleased with is that we have begun playing with more passion of late, so maybe there is hope for improvements in other areas? I can only hope.

I'll be praying for a miracle against the Tide, so until next Saturday...Go Gators! Heal up and show up.


*edit - I thought all along that the D would have to play nearly flawless and the plan, which was no shocker, was to somehow keep Cook bottled up than on the loose and keep a lot of pressure on Francois. As it turned out, we didn't do either well enough to overcome what I expected our offense to provide (despite the nice yet unfulfilled opening drive).

 

[GatorJ]

Mac should get canned after we get crushed by Bama. And then we should go get a big time coach. Enough of this playing in the minors garbage.

At least with Chump the hire made sense.

 

[Durty South Swamp]

We've already seen macs best. We saw it before he ran off the only qb we had worth a damn... that someone else recruited.

He's a dead man walking and I want him put out of misery with haste. This whole thing is a total sht show.

 

[soflagator]

Good take. We are bad. We were also destined to be bad once we let the disaster of 2013 continue. In college football, it happens just that fast.

Btw, Franklin has his sanctions-laden PSU team one win away from a possible playoff birth. Thanks, Foley.

 

[Durty South Swamp]

Good take. We are bad. We were also destined to be bad once we let the disaster of 2013 continue. In college football, it happens just that fast.

Btw, Franklin has his sanctions-laden PSU team one win away from a possible playoff birth. Thanks, Foley.

And played a real schedule to do so too. We could have hired that guy... but no. Fooley was too smart for that.

 

[Gator Fever]

Foley said we were asking for offense so he gave it to us. That is what he said in that press conference anyway.

 

[T REX]

C2, solid as always. Mac does not pass the eye test. period.

 

[cover2]

Mac should get canned after we get crushed by Bama. And then we should go get a big time coach. Enough of this playing in the minors garbage.

At least with Chump the hire made sense.

Your last line says it all!

One thing I forgot to mention was that several other teams have exploited our D with the boot away from play action and when we try it, it usually doesn't work. The reason, the other teams' DE's are more disciplined than ours and don't slide inside too quickly. We did have one play where or DE redirected quick and blew the play up, but that hasn't happened until then. Doesn't say much for the guy coaching this group that we're still making the same mistakes in the final regular season game. F$U also did a good job of reaching our DE's on several off-tackle plays.

 

[cover2]

Foley said we were asking for offense so he gave it to us. That is what he said in that press conference anyway.

Wrong context, but he was correct.

 

[GatorStud]

The thing everybody needs to understand is that yes, Nuss isn't very good, but Mac's signing off on this sh!t. And another thought is that we look like from an offensive standpoint we are preparing for Idaho, Montana, or whoever it was that Mac faced at Colorado State. F$U ain't great, but their personnel is better than we seem to give them credit for while planning.

^This, Mac and the wife are living high on the big money. As someone mentioned in another thread, Mac is acting/thinking he's a Saban (arrogance) toward the fans/media without the resume of wins... that's bothersome and possibly indicative of a coach over his head. I concur that Mac behaves and has a disposition like you would expect in the Mountain West, almost clueless that he's in the big leagues which is surprising having some exposure in the 'bama system. This paternal protectionist attitude is not uncommon with coaches about their players, but Mac is way outside the pail in this area and rubs me the wrong way as a fan. Just my opinion but tonight is an unacceptable embarrassment for a SEC D-1 team recruiting in the state of Florida, scoring no TD and NO 3rd down conversions against arguably your hated rival. There's a problem and to a degree I'm thinking coaches or the mix involved. IMO. I'm pretty bummed out right now.

 

[divits]

Once, yet AGAIN, this game was not a surprise. Did anyone think we would all of the sudden come up with an offense when we haven't had one for the last 6 years? Was our QB supposed to all of the sudden learn the position? Were the coaches all of the sudden going learn how to call a game? Was the o-line all of the sudden going to learn how to open holes and pass block?

It played out as many no doubt figured it would. The defense keeps it close for a while and maybe we score a defensive or special teams TD but eventually they wear down and get beat up. Same 'ol sh!t, different day. I could have choreographed it for you with my eyes closed.

Until we get a QB, a line and some innovative coaching we will be stuck in Purgatory......and that freakin' sucks.

 

[Circle City Gator]

Watching these games has been making me utterly crazy. It's one thing to have inferior personnel (and we do). It's another to refuse to adjust to your personnel. Our O-line is young, inexperienced, and not terribly good. They can run block (a little) and they can't pass block worth a damn. Why on God's Green Earth are we running a one-back set? The solution, to my grossly amateur eye, is obvious - run behind a fullback and pass on play action. Scarlett is really good. Stop passing on first down, make defenses keep a man in the middle to deal with the fullback, and the safeties close to stop Scarlett, then throw the ball. And please, oh please, make blocking, not catching passes five yards short of the down marker, the primary job of the tight end, even if that means putting in somebody with hands of stone. In this game you can pass to set up the run (Spurrier), or you can run to set up the pass (Saban), but you can't run when everybody in the stadium knows you're running (hey look, Scarlett is the running back and their 210 pound tight end is playing wide) and you can't pass when everybody in the stadium knows you're passing (I've seen that number 32 before - Pass! Pass! Pass!).

 

[TN G8tr]

You're spot on Cover. Pretty bummed about last night although many of us could have and did know how this was going to go. I stated it in the box last night and it needs to be done. Stricklin needs to sit Mac down and put him on Notice, period. Changes have to be made on the staff plain and simple. As far as player personnel, things are not going to change until AA and LDR are out of this system.

The OL: Part of coaching is placing your personnel in situations to succeed. It has been painfully obvious that our OL is trying, plagued with injuries, and flat out young. They are not up to the challenge of this offense. So what do you do? How bout putting the QB under center, give Scarlett a FB, and use the one strength they've shown flashes of. Run the ball. Flat out failure there to help them and Sommers needs a pink slip asap.

Pass Protection: As much as I love the kid, Scarlett fails to get into position to protect AA. One should have been on that drive early in the game that could have been a TD. THIS IS PURELY COACHING. How hard is it for a RB coach to teach Scarlett after taking the fake to slide SIDEWAYS to the strong side and catch that LB coming free. I noticed this at least three times last night. I am not harping on JS and truly feel that coaching is not teaching him on the field or in the film room.

Play Calling: This to me is a Jekyll and Hyde persona. Nuss needs to go period. He gets aggressive and makes progress then absolutely quits, gets gimicky, or flat out stupid. Go with what works. Like I said before put your players in a scheme that helps them to succeed. Play calling is very predictable. Maybe the first 10 plays of the game were scripted. Stay with that same type of aggressiveness. No matter we could go on and on. But if Mac has any future here, it is not with Nussy.

Message to Felipe: If you have not already figured out you stand a HUGE chance to take the starting job, you better figure that out soon. AA is gone, LDR is not a solution, and other than Trask.....You're it. You start preparing now.

Whoever the QB is Mac better make sure he hitches his wagon to them and get this done. If we have the OL come back and stay healthy we should be ok. This young bunch has been learning with trial by fire. With a new OL coach it has to get better. And a new OC, by the way.

Lots or venting going on but it is what it is. Not looking forward to next Saturday.

 

[Durty South Swamp]

If after the disaster that macs given us so far, it takes the AD sitting him down and putting him on notice in order for staff changes to occur, we're screwed no matter what happens anyway.

 

[G8trwood]

Thank you C2, even in your anger, you are more gracious than I.

Blocking is horrendous with the TE, but they are smaller than some teams WR. We missed the same blitz how many times with different backs in? We should never go no back set. Coaching, coaching, coaching.

DL and LB got manhandled for most of the game and were constantly getting out of position. Some bright spots like Brantley kept us in for a while. McMillan is really clueless, maybe he could be a TE because he can't shed a blocker.

IMHO, we beat LSU only because the big play D gods smiled on us. We did not outplay them. Tonight was more the same, with no redzone heroics. On the first drive, I thought AA had a TD on first down if he kept it on the RO, it seems this has been a pattern. Then some missed blocks and here we go again. Then drops by WR and corners and wr giving up on plays. Also still can't figure out why our guys trip so much.

No we have had boat loads of injuries for sure, kinda underscores why you need all your scholarships filled. But this year has had all the earmarks to be a repeat of last year for a while. And next year, we will be starting a qb who doesn't have any playing experience, but hey, we got smacked by one yesterday and will again against Alabama.

Go Gators

 

[Homer J]

I still believe we are playing with house money.

Our O-line is still new and our entire offense is underclassman.

We need to wait for a MAC recruited QB to get up to speed.

We have played on the road in 6 of our last 8 games. If nothing else, that will prove well for next year's team.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

I still believe we are playing with house money.

Our O-line is still new and our entire offense is underclassman.

We need to wait for a MAC recruited QB to get up to speed.

Youre hilarious and probaby insane.

Oh and BTW every QB on the team is a Mac recruited Qb.

 

[78]

You change a few plays in any football game and the entire complexion changes. I saw no fewer than a half-dozen potentially game-changing plays, mainly in the form of open receivers not seen by Appleby, that went by without the appropriate response. After awhile, the defense wears out from the constant pressure.

We've gone one and a half seasons without a competent quarterback, and it's showing. I hate to keep repeating it, but when Grier went out with the suspension it set back the program two to three seasons, maybe more.

 

[Himey]

Once, yet AGAIN, this game was not a surprise. Did anyone think we would all of the sudden come up with an offense when we haven't had one for the last 6 years? Was our QB supposed to all of the sudden learn the position? Were the coaches all of the sudden going learn how to call a game? Was the o-line all of the sudden going to learn how to open holes and pass block?

It played out as many no doubt figured it would. The defense keeps it close for a while and maybe we score a defensive or special teams TD but eventually they wear down and get beat up. Same 'ol sh!t, different day. I could have choreographed it for you with my eyes closed.

Until we get a QB, a line and some innovative coaching we will be stuck in Purgatory......and that freakin' sucks.

I refused to watch last night because I've seen this movie before. We went to bed early. I woke up this morning and told my wife before I checked the score this morning exactly how the game would go. I know you'll be surprised to learn that my description mirrored what Divits said. I know, right?
I'm so over this rerun. It's the definition of insanity.

 

[cover2]

...every QB on the team is a Mac recruited Qb.

You change a few plays in any football game and the entire complexion changes. I saw no fewer than a half-dozen potentially game-changing plays, mainly in the form of open receivers not seen by Appleby, that went by without the appropriate response. After awhile, the defense wears out from the constant pressure.

We've gone one and a half seasons without a competent quarterback, and it's showing. I hate to keep repeating it, but when Grier went out with the suspension it set back the program two to three seasons, maybe more.

There's a reason we picked up Del Rio and Appleby as transfers and it wasn't because they were going to bring in a winning resume. They were going to provide bodies to a group that had a redshirt freshman (that could play a little, as we would find out, but was either pretty negligent or stupid), a Plan B guy we stole from F$U who never was nor would be a good fit on or off the field, and two guys incoming. Little did we know that we would rely on the two transfers to carry us this year. Now, they're good kids, but not the impact guy that a team competing for the SEC crown needs to run a productive, much less exciting offense that makes that goal reachable, especially with the rest of the offensive roster that surrounds them. We'd need offensive personnel (sans injuries) similar to Bama's for either of these guys to lead us to that promised land IMHO. Sad thing is, I'm not sure we've got one on the roster now that will be ready next year and the one recruited seems like a good leader, but the skill set is a little questionable, so he at best needs a year or two to develop. So it looks like we are back to square one at the QB position yet again. Or best hope is for the OL to really rise and stay healthy and for one of the RS Freshmen to take hold. And lest I forget...a new play caller and game planner seems imperative as well. Hate to say but right now I'm feeling like starving guy with $10 dollars at the casino trying to change my fortunes.