Bits & Pieces: Florida vs. Louisiana State

[EyeDocGator]

(I think I can count on one hand the number of slants that were called.)

I think I can count them on one finger. Guess which one.

 

[Ancient Reptile]

Our defense is less than what we have had, but it is better than most expected. I compare this defense to our defense Tim's sophomore year, and I am not sure that this year's raggedy bunch of freshmen and sophomores who were mostly three stars isn't better. Surely the O-line blocked better than we have seen for a while, so it must come down to the coaches and the QB and WRs.

 

[cover2]

Dejection, sadness, not even anger. Are suspensions really killing us or or the coaches, well Rex Tillerson said it best. I don't think there were suspensions last year. Has the Team adopted Mac's demeanor?

The vaunted Florida Defense that in my opinion has been much better than the offense over the decades has slowly been dissolving into mediocrity. No recruiting, poor development, no strength/toughness put into bad situations. Like with any team, some guys play lights out, others play every now and then. I think Duke is still playing hurt as he has not been the same. Gardner really stepped up his tackling technique running through guys. Year two of not setting edges, is this on the DE or the lack of LB? DE still have not learned to pause at the line looking for the ball carrier before rushing up field. Jet sweep guys. But LSU's timing was pretty darn good.

The offense is the same as last year with a bit better running. We are still not good enough at any blocking to take a team to the shed, and I am astounded that we do not run more misdirection etc to help the line out. We know we will have trouble going deep, but we don't seem to run plays to make up for that. No crisp routes, rubs etc designed to take advantage of a defense. Hell we still can't get plays in under 30 seconds...smh. If our TE can't block and we don't throw to them, put more lineman or fullback in. We never seem to run a numbers game and just pick a play, maybe they are over thinking EVERYTHING and trying to psychoanalize the defense.

Why do we always put Toney in on 2 and long to get a manageable down for Franks, if he is good enough for that.....Franks seemed to be throwing rainbows on several yesterday don't know why. We need something to establish tempo and rhythm and just running won't cut it because if we get stuffed on one play then it is punting time.

A lot of flack on Townsend, but come on we had a few other dropped ints, etc along with a ton of chances to win, we didn't take them. The refs, come on guys, we sucked

Going to be a long year

Go Gators and thank you C2

Good observations, Wood. I don't know about adopting Mac's demeanor because I think we've still got guys playing hard. One thing they have gotten from him is not much sense of direction and not enough attention to fundamentals and carrying out assignments properly and consistently. Agreed about the D. Kinda looking like the beginning stages of going to seed, but youth and inexperience is a problem. It should, however, at this juncture of the season be starting to look better and execute even more consistently. The O? Your line about the OL goes for every facet, including the scheme and decisions of the coaches..."still not good enough!" Run game is the highlight.

Say what you will about Gary Danielson, he was spot on about how important the fundamentals were to the success of the last scoring drive. Perine and Davis were part of that but when it appeared that they could take control of the game, Nuss reverted to his bag of tricks. In that vein, the passing game is still a coin flip. The things that work are underemployed. (I think I can count on one hand the number of slants that were called.) Receivers don’t seem to have a feel for the routes. Franks still isn’t an effective reader. In fact I’d swear the kid’s head’s fused to his spine. It’s obvious that he locks on his primary receiver and doesn’t let go.

The Defense is also unsound on the fundamentals. Open field tackling is horrible. Staying at home/setting the edge? Ditto. It’s hard to say anything about the secondary because the LSU passing game was such a doppelgänger.

In fact to be totally fair to LSU, this was a hot garbage contest in every phase of the game. Right down to the officiating.

Rhetorical question: who is responsible for instilling basic football knowledge/skills? And why isn’t that happening in year 3?

You mention fundamentals a couple of times. That is such a big disappointment to me for our kids. If they are that far behind when they get to UF, then it speaks volumes to either what type of program they come from or adds validity to the whole recruit star rating system or indicts the staff for poor evaluation or not being able to develop these kids as quick as needed to compete consistently at this level of football...or, all of the above. Personally, I think there is talent, we could use more, but to the naked eye it looks like we're building the house roof first.

It wasn't me...it is a copy and paste from a pumper.

Mac doesn't have what it takes in the SEC. He's a mid-major coach at best.

Thanks for the clarification, Rex. For a moment I was afraid you'd been kidnapped by some cult and brainwashed! That or you'd started experimenting with heroin! I'm afraid you're right in your last line.

 

[PaterLacerta]

I think I can count them on one finger. Guess which one.

 

[Ancient Reptile]

I want to talk about WRs. I watched other games yesterday and again I saw them push off to get separation and then make the catch. I don't believe it's called unless it is flagrant. I also think it can be taught. Remember how our CBs got called for PI when Muschamp came in and taught more physical CB play? Then they learned and didn't get called. We need bigger and more physical WRs. They also need to be more athletic
When they get bumped they fall down.

 

[PaterLacerta]

Good observations, Wood. I don't know about adopting Mac's demeanor because I think we've still got guys playing hard. One thing they have gotten from him is not much sense of direction and not enough attention to fundamentals and carrying out assignments properly and consistently. Agreed about the D. Kinda looking like the beginning stages of going to seed, but youth and inexperience is a problem. It should, however, at this juncture of the season be starting to look better and execute even more consistently. The O? Your line about the OL goes for every facet, including the scheme and decisions of the coaches..."still not good enough!" Run game is the highlight.


You mention fundamentals a couple of times. That is such a big disappointment to me for our kids. If they are that far behind when they get to UF, then it speaks volumes to either what type of program they come from or adds validity to the whole recruit star rating system or indicts the staff for poor evaluation or not being able to develop these kids as quick as needed to compete consistently at this level of football...or, all of the above. Personally, I think there is talent, we could use more, but to the naked eye it looks like we're building the house roof first.


Thanks for the clarification, Rex. For a moment I was afraid you'd been kidnapped by some cult and brainwashed! That or you'd started experimenting with heroin! I'm afraid you're right in your last line.

(1) I have to concede that the Defense is young. And I’m no Shannon hater- he’s proved his bona fides with defenses. If we’re missing the requisite talent that’s (surprisingly) on Muschamp.

(2) Saban’s teams succeed because he doesn’t put up with sloppy, undisciplined play. Preach the fundamentals. Practice the fundamentals and then do it again. Forget the damn roof!

(3) As to whether this is a D1 Staff, see (2) above. I don’t know why some of these things can’t get corrected.

 

[alcoholica]

I would add that in general Franks had time back there. I think he locks up on presnap reads and if that isn't there...

He feels a lot of phantom pressure too

 

[GatorStud]

It wasn't me...it is a copy and paste from a pumper.

Mac doesn't have what it takes in the SEC. He's a mid-major coach at best.

Thank the Gator gods man, I thought you had snapped from the mind numbing experience we witnessed on the field yesterday. :cool:

 

[Bernardo de la Paz]

(1) I have to concede that the Defense is young. And I’m no Shannon hater- he’s proved his bona fides with defenses. If we’re missing the requisite talent that’s (surprisingly) on Muschamp.

It's year 3. Mac has signed 3 classes which gave him the opportunity to bring in 75 guys. There's no blaming chimp for personnel at this point.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Actually he had the opportunity to sign more than that bc of countbacks.

This is all Butters.

 

[Gator by the Sea]

There is absolutely no excuse for losing that game yesterday. Not the missed extra point, not the bad officiating, not the suspensions, not Cleveland being out. Plain and simple, we’re terrible. This was not the LSU of the past. This was a very bad team we lost to—at home. This is year 3 of Mac and Co. and there’s no excuse for us to be this bad. A good coaching staff would have overcome all of those things and won that game convincingly. So disappointing. I have zero hope for us to be remotely good for any foreseeable future with this staff.

 

[gatormandan]

A good coaching staff would have overcome all of those things and won that game convincingly. So disappointing.

Some MINOR scheming could have easily put that game away.

 

[bayou gator]

I remember when the LSU game used to be my favorite to watch because of the bone-rattling hits and the huge momentum swings. It oftentimes felt like a showdown between two evenly-matched championship caliber teams. My, how the mighty have fallen... Yesterday was like watching blind children in wheelchairs trying to fight. Both programs need an enema.

We are so poorly coached, undisciplined, clueless, helpless, hapless, and hopeless. We were lucky to beat UK and UT. Looking back, I almost wish we had lost, so everyone would have to take off the O&B glasses, and realize that this is who we truly are as a program. When will someone hold Mac and his merry band of idiots accountable for their failure? God, I wish I could suck so badly at my job, and get paid so well.

 

[TLB]

I'm not real upset about the missed PAT. These things happen.

I'm not mad at the players. Well, maybe a bit at those who got suspended, but for those that are still on the team I'm not too upset with them TBH. On defense, there were some breakdowns, and I can't say how much was player brain fart vs putting th em in the wrong position or wrong call. On offense, we're working with a limited set of capabilities mostly due to leaning heavily on Freshmen or RSFreshmen.

No, where I consider myself 'done' is with the coaching. There is no 'hope they can' or 'they need to' or 'they have to'. I saw one drive where we called effective plays on offense. ONE drive. We are now 2.5 years....YEARS, into this staff's establishing their methodology, and on offense, there isn't any. Mac and Nuss have had a fistful of QBs, and our current starter for 1.5 years (was he an EE?) and still they either havent' taught him well enough or don't trust him well enough.

For Shannon on Defense, and Nuss on Offense, and Mac for the whole program - if the kids aren't good enough to compete, that's on the coaches for recruiting them and bringing them in. If the kids are good enough, but aren't being taught properly, that's on the coaches as well. Piss poor clock management, on the coaches, not the kids. Piss poor game management overall, on the coaches.

I'm not waiting for things to improve, or hoping they will since history has shown it isn't coming. Shannon may have a chance, but I am officially and wholly off the Nuss train. I can't say I'm on the Mac train...but he can salvage his career by replacing the OC....or more accurately, simply buy himself some time as I don't think any other OC will be much more successful.

God bless those kids for giving all they have, whatever limited ability that bring to the game. But I am done with this staff.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

TLB, why do you think this offense would look diffrenet when it hasnt the last two years WITH Scarlett and Callaway? Hell, the offense look like shyt versus our Walk-Ons in the spring game.

 

[TLB]

TLB, why do you think this offense would look diffrenet when it hasnt the last two years WITH Scarlett and Callaway? Hell, the offense look like shyt versus our Walk-Ons in the spring game.

Because we've slowly built up some talent that wasn't there on the Offensive side of the ball. Major complaint when Mac came in was that WM only stocked one side of the ball, and we were getting a quantity of players in on the O side. Note, I said 'quantity' as in a six pack of QBs and enough RBs to start having some transfer out. Scarlett was ONE player that started to show potential, and while not a game changer it was improvement in terms of talent. Callaway was the first WR we'd had that I could recall worth a crap on the field (still dependent upon a QB that can deliver the ball), but he also brought consistent off field bull**** to the situation. Again, not a home run but an improvement.

I would have thought that with 2.5 yrs to bring in 'their players' we would start to see some improvement. I don't see it. I thought perhaps the f'd up play calls were based on still building enough talent to execute, but it isn't. With 2.5 yrs and over half the roster 'your guys' you should know what you have and be able to plan around it. Nuss can't plan tying his own damn shoes, that is evident. And I'm coming more to your view that while Nuss is an inept paper cup, he is executing Mac's vision, which tells me Mac is cross eyed at best.

2.5 yrs and this is where we are, with 'their players'. I'm done with them.

 

[GatorStud]

The MacTrain to nowhere...

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Because we've slowly built up some talent that wasn't there on the Offensive side of the ball.

We did this in another thread. Other than WR, the offensive talent is the same or worse than under Chimp. Sorry, it's just reality.

 

[FireFoley]

The MacTrain to nowhere...

And perhaps the Talking Heads song title sums it up as well.

 

[PaterLacerta]

It's year 3. Mac has signed 3 classes which gave him the opportunity to bring in 75 guys. There's no blaming chimp for personnel at this point.

This is based on juniors and seniors on the depth chart. Only 5 of the 9 remaining are 1st string. Regardless, we lost enough rising upperclassmen to the draft to impact the product on the field.