Gators Survive; Noles Dead Ahead

[Bernardo de la Paz]

In the pic I posted the center's head is that orange blob that looks like a dingleberry hanging out of the guy that blocked its ass.

He's behind the center and in the air.

 

[Zambo]

Well that's great for bama's kicker. Our kicker is Austin Hardin and he kicks it low like that pretty much every time. And some of them even go in. It always helps when the offensive line does their job and blocks the other team, which they did not do on this play.

Well that's an interesting take on the situation. Kicking it low is wrong, kicking it high is correct, but its still the line's fault because dammit our guy likes to kick it low.

The video I posted is good quality slo-mo and isn't even the least bit ambiguous. The ball is placed on the xp line at the 3. Our guys are lined up behind it roughly at the 4. The dude who blocked it has his feet on the ground at the 4 yard line and the ball hits him in the left wrist between his hand and his elbow. That kick wasn't more than 7 feet in the air as it passed the LOS. Its not even debatable. The block had nothing to do with blocking and was entirely due to the fact that it was a low line drive like always. There was no penetration, nobody blew through the line and made a great play, nobody missed an assignment, it was an xp just like any other xp and Hardin freaking missed it.

 

[rogdochar]

The guy that blocked it is 6'4" and didn't leave his feet, so the line-drive kick
had to be around 6' off the ground. In sum, nobody blocked it; Hardin kicked
it into the lineman. Hardin has turd-toe.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Mullygrabbing?

 

[Bernardo de la Paz]

So it looks like I am the only person on the planet that puts this on the o line. So I got a better screen shot. What I see in this shot is that they aren't overloading the middle at all and it's just a hat on a hat. Mason Halter does his job on #11, Cam Dillard does his job on #2, David Sharpe does his job on #47, and Travaris Dorsey (who sucks at playing guard as much as Hardin sucks at kicking) got shoved back 4 feet right after the snap and his guy #8 jumps -- yes jumps -- into the gap between Dorsey and Farr and his hand is probably 9 feet in the air right over the 5 yard line. #8 is maybe 12 inches off the ground and leaning forward his knee is in front of Farr's knee and his ass is behind Farr's shoulder. I drew some lines on the screen to show the difference between where the hands of #2 who got blocked by Dillard and #8 who really didn't get blocked at all ended up. It's a huge difference.

The typical operation time from snap to kick is 1.2 to 1.4 seconds. All the OL has to do is hold the defense off for 1.5 seconds. Dorsey failed to do that on this play and the kick was blocked. Just look at where Dorsey is relative to where Dillard is at right guard.

Of course if it had been a great kick (or a typical Hardin kick and not straight down the middle) it still could have cleared #8's hand. To estimate just how much elevation would have been required to clear his hand I drew a third line. Given the angle of the camera and where the hand is, if the ball were to elevate enough to go over the hand 5 yards away it would continue on that trajectory over the remaining 15 yards and pass through the goal post where I drew the third line. That's not an impossible angle, but the kick would have to be pretty darn good.

 

[Gatorphan]

The photo is proof that #8 is not beyond our o-line. He's on his tiptoes with the center's shoulder in his gut. The ball was a line drive.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

So what you our saying is if they didn't try to block the kick it would have been good.

 

[Zambo]

Man Bernie, if you can't tell by looking at your own screenshot what a low kick that was I can't help you. Its a perfect camera angle in that the POV from the camera is directly thru the spot where the ball is being blocked to the spot on the ground from where it was kicked. Had it not been blocked it would have gone thru the lower half of the goalposts. That ball needs to be higher and if he doesn't fix it he's going to get more blocked. The center's feet are right where they were when he snapped the ball and #8 is still in front of him. There is nothing the offensive line can do to prevent the defense from jumping basically straight up.

 

[Concrete Helmet]

That ball needs to be higher and if he doesn't fix it he's going to get more blocked.

He's hitting a wood when he needs a 9 iron. You are correct that the ball is no more than 7 feet at the point it is blocked which is just about the los. Typically unless a kicker is trying to drive the ball for say a 45 yard plus FG the ball will be10 feet or so when it crosses the los. IMO Hardin has put such an emphasis on driving the ball deep for KO's that he's changed his stroke much like an average golfer tying to hit for distance.

 

[alcoholica]

Yeah, no. That's not really true anymore since there are less than 4 undefeated power 5 teams left. The eye test will mean more and more as we get closer to the 4 team selection date.

The more undefeated teams that fall, means we are more certain of a 1 loss SEC champion making it. But let's say you're right, doesn't a win over Bama meet the eye test?

 

[NavetG8r]

The more undefeated teams that fall, means we are more certain of a 1 loss SEC champion making it. But let's say you're right, doesn't a win over Bama meet the eye test?

Not if it's a 6-3 game.

 

[Captain Sasquatch]

Hardin definitely Frankie Velez'd that kick and barely got it off the ground. Guys jump that same height on every kick. No reason that one should have gotten blocked.

HOWEVER!

In complete and total fairness, FAU would have tried for 2 if we had made the PAT and they had scored a TD in their half of OT. 100%. So even a made PAT wouldn't have guaranteed the game would continue.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

He's hitting a wood when he needs a 9 iron.

To be fair, he lives with Grier and they have a trophy tree of bras. He probably also sniffs Viagra with Grier and "hitting a wood" all the time.

 

[Zambo]

Hardin definitely Frankie Velez'd that kick and barely got it off the ground. Guys jump that same height on every kick. No reason that one should have gotten blocked.

HOWEVER!

In complete and total fairness, FAU would have tried for 2 if we had made the PAT and they had scored a TD in their half of OT. 100%. So even a made PAT wouldn't have guaranteed the game would continue.

Usually that is the strategy for a dog on the road.

HOWEVER!

Our kicking game is so poor, and frankly our entire offense is so poor, and we have so many players out with injuries, they probably would've been smarter just to take it into another period.

 

[Captain Sasquatch]

Usually that is the strategy for a dog on the road.

HOWEVER!

Our kicking game is so poor, and frankly our entire offense is so poor, and we have so many players out with injuries, they probably would've been smarter just to take it into another period.

Bold strategy, Cotton.

 

[alcoholica]

Not if it's a 6-3 game.

If our defense holds Bama to 3 points, they'll take notice. BTW, in your example did we miss a PAT? and if so, was that a Callaway return?

 

[oxrageous]

If we beat FSU and Bama to end the season we deserve to get in, I don't care we've played all year. I feel that way because I feel Bama is the best team in the country right now (as usual).

 

[Gatorphan]

Without a doubt this is true. The only way UF doesn't get in if it wins out is if the Barn beats Bama, and the west representative has two losses. Wether it's Bama or Ole Miss.

 

[SGG]

If we beat FSU and Bama to end the season we deserve to get in, I don't care we've played all year. I feel that way because I feel Bama is the best team in the country right now (as usual).

Yep. They're the only team that just "stands out" against whatever competition they face.

I tortured myself with Michigan State vs pOSU after our game and I felt like I was watching a Pop Warner game. Sluggish, defenses ok, not great. Offenses ok, not great.

For all the Barrett, Elliott, Braxton Miller hype, Ohio State laid a turd Saturday against the only halfway decent team they've played.

Underwhelming.

I've watched Oklahoma 2 weeks in a row, and although they've beaten a couple of decent teams, you get the sense they're going to crap the bed against Okie State.

The only thing that jumps off the page about Oklahoma is how damned tough Baker Mayfield is.

Out of the teams that are left standing, Bama is the only one that looks like it could manhandle every other team if they played a round robin, including us.

So if we manage to beat FSU and then Bama, I don't care if the score is 3-0, 2-0, 3-2, or 50-0, that's all the eye test the playoff committee will need.

 

[GatorJ]

If our defense holds Bama to 3 points, they'll take notice. BTW, in your example did we miss a PAT? and if so, was that a Callaway return?

Or a Tabor TD.