- Sep 8, 2014
- 25,434
- 59,380
This is a great read from Marty Cohen....and I'm really surprised. Most of these beat writers are too worried about ruffling feathers w/ the UAA and he doesn't hold back. All the "pumpers" here should take a read. This isn't a message board poster. I remember in the 90's, before the internet changed everything, getting "Gator Bait" in the mail every week with "insider" news! This guy has been covering UF football a long time. Read the part about the noon kickoff and how it was supposed to be our recruiting showcase for this season (as LSU was our only "big" home game this year). The hits just keep on comin'!!
http://florida.247sports.com/Article/Cohen-Make-or-Break-Time-47929071
Cohen: Make-or-Break Time
Full disclosure – decided to wait until the end of the Tennessee-Georgia game to write this piece, seeing how critical that outcome was to the SEC East race, even at this early juncture. As a result, this is the third revision – was that an ending or what? With the North Carolina kicker nailing a 54-yard field goal to knock off Florida State just moments earlier . . . well there’s a reason this is the greatest sport around.
Anyway, thanks to one stupid unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a Georgia player for taking his helmet off on the field after their incredible “game-winning” touchdown with 10 seconds left, which allowed Tennessee the opportunity to even toss one in the endzone, Florida’s fortunes in the East went from temporarily looking great to again needing help the next two Saturdays. The thought here is that Tennessee is going to get knocked off by Texas A&M on the road and Alabama at home, but the way the Vols have reversed recent fortune and are inventing ways to win, no prediction is iron-clad anymore.
Well, except that Florida beats Vanderbilt. It’s now 25 of the last 26, and 13 straight in Nashville. Yes the Commodores often play the Gators tough, but with the exception of stealing one during the seven-game losing skid in 2013, during which Gainesville High probably would have knocked off the reeling Gators, Vandy finds a way to put up a struggle but ultimately fall.
As for the Gators, the only conclusion to draw from Saturday’s somnambulism impression was that it’s a good thing the opponent was Vanderbilt, because there simply weren’t many other teams they would have come out on the winning side against with the performance we witnessed in Nashville. It was many years ago, when I was a teenager, that a bad, aching tooth required root canal – that experience was more enjoyable than watching the Gators’ 13-6 triumph over the Commodores.
Once again it was another eyesore on offense, the kind Gator fans have been treated to way, way, way too many times the past few seasons. There was the notion that this stuff was all Treon Harris’ fault, that we would not see offense this offensive again now that Treon was no longer with the program. Well, perhaps it wasn’t all on Treon, because this 236-yard, 15-first down, 13-point outing was simply another page from the recent chapters of ineptitude penned by both Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain. In fact, this was way too reminiscent of the type of play that got Muschamp fired, the ugly blueprint which produces little excitement, little reason for optimism, and possibly, some empty seats this Saturday afternoon/morning.
Ugh, the noon kickoff against LSU is a bad deal in so many respects, not only for the fans who lose a chance to truly tailgate before the most (only) significant home game on the schedule, but for the program as a whole. The early start delivers a major recruiting hit, because the Florida coaches had pointed to this game, generally a guarantee to be kicked off at 3:30 or under the lights, as the key contest for recruiting purposes. Many prime targets were expected to attend what was hoped to be a raucous atmosphere, instead it will be a somewhat tepid affair that many recruits who live a few hours away will likely bypass. Having to play a prep game on Friday night, the idea of making it to Gainesville for a noon kickoff, especially for south Florida recruits who will surely opt to go to Florida State-Miami, is a crippling blow.
So Florida lurches forward with a needed road victory as it returns home for a pair against LSU and Missouri, with just one more league road contest left at Arkansas in early November. The win was essential, but the manner it was achieved leaves as many questions as answers.
On top of the complete meltdown in the second half against Tennessee, the offense has now put together six horrific quarters of football. The late touchdown against the Vols was relatively meaningless as the outcome had been decided, and both the players and coaches chose to praise the Commodores’ defense, the same crew that allowed 24 to Middle Tennessee, 31 to Georgia Tech and 30 to Western Kentucky the prior three contests. Please.
This is on Florida. The Gators never got anything going as the offensive line, abused in the second half against Tennessee despite McElwain’s lukewarm backing of its play, was pushed around up front by Vandy. Repeat: pushed around up front by Vandy. That can’t happen, yet it did and doesn’t bode well with a much, much more athletic defensive front from LSU coming to town.
There aren’t really many personnel changes that can be made – can’t go to the waiver wire, make a trade or call somebody up from the minors. What does need to take place personnel-wise, provided he is ready to go, is a return to the huddle for quarterback Luke Del Rio. It’s simple to see this offense operates smoother with Del Rio in charge. Backup Austin Appleby had a terrific first half last week against Tennessee, but since then has really struggled. He wasn’t sharp Saturday despite completing 68 percent of his attempts (19 of 28), throwing for just 144 yards as the Gators just dinked, dunked and dinky-dunked some more. Tight end DeAndre Goolsby caught eight passes . . . for 37 yards. That’s ridiculous. He was supposed to be the tight end who could makes plays downfield, stretch the defense down the middle and cause mismatches, evidenced by his 16.3 yards per catch average last season, an impressive number for a tight end. This season, that number is cut in half, 8.0 yards per reception on 22 grabs.
Not only does Del Rio need to take over, but it’s time to shelve this four running back deal and pare it down to two – Jordan Scarlett and Lamical Perine. Scarlett has been the most effective runner all season and needs the opportunity to carry it 20 times, not two or three in a row and then on the sidelines for a few series. Offenses operate best with a number one tailback and Scarlett should be the guy, with Perine first up in the bullpen. There remains a role for Jordan Cronkrite, especially as a receiver out of the backfield (what happened to the idea of screen passes against Vandy?), with Mark Thompson the odd man out – he simply doesn’t run like a 240-pounder, just being honest from what we’ve seen. This is hardly a cure for all that ails the Florida offense, but it’s time to identify the playmakers and give them the opportunities to do their thing.
In the third phase of the equation, a tip of the cap to the special teams, which had a complete reversal from the subpar showing at Tennessee. The Gators were in command of the field position all game, with Vanderbilt starting all 11 possessions from its own 25-yard line or worse, with four beginning inside the 10-yard line. That’s a formula for success against any offense, especially one as anemic as Vanderbilt’s.
So Florida still needs some help in the SEC East as it enters what is basically the make-or-break match of 2016. The Gators cannot afford to lose a second conference game with four remaining after LSU, and must show they can beat a quality team. It’s that simple, the Gators have lost five in a row to ranked teams since the high-water mark, the shellacking of Ole Miss a year ago (last Oct. 3). Since then, the Gators are a mediocre 8-5 with two wins over Vandy along with one over Kentucky, South Carolina, Florida Atlantic, UMass, North Texas and a lousy Georgia squad. LSU may or may not be ranked this week, but the Tigers still represent SEC hierarchy, even with an interim head coach. It’s time Florida beats one of the big boys, bottom line.
And in a shortsighted sense, it’s a bit of a make-or-break affair for McElwain. There is no hot seat when you haven’t coached 20 games yet, but the grumbling about the offense, the grumbling about the sloppy play, is warranted. And the grumbling about getting hammered the last four times the Gators faced ranked teams – losses to Florida State, Alabama and Michigan last season and Tennessee a week ago (yes it was a 10-point setback, but it was also a second half hammer job) – is out there.
The only way to change the course of the narrative is to remain relevant, to remain competitive, to remain in the SEC East race, in short, to beat a quality team. Like LSU. On Saturday.
It’s been more than 365 days since the Gators laid one on a top-echelon opponent and a second conference loss would put a different spin on the second half of the season. This could possibly be the last chance in the regular season, given the devastating second losses suffered by Georgia and Florida State, to produce a significant win.
It’s simple – defend The Swamp on Saturday, or jockey for a second-tier bowl the rest of the way.
http://florida.247sports.com/Article/Cohen-Make-or-Break-Time-47929071
Cohen: Make-or-Break Time
Full disclosure – decided to wait until the end of the Tennessee-Georgia game to write this piece, seeing how critical that outcome was to the SEC East race, even at this early juncture. As a result, this is the third revision – was that an ending or what? With the North Carolina kicker nailing a 54-yard field goal to knock off Florida State just moments earlier . . . well there’s a reason this is the greatest sport around.
Anyway, thanks to one stupid unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a Georgia player for taking his helmet off on the field after their incredible “game-winning” touchdown with 10 seconds left, which allowed Tennessee the opportunity to even toss one in the endzone, Florida’s fortunes in the East went from temporarily looking great to again needing help the next two Saturdays. The thought here is that Tennessee is going to get knocked off by Texas A&M on the road and Alabama at home, but the way the Vols have reversed recent fortune and are inventing ways to win, no prediction is iron-clad anymore.
Well, except that Florida beats Vanderbilt. It’s now 25 of the last 26, and 13 straight in Nashville. Yes the Commodores often play the Gators tough, but with the exception of stealing one during the seven-game losing skid in 2013, during which Gainesville High probably would have knocked off the reeling Gators, Vandy finds a way to put up a struggle but ultimately fall.
As for the Gators, the only conclusion to draw from Saturday’s somnambulism impression was that it’s a good thing the opponent was Vanderbilt, because there simply weren’t many other teams they would have come out on the winning side against with the performance we witnessed in Nashville. It was many years ago, when I was a teenager, that a bad, aching tooth required root canal – that experience was more enjoyable than watching the Gators’ 13-6 triumph over the Commodores.
Once again it was another eyesore on offense, the kind Gator fans have been treated to way, way, way too many times the past few seasons. There was the notion that this stuff was all Treon Harris’ fault, that we would not see offense this offensive again now that Treon was no longer with the program. Well, perhaps it wasn’t all on Treon, because this 236-yard, 15-first down, 13-point outing was simply another page from the recent chapters of ineptitude penned by both Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain. In fact, this was way too reminiscent of the type of play that got Muschamp fired, the ugly blueprint which produces little excitement, little reason for optimism, and possibly, some empty seats this Saturday afternoon/morning.
Ugh, the noon kickoff against LSU is a bad deal in so many respects, not only for the fans who lose a chance to truly tailgate before the most (only) significant home game on the schedule, but for the program as a whole. The early start delivers a major recruiting hit, because the Florida coaches had pointed to this game, generally a guarantee to be kicked off at 3:30 or under the lights, as the key contest for recruiting purposes. Many prime targets were expected to attend what was hoped to be a raucous atmosphere, instead it will be a somewhat tepid affair that many recruits who live a few hours away will likely bypass. Having to play a prep game on Friday night, the idea of making it to Gainesville for a noon kickoff, especially for south Florida recruits who will surely opt to go to Florida State-Miami, is a crippling blow.
So Florida lurches forward with a needed road victory as it returns home for a pair against LSU and Missouri, with just one more league road contest left at Arkansas in early November. The win was essential, but the manner it was achieved leaves as many questions as answers.
On top of the complete meltdown in the second half against Tennessee, the offense has now put together six horrific quarters of football. The late touchdown against the Vols was relatively meaningless as the outcome had been decided, and both the players and coaches chose to praise the Commodores’ defense, the same crew that allowed 24 to Middle Tennessee, 31 to Georgia Tech and 30 to Western Kentucky the prior three contests. Please.
This is on Florida. The Gators never got anything going as the offensive line, abused in the second half against Tennessee despite McElwain’s lukewarm backing of its play, was pushed around up front by Vandy. Repeat: pushed around up front by Vandy. That can’t happen, yet it did and doesn’t bode well with a much, much more athletic defensive front from LSU coming to town.
There aren’t really many personnel changes that can be made – can’t go to the waiver wire, make a trade or call somebody up from the minors. What does need to take place personnel-wise, provided he is ready to go, is a return to the huddle for quarterback Luke Del Rio. It’s simple to see this offense operates smoother with Del Rio in charge. Backup Austin Appleby had a terrific first half last week against Tennessee, but since then has really struggled. He wasn’t sharp Saturday despite completing 68 percent of his attempts (19 of 28), throwing for just 144 yards as the Gators just dinked, dunked and dinky-dunked some more. Tight end DeAndre Goolsby caught eight passes . . . for 37 yards. That’s ridiculous. He was supposed to be the tight end who could makes plays downfield, stretch the defense down the middle and cause mismatches, evidenced by his 16.3 yards per catch average last season, an impressive number for a tight end. This season, that number is cut in half, 8.0 yards per reception on 22 grabs.
Not only does Del Rio need to take over, but it’s time to shelve this four running back deal and pare it down to two – Jordan Scarlett and Lamical Perine. Scarlett has been the most effective runner all season and needs the opportunity to carry it 20 times, not two or three in a row and then on the sidelines for a few series. Offenses operate best with a number one tailback and Scarlett should be the guy, with Perine first up in the bullpen. There remains a role for Jordan Cronkrite, especially as a receiver out of the backfield (what happened to the idea of screen passes against Vandy?), with Mark Thompson the odd man out – he simply doesn’t run like a 240-pounder, just being honest from what we’ve seen. This is hardly a cure for all that ails the Florida offense, but it’s time to identify the playmakers and give them the opportunities to do their thing.
In the third phase of the equation, a tip of the cap to the special teams, which had a complete reversal from the subpar showing at Tennessee. The Gators were in command of the field position all game, with Vanderbilt starting all 11 possessions from its own 25-yard line or worse, with four beginning inside the 10-yard line. That’s a formula for success against any offense, especially one as anemic as Vanderbilt’s.
So Florida still needs some help in the SEC East as it enters what is basically the make-or-break match of 2016. The Gators cannot afford to lose a second conference game with four remaining after LSU, and must show they can beat a quality team. It’s that simple, the Gators have lost five in a row to ranked teams since the high-water mark, the shellacking of Ole Miss a year ago (last Oct. 3). Since then, the Gators are a mediocre 8-5 with two wins over Vandy along with one over Kentucky, South Carolina, Florida Atlantic, UMass, North Texas and a lousy Georgia squad. LSU may or may not be ranked this week, but the Tigers still represent SEC hierarchy, even with an interim head coach. It’s time Florida beats one of the big boys, bottom line.
And in a shortsighted sense, it’s a bit of a make-or-break affair for McElwain. There is no hot seat when you haven’t coached 20 games yet, but the grumbling about the offense, the grumbling about the sloppy play, is warranted. And the grumbling about getting hammered the last four times the Gators faced ranked teams – losses to Florida State, Alabama and Michigan last season and Tennessee a week ago (yes it was a 10-point setback, but it was also a second half hammer job) – is out there.
The only way to change the course of the narrative is to remain relevant, to remain competitive, to remain in the SEC East race, in short, to beat a quality team. Like LSU. On Saturday.
It’s been more than 365 days since the Gators laid one on a top-echelon opponent and a second conference loss would put a different spin on the second half of the season. This could possibly be the last chance in the regular season, given the devastating second losses suffered by Georgia and Florida State, to produce a significant win.
It’s simple – defend The Swamp on Saturday, or jockey for a second-tier bowl the rest of the way.
