First matter of business, I hope all of you are well! I have missed interacting with all of you and reading your thoughts and general comments.
Now, to the current situation - A DUCK CAN PULL A TRUCK! I felt a sense of disgust, last night, that I haven't felt in a while. Over the past year or so, my battle with health issues caused me to focus on the things that really matter, such as family and living life to the fullest; however, what I witnessed yesterday caused me to throw a few verbal bricks at my television. I told my wife and son, as I watched the guys start the second half, as flat as Hillary's tits, that we sure didn’t look like the same team that played the first half of the game (90% of the 1st half). I played a lot of football and survived numerous combat missions and recognized the thing that causes teams to lose and military units to not be successful in completing a mission - the total loss of the "sense of urgency". Sorry about the military analogy, but, it's my life experiences that I base most of my opinions on. I got a sick feeling, in my gut, when I witnessed the complete lack of emotion and desire to crush the enemy and secondly, texting a friend, who was at the game and learning that UT was blatantly and successfully intercepting our signals. They knew every play we ran, from the middle of the second quarter, on and which defense was being called, as they were being signaled in to the defense or from upstairs. Our coaches' failure pick up on it all blew my mind. My friend was in a position to watch and hear the UT coaching staff as they relayed the stolen intelligence in to their team and became fighting mad, as he sat there, watching our staff appear clueless to the fact that UT knew everything we were going to do. Later, while watching the game, again, I saw where the TV crew had picked up on UT's covert actions, when they showed a UT coach, with binoculars, relaying the calls our coaches were making down to the UT sideline. Once UT got some momentum, late in the second quarter, from their successful espionage methods and our complete loss of focus, UT realized that our staff was utterly oblivious to their counter intelligence plan and the came out of the locker room with a plan to successfully use it to their advantage, because they knew it was the only way for them to get back in the game. It wouldn't surprise me if they hacked in to our electronic communications; however, they did find a way to steal our signals and to interpret what our coaches were saying on the sideline. A coaching staff, aware of the fact that another loss to UF, especially one like it appeared was about to come to pass, would probably resort to drastic measures in order to save their jobs and status. Our coaches seemed to not have a clue that UT is one of, if not the dirtiest, program in all of sports and allowed an idiotic, microphone loving coach and his staff of misfits, to make them look like fools. Very embarrassing for a program thought to be on the verge of returning to their previous place in the hierarchy of college football and a defense that many touted as the best or one of the best, in the nation.
It will be interesting to see how things play out as the season unfolds. Coach Mac is at that crossroads that every new coach reaches: will he be able to keep the seams from rupturing, as they did after Grier was suspended, last season or will he become one of the great ones in the history of Gator and college football. It's a fact that we have a ways to go: yet, this program is loaded with talent, especially, on the defensive side of the ball. There's no excuse for the smear that was left upon the face of a proud and powerful program. Even if UT used a dirty, unethical way to counter the arse whoopin' that they received in the initial 20 minutes, our coaching staff should have recognized the fact that something was up and they should have exited that locker room, after the half, with the smell of blood freshly on their mind and eager to put an exclamation point on the statement that they appeared to be making to all of those who they claimed were disrespecting their abilities, as individuals and as a team. The conservative play calling (2 passes in the third) being extremely predictable; calling some of the most ridiculous plays, on crucial downs, early in the third; not using Cleveland more; failure to see the importance of a strong special teams unit; failing to recognize that a dirty and desperate program and coaching staff will resort to the lowest of actions to overcome the complete dominance by a hated rival and protecting communication methods and assets from being exploited by the goobers; and MOST OF ALL, FAILING TO PREPARE THEIR TEAM FOR THE COMPLETION OF A MISSION THAT STILL FACED ADVERSITY AND THE ABSOLUTE RESOLVE OF THE ENEMY TO SURVIVE, IN THE FINAL PHASE OF AN ASSAULT THAT HAD SUCCESSFULLY OUT FLANKED AND OVERPOWERED THEIR OPPONENT DURING THE INITIAL PHASE OF THE OPERATION. I compare it to our current state of affairs, in the war on terrorism, in which we initially obliterated the enemy, but, later assumed a philosophy and rules of engagement that forces our guys to fall back to defensive positions, leaving territory that had been successfully secured and allowing the enemy to return and fire devastating shots at locations that they learned, by intercepting communications, were vulnerable, while tying our guys' hands behind their backs. - the latter, causing our guys to lose focus and the killer instinct to finish the job, successfully.
It' a dark day in Gator Country and I can'tell help but feel that things will spiral down the drain, as they did, during the final games last year. I hope this team surprises me and shows that they truly are a TEAM, WILLING TO PUT PERSONAL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ASIDE TO REGAIN THE MOMENTUM THEY SO EASILY AND COMPLETELY SURRENDERED IN THE SECOND HALF OF YESTERDAY'S CHOKING ON DUCK FEATHERS, WHILE THE TRUCK ROLLED BACKWARDS, OVER THEIR HEADS.
GO GATORS - We still have a chance to make it to Atlanta and finish strong. Don't do what losers do and lay down, surrendering to the human tendency to take the easy road. Coach Mac stated that he is anxious to see how the players will respond. Gator Nation is anxious to see what these coaches are made of.