Some thoughts on the game

[maheo30]

1. The QB situation. Grier looks special. There were times tonight where he read the defense and knew exactly where to go with the football. Nussy wasn't lying when he said Grier could get to his 4th option. Grier was beating the blitz before the snap. Treon looks good too. We are in good shape.

2. Alex Anzalone. was all over the field tonight. He looked so fast I was amazed. I can understand why the coaches were praising him so highly. If he stays healthy, he'll be a beast this year.

3. The offensive line was bad tonight. The stunting NMSU did early really confused the line. The interior guys got beat straight up at number of times. The run blocking was not impressive to me. This unit needs to gel. I actually think that was the biggest problem. No need to panic though. This line will get better. I was very pleased with the play on the young guys, Fred Johnson in particular.

4. Taven Bryan will be a star if he ever gets the mental side of the game right. On one play, he was double teamed and moved both the center and guard back into the QB. Cece's strength was impressive as well. Still, we were over pursuing all night. That needs to get fixed.

5. Coach Mac vs. Muschump. I saw guys getting the ball that weren't getting it under Chump because they couldn't block. Coach Mac has stated those same guys can't block either, but he believes in spreading the ball around.

6. I've been watching gator football for years. I honestly can't remember a game with so few penalties. Things like that reflect on the coach. It seems Coach Mac knows how to get his players to play calm, disciplined football.

Those are just some thoughts I had after the game. I'm excited about gator football again. It seems Coach Mac is the guy to get us back on top.

 

[Gatorphan]

1. The QB situation. Grier looks special. There were times tonight where he read the defense and knew exactly where to go with the football. Nussy wasn't lying when he said Grier could get to his 4th option. Grier was beating the blitz before the snap. Treon looks good too. We are in good shape.
2. Alex Anzalone. was all over the field tonight. He looked so fast I was amazed. I can understand why the coaches were praising him so highly.
6. I've been watching gator football for years. I honestly can't remember a game with so few penalties. Things like that reflect on the coach. It seems Coach Mac knows how to get his players to play calm, disciplined football.

I've said all along that Treon can throw better than most people think; and Grier can run/shuffle better than most people think. Just because one of them has a strength, doesn't mean that the other has a weakness. They are both very talented.....and they both now have a year's experience to lean on. I know the old adage, "If you have more than one QB, then you have none". But sometimes you have more than one, like Danny and Eric. It's possible that we have two good ones. Hard to believe, but it's possible.

 

[Bernardo de la Paz]

I was pretty worried about the defense early, but I think NMSU had negative yards in the second half.

 

[NVGator]

Really glad to hear the penalties decreased. Sign of good things to come.

 

[L-boy]

I was impressed with Grier. Just seems like his upside is so much more than Harris.

Grier has one of the quickest releases I've seen in a long time for Gator QB's - maybe going back to Rex Grossman. He gets rid of it fast, the balls have zip, and he is generally very accurate. The fact that he stepped forward and ran 30 yards shows he has a pocket presence, but is willing to step forward to avoid pressure. Driskel always ran backwards and sideways and tried to outrun the rush. And as pointed out, he did pick up that blitz nicely.

Treon was effectively statistically, but 2 or 3 of his passes would have been picked off by a good defense. His release is slower, and he tends to float it, and on occasion underthrows it.

Obviously it was nice to see an effective offense, but I have learned over the years to mostly ignore these season openers against chump teams. There is typically no correlation to how we do in that game vs the rest of the seasons. I recall Ron Zook's first game the offense looked fabulous. I recall several of Spurrier years where we would sputter and look feckless at times in the opener.

But, looks good so far. It was also striking the general tone McElwain sets vs Muschamp. McElwain seems very relaxed. Muschamp was was intense and uptight. It just seems a good offense works better when they are "loose". Contrast that to defenses which often seem to work better under D-coodrinators who are energetic and about to go crazy on the sidelines.

 

[cover2]

Just to add (since the author beat me to this

 

[deuce]

Just to add (since the author beat me to this

Cover2, I'd like to hear your take on the game.

 

[TN G8tr]

We've all been wanting a better product for a while now and we got that in this game. Hope that Mac can build off of it. But it was a game that we should've easily handled an inferior opponent. And we did that. The last four years, no game has been a gimme. Several things to take away from the game.....

QB's looked good and most of all......COACHED
OL needs some work, but it was a first game with a total of 5 starts among them. We all know it, nothing new.
RB, very good shape.
WR's another bunch that looked COACHED, for a change. Better production there.
D was shaky at first but locked down in the second half.
PENALTIES.....this was a great area. Seems as if WM's discipline only related to off the field stuff. Mac has put the clamp down on this. Great discipline. I was never a fan of the "aggressive penalty" and being ok. BS, WM!
Having fun. Those guys looked like they were having fun. And that will build confidence.

I am sure there is more to take away. But we have not been able to say these things in a long time. It's a long season and much can happen. But with what I saw last night.....I had fun and enjoyed it. And its been a long time coming.

 

[MJMGator]

I thought the OL was shaky early, but seemed to improve as the game went on. The defense really settled in and played much better in the second half, as well.

 

[LeeForThree]

Still think Grier is better than Harris. His passes were way better in the pocket. Harris almost threw exclusively out of the pocket. Grier showed he has the capability of being a star and Heisman candidate. Harris looked like a college QB who is in more control but less talented in my opinion

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

[fischerwood]

Great start...lot's of positives, ...only negatives: offensive line needs more experience, Ahmad Fulwood still couldn't catch a cold let alone a wide open pass, why is he out there?

 

[maheo30]

I agree about the D. They settled in in the second half. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I got the impression Collins ran a vanilla D all night long.

Also, while Fullwood started the game, did Callaway take his spot? The only time I saw Fullwood was on that horrible play where he never turned around for the ball and by the time he did it was going through his hands. Fullwood just doesn't seem to have it between the ears.

 

[ItsDookie87]

Grier was much better than Harris and Harris played really well. The play calling benefited both like we haven't seen in years but the throws Harris made will beat the NMStates of the world but the throws Grier made will beat anyone. It's so painfully clear that Grier should be the guy going forward to get him as many reps as possible but that Mac wants to keep both and will split time accordingly, at least for now. Of course we need to see this style of play continue but it was a great start.

 

[aka]

Yes, they looked coached, and it looked to me that the players like this system and enjoy it. There is reason for optimism. We keep getting the pieces, this can be successful, I can just see that.

 

[Swamped Gator]

Let's not forget we actually had designed plays for tight ends and they were effective.

 

[stephenPE]

It was NMSU so who knows if we are going to be good. ECU will be a better test but after UK and UT we will have a better grasp of this team especially on the line of scrimmage. Nice to see some big plays and some scoring. Both QBs did good things. But still. It was New Mex State.

 

[maheo30]

Let's not forget we actually had designed plays for tight ends and they were effective.

That goes to my comment in point 5. Goolsby looked good last year, but didn't see the field under Chump because he couldn't block. Coach Mac has stated repeatedly that he still sucks at blocking. However, he is a weapon in the passing game and needs to see the field. Mac seems to understand that it is his job to get the playmakers the ball and work around their weaknesses. Chump never did that.

 

[oxrageous]

1. The QB situation. Grier looks special. There were times tonight where he read the defense and knew exactly where to go with the football. Nussy wasn't lying when he said Grier could get to his 4th option. Grier was beating the blitz before the snap. Treon looks good too. We are in good shape.

2. Alex Anzalone. was all over the field tonight. He looked so fast I was amazed. I can understand why the coaches were praising him so highly. If he stays healthy, he'll be a beast this year.

3. The offensive line was bad tonight. The stunting NMSU did early really confused the line. The interior guys got beat straight up at number of times. The run blocking was not impressive to me. This unit needs to gel. I actually think that was the biggest problem. No need to panic though. This line will get better. I was very pleased with the play on the young guys, Fred Johnson in particular.

4. Taven Bryan will be a star if he ever gets the mental side of the game right. On one play, he was double teamed and moved both the center and guard back into the QB. Cece's strength was impressive as well. Still, we were over pursuing all night. That needs to get fixed.

5. Coach Mac vs. Muschump. I saw guys getting the ball that weren't getting it under Chump because they couldn't block. Coach Mac has stated those same guys can't block either, but he believes in spreading the ball around.

6. I've been watching gator football for years. I honestly can't remember a game with so few penalties. Things like that reflect on the coach. It seems Coach Mac knows how to get his players to play calm, disciplined football.

Those are just some thoughts I had after the game. I'm excited about gator football again. It seems Coach Mac is the guy to get us back on top.

Good stuff. Looking forward to having you on the podcast. Any preference for when you want to do it?

 

[KCgator]

I can't believe no one has mentioned it, but Cece is going to be a BEAST! Crazy strong and fast!

 

[williston_gator]

I was really impressed by Greir. Laser arm, very fast release, good pocket presence, reads defense, and deceptive athleticism. Treon was clearly good last night too, but against better competition a few of those slower wobbly passes are certain interceptions as pointed out already. And he seemed to have to roll out every throw. I think he would be an excellent backup option. Hope the online improves. Kelvin Taylor looks like a different player from last year too. A little surprised demarcus Robinson was barely involved.