***Spring Game Football Thread***

[Concrete Helmet]

Also, despite how bad Harkless and Mike looked, I thought McCoy, Desir-Jones, and Buchanan played good for the most part. They had some bad moments, but that is ok for redshirt freshman. Buchanan and Desir-Jones are really physical.

Overall I thought the coordination of the offensive line was ok for a bunch of young guys in spring. I know my standard has been lowered by piss poor play on the line for over 6 years now but I actually think we could be serviceable as a whole there. Fall will firm up the rotation, weed out the weaklings, and build some unity......at least I'm hopeful for this group,

 

[Alagator]

Missed it too. TV Guide website shows it on the SEC network at 2:00 Eastern.

Great! Just found that. Missed it cause I was just looking at the other teams playing today. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Alagator]

Don't they have Mexicans where you live?

Lol. It's punishment for her. I will not be paying her and a van load of her friends $5 an hour to do the work...

 

[Oklahoma Gator]

From where I was sitting absolutely tell that Del Rio is the sharpest all of the quarterbacks. The "competition" is over. Appleby was ok but he turtled up a few too many times, or took off, where as LDR just calmly worked the pocket. Franks has a ways to go so it's good he's going to get to red shirt this year. After his 3rd int Mac had a little coaching sessions with him in the middle of the field. Not yelling or screaming, just both hands on his shoulder pads encouraging him. I was really impressed with that moment cause after that he seemed to calm down.

I was super impressed with Kylan Johnson in his new position. Every time we looked up he was making a TFL or making the play. I think we may have lucked into a good one at the WILL.

Thompson is not only a beast but he has really good feet and vision. If he can hold on to the ball he's got one-and-done potential.

Josh Hammond looked good but it still looks like we are very short on SEC caliber receivers. Mac an Nuss do a great job of sceeming people open, but this team needs Callaway back and absolutely is gonna need Clevland to step up when he gets here. After all the hype about Fullwood, I think I only saw him in on the first drive. The good news is it looks like the TE's are ready to be a consistent part of this O. They also did a decent job blocking on runs, especially in the first half.

I think we need one more edge rusher that really puts fear in our opponents. Bryan Cox had a couple nice rushes today against appleby and Jordan smith made an appearance (dude looks skinny in real life and is gonna need to put on 20 lbs before he's a player). Can't wait for Clayton to get here. Over all I thought it was a good step forward from last year!
Go Gators!

 

[alcoholica]

Just finished watching a replay of the game, so I know they cut some out. I'm also not an X's and O's guy, so no Cover2 analysis, but I really hopes he posts one.

QB - Not really a fair competition, but LDR was outstanding. Looks more consistent than Grier did and knows where to go with the ball. Appleby was alright. He had 2nd team offense vs. 1st defense, but I was hoping for more. Trask obviously lacks experience, but he has some football IQ. Not a cannon of an arm, but looks to throw an accurate ball, athletic, and has good pocket presence. Mature decision making for his experience level. Franks would have been a disappointment, but my expectations are low. Cannon for an arm (long release though). Doesn't seem to process things well, but time will tell. Glad he finished strong. He won't be SEC ready until his 3rd year at the earliest. I think LDR starts, hope Appleby plays well enough for 2nd string, and RS the two Fr. However, I think Trask will pass Appleby at some point, just hope Appleby plays well enough to not waste a RS.

OL - we are improved. I would say significantly improved, but since the bar was so low, that doesn't say much, nor should it. Ivey was out, and he'll help with depth at OT, but we only have 3 playable OT's. We will have depth on the interior. I can see Forsythe getting some late season PT at OT if someone gets hurt. Hard to think he's not going to be able to pass Harkless or Mike. OL unfortunately is a developmental group. We have taken a step in the right direction, but we need a really solid summer and fall from this group.

RB - I didn't see much of Cronk. Looked like Thompson and Scarlett got a lot of reps. Just not impressed with Scarlett, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt because of the Orange OL. Thompson looked good except for the fumble. I see it as a Cronk, Thompson battle right now, but Scarlett will get his shot.

WR - I hope Worton will finally turn the corner, he's talented. Massey made some nice plays. Didn't hear Fulwood's name all night. Hope the Fr can develop over the summmer. Sousa should leave.

TE - Lewis is going to be the name this season, unless he gets hurt again. Good group, and we'll lean on them a lot.

DL - didn't really pay attention, but looked pretty good for the most part.

LB - Could be a breakout squad on the team. Anazalone needs to stay healthy. If McMillian can catch on, we should be good. Johnson and Reese both looked pretty good. If they continued to develop, we're in pretty good shape.

Secondary - Maye will be solid. Dawson had a nice game. Wilson looked good. Didn't see much of the other guys, but our 1st string should be solid, need 2nd string to develop

K - looks good

 

[gatormandan]

I hope Worton will finally turn the corner, he's talented

He was all over the field last night. Looked good to me.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Ala, Im sure they will replay it on SECN.

I just noticed that McElroy was wearing orange tie and a blue jacket. Feels really weird, even though I know he is a big Mac fan.

 

[Gator Fever]

Yeah Franks stunk it up. He was too confident and now he will transfer. Oh well...

LDR ran against 2nd team and Appleby against 1st. LDR looks the part but I'm not so sure it was a fair competition. Appleby was under pressure quite a bit.

On the other hand, LDR makes decisions really quick and delivers on target.

I think we may actually be in decent shap

I'll second that Trask, at least in theory, looked like the second best QB out there. The gears appeared to be turning pre-snap. He kept his eyes and body downfield. He clearly throws a nice ball. Seemed to have poise and presence in the pocket. Can scramble when necessary. (Anymore QB cliches apply?)

Near term Appleby will be more effective, but it won't be long before Trask overtakes him as backup IMO.

Franks will be good, but Mac needs a year to mold him. He should be the redshirt.

Also in the backfield, hopefully Thompson can hold onto ball, because he looks like the most dangerous and effective of the three backs.

I agree Franks should definitely be the redshirt after watching last night. He has a lot to learn even for a freshman.

Del Rio did look good but it did appear Appleby was getting more pressure when he was in.

 

[Gatorphan]

Ala, Im sure they will replay it on SECN.

I just noticed that McElroy was wearing orange tie and a blue jacket. Feels really weird, even though I know he is a big Mac fan.

I like McElroy's radio show in the mornings. He's a rising star in the brodcast booth as well. However, I thought he was a little off last night early, then settled in. I bet it was weird for him to wear the O&B.

 

[Gatorphan]

As mentioned by a few here, the QB and RB competitions were completely unfair because of the weakness of the Orange o-line. I would of liked to see Appleby, Frank's and especially Trask more with the blue team. That being said, when a guy is clicking like LDR, it's probably best to let him stay in and develop.

 

[GatorJB]

The O-line definitely has improved since the bowl game and they will only get better. Considering Ivey, who may be the team's best O-lineman, will be back in Aug, I think we'll at least have an average SEC O-line this year instead of having a Vandy type line like last year. Also good QB play makes an O-line better. The number of sacks per game increased when Harris took over. That wasn't a coincidence.

WRs are OK. Hopefully Calloway can return but the pass catching abilities from our RBs and TEs will help compensate. Looking forward to seeing how Cleveland will contribute. Massey was a great addition.

 

[Bernardo de la Paz]

Hard to be polite with you guys

You don't have to be polite with us. It's not like we're polite company.

 

[gatormandan]

Game is on at 2pm today on the SEC network.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

LDR played with the first team against the second team defense. Appleby played with the second team against the first team defense.

1st series, LDR hits Worton, Harris and Burnett miss tackles. Rolin and Christian Garcia catch him after a big gain. Urprised that someone named Christian Garcia is 2nd string LB. Doesnt bode well for that position that the other kids havent stepped up. Reese looks good at mike. LDR throws td to Goolsby after ge sees Justus Reed playing buck and trying to cover. Garcia is there also. No time for the safety to get there. Well timed. Nice throws but hes picking on some non-SEC caliber players there. It wont be that easy against real defenses.

2nd series Orange and AA- nice screen and nice recovery by Sherit. Tabor beaten badly and must PI. Ivie nice backside pursuit. Im really note sure that what some you see re Scarlett isnt just him playing behind the OL 2s vs the DL 1s. Hammond is a big dude. Nice catch on the slant. McElroy comments that AA loves slants. Kylan Johnson looks solid all night. Could he end up starting at LB. Cox on TE is a Yuuuge mismatch. Andrew Mike turns inside to help block the NT Ivie who is already double teamed nstead of blocking Cox, leaving TE alone. AA gets immediate pressure again throws up a softball to Maye who lets it go thru his hands.
Running play. Buchanan or Desir whiffs, the other one gets beaten, really McCoy is the only one who wins or holds his ground though Harkless manages to stay engaged with Sherit who penetrated deeply enough to alter Scarlett. Ivie blows it up from backside.

I dont have time to slow mo more.

LDR looked better, no doubt, but playing behind the orange line was a severe handicap.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

I think we'll at least have an average SEC O-line this year instead of having a Vandy type line .

Thats an insult to Vandy. We were a Jax U or probably less than an FIU type line last year. I think we will probably be better tgan Vandy and maybe Kintucky/Tinerc level this year depending on who gets hurt.

 

[ATXGator]

The game was good. The first team dominated as they should. Del Rio looked very good and did everything that was asked of him. Appleby looked good also. He lead the second team offense to points against 1st team D. It is clear those are the two guys. Franks looked horrible. I know he is a true freshman and will get better. Trask looked good for a true freshman.

Thompson could be great if he can hold onto the ball. Now that teams know he has fumbling issues they will try to strip him.

Johnson played very good at LB and I thought Reese did also. He made plays with the second team D.

Still have no idea how good the OL is.

I think we are improves offensively over last year. That is good.

 

[gatormandan]

LDR looked better, no doubt, but playing behind the orange line was a severe handicap.

Maybe so. Still I like his quick decision making and his accurate throws. I have a good feeling he can get the job done.

 

[Gatorbait25]

- Del Rio looked good against our backup D. it's important to note the LB's he was going up against was true freshman EE, and a walk on . Not exactly guys that understand coverage concepts yet. His first touchdown I assume was a zone blitz since we had a DE in reed covering Goulsby. Lets hope Collins avoids this moving forward. The secondary was freshmen and Marcell Harris. (more on him iin a minute). DR looked good, but im tempering expectations.

- Cronk looked good to me. Scalett was decent considering the OL he had and going up against Davis and the 1st team D. Thompson might just end up being the next moody if he cant get better at ball security. Him and Cronk look good catching the ball out of the backfield. The TE play was clearly a plus, as it looks like we have three guys that can help us.

- Looks like we have three solid cover guys with Duke playing great and obviously Tabor and Q. 4th year safeties Washington and Harris still leave much to be desired. Harris is a guy that can do some good things on kickoff but that is all. He can't cover worth a damn, and is iffy at open field tackling. Strictly a special teams guy at this point. I hate the fact that we play so much zone with the talented cover corners we have.

 

[Bernardo de la Paz]

Thompson might just end up being the next moody

Emmanuel? That's setting the bar pretty low.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Ok maybe second series.

Orange and LDR: Dillard pulls and whiffs. LDR his Worton in Harris' zone. Harris bit on the play fake and didnt recover really at all. He is just taking his second drop step when the pass is thrown. Gardner nice tackle.

Running play left side, walkon Garcia blows up Dillard and seals A gap, Reese shoots B and makes a strong tackle on Thompson.

Running play left side after fake jet, again Dillard misses Garcia (its just a mismatch it appears) , Riles cant hold Clark for more than a second, Jordan Smith beats Sharpe and slips into B gap to stuff Thompson. Tyler Jordan and Big Fred drive their guys 3 yards deep.

Next play, play fake, Garcia comes free bc that TE is sneaking to the backside for an outlet pass. Pocket was collapsing quickly (though no one completely whiffed hallelujah) and OL had numbers problem bc playfake. LDR threw it away. McElroy likes the throwaway.

Nice screen. Riles gets downfield struggles with Reese but gets a B from me. Even if Reese had made the play after slipping past it was already a nice gain. Dillard comes to help....but manages only a chip. Id give him a C.

Next play, line held, though Jordan allowed early pressure. Outlet pass to Thompson.

Thompson right side TD. Jordan and Big Fred seal the DT. Riles plows the LB (Garcia again) . Cyontai Lewis whiffs on Justus Reed but Reed takes a bad angle and Mark Thompson jukes him (seems pretty damn nimble). HOWEVER the play is made by the guy I rag all the time Chris Thompson who manages to take both safeties Burnett and Harris out of the play though it was dumb play by Harris. Once he commits to that b gap he has to penetrate. He cant let Chris Thompson take both defenders.

Its not a big sample but Dillard is still putrid, Riles are still weak, and Sharpe is still shaky. Id say Fred Johnson was our best tackle on the field.

What I dont know is if the lines are being told to play 75% or not. They arent really smashing each other.