- Jun 11, 2014
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I’m just sayin…
Spurrier speaks out on the play calling
- Thread starter GatorJ
- Start date
- Oct 23, 2014
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- Jun 11, 2014
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I said it in another thread - Shane Matthew said that we don’t do downfield concepts. He said we have not done 4 wideout formations (standard downfield concepts) in the two years that Napier’s been here.
He said that during summer practices they were doing some of these concepts. But none of them are done on game day.
He said that during summer practices they were doing some of these concepts. But none of them are done on game day.
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- Jun 30, 2014
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Somewhere in Gainesville, Napier is uttering these words...
Nah ... he's saying THIS IS 2023, NOT THE 90s.
- Jun 19, 2014
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Before he coached his first game as a Gator, I voiced concerns about Napier being his own OC/QB coach/playcaller.
I do not like his route trees. I'm tired of seeing our WRs running too close to each other.
That said, you can't put all the blame on Napier.
Mertz has been getting a lot of love lately. Too much. Mostly because he's exceeded rock-bottom expectations. Being better than terrible isn't the same as being good.
One of his problems is that he's scared. He is too quick to check-down. That's one of the reasons why so many of his passes are so close to the Line of Scrimmage. There have been lots of times where he has checked down to a short pass, even into coverage, while not seeing a wide open WR further downfield.
Yes, Napier's system has a lot of dink-and-dunk to it, but Mertz deserves some of the blame for the choices he makes.
Now we've lost our best deep threat for 4-6 weeks. Caleb Douglas is the kind of tall, rangy WR that can transform a 50-50 deep throw into a 80-20 throw. He can high-point the ball and catch it over the DB covering him. Without him, we need somebody else to step into that role. Maybe Marcus Burke when he gets back from his injury.
Alex.
I do not like his route trees. I'm tired of seeing our WRs running too close to each other.
That said, you can't put all the blame on Napier.
Mertz has been getting a lot of love lately. Too much. Mostly because he's exceeded rock-bottom expectations. Being better than terrible isn't the same as being good.
One of his problems is that he's scared. He is too quick to check-down. That's one of the reasons why so many of his passes are so close to the Line of Scrimmage. There have been lots of times where he has checked down to a short pass, even into coverage, while not seeing a wide open WR further downfield.
Yes, Napier's system has a lot of dink-and-dunk to it, but Mertz deserves some of the blame for the choices he makes.
Now we've lost our best deep threat for 4-6 weeks. Caleb Douglas is the kind of tall, rangy WR that can transform a 50-50 deep throw into a 80-20 throw. He can high-point the ball and catch it over the DB covering him. Without him, we need somebody else to step into that role. Maybe Marcus Burke when he gets back from his injury.
Alex.
- Aug 1, 2018
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Agreed. Gotta take it slow, score occasionally, don't force procedure penalties by making the OL nervous.
Spurrier's one of these guys that think you go out there and toss the ball to open WRs, score TDs fast, pee all over the opponents game plan, run out the clock. It's just silly. Nothing to see here, just another know-it-all with an opinion.
- Aug 17, 2018
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Which has the added benefits of giving the check-downs a lot more space to work with when the safeties and corners are forced to turn and run downfield too...
- Aug 1, 2018
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And as they vacate their spaces a receiver should be catching the ball in stride where there is space. No?
- Jun 11, 2014
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- Jun 19, 2014
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Since our failed string of coaches I've been doing a deep dive of success vs failure. One of the areas I've been mulling over is control.
As Spurrier said here, he's got to throw some deep balls. And he said it in such a matter of fact way. That tells me that to him it's obvious.
The mentality of a ball control coach such as Billy and Muschamp is very risk averse. It's basically hog the ball and don't give the other team the ball ever. It indicates to me a very low level of trust. Trust in himself, trust in his team, trust in his scheme. That lack of trust then must be of their own capabilities. "I don't know what the other team will do with the ball so I'll keep it from them as much as possible". With Muschamp it was TOP. With Billy it's run and throw behind the line.
With guys like Smart, Saban, Meyer, Spurrier. These guys are thinkers, schemers, planners. Their not hindered by their fear of the other team because they have confidence in their team because they practice it and coach it. Spurrier air raid, Urban finesse, Saban developing talent, etc.
Yes Billy was successful at ULL because he out talented the other teams. Watch the games, I did (a little), it was ugly. He was a big fish in a small pond. Now he's a small fish in a big pond and he's drowning. An OC will not make one ounce of difference. Billy lacks confidence in his abilities. He says it every presser, "I've got to coach them better, it's things we can fix, etc." Well Billy, what are you going to coach this week that you haven't coached for the last two months? Or better yet, now that You've lost, now your going to coach them? It makes no sense because it's a stupid thing to say. He doesn't know how to fix it and that's why issues from game one persist. He wont let an OC open up because he has no plan for if it doesn't work. Muschamp went through how many OC's?
Nothing anyone says or does will change what Billy does and everyone sees it but him. To change anything at this point would be to admit defeat. Not going to happen. Billy is going to prove to Clemson and Alabama that he is the best thing they ever had so he can walk back in like ...
As Spurrier said here, he's got to throw some deep balls. And he said it in such a matter of fact way. That tells me that to him it's obvious.
The mentality of a ball control coach such as Billy and Muschamp is very risk averse. It's basically hog the ball and don't give the other team the ball ever. It indicates to me a very low level of trust. Trust in himself, trust in his team, trust in his scheme. That lack of trust then must be of their own capabilities. "I don't know what the other team will do with the ball so I'll keep it from them as much as possible". With Muschamp it was TOP. With Billy it's run and throw behind the line.
With guys like Smart, Saban, Meyer, Spurrier. These guys are thinkers, schemers, planners. Their not hindered by their fear of the other team because they have confidence in their team because they practice it and coach it. Spurrier air raid, Urban finesse, Saban developing talent, etc.
Yes Billy was successful at ULL because he out talented the other teams. Watch the games, I did (a little), it was ugly. He was a big fish in a small pond. Now he's a small fish in a big pond and he's drowning. An OC will not make one ounce of difference. Billy lacks confidence in his abilities. He says it every presser, "I've got to coach them better, it's things we can fix, etc." Well Billy, what are you going to coach this week that you haven't coached for the last two months? Or better yet, now that You've lost, now your going to coach them? It makes no sense because it's a stupid thing to say. He doesn't know how to fix it and that's why issues from game one persist. He wont let an OC open up because he has no plan for if it doesn't work. Muschamp went through how many OC's?
Nothing anyone says or does will change what Billy does and everyone sees it but him. To change anything at this point would be to admit defeat. Not going to happen. Billy is going to prove to Clemson and Alabama that he is the best thing they ever had so he can walk back in like ...
- Sep 4, 2014
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We were told in another thread by a former D1 player that we don’t know what we’re talking about because we never played ourselves. UF can’t throw deep because the defenses are running a Cover-2. All this time, teams never realized all you had to do was run Cover-2 and it negates any ability to throw anything besides a screen or hitch.
It’s cool for Shane to chime in, but what would he know about passing concepts or reading defenses? Spurrier too.
- Jun 30, 2014
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Not to give BN and/or Mertz too much cover on the passing side... but the OL hasn't been very consistent in pass pro. (or run blocking)
- Jun 12, 2014
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- Sep 4, 2014
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Thankfully when Mertz has a bad series and is rattled with that fear you mention, he can come to the sideline and talk to a non-coach analyst who doesn’t even watch all the plays, is barely engaged and mostly just stands there holding an IPad. Worked wonders with AR as well.
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- Jun 14, 2014
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@soflagator I'm detecting a little sarcasm in this thread, which is completely out of character for you. Just let us know if you need a prostitute, good buddy, we're here for you 
- Jun 19, 2014
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