- Oct 5, 2017
- 2,315
- 6,299
In a day of remembrance, football almost seemed secondary. We all remember where we were on September 11, 2001. The day started with me going to buy a red bandana at the local Walmart to wear in memory of Wells Remy Crowther, a hero of 9/11 otherwise referred to as The Man in the Red Bandana. If you do not know his story, stop reading, watch here. It is tragic, inspiring, and a great example of the American spirit. Anyways, my mom had a red bandana at her house, neither she nor my brother had heard the story so the first 15 minutes of our drive to Tampa was playing the story for them.
I know, you don’t read these posts for all this extraneous information. However, of all Saturdays, this one is one where I have more than football. Let’s talk about the Pride of the Sunshine and Pride of the Bay doing a unified halftime show. First, they spelled NYC and played some NYC featured songs like “Broadway”, “Empire State of Mind”, and “New York, New York”. Then the bands spelled USA and had an American flag put in the bottom of the S. Both bands then performed the back half of the Pride of the Sunshine’s now standard Veteran’s Day show. It starts with the playing of Taps, then moves to Amazing Grace, then finishes with America the Beautiful. Many were standing, a lot of hats removed, and most were silent. If you have never seen the Pride of the Sunshine’s Veteran’s Day show, again, watch here. It is a brilliant and moving, performance.
The crowd was definitely 70-30 UF, at least. Everywhere I looked except for the USF student section had a vast majority of fans clad in orange and blue.
On to the football.
Offense
Would you believe me if I said that as frustrating as the offense has been at times the last two games that we are averaging over 600 yards of offense a game? 609.5 yards a game to be exact. 381.5 of that is on the ground. One third of that average is AR15 alone at 137.5 yards per game. Would you believe me if I said the Gators threw for over 300 yards on Saturday? Statistically, this offense has been a juggernaut. Albeit, the numbers have not exactly been against good teams, but these are numbers that we didn’t even put on UT-Martin or Towson in 2019. However, these numbers are not the whole story. If it were, Gators fans would be feeling much different going into week three.
The whole issue many fans have with the Gators’ offense begins and ends with the now even more apparent QB battle. In the first series UF went three and out and two of the three plays were poorly thrown balls by starter Emory Jones. In the second series Jones completed a pass to Wells for 20 yards, but the throw was behind and Wells had to turn to catch it. If he was hit in stride Wells would've gotten a lot more. The rest of the drive was simple, let Pierce be the beast he can be by running 3 time for 43 yards and a touchdown. On the third drive Richardson came in as usual and on play one hits Anthony Richardson throws a dime to Copeland he takes the rest of the way for a 75-yard touchdown.
After the touchdown, Emory looked better for the rest of the half. He hit Henderson on a hitch route for 17 yards to begin the drive and finished the drive with a dime to Henderson for 35 yards and a TD. After Richardson found Copeland for another bomb of a TD, Emory finished a drive with a 33-yard TD run. In a later first half drive Emory was let down by a drop deep by Shorter on a great throw.
In the second half, Emory looked good at the beginning of the first drive with a good run and good throw to Copeland where Copeland fought his way to a first down. The next play he threw a terrible pick that a more talented secondary returns to the house. In fact, had the DB continued down the sideline he might've housed it. On his next drive, he nicely hit Henderson on a crossing route, had a good run for a first down, and then throws very late for his second pick of the game. On the next drive, Wells just couldn't haul in a ball on 4th down that was well thrown by Emory where only Wells could grab it.
Then Richardson comes in and dimes Copeland while being hit for 36 yards. Then like last week, Mullen does things that don't help the situation and noise. He leaves Jones in who then proceeds to throw three balls. A throw into quadruple coverage that should've been picked, a short completion to Davis, and a high ball into double coverage to Elksnis. Richardson followed up with an 80-yard TD run where Richardson tweaked his hamstring. People have said that he was walking around without a limp post-game so that is beneficial.
I am not sure who I would start against Bama if AR15 is indeed healthy. Don't get me wrong, just like Booger McFarland and Dan Orlovsky, as well as Shannon Snell, I believe AR15 has earned the starting position. However, asking a QB to make his first start against Bama is a way to break a QB. I'd probably have EJ start with a short leash. If the Emory we saw who could move the ball and make good throws shows up, it would be fine, if the EJ we have seen average 2 INT's a game against inferior opponents shows up, don't let him get to a second INT. Richardson has yet to reveal his weaknesses, but apparently Mullen saw some as he said both QB's played a bad second half and missed things when asked by Cardozo on the post game show. I really hope he is just gesturing.
Pierce is a beast. After his three carries for 43 and a TD on the second drive of the game he only had two more carries for 12 yards, which is a great 6 yards per carry. I think, or at least I hope, we may see more of him going forward. He rarely is tackled by the first defender, has some speed, and is the most powerful back we have. With all of the talk of the QB's, I believe this great, but limited, performance needs a shoutout.
Copeland and Henderson showed what they are capable of in the passing game when the get the ball. We haven't seen too much from the tight ends yet, but that may be from a lack of field reading. Gamble was wide open in the middle of the field on EJ's first pick. I believe we will see more from the TE's moving forward, it is a hunch, but I just have the feeling it will happen.
I don't think we have been too exotic on offense in the first two games, but we have put up ridiculous yardage numbers, but have also left 21 points in the redzone. This offense isn't anywhere near a pedestrian offense though at times it feels like it is for some reason. As we enter SEC play we are about to find out who this team really is. Are they a team who can only take advantage of overmatched teams or will we see a team that is capable and more balanced then we have bee in a long time. The only way to know is to play the games.
Defense
The defense started well with a 3 and out. That is something that everyone wanted to see after failing to register one against FAU. Then the defense allowed USF to take 17 plays for 75 yards and a field goal on the next drive and were helped by a drop on a trick play that against most SEC opponents would be a touchdown. The defense gave up two runs of 8 yards on the drive. They have to figure that out now that Florida is moving into SEC play.
The second half was not great, but was adequate and by design we were playing a ton of back ups. I know we'd like to see our back ups play better, but a whole half of football's experience is valuable for their development. Elam, Carter and Miller (though I think he was injured) are players who didn't play in the second half. In the end, UF only allowed 297 yards for the game and only 109 yards rushing total. That number isn't deceiving due to sacks as we only had one on the day, which was on the first drive. We hold USF to a 3 and out 4 times in the second half. One of which ended with a field goal on a short field due to one of the INT's. That is something to bring hope. USF is bad, but getting guys the time and them getting stops is something.
I am curious to see how this unit plays against SEC competition. At times, they have looked like the defenses of old and we've seen 3rd and Grantham. At others, they look like they will be taking a step forward. There are still mistakes and every team makes those. The question is what shows up more going forward. Does the defensive line do enough to help the back 7? Do we see development from guys like Torrence, Marshall, and Helm? The answers will tell us what type of team this will be.
Special Teams
Not much to say about these units other than it was nice to see Diwun Black get some tackles and that it looks like we have another punter who can boom it when needed.
Extra Points
10 games left in the regular season and I have no idea where it is going. There is a ton of reasons for optimism and some for pessimism. At this juncture it is a wait and see process. Maybe we have seen all there is to see and being the top rushing offense in the nation is it. Maybe we've not seen it all yet. We've left the doldrums of the off-season behind. We've gone through the tune up games and now we face our biggest test of the season to begin SEC play. I will address my feelings midweek, by then there should be some injury updates that will factor into my thoughts. Until then the Gators are 2-0 in a more dominant fashion than the final scores indicate.
Go Gators!
I know, you don’t read these posts for all this extraneous information. However, of all Saturdays, this one is one where I have more than football. Let’s talk about the Pride of the Sunshine and Pride of the Bay doing a unified halftime show. First, they spelled NYC and played some NYC featured songs like “Broadway”, “Empire State of Mind”, and “New York, New York”. Then the bands spelled USA and had an American flag put in the bottom of the S. Both bands then performed the back half of the Pride of the Sunshine’s now standard Veteran’s Day show. It starts with the playing of Taps, then moves to Amazing Grace, then finishes with America the Beautiful. Many were standing, a lot of hats removed, and most were silent. If you have never seen the Pride of the Sunshine’s Veteran’s Day show, again, watch here. It is a brilliant and moving, performance.
The crowd was definitely 70-30 UF, at least. Everywhere I looked except for the USF student section had a vast majority of fans clad in orange and blue.
On to the football.
Offense
Would you believe me if I said that as frustrating as the offense has been at times the last two games that we are averaging over 600 yards of offense a game? 609.5 yards a game to be exact. 381.5 of that is on the ground. One third of that average is AR15 alone at 137.5 yards per game. Would you believe me if I said the Gators threw for over 300 yards on Saturday? Statistically, this offense has been a juggernaut. Albeit, the numbers have not exactly been against good teams, but these are numbers that we didn’t even put on UT-Martin or Towson in 2019. However, these numbers are not the whole story. If it were, Gators fans would be feeling much different going into week three.
The whole issue many fans have with the Gators’ offense begins and ends with the now even more apparent QB battle. In the first series UF went three and out and two of the three plays were poorly thrown balls by starter Emory Jones. In the second series Jones completed a pass to Wells for 20 yards, but the throw was behind and Wells had to turn to catch it. If he was hit in stride Wells would've gotten a lot more. The rest of the drive was simple, let Pierce be the beast he can be by running 3 time for 43 yards and a touchdown. On the third drive Richardson came in as usual and on play one hits Anthony Richardson throws a dime to Copeland he takes the rest of the way for a 75-yard touchdown.
After the touchdown, Emory looked better for the rest of the half. He hit Henderson on a hitch route for 17 yards to begin the drive and finished the drive with a dime to Henderson for 35 yards and a TD. After Richardson found Copeland for another bomb of a TD, Emory finished a drive with a 33-yard TD run. In a later first half drive Emory was let down by a drop deep by Shorter on a great throw.
In the second half, Emory looked good at the beginning of the first drive with a good run and good throw to Copeland where Copeland fought his way to a first down. The next play he threw a terrible pick that a more talented secondary returns to the house. In fact, had the DB continued down the sideline he might've housed it. On his next drive, he nicely hit Henderson on a crossing route, had a good run for a first down, and then throws very late for his second pick of the game. On the next drive, Wells just couldn't haul in a ball on 4th down that was well thrown by Emory where only Wells could grab it.
Then Richardson comes in and dimes Copeland while being hit for 36 yards. Then like last week, Mullen does things that don't help the situation and noise. He leaves Jones in who then proceeds to throw three balls. A throw into quadruple coverage that should've been picked, a short completion to Davis, and a high ball into double coverage to Elksnis. Richardson followed up with an 80-yard TD run where Richardson tweaked his hamstring. People have said that he was walking around without a limp post-game so that is beneficial.
I am not sure who I would start against Bama if AR15 is indeed healthy. Don't get me wrong, just like Booger McFarland and Dan Orlovsky, as well as Shannon Snell, I believe AR15 has earned the starting position. However, asking a QB to make his first start against Bama is a way to break a QB. I'd probably have EJ start with a short leash. If the Emory we saw who could move the ball and make good throws shows up, it would be fine, if the EJ we have seen average 2 INT's a game against inferior opponents shows up, don't let him get to a second INT. Richardson has yet to reveal his weaknesses, but apparently Mullen saw some as he said both QB's played a bad second half and missed things when asked by Cardozo on the post game show. I really hope he is just gesturing.
Pierce is a beast. After his three carries for 43 and a TD on the second drive of the game he only had two more carries for 12 yards, which is a great 6 yards per carry. I think, or at least I hope, we may see more of him going forward. He rarely is tackled by the first defender, has some speed, and is the most powerful back we have. With all of the talk of the QB's, I believe this great, but limited, performance needs a shoutout.
Copeland and Henderson showed what they are capable of in the passing game when the get the ball. We haven't seen too much from the tight ends yet, but that may be from a lack of field reading. Gamble was wide open in the middle of the field on EJ's first pick. I believe we will see more from the TE's moving forward, it is a hunch, but I just have the feeling it will happen.
I don't think we have been too exotic on offense in the first two games, but we have put up ridiculous yardage numbers, but have also left 21 points in the redzone. This offense isn't anywhere near a pedestrian offense though at times it feels like it is for some reason. As we enter SEC play we are about to find out who this team really is. Are they a team who can only take advantage of overmatched teams or will we see a team that is capable and more balanced then we have bee in a long time. The only way to know is to play the games.
Defense
The defense started well with a 3 and out. That is something that everyone wanted to see after failing to register one against FAU. Then the defense allowed USF to take 17 plays for 75 yards and a field goal on the next drive and were helped by a drop on a trick play that against most SEC opponents would be a touchdown. The defense gave up two runs of 8 yards on the drive. They have to figure that out now that Florida is moving into SEC play.
The second half was not great, but was adequate and by design we were playing a ton of back ups. I know we'd like to see our back ups play better, but a whole half of football's experience is valuable for their development. Elam, Carter and Miller (though I think he was injured) are players who didn't play in the second half. In the end, UF only allowed 297 yards for the game and only 109 yards rushing total. That number isn't deceiving due to sacks as we only had one on the day, which was on the first drive. We hold USF to a 3 and out 4 times in the second half. One of which ended with a field goal on a short field due to one of the INT's. That is something to bring hope. USF is bad, but getting guys the time and them getting stops is something.
I am curious to see how this unit plays against SEC competition. At times, they have looked like the defenses of old and we've seen 3rd and Grantham. At others, they look like they will be taking a step forward. There are still mistakes and every team makes those. The question is what shows up more going forward. Does the defensive line do enough to help the back 7? Do we see development from guys like Torrence, Marshall, and Helm? The answers will tell us what type of team this will be.
Special Teams
Not much to say about these units other than it was nice to see Diwun Black get some tackles and that it looks like we have another punter who can boom it when needed.
Extra Points
- Can I start this with anything other than FSU allowing a bomb as time expired to lose to Jacksonville State? I mean, Jax St. has taken them to the wire in the past, but got them this time. This is much worse than Georgia Southern because though we shouldn't have lost that game, at least we were down a ton of players, FSU had their top 2 QB's.
- Loved the service academies entering the fields of play with all players carrying an American flag as well as AFA's uniforms.
- Another interesting weekend with plenty of top-25 or Power 5 schools struggling (and/or losing) against unranked teams including Notre Dame, A&M, USC, Texas, Utah, Miami, K-State, and Carolina. Florida meanwhile has not had that issue so far this season.
- Two not cool Florida fan moments; one booing EJ, guy has done everything asked for him and it's only game two, come one and two, a caller to Steve Russell's postgame call in show saying Whittemore doesn't belong on the team. No idea what that is about, does the caller blame Whittemore for the second pick and throw into quadruple coverage (target on those plays)? That's insanity.
- NFL season starts today and Go Jags! Year 2 under Meyer is where it's at. Just show improvement this year.
- I'm not a baseball fan, but I found myself glued to the pre-game for last nights Mets-Yankees game, it was well done.
10 games left in the regular season and I have no idea where it is going. There is a ton of reasons for optimism and some for pessimism. At this juncture it is a wait and see process. Maybe we have seen all there is to see and being the top rushing offense in the nation is it. Maybe we've not seen it all yet. We've left the doldrums of the off-season behind. We've gone through the tune up games and now we face our biggest test of the season to begin SEC play. I will address my feelings midweek, by then there should be some injury updates that will factor into my thoughts. Until then the Gators are 2-0 in a more dominant fashion than the final scores indicate.
Go Gators!
