- Oct 5, 2017
- 2,315
- 6,299
Hello Everybody!
This game against the Charlotte 49ers may tell us a lot about our team. It will tell us how we handle success. Players and Coaches have said the practices this week have been unacceptable. Hopefully, that is a hiccup and we will be able to turn it on against Charlotte. I’m not saying that we will lose, far from it, but if we aren’t focused, that’s how we get into games against teams like USF’s terrible 1-11 team from last year or losing to Vandy a week after killing Carolina. I don’t think that happens, but they did lead Maryland 14-9 at the half before losing 38-20. We are much better than Maryland, but the point is the same, if we don’t focus we might let them hang around longer than they should.
On offense, 3 of 5 starting OL are back-ups. It is good to see our back-ups will be getting plenty of reps and I hope that the missing starters (Kingsley nursing his injury and Mazzccua and George suspended for the first half) aren’t missed and we don’t see them Saturday. If we are blowing Charlotte out like we should, I don’t see a reason to play the suspended players in the second half and risk potential injury. I’d like to continue to get young guys more reps and hopefully, build a little more depth.
The biggest thing I want to see from the offense is work on the downfield passing game. Yes, I really have counted this myself and 33 of Mertz’s 64 completions (51.6%) have been at or behind the LOS. That doesn’t include the 1—4 yards downfield completions. PFF had 27 completions behind the LOS (it counts behind and then 0-9 for depth of passing). Don’t get me wrong, it has mostly worked, but the question is how will that volume behind the LOS work against the better defenses down the road like UK, UGA, LSU, and Mizzou? Since we have this game against what should be a cupcake, let’s work on the downfield passing game. I’m not just talking deep, I’m talking 5-20 yards depth. Mertz has completed 51 of his 64 (79.7%) completions 9 or less yards downfield. There is a lot to be said for how good he’s been so far, but let’s put more on tape that might ease tougher defenses for him down the road.
With the loss of Tre Wilson, I’d love to see Mizell and Jean getting more reps and utilizing their speed more. I’m glad to see Boardingham is starting as from what I’ve seen he brings new athleticism dynamics to the TE room that desperately needs it. It may also help some of that downfield passing game.
On defense, I expect to see both QB’s, former Gators QB Jalon Jones and Trexler Ivey. In the Maryland game Jones started well enough, but was benched for Ivey. Jones is the 49ers leading rusher while Ivey seems to be their better passer by a wide margin with a 163.7 passer rating according to ESPN. I want to continue to see the defensive fundamentals like maintaining edges and gap integrity. Jones has 196 of the 49ers 433 rushing yards on the year and only 1 running back has 100 rushing yards for the season and just barely over that mark through three games. That tells me we should not have to worry about their running game.
If the Gators come out focused and take care of business, it’s another good barometer of change for this team and shows an improved ability to handle success. There is opportunity knocking as the SEC looks as a whole to not be as good this year as advertised. As of now, all the teams looked flawed, including UGA whose offense limped in the first half against a Carolina team that lost a lot of its offensive gameplan with Wells’ injury. Many thought UF’s D could jump top 50, but currently at top 10 and not too many teams that have shown dynamic offenses thus far on the horizon, there is opportunity to seize. We can both acknowledge this defense was better than we thought it could be while recognizing some teams at this point don’t quite appear to be as dangerous as we previously thought. None of that matters though if the Gators cannot Seize the Opportunity before them. That begins with showing they can handle success against Charlotte on Saturday.
Go Gators!
This game against the Charlotte 49ers may tell us a lot about our team. It will tell us how we handle success. Players and Coaches have said the practices this week have been unacceptable. Hopefully, that is a hiccup and we will be able to turn it on against Charlotte. I’m not saying that we will lose, far from it, but if we aren’t focused, that’s how we get into games against teams like USF’s terrible 1-11 team from last year or losing to Vandy a week after killing Carolina. I don’t think that happens, but they did lead Maryland 14-9 at the half before losing 38-20. We are much better than Maryland, but the point is the same, if we don’t focus we might let them hang around longer than they should.
On offense, 3 of 5 starting OL are back-ups. It is good to see our back-ups will be getting plenty of reps and I hope that the missing starters (Kingsley nursing his injury and Mazzccua and George suspended for the first half) aren’t missed and we don’t see them Saturday. If we are blowing Charlotte out like we should, I don’t see a reason to play the suspended players in the second half and risk potential injury. I’d like to continue to get young guys more reps and hopefully, build a little more depth.
The biggest thing I want to see from the offense is work on the downfield passing game. Yes, I really have counted this myself and 33 of Mertz’s 64 completions (51.6%) have been at or behind the LOS. That doesn’t include the 1—4 yards downfield completions. PFF had 27 completions behind the LOS (it counts behind and then 0-9 for depth of passing). Don’t get me wrong, it has mostly worked, but the question is how will that volume behind the LOS work against the better defenses down the road like UK, UGA, LSU, and Mizzou? Since we have this game against what should be a cupcake, let’s work on the downfield passing game. I’m not just talking deep, I’m talking 5-20 yards depth. Mertz has completed 51 of his 64 (79.7%) completions 9 or less yards downfield. There is a lot to be said for how good he’s been so far, but let’s put more on tape that might ease tougher defenses for him down the road.
With the loss of Tre Wilson, I’d love to see Mizell and Jean getting more reps and utilizing their speed more. I’m glad to see Boardingham is starting as from what I’ve seen he brings new athleticism dynamics to the TE room that desperately needs it. It may also help some of that downfield passing game.
On defense, I expect to see both QB’s, former Gators QB Jalon Jones and Trexler Ivey. In the Maryland game Jones started well enough, but was benched for Ivey. Jones is the 49ers leading rusher while Ivey seems to be their better passer by a wide margin with a 163.7 passer rating according to ESPN. I want to continue to see the defensive fundamentals like maintaining edges and gap integrity. Jones has 196 of the 49ers 433 rushing yards on the year and only 1 running back has 100 rushing yards for the season and just barely over that mark through three games. That tells me we should not have to worry about their running game.
If the Gators come out focused and take care of business, it’s another good barometer of change for this team and shows an improved ability to handle success. There is opportunity knocking as the SEC looks as a whole to not be as good this year as advertised. As of now, all the teams looked flawed, including UGA whose offense limped in the first half against a Carolina team that lost a lot of its offensive gameplan with Wells’ injury. Many thought UF’s D could jump top 50, but currently at top 10 and not too many teams that have shown dynamic offenses thus far on the horizon, there is opportunity to seize. We can both acknowledge this defense was better than we thought it could be while recognizing some teams at this point don’t quite appear to be as dangerous as we previously thought. None of that matters though if the Gators cannot Seize the Opportunity before them. That begins with showing they can handle success against Charlotte on Saturday.
Go Gators!
