Bits & Pieces: Florida vs. Georgia

cover2

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I have a confession...I fired Dan Mullen tonight. Twice. It’s not like it wasn’t merited. Lord how we looked so unprepared, falling behind on the Dawgs first play of the game, a 75 yard TD run by Garrison Hearst, er, Zeus White, then following that up with a quick three and out. And a failed 4th and nine late when a field goal would have been quite nice. What the hell, Dan?

Ultimately, I rehired him. Twice. A 24 point outburst in the second quarter that gave us a 38-21 lead at the half and a win over a bitter rival, ending a three game slide in the series, will give pause for reconsideration. Besides, I wouldn’t want to hand Todd the car keys. So, Dan is still our man and I’ve got to give him credit for his 44-28 “masterpiece.” More Pollock than Rembrandt, however :).

The real artist on the night was Kyle Trask. 30/43 for 474, that eclipsed his previous high, with 4 TD passes was pretty special. If there was a criticism it was that he probably could have thrown for over 500 with at least one more score. Still, his night was worthy of the Heisman consideration he’s received. But more importantly, and it can’t be overstated, he beat the Dawgs! Should be enough to put him on the cover of the latest edition of Whipped Puppy, which is praise enough at this juncture of the season. Hell, any season!

*Defensively, I wouldn’t say it was pretty by any means. If it wasn’t for the UGA quarterbacks’ lack of accuracy on several long balls, our secondary, and most likely our collective Gator @sses, would have been lit up like Portland during a peaceful protest. Our safeties were bad. Any hope of improvement generated against Mizzou last week went up in a puff of smoke when the Dawgs #2 guy threw a TD strike right between Davis and what’s his name (T. Johnson, maybe?). The 112 yards we “held” UGA to was more on them than anything we did. However, we won, had some picks, and tackling overall didn’t look as bad as it has in previous games.

*As rough as I was on Dan earlier, I have to give him credit for pretty good game planning. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen as many wheel routes open as I did this afternoon. Backs, tight ends, you name the skill guys and they slipped up the sidelines, usually in a mismatch with a LB or a squatting DB for any easy pitch and catch for a big chunk of yardage. And Kirby had no answer. Who knew?

*I hated to see Pitts get knocked out of the game. Haven’t heard the diagnosis, but after seeing the glazed look in his eyes as he headed to the locker room I’d have to believe he was concussed. Hope that’s all and that he’s good to go next game. The hit was what used to be text book safety play and would essentially cut the arms off of a receiver before he ever left the line in a route over midfield. I know safety is paramount, but that was football in times past.

*The game was about as physical as I’ve seen lately. There were some big hits and guys limping to the sidelines about every other play it seemed. Hated to see the Dawg receiver break his ankle, though CBS didn’t seem to mind showing it over and over a la Joe Theisman. The lick put on the UGA QB was significant and pretty much nulled him. I believe I heard his throwing shoulder was subluxed. Hard, clean football. I’m enjoying it while I still can.

*Toney was pretty much neutralized and why wouldn’t UGA be prepared with the season he’s having? Still, there was a little too much of this...
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...and not enough north and south. Against a better defense, one juke is about all he’ll get.

*The DL wasn’t bad this evening, if you take away the long TD run to start the game. Without that play, the Dawgs only rushed for 90. They kept the pressure on in the second half and it felt like they were energized by Carter’s return. Cox, Slaton, and others played the gaps pretty well. Have to mention LB Houston’s great form tackle (I won’t mention Miller’s bad read and whiff or the LB’s trouble in coverage, though). For this game at least, the Dawgs were held to 277 total yards. We’ve got a chance in most games with a similar number.

*The OL was fairly solid, giving Trask time to throw most of the night. Losing Reese and DeLance later on allowed the Dawgs to put a little pressure on Trask and was a factor in our second half TD drought. Our rushing total of 97 yards wasn’t eye popping, but it was enough to convert some third downs and keep the defense somewhat honest. We’ll need to be better by the season’s end if we expect to have a chance with the big boys. We’ve got to get to that point first and the OL will be a key part if we do. Improvement is still necessary.

*I’m glad to see the backs become a bigger part of the throw game. We’ve got three that can catch and run it afterwards. The CBS guys mentioned how Spurrier used to utilize the backs in that manner and that little circle route that Davis ran was very much an SOS staple. Not a bad guy to copy. I’m glad to see us add this wrinkle and hopefully it’ll be more than just a one game thing.

*And speaking of the throwing and catching, with Pitts leading the way, Grimes making a couple of catches, one really big, and Shorter rising, we’ve got some big, talented targets for Trask to throw to. How about Gamble? He made Pitts’ departure not quite so worrisome. Zipperer looked pretty good on his lone reception, too. As far as the others go, Copeland’s hands have been his biggest nemesis. He seemingly has all the other tools, but I’m not sure he’s earned the confidence of the QB or the OC. Young Henderson isn’t quite ready for prime time. He clearly had no idea what was going on when he led his defender into a pick six. But he’s young and I’ve got to give Mullen most of the credit for that gaffe. Henderson obviously didn’t need to be part of the personnel in that hurry up set.

I can’t tell you how difficult it is to not be preparing this piece while blind drunk. In fact, I’m sober as a judge with only a couple of Miller Lights and an Oyster City Dark Ale under my belt (the latter wasn’t to my liking by the way, so I’m glad it was a gift and I didn’t pay for it!). Truth is that after the election, my old liver probably needs a break! But it was a pleasure, as always, to do a little autopsy, especially after a win in Jacksonville over the Mutts. We can’t ever win enough of these games and I hope to live long enough to see us on the plus side of the series.

Next week, we welcome the Hogs and Felipe back to the Swamp. Fresh off a win against the Vols and with Franks no doubt dying to shush the crowd (such as it will be), the game should provide another test for our growing Gators. Time for us to take some more forward steps. Until then, savor the Dawg tears and dust off the grill. I’m hoping for barbecue next Saturday! Go Gators!

:chomp:
 
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BMF

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Good stuff as usual C2.

Some other observations:

- Due to injury, Tarquin & Braun got some significant playing time against a top ranked UGA defense. That's great for depth building, which is something I always like seeing. Braun played 44 snaps!

- Gamble completely robbed Na'quan of that pass. It was a thing of beauty. Kudos to him for filling in admirably for Pitts, finishing w/ 3 catches.

- UF RB's had 10 catches for 211 yards - absolutely impressive. Davis had a great game...and Naquan is f'ing awesome! Tough as nails!

- Outside of the 75 yard UGA TD on the first play, they had barely 200 yards of total offense.

- If Stetson Bennett was 1 inch shorter he'd be a dwarf, by legal definition. And I'm surprised UGA's media guide didn't mention that Dwan Mathis is Manute Bol's first cousin.

- I'm disappointed Mullen didn't have the "Spurrier" in him to go for half a hundy when all he needed was 12 points at half time.

- Trask is the only QB in SEC history to have 4 TDs in 5 consecutive games....make that 4.5 games, since he did it at halftime.

- Glad to finally see the INTs from "DBU".

- Justin Shorter had a great game. So did Zipperer.

- I think Princely is going to be a great SDE one day.

- It's great to be a FLORIDA GATOR!!
 

Shortcast

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How sweet it is...
My first thought after Jawa scored the first time was...ok, Ohio St scored on the first play in the Fiesta Bowl, we still got this, then I started to squirm when they scored again...damn this is new territory. Couldn't generate anything positive offensively TILL we got a stop by the defense. BUT, once the Trask Train started rolling and got some rhythm, it was all over for the Leghumpers.
The silence I will have from my crowing sister and my golf friends will truly be GOLDEN
 

cover2

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Good stuff as usual C2.

Some other observations:

- Due to injury, Tarquin & Braun got some significant playing time against a top ranked UGA defense. That's great for depth building, which is something I always like seeing. Braun played 44 snaps!

- Gamble completely robbed Na'quan of that pass. It was a thing of beauty. Kudos to him for filling in admirably for Pitts, finishing w/ 3 catches.

- UF RB's had 10 catches for 211 yards - absolutely impressive. Davis had a great game...and Naquan is f'ing awesome! Tough as nails!

- Outside of the 75 yard UGA TD on the first play, they had barely 200 yards of total offense.

- If Stetson Bennett was 1 inch shorter he'd be a dwarf, by legal definition. And I'm surprised UGA's media guide didn't mention that Dwan Mathis is Manute Bol's first cousin.

- I'm disappointed Mullen didn't have the "Spurrier" in him to go for half a hundy when all he needed was 12 points at half time.

- Trask is the only QB in SEC history to have 4 TDs in 5 consecutive games....make that 4.5 games, since he did it at halftime.

- Glad to finally see the INTs from "DBU".

- Justin Shorter had a great game. So did Zipperer.

- I think Princely is going to be a great SDE one day.

- It's great to be a FLORIDA GATOR!!
Thank you! Agreed on all points, especially about us not going for 50+. Was hoping that mark and Trask’s fifth TD would have happened by the end of the third quarter. There are times you’ve got to make it hurt to make your point.
 

rogdochar

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Another grand report Cover and thanks for the new metaphor = "light 'em up like a peaceful Portland protest."
 

jaywalker72

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Safeties were sloppy again as Cover said and I would have liked to see more hard runners rather than Davis if we were taking the foot of the gas in the second half. Malik was terrific in the pass game but too easy to bring down off the carry.

The wideouts, apart from Shorter and Grimes’ splendid catch in the EZ, were subpar.

OL looked good and seems like two levels up from last year, though that bar is rather low.

Love having the puppies discouraged by halftime, which they certainly were. That second quarter was tremendous.

Glad we are back to an offense where I am not worried about the ability to pick up 3rd and long anymore.

Suck it, Georgia. Suuuuuuck it!

Go Gators!
 

Tunaboat

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Great, Great Win tonight. Danny broke the Kirby jinx with Trask driving some big O numbers aided by some really bad play by the buttsniffers QBs and receivers. We should have hung half a hunerd on 'em while we had 'em over the stump!

Man it feels good to bitch-slap the pups again.
 

LongTooth

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No doubt this would have been tougher for us if the dawgs weren’t missing so much on D, but Kirby himself is to blame for creating the terrible situation for UGA at qb. And I love it. There were some potential TDs out there for the dawgs that Bennett could not execute.

cope still shows hands of stone. Shorter has become a reliable big target who can benefit when guys like Toney and pitts get attention from the defense. Grimes made easily his best play as a gator with that td catch. Would like to see that catapult him to a strong second half of the season.

with the dawgs in disarray we had to win. Glad we overcame the bad mojo at the start.
 

JDW

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The bad thing is that when Pitts is gone we seem to bog down...happened in the A&M game too...it’s something to think of when we play a team like Bama
 

FireFoley

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Very tight C2, unlike our safety play. I would ask thoughts on how to improve the safety play, but it is beyond repair. I do not even think changing faces would matter. Something about the coaching/scheme/whatever is amiss with our secondary play. You correctly noted that there was more than a few easy long balls to be had by the opponent. Even tho Lerch is not good as much misdirection BS fake throws that ARKY runs (courtesy of Kendal Briles), I am fully expecting some ARKY WR's to be running unabated down the field next week. Only hope Lerch does not see them.

Also know that ARKY is going to play zone on defense so can't get cute and throw into those 8 man coverages. Just take what the D gives you. Will be plenty of running lanes if the OL can block and Cousin Eddie will be patient enough. And NO 3 receivers standing next to each other where 1 guy can cover 3 of yours. And when ARKY is not playing zone, they are going to play MORE ZONE. I suspect if Pitts plays they will man him all over, so I would just run him thru multiple zone areas and try and get those other defenders off their spots. Will be interesting to watch tactically b/c Barry Odom has always been decently regarded as a DC.
 

oxrageous

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I was impressed by Gamble. That one-handed catch (that wasn't even thrown to him) showed some athleticism I don't think any of us knew he had.
 

wrpgator

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In a sense, Pitts is an on-field coach. Grimes, Shorter, Gamble and even Zip are--and will continue to be--better receivers with Kyle Pitts showing them through example: "watch this boys, here's how it's done--go up and get it"
That other Kyle kid is an instructor too. Got a big target? Dont hit him in the numbers, hit him in the hands at the top of his jump! I hope Emory and AR are taking notes.
 

Homer J

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*The game was about as physical as I’ve seen lately. There were some big hits and guys limping to the sidelines about every other play it seemed. Hated to see the Dawg receiver break his ankle, though CBS didn’t seem to mind showing it over and over a la Joe Theisman. The lick put on the UGA QB was significant and pretty much nulled him. I believe I heard his throwing shoulder was subluxed. Hard, clean football. I’m enjoying it while I still can.

:chomp:

I said the leg looked more Tim Krumrie, not Theisman
 

Cozumel Gator

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Cover2 you nailed it again with "breakfast with the Gators"! Here in Cozumel, I am using a Chromebook and an app called dofustream-ncaaf for my football needs and then cast it to the big screen with a Google Chromecast. There are a lot of popups while you find your game, but a free app must be paid somehow. We are still alive here after 3 tropical storms and 2 hurricanes. Our solid 100% concrete structure has held up well with no repairs needed. We are doing well again with our vacation rental business Cozumel's Newest Boutique Inn | 15 Ave | StingrayVilla.com. Well so much with us and 2020. Greg and Silvia
 

lizardbreath

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Excellent, balanced take as always. A few observations from my corner of the old coot's balcony; I too was vexed and perplexed by a few of DM's "WTF" personnel decisions and "oh no, here we go again" play calls. But in the end, he yanked that no-class twerp Kirby Shart off his pedestal and administered the colossal ass whipping the sniveling little schytbird so richly deserved. For that, old Dan gets major props in my book. Also, this team, behind a true leader at QB, showed the steel and composure of a daylight robber with a finger pistol.

Down 14 points after the worst three minute start in my personal recollection, they pulled themselves together and proceeded to hand the mutts a loss that was not only deflating but potentially damaging to the long-term prospects for their program. Make no mistake about it. This one hurts - big time. The bloom is rapidly fading from the rose in dawgpatch. And although we are not yet where any of us wants to be, I would not trade places or coaches with those flaming ass holes this morning. Once again, phukk the dwags - starting with bangs boy.
 

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