Bits & Pieces: Florida vs. Florida Atlantic

cover2

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After a night to ruminate on our 35-14 opener against Lethal Simplicity II, I find myself not quite in the state of funk that I was at the conclusion of a mostly lackluster performance by the Pitts/Trask-less edition of Dan and Todd’s Big Adventure. There were some good things that happened. The most obvious of which was the “debut” of Anthony Richardson, who second-stringed his way to 160 yds rushing on 7 caries and passed for another 40. One would think that this Mullen QB Prototype is now ready to take off and run Dan’s offense a la Dak Prescott, but remember, this is the same Dan Mullen who was reluctant to start Kyle Trask. Color me cautiously optimistic.

We ran the ball pretty well. 400 yds for the game with Richardson and Malik Davis eclipsing 100 and scoring 4 times on the ground was a pleasant surprise even if it was against FAU. It might have been even more encouraging had we not suffered those two pesky “4th and Mullens” (thanks to whoever in the box coined this phrase) that left us scoreless on a couple of deep possessions. Dan alluded after the game that this might be who we are, potentially to lead the nation in rushing instead of passing…and I’m good with that, so long as it holds up against the likes of Bama, the Mutts, and assorted other SEC defenses. Color me ambivalent.

I can’t say I was unhappy with the D Line and to an extent the LBs, as we held Willie and the Po Boys to 92 yards on the ground, sacked the QB 6 times and generally shortened his clock for most of the evening. However, our secondary is still inconsistent at best, porous and easily exploitable at worst. 261 yards passing and a TD against a quality opponent might not be so bad, but again this was FAU. And no picks. Color me forlorn.

Let’s look at a few specifics…

*First, and most obvious I’d think, is that EJ is most probably not the man. Yes, it’s early and I am very appreciative and respectful that he has paid his dues and remained loyal, but if we’re going to have to rely on a running QB this year, Richardson has made a strong case. Had Emory not thrown 2 picks and shown little touch on several balls, I could easily say”Heck, it’s his first start as THE guy.” But that’s now a moot point and he’s currently the second-best running QB on the roster and his arm is not awe-inspiring.

*400 yards on the ground is encouraging, as is 4 rushing TDs. Makes me want to believe that the OL is improved (we’ll see what Bama has to say about that). If I felt more confident in our defense’s ability to lock down the opposition’s passing and our offense’s ability to strike quickly through the air, then id say we’ve got something. Right now it’s just a handful of hope.

*Rick Wells scored our only receiving TD. No offense to this kid intended, but let that sink in. Copeland and Whittemore had 1 catch each. Shorter had 4 for 11 yards. Who’s Weston?

*Turnovers were a scratch at 2 each (tip of the cap to Gervon Dexter). Depending on what happens to our passing attack, we’ll need to win this battle to win games this season and the secondary currently doesn’t look up to the mark. But it’s early…

*Malik Davis had a big night running the ball with 104 yds and a score on 14 carries. He seems to have added a little power to go along with his speed and quickness. Maybe more importantly he had no fumbles. Pierce looked strong in limited carries, scoring twice, and he also caught 5 balls. Throw in the transfer from Clemson along with Wright and Linguard and we have a pretty good stable of backs.

*No disappointments in the Special Teams. The Aussie punter looked pretty good. Don’t know much yet about the kickers other than we poached one from MissSt. Couple of punt returns on low kicks was nice. I’ll take no harm for the time being, but it might get interesting if we ever need a 45 yard FG to win.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that this opener, which kept alive our nation’s best opening game win streak, wasn’t altogether encouraging. What I think it has done, at least for me, is to makes us think critically about the holes in Mullen’s recruiting efforts. Our receiving room might be as short of big names and talent as it’s ever been. The secondary still looks more like Jerry’s kids than DBU. The LBs are willing, but hardly spectacular. We are relying far too heavily on the portal. That we played a DT that has only been with us for a week speaks to this. This is not SEC and Nat’l Championship strategy and effort. So the upside will be anticipating the job the staff can do to elevate us above where we currently hover. Color me apprehensive. But always color me Orange and Blue. Let’s get better against USF. Go Gators!

:chomp:
 

Mr2Bits

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Emory certainly is not the answer and consider me shocked when the announcers kept iterating on the fact Truesdell arrived on campus Monday and was starting already :eek3:
 

LagoonGator68

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Pierce is a beast. They didn’t want to tackle him after a few hits of his. He should be our only guy in the red zone.

AR is a stud and light years ahead of EJ. Doesn’t matter. Mullen will start EJ until it’s too late to matter.

Secondary and the receivers are just pathetic and it was lowly WiLLLLLLLLLLLLie and FAU.

Mullen needs to nut up and make the hard decisions now, not after losses.
 

78

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I used to love and live for the opener. I used to crave an injection of UF football. I used to approach the season like anything was possible.

Two-yard completions, pic sixes, botched communication, the wrong quarterback at the helm, Malik Davis getting stuffed at the LOS, and another grossly underachieving Grantham defense. That’s the pain I expect from here on after what I saw last night.

We switched over to the Pink documentary in the second quarter. Yeah, we actually did that. She outphysicals and outsmarts Mullen’s team.
 

Homer J

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What we have at the QB position is Nick Fitzgerald! All runners and no throwers.

This scares me. I was high on EJ.

The throw to Davis out of the backfield (that should have went for 20 plus yards) was almost a pick 6 because EJ failed to put any air under the throw. That was as easy of a throw as he is going to get.

Both INTs were terrible. No excuse for either. Emory just didn't look like he wanted to be there.

Then there was the 4th & goal sneak. Even CDM asked "WTF"?

Is he really up to being the starting QB at the university of Florida?
 

AlexDaGator

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We’re going to need to be able to throw the ball.

Neither EJ nor AR demonstrated that ability last night.

They don’t have to be Trask, but somebody has to be able to throw at least as well as Del Taco.

The secondary did not look good, but Trey Dean looked better playing safety.


Alex.
 

G8trwood

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I used to love and live for the opener. I used to crave an injection of UF football. I used to approach the season like anything was possible.

Two-yard completions, pic sixes, botched communication, the wrong quarterback at the helm, Malik Davis getting stuffed at the LOS, and another grossly underachieving Grantham defense. That’s the pain I expect from here on after what I saw last night.

We switched over to the Pink documentary in the second quarter. Yeah, we actually did that. She outphysicals and outsmarts Mullen’s team.

I can’t decide to laugh or cry ;)

Agree on openers now and it is just the magnification of our slow starts. The team is not ready to start. Coaching matters, as does good bourbon
 

GatorJ

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Pierce is a beast. They didn’t want to tackle him after a few hits of his. He should be our only guy in the red zone.

AR is a stud and light years ahead of EJ. Doesn’t matter. Mullen will start EJ until it’s too late to matter.

Secondary and the receivers are just pathetic and it was lowly WiLLLLLLLLLLLLie and FAU.

Mullen needs to nut up and make the hard decisions now, not after losses.

I don’t think there was an issue with the receivers. EJ couldn’t throw the damn ball.
 

GatorJ

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Marshall struggled a bit last night. But I think he’s better than Helm. Will probably supplant him by Bama.
 

Cozumel Gator

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Thank you cover 2 for another "breakfast with the Gators". I hope the leaders of this team put the best players on the field, instead of the oldest.
 

Thick&ThinG8r

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Thanks Cover, spot on as usual.
I'll add, if Mullen doesn't get cute and trying to get Willie Jacksons grandson a touchdown, twice, (on the night he's Mister 2bits) and instead has a totally deserving Henderson in on those AR throws, he runs right underneath both of them. And don't get me started on the chunk plays the backup secondary gave up. All while hitting out of bounds and bumping their receivers and talking smack. I'm not really sure why they played.
 

GatorJ

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Thanks Cover, spot on as usual.
I'll add, if Mullen doesn't get cute and trying to get Willie Jacksons grandson a touchdown, twice, (on the night he's Mister 2bits) and instead has a totally deserving Henderson in on those AR throws, he runs right underneath both of them. And don't get me started on the chunk plays the backup secondary gave up. All while hitting out of bounds and bumping their receivers and talking smack. I'm not really sure why they played.

Getting some downfield throws to Jackson was the right call. Everybody else will get their chance all season.
 

Swamp Donkey

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Getting some downfield throws to Jackson was the right call. Everybody else will get their chance all season.
no one criticizes more than more than me. it might have been the only thing he got right yesterday.

Big props just for trying and I LOVE seeing a Jackson wearing 22.
 

jdh5484

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AR has some wheels. Neither QB impressed me with their arms. Neither QB impressed me with their field vision when passing.

If I'm an opposing DC ... load the box, spy the QB, play disciplined and dare UF to beat me passing.

RBs are good/great. But we HAVE to pass or they'll be shut down (no power running game).

Defense... f...ing secondary is a weakness...again. Their munchkin, URG like RB got to the corner too often. Zero confidence in the D to consistently hold an opponent when needed.

Not sure if most games will even be watchable.

Just beat the leghumpers.
 
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Swamp Donkey

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And if Henderson didn't get his "chance" last night when do you suppose he gets it?
that was weird.

we seem to be all aboard the shorter bus. not only is it full of retard, it is S L O W.
 

Zambo

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I could flower this post up with a bunch of fancy sounding comments, but instead I'll just simply say that I was dismayed at how much EJ sucked last night. 113 yards passing with two terrible picks and another that could have been a pick 6. Yikes.

The only consolation is that AR might, repeat might, be an emerging star for us. He's certainly a gifted physical specimen. The other consolation is that we were far from the only team sucking the big one out there yesterday. No offensive TDs at all in the leghumper game. OU only beating Tulane by 5 points. A long list of mediocrity. Once again it looks like there's Bama and then there is everyone else.
 

NVAGATOR86

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First of all excellent recap by Cover.
Emory Jones was a big disappointment and it looked like he was not ready for his prime time debut. He looked hesitant on his RPO reads and he was very late in throwing the ball downfield. To me he had that "Franks" look of not being able to progress through his reads. Maybe it was first start jitters but it was worrisome. The performance of our receiving corps was disappointing. Shorter has the tools but he averaged under 3 yards a catch. Copeland only one catch and that was in the first quarter? We can't be that bad at WR.
As Cover said Davis had a solid night and with Pierce we look set. The front 7 showed a big improvement with size and speed. I love Zac Carter and thought that Miller was tough inside. The secondary played that soft bend don't break zone that worked against FAU but won't work against Bama .
Speaking of Bama they looked in mid season form as usual. Any delusion I had about beating them was gone. Just like the scene in Moonstruck when Cher slapped Nick , I felt like someone said "snap out of it" and I did. There is freedom in having no expectations to manage.
Too early to panic on a QB controversy, but Mullen will need to figure out how to coach both guys up for next week and then Bama.
 
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g8tr76

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I can’t decide to laugh or cry ;)

Agree on openers now and it is just the magnification of our slow starts. The team is not ready to start. Coaching matters, as does good bourbon

I relied on way too much good bourbon to get through the game!
 

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