- Jun 12, 2014
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It would be easy to post a picture of a carriage followed by a pumpkin to denote the contrast in performance from Game 1 with tonight’s loss. But frankly I don’t think anyone‘s in the mood. Expectations were high after the win over ranked Utah. They were likely inflated since the preseason enthusiasm should have been tempered by the inherited roster, AR notwithstanding, and the malaise of at least one year too many of Dan Mullen. Also, having a new coach who’s said and done the right things, even though he had no SEC HC experience prior, was reason to feel some confidence. Wins like last week’s can hypnotise you and now, presto, we’re 1-1 fresh off a home loss to Kentucky.
Defensively, we played well enough to win. Stat-wise we held UK to 272 yds and only 70 on the ground. We had a takeaway and a safety on a Wildcat miscue. Napier said as much in his post-game interview. The problem, however, was that Kentucky’s D also came to play, limiting us to 279 yds and taking advantage of two INT’s, one a Pick Six and the other in the red zone that eventually led to a score. Whether it was their effort or scheme, which seemed to totally befuddle Richardson with some Cover 2 and a Spy that shadowed him closely all evening, it was clear that the prodigy was having a lot of trouble figuring things out. But I don’t think it was all UK.
It was clear pretty early that UK had planned pretty well for #15. They were disciplined with their contain and also quick to fill the inside lanes that were there against Utah when he took off. 4 yds rushing was a killer. It also put pressure on Richardson’s reads and throws, which were also impacted by the aforementioned zone looks. He never looked comfortable or sure of himself. Most of his throws were off-target. His form was not good and most of his throws were made flat-footed. Maybe worst of all was his countenance. He looked unsure and down on himself much of the night despite Napier’s attempts to settle and focus him. But he needs to know and put into practice that even on those nights that he’s off or the D is on him, he’s still got to be the leader. For whom much is given, much is expected. It’s hard to specifically quantify leadership, but everybody in the stadium knows when it’s lacking or not there and tonight was one of those nights.
Now lest you think me unduly harsh on the QB, let me assure you that there’s plenty of other areas that didn’t pull their weight. Even though we rushed for twice as many yds as UK (136 to70), we couldn’t piss a drop in the second half. As good as the OL has been in the small sample thus far, they weren’t nearly as good in the 2nd half. Losing Tarquin hurt and a lack of quality depth was (and will be for a while) a factor. But in games like this, there’s no room for excuses. The OL has got to find a way. I would also question the in-game O adjustments. We were able to gash them off-tackle early, but when they shored that up, we weren’t as effective and never found a consistent answer. They also took away the read option with the LBs and Spy and again, no answer. I kept waiting for a boot away from play action or a quick drop on the read option with a pass up the hash. This part of the coaching was lacking.
It won’t seem like it, but there were some bright spots. As mentioned, the D was good enough to win most games when the O doesn‘t give the ball away. The Special teams were better. Not perfect, but better. Crawshaw punted more consistently and the new PK made a couple of kicks. The main errors were a kickoff out of bounds and another short KO return that should have been downed. They’ll likely not be consistently spectacular, but if they don’t give up returns and cover the kicks, we can work with that.
* Richardson was 14/35 passing for 143 yds with 2 INT’s and no TD’s. I know the receivers aren’t Ike and Reidel caliber, but we’ve got to find a way toward better consistency and get the ball downfield. He wasn’t good on 3rd down. His 4 yds rushing was the death knell. Again, I don’t think that was all UK. I’d also put a max of 2 on the WR Screens moving forward.
* The secondary has been much better than the last few years. Other than a really super catch by the UK receiver for a TD, they’ve battled and been consistently in position. They’re tackling better and the 202 yds they gave up tonight wasn’t too shabby.
* The entire D plays with a lot of heart and is rarely out of position. The lack of depth showed in the second half, but this group has done well, especially when compared to the last several units. I hope Miller is ok. I missed it while watching the game, but on the postgame show it was mentioned that he was injured late. He’s been a great leader and sure tackler thus far. We need him healthy. And I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve not missed Grantham.
* The low hit / roughing the QB penalty was preposterous. I’m already sick of shoddy calls.
* Surprising that aTm lost to App St. I hate that.
* Don’t really know much about SFL. But they’re next up and provide an opportunity to get back on track. We should see the improvement that was lacking this game.
Even though we blew up the old football axiom that a team usually shows it’s greatest improvement between the first and second game, I’m really not terribly surprised. Going back to the first paragraph, most of us knew in our hearts that this year was going to be a work in progress, we were both surprised and suddenly confident that Napier had worked some sort of magic and turned our short roster into NC contenders. Well, they’re not that…yet. I do believe he’s instilling a work ethic and pride in his troops as well as providing good, sound positional and team football coaching. Consistency and depth is under construction, as is leadership on the O side. Napier’s pretty sound in what he puts together in his game plan. It may lack excitement, but it’s probably about all we can digest at the moment. We’ve had a peanut butter eater and a professional grifter just prior. This guy’s a coach thats building a program. We’ve missed that. Go Gators!
Defensively, we played well enough to win. Stat-wise we held UK to 272 yds and only 70 on the ground. We had a takeaway and a safety on a Wildcat miscue. Napier said as much in his post-game interview. The problem, however, was that Kentucky’s D also came to play, limiting us to 279 yds and taking advantage of two INT’s, one a Pick Six and the other in the red zone that eventually led to a score. Whether it was their effort or scheme, which seemed to totally befuddle Richardson with some Cover 2 and a Spy that shadowed him closely all evening, it was clear that the prodigy was having a lot of trouble figuring things out. But I don’t think it was all UK.
It was clear pretty early that UK had planned pretty well for #15. They were disciplined with their contain and also quick to fill the inside lanes that were there against Utah when he took off. 4 yds rushing was a killer. It also put pressure on Richardson’s reads and throws, which were also impacted by the aforementioned zone looks. He never looked comfortable or sure of himself. Most of his throws were off-target. His form was not good and most of his throws were made flat-footed. Maybe worst of all was his countenance. He looked unsure and down on himself much of the night despite Napier’s attempts to settle and focus him. But he needs to know and put into practice that even on those nights that he’s off or the D is on him, he’s still got to be the leader. For whom much is given, much is expected. It’s hard to specifically quantify leadership, but everybody in the stadium knows when it’s lacking or not there and tonight was one of those nights.
Now lest you think me unduly harsh on the QB, let me assure you that there’s plenty of other areas that didn’t pull their weight. Even though we rushed for twice as many yds as UK (136 to70), we couldn’t piss a drop in the second half. As good as the OL has been in the small sample thus far, they weren’t nearly as good in the 2nd half. Losing Tarquin hurt and a lack of quality depth was (and will be for a while) a factor. But in games like this, there’s no room for excuses. The OL has got to find a way. I would also question the in-game O adjustments. We were able to gash them off-tackle early, but when they shored that up, we weren’t as effective and never found a consistent answer. They also took away the read option with the LBs and Spy and again, no answer. I kept waiting for a boot away from play action or a quick drop on the read option with a pass up the hash. This part of the coaching was lacking.
It won’t seem like it, but there were some bright spots. As mentioned, the D was good enough to win most games when the O doesn‘t give the ball away. The Special teams were better. Not perfect, but better. Crawshaw punted more consistently and the new PK made a couple of kicks. The main errors were a kickoff out of bounds and another short KO return that should have been downed. They’ll likely not be consistently spectacular, but if they don’t give up returns and cover the kicks, we can work with that.
* Richardson was 14/35 passing for 143 yds with 2 INT’s and no TD’s. I know the receivers aren’t Ike and Reidel caliber, but we’ve got to find a way toward better consistency and get the ball downfield. He wasn’t good on 3rd down. His 4 yds rushing was the death knell. Again, I don’t think that was all UK. I’d also put a max of 2 on the WR Screens moving forward.
* The secondary has been much better than the last few years. Other than a really super catch by the UK receiver for a TD, they’ve battled and been consistently in position. They’re tackling better and the 202 yds they gave up tonight wasn’t too shabby.
* The entire D plays with a lot of heart and is rarely out of position. The lack of depth showed in the second half, but this group has done well, especially when compared to the last several units. I hope Miller is ok. I missed it while watching the game, but on the postgame show it was mentioned that he was injured late. He’s been a great leader and sure tackler thus far. We need him healthy. And I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve not missed Grantham.
* The low hit / roughing the QB penalty was preposterous. I’m already sick of shoddy calls.
* Surprising that aTm lost to App St. I hate that.
* Don’t really know much about SFL. But they’re next up and provide an opportunity to get back on track. We should see the improvement that was lacking this game.
Even though we blew up the old football axiom that a team usually shows it’s greatest improvement between the first and second game, I’m really not terribly surprised. Going back to the first paragraph, most of us knew in our hearts that this year was going to be a work in progress, we were both surprised and suddenly confident that Napier had worked some sort of magic and turned our short roster into NC contenders. Well, they’re not that…yet. I do believe he’s instilling a work ethic and pride in his troops as well as providing good, sound positional and team football coaching. Consistency and depth is under construction, as is leadership on the O side. Napier’s pretty sound in what he puts together in his game plan. It may lack excitement, but it’s probably about all we can digest at the moment. We’ve had a peanut butter eater and a professional grifter just prior. This guy’s a coach thats building a program. We’ve missed that. Go Gators!
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