Bits & Pieces: Florida vs. Louisiana State

[Durty South Swamp]

Quit saying we are gonna lose to the dwags. We are not. Grow a set fools.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

Too early to say this. This team is low on talent and recruiting is in the toilet, so I don't see how the future looks that bright.

We looked like a team w half the talent of Corndogs last night primarily bc we are a team with half the talent.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

1. Injuries and the lack of quality depth are just too much to overcome against a quality opponent.
!

I was assured that our coach was a 3 star whisperer who doesnt need talent.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

I definitely realize it now. It's just a shame we have our best QB since Tebow and our best passer since Grossman, and it's all going to go to waste.

It takes a team.

Not just a QB.

 

[Gator By Marriage]

Great analysis as always @cover2 , and thanks for not sugar coating it. Having read everyone’s comments I have little to add other than to agree the assessment that in the end we simply did not have the talent and depth to win this game. Perhaps a healthy Greenhard and Zuniga makes a difference, but probably not. Our safeties and linebackers inadequacies were thoroughly exposed. And we often just don’t tackle very well.
As for the offense, the line is what it is and it’s not getting better this season. Their pass protection is decent, but cannot be counted on to even get enough push to get one yard when you have to have it. This of course is what led to Trask’s int as I’m sure CDM thought we couldn’t get the one yard needed to get the first down. Having realized this I can’t figure out what he was thinking on our last series, particularly the last two plays.
My last thought is on Kyle Trask. I thought his performance was remarkable last night. When one considers how little experience he has, having no reliable run game to lean on and going into one of the more hostile environments in CFB, the success he had was nothing short of amazing. Especially when you realize that pretty much every drive started at our 25 or worse. Despite that, he led us deep in the red zone 6 times, where we scored 4 times, and probably should have twice more.
This is not a championship team, but they are a good team and if they take better advantage of what Trask can do and somehow figure out how to get a little better on D, they will be in every game left on their schedule.

 

[no1g8r]

Meh. We’re 2nd fiddle in the East. Again.

Florida is undefeated in East division play. Missouri is the only other undefeated team in the East division.

 

[rogdochar]

Funny that our worst loss produces your best pieces bit. Good review, Cover.
Sum stuff :

It looked like we lost to a team whose fails were rare mistakes, playing UF whose fails were built in.
We have some narrow strengths and plenty broad weaknesses.
We lack quality depth everywhere. That is long-term recruiting failure. (Mullen's been here only 2 years.)
In all public appearances, IMO Mullen has shown solid rational thinking & upbeat spirit that recruits should be attracted to play for.?
Gators battled with determination until it seemed our coaches lost focus and sent in play-calls that they should have known would not work.
Flaw that hurt us much, when Burrows "scrambled" he had wide, wide open spaces.
Our pass rush - nope.
As one of the nation's top intercepting team, we had not one interception. We also caused/recovered zero fumbles.
We seem anemic in too many positions both O & D.
QB Trask is great at passing, but has the worst mobility even when healthy. With Trask it's smart to have him rarely, rarely run.
Last night we added another game of zero punt return yards.?
Our inability to succeed on 3rd and 2-3 yards by running is a ruinous strain.
I believe that we have lots of freshmen getting game experience.??

Grow Gators, forward march ! ... but not on the ground. Looking forward to knocking chumps out of USCe. Give Musky road rage.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Oline, Oline, OLine.
That is all.

 

[FireFoley]

Trask was only supposed to be a temporary stopgap for Jones. However, he's shown he has so much potential that him coming back next year suddenly has real meaning, IF he's allowed to be a real QB in this offense. For that to happen, Mullen would have to build his offense around him, something that he simply isn't going to do. In Mullen's mind, his offense is in neutral when Trask is back there because he can't run like Michael Vick. This is just who we hired, a spread-option-or-nothing coach.

If Mullen views Jones as the QB next season, and I think he does, he needs to bench Trask altogether and play Emory the rest of the year. Trask can then transfer somewhere and light it up his final year.

I admire your honesty @oxrageous as for a time I was not sure your prediction of us going 4-0 from AU thru UGA was genuine or you were just stoking the fire so to speak. I was close to saying we would go 0-4 but settled on 1-3 thinking we could sneak up on AU or UGA. I think I viewed this team as not that good as the record and you made some good points about the opponents. So I truly think your prediction of 4-0 was genuine but you now have seen what some of us have thought for a while. But the real point I am agreeing with is the notion that Cousin Eddie won;t change offensively b/c he only knows one thing. Sure he won;t run Trash 20 times a game like he did Fitzgerald or Prescott, but as we both think the only times Trash should run is a QB sneak for 3 inches or when a pass play breaks down and he scrambles (not designed runs). any QB can be effective when scrambling, The "there is no offense mantra, we coach to our talent" is total BS by all coaches. The funny thing about last nite was that the offense did more that its share to help the D. We had longer, more time consuming drives than we have had previously, and did not score on long plays. And it was abundantly clear we need better players on d but I ask how is it that I watch many. many other SEC games and I see 320 lb. DT's that are agile and can move with strength affecting plays all the time, and yet we have none? How is it I see LB's everywhere, yet we are stuck with a roster of also ran LB's that are lower D-1 players? I am not blaming this on Cousin Eddie's recruiting or development, it is just an observation over a period of years. There are 3 and 4 star players at these positions at almost all schools making a difference yet we have very few to none?

anyway, as for me you were entitled to your enthusiasm weeks ago and are entitled to have changed your views based on your own 2 eyes and not the scoreboards. Your point regarding Trash as a stop gap is spot on and I agree with you. It is why I felt the same about Franks leaving after last year. I thought it was best for all in the long run and especially the program at large.

 

[marshton]

Cover2, as usual, I greatly appreciated your insight! Thank you.
I have nowhere near the football knowledge that you and many others on this board have, but I really want to know something:
So, Trask appears to be a decent, perhaps even good, pocket passer (certainly he is not particularly mobile, but has a fairly good arm). We have an OL that provides serviceable pass protection. We have some good receivers. Why, then, oh why doesn’t CDM call plays based upon those realities? Why not design the system around the personnel?

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Cover2, as usual, I greatly appreciated your insight! Thank you.
I have nowhere near the football knowledge that you and many others on this board have, but I really want to know something:
So, Trask appears to be a decent, perhaps even good, pocket passer (certainly he is not particularly mobile, but has a fairly good arm). We have an OL that provides serviceable pass protection. We have some good receivers. Why, then, oh why doesn’t CDM call plays based upon those realities? Why not design the system around the personnel?

I asked my 10 year-old. He said "you can't throw every down, everybody knows that".

 

[marshton]

I asked my 10 year-old. He said "you can't throw every down, everybody knows that".

That was one of my thoughts. Without the OL providing at least a modicum of a run threat the passing threat is neutralized.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

I admire your honesty @oxrageous as for a time I was not sure your prediction of us going 4-0 from AU thru UGA was genuine or you were just stoking the fire so to speak.

It's genuine. He is the ultimate bandwagonner. He threatened to meet me in an alley for a knife fight because I laughed at the proposition that Chump was winning the NC bc we were 8-0 in October or whatever it was.

 

[Frozen Gator]

As usual nothing is left to add, just embellish. A very good team at home exposed the flaws we all knew we had. The O-line is what it is and we have to scheme and play around it. This allows the opponent defense to maybe perform better than it really is. "Pick your Poison" is the perfect description of our defensive problems (again, against Very Good teams). Blitz and expose your LB's and safeties, lay back and expose the injuries to the D line. Grit, moxy and determination aptly describe this team and I for one am going to enjoy the ride and see how far these traits can take them. There no time to feel sorry for yourself. A loss Saturday and it will be extremely difficult to enjoy the total body of work at the end of the year. Great work again Cover!

 

[GatorJ]

Oline, Oline, OLine.
That is all.

Grantham, Grantham, Grantham.

That is all.

 

[NVAGATOR86]

Good data read.
When you look at most of the stats from the box score you would think the Gators had a good night. 84 plays to 48, Time of Possession 38 to almost 22. More first downs and close total yards gained 457 to 511.
Then you see the amazing average per play you shared at 10.6. That tells the story, Our offense moved the ball well enough to win, and I am surprised that LSU's D did not fold after being on the field for 84 plays. Another example of quality depth at the skill positions on D. I like their chances against anyone else on their schedule including Bama and beyond. Right now Burrow is the real deal. Unless he gets "Frommed" and believes his own hype, Thank goodness we won't see either one next week.

 

[PaterLacerta]

This is year two of overachieving after Mac drove the program into a ditch, so I’m optimistic. Going toe to toe with a very talented LSU squad, in their house, at night, was impressive enough to warrant respect. We are light years from where we were.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

This is year two of overachieving after Mac drove the program into a ditch, so I’m optimistic. .

I remember when Butters won the east twice and won "10 games" twice and I was told we were underachieving and building something.

Or when Chimp won 11 games and we were the next Trailerbammer.

Seems like yesterday.

 

[EyeDocGator]

Great analysis as usual Cover. When Greenard went down I knew we weren't going to win. SOS didn't have an undefeated season. Even the 2006 and 2008 seasons had losses. Ugly lost to an unranked team at home. We lost to a true top 4 team in Death Valley at night. We have a clear path to Atlanta. If we're at full strength I wouldn't mind watching a rematch with LSU.

Meh. We’re 2nd fiddle in the East. Again.

No. We lead the East and if we get Greenard and Zuniga back we will win the East.

 

[theoriginalmadgator]

I have to say that the refs missed a couple of pass interference calls that made a huge difference. Also on that interception Cleveland was held blatantly after he got behind the defender and the ref did not throw a flag, even though it was right in front of him

the sec hates us....always has, always will