- Jun 12, 2014
- 8,969
- 32,442
Founding Member
At times it wasn't pretty. The rain made for a soggy atmosphere that looked to work against our one-dimensional Gators. There were passes that fluttered and some way off the mark. There were dropped balls. There were missed calls. There was poor tackling and poor coverage. There were missed blocks. But in the end there were the Gators sitting at 7-1, rebounding from their first loss and showing that they could win, on the road, without their best two defenders. Mullen was a little giddy speaking post-game. And who could blame him? His counterpart...not so much.
38-27. Not what you'd call a commanding victory, but after the way we started and then spotting them a TD (and the lead again) after a pick on the second half's first possession, it was somewhat satisfying after the final seconds ticked off. Face it, we are what we saw today. We're good enough to win whenever we take the field, but without near perfect execution, we don't quite have the roster to dominate. Auburn one week, LSU the next. Meaning that every week will be a battle, nothing will come easy for us. But you've got to love the overall attitude of this team and their heart. We'll have to see how far that will take us.
Before we get into the game points, I have to make a couple of comments, the first regarding the announcers, or at least Greg McElroy.
His lack of love for us is a matter of record, but I thought he carried the scrutiny of the officiating crew to new heights (or depths). I can do without his opinions or any reminders of the rash he still carries where the Gators are concerned. Second, how about the sad lot of hillbilly 'Cock fans. It was ridiculous seeing them throw so much trask on the field when things didn't go their way. Wait a minute, did I say "trask?" Pardon my Freudian slip! 21-33 for 200 yards and 4 TDs, despite a slow start, wasn't exactly "trashy" given the site and the conditions. The story continues to develop.
*Trask obviously had problems gripping and throwing the ball consistently. His first three attempts were incompletions and brought to mind Danny's problems in Jacksonville (1993) when he was benched in favor of Terry Dean, who along with Errict Rhett and a last second timeout by Anthone Lott, went on to beat the Dawgs in a monsoon. Trask also threw a terrible interception to begin the second half, but he was able to recover and lead the team to a win over the 'Cocks and Will Muschamp (win/win). He's pretty cool on the field, but his ability to shake off previous mistakes, turn the page if you will, and lead the team with not only his arm, but also with his brain makes him unique. He's a guy who really shouldn't be here, but he's also a guy you want to pull for.
*We got just enough of a run game to help us when we needed it. None bigger than Pierce's 75 yard romp. Got enough of a block to allow him to turn the corner and square his shoulders. The rest was pretty to watch. A shout out to Cleve for his block that almost caused McElroy to crap himself!
*I hate rushing three and umbrella coverage with a big lead. It never fails that whoever we're defending moves the ball down the field with no difficulty, scores, and makes it too interesting. The "Choke at Doak" is still fresh after all these years and Spurrier's post-game quip about the "Prevent" doing just that...preventing us from winning rings true to this day. Fortunately, we survived it, but I'd rather us keep the pressure on, keep our foot on the gas so to speak.
*It looked at first as if our receivers weren't ready to play, maybe still hungover from last Saturday in the bayou. But they hung in there. Great catches by Copeland and Swain for TD's were highlights and Grimes made a nice catch and strong effort to score. Pitts is who we have seen him to be. Little surprised that Jefferson wasn't at peak efficiency, but the luxury of this group is that we can survive a star having a little bit of an off afternoon.
*I wouldn't say the officials had their best day. They missed quite a few calls, but they weren't one-sided. Pitts' TD catch and the block by Hammonds probably should have been called, but if I'm recalling correctly, the pass should have been completed behind the LOS, but Trask was pressured and got the pass off after Pitts had drifted upfield. An honest mistake that for once went our way. It was also kind of neat to see Muschamp tread dangerously close to an aneurysm just afterward.
*Townsend is a helluva punter. His worst kick was the low liner that still rolled for 54 yards. He shows great patience and awareness on his pin punts. It's nice to know he's there to help bail us out when we stall deep in our own territory. You'd be amazed how much this helps to keep the pressure off of the O.
*Henderson finished strong after looking not so much like a first-rounder in Baton Rouge. Even though they completed the flea-flicker on him, he was in pretty good shape. I liked his tackling today. He looked a lot tougher than he did when he gave up on the long sideline route last week.
*Saw some guys like Burney and Miller getting their names called today. I also saw Ancrum get called twice for lining up offsides in the same series. That quick contrast kind of sums up our roster and gives a hint to some of the issues we are faced with and can only improve as the quality of future recruiting classes improve.
*We were dropping like flies toward the end. We need to heal up in preparation for the game in Jax in two weeks.
Bounce back. It's what we needed and it's always good to go into a bye week leading up to a major rival on an uptick. Sit back and catch your breath. If you're like me, you probably need a moment's respite. There'll be a lot riding on this year's cocktail party.
One last gift for McElroy and any Gator haters who might be disappointed after we disposed of the 'Cocks...
Go Gators!
38-27. Not what you'd call a commanding victory, but after the way we started and then spotting them a TD (and the lead again) after a pick on the second half's first possession, it was somewhat satisfying after the final seconds ticked off. Face it, we are what we saw today. We're good enough to win whenever we take the field, but without near perfect execution, we don't quite have the roster to dominate. Auburn one week, LSU the next. Meaning that every week will be a battle, nothing will come easy for us. But you've got to love the overall attitude of this team and their heart. We'll have to see how far that will take us.
Before we get into the game points, I have to make a couple of comments, the first regarding the announcers, or at least Greg McElroy.
His lack of love for us is a matter of record, but I thought he carried the scrutiny of the officiating crew to new heights (or depths). I can do without his opinions or any reminders of the rash he still carries where the Gators are concerned. Second, how about the sad lot of hillbilly 'Cock fans. It was ridiculous seeing them throw so much trask on the field when things didn't go their way. Wait a minute, did I say "trask?" Pardon my Freudian slip! 21-33 for 200 yards and 4 TDs, despite a slow start, wasn't exactly "trashy" given the site and the conditions. The story continues to develop.
*Trask obviously had problems gripping and throwing the ball consistently. His first three attempts were incompletions and brought to mind Danny's problems in Jacksonville (1993) when he was benched in favor of Terry Dean, who along with Errict Rhett and a last second timeout by Anthone Lott, went on to beat the Dawgs in a monsoon. Trask also threw a terrible interception to begin the second half, but he was able to recover and lead the team to a win over the 'Cocks and Will Muschamp (win/win). He's pretty cool on the field, but his ability to shake off previous mistakes, turn the page if you will, and lead the team with not only his arm, but also with his brain makes him unique. He's a guy who really shouldn't be here, but he's also a guy you want to pull for.
*We got just enough of a run game to help us when we needed it. None bigger than Pierce's 75 yard romp. Got enough of a block to allow him to turn the corner and square his shoulders. The rest was pretty to watch. A shout out to Cleve for his block that almost caused McElroy to crap himself!
*I hate rushing three and umbrella coverage with a big lead. It never fails that whoever we're defending moves the ball down the field with no difficulty, scores, and makes it too interesting. The "Choke at Doak" is still fresh after all these years and Spurrier's post-game quip about the "Prevent" doing just that...preventing us from winning rings true to this day. Fortunately, we survived it, but I'd rather us keep the pressure on, keep our foot on the gas so to speak.
*It looked at first as if our receivers weren't ready to play, maybe still hungover from last Saturday in the bayou. But they hung in there. Great catches by Copeland and Swain for TD's were highlights and Grimes made a nice catch and strong effort to score. Pitts is who we have seen him to be. Little surprised that Jefferson wasn't at peak efficiency, but the luxury of this group is that we can survive a star having a little bit of an off afternoon.
*I wouldn't say the officials had their best day. They missed quite a few calls, but they weren't one-sided. Pitts' TD catch and the block by Hammonds probably should have been called, but if I'm recalling correctly, the pass should have been completed behind the LOS, but Trask was pressured and got the pass off after Pitts had drifted upfield. An honest mistake that for once went our way. It was also kind of neat to see Muschamp tread dangerously close to an aneurysm just afterward.
*Townsend is a helluva punter. His worst kick was the low liner that still rolled for 54 yards. He shows great patience and awareness on his pin punts. It's nice to know he's there to help bail us out when we stall deep in our own territory. You'd be amazed how much this helps to keep the pressure off of the O.
*Henderson finished strong after looking not so much like a first-rounder in Baton Rouge. Even though they completed the flea-flicker on him, he was in pretty good shape. I liked his tackling today. He looked a lot tougher than he did when he gave up on the long sideline route last week.
*Saw some guys like Burney and Miller getting their names called today. I also saw Ancrum get called twice for lining up offsides in the same series. That quick contrast kind of sums up our roster and gives a hint to some of the issues we are faced with and can only improve as the quality of future recruiting classes improve.
*We were dropping like flies toward the end. We need to heal up in preparation for the game in Jax in two weeks.
Bounce back. It's what we needed and it's always good to go into a bye week leading up to a major rival on an uptick. Sit back and catch your breath. If you're like me, you probably need a moment's respite. There'll be a lot riding on this year's cocktail party.
One last gift for McElroy and any Gator haters who might be disappointed after we disposed of the 'Cocks...
Go Gators!
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