Bits & Pieces: Florida vs. South Carolina

cover2

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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.

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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.

:trux:

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!
:chomp:
 
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SeabeeGator

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Great write up as always! Surprised no mention of Moon defending two passes on the last series IN COVERAGE lol Just a funny side note. You know he’s going to be clowning on the DBs the next two weeks.

I wish they would’ve let Pierce carry it more. He’s our best chance at a run game. Dancin’ Perine is a benefit in the passing game but Pierce showed he could block a little today. Maybe its time to let our most talented back take flight.
 

Slevin

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Might have ended 38-27 but we had an 18 point lead after those mistakes, in the rain, on the road, against a team coming off a top 3 victory.

We made it to the bye week 7-1. I’ll take it. Get healthy and let’s beat the living shyt out of the ass licking, flea ridden, 40 year irrelevant Dwags
 

SeabeeGator

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Might have ended 38-27 but we had an 18 point lead after those mistakes, in the rain, on the road, against a team coming off a top 3 victory.

We made it to the bye week 7-1. I’ll take it. Get healthy and let’s beat the living shyt out of the ass licking, flea ridden, 40 year irrelevant Dwags
Guaranteed to be 2-2 at worst over this tough stretch. Funny, haters couldn’t fathom that in September.
 

Frozen Gator

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Thanks for the great informative read. Congrats to our tough and gutty team, they sure have a lot of heart. I totally agree about McElroy, he is as bad as Jordan Reed was two years ago at Kentucky. Maybe he can call Vandy games the rest of the year. Thanks again Cover!
 

Homer J

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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.

:trux:

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.
One last gift for McElroy and any Gator haters who might be disappointed after we disposed of the 'Cocks...



Go Gators!
:chomp:


When McElwain-roy talks, he sounds like he is whining. I don't mean to get political, but he is the Hillary Clinton of announcers.
 
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FireFoley

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Good stuff as always C2. Credit to all just to get a win as I thought this one would be very difficult. Not saying it was easy but gotta hand out credit to all. Sure there were a lot of bad especially when USCe had 3rd down and long often and the entire world knew they were going to run a delayed draw, everyone except of course Joe Lee Dunn Jr. Just can't quite understand why Joe Lee Dunn Jr. thinks what he thinks half the time.

You hit on everything but I do want to touch on the officiating. Every week and even early today we have lots of guys saying the fix is in. Well guess what, every game I watch the officiating is bad all over. And even today the officiating sucked on both sides. But guess what? We benefited greatly today b/c of both good officiating and terrible officiating. The officials made some timely correct calls and we had TWO TD's that never should have happened. On Pierce's 600 yard TD run, Delance clearly committed a false start and the play should have been blown dead. And as C2 mentioned the Pitts TD was clearly offensive pass interference. Yes the play is designed for the ball to be thrown behind the LOS, but it was not. As a Gator fan I am glad they missed it but as a football fan I want that penalty called. I hate the rule that players can block downfield on passes thrown behind the LOS but when it is obvious it is not please make the call. So this is why I never complain about the calls b/c they are out of the coaches or fans hands,. I judge what it is the team does and how the coaches manage the situations. So I implore all to stop saying we are getting fvvcked every Saturday by the refs b/c today we benefited greatly.
 

cover2

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Great write up as always! Surprised no mention of Moon defending two passes on the last series IN COVERAGE lol Just a funny side note. You know he’s going to be clowning on the DBs the next two weeks.

I wish they would’ve let Pierce carry it more. He’s our best chance at a run game. Dancin’ Perine is a benefit in the passing game but Pierce showed he could block a little today. Maybe its time to let our most talented back take flight.
You're right about Moon on those cover plays.. It's hard for me to overlook some of his reactive missteps against the run. He got pinned inside on some false keys leading to good off tackle runs. But he hustles and gives his best. Ventrel Miller might have been the best of the little knowns today. He put the hat on some guys today (I don't guess it's politically correct to use that terminology in today's world of football).

Agreed about Pierce. Don't think you just shelve Perine, but Pierce needs more carries. He isn't bad in pass pro as you've noted. Maybe he's just easing back from his concussion/injury. Saw he was on kick cover today. They had pulled him off for Auburn in anticipation of more carries. Starting over I suppose.
 

SeabeeGator

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You're right about Moon on those cover plays.. It's hard for me to overlook some of his reactive missteps against the run. He got pinned inside on some false keys leading to good off tackle runs. But he hustles and gives his best. Ventrel Miller might have been the best of the little knowns today. He put the hat on some guys today (I don't guess it's politically correct to use that terminology in today's world of football).

Agreed about Pierce. Don't think you just shelve Perine, but Pierce needs more carries. He isn't bad in pass pro as you've noted. Maybe he's just easing back from his concussion/injury. Saw he was on kick cover today. They had pulled him off for Auburn in anticipation of more carries. Starting over I suppose.
He was certainly guilty a number of times in the running game. I think those plays are where we miss Greenard and Zuniga the most. They aren’t perfect but they’re better. LSU abused that repeatedly.

Pierce needs to stop lowering husbands head into tackles. I know he’s trying to break tackles by lowering his COG but he’s asking for another confusion. He ran one up the gut and lowered that head... usc has him bouncing around like I pinball and I was sure he’d get his bell rung. Running as hard as he does, I’m worried he’ll concuss himself.
 

SeabeeGator

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Good stuff as always C2. Credit to all just to get a win as I thought this one would be very difficult. Not saying it was easy but gotta hand out credit to all. Sure there were a lot of bad especially when USCe had 3rd down and long often and the entire world knew they were going to run a delayed draw, everyone except of course Joe Lee Dunn Jr. Just can't quite understand why Joe Lee Dunn Jr. thinks what he thinks half the time.

You hit on everything but I do want to touch on the officiating. Every week and even early today we have lots of guys saying the fix is in. Well guess what, every game I watch the officiating is bad all over. And even today the officiating sucked on both sides. But guess what? We benefited greatly today b/c of both good officiating and terrible officiating. The officials made some timely correct calls and we had TWO TD's that never should have happened. On Pierce's 600 yard TD run, Delance clearly committed a false start and the play should have been blown dead. And as C2 mentioned the Pitts TD was clearly offensive pass interference. Yes the play is designed for the ball to be thrown behind the LOS, but it was not. As a Gator fan I am glad they missed it but as a football fan I want that penalty called. I hate the rule that players can block downfield on passes thrown behind the LOS but when it is obvious it is not please make the call. So this is why I never complain about the calls b/c they are out of the coaches or fans hands,. I judge what it is the team does and how the coaches manage the situations. So I implore all to stop saying we are getting fvvcked every Saturday by the refs b/c today we benefited greatly.
Today’s zebras were atrocious for both teams. But you’ll have to excuse gator fans for being weary - it’s only been recently that we stopped being the most (or close to it) penalized team EVERY year. During the Spurrier years, there was no doubt what was going on. Fortunately, our passing game could overcome it then. Nice to have a passing game that can overcome penalties again though.
 

YLGator

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Good stuff as always C2. Credit to all just to get a win as I thought this one would be very difficult. Not saying it was easy but gotta hand out credit to all. Sure there were a lot of bad especially when USCe had 3rd down and long often and the entire world knew they were going to run a delayed draw, everyone except of course Joe Lee Dunn Jr. Just can't quite understand why Joe Lee Dunn Jr. thinks what he thinks half the time.

You hit on everything but I do want to touch on the officiating. Every week and even early today we have lots of guys saying the fix is in. Well guess what, every game I watch the officiating is bad all over. And even today the officiating sucked on both sides. But guess what? We benefited greatly today b/c of both good officiating and terrible officiating. The officials made some timely correct calls and we had TWO TD's that never should have happened. On Pierce's 600 yard TD run, Delance clearly committed a false start and the play should have been blown dead. And as C2 mentioned the Pitts TD was clearly offensive pass interference. Yes the play is designed for the ball to be thrown behind the LOS, but it was not. As a Gator fan I am glad they missed it but as a football fan I want that penalty called. I hate the rule that players can block downfield on passes thrown behind the LOS but when it is obvious it is not please make the call. So this is why I never complain about the calls b/c they are out of the coaches or fans hands,. I judge what it is the team does and how the coaches manage the situations. So I implore all to stop saying we are getting fvvcked every Saturday by the refs b/c today we benefited greatly.
The refs missed calls on both sides. The second Antrum offsides was very questionable (that was a 4 point call). Also gave KY a first down spot and missed the PI on Pitts. I've also seen our opponents get away with the Delance early jump countless times against us and pick plays get missed all the time. Bottom line is, both teams caught some breaks from the refs.
 

FireFoley

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The refs missed calls on both sides. The second Antrum offsides was very questionable (that was a 4 point call). Also gave KY a first down spot and missed the PI on Pitts. I've also seen our opponents get away with the Delance early jump countless times against us and pick plays get missed all the time. Bottom line is, both teams caught some breaks from the refs.

I clearly mentioned in my post that the officiating sucked for both sides today. I was not justifying I was making a point. Both teams got some correct calls and both teams had some missed calls. Happens every week.
 

YLGator

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I clearly mentioned in my post that the officiating sucked for both sides today. I was not justifying I was making a point. Both teams got some correct calls and both teams had some missed calls. Happens every week.
Yep. Perhaps I'm a little sensitive about it because if you listened to the dolts calling the game, you'd think it was the swindle reincarnated.
 

FireFoley

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Yep. Perhaps I'm a little sensitive about it because if you listened to the dolts calling the game, you'd think it was the swindle reincarnated.

That is why I don;t listen to TV or radio announcers. I truly do not care if they are objective or if they carry a grudge. They do not affect how the team I root for is coached and managed.
 

88drgator

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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.


:chomp:

I don't know why/how you missed your calling in life. You should be the lead sports writer for a major publication.

Nice tongue-in-cheek dig on the "trash" ….loved it.
 

Gator By Marriage

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I clearly mentioned in my post that the officiating sucked for both sides today. I was not justifying I was making a point. Both teams got some correct calls and both teams had some missed calls. Happens every week.
This was my impression too. It seemed like the bad calls went against us in first half and against them in second. I suspect the SEC supervisor of officials is not going to be pleased with this crew’s effort.
 
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SeabeeGator

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Pierce run was blatant holding by Cleveland, but we'll take it.

Watching that POS Duncechump melt down was most enjoyable.
Meh... They had the Matt Austin (SEC Rules Guy) and he said is wasn’t because the hold didn’t affect the play. Basically, the defender never tried to disengage so the non-call was fine.
 

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