- Jun 12, 2014
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After a shaky, last minute victory that required two key blunders by the upstart Bulls, the questions are still swirling about the Gator’s offense, particularly the passing game, and the play of would-be phenom QB Anthony Richardson. To further compound matters, the defense, which had trouble dissecting and stopping the shifting and overloading USFL offense, appeared to regress. Coach Napier, who was effusive with his post-game praise of the Bulls and Coach Jeff Scott, offered little in the way of answers other than the need to execute better. For this year, he’s right, but given the perceived regressions since a really nice opening victory over Utah, the average fan has the feeling there’s more to this than one fix.
Personally, I find myself feeling more and more that Richardson might be more Sablehouse than Tebow. After a solid first game, he has alternately looked both lost and sad, been unable to throw with consistent accuracy, thrown multiple interceptions against no TD passes, and lost the ability to run effectively. Mention has been made that Napier needs a QB coach to help untangle these myriad of issues AR is experiencing. That’s looking to be truer each week, but the problem is where are you going to get one at this stage of the season? It feels like we’re at the mercy of Napier and current offensive company tinkering until they find some way to help him not nut up in games and be more of an offensive detriment than a dynamic game changer. And for the record, in southern football talk “nutting up” is the first step toward choking! It is not complimentary as Urban Meyer would use it.
The play of the defense was disappointing, if not surprising, given their steady play to start the season. We struggled all night to adjust to the constant shifts employed by the Bulls and were very frequently outnumbered at the point of attack and our LBs were cut off in their scrapes and flow to the ball. Ventrell Miller is sorely missed, as he’s the on-field commander of the D and that leadership was noticeably lacking. To make matters worse, we reverted to tackling poorly. All this led to 286 rushing yds allowed with 3 TDs. Another issue that came into focus was that our inability to contain the rush at and around the LOS gave the Bull’s runners plenty of space with the depth of drop/alignment by our DBs.
The bright spot, obviously, was the OL, which has been coached into not only a group of reliable blockers who are technically better than we’ve seen in a while (I hope everyone is noticing how they climb the field after chips and continue blocking in the secondary level) and have a degree of toughness, a mean streak, that is refreshing and a vital part of an effective OL. And certainly the backs are hitting the holes and able to elude or outrun tacklers. Johnson and Etienne are the real deals and even Wright has been pretty steady. These units deserve a lot of praise, as they have been the most functional part of the O thus far.
* There could be an entire series of articles written that delve into Richardson’s problems and what’s to be done to straighten them out. There’s terrible mechanics (flat-footed in the pocket and on throws, though I did notice a bounce on a couple of occasions), getting lost in his reads that lead to a poor choice of throws or too long in the pocket, and inconsistent to bad decision-making (e.g. the pick in the red zone, an audible). Right now, as an old coaching colleague might say, Richardson couldn’t scratch his a$$ with a handful of fish hooks and I’m wondering at this point if he’ll ever snap out of this funk and become much more functional, much less the dynamic playmaker that is expected. I personally hate feeling this way, but it sometimes happens.
* Our old friend and sometime counter-pointer slash administrative antagonist @FireFoley asked the question of whether we’d be better off running the single wing? While I liked it as a high school offense and could see some use as a package for short yardage situations, we’d see a crowded box that would eventually nullify its effectiveness. There’s just no getting around the need to be able to pass vertically, which we aren’t very good at currently.
* As bad as Richardson has been, and there remains anticipation that he will become that epitome dual threat QB, the fact is that our receivers are mostly possession types that can also block. They are limited in big play ability that includes stretching the field. They can improve their routes, but not their speed. Only better recruiting in the future can do that. I will say Shorter and maybe Wittemore showed a glimpse last night, but overall the group is not a big play threat.
* The book on defending AR is becoming pretty clear. Keep him in the pocket and make him beat you with his arm. He can’t do that right now and USFL‘s DEs and OLBs squatted to make sure he was contained. The opposition knows that reading route progression and making sound decisions is too slow to non-existent. I’m afraid Napier’s got his work cut out for him.
* Cox, Watson, and the D front, though they had their struggles, made some key plays when it counted and helped thwart what looked to be a sure-fire comeback to win or tie. Cox looked aggressive, but not as undisciplined toward the latter stages of the game. Watson’s a space-eater and can both hold his gap and move to the ball as needed. Pretty remarkable for a guy that’s 400+ and as wide as he is tall.
* The takeaways were timely and played a huge part in our ability to come out on top. For all the praise that the announcers heaped on the Bull’s QB and he was pretty slippery running the ball, I think it was clear why he wasn’t the starter at Baylor. Good on us!
Napier is probably not as universally “trusted” as he was to start the season and that can’t be unexpected with the QB and passing game issues that are at the forefront. Taking a strictly realistic look at things, the questions of why doesn’t he call more long, intermediate, roll out, etc. passes for AR are redundant at this point. The kid simply can’t execute what is called and it’s all pretty basic. There’s no logical reason to think that he’s going to be able to execute the stretch routes, combos, etc. without making mistakes, some critical. So what’s left is to try somebody else (Miller’s hurt, Kitna’s likely not nor may never be ready) or keep trying to find the switch to turn on your current guy. You’ve got painful and more painful and the bad part is that there remains the possibility that AR may not snap out of it and live up to his lofty expectations. That’s not what anybody wants, but if it does the game becomes more about management than aggressively planning for our opponents.
And if where we find ourselves after three games wasn’t enough, up next are the cursed Vols, on an uptick nonetheless and on the road to boot. I doubt we’ll be favored heading into Neyland. I believe we’ll have a chance. Our D is capable, but has to resume better tackling and our LB play has to improve and offensively I’d like to see us roll the pocket with AR and give him an option to pass with limited reads or run with a head of steam. The announcer last night suggested this and it’s something many have likely questioned. “We’ll see,” the answer my granddaddy used to give when he wasn’t quite certain, yet expectant, is where I am. Lot to work on and improve. Still waiting on that improvement from game one. I’m optimistic by nature, but more cautious than ever. Still waiting for Billy to pull a rabbit out of his hat where QB play is concerned. We’ll see. Go Gators!
Personally, I find myself feeling more and more that Richardson might be more Sablehouse than Tebow. After a solid first game, he has alternately looked both lost and sad, been unable to throw with consistent accuracy, thrown multiple interceptions against no TD passes, and lost the ability to run effectively. Mention has been made that Napier needs a QB coach to help untangle these myriad of issues AR is experiencing. That’s looking to be truer each week, but the problem is where are you going to get one at this stage of the season? It feels like we’re at the mercy of Napier and current offensive company tinkering until they find some way to help him not nut up in games and be more of an offensive detriment than a dynamic game changer. And for the record, in southern football talk “nutting up” is the first step toward choking! It is not complimentary as Urban Meyer would use it.
The play of the defense was disappointing, if not surprising, given their steady play to start the season. We struggled all night to adjust to the constant shifts employed by the Bulls and were very frequently outnumbered at the point of attack and our LBs were cut off in their scrapes and flow to the ball. Ventrell Miller is sorely missed, as he’s the on-field commander of the D and that leadership was noticeably lacking. To make matters worse, we reverted to tackling poorly. All this led to 286 rushing yds allowed with 3 TDs. Another issue that came into focus was that our inability to contain the rush at and around the LOS gave the Bull’s runners plenty of space with the depth of drop/alignment by our DBs.
The bright spot, obviously, was the OL, which has been coached into not only a group of reliable blockers who are technically better than we’ve seen in a while (I hope everyone is noticing how they climb the field after chips and continue blocking in the secondary level) and have a degree of toughness, a mean streak, that is refreshing and a vital part of an effective OL. And certainly the backs are hitting the holes and able to elude or outrun tacklers. Johnson and Etienne are the real deals and even Wright has been pretty steady. These units deserve a lot of praise, as they have been the most functional part of the O thus far.
* There could be an entire series of articles written that delve into Richardson’s problems and what’s to be done to straighten them out. There’s terrible mechanics (flat-footed in the pocket and on throws, though I did notice a bounce on a couple of occasions), getting lost in his reads that lead to a poor choice of throws or too long in the pocket, and inconsistent to bad decision-making (e.g. the pick in the red zone, an audible). Right now, as an old coaching colleague might say, Richardson couldn’t scratch his a$$ with a handful of fish hooks and I’m wondering at this point if he’ll ever snap out of this funk and become much more functional, much less the dynamic playmaker that is expected. I personally hate feeling this way, but it sometimes happens.
* Our old friend and sometime counter-pointer slash administrative antagonist @FireFoley asked the question of whether we’d be better off running the single wing? While I liked it as a high school offense and could see some use as a package for short yardage situations, we’d see a crowded box that would eventually nullify its effectiveness. There’s just no getting around the need to be able to pass vertically, which we aren’t very good at currently.
* As bad as Richardson has been, and there remains anticipation that he will become that epitome dual threat QB, the fact is that our receivers are mostly possession types that can also block. They are limited in big play ability that includes stretching the field. They can improve their routes, but not their speed. Only better recruiting in the future can do that. I will say Shorter and maybe Wittemore showed a glimpse last night, but overall the group is not a big play threat.
* The book on defending AR is becoming pretty clear. Keep him in the pocket and make him beat you with his arm. He can’t do that right now and USFL‘s DEs and OLBs squatted to make sure he was contained. The opposition knows that reading route progression and making sound decisions is too slow to non-existent. I’m afraid Napier’s got his work cut out for him.
* Cox, Watson, and the D front, though they had their struggles, made some key plays when it counted and helped thwart what looked to be a sure-fire comeback to win or tie. Cox looked aggressive, but not as undisciplined toward the latter stages of the game. Watson’s a space-eater and can both hold his gap and move to the ball as needed. Pretty remarkable for a guy that’s 400+ and as wide as he is tall.
* The takeaways were timely and played a huge part in our ability to come out on top. For all the praise that the announcers heaped on the Bull’s QB and he was pretty slippery running the ball, I think it was clear why he wasn’t the starter at Baylor. Good on us!
Napier is probably not as universally “trusted” as he was to start the season and that can’t be unexpected with the QB and passing game issues that are at the forefront. Taking a strictly realistic look at things, the questions of why doesn’t he call more long, intermediate, roll out, etc. passes for AR are redundant at this point. The kid simply can’t execute what is called and it’s all pretty basic. There’s no logical reason to think that he’s going to be able to execute the stretch routes, combos, etc. without making mistakes, some critical. So what’s left is to try somebody else (Miller’s hurt, Kitna’s likely not nor may never be ready) or keep trying to find the switch to turn on your current guy. You’ve got painful and more painful and the bad part is that there remains the possibility that AR may not snap out of it and live up to his lofty expectations. That’s not what anybody wants, but if it does the game becomes more about management than aggressively planning for our opponents.
And if where we find ourselves after three games wasn’t enough, up next are the cursed Vols, on an uptick nonetheless and on the road to boot. I doubt we’ll be favored heading into Neyland. I believe we’ll have a chance. Our D is capable, but has to resume better tackling and our LB play has to improve and offensively I’d like to see us roll the pocket with AR and give him an option to pass with limited reads or run with a head of steam. The announcer last night suggested this and it’s something many have likely questioned. “We’ll see,” the answer my granddaddy used to give when he wasn’t quite certain, yet expectant, is where I am. Lot to work on and improve. Still waiting on that improvement from game one. I’m optimistic by nature, but more cautious than ever. Still waiting for Billy to pull a rabbit out of his hat where QB play is concerned. We’ll see. Go Gators!
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