ESPN appears to have a pumper on staff

[Since65]

I'm not an ESPN Insider so I can't read the article but I would guess most GC members would find this writer's premise to be close to the edge (or way outside) of the realm of reality.

I suppose he must have at least a few valid reasons for his extreme optimism.


http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...gitimate-2017-college-football-playoff-threat

 

[Durty South Swamp]

he thinks we're going to "kick the door down"

 

[GatorJ]

Here are some of the bullet points:

Florida finished the 2017 recruiting season with a flourish that led to a No. 13 ranking in ESPN's recruiting grades, but that is only the latest in a string of strong showings in this area. Over the past five years, the Gators rank in the top 10 nationally in five-star recruits (five), four-star recruits (72) and ESPN 300 recruits (52). There are four SEC teams in front of the Gators on those lists, but Georgia is the only SEC East club to make that claim, so Florida could arguably have the best talent in that division.

The losses of Jarrad Davis and Joey Ivie to graduation were compounded when Caleb Brantley and Alex Anzalone declared early for the 2017 NFL draft. According to Stats LLC, this quartet accounted for 197 impact plays, a wide-ranging metric that includes any type of pass-rush impact (sack, pressure, etc.), tackles for loss and passes defensed.

Taven Bryan, Keivonnis Davis, Cece Jefferson, Jachai Polite, Jordan Sherit and Jabari Zuniga combined for 232 impact plays on 1,827 snaps last season.

Duke Dawson had the third-lowest completion percentage allowed among the 10 Florida defenders with 10 or more targets last season (34.4 percent, according to Stats LLC) and the highest passes-defensed percentage among Gators defenders with 20 or more targets (25.0).

Florida ranked 11th among Power 5 teams and second in the SEC in ESPN Stats for special teams.

Gators tied for last in the SEC and tied for 59th out of 65 Power 5 teams in rush yards per carry before first defensive contact (1.8). But Scarlett ranked fourth in the conference in yards per rush after first defensive contact among the 23 running backs with 100 or more carries last year (2.6). The main impediment for Scarlett posting even better numbers is that he ranked 21st in that group in rush yards per carry before first defensive contact (2.4).

 

[GatorJ]

Pretty much saying that we shouldn't have a drop off on defense on the line. A small one at DB. And that the OL should be better because they couldn't be any worse.

I'll throw in that we need a QB.

 

[TheBigClaw]

If everything sets up well we could be very competitive next year. We return mostly everyone on offense. We finally have a seasoned O line for the first time in quite awhile and have solid running backs and wide receivers. On defense, our line appears to be in solid shape, our linebackers albeit young performed well last year, and our secondary is very young but has a lot of talent. On the other side of the spectrum, we have no proven QB still and we lost so much on defense it will be miraculous to not have a drop off.

 

[GatorJ]

If everything sets up well we could be very competitive next year. We return mostly everyone on offense. We finally have a seasoned O line for the first time in quite awhile and have solid running backs and wide receivers. On defense, our line appears to be in solid shape, our linebackers albeit young performed well last year, and our secondary is very young but has a lot of talent. On the other side of the spectrum, we have no proven QB still and we lost so much on defense it will be miraculous to not have a drop off.

We could be pretty good again on defense in two years. I like our chances on defense a lot better this year now that Collins is gone.

I don't particularly like the depth issues with linebacker but it looks like Shannon is bringing in a lot of speed at that position. If anybody knows linebackers it's him. We saw the impact speed at the linebacker position can have during the Super Bowl. That Falcons defense was flying all over the place. And they have a really, really young defense.

I just don't buy anything on offense. I mean, we've seen no improvement. Zilch. How can that be? I just don't know how they have not been able to get a quarterback ready.

And I'm not even talking about the quarterback who throws it all over the field like Leak, Grossman, Tebow, Matthews, Wuerfell, etc... i'm talking about just serviceable. Like Palmer, Johnson, Brindise, Brissett, et.al

 

[T REX]

There's a huge difference between KNOWING you have a contender and HOPING you have one.

We all hope we do. Too many questions at too many positions, especially QB.

 

[alcoholica]

We could be competitive with Bama but we need 3 things: a solid QB, our OL to strengthen and improve, and our defense to step it up.

We saw some real flashes on the OL later in the season. They eventually wore down LSU for an example. They are still young and need to get stronger. Not sure about depth either, but it is improved.

On D, Harris and Washington showed improvement, especially Harris. Dawson is solid and Chauncey is quality. Need some depth and some young guys to step up. LB was another nice surprise, but will need young guys to continue development and FR to step in for depth. DL is going to be scary. I think we are fine at DE. Jefferson and Sherit are know quantities. Clayton needs to play like a 5 star. We have depth here. DT is the talk of the offseason. Our recruits need to play, so we can keep Jefferson at end.

QB who the F knows. Our offense needs to win the TOP to help our defense. Producing 1st downs instead of 3 and outs is obviously the better alternative. Yet another reason why I think Del Taco gets the nod.

I don't think this happens. I think we improve on offense and go back to Atlanta and get beat again. I think the OL will be good but not great. I think out defense will be good not great. I think our QB play will be pedestrian. I hope it's great or even good, but no real reason to think that

 

[gatormandan]

I hope it's great or even good, but no real reason to think that

Agreed but I have hope that 4 star Franks will pull it together...

 

[alcoholica]

Agreed but I have hope that 4 star Franks will pull it together...

I think Franks has big play potential but wonder if he can make a simple read and get the first down. If Trask is as bad as Law hopes, we'll end up with Del Taco again

 

[Durty South Swamp]

From what Ive heard, franks just doesn't seem to have "it" between the ears. Hope its unfounded but that's the word on the street in my area.

 

[Chomper]

The defense can only do so much. Without an offense, and particularly without a qb, the best we can hope for in 2017 is a repeat of the past two seasons. UF has a huge fan base and Insider articles such as this serve little more than to sell subscriptions to anyone looking for a little light at the end of the tunnel. But thanks for posting.