Jeff Driskel: Thoughts after Week 1

[BufordGator]

Was fortunate enough to be at the game and was very excited to see the new offense!
love love love that Champ let Roper really run the offense and it is apparent now we have the play makers to be very competitive in the SEC on BOTH sides of the ball..
some concerns though w Driskel

1. he runs the hurry up very slowly.
2. he still doesn't look around for options even if he has time and man he sure had time, he locks in on one receiver and always throws in that direction. Scary to think about vs SEC competition
3. he still looks uncomfortable out there

I am praying this was just first game jitters but I frankly don't get why he doesn't look around the field for second and third options EVER!

comments please .

 

[GMDGator]

There was no need to hurry up...
I thought he looked rather comfortable... It is still the first game.

 

[deuce]

Buford I also think I saw some "slowness" from JD but I've been cautioned by several other posters that we probably were running a limited play book and it was our 1st game.

I think we need to withhold "panic" for a few more games. After-all, it's hard for others to listen to our worries after a 65 - 0 blow-out!

Peace Brother

 

[Coach9]

I wish they had an All-22 view of the game available. Not being at the game and watching on TV I can only draw so many conclusions. I'm curious if there are receivers running vertically in the seams available to Jeff. He seems to work primarily outside or the short crossers. You can normally see if the seam is available at the snap if the receiver gets a free release and no defender is capping the route. You can usually see if the receiver is getting a free release or not on TV but you cant see if a defender is capping the route. I'd welcome anyone who attended the game perspective on this.

 

[Gator Fever]

Was fortunate enough to be at the game and was very excited to see the new offense!
love love love that Champ let Roper really run the offense and it is apparent now we have the play makers to be very competitive in the SEC on BOTH sides of the ball..
some concerns though w Driskel

1. he runs the hurry up very slowly.
2. he still doesn't look around for options even if he has time and man he sure had time, he locks in on one receiver and always throws in that direction. Scary to think about vs SEC competition
3. he still looks uncomfortable out there

I am praying this was just first game jitters but I frankly don't get why he doesn't look around the field for second and third options EVER!

comments please .

The new offense definitely helps minimize his deficiencies some but I do want to see him under more pressure and how he is going to react. That game was almost like playing against air out there that defense was so bad. Maybe KY will give us a better idea.

 

[BufordGator]

not panicking at all folks!
just saying Jeff didn't look around for options; he always had his eyes locked on his first option and always threw in that direction.
we saw many times where he quickly went to a covered receiver w in 5 yards of the line of scrimmage while there where open receivers down field.
he seems to force the throw into coverage vs looking around the field for second and third options,,,

 

[divits]

Was fortunate enough to be at the game and was very excited to see the new offense!
love love love that Champ let Roper really run the offense and it is apparent now we have the play makers to be very competitive in the SEC on BOTH sides of the ball..
some concerns though w Driskel

1. he runs the hurry up very slowly.
2. he still doesn't look around for options even if he has time and man he sure had time, he locks in on one receiver and always throws in that direction. Scary to think about vs SEC competition
3. he still looks uncomfortable out there

I am praying this was just first game jitters but I frankly don't get why he doesn't look around the field for second and third options EVER!

comments please .

1. Muschamp said in his presser that we weren't running the hurry up as fast as we can and that we can go faster. That was by design.
2. I rewatched the game and only saw this a couple times. Many of the plays were designed bang-bang throws to the flat because the defense was playing so far off the receivers so of course he was only going to look at that one receiver.
3. I didn't see this at all. He appeared to look comfortable and had command of the offense. No interceptions, a few long passes dropped. He was held in check as far as running otherwise he'd have had 60 yards on the ground.

What I was most concerned about....once again....was the play of the offensive line. There is no reason that Driskel should have had any pressure at all let alone a sack and another that Driskel was able to shrug off and throw out of bounds. I fear that our lack of depth there (especially now with the injuries) is going to lose some games for us.

 

[WobbleGator]

I gave Driskel a grade of A- for the game.

 

[Gator Fever]

not panicking at all folks!
just saying Jeff didn't look around for options; he always had his eyes locked on his first option and always threw in that direction.
we saw many times where he quickly went to a covered receiver w in 5 yards of the line of scrimmage while there where open receivers down field.
he seems to force the throw into coverage vs looking around the field for second and third options,,,

I think Driskel may be what he is but I guess we will see in the Bama game if he has better field awareness now because they will make it a point to take the easy throws away I am sure after watching tape of him. It will be put up or shut up in that game.

 

[GatorJB]

He wasn't perfect, but I think he still played well. There were a handful of inaccurate passes, but overall he did fine. It was obvious that for most of the game they weren't trying to run the hury-up because it really wasn't needed. They moved pretty quickly on the first and last series of the first half. Also, it was clear that they didn't want him to run at all during this game. When he runs, he is a much more dangerous player. Expect to see a faster offense and bigger playbook agains Kentucky.

 

[Gator Fever]

The one thing I did like is this offense puts an emphasis on getting that ball out fast in the passing game. Watching some of the plays and how Moore and Thuman got beat - those plays would have definitely been sacks probably with how slow many of the plays seemed to develop in that prior offense.

 

[ATXGator]

1. Muschamp said in his presser that we weren't running the hurry up as fast as we can and that we can go faster. That was by design.
2. I rewatched the game and only saw this a couple times. Many of the plays were designed bang-bang throws to the flat because the defense was playing so far off the receivers so of course he was only going to look at that one receiver.
3. I didn't see this at all. He appeared to look comfortable and had command of the offense. No interceptions, a few long passes dropped. He was held in check as far as running otherwise he'd have had 60 yards on the ground.

What I was most concerned about....once again....was the play of the offensive line. There is no reason that Driskel should have had any pressure at all let alone a sack and another that Driskel was able to shrug off and throw out of bounds. I fear that our lack of depth there (especially now with the injuries) is going to lose some games for us.

This 100%. Driskel did not have a ton of time. Harris had more time on the two throws that he made than Driskel had on any throws. No defender from EMU should have gotten close to Driskel and there were times he had to dump off to avoid a sack.

 

[The Original DC]

What I was most concerned about....once again....was the play of the offensive line. There is no reason that Driskel should have had any pressure at all let alone a sack and another that Driskel was able to shrug off and throw out of bounds. I fear that our lack of depth there (especially now with the injuries) is going to lose some games for us.

Good post and I agree about Driskel being solid and the O-line being my concern. Specifically, Moore had two plays where he just looked totally clueless and wasn't sure which guy to block and just appeared confused. They result was two guys getting free shots on Driskel. Garcia also allowed a guy to have an unabated shot on Driskel, but his looked more like he lost his footing and the guy got by him. I thought Chaz Green was outstanding and I thought everyone else on the oLine was solid. The coaches MUST get Moore straightened out, he did that too much last year and we all blamed it on him playing out of position.

 

[Coach9]

Watching replay of game right now. The first drive ended on an incomplete pass to McGee on 3rd down. It looks like McGee should have sat down his route between zone defenders instead of continuing on to the next zone.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Ropers offense put up 58 points. Driskel did in fact move past his first read several times. Nobody mentions that Jeff made a wonderful read on a handoff with a quick option to Burton that he opted out of the run based on coverage. It's their first game in a new offense. Yes, emu is bad, but so were ULL, Toledo, GSU, and all the other ****ty teams we play. Difference is we handled them how we were supposed to. Driskel probably also wanted to run several times but I assure you the coaches did not want that to happen yet. The kid did great for his first start in a long long time. Also keep in mind that he had several deep balls dropped or his receiver was interfered with. Those passes were on the money and would have had him at almost a 400 yard day.

 

[maheo30]

Was fortunate enough to be at the game and was very excited to see the new offense!
love love love that Champ let Roper really run the offense and it is apparent now we have the play makers to be very competitive in the SEC on BOTH sides of the ball..
some concerns though w Driskel

1. he runs the hurry up very slowly.
2. he still doesn't look around for options even if he has time and man he sure had time, he locks in on one receiver and always throws in that direction. Scary to think about vs SEC competition
3. he still looks uncomfortable out there

I am praying this was just first game jitters but I frankly don't get why he doesn't look around the field for second and third options EVER!

comments please .

1. He runs it at the pace Roper taught him to run it.
2. That isn't entirely true. There were a few of times he moved the defender with his eyes to get guys open. To expect him to work through his progressions like an NFL QB isn't realistic. Most NFL quarterbacks still haven't learned to get to the 4th option in a play, much less a guy in a new scheme in essentially his second year as a starter.
3. I completely disagree.

 

[Gator Fever]

Ropers offense put up 58 points. Driskel did in fact move past his first read several times. Nobody mentions that Jeff made a wonderful read on a handoff with a quick option to Burton that he opted out of the run based on coverage. It's their first game in a new offense. Yes, emu is bad, but so were ULL, Toledo, GSU, and all the other ****ty teams we play. Difference is we handled them how we were supposed to. Driskel probably also wanted to run several times but I assure you the coaches did not want that to happen yet. The kid did great for his first start in a long long time. Also keep in mind that he had several deep balls dropped or his receiver was interfered with. Those passes were on the money and would have had him at almost a 400 yard day.

He still hasn't shown much field awareness imo and that game didn't do anything to change my mind on that. When we go into Bama and he is under pressure and finds the receivers down the field then I will have faith he has truly found some field awareness finally.

 

[I Have No Friends :(]

This mantra was repeated during the offseason and I'll say it again: Jeff doesn't need to be great; just average. He was above average on Saturday and I'll take it. Yes, there are still a lot of issues with his game, but where he's at right now is good enough for us to win.

The best play of the game for me by Driskel is when the pocket collapsed on him and he had the presence of mind to find his tackle, get outside the tackle box, and then throw the ball out of bounds to avoid a sack and an interception by not trying to force something. That is what we need out of a 4th year QB. I think Driskel is going to come out in the Kentucky game with a lot of confidence and play even better than he did against EMU.

 

[GatorJB]

This mantra was repeated during the offseason and I'll say it again: Jeff doesn't need to be great; just average. He was above average on Saturday and I'll take it. Yes, there are still a lot of issues with his game, but where he's at right now is good enough for us to win.

The best play of the game for me by Driskel is when the pocket collapsed on him and he had the presence of mind to find his tackle, get outside the tackle box, and then throw the ball out of bounds to avoid a sack and an interception by not trying to force something. That is what we need out of a 4th year QB. I think Driskel is going to come out in the Kentucky game with a lot of confidence and play even better than he did against EMU.

Agree 100%.

 

[NCOGator]

I gave Driskel a grade of A- for the game.

I am right there with you Wobble, but I gave a solid B+. I would've given him an A if the comp was better.