Napier’s first full offseason thread

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aka

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I want better results and a better product, of course, I just didn't have high expectations this year. Not sure why anyone did. I do believe it will be much more difficult to win it all, or even close to that, these days than in the past. So, does that mean my expectations going forward are tempered somewhat? Probably, but that doesn't mean I like it. It is frustrating at times.
 

Ironhead

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I want better results and a better product, of course, I just didn't have high expectations this year. Not sure why anyone did. I do believe it will be much more difficult to win it all, or even close to that, these days than in the past. So, does that mean my expectations going forward are tempered somewhat? Probably, but that doesn't mean I like it. It is frustrating at times.
My expectations were more in line with the Utah game, with improvements game to game.
We played with an edge, a swagger, in that game.
Then next week, we lost that edge, hell, we lost swagger and we lost the season.


I wasn’t concerned with losing and winning games as I just wanted to watch us be competitive.

I wanted more of an edge in the rivalry games.I wanted to see great game plans taking advantage of teams weaknesses.
I wanted to be in awe of how individual players played and improved throughout the season.

Look, everyone on this board has been playing, coaching and or watching football for years.
I think most everyone of us know what a well coached team looks like, what a great game plan looks like, what week to week individual and team improvement looks like.

I didn’t see very much individual improvement and, I think the team regressed from game 1 to the debacle in the bowl game.
 

oxrageous

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The pumpers and the dumpers aren't that far apart. As far as future wins and losses, neither side is right or wrong yet.

This is primarily a disagreement on the way the rebuild is going and how much time or slack Billy should get as it pertains to the circumstances. I personally think things are going splendidly as far as the foundational aspect (largely recruiting/building relationships with Florida schools). I think UF will be recruiting right there with Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State within two years. Others disagree.

I think we're going to see Billy coach differently when he gets the players and system he wants in place. Others disagree. Personally, I think a terrific run game combined with a veteran QB like Mertz not turning the ball over could be a lot more effective than the maddening Jeckle-and-Hyde nonsense we got out of Richardson. This massive OL we are compiling excites me - I want to steamroll opponents. All we need from Mertz is to keep defenses from stacking the line.

I also don't think it's unfair to expect obvious improvement this upcoming season. We can't blame the stench of Mullen players anymore, that's for sure - the vast majority are gone. If we don't see that, Billy's competency as a coach should be called into question.
 

Bullag8r

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Umm....yes

You should check out the chatbox during games. Hell some of the pumpers in here actually get so whiny they ask to have their accounts deleted and challenge other members to knife fights in front of the stadium.:rotfl:

Not a posse I would identify with.
 

Gatormac2112

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I’m not a pumper by any means and I was hoping we would have more 5 star talent in this bump class, but I also acknowledge the depth of blue chips he acquired that the rankings don’t reward as much as outright numbers do. He had a great class that is much better than the ranking would indicate. And as far as the on field coaching and on field improvements that we all found lacking, remember that this was year one with a group of knuckleheads that he had no choice but to play.

Also realize that in spite of Kelly, Dykes and Riley’s success in their first season (which doesn’t mean a thing long term, shyt happens), most first year coaches struggle including Saban at Bama and Smart at Georgia (and I’m not suggesting Billy will ever attain their level), fans of both programs weren’t all too thrilled in their early days. We have to give Billy the time to get his players in and to adapt themselves to be more effective on game days.

Until we give them that time we just don’t know and going beyond discussing concerns on the shortcomings and declaring Slingblade as a lost cause is just premature to put it gently.
 

oxrageous

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Isn't the knock on Mertz that he has accuracy issues and turns it over too often? Even more than AR.
He had 3 OC's in 4 years on a team that has never known how to pass in the 150 year history of their football program. We have absolutely no idea what we have with Mertz. Wisconsin has also never had a WR drafted into the NFL in history.

Napier never does anything without extensive research and/or film study, so he obviously sees something he likes.
 

lagator

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I would agree that we should expect more than 6 wins next year. Period. I'd be shocked if we didn't get it.
This isn't setting a very high bar. We could go 7-5 while losing to Utah and all our rivals including UT, LSU, UGA and FSU. That would be more than 6 wins and still an absolute disaster.
 

oxrageous

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This isn't setting a very high bar. We could go 7-5 while losing to Utah and all our rivals including UT, LSU, UGA and FSU. That would be more than 6 wins and still an absolute disaster.
Your posts are an absolute disaster.

It's more about the significant improvement than the wins, dork.
 

lagator

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Your posts are an absolute disaster.

It's more about the significant improvement than the wins, dork.
You've made it clear to everyone that the only victories you are looking for are moral victories, but let me dumb this down for you since you seem to have lost about 20 IQ points ever since you became the leading Pumptard. You can't lose your first 8 games against rivals at UF period. It's impossible to show whatever the fuk you consider "significant improvement" and lose 8 rivalry games in a row. 7-5 is more than 6-6 but loses to Utah, UToothless, LSU, the dwags and the nulls would absolutely have him squarely on the hotseat.
 

Gatormac2112

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You've made it clear to everyone that the only victories you are looking for are moral victories, but let me dumb this down for you since you seem to have lost about 20 IQ points ever since you became the leading Pumptard. You can't lose your first 8 games against rivals at UF period. It's impossible to show whatever the fuk you consider "significant improvement" and lose 8 rivalry games in a row. 7-5 is more than 6-6 but loses to Utah, UToothless, LSU, the dwags and the nulls would absolutely have him squarely on the hotseat.
If he does that he will not be on the hot seat yet
 

MJMGator

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I just want a QB and continued improvement this coming season. I like where we’re trending in the overall health of the program. We need to see that same trend on the field.
I’m hoping for the best, but some folks have already made up their minds and they want errrrrrrrrbody to know it.
 

ThreatMatrix

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The last time I feared no opponent, no rival. The last time I didn't worry about winning, just by how much. And the last time it was not only Great to be a Florida Gator, but everyone else in the country knew it too:

4799 days ago.

I never had much hope for Chump. I knew he'd be a failure the day he hired Charlie Cheeseburger. I used up all my coach hate on him.

The shark ****er never should have stepped on campus and was always an embarrassment, but after Chump any semblance of offense was welcome. And he had a ring from Saban so there was at least some hope in the beginning. Only the beginning.

I didn't think they'd hire the much-loved and admired Cousin Eddie. But **** if he didn't have two Gator rings and coached one of our greatest QB's. But hope was dashed with his bump class and subsequent recruiting follies.

Were there red flags? Hell yeah. We tried to ignore them but in the end, where there's smoke there's fire.
 

ThreatMatrix

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I like Billy. A lot more than the previous three. It would be great to see him succeed. But there are a lot of red flags unanswered questions. Not the least is talent acquisition. Maybe a solid class of players that rank an average of 300 can get it done. History tells us that you must be loaded with top 100 and top 50 players. We'll see.

It's neither pumping nor dumping, it's just the facts. And this is a message board.

1) Recruiting ain't competitive. Meaning, for the 4th straight coach we are redefining what we consider "talent" to be. Or who our competition is.

2) The play calling was offensive at times. Clock management was amateur. Nape doesn't even seem to understand when to have a call reviewed. But I did send him a copy of "Modern College Football for Dummies" so let's hope he can read it by fall.

3) Patrick Toney's defense. Do I need to say more? For entire games, we seemed to have the wrong scheme. For other games, we had the right scheme. PT was right maybe 50% of the time. I know he can't read so I sent him the audiobook.

4) Special teams. Who needs special teams when you have two oline coaches?

But I have hope. I think we can beat 3 out of 4 rivals next year. Not the old rivals of course, that would be silly.
Our new rivals; Vandy, Kentucky, Misery and little USC. And I like our chances against McNeese St and Charlotte.

If we run the table on our rivals and the two cupcakes we could get to 6 solid wins. Go Gators!
 

MJMGator

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He brought in Miller last year.
I don’t know why everyone is just dismissing him like he’s already failed here. The guy was injured all year and forced into his only start because AR quit and Kitna got caught sharing pedo pics. He had no one to throw to and no time to do it against a much better team.
 

Silverback Gator

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I don’t know why everyone is just dismissing him like he’s already failed here. The guy was injured all year and forced into his only start because AR quit and Kitna got caught sharing pedo pics. He had no one to throw to and no time to do it against a much better team.
"much better team" is what tempers my optimism with the good>great recruiting. And yes, it does not help that it looked like our staff cannot coach during a game. But if that was a much better team, how far down are we?
 

AnObfuscator

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I don’t know why everyone is just dismissing him like he’s already failed here. The guy was injured all year and forced into his only start because AR quit and Kitna got caught sharing pedo pics. He had no one to throw to and no time to do it against a much better team.

Was about to say the same thing. He spent all fall recovering from surgery. He hadn't practiced, and probably hadn't worked out, for months. Then his first ever start came in a meaningless bowl game with half his team sitting out. That's not a recipe for success.

Maybe what we saw is what we get, but he deserves the benefit of the doubt for now IMO. And I wouldn't be surprised to see him get the starting nod over Mertz.
 

TN G8tr

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The pumpers and the dumpers aren't that far apart. As far as future wins and losses, neither side is right or wrong yet.

This is primarily a disagreement on the way the rebuild is going and how much time or slack Billy should get as it pertains to the circumstances. I personally think things are going splendidly as far as the foundational aspect (largely recruiting/building relationships with Florida schools). I think UF will be recruiting right there with Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State within two years. Others disagree.

I think we're going to see Billy coach differently when he gets the players and system he wants in place. Others disagree. Personally, I think a terrific run game combined with a veteran QB like Mertz not turning the ball over could be a lot more effective than the maddening Jeckle-and-Hyde nonsense we got out of Richardson. This massive OL we are compiling excites me - I want to steamroll opponents. All we need from Mertz is to keep defenses from stacking the line.

I also don't think it's unfair to expect obvious improvement this upcoming season. We can't blame the stench of Mullen players anymore, that's for sure - the vast majority are gone. If we don't see that, Billy's competency as a coach should be called into question.
Very good assessment. It took me a while to catch up on the pages, have been on the road.

Totally agree we'll see a different product when he gets his guys and he is well on his way to do that. MANY, MANY, and did I say MANY stated that what we needed was to Burn the entire thing down to wash the stench of Mullen out. It was that bad and that is what we're getting. I think he is going to try and patch it with Mertz but listening to the analysis of all the Wisky stuff it was more of a shytshow there for him. So lets see what he can do with better supporting players and perhaps ability to hit a small pass in the flat without and INT. I feel he is all in on Lagway and setting up things for 2024. And don't forget there is a Spring Portal period too. He could go back there again.

Is it fair to expect improvement, yes.
Is it fair that we see a better product on the field, absolutely.
Is it fair to say he has failed already, no.

Just think what it would have been like if he initiated the mass exodus last year. UF may not have wound up 6-7. What he is getting on both LOS's and LB's is far better than what we have had in years. I think we have reason to be optimistic. But no where near time to give up on what he has going.
 
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