Game 2 Math

Brantley + time to throw = completion

He was throwing in rhythm by the 2nd qtr and his level of accuracy is just ridiculous. When the line is all set and pass protection is breaking down less, we are going to see quite a show.

Deonte + well thrown ball = unreliable.

He made several catches and had a good game, but I never feel completely sure that he's going to make the catch. Even some of his catches were bobbling a bit before he pulled them in. It may be that he's one of those guys where the worst place to put the ball is on the numbers. it lets him form that little "bread basket" with his hands where he cradles the ball with his hands close to his chest instead of reaching out in front of him for the ball. If the ball is thrown a little high or low, left or right of his body, he then has to reach out with his hands and usually makes a surer grab. The problem here is that Brantley is really good at putting the ball right on the numbers.

Carl Moore = Sure handed

I knew he was pretty reliable, but he appeared to have "stick 'um" on his hands in this game. It's only a shame he isn't a little faster because he has the size and the reliable hands to be a top flight receiver. He's not slow, but he doesn't seem to get as open as Deonte and I think it's because of a lack of either acceleration or top-end speed. Either way, I'm glad to see his number getting called, and I am really looking forward to seeing some very acrobatic catches from him in the future. Maybe on a fade route near the end zone where he can use his big body to "post-up" the defender and his soft hands to reach in the air and pluck out the ball. I feel that this is more his comfort zone.

Jeff Demps = Fast

Not that this is news to anybody, but he keeps showing his speed on these big plays and I feel he deserves to be mentioned. I feel that there will be the opportunity for at least one of these runs every game, and if there is, Demps will be in the running for one of the big awards at the end of the year. I also feel that in close games, it is this break-away ability that will make the difference at least once this year. A well-timed big run to turn around a tight game.

Burton + future = Brilliant
Burton + right now = overused

I see the great potential that they see in Burton and think that we will be extremely glad he's a Gator before his career is over, but when he's in the game, it clues the defense into the play we are running a little bit. He is only in for "specialty" plays, a limited package made for him when he goes in. So when he's in the game, teams will start keying on him. Now that can be advantageous if we use that as a decoy, but most often it is leading to 2-4 yard plays and then burton trotting off of the field. I think he'll be a weapon for us, but either leave him in and run away from him some of the time, or let him go in the wildcat for a series. Not just one play at a time.

Shuffle pass = less effective

Teams have started preparing for this play and are reading it from a mile away. We ran it multiple times Saturday and it got stuffed most of those. It just isn't catching the defense off-guard. Maybe it's a timing issue where they should run it less often so the other team is legitimately surprised when it happens or set it up more when running that as part of the triple option by pitching it more. Right now, teams know that it is our first option and are stuffing it.

Addazio + time to adjust = pretty good coordinator

He made some good adjustments from week 1 to week 2 and the result was a much more stable offense. In the second half, I feel like the coaches realized that we were bigger, stronger, faster, and all around just better than the team we were facing, and that we didn't need a bunch of "gimmicky" plays to beat them. just line it up, pound it down their throats and let our obvious talent advantage do the work.

Pouncey = good

He played his butt off Saturday, put everything out there and was our best O-lineman. His snaps were more crisp and on target for the most part, and when you can pull a 300 pound center to be the lead blocker on the edge you have a really good player on your hands.

Defense = still learning

You could literally see some of the players on defense thinking out there, mostly in the front seven. They aren't in read and react mode yet. With experience, they will begin processing the information faster and reading on the run. The hit that Spikes put on Moreno is a good example of this. His first step was in the right direction, and he never paused or slowed down. He beat the running back to the hole, when the RB was the one who knew where the hole was. That didn't happen because he was faster, or because he was so tough, it was because he could see the information the offense gave him, process that information, and react faster than the offense could do the same to him. Anyway, what I'm saying is that the game will become more fluid for these young guys, there will be less hesitation, and the holes will start closing a lot faster. there will not be many 200+ yard rushing games against this team this year.

Riggs + Watkins = future "No Fly Zone"

Although Demar Dorsey, who coined the phrase, wound up signing with a different team, Riggs and Watkins have shown what that phrase meant. They are freshmen and they locked-in on a very athletic receiving corps. The QB tried to throw at them and they were in position and made well-timed plays on the ball from good positions in coverage. If they are this good now, wait until they are juniors or seniors. Not to mention the potential that I think Josh Shaw has in the Nickel or as a FS.

Moody = solid

He pushes through for extra yardage even when there isn’t a hole. He didn’t break off any long runs this week, but he showed flashes of the tough between-the-tackle running that we need from him. If he gets a little daylight I’m certain his elusiveness will show and he’ll break a few big ones this year.

Gillislee + almost any other team = starter

The kid has everything. He runs hard, he’s quick, he breaks tackles, and he makes people miss. Every time he touches the ball good things happen. I really think he would be starting for most any team in the country minus a few. Those few include us and Bama, but there aren’t too many others I can think of.

Our team + another week of experience = much better

With a team with this many new starters, there is going to be a learning curve, however, we have made huge strides already and if we continue getting better at this rate, we will be one of the best teams in the country by week 5. Lucky for us, we’ve made it through a big chunk of the learning process without a loss.

Next week = coming out party.
Not much elaboration needed here. I think we will see the pieces start to gel, and will show the country that we shouldn’t be overlooked. Tenn has some athletes, but we are obviously the superior team talent-wise. I don’t expect our team to overlook anybody after the first 6 weeks of this season has shown that every week can be a challenge in the world of college football.

First Game Math

Brantley = Good *His completion percentage was high, the deep throw to DT was on the money, he didn't throw any picks. Demps = Fast *With the way the O-line was blocking nobody could have done much when getting hit 5 yrds deep in the backfield . But I will say that not many could have broken that long run for a TD the way he did. Thompson = above average *He caught some short balls, dropped a long one. (For the record, I don't think he dropped it, but he should have gone up for it. I think that he thought he was more open than he was.) Hines = Potential star *He has soft hands, a strong body, good size, and speed. He caught everything he should have and was hard to match up against. Pouncey at Guard = Good Pouncey at Center = Badf *The math here just seems too easy. Black = Future first round pick *I'd heard it said but didn't really believe it until this game. I can't tell you how many times I said, "Look, it's Black again" during this game. Seemed like there were 3 of him as he was constantly around the ball. Powell+Easley+Floyd = Future stars *They actually played extremely well and I wouldn't have guessed they were in high school 3 months ago. Elam = Baller *I see now why he was so highly touted. Except for one play in which he delayed in his coverage and allowed a catch, he was in great position most of the night. Silberman = Surprise? *I did not expect to see Silberman in the lineup at all tonight, and his play surprised me. The first time I realized he was in the game was after a play in which the O-line looked solid in protection for the first time in a while. I said, "they finally blocked well on that play" and then I realized that Silberman was in. What I'm saying here, I guess, is that if you sub in a freshman who was a serious RS candidate and the O-line looks better, then you might find we have a special player on our hands. Burton = athlete *This isn't new information, but Trey Burton is a fantastic athlete. He didn't make a ton of plays, but he made a big one when it was needed with the game still in doubt, and that's big for a true freshman. The announcers called him Tebow Jr. or something like that and while I think that was a little much, I feel that we are going to be very glad he signed for the good guys very soon. 8 fumbles = Offensive struggles *It doesn't matter how good your team is, if you fumble 8 times you will have trouble offensively. Even the ones we didn't lose were drive killers, turning a reasonable 2nd and 5-6 into an unreasonable 3rd and 15 or more. 12-16 drives - 8 killed drives = 4 reasonable chances to score. If we get the line settled when the starters return, and clean up the turnovers, (both of which I'm sure will happen), I assure you we will look better. We might lose a game this year, we might lose two, but I assure you we won't look this bad again. One last equation: Unhappy Meyer + Poorly performing offense + Tough practice week + returning starters = Much better performance next week. I almost feel sorry for USF.