wal66
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Deflated Victory
No, there would be no upset in the Swamp on the opening weekend of the 2010 season but that doesnt mean there was a substantial victory either. Florida did win the game 34 to12 but what they didnt win was the confidence of the fans, the nation or even in themselves.
Teams can expect to make mistakes, blunders and even moments of total ineptitude in their open game but Florida too things to whole other level. From players on the field to coaches on the sidelines this was a worse performance in victory than any performance in a loss in recent memory. They were more like a Tampa Buccaneers team of the early 70s than a Top-5 ranked team in the nation.
If you had seen this team in spring and summer practices like I did you were given hope that even without graduated leader Tim Tebow, this Gator squad would be just fine. The speed was there, the talent was there and quarterback starter to-be John Brantley had many of the skills that even the legend Tebow didnt have.
Saturday though no-one will have much confidence in the season ahead. I never thought I would be saying this so soon but Florida is in for a very long season unless they make some serious improvements.
Take nothing away from the Miami-Ohio, they came to play. They were quicker to the ball, they brought a heavy hand when laying a hit on Florida and they were motivated. Had they had a little better execution on offense or a couple fewer mistakes we very well might be talking about a HUGE upset instead of complaining about a performance.
Florida, dropped passes, missed assignments, missed reads, had trouble all day with snaps, both by the center and the quarterback, silly penalties (a trademark around here so no real news there), missed field goal attempt, missed extra point kick, turned the ball over, didnt show offensively any real aggression or power, 14 yards of net offense at the half and offensive coordinator Steve Addazio may very well be the worst offensive coordinator in football period.
Granted, many of these mistakes are made by plenty of teams and many times it is just a bad game. I understand that but if you watched this game those mistakes appear to be far more potential trends than just a really bad game.
The offensive line is not physical enough, they are nimble enough and from what I saw they arent disciplined enough to be a force in SEC play. Brantley could have just had a bad day, I mean there is enormous pressure on his shoulders trying to fill the void and expectations left behind in the wake of Tebows graduation. So we can give him a little break but those excuses aside he showed some serious problems staring at his receivers and not scanning the check-down guys. Thats fundamental and it can be a serious problem if not corrected and corrected immediately.
As for the play calling of Addazio it wasnt just a bad day, its been a bad career. Even with Tebow his play calling has always made many scratch their heads. So while the players may improve and the mistakes may be fewer, the play calling will not likely change until the position is changed.
Obviously this is the first game and surely much of what was witnessed today will be improved upon but there is PLENTY to be improved. Im not writing Florida off but Ill not quickly find myself placing undo confidence or undeserved money on them the rest of the season. Im still a fan and always will be but they are off the radar as far as capping goes until such time as they show today isnt tomorrow.
No, there would be no upset in the Swamp on the opening weekend of the 2010 season but that doesnt mean there was a substantial victory either. Florida did win the game 34 to12 but what they didnt win was the confidence of the fans, the nation or even in themselves.
Teams can expect to make mistakes, blunders and even moments of total ineptitude in their open game but Florida too things to whole other level. From players on the field to coaches on the sidelines this was a worse performance in victory than any performance in a loss in recent memory. They were more like a Tampa Buccaneers team of the early 70s than a Top-5 ranked team in the nation.
If you had seen this team in spring and summer practices like I did you were given hope that even without graduated leader Tim Tebow, this Gator squad would be just fine. The speed was there, the talent was there and quarterback starter to-be John Brantley had many of the skills that even the legend Tebow didnt have.
Saturday though no-one will have much confidence in the season ahead. I never thought I would be saying this so soon but Florida is in for a very long season unless they make some serious improvements.
Take nothing away from the Miami-Ohio, they came to play. They were quicker to the ball, they brought a heavy hand when laying a hit on Florida and they were motivated. Had they had a little better execution on offense or a couple fewer mistakes we very well might be talking about a HUGE upset instead of complaining about a performance.
Florida, dropped passes, missed assignments, missed reads, had trouble all day with snaps, both by the center and the quarterback, silly penalties (a trademark around here so no real news there), missed field goal attempt, missed extra point kick, turned the ball over, didnt show offensively any real aggression or power, 14 yards of net offense at the half and offensive coordinator Steve Addazio may very well be the worst offensive coordinator in football period.
Granted, many of these mistakes are made by plenty of teams and many times it is just a bad game. I understand that but if you watched this game those mistakes appear to be far more potential trends than just a really bad game.
The offensive line is not physical enough, they are nimble enough and from what I saw they arent disciplined enough to be a force in SEC play. Brantley could have just had a bad day, I mean there is enormous pressure on his shoulders trying to fill the void and expectations left behind in the wake of Tebows graduation. So we can give him a little break but those excuses aside he showed some serious problems staring at his receivers and not scanning the check-down guys. Thats fundamental and it can be a serious problem if not corrected and corrected immediately.
As for the play calling of Addazio it wasnt just a bad day, its been a bad career. Even with Tebow his play calling has always made many scratch their heads. So while the players may improve and the mistakes may be fewer, the play calling will not likely change until the position is changed.
Obviously this is the first game and surely much of what was witnessed today will be improved upon but there is PLENTY to be improved. Im not writing Florida off but Ill not quickly find myself placing undo confidence or undeserved money on them the rest of the season. Im still a fan and always will be but they are off the radar as far as capping goes until such time as they show today isnt tomorrow.
