Canegrad89
Recruit
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2017
- Messages
- 1,197
Tough loss that primarily resulted from:
Overall, the talent on the rosters was fairly comparable. This wasn't like the LSU game last year where they had a significant overall talent advantage & were much more physical in every phase. Where UF had a major advantage was their experienced DL (Greenard & Zuniga) vs our OT. We called this weeks before the game & it played out exactly the way we predicted it. Zion may really grow into the role over the next couple of years. He may end up doing well. But to think that a 2* Freshman was going to hold up against likely high NFL draft picks on that stage was insane. Once the OTs started losing confidence, UF's DEs pinned their ears back and the OL play completely disintegrated. Coaches Barry, Enos & Diaz all should have had a back-up plan to try & shore up the OL play if things went South with our young OTs. Instead, the OTs were mostly left on an island (which I totally do not understand). Manny has a bright future as a HC but adjustments should have been made there. We have some big bodies that could have helped out the OTs (like Realus & Irvin). Scaife should have been kicked out to LT. We needed more experienced guys playing on the OL. We need to make OL recruiting a major priority & continue to mine the Portal. Manny did a lot of great work in the Portal & really filled some major holes. He came up a couple of quality OL short of really shoring up the roster.
Jarren has the potential to be an elite passer. His throws were consistently accurate, his completion % was high (and should easily have been over 70%) & he was not intercepted once (despite going against a very talented group of DBs). While he needs to develop as a game manager & either throw the ball away after a few seconds or scramble, we have much to be encouraged by. As long as he's protected better going forward, I'm highly confident he'll grow as a QB and will be a very good one for us.
Positives:
Areas for Improvement:
While injuries are the obvious concern, I do think the team would have benefited considerably from additional scrimmages (particularly with a first time starter at QB, a new HC, a new OC and new starters at the OT positions). There will always be mistakes made in a season opener but the execution in many phases was very sloppy (which led to us handing the game to UF). I've seen opening games played near flawlessly like in '88 (which was a 31-0 drubbing of a very stout #1 ranked FSU team). Our execution last night wasn't even in the same ballpark. With all the new components (and no-preseason games in CFB), we badly needed additional scrimmaging to work out the kinks. As HC, would you have taken that risk?
This team has real potential if they can:
(1) Fix the OL (Scaife should probably slide to LT & more seasoned players should be playing for now);
(2) Significantly clean up special teams (all phases);
(3) Fix the operation of the offense;
(4) Really emphasize proper tackling in practice;
(5) Catch the ball more consistently; and
(6) Get the best players on the field more (particularly Lingard -- assuming he's fully healthy, Rousseau and Trevon). Bolden will be a great addition when he's ready too.
- Untimely errors (love JT4 but his muffed punt was a killer as was Baxa's missed chip shot)
- Very poor OL play
- Way too many penalties (and a genuinely terrible officiating crew -- see the bogus PI on Blades in the third quarter as Exhibit A & not calling a late hit by 31 on Jarren)
- Very sloppy special teams play (in most phases)
- Mullen making some aggressive calls (fake punt followed immediately by TD). While I can't stand UF, he played to win
- Poor operation of the offense
- Poor tackling (particularly in the first half)
- Too many dropped balls
Overall, the talent on the rosters was fairly comparable. This wasn't like the LSU game last year where they had a significant overall talent advantage & were much more physical in every phase. Where UF had a major advantage was their experienced DL (Greenard & Zuniga) vs our OT. We called this weeks before the game & it played out exactly the way we predicted it. Zion may really grow into the role over the next couple of years. He may end up doing well. But to think that a 2* Freshman was going to hold up against likely high NFL draft picks on that stage was insane. Once the OTs started losing confidence, UF's DEs pinned their ears back and the OL play completely disintegrated. Coaches Barry, Enos & Diaz all should have had a back-up plan to try & shore up the OL play if things went South with our young OTs. Instead, the OTs were mostly left on an island (which I totally do not understand). Manny has a bright future as a HC but adjustments should have been made there. We have some big bodies that could have helped out the OTs (like Realus & Irvin). Scaife should have been kicked out to LT. We needed more experienced guys playing on the OL. We need to make OL recruiting a major priority & continue to mine the Portal. Manny did a lot of great work in the Portal & really filled some major holes. He came up a couple of quality OL short of really shoring up the roster.
Jarren has the potential to be an elite passer. His throws were consistently accurate, his completion % was high (and should easily have been over 70%) & he was not intercepted once (despite going against a very talented group of DBs). While he needs to develop as a game manager & either throw the ball away after a few seconds or scramble, we have much to be encouraged by. As long as he's protected better going forward, I'm highly confident he'll grow as a QB and will be a very good one for us.
Positives:
- Jarren's passing of the ball
- Brevin (yes, he had a couple of tough drops but overall he was a stud)
- Defense creating turnovers & holding UF to 7 points at the half. Defense was consistently put in bad positions in the second half (see JT4's muffed punt) and really played well enough to win the game & hold UF to about 17 points
- Bandy - balla
- KJ (good leader, consistently catches the ball & has that dog in him). While not flawless last night, he has brought much needed leadership & consistency to the WR group
- DJ (plays with a lot of heart, makes things happen, leader on the field)
- DT play was mostly solid
- INT by Finley (who continues to play well)
- Punting was improved. Hoping Heds has some 50-60 yarders in him but generally a big upgrade over last year
Areas for Improvement:
- OL play was very poor (except Donaldson). Zion has to get out of his stance quicker. He can't let DEs line up wide (which they did) and barely be getting out of his stance as they came roaring around the edge. Needs to limit false starts as well
- Campbell needs to limit false starts
- Special teams: need to be configured to prevent conversions on fake punts. Learn how to handle punts landing inside the 10 yard line. Execution on chip shot FGs. We could have gone for the go-ahead score with a simple FG at the 4:35 minute mark had we not missed the chip shot FG. Special teams were very sloppy overall (except for decent kick coverage & Hedley's punting). Special teams & OL play were the two primary reasons we lost the game
- Tackling on defense (Exhibit A was by 5, 26 & 7 on UF's first TD -- where 55 was also out of position). Wrap up instead of just putting a shoulder into the runner! Turnovers are great but we can't always rely on them to save our a@@
- Delay of game penalties. The one on our final possession made it 3rd & 27 (brutal)
- Jarren holds the ball too long & needs to either throw it away or scramble after a few seconds. This will also reduce the number of sacks taken
- More creative offensive playcalling. The sequence after Amari Carter's INT in the fourth quarter was way too conservative (run, run, run). Play to win!
- We need to use our speed more. DJ is a great Cane and authored some of the biggest moments last night (out of the wildcat formation) but I don't think he should be RB1. We need explosiveness at that position. Lingard has elite speed (like McGahee, James Jackson & others before him). DJ should be used as a third down back, out of the wildcat and as a utility man but he lacks the elite speed to give us the pop we need on base running plays. Particularly with a below average OL, we need elite speed at that position. The Lingard era needs to start (as he seems to be healthy now)
- Mallory appears to have considerable upside & will likely be a major weapon for us but he needs to use his frame more effectively, play bigger, show more dog & catch the ball consistently (like he does in practice). He'll make a formidable 1-2 punch with Brevin as he develops. While I'm a huge Mallory fan, he played soft last night & didn't fight for the ball (or catch it consistently) -- which really surprised me.
- Unsportsmanlike conduct by Blades was brutal (15 yards). Got to play smart & not hand games to our opponents with self-inflicted wounds
- Delay of game on final possession (one of far too many penalties). Made it 3rd & 27
- The best players need to play more (Lingard -- if fully healthy, Rousseau, Trevon). We have serious talent on our roster. Seniority & other considerations need to be set aside. The best players need to see the field more!
While injuries are the obvious concern, I do think the team would have benefited considerably from additional scrimmages (particularly with a first time starter at QB, a new HC, a new OC and new starters at the OT positions). There will always be mistakes made in a season opener but the execution in many phases was very sloppy (which led to us handing the game to UF). I've seen opening games played near flawlessly like in '88 (which was a 31-0 drubbing of a very stout #1 ranked FSU team). Our execution last night wasn't even in the same ballpark. With all the new components (and no-preseason games in CFB), we badly needed additional scrimmaging to work out the kinks. As HC, would you have taken that risk?
This team has real potential if they can:
(1) Fix the OL (Scaife should probably slide to LT & more seasoned players should be playing for now);
(2) Significantly clean up special teams (all phases);
(3) Fix the operation of the offense;
(4) Really emphasize proper tackling in practice;
(5) Catch the ball more consistently; and
(6) Get the best players on the field more (particularly Lingard -- assuming he's fully healthy, Rousseau and Trevon). Bolden will be a great addition when he's ready too.
