CHOMPING: Why 2010 will not be a repeat of 2007

[O-town Gator]

"The 2007 season was arguably the worst the Florida Gators have played since head coach Urban Meyer took over the program in 2005. That is often what happens when a team’s starting quarterback (Chris Leak) graduates, it loses the majority of its defensive starters to the NFL Draft (defensive linemen Jarvis Moss, Ray McDonald, Marcus Thomas and Joe Cohen, safeties Reggie Nelson and Ryan Smith, linebacker Brandon Siler) and a few other key pieces leave as well (wide receiver Dallas Baker, running back DeShawn Wynn).

Considering the departures following the 2009 season (QB Tim Tebow, WR Riley Cooper, tight end Aaron Hernandez, center Maurkice Pouncey, cornerback Joe Haden, DE Carlos Dunlap, S Major Wright, LBs Brandon Spikes and Jermaine Cunningham) appear eerily similar (if not greater) to those that occurred before 2007 got underway, many might expect the Gators to experience a similar downfall. Perhaps they will go from back-to-back one-loss seasons to a similar 9-4 record, 5-3 performance in the Southeastern Conference and maybe even a bowl game loss?"

Here is why those that think the sky is falling may be too reactionary…



Read more: http://www.onlygators.com/06/30/2010/chomping-why-2010-will-not-be-a-repeat-of-2007/#ixzz0sMMDoaxX

 

[GainesvillebornNraised]

we were young as hell on defense that year


just coudnt make stop good offenses, then strong turned that around completely in 1 yr and we had 1 of the best defenses in the country if not the best

 

[Leakfan12]

Offense was good in 2007 (Tebow won the Heisman that year) but the Defense was either a HS all-star or a JV Defense (pick one). This team should win 10 games at least.

 

[O-town Gator]

Got this in an email from my friends at Gators and More:

Here we go again. We are just a couple of weeks away from SEC Media Days in Birmingham, AL. Freshmen are on campus for Summer B and conditioning has started. The pre-season magazines are all out and the Gators are once again the "hunters", but well within striking distance for the ultimate prize. Two-a -days will be starting soon and the 2010 season is clearly on the horizon. A typical summer, right?? This summer has been a welcome relief from the madness that 2009 brought for Gator Nation. What was a stress-filled roller coaster ride that culminated in the retirement of Urban Meyer has given way to a refreshed coach, a new era in Gator football, and some serious downtime for all parties covering the Orange and Blue. Aside from one recent D.U.I. arrest you can almost hear crickets chirping. There is work going on, of course. Players are conditioning. Coaches are running summer camps, getting ready for fall drills, and keeping up with recruiting. But the "noise" isn't there this year. Everyone knows the Gators are loaded and are a threat to runt he table, but Alabama is now the media darlings. Let them have it for awhile. In a few short weeks the media circus will crank up again and the noise will start back up. The Gators will be just fine this year. They may actually surprise some folks for the first time in a few years.

The good news is that with all of the new faces, the new offensive schemes, and the new coaches the Gators should have the whole first quarter of the season to get up to speed before travelling to Tuscaloosa. Miami(OH), South Florida, Tennesse, and Kentucky should all be games the Gators are double digit favorites to win. The trip to Knoxville will be Brantley's first test on the road as a starter, but the Vols don't appear to have the firepower to hang with Florida this year. The other three games will be in the confines of the Swamp which swings favor heavily in Florida's direction.

Everyone is pointing to that matchup with Alabama as the "make or break" point in the season. After much thought I offer you this thought on the game with the Crimson Tide....While a very important matchup from the fan's point of view (of course you want to win this game), I am not so sure it is THE most important game of the season. In my opinion the most important game will be the week after this Bama, against LSU. If Florida runs the table but loses a close game in Tuscaloosa the odds are that they will meet the Tide again in Atlanta and I like Florida's odds much better in the Georgia Dome. A 12-1, SEC Champion Gator team, who splits the year with Bama, is more than likely heading for the BCS Championship Game. The same is true on the other side of the coin for Alabama. But, if the Gators stumble in Tuscaloosa and then come home and play flat and lose to LSU, it becomes much harder to recover for a "special season'. unlike last year, there is room for error on the Gators' schedule this year and that "cushion" comes around game five and six. So, when you start to break down the upcoming season don't get too stressed out over the game in Tuscaloosa. The Gators certainly have the talent to go and win that game, but unlike years past a loss there, to the defending national champions, will not kill any chances they have in 2010.

Great thoughts here - what say ye?

 

[Escambia94]

The world expects us to lose in Tuscaloosa. Most put our odds over 50:50 in an SEC championship rematch. I would not say that I think 2010 will be a repeat of 2007, but I will say that I think some are too optimistic to assume that just because we have some pointed differences between 2010 and 2007 that the youth bug will not bite us in the rear. If LSU does not stun us after our "inevitable loss" at Alabama, then some other upstart team could do it. Arkansas almost did it last year. Ole Miss did it the year before. Which team is going to upset us this year and cast doubt on the poll voters? How fragile is Brantley? Who will step on offense? How quickly will the defense learn the game? With the exception of QB, the questions are the same as they were in 2007, and you see what happened.

Will we repeat 2007? Of course not? Will we repeat 2009? Definitely not. Will it be somewhere in between? I think so. We will probably lose to a superior Alabama team on their home turf, and get upset somewhere in conference play. I will jump on the bandwagon and assume we can regain our swagger by beating Bama in the SEC CG. Maybe.

 

[O-town Gator]

The world expects us to lose in Tuscaloosa. Most put our odds over 50:50 in an SEC championship rematch. I would not say that I think 2010 will be a repeat of 2007, but I will say that I think some are too optimistic to assume that just because we have some pointed differences between 2010 and 2007 that the youth bug will not bite us in the rear. If LSU does not stun us after our "inevitable loss" at Alabama, then some other upstart team could do it. Arkansas almost did it last year. Ole Miss did it the year before. Which team is going to upset us this year and cast doubt on the poll voters? How fragile is Brantley? Who will step on offense? How quickly will the defense learn the game? With the exception of QB, the questions are the same as they were in 2007, and you see what happened.

Will we repeat 2007? Of course not? Will we repeat 2009? Definitely not. Will it be somewhere in between? I think so. We will probably lose to a superior Alabama team on their home turf, and get upset somewhere in conference play. I will jump on the bandwagon and assume we can regain our swagger by beating Bama in the SEC CG. Maybe.

For some reason, even-numbered years have boded well for the Gators.

Like I've mentioned before, we didn't get as hard hit with losing as many key players on our depth chart this past post-season as we did after the 2006 NC win. Having brought in that stellar recruiting class means that we could see some of these freshmen assume key roles on this team, per haps even as starters.

Every other team has had it's share of attrition because of graduation and early NFL entry. With so much flux in and out of each program, it's really hard to predict how a college team will perform from year to year. Hell, nobody predicted that Florida would win the 2006 National Championship, but we managed to pull it off.

Still, in spite of all the media prognostications I see us out for blood in Tuscaloosa. No way do we head into that stadium unprepared or overconfident. We won't allow ourselves to be caught off guard as we were back in 2005.

As the axiom goes, on any given day anything can happen.

 

[Escambia94]

Absolutely true. Anything can happen, which is why they play the game. I will manage my expectations with reserved optimism. I feel better telling myself that if my Gators lose the regular season matchup against Bama, that we just need to win the East and get in position for a rematch. I do not see us losing twice to Bama, and there exists a finite possibility that we will defeat Bama twice.

 

[O-town Gator]

Absolutely true. Anything can happen, which is why they play the game. I will manage my expectations with reserved optimism. I feel better telling myself that if my Gators lose the regular season matchup against Bama, that we just need to win the East and get in position for a rematch. I do not see us losing twice to Bama, and there exists a finite possibility that we will defeat Bama twice.

Winning the "Triple Crown" (Tennessee, UGA and the school out west) shouldn't be difficult for this Gator team to accomplish this fall. I'll go out on a limb to predict at least those wins over our top three rivals.