Game Day Thead: Vanderbilt @ Florida - 11/5

[DRU2012]

As for the running game, I don't feel confident recommending ANYTHING anymore--I agree with your question (and recommendation), but then maybe we hear later that so-and-so was injured, etc. I sure wish we had had SOME kind of adjustment to THEIR adjustment ready to go in the 2nd half.
This 3rd and 7 is everything. Brisset gets away...catch by Hammond (the only WR who has done anything of late).
Wow. A penalty in our favor.
You know, Brisset isn't looking bad. I'd let him throw the ball, NOT try to just run-the-clock. We can win this game with a FG, I'm tellin' ya--but otherwise, we are setting ourselves up to lose this at the very end.
Demps to the HOUSE!!! Ballgame! Great call Weis, gotta give it to him.
Whew! OK, mission (shakily) accomplished. Should have blown this team OUT, but at this point, we take small victories. We WILL be playing thru' New Year's Day, and that is BIG this year.
GEEZ--just take the 1 point! We suck too badly to screw around--almost handed them 2 points to get them back into a CHANCE at coming back.

 

[Escambia94]

Come on, man!

 

[Escambia94]

Ummm...defense? Come out of the locker room! It's the second half...almost the end of the game...come out and defend the small lead.

 

[miltongator]

Best play Jordan Reed has made all year.

 

[Escambia94]

WHEW! I will now get drunk here in Baton Rouge...

 

[DRU2012]

Sorry I'm so far behind-the-flow here--I'm in the passenger seat (but still "driving" Girlfriend crazy with my clapping, screaming and moaning at the little screen in my hand--she's listening to music while I've got the headphones on).
Where's our "D"? Too lazy, this isn't OVER yet, guys!
(By the way--what a putrid call on that pre-TD catch at the 10--and Roberson failed to turn around even ONCE on throws to his receiver today, as he showed once again on their last TD. We have WAY too many lazy slackers on this team, playing like they've already packed it in, like they're out of gas, but shouldn't be--like I say, "talented losers").
We let the Vanderbilt Commodores go 80 yards in , like, a minute, to get back in it, and would have been going for our own shot at a forlorn comeback if not for Demps' run there at the end.
Once we got the onsides kick, of course, this was over, but HOW DID IT EVEN COME TO THAT, AGAIN!!!???
Answer: This is a very poor Gator team. Big win--and Vandy DOES show a lot of heart (Why didn't WE get Rogers at QB--not enough "stars" from the "experts"? That isn't a joke I'm making there--it's probably the true reason...SCREW Urban Meyer; at this point, I wash my hands of him. Let him go to Ohio, for all I care, and here's my prediction on that AND him: Without his original crew and now that the "Meyer Spread" is well-cooked and covered by defenses everywhere, he will never rise to the heights he shared with all of us in his first 5 years here at UF. "Thanks for the memories and good times, dude, and Ba-Bye!").
Good signs--and not-so-good ones: Good first half by our "D", but the secondary in particular, and depth, self-discipline and size in general let us down in the second. Dispensing with the penalties WAS BIG...in a game that shouldn't have been this close but was, that made a difference, bet on it. Weis' game plan very sound--and again, successful in first half, but (at least insofar as the players that were in there) not able to adjust it properly in the 2nd: all-in-all, I can't WAIT to see what he can do with a whole squad of his type-of-guys (let's face it: that's about the most fundamental statement I can make about this whole team: "Can't WAIT to see..."). We were HORRIBLE on 3rd downs...and our D-line let Rogers make THEM look like world-beaters on THEIR 3rd-down plays.
Most important conclusion to be drawn: As Coach put it down on the field right after the game, most of the breakdowns and difficulties "are correctible"--what he DIDN'T say was that though that includes the very basic problem of personnel, even THAT can and WILL BE corrected, just not by anything he or ANYONE can do with a number of the current guys filling the spots in question; again, it's a matter of "getting their kind-of-guys"--THEN the training, discipline, drive and schemes can really make a difference. Meanwhile, they do what they can, and the good news is that, even with the injuries, set backs, pressure and aforementioned limitations, progress is clearly being made. Even if you don't like this Head Coach and his fired-up public personna, he is a totally absorbed, dedicated and well-prepared perfectionist who has a plan and will give his ALL seeing it through to completion, if given the chance: and for at least the next couple of years at a MINIMUM, he will be GIVEN that chance. Live with it. Or go bitch elsewhere, for now. The last thing we need is for GE to become another one-note, "I hate the Coach" venting-blog. I will defend it against all such comers.

 

[DRU2012]

WHEW! I will now get drunk here in Baton Rouge...

We're just pulling up to the ferry in Port Aransas--heading out to a little place a friend lets us use out on the beach for a couple of days. Windy, a bit chilly (especially at night, I imagine,but there's a fireplace inside and a fire-pit/bar-b-que out on the deck), but should be sort of "cozy and romantic" (women love that sh*t--oops, just got punched in the arm for that one!). Not exactly overjoyed at how that all went in the 2nd half--we would have lost at the end in a heart-breaker/season-death-knell against ANY of the mid-to-upper-tier SEC teams, obviously--but AM relieved at the win...ANY port-in-the-storm, right? I can let it go now and not be faced with the choice of either obsessing on a bad loss or shutting it away down deep where it eats away at my good humor--we've all done FAR too much of THAT this season already.

 

[DRU2012]

(At her request, am relaying a recommendation from Girlfriend, who has been following the last 20 minutes or so of this stuff here at Aransas while we catch the ferry, etc.: She says that we all "really need to go out and get drunk and get laid--not necessarily in that order!" I told her that win or lose, Gators are ALWAYS "up" for the challenge. And so it goes...)

 

[DRU2012]

By the way, I missed the first few minutes of the game--and tuned in just in time to see them fumble away the first would-be TD! We should have been blowing them OUT in the first half, but instead we scored JUST enough to be able to keep them from coming back to beat us at the end--and we needed every GOOD thing that happened for us to beat them at all. Before we get too celebratory, just remember: this was Vanderbilt, at our place, at Homecoming. I KNEW that opening drive-to-leave-points-on-the-field (one of this squad's specialties, don't ya know?) was a warning that this would be another gut-twister. Vanderbilt has more heart, drive and self-discipline as a team than we do: WE have a collection of under-achieving selfish slackers--and all of our "good ones", the "keepers", are significantly banged up, in varying degrees. Hard to see thru' the storm of bumbling errors and let-downs, but in fact our coaches did a really good job of hiding a lot of those thinning alternatives in the first half (the "pistol" was a good idea on Weis' part--but even with Joyer and Gillisley getting a bit more time out there, we were hampered by, yes, O-line depth, size, and health), but I also didn't see much in the way of adjustment to THEIR adjustments in the 2nd half by Weis, either, which concerned me: of course, Brantley getting hurt again probably curtailed some, maybe a lot of his plans--given our depth and size issues, a rhythm-passing game would have been a way to exploit their "loading up the box" in the 3rd qrtr. No turnovers, again--hell, except for Watkinson, our defenders in the defensive secondary can't even manage to turn around when the ball's in the air, let alone make a play on it for a pick--and it's hardly news but no less frustrating that we have WAY too many guys on defense who take a lot of plays off. Hell, once the offense scored that last TD there late in the 4th, they basically packed it in ENTIRELY, figured they didn't HAVE to work to win. This is despicable and of course unacceptable--and getting to be their reaction to so MANY situations as to have long since sent Muschamp beyond "apoplectic" into a kind of "resigned and determined slow, cold burn" under an otherwise calm exterior (I think he's one of those people who you REALLY need to fear when he gets so pissed that he ISN'T yelling anymore). Behind-the-scenes, I'm telling you, there are a LOT of guys on that defense that are in danger of losing their scholarships, no matter what they think.
(By the way, I'm listening to the RUF post-game call-in show, and man, we have a lot of ignorant-but-angry Gator fans out there...I guess a lot of them are young, new at this, but that isn't true in every case: a number of them sound like old-time fans who demonstrate a remarkable penchant for the obvious and the stupid, and mostly just want to hear themselves spout what probably passes for "insight" in their circle of lobotomized drunkards.)

 

[DRU2012]

Last "Observation" from Master Of The Obvious:
"Isn't it amazing how just WINNING cures ills and puts a positive spin, shines a bright and happy light, on our day?"

 

[DRU2012]

(Geez, I can't LISTEN to this "feed" anymore--who ARE these people?!! Man, I am a Gator thru' and thru', but if it weren't for y'all here at GE, I might be facing a crisis of Gator-identity by now: "Where is my connection to THIS version of Gator Nation?" Oh well, as my Dad used to say, "There is a 5-word proposition that will explain, inform and see you through every situation and encounter during your time here on Planet Earth: SAME PERCENTAGE OF ASSHOLES EVERYWHERE". Nonetheless, it would probably be best that I stop listening here any further...)

 

[miltongator]

Well, looks like we should get bowl eligible this year and we can certainly use the extra practices. Wouldn't it be great to go to SC and upset "The Ole Ball Coach"?!!

 

[miltongator]

By the way, I missed the first few minutes of the game--and tuned in just in time to see them fumble away the first would-be TD! We should have been blowing them OUT in the first half, but instead we scored JUST enough to be able to keep them from coming back to beat us at the end--and we needed every GOOD thing that happened for us to beat them at all. Before we get too celebratory, just remember: this was Vanderbilt, at our place, at Homecoming. I KNEW that opening drive-to-leave-points-on-the-field (one of this squad's specialties, don't ya know?) was a warning that this would be another gut-twister. Vanderbilt has more heart, drive and self-discipline as a team than we do: WE have a collection of under-achieving selfish slackers--and all of our "good ones", the "keepers", are significantly banged up, in varying degrees. Hard to see thru' the storm of bumbling errors and let-downs, but in fact our coaches did a really good job of hiding a lot of those thinning alternatives in the first half (the "pistol" was a good idea on Weis' part--but even with Joyer and Gillisley getting a bit more time out there, we were hampered by, yes, O-line depth, size, and health), but I also didn't see much in the way of adjustment to THEIR adjustments in the 2nd half by Weis, either, which concerned me: of course, Brantley getting hurt again probably curtailed some, maybe a lot of his plans--given our depth and size issues, a rhythm-passing game would have been a way to exploit their "loading up the box" in the 3rd qrtr. No turnovers, again--hell, except for Watkinson, our defenders in the defensive secondary can't even manage to turn around when the ball's in the air, let alone make a play on it for a pick--and it's hardly news but no less frustrating that we have WAY too many guys on defense who take a lot of plays off. Hell, once the offense scored that last TD there late in the 4th, they basically packed it in ENTIRELY, figured they didn't HAVE to work to win. This is despicable and of course unacceptable--and getting to be their reaction to so MANY situations as to have long since sent Muschamp beyond "apoplectic" into a kind of "resigned and determined slow, cold burn" under an otherwise calm exterior (I think he's one of those people who you REALLY need to fear when he gets so pissed that he ISN'T yelling anymore). Behind-the-scenes, I'm telling you, there are a LOT of guys on that defense that are in danger of losing their scholarships, no matter what they think.
(By the way, I'm listening to the RUF post-game call-in show, and man, we have a lot of ignorant-but-angry Gator fans out there...I guess a lot of them are young, new at this, but that isn't true in every case: a number of them sound like old-time fans who demonstrate a remarkable penchant for the obvious and the stupid, and mostly just want to hear themselves spout what probably passes for "insight" in their circle of lobotomized drunkards.)

Lobotomized drunkards you say? Please don't sugar-coat it, tell us how you really feel.

 

[AllieGator]

Woooooooooo Hooooooooooooooo It's a win and I'll take one any way I can get one.

 

[DRU2012]

Just as long as our coaches know better, I suppose that attitude is harmless enough--God knows I feel a WHOLE lot better after a win, even an ugly one, almost bumbled-away by our by-now-habitual combination of carelessness, laziness, and sudden bouts of ineptitude. Hell, I would have GLADLY taken those same kind of wins in our last couple of games (all-too-doable, it was and remains clear)--but we have pretty well played to those same (embarrassing lack of) standards in EVERY game, and probably come away with just about the kind of won-loss record we deserved.
For all the carping with their work by some, the more I watch this Gator squad (we don't have enough "keepers" to make up anything I'd currently describe as a "team"), the more IMPRESSED I am overall by what these COACHES have managed to achieve, to actually accomplish with this poor material in such dire circumstances here this season.

 

[DRU2012]

Lobotomized drunkards you say? Please don't sugar-coat it, tell us how you really feel.

You think maybe I'm being unfair to the lobotomized? After all, they are just the victims of health afflictions that required such a dire operation...yes, maybe that WAS unfair. How about "backwoods kindergarden-graduate drunkards"? Better?
No wait, I've got it: "BRAINLESS backwoods kindergarden-graduate drunkards". Ya gotta get that alliteration working for ya, so it sort of rolls off the "mind's tongue", right?

 

[miltongator]

You think maybe I'm being unfair to the lobotomized? After all, they are just the victims of health afflictions that required such a dire operation...yes, maybe that WAS unfair. How about "backwoods kindergarden-graduate drunkards"? Better?
No wait, I've got it: "BRAINLESS backwoods kindergarden-graduate drunkards". Ya gotta get that alliteration working for ya, so it sort of rolls off the "mind's tongue", right?

If you ask me they are................
Brainless, backwoods, bumbling, bachelor degree holding, befuddled, brain-bisected bums.

 

[miltongator]

Watching the Bama-LSU game. Perhaps we will have a defense as good as either of these teams one day.

Damn the Trent Richardson is a helluva back.

 

[DRU2012]

If you ask me they are................
Brainless, backwoods, bumbling, bachelor degree holding, befuddled, brain-bisected bums.

Nicely done, man. As for "bachelor degree holding", well, maybe (and it does have a ring to it)--but even then, remember: it'd be an FSU-BA...so I return to my epithet, maintaining that "kindergarden-graduate" is just about right REGARDLESS.
(By the way, in line with the very real twisted sickness of your average Nole Troll, I've got one bugging me now on Facebook that just won't let go...inadvertently picked up this bent little dweeb named "Rich Wright" when I posted some general dismissal of those very types, "twisted trolls who have no life", on one of the nominally "Gator-sites" like Gator Bytes or Swamp Things, and this weenie has proceeded to prove every point I've ever made in this regard...I finally responded with a short-but-pointedly-public put-down mocking his whole routine, assuring "Little Dick Wrong" that this would be my sole response, and that THAT, the fact that we really just don't CARE about them, is why, in their lonely obsessiveness and fascination with all-things-Gator, they hate us so...I suppose it is hardly surprising that this has only triggered a string of sickly abusive tirades, personal attacks that document this sociopath's deep-seated personality disorder and many troubling predilections and targets of his widespread hatreds. I thought the average Yahoo commenter was one sick puppie, but the average Seminole blogger may well make them look like Nobel Peace Prize candidates...)

 

[DRU2012]

...Oh, and I almost forgot: I found myself thinking during the Bama/LSU game earlier that (1) These are what SEC Defense is about, and it meant that EITHER of these teams would beat ANY of the supposed "other Top 10 teams" (tonight's game score--and the Tide's Special Teams' poor play in particular--notwithstanding, both of them play just enough offense, each its own version reflecting their coach's personality, interestingly enough, to get the job done playing anyone OUTSIDE the SEC), (2) WE had that kind of defense just a couple of years back, at least in the neighborhood, and were the ones playing in "the Big Game in the SEC, and the Nation" right about now, and (3) That's exactly where Coach Boom is bent on taking us back to, even exceeding those defenses of Spurrier's and Meyer's best teams, but he needs time (and a couple of killer recruiting cycles) to build, train and mold them into something uniquely his own, something we'll be proud of and confident in (which is why I ask that you give him that time, 2 years at LEAST, to begin to show real results, mgator--you may as well: he's not going anywhere before then, no matter WHAT).