Post-Game Discussion: Vanderbilt at FLORIDA

You seem pretty hell bent on dismissing this win as a fraud, or something.

For the most part, the areas of concern & complaints from previous games were addressed last night.

Play calling - BN clearly called a pretty solid game offensively. He took some chances. Some worked, some didn’t. Mertz went deep a few times. I don’t know why people keep insisting he didn’t last night, because he did …he just missed on 2 open receivers. We may not like the short-intermediate throw, but it worked. He’s utilizing our speed to push the ball up field (which was another complaint). Trey with 9 touches, Pearsall doing Pearsall things and Arlis with 8 catches. You can’t argue with 495 yards of offense. I don’t care if it is Vandy.

DL not imposing their will?? They stuffed the run all night long (50-something yds) …And Umanmielen was living in the backfield. The back of the defense was vulnerable at times but when you have true freshmen all over the place, a busted coverage is going to happen. But they were making plays. You take away the obvious and ugly face mask on Marshall, then you’ve got 260-ish yds allowed and a really dominant performance on D.

ST, also keeps being brought up, but this was by far their best performance as a unit.

I don’t know how anyone could watch that game and see freshman, after freshman, flying all over the field and not feel some level optimism about this teams future.

 

Mertz is now #6 in SEC QBR. His completion percentage is leading, at 80.00%. #7 in YPA.

Rattler has given up a lot of sacks.

 

Not sure where your take of my take is coming from. Did I make an overture that said we didn't get a win? Really? Keep it simple:

This was Vandy...at home...after a damn bad game against Kentucky...who just got their clocks cleaned by UGa this Saturday. Are you claiming that the team exorcised their demons? REALLY???

And I will give you the same deal I have for other posters: are you prepared for an "oh well, them's the breaks this year" take next week (or against Arkansas or FSU at home later in the season)...as I WILL take along with my usual discernment...if we lose it or them? Or will your rhetoric be less-than-supportive of the current regime?

Let me give you some insight (if you care): posting is fun and a mental exercise and helps to alleviate some pent-up emotions. I am also wary of many posters here (who sort of represent the temperature of the entire fan base) who are tired of the stuck-in-neutral we are in since 2009. And, like last year, when I saw irrational exuberance after the "magical" Utah win I made sure that many of them were sure to realize that we were fortunate to have won (read those post-game threads, it was telling). And then came Kentucky and another round of the "Is Napier Smarter Than a First Grader?" game.

This game is really no different. It was NOT a statement game. It was a win and it helps to get us closer to our realistic goal of 7 wins during the regular season. And so I ask...again..., if a Kentucky game shows up next week, are you going to "embrace" what is the team this year - warts and all - or are you going to come up with more questions you plainly know that a first grader should know but perhaps Napier does not?

And as a last insight, these posts are not just about you, they are also (mainly?) about who peruses the forum and is wanting to get their take from others. I am just wanting them to not take the bait of irrational exuberance. Because the fall is damn hard...and in many instances damn mean and destructive.

Did this post help?

 

I agree. My opinion is that Metz may not have the awareness on where to throw the ball to avoid an intentional grounding penalty or an interception.

 

Exactly! We needed to keep controlling the line of scrimmage like it appeared we were.

 

I had to try and keep up with the game from various bars in New Smyrna last nite. Did we lose anybody to injury? I hear Montrell had a great game — but did ETN play?

 

If you think the vandy game erases the concerns from the Kentucky game…then there is not need for discussion here. This game yesterday at home against vandy is on par with what this team has shown so far. If Kentucky/Utah was below par, yesterday was par. Nothing more to read into it.

 

Trevor did not play. Was announced before the game that he would be sitting out.

 

Is he hurt? Why else would they sit him?

 

Upper body injury. I wonder if he hasn’t been nursing something the last few weeks and that’s the reason he’s had limited snaps.

 

Concussed I believe I heard

 

Game highlights:

 

Damn

 

Vandy was not exactly an "un-loseable" game. The staff and players had to get their head into it, they did, and IMO met fanbase expectations with an impressive win.

Does that translate into a win next week, no of course not, but it does give Gator Nation hope that UF grabs that first road win.

 

Just as with this season, anyone who measures next season's success by our W-L numbers is going to be unimpressed.

But what we have, and will continue to have is a bunch of young up and coming players getting experience playing against some of the better (if not best) teams in the country.

Last week was doubly disappointing, but mostly because too many of our guys weren't even playing up to their known potential. Yesterday was better, we played cleaner, faster, and were approaching a rhythm. Next weekend will be a real test.

Napier's offense certainly is uninspiring, and the worst part is it really wouldn't take much to make it a whole lot better. But I also wonder if he himself is limiting it in order to give all those young kids are more manageable bar to reach.

Maybe (hopefully) his plan includes opening up the offense and a dedicated OC once he thinks the players are better able to handle the tasks.

 

In 2021, we were at 4-2 after stomping Vandy 42-0. They were 2-10 that year and will likely be 2-10 this year. After the Vandy game in 2021, we went 2-5, with a 70-52 win over Samford and a three point win over a 5-7 FSU. And in those remaining games, the only team with more than seven wins was Georgia at 14-1. This year, LSU, Mizzou and FSU look a lot better than they were in 2021, while Georgia and USCe are probably about the same. Not sure how good Arkansas is, but they are MILES ahead of Samford.

We have every right to feel warm and fuzzy watching our dominance over Vandy (it felt GOOD!), but we have to realize reality, that we are still a work in progress. Like all passionate fans, Gator fans are bi-polar, reaching the highest of highs after a comfortable win, followed by the pits of despair after a loss. And when we enter the pits, our first instinct is to drag the head coach and/or the coordinators into the pits with us.

We're going to encounter turbulence this year. Batten down the hatches and ride out the storm...

 

The best part about this offense is that a few things could make it a lot better.

 

Get boardingham and wilson3 more involved next week. Need to get the team up for road games. That’s our biggest problem right now. Great win. Feels good to beat a team were supposed to beat by a decent margin.

 

If I was comparing him to someone with pure speed I would cite Jeff Demps. #8 Percy Harvin was not the same as #1. I'm saying Tre is closer to that #8 than he is to Toney. Also, Tre's frame is smaller so I don't see him ever being #1 Percy.

As i said, Percy was the most electric player I've ever seen in the O and B. I have doubts we will ever have a comparable player of his all around abilities again.