Post-Game Discussion: Vanderbilt at FLORIDA

They were plenty involved. Just keep it that way.

 

He has more footbal agility and movement than Demps to me. Demps was almost solely predicated on speed. I think more like Toney but a better receiver early on.

 

The scoring was the big surprise for me yesterday. That and the use of Boardingham. I’ve been waiting for him to have a game like yesterday.

All I was hoping for was cleaner execution and getting out of the game healthy. I thought we got things going after the slow start.

I do think BN did a better job yesterday with the offensive personnel grouping, especially with a patch work O-Line. Still hoping for more “ chunk plays “. We’re not always going to be able to sustain long, multi play drives down the field.

Now, let’s try and take this same show on the road.

 

Or perhaps he is what he always has been, a QB with a limited skill set whose strengths dovetail nicely with Napier’s pedestrian, risk averse offense. After all, Anthony Richardson, a top draft pick and a starting NFL QB that people talk about like he is a generational talent certainly didn’t look it under Napier.

 

Troll alert

 

AR isn’t anywhere near being a generational anything. He has the physical ability to do so. Qb is 90% mental and that’s why Brady is the goat. Brady has almost nothing physically compared to AR. Mertz is head and shoulders better than he was previously and the staff should be credited for that. They aren’t trying to make him do things he’s not capable of. Maybe he improves in the system as the system around him improves over the next 1 1/2 seasons. We have a legit tightens possibly. Things like this help Mertz and the staff .

 

Yep, good point - I suppose that’s another viable scenario. But AR couldn’t routinely make those risk averse, pedestrian passes last year, which doesn’t add up to him being a generational talent from my perspective.

 

The problem with Richardson, as he’s not a very good quarterback.

 

I agree with that, hence “people talk about like……”. I’m not one of those people. My point is Napier didn’t do anything radically different with a completely different type of QB under center. Richardson hit on more of the few deep passes that Napier called and missed a LOT more of the easy ones Mertz completes. That coupled with the fact that AR could turn nothing into a forty yard gain with his legs could account for the difference between the two.

 

Having Wilson back and Boardingham have the game he had were big plusses that we really needed.

 

Say what you will about Mertz but that kid is a helluva competitor and tough as nails. While his skill set isn’t as high as others the kid gives 100% to his teammates and takes shots that would sideline more so called talented

 

Agree wholeheartedly. My point is more about how he fits into the existing offensive philosophy rather than a critique of Mertz himself.

 

Okay, here comes the old "razzle dazzle."

Mertz is quite a good QB...when he has a capable running game, dynamic play calling, and an O-line that can hold up.


Did you catch the "razzle dazzle"?

 

Perhaps it’s not that he doesn’t fit into Napier’ offensive philosophy but the other way around. Billy is aware of his quarterbacks limitations and strengths and is adjusting his play calling. Maybe I’m naive but it’ll be interesting to see how it evolves when Lagway arrives

 

Yes, maybe I did a poor job of making my point. I was saying that he DOES fit with Napier’s tendencies and that Napier hasn’t done anything drastically different from last year.

 

Love 14 and 18 back at safety as well too.

this was a win they needed and while it was closer for longer than i expected, i’m glad we were able to get the reserves in. Billy called a solid game imo.

 

Any snatch sightings today?

 

In many instances, the Mertz bashing comes across as a thinly veiled, backdoor attack on BN and the current state of the rebuild/program. FTR, AR is a fabulous athlete, and by all accounts a very fine fellow. However, he has not yet demonstrated the ability to; lead a team through any adversity whatsoever, complete short and intermediate passes at anything like a competent level, read defenses reasonably well or make the team's success his primary objective. IMO, that particular set of deficiencies is not indicative of a generational QB talent. Hopefully, AR will eventually grow into his awesome physical gifts and become the QB some here, and elsewhere, already give him credit for being. But at this point, he's not even close to being a "generational QB talent." Not hating on AR at all, just calling BS on the over-the-top AR "worship" and the duplicity/wrong-headedness of some of the more virulent Mertz /BN haters among us. End or rant...for now.

 

Those are absolutely words to live by. Thank you.