Only real criticism I have for the coaches is that with 4ish min left and the game out of reach, I'd like to see the backup QB get a few snaps. This is not a "play the backup" post. It's a "we have ZERO experience at the backup and it might be a good idea for him to get some + not get Mertz injured" post.
Shane Matthews (on the radio) specifically mentioned Waites (I think) who came in late and played RT on that long drive to score 20 . . . and he was saying he watched him closely the whole drive and was impressed. Maybe . . .
We just do not have elite speed on defense, nor the lines to beat legit top ten teams. We are a team in the 35-25 rank range. We have to nail the next two recruiting classes to even be able to complete with UGA
Fun part about this game is Gator Nation was actually believing we had a shot (me included) when we were vastly overmatched and most realist fans new this was L when predicting our W/L record this year. It was a fun last few weeks and now we regroup for Arkie!!!! Arkie is the must win and I believe we get it done to get bowl eligible. Studs are on the way. Scared money tried to make money today but we just don’t have the dudes yet. Close, but not there yet. Go Gators!!!
All programs have gone thru this, yes even Bama,..ut has too,uscw, Nebraska..my tosu friend said the fans up there are upset with Day...
I said: Okay, I am not sure where it is in the game when I posted this. I am watching it from a DVR. Anyways, The defense just isn't that good. It is what it is. The offense, God bless their souls, are attempting to get into a race. It is just that there isn't enough combination of running and Mertz' magic to overcome the defense's limitations. Napier IS playing "not scared" and I applaud him. It does look stinky when the "bold play" does not work. But that is the way it is. You look incredible when it works and incompetent when it does not. Does the defense have enough leadership to stop the leaks so that the offense (play calling and Napier's desire to win the damn thing) can overcome the gap? This is my original post prior to the actual game thread. Okay, the original post when the game was on and I was reacting to what I saw and not what I wanted to see. IMO, this was a game we just plainly lost because we did not have enough bodies to compete. It is what it is. I did not see us winning the game, but what I wanted was for UGa to at least sweat some before it was over. I am not sure they sweated much. That is a shame. I do not dispute that the weakest link is the O-line and the close second the D-line. If we had scored enough points, everything was up for discussion. but it just isn't. It is what it is. We HAVE to get stronger on the O-line. That is all there is. I have postulated that 7-5 is the goal this year. We win at home against Arkansas and FSU and we are there. Anything else and we need help. Not that likely. Time to grow. And win against FSU. If they don't then the program is behind schedule to what these fans demand. It is what it is.
Hold this class together and more help will be on the way. Crash the portal for OL upgrades. OL got the grunt knocked out of them today.
Their DB's are coached to crowd receivers with their bodies and hands to the point refs no longer call PI
There is a chasm right now between our experience and talent and theirs. Thanks Dan Mullen and Jim McElwain. It won't be this way forever. We are taking our lumps right now but we will be back.
Let's get real here... there were plenty of unforced errors on the players and coaches to make this score look far worse than it should have been. But if we ever want to sniff the top of the college football world again we need a QB that can run and pass accurately. And we need one that can tell when it's time to run or get rid of the ball. Fortunately we have one the fits the bill in the 2024 class... and then some. We are still the youngest team in the SEC and we only have one full recruiting class from Napier. Next year's class will bring in tons more immediate help. And enough depth to let our coaches force extremely hard practices... to toughen our defense up. With out depth we cannot afford to lose players due to injuries from hard practice sessions.
Not exactly a hardship, enjoy! On this end we are trying to choose between Old Forester Single Barrel Barrel Strength, Knob Creek 12 and Jack Daniels Single Barrel Barrel Proof. Cheers and Go Gators.
I loved how hard we tried even when the game was out of reach. The players kept fighting. I even saw some high fives and smiles on the sidelines. No quit! Guys still having fun! I saw our young defensive coordinator coaching them up hard and boy did the defense respond! No one wanted to give up 50 or more and to my surprise they didn’t! It was all just a bad 6, maybe 7 minute stretch. We then settled down and put up 20 on the number one team in the country. nothing to worry about. Keep recruiting and keep coaching and playing hard!
What upsets me on D is 2 of the pre Napier players #3 and #17 when beat on a play DON"T CHASE. I would bench them immediately. This wasn't the first game nor first time this happened. Contrast that with Montrell's long run where it seemed the whole Mutt team seemed to be full out sprinting to catch him from behind. We need OT's that can block.. Mertz had no time and we couldn't rely on downfield plays after the first drive. I would go with the underclassmen at this point and see if they can do the job.