Post-Game Discussion: FLORIDA at Missouri

I guess I’m not understanding this part of your post. . . Or what it is referencing.

 

You are misinterpreting. We were never going to pass on those plays that far down into the red zone. Remember the last TD we had? The 9 yard ETN run? That is the spread formation we are talking about. No pass, but the threat is there that they aren't fully expecting run. We burned them on those and then abandoned it at the end.

 

Not directed at you, should have just let it rest. Appreciate our good discussion even if we may not agree.

 

ok. And don’t you think the mizzou defensive coaches knew this would be the prevailing wisdom, and defended accordingly? I just don’t think we were going to throw a formation out there in which they were gonna think - “uh oh… here comes a pass”.
The entire world knew we weren’t passing, and so the formations changed on both sides. Any attempt to run out of any spread formation would have been blown up equally fast, if not faster.
That’s just my opinion.

 

Again… if you and I know we are “NEVER” going to pass in that situation… why would you think the mizzou coaches would not recognize the same? They aren’t gonna be fooled by a formation. As you said… in THAT situation we are NOT PASSING… which is why THAT situation is not comparable to play calls earlier in the game where we MIGHT have passed.

And so that’s kinda my point. Running formations that worked bc of the threat of a pass will not work when there is not real threat of a pass. And having conceded “no threat”, we have to concede those formations won’t work the same as they had earlier. Thus different formations.

 

Mike Leach, RIP, would have been still ripping it. Would you at least agree that if BN was known to have even considered passing in that situation that would have made it more difficult to defend?

 

Sure… I will agree to that! As I said- if someone wants to argue you should be open to passing there… ok. I’d disagree, but at least the formation suggestion would have merit.

So, I’ll end on that common ground. I usually save these late night debates for hoops! Btw… we have a really good basketball team… check em out!


Go Gators!

Brent

 

We can argue over end of game decisions or get mad at ETN for running out of bounds but at the end of the day - this game convinced me more than ever it comes down to talent. Throughout the year I’ve been 70/30 it’s about coaching/talent but after today I’m at 30-70 when it comes to that and why we’re losing. if we have ONE olineman who isn’t a turnstile - Mertz has a pocket, doesn’t have happy feeet, doesn’t have to run, isn’t hurt…. if we have more than 1 DL we get pass rush, if we have a DB who knows how to track a ball or a LB with any weight on him.. etc etc
We need oline, LBS and Dbs… the problem is - if you lose on the field - you can’t get buy in off the field which had always been my concern with CBN slow process oriented strip it down And rebuild operation. Great effort. Team fights. No sigh of major culture issue outside of some on D

 

OK, In the 4th quarter with around 3:00 minutes to go, Max Brown has the Gators marching down the field. With roughly 2:30 on the clock Max rips off that 35 yard run, and it was clear our offense had the momentum. But after Max’s run, Napier calls a run play up the middle and the Mizzo defense stuffs it. Then, second down, Napier calls another run play up the middle and again it’s stuffed. By now I’m screaming at my television. Take a shot at the end zone, run something creative but no, I realize that Napier is calling run plays to set up a field goal. WHAT !!! Max Brown was throwing the ball well and his 35 yard run put us in the red zone, or very close to it. Why weren’t we calling plays to get us into the end zone? Go for the touchdown Billy. At least try. If we weren’t able to make it in you can always kick the field goal. But at least give it a shot. In stead we kick the field goal and Mizzo still has 1:30 left on the clock to score. We let them convert the 17 yard fourth down and that was it. Another game given away that we should have won. Why??

 

Our defense is terrible!

 

Absolutely! Mizzou just made a big play that they probably would not have made more than 25% of the time. If that.

It is the luck of the draw.

Sometimes you get the bear.

Sometimes the bear gets you!

 

Absolutely nothing. It is simply ranting because we lost.

 

It is year two of a complete rebuild.

What do you expect?

 

Have no idea why Napier didn't use his TO right before the 4th and 17 play. That was literally the game right there, and you had to make sure that the D was in position to make the right play. If they get the first down, you had to know the other team is going to win only needing a fg with a great kicker.

So you're saving your TO to ice the kicker when a stop on 4th and 17, and the game is over. If the D were in position, and the D Coordinator makes the right call, you get the big upset. We have to figure out a way to win games, and the Gators always seem to find a way to lose.

 

Napier followed the textbook here - not sure why you're yelling at the television screen when he's coaching like most would coach, like what the analytics indicate, that the a field goal at that range with very little time left on the clock for their offense is a high percentage win. I'm not even sure what exactly you're suggesting with your post as to alternatives because you seem to be on both sides of this issue with having time left and whether that is good or bad. Did you want?
1) Gators keep throwing for endzone until intercepted with our 2nd string QB?
2) Gators score a td and give back the ball with 2+ mins and they just score td and win?
3) Gators keep going for endzone until a turnover on downs, never attempting a field goal?

You just make it sound as if we just would have tried for the endzone (and I must assume you mean pass attempts since you hated the runs) that this would have been successful because of "momentum". Just one series before our QB didn't connect on a hand-off and fumbled the ball! Yes, Max started with a good second series and QB runs, but what makes you think he suddenly was going to do a Mertz-like pass to Pearsall or something in the endzone? What is more likely is we would have tried and failed and you'd be on here screaming "why didn't Napier do what most any coach would do and go for the high-percentage field goal and running down the clock with some run plays to seal the victory?! No way Missouri would have been able to move down the field in that little bit of time, we had the momentum!"

Now maybe I missed something that other posters can bring to my attention, but I simply do not understand you raging at Napier. You seem to state your position with such conviction, like what we're doing with running down clock in that situation is some alien concept in football that only Napier in his stupidity could dream up! However, unless I missed some major screw-up, the strategy chosen was the higher percentage path to victory. Based on how Missouri moved the ball that last series (with referees helping), they would have punched it in for a touchdown with more time no problem. I believe Napier's decision was 100% the right one. Just unfortunately we weren't able to get enough time off the clock and a combination of a really good offense and referees helping overcame the otherwise higher percentage win strategy.

 

Maybe the sun was in the player's eyes too. Refs must be on the payroll of Missouri with it's historically steeped influence on the sec and south as a whole.

 

Of course not. You're competing for players who either couldn't cut it at another school, aren't good enough to get recruited at Alabama/UGA etc... and/or have attitude issues.

Not gonna win anything substantial with a team of free agents.

Regardless the offense and defense impressed me tonight until that last drive. Really questionable offensive execution followed by giving up 3 chunk passes in a row. Oh well.

 

Okay, moving forward and not beating a dead horse. Nothing of any value in what IS the team. It is what it is.

I said after the LSU game, it is going to be all about "Hail Mary" ball in that Napier is going to have to take chances in order to win games he is not expected to win. And obviously, that means overcoming injuries. This goes down as a really good attempt...overall...in trying to complete the Hail Mary. It just wasn't done well enough.

IMO, the biggest issue, and it is hindsight (sorry, just this time and sort of revisionist history), is that Brown came in in some obvious wins early but all he did was to run a conventional offense (a la Mertz) with mainly handing off to Webb. This game kind of needed a more experienced Brown. It is just that Napier did not see the need. Call it "conservative", call it "scared money", call it "The floor known as Brown just wasn't as level as we demand it to be" but in the end, no good reps, Hail Mary's get MUCH harder.

Back to the game. The defense did about as good as it could. We just don't have enough good pass rushers on the line. That is HUGE for this team. LB isn't thin, it is BARREN. If it were up to me, I would move Castell to OLB for the remainder of the season and bring in another safety. LB just needs more bodies and he can do the job. As I see it, Wingo HAS to be in the middle and can't get hurt. That is who we are today.

Now, one more revisionist history take, albeit this game only. Missouri has a good quality passer, a damn fine rusher who can also catch passes, a REALLY good WR who can make your back 7 look silly, and a couple of "gotcha" receivers just in case. You are playing "Hail Mary" ball and it looks pretty good. What does the "OC" do? He goes "conservative" in order to "burn up Missouri's TOs" (did not work), told Brown "do not lose the game" instead of "go win the game", and in the end, he did not attempt to score a TD...no, not really...and left too much time on the clock for their offense who needed only to kick a FG and they have a DAMN GOOD kicker playing at home in front of a raucous crowd on Senior Day.

Guys and gals, until someone can come up with a better explanation based on some obscure minutia inside the game, Napier coached offense scared down the stretch. Yes, he had to use a backup QB and as I said, "Brown's floor wasn't quite as level has we want" - Napier, he choked on the Hail Mary pass. Heck, I will say he choked in the last 2 minutes of the first half. If he had gotten a FG at the end of the half...or thrown a damn actual "Hail Mary" pass and gotten it completed for a TD or a defensive call to extend the half for one more play, this game could have miraculously been a win and not a "close loss". This ain't horseshoes or hand grenades, this is major college football at the highest levels.

Okay, I lied. I said I would NOT go back to the past to beat a dead horse. Just one more "reminder". If this team, warts and all, with all the injuries to all the players, played THIS kind of game, conservative play calling included, at home against Arkansas in the "Epic Blackout Game", we would NOT be where we are today. END OF CONVERSATION. We would STILL be excited for the future, 6-5 record, a Max Brown jolt of enthusiasm heading down to THE game of the season in FSU who is now as damaged as we are. AND playing the game in front of a rabid and LOUD home crowd. But, well, you all know. One blow to the horse is all I will do.

In summary, and it is more sobering than venting (trust me): tick, tick, tick. The clock IS ticking. Napier is not making friends in high places. As I posted before, I firmly believe he is EXACTLY what the brain trust known as "UF in the S__tshow era of college football" wants in their HC. But, again, if he does not learn to embrace his bold and more intuitive side...if there is one...and put away the "God will get us to the Promised Land, 40 years in the desert" kind of focus, his Jews WILL NOT embrace their Moses. There ARE limits. This is NOT chess.

Now back to seeing whether Napier and Company can get a win against another very good opponent. But again, it is going to be "Hail Mary" ball for the remainder of the season. Will it go into December, or will it end next Saturday?

We shall see. Tick, tick, tick.

 

I'm guessing because an incomplete will stop the clock. So running the ball keeps the clock running and uses up Missouri timeouts...of course running the ball and going out of bounds totally defeats this strategy.

 

Under CBN
Florida is 2-10 in games not in the Swamp