I’ve been critical of Billy and the playcalling… Not the overall scheme, which I think is pretty good, and has potential and works in flashes… But the actual playcalling. Anybody who says “the offense wasn’t the problem “is not looking at the fact that we went down in every single statistical offensive category, or the fact that we average 18 points of game over the last four games Having said that, I’m actually a huge fan of what Napier has done in the off-season with the recruiting, portal and coaching changes. And I’m actually a fan of no changes on the offensive side of the ball from this standpoint… 1. Napier has now shown he’s willing to make drastic changes for things that aren’t working… So maybe there are some changes to playcalling, aggression, tempo, and deep shots. 2. Many of the offensive woes can be chocked up to offensive line Play, talent, and missed assignments. Maybe that gets a little better this year 3. Bringing in a new coordinator means you can negate the advantage We have with a senior quarterback in his second year of the system and DJ having to learn a completely new system than the one he’s been studying for the past year. This now puts players in the second or third year that they’ve been in the system And the staff has all worked together for a couple years, and that could give us an Advantage in a lot of areas, including situational football, game management, and player usage. I would like to see the rout tree get more creative and us be a lot more aggressive early and use more tempo… I think Napier gets lost in analytics way too often Instead of having a feel for the game, and knowing when to be aggressive… But overall, I actually think this was the higher floor move Editors note: completely disregard all previous comments the very first mistake we make vs Miami where I will promptly post about how he should’ve hired an Oc
I agree with most of original post but would have preferred to see a new OC, more aggressive play calling, a better route tree, use of tempo, etc. Napier preferred a more limited approach of tweaking and adjustments because he basically likes where they were most of last year offensively and lays the fault primarily on defense. The question ultimately will boil down to whether the changes made were enough. Many have already made up their mind.
I respectfully disagree. I think this was his last of many opportunities to salvage his tenure at UF and he failed to do so. He was fired from Clemson for being predictable and unimaginative with no feel for the game. He was predictable and unimaginative at UL and got away with it because he out-recruited his Sunbelt peers, something that he won’t be able to do at UF. And thus far he has been predictable and unimaginative with no feel for the game at UF. When it was rumored that he would be the hire at UF I watched a game or two of his at UL……and asked myself if this was what I wanted to see at UF. I voiced my opinion on social media at the time and was assured by an old friend who lives in Louisiana that someday I was going to love this hire. I’m still waiting on that day. From here on out, if not before now his seat will be too hot to attract a top flight play caller. The man has been watching, playing, coaching and thinking about football for thirty plus years, “one more year” isn’t going to change what he is. He had chances to reinvent himself and didn’t take them, so whatever happens good or bad is all on him.
You’re stating that he failed but that has not happened yet. He has made his moves that he will have to live with and it’s about to play out. The time for big offensive changes has probably passed.
The last time I did shrooms I was convinced that "they" were near and my death or incarceration was imminent. Have taken a hard pass since. I prefer to deal with my normal paranoia. No need to enhance.
No...the proof is in the pudding. Every year is different. But looks like Billy is the one that has already made up his mind that he's going to stick to his guns. We'll see the results. This is year three, there are no more excuses. He will live or die by this year's results.
Perhaps I could have worded that differently, what I mean is that he failed to evaluate and make changes in this area, which makes the slope out of this hole steeper and that if he ultimately fails this will be a big part of it. On another point people blast him for being stubborn (as they have other coaches) but perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised as I don’t think you ascend to the top of almost any profession without what other people might be a firm self-belief when it works and stubbornness when it doesn’t. This is part of why I never expected any change in this department.
Get quality staff and players from top to bottom. Overlook no detail. Everyone executes to the best of their ability. Wins follow. It takes more than a minute to remove the stank from the last 3 coaches.
Very nicely done! I agree that an OC would probably have a positive contribution, and, ultimately, make BN a better coach. The problem with BN being the playcaller, it requires a tremendous amount of his focus--which could go to the team as a whole! Unfortunately, we lost out on some good OC's that went to other schools. And, BN is the future of the offense in 2024! The offensive issues have predominantly been either at QB or the OL. In year one, we had a new starting QB; in year two, an OL; and the common denominator of both years was execution. IF the OL could gel, the Gators would have a very decent season. Mertz is an exceptional QB and, with a overperforming OL, he could have a monster year! My other concern, I seriously doubt anyone replaces Ricky Pearsall. Pearsall had the it factor, and we need a WR('s) to significantly step up. Mertz will need protection and excellent route runners to open up the passing game. The run game will excel if the WR's can get separation and make catches. The OL will be the key to offensive production. If the defense can show improvement, we could be in most games. Miami will be a huge test, and to win, the offense will have to fire on all cylinders!!! We are still going to be annihilated by Georgia and Texas. The good thing is that we get Ole Miss at home, BUT, can our offense outperform theirs? To have a respectable season, something unusual will NEED to happen--stellar execution! My heart says maybe, my head says, "AIN'T HAPPENING!!!"
it surprises me that we went down that much in offensive stats. It seemed to me the more he let Graham open it up. Our offense seem to take a step forward. of course… I was watching most of our games through tears…
Look at how many times that poor guy got sacked due to lamentable pass blocking. I’m surprised it took as long as it did for him to get hurt and that it didn’t happen as a result of one of those sacks.
