I don't know if Napier is predictable per se, but he calls plays not to lose... which is some cases can be considered predictable. It's frustrating not to get that bomb pass play a few times game. Calling the bomb 5 or 6 times game would be nice. But those behind the line passes are very frustratingly frequent.
Agreed but I do however wonder what his playcalling would look like with the 96 offense at his disposal.
You're certainly not calling a bomb pass if your RB can't protect the quarterback. That is predictable.
If there is too much pressure on Mertz we have to go to DJ. Because he can escape the pocket pressure. Based only on spring game, if it was not touch or bad breath football game, then DJ could have run and kept running all he wanted for over 150 yards in a real game.
Perhaps Mertz should start but he should be on a short leash. Mertz is Mertz and a great team man, a great guy and checks all of Coach Napier’s boxes. Tebow is my favorite Gator or at least triple tie with Danny W. and SOS. That stated, Chris Leak was a four (4) year starting senior when Tebow came in as a freshman. Leak’s competition was SEC and he led the Gators through the upheaval of Zook into the Meyer era. He never had a losing record and finished his last season winning the national championship. Leak’s four (4) year record at Florida was 37-14 and he threw for a career and all-time passing record of 11,213 yards, unlikely to ever be broken. Simply stated, he was never given the credit he deserved. All of that stated, Tebow played a significant role in his true freshman year. He rushed for a TD on his first play against Southern Miss. Tebow led the team in rushing in his next game against UCF. His biggest game was against LSU, where he threw the infamous “jump pass” because LSU doubted his passing ability. Tebow ended the season with the second most rushing yards on the team. His passing statistics were padded by a 10/12 completions for 278.3 yards against a lowly Western Carolina.Tebow was not an accomplished passer his freshman year and required time to develop. DJ Lagway is far advanced when compared to Tebow as a freshman. He is already a two dimensional threat with a gun arm. Unlike Mertz, he would have bulled through and made substantial gains before called down for the touch. His QB presence is dynamic, innate and natural. He reads the field and already uses his eyes at a very high level. He has a natural grasp of RPO and used it very effectively with a true freshman RB, Baugh, who has now announced his presence. Without an effective QB, his presence may not have been as visible. Bottom-line, DJ Lagway must be a significant player for Florida to succeed this year (so was Tebow)! For professional commentary see:
Yes, do you? They never even won a conference championship as I recall. I also remember Coach Spurrier saying more than once that if you’re playing 2 quarterbacks it’s because neither of them is good enough to hold down the starting job (or something to that effect) “Wood-Strock “ didn’t work out well for Don Shula either
No way DJ should be our starting QB. That's not your contention, is it? The difference between an O&B game and SEC defenses attacking, disguising coverages, etc is significant. I'm all for Napier engineering some 3 TD leads so that DJ can practice. That would be a great thing. And if he's that good later in the season, who knows. But let the guy be a FR and learn all he can. Touch football designed to be somewhat simplified and SEC games are just not the same.
I'm not saying I agree with foot, but there were gator fans that were complaining about the 2006 team especially after the Auburn game.
We would have still lost to Miami. Zero doubt about that. It may not have been 31-4, but we would have still lost by probably 17-21. Miami was a great team top to bottom we were a team decimated by 20 lost scholarships in the 85 and 86recruiting classes.
I don't disagree. My position is Gator fans complained as did urban Meyer. The offense moved the ball but struggled to score. It took a combined effort from the defense, special teams and an occasional pinch of Tebow to score points at times. I'd take that offense every year over 90% of the time since 2009 however at the time the offense was still learning the zone blocking scheme along with a pocket passer running a spread.
DJ is not ready to start, but his learning curve will be greatly accelerated, as the 2nd string QB needs to be ready to play at a moments notice. However, he will have a small roll in the offense, because he is 240lb and can run well. This threat alone makes the opposing defense have to spend precious time on it, and takes away practice time from the rest of the offensive. Also, it is very difficult to stop a true dual threat on the goal line or in short yarded situations.
Only a person with the brain of a Newt would rely on film from the Orange and Blue game to draw the ridiculous conclusions you have drawn in this thread.
No team is preparing for DJ Lagway. More likely, they know our staff isn't going to have him ready to play a significant role anyway. DJ's film is the same as Mertz. If DJ plays one week and shows he can run the ball, or that Napier even designed plays that give him an open field to run, they will be prepared to have a spy on him. But that's about all that is necessary. Miami will not be preparing for DJ because they know Napier is risk averse.
No team prepares for anything until it is successful. A 240 lb QB that can run in a short yarded situation adds a blocker and the defense needs to under stand how to stop it without selling out, as he could throw it. This can be a very difficult on the defense and is not solved with a spy.
I believe we would all be thrilled if it happens. I mean, those kind of wrinkles and brinkmanship are what fans want to see. Maybe he's introduced when we have a big lead to get a feel for playing on such a big stage? How awesome would it be to go from a HS environment to SEC football?
I’d think a coach would have to be brain dead to not be prepared for DJ. I think time was spent on Tebow his freshman year also. Sure, put a spy on him but that’s otherwise a ten man defense with multiple different responsibilities. That’s the biggest reason it was so difficult to defend Tebow’s passes. That spy can no longer cover the te which falls to someone else. Nobody is putting a spy on Mertz and that’s a big difference.
I’ll bet Miami fully expects 6-10 runs from DJ in short yardage plays but that pass over the middle splitting the coverage would really throw a kink in things and put them on their heals. Tebow put defenses into single coverage because he would run every time if the defense didn’t come up. Single coverage with no help over the top is big play heaven. I kinda expect to see some of that, not just the obvious 3rd -1 run.
