Doering: “This is a team that’s going to surprise a lot of folks.”

The ones (teams) that lose to the Gators? Lol... The ones we beat? Name 8 teams? I doubt UGA or Texas will be one of the 8, but the rest are doable... especially the teams we play at home.

But two more teams that we might have the biggest problem with... teams I can't think of... Tennessee? We've always found a way to beat them, even in recent years, but that game is in Knoxville and it will be a challenge.

LSU's defense sucks, and they don't have their all world QB, Jaydon Daniels, running loose from their backfield anymore. Their QB, Garrett Nussmeier, does NOT scare me much.

Ole Miss is at home, but they do have one hail of a team. They have a quality QB in Jaxson Dart... he has proven experience in their system, so he's dangerous.

FSU is nowhere near the team they were last year, and we should have beaten them in Gainesville if Mertz had been healthy enough to play. I don't know if they have the right pieces to be anywhere nearly as good as they were last year.

The other teams to watch out for are UCF, Kentucky and A&M. Out of those three teams, A&M possesses the most dangerous talent with skill guys in all positions, especially at QB, with Conner Weigman set to start for them. So it's a good thing that game is in Gainesville. We always seem to play them close, so the edge should go to the home team... Gators.

And yes, the defense will have to play as advertised. In the past, I have simply relied on my Orange and Blue shades to see what I want to see, but this year truly seems different. There are too many players and prognosticators with positive views of our talent, especially on the defense side of the ball, that can make a difference even against the schedule we face.

Ron Roberts addressed those two aspects of the defense specifically that he said must get fixed in order for the Gators' to be competitive on defense. Two aforementioned things (get to the QB and missed tackles)... It's that simple.

On offense... We could surprise everyone and win 8 games with that schedule, if our O-line stays healthy this year. That's the most important part of the offense, and they need to prove they can hold up to the rigors of our crazy difficult schedule. Fix the O-line and I feel good about the rest of that squad.

This will be one of those years that you either feel elated as a Gator football fan or you feel satisfied that we are heading in the right direction. But I doubt you will feel like you did by the end of last year's season. Change is coming, and it will be a surprise either way.

The scoring defense has to get back to our traditional norms...

James Convinced Gators Can Reverse Trend on Defense - Florida Gators

 

More about our defense... linebackers in particular. Addition by subtraction?



Nominated for Comeback Player of the Year, Shemar James is key for Gators in 2024

Florida Football: Tackling Is Key

One of the major narratives for Florida all offseason has been the emphasis on tackling. The Gators had the worst missed tackle rate in the SEC in 2023, and the loss of James didn't help Florida's situation.

James had a missed tackle rate of 10.9% in 2023. Of the 360 linebackers around the country who took at least 300 snaps in 2023, James was in the top third in the country in tackling rate. And of the 50 linebackers who were either a redshirt freshman or a true sophomore who took at least 300 snaps, James was ranked 14th.

Nominated for Comeback Player of the Year, Shemar James is key for Gators in 2024