Obviously, if we had the right guy, Billy would have to collaborate WITH him....whatever that may consist of. To your point though - a good head coach understands the value of delegating to his staff. I go back to how on offense we ended the first half against Ole Miss. It was like a Chinese Fire Drill. The guy needs help!
I must admit, I had not done a deep dive into D.J. Lagway's stats. So I see why people would say it's the defense. Some interesting numbers for Lagway: A TD:INT ratio of 9:6 93rd in the nation in completion percentage QBR is hovering around 60ish
I'm going a little out of the box....to me what saved the season is simply the team never, ever quit. They kept fighting and playing hard and eventually some younger guys developed, some things fell their way, and they finally got some momentum. It's tough to keep a struggling team together under any circumstance, but in today's NIL/portal/social media world it is virtually impossible. To have done this at the fishbowl of UF football is beyond belief. I credit both the staff and the players/team leaders....it's an incredible feat.
I would like to see a breakdown in average yards per rush when Lagway is at QB vs. when he's not. Go GATORS! ,WESGATORS
Voted defense as it was the closest option to team attitude, apkgator captured it much better than I would have
If I can be honest here, I still think we need to figure out more quick passing plays so that DJ and the O-line are not put under so much stress all the time. When we came out in the second half, we tried to pass the ball down field, but Ole Miss decided to pressure DJ, and he got sacked at least 3 times. The fact that we spent a whole quarter on what resulted in like a 47 or so total yards offensive output... for the entire 3rd quarter makes my point for quicker developing plays. We need quick plays, so there is room for the offense to grow and get better. I don't think much will change in these last two games, but I would love for Napier to get an OC that has tons of experience and knows great quick pass plays and how to use them. This is a friendly critique, so don't think that I'm mad or angry at our team or coaches. I am not... I'm just pointing out where we need to improve to make the Gators a better team. The defense is on the way to becoming lethal. One more year in AA and RR's system with more added talent, and we can become one of the best defense in the nation next year. Let's just hope we spend all summer long training like we did during that first bye week... Something changed during that first bye week that changed the defense for the better. The special teams are getting better, and that's because we have real talent back there on kicks and punts. I think they are on the right track to get even better. So, I give all the coaches involved credit for making the improvements, and I hope they continue to improve. So, if we can add the quick pass plays (quick hitters) on offense and this team can be one of the better teams in the nation next year. I'd like to see SOS and Napier spend a bit more time together this off season.
DJ’s quick healing hamstring. That’s a bit tongue in cheek, but if Lagway had been done for the year like it appeared in Jax, things would be ugly right now.
This where stats are just numbers. At least one INT was a tipped ball, and two were on misreads of the LB drops into the passing lanes, IOW expected Freshman mistakes. At least he doesn’t just heave to ball up when he’s trying to make a comeback like a certain visiting QB did last Saturday.
DEFENSE! Finally have all 3 phases working together. Who would have bet on 16 and 17 points given up against the last 2 games against ranked teams? Even though we're injured and still a bit uneven, we've played like a Gator defense is supposed to play. Give Lagway time to develop and more time in the pocket and we will score a lot. We have good skill players and will add some more. We are a great Oline away from dominating. The opposition may know what we're going to do but we will be able to do it anyway. There will be less bumbling and more confident starts to games and 2nd halves. The only question is when Lagway will have full command. I'm betting on mid year. He's about a half year ahead of schedule because of having to take over QB1 this year. Meanwhile the defense will improve and help win us some games. Beating fsu then Miami will be cathartic.
I’ll take those stats and his ability to shrug off multiple muggings and still make key throws that result in first downs. Don’t forget he was asked to stay in the pocket due to the recent injury which has sped up his growth, IMO. He’s a baller and players know this.
I think it was the realization that certain people need to play more on D. Then, some of those players started playing like you CANT take them out/I’m not losing my job. I know we got bit with some injuries so as someone said before, maybe it’s not being able/having to play all the different guys. On offense, you simply have to admit that DJ was an X-factor whether he played good or not. Defenses can not sell out on the run anymore because all it takes is one pass to flip the field now. I still think we could have made the Texas game a better one if we had him that game. I don’t dare go back and rewatch the game, but I think our D was playing decent in the beginning but once you realize your offense isn’t moving the ball at all, there is only so much they can do.
C'mon, there is only one real answer: Napier perused Swamp Gas and WE are the reason for the turnaround. It took him almost 3 years to get on the forum. You are most sincerely welcome.
We will never know that for sure. But I agree with you that Lagway has that seismic effect on the whole team. During his recruitment I knew this cat was different. He was easily the biggest pick up we’ve had since Tebow. A high character, humble guy that others would follow. A mountain of talent that is completely bought into his coach and the university.
