Would Lagway change the outlook?

Brady just won a Super Bowl a minute ago. Great passers will alway win and great runners who aren’t great passers will always be 10-6 playoff fodder.

 

Yep, same line play for the last 2+ years. And this was our “best” oline since BN got here. His words.

SMFH.

So sad it’s almost funny. What else are we to do as fans…

 

He’s getting fired. We can sit back and hope the best for our boys and don’t make it worse than it has to be.

 

Mertz telegraphing all day was one of the biggest shocks. He was confused and off on deep throws. It was a serious regression. The team as a whole looked like they hadn’t practiced. I KNOW it’s not talent. I’m watching dudes that have transferred have big games elsewhere. It’s the overall feel of how Billy coaches. Players are thinking way too much. Billy has gotten everyone bogged down in process and attention to detail and sucked any kind of emotion and tempo out of how we play.
The ONLY way we save anything from this season is - Billy gives total control of the offense to Callaway and says “run 4-5 wide, spread it out to create running lanes and let DJ rip”
That’s the answer. It’s obvious. It will inject fire and life into both sides of the ball including the crowd. If we can score 35-45 we have a shot at least to give our defense something to hang their hat on. Defensive players have GOT to be sick of seeing our offense which is clearly led by our punter

 

That's the point... WE DON'T HAVE HIS LINE....

 

I suspect his issues had more to do with the surrounding offense being just as bad as it is now. No line, no blocking, no receivers open, etc... He had to carry the entire offense.

 

Any kid willing to sign with Billy needs to have his head examined.

 

You really don't know much about Lagway if you think he is a one trick pony.

I said this in post I made yesterday. He's elite. He makes quick decisions, he gets the ball out fast and at speed, he's capable of taking the top off the defense with little time to play. He can be a very mobile quarterback without us having to rely upon him to be the main yardage gainer on the ground.

Everybody's identified all of the failings. We have what appears to be an unimproved defense, although the linebacker tackling look better, and and even worse OL than last year.

The exact way that you help a team with those problems is to have a quarterback who is mobile to avoid pressure and can get rid of the ball quickly and threaten to take the top off the defense at any time.

We have that in Lagway. He's a weapon that we need to use. He may be the only thing we have the could get Napier to change his system. It appears that Callaway is the one calling the plays for lagway so maybe that will continue to work.

I personally don't ascribe to the philosophy of not playing a great player because you think they might get hurt. He might get hurt. This is football. I also do not ascribe to the philosophy of let's not use our best weapon because it might somehow help keep a bad coach around.

I get it that what we saw from him may have been simply because of the situation and how Miami was playing defense. But I don't think so.

Let's see what we can do with lagway for the next two games (which is likely how long Mertz is out).

I think we should play lagway, the excuses and what ifs be damned. We are here to play football let's try to win.

 

Change the outlook? Absolutely.

Change the outcome? Unlikely.

We won 11 games in 2012 with a similar boring vanilla offense, and an otherworldly defense.

Nothing changes until the defense gets fixed.

 

I apologize that my "one trick poney" comment gave you the wrong impression.

I should of added to that comment that at this time there is not enough talent/skill with the players on the team and coaching on the team. I truely believe that Lagway is everything (and more) that you said about him.

The truth in this subject is that Lagwayis one player He, by himself will bust a play open every now and then. However, he (and no one else can) do it for an entire game.

So basically at this time (with Mertz being out) that Gator offense is a one trick poney with Lagway being that poney.

A super player (like Lagway) needs a team with blocking (which went extent a few years ago). He also needs a REAL OFFENSIVE SCHEME which Napier is incapable of implementing and running.

As for your comment about "not playing a player because he might get hurt". Please note that Mertz's last two games, he left the field due to injury. Those two injuries were in plays were the Gator O-line failed to block (a usual occurrence in the past three seasons).

In my opinon, exposing any Gator quarterback to the dangers that this O-line presents is coaching malpractice.

I suggest that you take a look at the video where Mertz got clocked. The Gators Right Tackle and Left Guard, barely touched the two Miami defenders that got to Mertz. They backpeddled, failed to initiate and maintain contact. All they need were capes so they could do an Ole, like Spanish Bull Fighters do when the let the bull charge past them.

 

The game against Miami wasn’t lost on Saturday, it was lost during the offseason.

You could just tell Miami was the physically superior team from the first two possessions of the game. For that reason, I’m less inclined to think personnel or who calls the plays will fix the situation. This team is not physically prepared to compete at a high level, and I don’t think that sort of thing is fixed during the season.

We can try to improve things here and there. But I didn’t see how Napier could dig himself out of the hole before the season. I definitely can’t see it now. While it’s possible a change in play caller or playing Lagway improves things, I doubt it makes the difference between a losing team and a winning team.

 

I don’t want to hear another coach expressing confidence in either side of the line of scrimmage for a long time.

They either need to be told “not good enough” a whole lot more during the offseason or we need to recruit better on that front. But I don’t think it’s just a talent thing on both lines of scrimmage. We play Kentucky and they look better than us up front. It’s a program issue and a preparation issue.

 

Lagway’s passing is way more advanced than ARs at the same age, it’s not even comparable. This kid has elite passing ability and I can’t wait to watch him develop.

 

DJ has elite potential, but he needs a lot more experience. Tebow was the greatest offensive force UF ever had, but he wouldn't have done much if he was thrown into the fire, even with a much better 2006 OL. The way Meyer groomed Tebow was masterful.

 

Part of Napiers problem I think is that he sees ONLY micro details. He thinks we are a play or two or assignment or 2 away from being there and the team is convinced of that. Rather than seeing the overall scheme and feel and flow of the game.
In that way, getting blown out by Miami may be the best thing that could’ve happened. This wasn’t Mizzou or Arkansas where you were a play or two away… there was an ocean of difference in HOW Miami played. Maybe nape says “ok -give up control”?

 

"Good teams win close games, great teams don't have close games."

 

Let DJ start the next couple of games with Callaway in the booth calling the plays..and see how it pans out. Can’t get any worse..

 

Gonna get DJ as Mertz is out at least 1 game.

As for changing play caller.. Good luck on that no signs that BN has any desire to do that.

At least when we had HBC /OC that thought they were the best play caller in the room they were right.

 

Gotcha.

So we forfeit the rest of the games then right? I mean that's what's you are advocating in essence.

Or do you mean its ok for Mertz to get hurt a 3rd time? The 3rd string QB? But not DJ?