Questions About The Season

When will you feel it’s time to not blame everything wrong with this team on the prior HBC?

Was he responsible for 4 very good/great defensive players transferring when Napier was hired?

Do you find ANY fault with the way some of our games have been called? Both on offensive possessions and defensive one?

Just curious.

 

Not sure why we are fighting one another. The defense is bad. There’s no excusing that.

It’s a combo of a young coaching staff (in experience in Toney and in coaching with one another), players not fitting the scheme or not good enough, and some bad luck. I would also add maybe we are giving away our plays with our tells as it seems like too often the opponent knows exactly what we are doing.

Having said all that, I trust Billy is detailed oriented and humble enough to figure it out and address it. Seeing the college football landscape and how defenses in general can’t stop offenses, this staff needs some rope. It’s still too early yet in my opinion to panic. Meyer and Mullen had to make changes and adapt that first year with the roster they inherited. I trust Billy and company will do the same.

Our defense gave up about as many yards to UT as Bama’s vaunted defense did and we kept them to fewer points. That doesn’t make our defense good, it just shows you that defenses are handcuffed across the board and it’s never as good or as bad as it appears.

We go arm-in-arm and sing “in all kinds of weather we’ll all stick together,” yet seem to bail on our players, coaches and fans who don’t see eye-to-eye with us at the first sign of adversity. Not preaching, just observing.

 

When he gets to Year 3, then we can anticipate all things Napier. Game 7 of Year 1 isn't the time...ever.

 

The problem is that most of our defensive players ARE 4 stars and a couple 5 stars (with four 3 stars)...

Miller: ***
Burney: ****
Dean: ****
Summerall: ****
Cox: *****
Hill: ***
Dexter: *****
Torrence: ****
Johnson: ***
Boone: ***
McMillan: ****
Watson: ****
Sapp: ****
Marshall: ****
Wilson: ****
James: *****

This is just a quick look. Yes, many are young and will grow, but we only have three 3-stars among this group of defenders. And yes, I know, star average isn't everything. We have a helluva lot more talent than most of our opponents thus far - including Tennessee. Indeed, IMO, the only team that has more than us is Georgia and possibly Texas A&M. Unless Mullen and Co. are horrible talent evaluators, I have to think there are a lot of talented players out of high school.[/QUOTE]
It’s not just talent ratings, it’s depth and the fact that Mullen failed to develop anyone on defense. That’s why we are having to play so many freshmen.

 

Here's the thing that AB is missing. I have no problem if we are getting our physical-ed on the football field at this time with this group of mostly Mullen players... but that is NOT what I am seeing on the field. We have a schematics problem and our players look confused and even lost in games.

There are massive problems with how we're lining up on plays, especially on 3rd downs, and we have too many blown assignments, which means the players are confused... Why are they confused? Is it that they suddenly forgot how to play the sport/position they've been playing all their lives? I doubt that seriously...

The obvious answer is the schemes and what/how they are teaching them. We need to simplify the schemes or practice more, which is not allowed. These kids do NOT have all day and night to practice and study their schemes like the NFL players do, and that has to be a consideration when we make a schemes for our defense.

The Safeties have to know that their number one priority is to never ever, ever, ever let a receiver get behind the defense. And that is the Safeties job on the football field.

 

Agree. I'm not sure they can beat the cocks (oops) either.

 

The bend but don't break defense is a failed defense that Grantham also used. This is not the person we need as our DC at the flagship University of Florida. He's also the Safeties coach and that is not a compliment to his coaching prowess.

 

Napier is well aware. We whiffed on getting a Co-DC in Knowles, Belk and Lupoi, remember?

 

I’ve pointed out that this team is arguably performing as badly if not worse than the team team that reportedly quit on Mullen last year.

 

I think we can all agree that Grantham's fault, besides some bad ideas of how to teach players how to play his defense, was his lack of creativity, meaning the opposing offensive coaches/QB could easily read what was coming...especially on third down. This may be Toney's blind spot also, just that (as much as we don't like it) it is still premature to anoint him with that moniker. This next game - after a bye week - will be a good data point. Too bad it comes against a VERY good and supposedly motivated/focused opponent.

 

We are at a crossroads for sure. This is when the players quit last year IIRC. Say what you will, but this year’s team is not getting dumb penalties and fighting against one another and giving up on plays.

Remember Cope getting upset when Henderson caught that TD pass that Cope thought was meant for him? Remember Diabate loafing around on the field and not even running to the ball?

Napier has done wonders to create a team-first culture and having players picking each other up. He’s also done wonders in addressing the dumb penalties. Now he needs to address production on the field. It’s bad, but the seeds to success usually includes these moments.

 

His problem just might be his lack of experience as a DC... I hope Napier and the rest of the coaches figure something out, because waiting until next year to "fix" the defense is a nonstarter for me.

 

So don't question Napier's in game calls until year 3 .... Okay

 

He's a much better head coach than Mullen was in that regard. But there are several facets to coaching, and we need some fixes to these glaring deficiencies before this next game. I just hope we don't get blown out on the scoreboard.

But I do know that this team, under Napier, will fight to the end of the game, unlike last year with Mullen.

 

Year 1 (for any new coach): 1) meet and greet, 2) take inventory, 3) install philosophy, 4) re-evaluate inventory, 5) make plans to fill gaps in inventory.

Year 2: 1) collect needed inventory while using what you have to from before. 2) refine actions by players and coaches bases on real results.

Year 3: 1) All of your pieces are in place as none of the bad inertia should be still around.

Sorry this syllabus isn't what you want. Buy more bourbon.

 

We didn’t whiff. Those guys don’t want to be co DC with Toney. We didn’t make a serious attempt

 

Year one making questionable calls game after game should make wise people raise at least an eyebrow.
That’s something a seasoned coach doesn’t do IMHO.

Seems like we got some OJT going on thus far.

 

That is a VERY plausible idea. And it is what it is.

How is bitching going to prevent this?

 

Gator is swerving near the intersection of “coach like I want you to call a game” with second guessing and leveraging expert opinions in after action review of game analysis.

Obviously our defensive performance is ripe for criticism even though the consensus seems to be there is no way what is happening can be accounted for outside of heads rolling.

I can’t recall a single coach immune to criticism all the way back to Doug D. We are at least a vocal bunch. This isnt to say oversight isnt necessary just that we aren’t shy about offering opinions

 

Fine, but again, how does this help, if we are so inclined?