Emotional argument is to ignore the past two and a half seasons of data and assume a team is making progress because of 2 games. I'm guessing you would say 3 because the Tennessee game is improvement but that's a matter of perspective as the coach made the same organizational mistakes in that game that cost florida points and consequently the game. I don't think you are alone in hoping what we have seen the past few weeks is more due to improvement than it is due to opponent. I'm not arguing one way or the other although I "think" we did something different over the bye week which is paying dividends. I thought we turned a corner last year as well, at least on offense then Mertz got hurt and then we looked like we regressed to start this year. Assuming florida will continue to improve in year 3 under the same coach who has made the same mistakes in multiple games this year as well is optimistic which is fine but it's no less emotional than those who are in wait and see mode while leaning skeptical.
The season so far suggests we haven’t been making progress. We are in the exact same spot as the previous years. We beat bad teams, lose to good teams. You can’t say Tennessee was progress, we had close losses to rank teams in previous years. Speaking about the future is important so the benchmark for success is well defined. If we wait then we can be blinded by emotions. For me the benchmark for progress and hence keeping Napier is this: 0-4 or 1-3 fire 4-0 or 3-1 keep 2-2 depends how we look but likely fire
It could go either way. He wins out, and is retained long term or let go if he is like Ed O. Or Lagway looks great and UF loses anyhow and he proves his ceiling with his hand picked players.
If we go 4-0 or 3-1, DJ lagway will end up being the best freshman quarterback we have ever seen at UF (and maybe anywhere).
I don’t see how recognizing progress is emotional. That doesn’t make a lot of logical sense to me. I didn’t say they are the Urban Meyer Gators, but surely you noticed improvement since the bye week.
I said it's no more emotional than recognizing the data that has been put forth the past two and a half seasons and gauging expectations accordingly. We thought we turned a corner against Tennessee last year. Then south carolina. To be clear I see the improvement the last 3 games and I'm reluctantly hopeful but I also know we have seen flashes the past 2 years only to have the rug pulled out from under. I think the difference is that this year the jump seems to be from the defense which is a first for Napiers tenure so far. My concern is that the competition gets much stiffer now and while we have seen aspects of the defense that have improved, we have also benefitted from some pretty terrible passing attacks during this stretch.
I sure have. That improvement hasn't exactly caused me to think we are in the hunt for a championship, but, it does make watching the games more enjoyable. I'll take it, for now.
Regardless of what happens in the next 5 we need to have our decision on Billy made 11/30. If we end up 6-6, the result of the bowl game cannot determine Billy’s future. If we lose the bowl game and fire him then it’s too late. In my opinion Billy needs to be 7-5 by 11/30 to survive.
These past few games, there has been vast improvement. We seem to have a functioning D with players playing fast and hard for the first time since Mullen's next to last year. We have a QB who can stretch the field on a consistent basis.. Even AR was not that guy, but surely EJ & Mertz weren't. Our OL seems to have jelled. I can't remember when was the last time our OL was playing well. These next 4 games may or man not confirm whether what we have seen are real permanent improvements, and not necessarily by running the table. I myself look forward to the games and i think the questions about CBN will probably be answered before F$U.
I think he has to win one of the next four to have a prayer. We could lose the next four and we could blow out FSU 60-0 and he's still a goner.
Our 2 conference wins are vs teams that are a combined 1-10 in SEC play. I think reality is gonna hit like a truck next Saturday.
Not just the OL, but the entire team is playing better. I’m not sold on CBN, but I can be. I feel we can be competitive against Georgia and Texas so…
Yep. The teams we have lost to this year are a collective 21-2 and were ranked 6th, 7th, and 14th before this week. And, we still have to play the 2nd, 5th, and 18th ranked teams. If we were to pull a major miracle and squeak by Georgia (not saying we will), we would definitely edge into the Top 25.
I agree, our losses are to high-end teams. Our wins: aren't. For me, I'm not counting the absolute W-L number. Let's say we lose all of the next 4 in triple overtime on controversial ref calls. Matters.
It would be interesting to see people cite the specific reasons why the programs we lost to are coached by coaches at the same point of their coaching processes or earlier on as in the case of aTm as Napier and why they haven't struggled to get to where they are at. Not to beat a dead horse but these strong teams were in the same position we were in 3 years prior and yet there seems to be no regard for this. It might be looked on differently if the losses were to well established programs like Bama, Georgia etc but here we are. Genuine question. Not a loaded jab.
