Today's practice was a decent one. The weather got real nice for about half of it. I went out there today with two people in mind, Patchan because he has been generating a lot of controversy with his switch to DE. The second one was Moody, and our running game in general, which has been getting a lot of talk on the board as well.
First thing I would like to talk about is Mike and Maurkice Pouncey. They are both doing very well, along with our whole line. I really just want to give them a shout out, and just remind everyone how well they are doing. These two were huge gets, as they were originally committed to the SOW. Keep up the good work twins.
Second thing (keeping the OLine trend going) is Kyle Wilson. He along with Barrie came out with the first unit today. I guess both have been doing well and the coaches wanted to reward them. Probably a few other reasons for Wilson being out there as well. James does a really good job of coming off the ball low, with a flat back. He gets a very good push on D linemen. He struggles just a tad getting to the second level, but I think that has more to do with his surgery than his talent level. Very impressed with him today,He even showed a mean streak. He punished some kid to the ground, I think it was Sanders, and they just started going at it. They got up fighting. Keep it up Wilson.
The open field tackling was really entertaining today. I guess Rainey got tired of running around Beal so he just plowed through him. Not really sure how that is possible but I saw it with my own eyes. Mon trucked Finch. BJ broke Doe's ankle once maybe worse than I have ever seen. I was sure that Doe had broken something, it was great!!
Matt Patchan- He did a really good job today on Defense. During the inside drill he manhandled Carl Johnson on an attempted reach block. He just shot off the line and pushed him back, all while keeping an outside shoulder free. It was maybe the strongest move and Dlinemen has made all spring. There seems to be way too many people questioning this move. We all knew coming in that he would be playing some D. The first time that I saw him, I knew 100% that he would play ZERO meaningful snaps for the OL this year. Coupled with the fact that the DL is struggling, I love the move. I think there is a great chance that he gets meaningful snaps on D this year. This playing time will be very beneficial to Matt's development. He might just become a great Defensive player, who knows?? However, I am with a lot of you when thinking that after about 2 more summers in the weightroom he could become a great Offensive Tackle. Will him playing defense now hurt his chances of playing OL in the future?? Absolutely not. This will be the best thing for him. Take Mike Pouncey for example, Did him switching to D in the middle of the year hurt his chances to start on O this year? Absolutely not, as he is know starting. Matt is not going to forget how to play Oline because he switched to D. For those worried about him burning a redshirt, you guys gotta get over it, if he can contribute meaniful minutes on a Dline that is struggling to find itself, I am all for it, and you should be too.
I would now like to tackle a huge issue, and throw in my two cents. Moody and the running attack. Many people are complaining about "why do we not have a 1000 yd rusher......why don't we have a good back" so on a so forth. The first reason for this might just be luck. When Urban first got here he inherited Manson, Wynn, and I guess Skyler Thornton would be third. No big running recruits so the next year Wynn is the man again with Moore as the backup I guess, and then Chevon Walker?(A young BJ also) The next year we get Bo and Rainey, neither contribute, and we get Moore in the main role. These guys don't exactly create fear in the mind of opposing Defenses do they? On top of that we aren't going to get top RB's until we have one have a break out year. On top of that our offense is not exactly best for traditional RB's that come out of H.S. That is reason 1.
Reason 2
Yes, IMO it makes a difference receiving the snap from the QB out of the shotgun all the time. This makes them get it farther back than if the QB were under center, and logic would suggest that this causes them to get to the line slower. Couple that with no lead blocker, and the motion option, and these guys are a little lost. This is why Moody is slowly breaking his way in. I believe the talent is there, but the comfort level is not. Today he broke a tackle at the LOS and then sprinted off tackle and just absolutely laid the wood to Major about 10 yards down field. We don't have another back on our team that is capable of making that play. Does that mean he is the best? NO. KMoore is playing the best right now, with a close Rainey. Moody's ceiling is higher.
Third reason
Percy Harvin, Tim Tebow. We got these guys, and we have to use them. It just lined up that way that the best 2 runners on the team were a QB and and WR. They need their touches. Obviously. They are both better runners than anyone at RB, so this is going to steal carries and make us look like a school that can't produce a RB, when in fact we just have freaks at WR and QB. If any of you could give me a guy that you would rather have the ball fourth and 1 than Tim Tebow, please do so. If you can give me a guy on the team that might make a bigger play than Percy, please do so. These guys are stealing carries and deservingly so.
Four schools were brought up in another post, West Vir, Southern Miss, Tulsa, and Oregon. All run the spread, and all had a productive back. So many of you are screaming right now, WHY NOT US? Well there is a few reasons for this, first off, none of these schools have Percy and none have Tebow. Also, neither of them play in the top conference. We are going against SEC defenses.
West Virginia- I think the only team that ran the ball more than them was Navy, so yea they are gonna have a productive back. We both run the spread, but both run totally different versions of it. They spread you out to make it easier to run. UF fans dig the deep ball too much.
Oregon- They are ranked like 6th in the country in carries per game. Again a different style O in a weaker league.
I am not even going to go into the other 2, as they really play in different leagues. This RB thing will work itself out, there is really no cause for concern, especially with Tim and Percy on the roster. The O is fine, and will continue to be fine, we need to focus more attention on the D and their progression.
I want to call out Carlos Dunlap, he is physically ready to start, and its time he started playing like it. He is a freak athlete.
Funniest said in todays practice,
Snaps continued to be bad, finally Addizago said to Hobbs"We can't play this way. You are F***ing it all up. How can you snap it over his head? He's like 6'11" Cam was in a QB, real funny.
Sorry to be long winded, had a lot to get off my chest.
Go Gators
First thing I would like to talk about is Mike and Maurkice Pouncey. They are both doing very well, along with our whole line. I really just want to give them a shout out, and just remind everyone how well they are doing. These two were huge gets, as they were originally committed to the SOW. Keep up the good work twins.
Second thing (keeping the OLine trend going) is Kyle Wilson. He along with Barrie came out with the first unit today. I guess both have been doing well and the coaches wanted to reward them. Probably a few other reasons for Wilson being out there as well. James does a really good job of coming off the ball low, with a flat back. He gets a very good push on D linemen. He struggles just a tad getting to the second level, but I think that has more to do with his surgery than his talent level. Very impressed with him today,He even showed a mean streak. He punished some kid to the ground, I think it was Sanders, and they just started going at it. They got up fighting. Keep it up Wilson.
The open field tackling was really entertaining today. I guess Rainey got tired of running around Beal so he just plowed through him. Not really sure how that is possible but I saw it with my own eyes. Mon trucked Finch. BJ broke Doe's ankle once maybe worse than I have ever seen. I was sure that Doe had broken something, it was great!!
Matt Patchan- He did a really good job today on Defense. During the inside drill he manhandled Carl Johnson on an attempted reach block. He just shot off the line and pushed him back, all while keeping an outside shoulder free. It was maybe the strongest move and Dlinemen has made all spring. There seems to be way too many people questioning this move. We all knew coming in that he would be playing some D. The first time that I saw him, I knew 100% that he would play ZERO meaningful snaps for the OL this year. Coupled with the fact that the DL is struggling, I love the move. I think there is a great chance that he gets meaningful snaps on D this year. This playing time will be very beneficial to Matt's development. He might just become a great Defensive player, who knows?? However, I am with a lot of you when thinking that after about 2 more summers in the weightroom he could become a great Offensive Tackle. Will him playing defense now hurt his chances of playing OL in the future?? Absolutely not. This will be the best thing for him. Take Mike Pouncey for example, Did him switching to D in the middle of the year hurt his chances to start on O this year? Absolutely not, as he is know starting. Matt is not going to forget how to play Oline because he switched to D. For those worried about him burning a redshirt, you guys gotta get over it, if he can contribute meaniful minutes on a Dline that is struggling to find itself, I am all for it, and you should be too.
I would now like to tackle a huge issue, and throw in my two cents. Moody and the running attack. Many people are complaining about "why do we not have a 1000 yd rusher......why don't we have a good back" so on a so forth. The first reason for this might just be luck. When Urban first got here he inherited Manson, Wynn, and I guess Skyler Thornton would be third. No big running recruits so the next year Wynn is the man again with Moore as the backup I guess, and then Chevon Walker?(A young BJ also) The next year we get Bo and Rainey, neither contribute, and we get Moore in the main role. These guys don't exactly create fear in the mind of opposing Defenses do they? On top of that we aren't going to get top RB's until we have one have a break out year. On top of that our offense is not exactly best for traditional RB's that come out of H.S. That is reason 1.
Reason 2
Yes, IMO it makes a difference receiving the snap from the QB out of the shotgun all the time. This makes them get it farther back than if the QB were under center, and logic would suggest that this causes them to get to the line slower. Couple that with no lead blocker, and the motion option, and these guys are a little lost. This is why Moody is slowly breaking his way in. I believe the talent is there, but the comfort level is not. Today he broke a tackle at the LOS and then sprinted off tackle and just absolutely laid the wood to Major about 10 yards down field. We don't have another back on our team that is capable of making that play. Does that mean he is the best? NO. KMoore is playing the best right now, with a close Rainey. Moody's ceiling is higher.
Third reason
Percy Harvin, Tim Tebow. We got these guys, and we have to use them. It just lined up that way that the best 2 runners on the team were a QB and and WR. They need their touches. Obviously. They are both better runners than anyone at RB, so this is going to steal carries and make us look like a school that can't produce a RB, when in fact we just have freaks at WR and QB. If any of you could give me a guy that you would rather have the ball fourth and 1 than Tim Tebow, please do so. If you can give me a guy on the team that might make a bigger play than Percy, please do so. These guys are stealing carries and deservingly so.
Four schools were brought up in another post, West Vir, Southern Miss, Tulsa, and Oregon. All run the spread, and all had a productive back. So many of you are screaming right now, WHY NOT US? Well there is a few reasons for this, first off, none of these schools have Percy and none have Tebow. Also, neither of them play in the top conference. We are going against SEC defenses.
West Virginia- I think the only team that ran the ball more than them was Navy, so yea they are gonna have a productive back. We both run the spread, but both run totally different versions of it. They spread you out to make it easier to run. UF fans dig the deep ball too much.
Oregon- They are ranked like 6th in the country in carries per game. Again a different style O in a weaker league.
I am not even going to go into the other 2, as they really play in different leagues. This RB thing will work itself out, there is really no cause for concern, especially with Tim and Percy on the roster. The O is fine, and will continue to be fine, we need to focus more attention on the D and their progression.
I want to call out Carlos Dunlap, he is physically ready to start, and its time he started playing like it. He is a freak athlete.
Funniest said in todays practice,
Snaps continued to be bad, finally Addizago said to Hobbs"We can't play this way. You are F***ing it all up. How can you snap it over his head? He's like 6'11" Cam was in a QB, real funny.
Sorry to be long winded, had a lot to get off my chest.
Go Gators
