When your offensive line is as bad as ours you seldom have time for deep downfield shots. We don't run much deep downfield or mid range for that matter.
Florida @ KY
- Thread starter Gator Fever
- Start date
You stand back there behind our offensive line and wait for the deep routes to open up....
Dan Mullen names top performing teams of Week 5, includes 2 SEC
Dan Mullen names his top performing teams of Week 5.
www.saturdaydownsouth.com
It's a problem but Mertz is clearly refusing to pull the trigger on some passes to play it safe missing the chances and causing some of his own sacks. Might be Napier in his ear but it's crazy when you watch the film compared to SEC teams that open it up when they can on a defense. Napier is Muschamp 2.0 so far like some posters were warning after looking at his offense at LA. That crap has no chance of getting you playoff spots in the new SEC. I am scared Napier will get away with hiring a like minded OC after the season and we could be in long term trouble again.
It's pretty clear that Kentucky's game plan (and that of all teams we play moving forward) was to stop our running game and force Mertz to beat them. If we're not stretching the field by throwing intermediate passes and some deep balls here and there, the safeties can crowd the line of scrimmage and the linebackers can plug running gaps without much fear of having to drop back into coverage. So what if we complete 75% of our passes if they're all sideways and netting 5 or 6 yards for each completion? On top of that their D-line dominated our offensive line, making it that much harder. It doesn't matter how good our running backs and receivers are if the play calling isn't mixing it up enough to put them in positions to be successful.
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Yep I bet we will pound an outmatched Vandy team and then in our final 6 games no teams will have respect for our downfield passing attack. If we go into SC and play like this again no telling what things will be like by the end of the season. The talent argument goes out the door in the SC, Mizzu and Arkansas games also.
Napier is a run first guy. We saw his boring play calling at LA. It is the same here. Mertz is just running Napier's system...which only works if you have a dominant offensive line. Think about this, AR was a true running QB and our offense still sputtered. So all this yap yap yap about if we had a mobile QB is silly. We had one last year and the offense still struggled most of the year.
Not saying just a mobile QB. You have to make defenses respect us a little passing. They will give that joke line of scrimmage area stuff all day and make you prove you can score TDs doing that mess. Napier's system sucks but Mertz has to let the ball go when those plays do open up down the field. It's not him not seeing the field it's him being nervous to take the chances. Either memories from Wisconsin are haunting him or Napier has him nervous about turning the ball over. Opponents were laughing their butts off after that one QB rating and seeing what our passing actually was against KY.
So according to PFF, if you back out the McNeese St game, our offensive line ranks 103rd in pass blocking. Also according to PFF our QB has an average of 2.3 seconds to get rid of the ball before pressure hits. Think about that for a minute. Mertz has to let the ball go? To who? 2.3 seconds?? Of course teams are going to load the box, with only 2.3 seconds no receiver can get more than 10-15 yards down field. And all of those 3rd and 4th and shorts where we send to guys on a fly and 2 other guys stand 2 yards behind the first down line. With the very poor oline play coupled with the lack of design with play calling it wouldn't matter if Tom Brady were QB.
During the game on Saturday, one of our posters started a thread “Mertz > Leary, IMO”. It’s at 5+ pages and still on the first page of our board.
For the record I think Mertz is a good QB. Leary has not quite lived up to expectations, but when you’re 5-0 some shortcomings can be overlooked. Leary was definitely an upgrade over the other QBs on our roster after Levis graduated so I’m not complaining.
I think Mertz is constrained by the system that Napier runs; that, and the issues with your OL. UK did a great job of containing the run game on Saturday and that was difference.
For the record I think Mertz is a good QB. Leary has not quite lived up to expectations, but when you’re 5-0 some shortcomings can be overlooked. Leary was definitely an upgrade over the other QBs on our roster after Levis graduated so I’m not complaining.
I think Mertz is constrained by the system that Napier runs; that, and the issues with your OL. UK did a great job of containing the run game on Saturday and that was difference.
Leary has looked awful. He was 9 for 20 and 69 yards against Florida. He did have some drops, but he missed several throws. If Cats can't run the ball against some of the better teams on their schedule, they are going to have serious trouble scoring. For some baffling reason we choose to stay in 2 deep with 5/6 DBs on the field. Gator D did a better job in 2nd half, but only because the tackling was a little better. So far in 18 games I have yet to see Napier make good in game adjustments.
Leary has had some really great throws and some really bad ones too, but the issue is he literally leads the country in dropped passes. He's over 11% right now. For some reason, our 2 blue chip true sophomore receivers that played so well for us last season as freshmen, are both going through a major sophomore slump. They have absolutely killed his stats. Take those drops away and he's been pretty good actually.
I also want to say, because I've seen some chatter on here, you guys are gonna destroy Vandy. UK won 45-28 in Nashville, but 7 of Vandy's points came late in the 4th after we had our 2nd and some 3rd string defenders in, and another 7 came on a possession right before halftime in which we completely fell asleep with a huge lead. They were never really competitive with us in reality.
They will have no answer for your run game or D-Line.
I know their QB rankings are a joke in some cases just like the older QBR. They were telling us Emory Jones was a good passer into the 2021 season and a 2nd round NFL talent when we could see he had big time limitations. They also said Franks was good under pressure some weeks because he ran around and then completed 2 to 3 yard passes to wide open guys.
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It's pretty much the standard for ratings these days. Our Oline is awful. You can see it for your own eyes. I was very much anti Mertz at the beginning of the season but after 5 games he's clearly not the problem. Oline and poor play design are our 2 biggest issues. Everyone sees it except those with an agenda.
We are not a very good football team. Especially on the road. Just like last year, Napier will find a really good win or two, but will generally crap the bed against teams that are close in talent. Yes, Vandy will give us trouble just like last year.
The Gators have failed to display significant improvement in the areas they have underwhelmed this season, and those were faults combined on Saturday en route to a bad loss.
The Gators' defensive rejuvenation of 2023 came to a screeching halt on Saturday. After ranking No. 5 nationally in total yards (244.8), No. 15 in rushing yards (82) and No.18 in points (13.5) allowed per game entering Week 5, Florida was decimated in each category by Kentucky, giving up 398 total yards — including a whopping 329 on the ground — and 33 points. PFF knocked Florida for 19 missed tackles in total vs kensucky. And 189 of Davis' 280 rushing yards gained were generated after contact.
The other side of that coin is this: Similar to Florida's Week 1 showing against Utah, its Billy-Graham offense is currently incapable of managing a legitimate comeback, even with solid prayers from fans.....
Although Graham Mertz has completed passes at a high rate with Florida, the scouting report of his 32 starts at Wisconsin suggested he is more of a game-managing style of quarterback rather than one who can take matters into his own hands to win games for his team. Much has remained the same with the Gators, and Saturday's result was a perfect example. Mertz's 7.3-yard average depth of target in the game (per PFF), despite Florida being down on the scoreboard from nearly the beginning, prevented UF from moving the ball down the field. His season-long a DoT is 6.6 yards, the worst among SEC starting passers. Still, Napier attempts to rely on what isn't working.
Monday morning after presser:
Reporter: The offense right now, it's last in the SEC in scoring points, last on third-down conversions. (the iG: The team is 3-2, with 2 of those wins being vs McNeese & Charlotte....)
Billy said; "and we need to coach better, and we need to play better. I don't think we quite had the same edge (vs UK) we had when we played at Tennessee." (At Tennis-sea?? That was a home game Billy)
-----
Well, it seems that Billy is not the only one responsible for the shitty play calls....
Reporter: If he (Mertz) doesn't like the look you're in, does he have the ability to call an audible?
BILLY NAPIER: 100 percent. (the iG: I guess it's a good thing that they have a highly experienced 70+ completion% loser, to make those audible adjustments to Billy sophisticated and highly complex offense and game plans)
-----
Billy's offense is run heavy, backed up by solid defense.
So how's that going? -- UF 3.41 YPC 14 Pts -- UK 9.2 YPC 33 Pts -- "We turned the ball over 4 times if you count the turnover on downs and the penalty and special teams. They turned it over zero.
We lost the explosive battle.
We lost the hidden yardage battle,
and we lost the penalty battle."
Billy said; "You lose as a result of not playing winning football." (now there's a post game coach's analysis for the ages)
Constant Billy refrain: "I don't necessarily think we lack physicality. Nobody asked that after we played Tennessee."
Billy, the iG would like to inform you that 1 quality win per season ain't gonna make it here.... Billy just needs to put this on a Looper, and then he can skip post loss interviews...
"BILLY NAPIER: I think we're very inconsistent. I think we have individual players that play inconsistent, and ultimately offense is a precise game. It requires 11 players to execute."
"And we need to coach better, and we need to play better. There are certain areas on our team where we can do better, and I think ultimately the back half of the year we're hopeful that we can improve."
https://www.si.com/college/florida/...eek-similar-mistakes-how-correctable-are-they
https://www.si.com/college/florida/...pier-said-upon-review-kentucky-loss-struggles
The Gators' defensive rejuvenation of 2023 came to a screeching halt on Saturday. After ranking No. 5 nationally in total yards (244.8), No. 15 in rushing yards (82) and No.18 in points (13.5) allowed per game entering Week 5, Florida was decimated in each category by Kentucky, giving up 398 total yards — including a whopping 329 on the ground — and 33 points. PFF knocked Florida for 19 missed tackles in total vs kensucky. And 189 of Davis' 280 rushing yards gained were generated after contact.
The other side of that coin is this: Similar to Florida's Week 1 showing against Utah, its Billy-Graham offense is currently incapable of managing a legitimate comeback, even with solid prayers from fans.....
Although Graham Mertz has completed passes at a high rate with Florida, the scouting report of his 32 starts at Wisconsin suggested he is more of a game-managing style of quarterback rather than one who can take matters into his own hands to win games for his team. Much has remained the same with the Gators, and Saturday's result was a perfect example. Mertz's 7.3-yard average depth of target in the game (per PFF), despite Florida being down on the scoreboard from nearly the beginning, prevented UF from moving the ball down the field. His season-long a DoT is 6.6 yards, the worst among SEC starting passers. Still, Napier attempts to rely on what isn't working.
Monday morning after presser:
Reporter: The offense right now, it's last in the SEC in scoring points, last on third-down conversions. (the iG: The team is 3-2, with 2 of those wins being vs McNeese & Charlotte....)
Billy said; "and we need to coach better, and we need to play better. I don't think we quite had the same edge (vs UK) we had when we played at Tennessee." (At Tennis-sea?? That was a home game Billy)
-----
Well, it seems that Billy is not the only one responsible for the shitty play calls....
Reporter: If he (Mertz) doesn't like the look you're in, does he have the ability to call an audible?
BILLY NAPIER: 100 percent. (the iG: I guess it's a good thing that they have a highly experienced 70+ completion% loser, to make those audible adjustments to Billy sophisticated and highly complex offense and game plans)
-----
Billy's offense is run heavy, backed up by solid defense.
So how's that going? -- UF 3.41 YPC 14 Pts -- UK 9.2 YPC 33 Pts -- "We turned the ball over 4 times if you count the turnover on downs and the penalty and special teams. They turned it over zero.
We lost the explosive battle.
We lost the hidden yardage battle,
and we lost the penalty battle."
Billy said; "You lose as a result of not playing winning football." (now there's a post game coach's analysis for the ages)
Constant Billy refrain: "I don't necessarily think we lack physicality. Nobody asked that after we played Tennessee."
Billy, the iG would like to inform you that 1 quality win per season ain't gonna make it here.... Billy just needs to put this on a Looper, and then he can skip post loss interviews...
"BILLY NAPIER: I think we're very inconsistent. I think we have individual players that play inconsistent, and ultimately offense is a precise game. It requires 11 players to execute."
"And we need to coach better, and we need to play better. There are certain areas on our team where we can do better, and I think ultimately the back half of the year we're hopeful that we can improve."
https://www.si.com/college/florida/...eek-similar-mistakes-how-correctable-are-they
https://www.si.com/college/florida/...pier-said-upon-review-kentucky-loss-struggles
Gloom, Despair, Pain and Ag-go-knee........
Thank god for a homecoming game against Candy,,, I'm hoping anyway... 👌
Thank god for a homecoming game against Candy,,, I'm hoping anyway... 👌
Those are probably 2 of the biggest things that make Napier look incompetent. He can't even get the correct number of players on the field week after week and he doesn't even know how to run a 2 minute offense and has no valid answers for why that is the case.
An early turning point in last week's game had to be when the Gators forced a 3-and-out punting situation, only to get called for a 15-yard penalty on the punt; then to have Ray Davis go for 75 yards and a TD on the very next play. (I was in the stadium restroom when all of this happened so I can't comment on the validity of the penalty - LOL).
Assuming this was valid, another untimely special teams snafu by the Gators.
I stepped away during the punt for a snack and wondering what kind of field position we had only to see that joker off to the races.
Personally, I would be shocked if UF doesn’t win by at least 2 touchdowns against Vandy. They got hot at the right time with Mike Wright and Ray Davis last season and caught us both. They have some nice receivers, and Seals is a decent QB, but not much else.
I know this UF team may not be vintage Spurrier/Urban UF, but I still think you guys have some really nice pieces and impressive looking athletes. Vandy, for obvious reasons associated with their admission standards, is at a league of their own at the bottom of the SEC in terms of talent. I just don’t see how they handle your size in the trenches.
They handled us last year in the trenches but somehow Richardson threw for 400 yards on them but we didn't score much. Mizzu passed effectively on them pretty easy on Saturday.
Don’t think we’re allowed…and even if so…it’s only to be used in the case of a true emergency…
Not that the offense was good, but the worst part about Saturdays game was the tackling. Not that they missed tackles but they were scared to get in front of the runner. Granted, the RB made it to the second level untouched with a full head of steam , but damn that was embarrassing. I wouldn't be surprised if teams run out down or throat the rest of the season.
Kentsucky actually has a good team. But their QB is crap. It will be the end of them. Billy should have loaded the box and made him beat them. But alas, he did not. Not sure Billy is SEC caliber.
I watched some earlier KY games and he has been off some but does have a bunch of drops by his WRs.
Kensucky isn't winning any games on the arm of their QB. The only way they had a prayer against UGly was a track meet and they absolutely are not built for that.
I said it earlier in this thread, cat Qb has looked awful. Everyone from here on in will stack the line. cats will lose 2-3 more games, as usual.
We’re getting totally dismantled tonight, and like you guys have pointed out, our QB play has absolutely sucked.
I'd be pissed if I were a Dwag fan listening to the announcers jizzing their pants over the KY RB while Georgia is slapping them around.
Ray Davis is an interesting human interest story. Happy for him to succeed in life with what he’s had to experience. But I understand your point. The announcers have another quarter of air time to fill.
This also brings back memories of the 1994 Citrus Bowl game between Pedo State and Tennessee. As Pedo State continued to hand the Vols asses to them, all the announcers did was praise QB Heath Shuler.
A
Looks like UGA was looking ahead to you guys last week at Auburn.
Rough night for Kentucky fans…
Exposed by UGA and Louisville takes down ND to remain unbeaten…
What a difference a week makes.
Exposed by UGA and Louisville takes down ND to remain unbeaten…
What a difference a week makes.
