You have to admit with the defense Michigan runs and the ST stuff that having weeks to prepare helps the Gators more. Michigan's defense is hard to prepare for in a week with all the blitzing etc.
Michigan's lack of experience going into 2017
- Thread starter Gator Fever
- Start date
You have to admit with the defense Michigan runs and the ST stuff that having weeks to prepare helps the Gators more. Michigan's defense is hard to prepare for in a week with all the blitzing etc.
I guess we shall find out won't we.... Because Michigan also has that same time to study and figure that out.... It works both ways my friend.....
Unless our offense has changed a week is plenty of time to prepare for it. Advantage Gators..
P/FS/QB JohnnyTownsend is not anything close to your average punter, at 6-1 211.
Named a U.S. Army All-American… Won the 2013 Felix “Doc” Blanchard Award, given annually to the top player at the U.S. Army All-America game who best exemplifies the U.S. Army’s high standard of excellence in community service, education and athletic distinction…
Named to the 2012 Florida Class 8A All-State team and played in the Central Florida All-Star Game… Won the 2012 Nick Saban Punting Competition and 2012 Chas Henry All-American Kicking Camp Punting Competition.
Also played free safety and quarterback in high school… Plays on the baseball team at Boone and was an All-Metro performer… Is an Eagle Scout… Member of the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society… Named Boone’s Homecoming King in 2012… Both parents, Clay and Susan Townsend, attended UF… Chose Florida over Ohio State and Alabama.
Career UF - 176 punts for 8,047 yds, 45.7 ave, ZERO Punts Blocked.
Of course SEC teams and FSU ST's never block punts/kicks...
So, put a big rush on every single time, cause he was also a QB in HS and that might actually work out even better for the Gator's than his punting...
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Thank gawd, his younger brother Tommy also attends UF and is his likely replacement in 2018… The two of them could almost be clones when you read their bio's...
Named a U.S. Army All-American… Following his senior season at Boone High School, he was named First Team All-America (Scout.com), All-State (Statewide Sports Writers & FHSCA), All-Central Florida (Orlando Sentinel) and All-District (FHSCA)… Played in the 2014 Central Florida All-Star Game… Garnered Defensive Player of the Week honors from the Orlando Touchdown Club following a two interception performance against Edgewater High School in 2014… Averaged 43.0 yards per punt as a senior… Rated as the No. 1 punter in the country coming out of high school by Kohl’s Kicking and Chris Sailor Kicking… Also played cornerback and quarterback in high school and played baseball for Boone… Is an Eagle Scout… He originally went to Tn (Johnny had UF locked up) and redshirted his Fr year. Then he chose Florida over Baylor and Colorado when he decided to leave the has-beens at tennis-sea...
I feel pretty good about our offense against your defense, since we bring really everybody back, and you are replacing 10 starters.
And yes, I know that you think you have all world talent stepping in, but let me tell you about the Gator defense 2006-2009.
2006 Good enough to win a national title with a pedestrian offense, it all left, mostly to the pros.
2007 Replaced 10 starters, couldn't stop anybody.
2008 Good enough to win a national title, lost a couple guys, but most everybody back.
2009 Good enough to finish #2 behind Bama, it all went to the pros.
My point is, even with NFL talent all over the field, replacing 10 starters led to a sub par defensive year sandwiched between 2 National Titles. With that offense, even a decent defense would have taken us back to the title game, but we didn't even get close.
Hint, hint.
Is bringing back everybody from a truly terrible offense last season a good thing? I mean of course you expect some improvement, but even moderate improvement will still yield a not very good offense.
They tell us about the 2015 Bowl results, but then fail to look at the 2016 results....
Iowa's last 4 games in 2016:
L - Mich 13 - 14 Iowa
L - ILL 0 - 28 Iowa
L - Neb 10 - 40 Iowa
W - UF 30 - 3 Iowa
WTF does that have to do with a comment about Florida's offensive statistics in 2016? And please don't try using a Pick 6 against Iowa as part of your excitement for offense in 2017.
#107 in scoring offense, #116 in total offense, #105 in yards per play, etc. I'm wondering why there'd be much excitement at trotting out the same players that performed that poorly and the same coaches that lead them. That's all. Nothing more to it.
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Cling to that big blow security blanket if you need it to sleep at night.
But your meatchickens won't be playing the UF 2016 game stats...
Now, isn't it amazing that the terrible Gator offense is still playing for a team that over the last 2 seasons has gone 19-8, 13-3 SEC, and 11-1 in the SWAMP, with back to back SECe-C's....
Did your meatchickens at least win their division of the has-been BigTen/12 last year?
You go ahead and concentrate on rankings of teams that don't play 8 SEC defenses yearly and end their regular season against FSU, before playing UA's defense in the SEC-C game. I'll just look at the W/L outcomes of the games...
But tell me, will your meatchickens be playing the Gators 2016 team, or the Gators 2017 team come Sept 2nd?
UM 13 - 14 Iowa (+1)
UF 30 -- 3 Iowa (-27)
As bad as that is, you can't run from the reality of it.
And the Gator defense IS a part of the Gator's offense, or didn't you know that? Just like our ST's kicker is a large part of the offense.
Do you suppose that your offense is going to just march right down the field on the Gator-D and score? The Gator offense is in scoring range when they reach their own 40 yard line. It becomes a pretty much sure thing if they reach your 40...
Well, for the same reason having 10 starters gone means a step back, 10 starters back means a step forward. Where last year you would have had a huge advantage when your D was on the field, it's now no worse than a push, and it may well be advantage Florida.
I read some depth chart stories, you lost 4 starters on the DL, One is back trying to rehab a knee injury, and you are putting a lot of faith in a sophomore with one career sack. Linebackers are a new group, and evidently the defensive backfield is so green it's being called "on the job training". You lost both your kicker and your punter, you have nobody with experience as a returner. On the other side, you lost your starting receivers, your starting tight end, the core of your offensive line, where there are evidently a lot of questions. You are looking to feature a back with 614 career yards and 4 touchdowns. All you really have back is Speight, who is a giant pile of average.
After looking at what you have this year, I don't see how we don't blow your doors off.
Michigan is going to be better than many think despite the youth. That combo of Hurst and Gary on the D line may end up being one of the best in the country this year. They also have some experienced size at LB.
I think this game comes down to whether we can stop them from running the ball right down the middle of our defense. I see a close game no matter who wins.
Jim Harbaugh did well in Year 1 with Jake Rudock, transfer from Iowa. Lost road trip @ Utah in opener. Other wins were @ MD, Minnesota, Rutgers, Indiana (2 OT) and @ PSU (7-6 team).
However, there is no Andrew Luck right now in Ann Arbor and Speight wasn't impressive on road in Iowa City, ahead of broken collarbone. Earlier road trips were @ Rutgers (0-9 in B1G) @ MSU (1-8 in B1G), then losses @ Iowa and @ Ohio State.
There is talent in Ann Arbor. Much of it is young talent ...
Let's not confuse what Michigan could be by the end of the year with what they will be in Game 1.
I agree but where the youth is going to show itself the most is in their secondary. Hopefully we are a lot better suited to take advantage of that this season. Michigan is going to blitz us until they are burned multiple times and probably even after that. Harbaugh seems to get them pretty ready for those opening games as they gave a pretty good Utah team a good fight on the road his first year there and they rolled the cupcake last season.
While it's right to expect some regression from Michigan being the #2 defense nationally last year and it's right to expect some improvement from Florida being the #100+ offense last year, I'm pretty sure that at the end of the year the Michigan D will rank well higher than the Florida O by almost any measure. I mean Michigan will likely still be top 5 or 10 in most categories where as it's hard to see Florida as even being better than average on offense which would still be a massive improvement.
And yes, Michigan lost 4 "starters" in name from the defensive line. However, they return 4 new starters that all had extensive playing time last year. Those 4 starters include 1 guy that would've been a first round pick last year but came back, another than had 5 sacks in only 1/3 of the plays, a NT that Harbaugh rated the 3rd best overall player on the team 2 years ago, and Rashan Gary who might be the most talented defensive lineman in the country. So is that replacing 4 starters? Or is it rolling out a top 5 DL in the country? Both are technically correct IMHO.
If you are so confident of Florida "blowing the doors off" Michigan, I suggest you wager some money on it since bookies disagree with you. I'd hate for you to miss out on such a sure profit.
I suppose last year's matchups of both teams against Iowa is as relevant as the matchups against Florida State of which at least Michigan was a tad more competitive than the Gators. Also seems as relevant as the scoreboard the last several times the 2 schools have faced each other.
I mean since you don't want to run from reality and what not.
I know you don't realize it, but that's about as homerish as it gets.
LG tried to relate the story of the 2007 Florida defense to you and it didn't seem to calm your enthusiasm. Not surprised, you're a fan, it comes with the territory.
I also get the feeling you're a little young.
I'm not the clueless twit on YOUR board, attempting to beg for some attention and validation for my team.
I believe that UF's 2nd half of the season injuries might have contributed to the outcomes of the last 2 games (FSU - UA). I was surprised that the Gators did so well with the young guys vs Iowa. Those same guys that played vs Iowa, will be the ones playing come Sept, along with some pretty good newbees, especially on the interior DL. Slaton 6-4 349 Fr, Campbell 6-3 323 Fr, Conliffe 6-4 312 Fr
The Gators have the #2, #2, & #3 DE's from the last 3 classes ready to go, but also have another DE (Fr All SEC Zuniga) that led the team with 5 sacks but only had 3 starts.
I'm also not the one that claimed a blow-out was coming.
I'm the one that has said that nothing that has come before will guarantee anything for either team in Dallas, yours or ours.
I think that the Gators will win.
You seem to think that your Big Blow will win.
Now isn't that a total surprise for everyone...
I'm not the clueless twit on YOUR board, attempting to beg for some attention and validation for my team.
I believe that UF's 2nd half of the season injuries might have contributed to the outcomes of the last 2 games (FSU - UA). I was surprised that the Gators did so well with the young guys vs Iowa. Those same guys that played vs Iowa, will be the ones playing come Sept, along with some pretty good newbees, especially on the interior DL. Slaton 6-4 349 Fr, Campbell 6-3 323 Fr, Conliffe 6-4 312 Fr
The Gators have the #2, #2, & #3 DE's from the last 3 classes ready to go, but also have another DE (Fr All SEC Zuniga) that led the team with 5 sacks but only had 3 starts.
I'm also not the one that claimed a blow-out was coming.
I'm the one that has said that nothing that has come before will guarantee anything for either team in Dallas, yours or ours.
I think that the Gators will win.
You seem to think that your Big Blow will win.
Now isn't that a total surprise for everyone...
He's just expressing his opinion as a fan.
I don't care what Michigan's defense is like at the end of the year. Only in Game 1.
Note: You need to learn that the Vegas line has nothing to do with which is the better team.
Gawds but you are a tiring bore. Tell him, not me. I don't need nor want any of your condescending tripe on what fanhood is...
See, you've fallen into the same trap Michigan fans are in. They are looking at what their team could become by the end of the year, I'm only looking at week 1. I don't care if their defense could be the nations best by year end, only what it will be in game 1.
I look back to 92, Spur's 3rd year. After an SEC title (stripped) and our first real SEC title, in 92 there was a lot of turnover. A LOT. and while that team finished 9-4, it started 1-2.
If we were playing Michigan in October, I would have an entirely different feel about this game.
I just think Harbaugh will have them ready to go and they will hold up in their front 7. I still think if Franks gets the start we could be in trouble on offense. Not really sure what to think if Zaire starts but I think he could run around and keep more plays alive against their blitzing than Franks could and probably wouldn't have multiple turnovers.
As far as their offense that QB has experince but is no game changer from what I have seen but experience is a good thing to have in an opening game like this. They seem like they might be pretty stout running the ball with Evans at RB. He looks like he has bulked up some and doesn't go down easily. They will really be young at WR but one of those RS freshman was making some nice plays in their spring game. I think our DEs will give them all kinds of fits on passing downs but I hope our D line can hold up the whole game against a pounding rushing attack if it comes down to that.
Ok, I get all that, but so much of defense requires everybody to do their job. A screwup can easily equal a big play.
If I were coaching the M defense, I would play back and let us have a few yards and hope we make enough mistakes to kill our own drives. In that case we need to move the ball and play field position with maybe the best FG kicker in the country, while they trot out what will very likely be a true freshman for FG's. I like our chances in a FG game.
If they come out blitz happy, I see us, with our pretty experienced line, giving enough protection to find open guys. Also, if they play aggressive man (which is the norm when you play pressure defense), I see our more experienced WR's getting open deep. I mean they have an entirely new starting backfield, and it's so young their coaches have called it "on the job training". If this were UF with an entirely new backfield, we would be nervous as hell. I don't see why we don't look at this as a huge advantage for us.
I see their safeties taking bad angles, I see their corners biting on double moves, I see their LB's filling the wrong gaps, so on and so forth.
Like I said, this is game 1. I see M making enough mistakes to lose the game.
I hope it plays out that way but with how Michigan blitzes even if the blocking holds up your QB has to be a good quick decision maker. Scarlett hopefully has finally learned to block or that could be a huge issue also.
They have some new faces obviously but I expect the same type blitzing defense they ran last season. I did watch that FSU bowl game and they gave that QB all kinds of fits despite giving up some really big plays. I think Cook was most of their offense rushing and even a lot of it in passing where he used his football speed to make some huge plays that wouldn't have happened otherwise. The FSU QB was doing nothing on most plays completing only like a third of his passes but the huge plays allowed them to win it at the very end. This could be a very scary game if our QB can't find the open receiver real quickly while being blitzed.
I would love us to blow them out however.
I hope it plays out that way but with how Michigan blitzes even if the blocking holds up your QB has to be a good quick decision maker. Scarlett hopefully has finally learned to block or that could be a huge issue also.
They have some new faces obviously but I expect the same type blitzing defense they ran last season. I did watch that FSU bowl game and they gave that QB all kinds of fits despite giving up some really big plays. I think Cook was most of their offense rushing and even a lot of it in passing where he used his football speed to make some huge plays that wouldn't have happened otherwise. The FSU QB was doing nothing on most plays completing only like a third of his passes but the huge plays allowed them to win it at the very end. This could be a very scary game if our QB can't find the open receiver real quickly while being blitzed.
I would love us to blow them out however.
I agree if we roll out the offense we showed against FAU we will struggle. I'm hoping that having just about everybody back on O, and Michigan having pretty much all new starters on D, plus a defensive backfield with almost no collegiate experience, that we will do ok. I really feel like, if we keep them from running it down our throat, that they will have little offense as well, which means mistakes and FG's will make the difference, and I really think having the more experienced team and the better kicker will stand us in good stead.
unfortunately my fanboy years were decades ago and the grey hairs are too numerous to count. I'm merely looking at the talent on hand and the sheer coaching genius of Don Brown. I don't fault you for not being as familiar with either but the odds of Michigan finishing outside the top 20 on S&P in defense are remote.
While it's right to point out Michigan has inexperience on defense, that's kinda relative. Every starter in the front 7 in the season opener has experience. I mean the entire front 4 played plenty last season. LB Mike McCray is a 5th year senior returning starter. LB Devin Bush got plenty of rotation last season as a freshman. S Tyree Kinnel played a bunch last season. S Josh Metellus started the Orange Bowl (and played pretty darn well).
It's not like this is some green group of players that we don't know how they will play until we actually see them on the field. The only 2 players starting on defense that didn't get much PT last year except in blowouts are the corners. That's really about it as far as big questions go on the defense, even in week 1. But even the starting CBs aren't freshmen.
Michigan's biggest concerns on defense are the depth in case of injuries. That's where there is a lot less certainty and a lot more inexperience. But if the expected starting D is healthy it's a pretty sure thing considering how much most of those guys have played already.
Actually it will be a RS freshman kicker, not a true freshman. He was the #1 recruit in the country 2 years ago and sat out last year behind a RS senior Kenny Allen. It's his job now and he's got the leg to hit from 70+, though I'd be kinda surprised if Michigan tried a FG of that length in a game (in the spring game he put hit a 48 yard FG that was still rising as it passed over the uprights)
(and yes I'm aware of how awesome your kicker is, just pointing out Michigan won't have a true freshmen and they might have the only kicker in the country that can rival yours for leg strength)
