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Gators in the NFL week 5

Alex Brown - Saints had 2 tackles (1 sack) and 1 PD in loss to Cardinals
Andre Caldwell - Bengals had 4 catches for 33 yds in loss to the Bucs
Andra Davis - Bills had 11 tackles and 1 Int in loss to Jacksonville
Jabar Gaffney - Broncos had 9 catches for 87 yards in a loss to Baltimore
Earnest Graham - Bucs had 3 carries for 65 yards and a TD in a win over the Bengals
Joe Haden  - Browns had 2 tackles in loss to Atlanta
Derrick Harvey - Jaguars had 2 tackles (.5 sack) in win over the Bills
Percry Harvin - Vikings had 5 catches for 97 yrds, 2 TDs and 7 kick returns for 175 yds in loss to Jets
Ray McDonald - 49ers had 2 tackles in loss to the Eagles
Jarvis Moss - Broncos had 1 tackle in a loss to Baltimore
Louis Murphy - Raiders had 2 catches for 61 yds in win over the Charges
David Nelson - Bills had 3 catches for 23 yds in loss to the Jags
Mike Peterson - Falcons had 4 tackles in win over the Browns
Marcus Thomas - Broncos had 4 tackles in loss to Baltimore


Major Wright - Bears, Riley Copper - Eagles, and Bradon Siler - Chargers are all injured and did not play.

Finally - Game 5 - Wrap up

I really didn't want to have to watch this game. I didn't watch it live (for my own health), but I taped it. Everyone kept telling me not to watch it, but if I'm going to do a wrap up, I have watch it. I'm not going to comment on a game I haven't seen (unlike Desmond Howard on ESPN, not sure he watches any games). It wasn't pretty, but I got through it, so here we go.

1) Defense - They got pushed around in the first half. They only gave up 3 plays over 20 yard in the game, but 2 came in the first quarter. They were also a little soft on the underneath crossing routes in the 1st quarter. Over all they held Ingram to 47 yards, Richardson to 63 yards (30 of it on 1 play), and McElroy to 11-17 for 84 yards. They did fall for the halfback pass which resulted in a touchdown. They pressured McElroy, but had trouble wrapping him up at times, letting him run for first downs. I think overall they did a good job against a good offensive line, but the Gator offense couldn't help them out.

2) Kicking - Chas Henry was the best player of the night. He had a 75 yard punt, pinned Alabama inside the 20 twice, and kicked 2 FGs (Stugis is out hurt). The kick return team made a bad angle on Julio Jones and let him get a 41 yard punt return to help set up Alabama's second touchdown.

3) WR - The receivers played good. They caught almost everything thrown their way. The exception was Carl Moore. He dropped a tough 3rd down pass, and 2 passes in the end zone. On both of those end zone drops he had his arms hacked before the ball got there. The first time pass interference was not called, the second time it was. I guess Alabama's rule on defense, hack the receiver and live to play another play. The receivers are good and can do more if the offensive coaches would let them, but we'll get to that later.

4) RB - Unfortunately Demps was hobbled by a sore foot and Gillislee got hurt during the game. Even with those injuries Adazio stuck with the dive play. They don't have Tebow anymore. They can't run the dive and the option all day anymore. The Alabama defensive line was ready for it and made short work of those plays, leaving Brantley with 3rd and long. They also need to work on blocking, picking up the blitz, and helping Brantley out more.

5) QB - Um, not sure what to say here. When Brantley was on he looked good, marching them down the field. When he got rattled by pressure and tried to dump it off to the underneath guy, he screwed up. Both interceptions he threw were bad throws. The first was tipped which could have affected the timing and velocity, allowing the defense to close on the ball. The second was thrown right to the defender. Brantley also took too long to pitch the ball on one play causing a fumble that Demps had to jump on. Trey Burton's INT was a bad choice. Jordan Reed had not been able to break free from his block, therefore he was not open. Burton should have either waited a second or two or just scrapped it and ran. I was there for Tebow's first jump pass and a similar thing happened. Tebow jumped, saw the receiver was not open and came back down before finally throwing it after the receiver came free.

6) O-line - This is where they lost the game. They were not able to push around Alabama's defense on running plays and could not protect well enough on passing plays. They also had 4 penalties that proved costly drive busters. Pouncey had several more bad snaps. One their first possession at Alabama's 2, Burton was in the take the snap. Pouncey put it high and to the left, Burton had to make a great catch to keep it from going past him. If he gets the snaps on target he might score. He almost scored anyway, replay was really close. The offensive line also stepped on Brantley's foot at the Alabama 2 later in the game, causing a bad handoff and Moody fumbled. The thing was, Moody scored the play before, but they never reviewed it.

7) Coaching - They need to work on this for LSU. They are trying to run last year's offense with this year's players. They have a QB who throws the ball, not run the ball. They need to open up the offense and throw down the field. Then the defense won't put so many in the box to stop the run. Adazio needs to be more open minded and creative, he is way too vanilla.

Overall the game was closer than the score would indicate. If not for the turnovers in the red zone the score would have been closer and maybe Urban kicks FGs instead of going for it at other times. It was not their night, but all is not lost. They can still win the SEC East and even the SEC Championship. As long as they realize the only thing they really lost was one game they should be okay. They just have to focus against LSU and take care of the ball.

Gators in the NFL - Week 4

It was a slow week for Gators in the NFL. Some were out with injuries and others had a bye week.

Andre Caldwell - Bengals had 3 catches for 15 yds in loss to the Browns
Jermaine Cunningham - Patriots had 1 tackle and 1 PD in win over the Dolphins
Jabar Gaffney - Broncos had 5 catches for 51 yards and a win over the Titans
Joe Haden  - Browns had 6 tackles and 1 PD in win over the Bengals
Aaron Hernandez - Patriots had 5 catches for 29 yds in win over the Dolphins
Ray McDonald - 49ers had 1 tackle in loss to the Falcons
Jeremy Mincey - Jags had 1 tackle in win over the Colts
Louis Murphy - Raiders had 1 catch for 5 yds in loss to Houston
Reggie Nelson - Bengals had 2 tackles in loss to the Browns
David Nelson - Bills had 4 catches for 75 yds in loss to the Jets
Mike Peterson - Falcons had 3 tackles in win over the 49ers
Maurkice Pouncy - Steelers started at center in loss to the Ravens
Brandon Siler - Chargers had 2 tackles in win over Arizona
Brandon Spikes - Patriots had 1 tackle in win over the Dolphins
Marcus Thomas - Broncos had 1 tackle in win over Tenn
Gerard Warren - Patriots had 1 tackle in win over the Dolphins

Max Starks - Steelers, Major Wright - Bears, Channing Crowder - Dolphins, Andra Davis - Falcons, and Fred Taylor - Patriots are all injured and did not play.

DeShawn Wynn was resigned by the Saints

We - it's a select club

Pet peeve time.

This mainly applies to College sports, but can be used in Pro sports too.

I think the word "We" is used too often by fans. It's all about "We're gonna kick their butt" or "We need to do a better job in the red zone". What ever the case, people use We, without being a part of We.

You can be a fan of any team you want, for any reason, but only a select few can be part of We. You have to earn your way into We. You can't just wake up one day and decide to be We.

We applies to all current students, faculty, and coaches at a school. It applies to all alumni as well. It can even apply temporarily to season ticket holders (this applies to Pro sports too). If used loosely it may also apply to parents of students (for the duration of their study) and in some cases, people who live in the city of said university (it depends on the size of the city. ie College Station - yes, Houston - No).

It takes effort to be accepted into a university. It takes money to go the school (or buy season tickets). It takes persistence and study to graduate from the school. All these things allow you to be part of We. By being part of We you have actually been part of the school, lived it, ate it, and breathed it. Even if you don't follow sports, you still have the right to call yourself part of We.

Just because you have a sibling who went there, or because it was Grandpa's favorite team does not give you We status. You can be a huge fan without being part of We. There is no shame in not being part of We, just don't use it when you haven't earned it. There is no harm saying "They are my favorite team" or "Man they looked good out there today."

As part of a We I take pride in having earned my way in. I take it seriously (maybe too much) and wish other people did too.

With that being said, I hope WE win.

Stop overusing the term Wildcat

Wildcat formation. Seems like everyone wants to use that term.

It became popular at Auburn when they had Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams. Auburn's mascot is a Tiger, hence the name Wildcat. Arkansas used it when Darren McFadden and were there. They referred to it as the Wildhog since they are the Razorbacks. Kentucky uses it with Randall Cobb, they refer to it as the WildCobb, which is dumb because they are the Wildcats.

The Miami Dolphins have used it in the NFL with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. They still call it the Wildcat, which is fine.

This formation is when you have a running back taking the direct snap from the center. He then has the option of handing the ball off to the second back, running it himself, or (on rare occasions) throwing the ball. This tries to create confusion on the defensive front and puts the ball in the hands of play makers quicker than a typical hand off.

Football announcers and analysts have begun to overuse this term. It does not apply when the person taking the snap is actually a quarter back. Just because the QB runs does not make it a Wildcat formation.

Recently the Gators' Trey Burton ran for 5 touchdowns against Kentucky, from the quarterback position. Guess what, he is a quarterback. The announcers kept calling the play a Wildcat formation. They were wrong, wrong, wrong. If Jeff Demps was there instead of Burton, then it would be the Wildcat. It is not a Wildcat when Terrelle Pryor runs for a 40+ yard TD or when Denard Robinson runs for 200+ yards in a game. They are the quarterback and really good at running the ball.

With Mike Vick now back in a starting role in the NFL he is not running a Wildcat offense. He is just operating a regular offense with the occasional quarterback keeper or quarterback draw. In Denver people keep referring to Tebow possibly being used in a Wildcat formation on short yardage. It's not Wildcat if he is a quarterback.

The term has just become a catch all phrase that people like to throw around, thinking it sounds cool. It might seem petty to most, but I think if you are paid to call a game, you should do it right. You shouldn't call players by the wrong name and you shouldn't call formations by the wrong name. Get it right or get out...and let me have your job.

Gators in the NFL - Week 3

Several Gators had big games this week. Here is a summary of their stats.

Alex Brown - Saints had 5 tackles (1 TFL) and a pass defense in loss to Atlanta
Andre Cauldwell - Bengals had his first catch of the season for 8 yds in win over Carolina
Jermaine Cunningham - Patriots had 2 tackles (1 TFL) in win over the Bills
Andra Davis - Bills had 6 total tackles in a loss to the Patriots
Jabar Gaffney - Broncos had 12 catches for 140 yards and a loss to the Colts
Earnest Graham - Bucs had 2 carries for 13 yds & 4 catches for 57 yds in a loss to the Steelers.
Joe Haden  - Browns had 2 tackles and 1 PD in a loss to the Ravens
Derek Harvey - Jaguars had 1 tackle is loss to the the Eagles
Percy Harvin - Vikings had 6 catches for 62 yards and a TD in win over Detroit
Aaron Hernandez - Patriots had 6 catches for 65 yds and 1 carry for 13 yds in win over the Bills
Ray McDonald - 49ers had 1 tackle in loss to the Chiefs
Louis Murphy - Raiders had 5 catches for 119 yds in loss to Arizona
Mike Peterson - Falcons had 3 tackles and a forced fumble in win over the Saints
Maurkice Pouncy - Steelers started at center in win over the Buccaneers
Brandon Siler - Chargers had 5 tackles (1 TFL), and 1 sack in loss to Seattle
Brandon Spikes - Patriots had 2 tackles in win over the Bills
Fred Taylor - Patriots had 6 carries for 16 yards in win over the Bills
Marcus Thomas - Broncos had 1 tackle in loss to the Colts
Gerard Warren - Patriots had 2 tackles in win over the Bills

Max Starks - Steelers and Major Wright - Bears are still injured and not able to play.

DeShawn Wynn was released by the Saints

Game 4 - Wrap up

Finally! This is the Gator team that the Nation has been waiting to see. The offense was in sync for most of the game. They were able to pass the ball, which set up the run. The defense did their normal great job and the world was introduced to Lawrence "Trey" Burton. Don't say it was only Kentucky. That may be, but this Kentucky team was leading the SEC in total offense. Anytime you can put it all together against an SEC opponent is a good day.

1) Defense - What can you say other than consistent? They have been good all year and performed the same again this week. They held Kentucky to 5 of 14 on third down. They made Kentucky go 3 and out three times. They had 2 more INTs, one more for a TD by Jeremy Brown. Janoris Jenkins would have had another in the end zone if Will Hill had not run into him. They blocked a FG late in the game. They only had one sack, but harassed Hartline most of the night. They did have a few penalties, an offsides and a face mask. The face mask penalty put Kentucky in a position to throw their only legit touchdown. The other touchdown I don't put on the defense, but on the special teams coach for letting his players fall asleep and not looking for the fake. That possession was aided by a HORRIBLE call by the officials. On a deep pass to the sideline the play was ruled incomplete, but upon review they overturned it. It the replay you can see the Kentucky player did not have possession or control until he was out of bounds. On the next play Jeremy Brown was called for a bogus pass interference. The Refs missed an intentional grounding against Hartline earlier in the game at the Kentucky 20 yard line. Kentucky got some "garbage" yards late in the fourth quarter, but the Gator D still held the Cats under 100 yards rushing as a team.

2) Kicking - Henry again was great, upping his average and holding one of the SEC's most dangerous punt returners to 21 yards on the night. Sturgis allowed a PAT to get blocked, but I think it was more the offensive line getting lazy. He also had a kickoff go out of bounds, putting Kentucky at the 40 yard line. He can't make those mistakes against Alabama. The punt return team needs to do a better job blocking for Jenkins. He had one good return, but most of the others he was alone against 4 or 5 Kentucky players.

3) WR - Once again the receivers stepped up on third down and long. They converted 6 of 9 third downs when they threw it. The three times they were unsuccessful, one was complete just short, one was thrown away, and last was when Brantley was hit as he threw it. They did a decent job blocking the perimeter for Demps and Moody. Deonte Thompson did have a drop in the end zone, though they could have caused pass interference as he was pushed just before the ball arrived. Hines was called for a false start at their 30 yard line. Jordan Reed was also flagged for false start in the game. We finally saw Andre Debose get into the action, but it was short lived. He caught 4 passed in the first quarter, but none for the rest of the game.

4) RB - It was rushing by committee this week. Most of that was due to Demps leaving early in the 3rd quarter with a bruised foot. X-rays were negative and he should be okay to play this weekend. Though none of the backs had big numbers, they all played pretty good. They still had too many plays that ended up with little or no gain. Moody average 4.6 yards a carry, Gillislee averaged 5.3, and Demps averaged 7.1. They did have a problem converting on a 3rd and 2 so they chose to pass on 4th and 2 to convert.

5) QB - This was where the Gators really shined. Brantley had a breakout game throwing for 248 yards, one touchdown, and was money on third down. The other quarterback, in case you didn't know they had one, had a record setting night. Trey Burton ran the quarter back draw to perfection, rushing 5 times and scoring 5 touchdowns. He also caught a touchdown pass from Brantley. Brantley did have some issues with accuracy when going down field. Twice he overthrew Hines when he was wide open. He thew high to Deonte Thompson and behind Trey Burton. He also threw his first interception of the season. Although the pass was tipped, it was still his fault because he threw it high and behind Jordan Reed causing Reed to tip it in his attempt to catch it. It was a great night for Burton and nice "welcome to the big time" for Brantley.

6) O-line - They played decent again. They also had some players go down, though they did come back in, so the injuries appear to be minor. Pouncey had 1 more bad snap, but Brantley did a good job of recovering. They had 4 penalties against them during the game, 2 false starts and 2 illegal shifts (though one was bogus). They still had trouble pushing the pile back on short yardage and inside runs, but were excellent in pass coverage.

7) Coaching - They definitely appeared ready to go a different route than the one they took against Tennessee. They had Brantley throw the ball more and it helped move the ball down the field. They were still reluctant to go deep down the field, but as they say, they "took what the defense gave them". They need to work more with the offensive line to get the penalties fixed. The penalties disrupt the flow and momentum, not to mention negating good plays. They also take the blame in my opinion for not catching the trick play on the fake FG. Meyer did a great job of sticking with what works when it came to Burton. If it's not broke, don't fix it. The old saying of "we'll keep running it until they stop us" definitely applied there. I also think that Meyer wanted to cause a buzz going into next week and he did it by having Burton break a school record for touchdowns.

Next week will be tough, tough, tough. Alabama is coming off a confidence building, comeback victory. They will be playing at home and always have chip on their shoulder. Florida will have to bring their "A" game to have a chance to win. Alabama is not invincible and can be beat, but the Gators can't afford the kind of dumb mistakes that Arkansas did last week. The O-line needs to step up against a great defensive line and the backs have to run tough and hard. The defense has to do a better job of tackling Mark Ingram then they did in last years SEC Championship game. The linebackers also have to do a better job of guarding the passes over the middle of the field. As of now the Gators are a 9 point underdog, which I think is good. It gives them one more thing to play for, as if Pride, SEC title hopes, and revenge weren't enough.

The First Trey Burton

I'm only going to say this once. Okay, I may say it a few more times, but that doesn't sound as good.

Trey Burton is NOT the next Tim Tebow.

There will NEVER be another Tim Tebow.

He is the first Trey Burton and he will go on to be the best Trey Burton he can be. He is smaller, but faster. He is more of an overall athlete, but not as good a passer. He does rush for touchdowns. He can catch passes for touchdowns. He will eventually throw for touchdowns. All those are great and I love it, but those things don't make him Tim Tebow.

Sports are obsessed with finding the next (insert famous and successful athlete). It doesn't happen. You can't be the next thing, you have to be the first you. You can't replace Micheal Jordan, Jerry Rice, or Emmitt Smith. Colt McCoy was not the next Vince Young and Gilbert will not be the next McCoy. People have to let these kids be their own player, not label them and put the pressure of being the next whomever.

Tebow was arguably the best college football player of the last 50 years, maybe ever. Trey Burton has played in 4, yes 4, games in his college career. Let's let him become his own player before we try to make him something that no one will ever be.

Game 3 - Wrap up

Sorry it took so long, it's been a busy week. Family and work take precedent over watching game film, though I wish the two could be one and the same. Anyway, on to the wrap up.

This week was a tough Conference road game against a major rival. This was Brantley's first road game as a starter. He had to face the largest crowd in the SEC. On paper this looked like an easy win, but with all the talk about Florida's lackluster offense, Tennessee thought they had a shot. They did play pretty decent on defense against the run, but could not stop the Gators through the air on third down. They also did not have the play makers on offense to compete. In the end it was closer than some people thought, but not as close as some games in the past. Remember in 2006 they only won by a point.

1) Defense - The defense overall probably played their best game so far. They stuffed the run (allowed 29 yards rushing) and pressured Matt Simms all day. They had 6 sacks on the day and another half dozen "almost sacks" that resulted in throw aways. They got two more interceptions, one by Bostic in the end zone. They did give up two long touchdown passes due to blown coverage. On both plays the cover guy expected safety help and there was none. On the second TD, Will Hill went to double the receiver in the middle and left the outside receiver all alone in the end zone. I can only think that being out for the past two weeks made Hill a little rusty. They can't afford to give up easy touchdowns against Alabama where scoring will be at a premium.

2) Kicking - Chas Henry may have been the MVP of the game. He pinned Tennessee inside their 15 more times than they wanted to count. Even when he didn't punt, he pulled off the fake well enough that the Vols didn't see O. Hines until he was 20 yards down the field. Sturgis seemed back to full strength hitting a 44 yard FG and all 4 PATs. Lastly, although not kicking, it is special teams, and J. Jenkins helped give Tennessee hope when he fumbled the punt. That is a mistake they cannot afford to duplicate.

3) WR - The receivers stepped up when they had to. They only tried to go deep twice, both incomplete. Most of what they did was short to mid range. It didn't amount to a lot of yards, but it was effective, especially on third down. Carl Moore made 2 leaping catches and Deonte Thompson proved sure handed. Frankie Hammond Jr broke free in the back of the end zone for the only TD through the air. Jordan Reed had and drop and another long pass hit him in the helmet because he wasn't looking. Demps and Trey Burton each had a drop.

4) RB - They had an up and down day. For every play they broke off 8 yards they got stopped for 0 or even a small loss. Demps had a bobbled handoff which resulted in a 5 yard loss. He also had the ball stolen out of his hands in the forth quarter when they were trying to seal the game away. He almost had a nice touchdown run but barely stepped out of bounds as he was trying to round the corner. Gillislee had another good game. He only had 8 carries, but averaged 3.4 yards and had 2 touchdowns. Moody also played well averaging 4 yards a carry. They need to get better on short yardage plays. They were stopped on third and one and again on fourth and one.

5) QB - Brantley looked poised and in control. He did not seem to let the road game jitters affect him. He had a few bad throws, but when it mattered he was calm and accurate. He converted 6 out of 10 third downs when he threw the ball. Of the ones he didn't convert, one was tipped at the line and another time he was sacked. The other two resulted in a FG on forth down and a fake punt on forth for a first down. Brantley converted one of those third downs into his only touchdown pass of the day, a pass to Frankie Hammond, Jr. He needs to work with the coaches to get the play in quicker and make sure that the players are in the right spots prior to the snap. There were two times they had to call timeout because the play clock was running down. They also had three dumb penalties, one for breaking the huddle with 12 players, and 2 others for illegal formation for having 5 men in the backfield.

6) O-Line - After a horrible first week and a good second week, the third week had a smattering of both. The Gators rushed for 150 yards against a pretty decent defensive line, but could move the pile of 3rd and short. They only allowed one sack out of 24 drop backs. Mike Pouncey had a mini regression, he had 2 bad snaps in the first quarter (one lost them 15 yards), but got much better as the game went on. They did have one holding penalty and one false start which is not bad, but they still need to get better.

7) Coaching - You have to give it to Urban Meyer for calling the fake punt when he did. It gave the Gators momentum and kept their drive going so they could take the lead for good. The staff seems to be going with ball control and time of possession. They called 48 run plays to 24 pass plays. They had trouble getting the play in on several occasions. They also should have declined the holding penalty against Tenn in the fourth quarter. It would not have given them the extra play they needed to score their second touchdown on 4th and 6.

The game could have been tougher had the Gators not converted on the fake punt. It also could have been a blow out if they would not have fumbled the punt or blown the coverage on the 4th down play the Vols scored on. They also got robbed on the review of the safety. The official said Simms was on the one yard line when he grounded the ball. I watched every replay about 15 times and at best he was on the 6 inch line, at worst he was 2 feet in the end zone. Luckily it didn't matter in the long run. Overall it was a good, solid win against a conference rival, on their turf.

This weekend they are back in the swamp playing a team they have the longest current win streak against, Kentucky. This is a much better looking Kentucky, but they haven't played anyone yet so it's hard to tell if they are for real. If they can keep the mistakes to a minimum and continue to play defense the way they have been, it should be another victory for Urban and the Gators.

Gators in the NFL - Week 2

Here are a few highlights of how the Gators in the NFL did this week.

Alex Brown - Saints had 2 tackles in win over San Francisco
Riley Cooper - Eagles had his first NFL catch for 20 yds in win over Detroit
Jermaine Cunningham - Patriots had 2 tackles in his first NFL game, a loss the the Jets
Andra Davis - Bills had 7 total tackles and a forced fumble in loss to the Packers
Jabar Gaffney - Broncos had 2 catches for 15 yards and a win over Seattle
Earnest Graham - Bucs had 5 catches for 33 yds and a TD in win over the Panthers
Joe Haden  - Browns had 2 tackles in a loss to Kansas City
Percy Harvin - Vikings had 5 catches for 32 yards in loss to the Dolphins
Aaron Hernandez - Patriots had 6 catches for 101 yds in loss to the Jets
Jeremy Mincey - Jaguars had 2 tackles in loss to San Diego
Jarvis Moss - Broncos had 3 tackles in win over Seattle
Louis Murphy - Raiders had 6 catches for 91 yds and a TD in win over St. Louis
Mike Peterson - Falcons had 1 tackle in win over Arizona
Maurkice Pouncy - Steelers started at center in win over the Titans
Lito Sheppard - Vikings had 2 tackles in loss to Dolphins
Brandon Siler - Chargers had 6 tackles, 1 PD, and 1 Int in win over Jaguars
Brandon Spikes - Patriots had 9 tackles in loss to Jets
Fred Taylor - Patriots had 5 carries for 11 yards in loss to Jets
Marcus Thomas - Broncos had 1 tackle in win over Seattle
Gerard Warren - Patriots had 2 sacks in loss to Jets

Andre Caldwell, Max Starks, and Major Wright were all out due to injury.

Why all the Tebow hate?

Now that the NFL season has started the anit-Tebow talk has become more noticeable. Not that there weren't people who didn't like him while he was in college, but now it can even be found in areas other than sports.

Rolling Stone magazine, always known for it's football insight, had an article about what to look for this season. Number one on the list was Tebow. Only it wasn't all about football. They referred to him as having a "hyper-Christian aw-shucks persona" that was "not easy to like". They said he fit perfectly with the "masses of gay-hating Focus on the Family types in Colorado".  What does that have to do with football? The article then goes on to say it thinks Tebow will be a success despite what "conventional wisdom" says. So they hate him personally, but like him professionally?

Just before his first game the Denver Post had an article talking about his popularity. It interviewed former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer (now with ESPN) they asked him what he thought about the popularity. He said he's rooting for him, but is one of people who said he wouldn't make it. "Saying that," Dilfer continued, "if he is successful as a quarterback in the first three years of his career, it will be one of the most remarkable jobs of coaching by Josh McDaniels and his staff that we have seen since (what) Bill Walsh did with Joe Montana. It will be absolutely mind-boggling from a quarterback standpoint if Josh McDaniels and his staff can make him a successful quarterback." What I find mind-boggling is how Dilfer has the gall to criticize any quarterback. Sure he had a 14 year career, but only 6.5 as a starter. He ended up with 113 career TD, but 129 Ints. Why would anyone take QB evaluation from this guy seriously?

To top it all off Tebow played his first game in Jacksonville, his home town. The game was a rare sellout for the financially strapped Jaguars. There were thousands of people there only to see Tebow. So how did the Jaguars handle this? By having the mascot the kick and beat up a person in a Tebow jersey. They then had Jaguar ushers haul "Tebow" off the field. Later the mascot smashed a cake in "Tebow's" face. What did Tebow do to the Jags to make them so angry at him that they felt the need to pull those stunts? He got drafted by the Broncos and said he likes Denver. The Jags had a chance to draft him, but they passed.

You can say all this hate is a result of jealousy. I find it a little extreme and pretty low class.

What all the arrest fuss is about

There has been a lot of talk this week that Florida has a problem with arrests. People say there is no control, or that it is a dirty program. This blog will shed some light on the subject and let you judge for yourself. This is not an attempt to pardon the players involved, just to let people know the details behind the often repeated numbers "30 arrests in 6 years".

It started back in 2005.
Dawayne Grace was arrested twice (counts as 2 of the 30), once for battery and once for disorderly conduct. One count was dropped, he served community service. Urban Meyer suspended him indefinitely and he transferred to Georgia Southern.

In 2006
Jon Demps was arrested for driving with a suspended license. He got 6 months probation. Meyer kicked him off the team after a marijuana-related incident (though never arrested for that).
Louis Murphy was arrested on a misdemeanor possession of marijuana in May. Charges were dropped and he performed community service. Murphy was suspended for the first 3 games of the season.
Avery Atkins was arrested for domestic battery against the mother of his child. Charges were dropped. Meyer suspended him immediately. He transferred to Bethune-Cookman, but died in 2007 of a drug overdose.

In 2007
Brandon James was arrested for purchasing marijuana (8 grams) in June. He served probation and community service. Meyer suspended him for 1 game.
John Curtis was arrested for violation of probation. He did not show up for his community service stemming from a previous alcohol citation. He complied with the violation and served his probation. He did not play for several games, but he was also injured.
Dorian Monroe was arrested for felony theft when he removed a University Police boot from his car and put it in his truck. Charges were dropped and he was not suspended.
Duston Doe was arrested for resisting arrest for his role in a fight in April. Charges were dropped. No suspension.
Ronnie Wilson (winner 3 arrests), was arrested for aggravated assault involving a gun, possession of marijuana, and one count of battery. Cases are still pending. He was suspended for a year from the team and University after the first charge. He was allowed back to practice in Spring of 2008, but then kicked off the team for good after the other 2 charges.
Tony Joiner was arrested on felony theft for breaking into a wrecker yard to get his girlfriend's car. Charges were dropped since the yard was unlocked and Joiner was supposed to be meeting the owner who was running late. He did not miss any games, but lost his captaincy.
Jermaine Cunningham was arrested for battery. He allegedly threw paper cups at a clerk in a sandwich shop. Charges were dropped. He did not miss the next game, Capital One Bowl. Meyer said he had physical punishment.
Jamar Hornsby is a peach. He was arrested for property damage and criminal mischief for throwing a man onto the hood of a car. He was arrested again for using the credit card of the deceased UF student. The student in question was the girlfriend of teammate "Sunshine", both of whom were killed in a motorcycle accident. He was kicked off the team. He had served a 5 game suspension the previous year for selling his complimentary tickets.
Jacques Rickerson was arrested for possession of marijuana. He was arrested a second time for domestic violence against a girlfriend. He served 2 years of probation. He was suspended after the first arrest and kicked off the team after the second.

In 2008
Torrey Davis was arrested for knowingly driving with a suspended license on several occasions. He was in Meyer's doghouse, due to various academic and disciplinary reasons. He was not allowed to practice or play during that year. He officially left the team at the end of the 2008 season.
Cam Newton was arrested on felony counts of burglary, larceny, and obstruction of justice. He allegedly stole a laptop from a student and then threw it out the window upon police suspicion. He got community service and probation. He transferred to Blinn JC in Texas and is currently at Auburn.
Riley Cooper, that's right folks, was arrested for resisting an officer. Campus police cited him for not getting out of the way of a moving car upon police's order. Case was dismissed. Incident happened in Feb and Cooper was playing baseball. Meyer never punished Cooper for this incident.

In 2009
Carl Johnson was arrested for violation of a sexual restraining order. He got on the same campus bus as an ex-girlfriend who filed the petition against him. Charges dropped due to lack of evidence. Johnson didn't miss any time. Meyer said he would stay on the team until the investigation was concluded.
Marquis Hannah was arrested for felony burglary of an occupied dwelling and battery for allegedly punching a man in the face. The cased was dismissed due to lack of evidence.
Janoris Jenkins was arrested for resisting arrest without violence for his role in a fight at a Gainesville nightclub.
Carlos Dunlap was arrested for DUI. He was found asleep at a green light and failed the sobriety test. He was suspended for the SEC Championship game against Alabama.

In 2010
Frankie Hammond Jr was arrested for DUI. He was suspended from all team practices and activities. He was reinstated this fall.
Gary Brown was arrested for battery where he allegedly hit a woman. He was kicked off the team.
Matt Elam and Saloman Patton were arrested for under 21 possession of alcohol. They did not miss any game time. It's unknown if the served an "in house" punishment.
Chris Rainey was arrested for felony aggravated stalking. He sent a threatening text to a girlfriend. He is currently suspended from the team. It remains to be seen what the legal repercussions will be. It is also unknown what Rainey's long term status with the team will be.

There you have it, 30 arrests. As you can see there were some that were pretty serious. There were also several that seem frivolous. Many of the charges were dropped. As I have mentioned before, I have no problem punishing players who break the rules, but some of these seem extreme. Riley Cooper being arrested for not getting out of the way of a moving car seems like overkill. Being arrested for throwing a paper cup at a cashier also seems a but much. Both of these players should know better, but arrested, some officer's got a chip on their shoulder.

As you can see, there were many players who were kicked off the team after their arrests came to light. You can't say that the team is dirty or Urban Meyer lets people off easy. If the crime was severe he cut the player loose. There were other cases where he saw it was kids making mistakes and wanted to help them learn from their mistakes. Not everyone will agree on this topic. There is not a "No Tolerance" rule in the NCAA. Each coach has to make the decision based on the individual and infraction involved.

I hope now that you are better informed you can make a more educated opinion. The press would like you to think that the team is rife with thugs, thieves, and killers. This is not the case. They still need to take a hard look at what they can do to fix this so that the Gators can go back to being known for their wins and not their arrests.

Stupid decisions have consequences

Tuesday was a day of shock and disappointment for many Gators.

Chris Rainey, running back, receiver, and punt returner for the Gators was arrested for felony stalking. I remember thinking "What!? He just got a concussion on Saturday and now he is stalking people". I was having visions of OJ Simpson type stalking. I couldn't imagine that. You see, my wife met Rainey at Florida's Lady Gator Camp in 2009. I have met him twice at Gator Fan day the last two years. He was nothing but smiles. He was very polite to all the people wanting to get pictures. Now a stalker? Something was off.

When I read more of the article I got more information. It turns out he had a fight with his on again, off again girlfriend and sent her a threatening text. The text read (I will keep this family friendly and only put part)  "time to die". Sounds serious enough, so the girl called the police. When the police got there she asked that they not press charges and did not fear for her safety. The police arrested Rainey anyway, but released him on his on recognisance that morning.

I am still not sure how I feel about the situation. It seems to me that this was not intended as a legitimate threat, but you can't ever be sure. On the other hand, why would someone throw around statements like that? Why would you ever put a statement like that in writing, especially if you didn't mean it? Whether he was angry or thought it was a twisted joke, in this day and age you can't do things like that and get away with it.

The reality of it is hitting Rainey right in the face. Per coach Steve Adazio, "Chris Rainey is not part of our team right now". The key part of that statement is "right now". Obviously they want to get all the information before they make any final decision, but to this point it seems pretty evident he sent the text. He will definitely be suspended for this week's game at Tennessee. He will probably be suspended for longer. He could even be kicked off the team. He could have thrown away his football career by being stupid enough to send a text in anger.

Oddly enough the one thing he has going for him is the girl involved. She told police and the judge that she does not fear for her safety. She does not believe that Rainey would hurt her. He also does not have any prior history of legal trouble, which is a plus. This will enable his lawyer to plea down the felony charge to something lesser. That helps Rainey in his personal life, but there is no guarantee it will help his football life. This is front page news stuff. If he is let back on the team anytime soon there will be women's groups protesting that Urban Meyer and the University don't treat threats and abuse seriously. Rainey has dug himself a hole that will be tough to climb out of.

I believe in proper punishment (see previous entry Sportsmanship). If you break the rules, you get punished. I feel bad for a kid who may not be violent or malicious, just really dumb and angry at the time. That is still not a free pass to do and say what you want. I don't let my children get away with it and neither should the University. At the same time I think there have been other people in sports, entertainment, and government who have done worse and gotten off with less.

Time will tell what his punishment will be and what affect it will have on the team this year, and years down the road. As I have said before, I live for Gator football and I hate to lose, but winning games is not as important and making sure the players follow the rules. Getting to play football for the Gators is a privilege and should be treated as such. The players on the team, star or scrub, should know if they make stupid decisions there are going to be consequences.

Gators in the NFL this week

A shout out to all the Gators now doing it on Sunday.

There are currently 34, that's right, 34 Gators who are on the active rosters of NFL teams. This weekend they open their season for real. Here is a list of some of those players and what they did this weekend.

Alex Brown - Saints had 1 tackle in win over the Vikings
Andra Davis - Bills had 8 total tackles in loss to the Dolphins
Jabar Gaffney - Broncos had 3 catches for 34 yards and a TD
Earnest Graham - Bucs had 6 carries for 10 yrds and 1 catch for 8 yrds in win over the Browns
Joe Haden  - Browns had 2 tackles in his first ever game, lost to Tampa Bay
Derrick Harvey - Jags had 2 tackles (1 against Tebow) in win over the Broncos
Percy Harvin - Vikings had 1 catch for 12 yards in loss to the Saints
Aaron Hernandez - Patriots had 1 catch for 45 yds in his first game, a win over the Bengals
Louis Murphy - Raiders had 4 catches for 28 yrds in loss to Titans
David Nelson - Bill had 3 catches for 22 yrds in loss to Dolphins
Mike Peterson - Falcons had 6 tackles and 1 INT in loss to Steelers
Maurkice Pouncy - Steelers started his first game at center in win over the Falcons
Lito Sheppard - Vikings had 2 tackles and 3 Pass Defense in loss to Saints
Brandon Spikes - Patriots had 3 tackles and 1 PD in his first NFL game
Fred Taylor - Patriots had 14 carries for 71 yards in win over Bengals
Tim Tebow - Broncos had 2 carries for 2 yards in loss to Jags in his first game as a Pro
DeShawn Wynn - Saints had 6 carries for 19 yds and 1 catch for 19 yds in win over the Vikings

These are just some of the notable players. There are several that are nursing injuries and will hopefully be ready to go for their teams soon.

Game 2 - Wrap up

Now that I have had time to watch the Gator game again yesterday I'm ready to give my week 2 wrap up.

It was definitely a tale of two halves. The Gators did a great job of making adjustments on offense and defense as the game went on. They still have some issues to deal with, but they played MUCH better this week than they did last week. Taking into account the difference in the caliber of team they played, the improvement is even more than it seems at first glance. That does not mean I think all is well in Gator land, just that they got the car back on the road. Now they just need to push down on the accelerator.

1) Defense - I'm going to be honest and tell you I thought they were in for a long day after that first drive. USF was helped by 2 iffy penalties, but BJ Daniels made the D-line look like there were standing still. They could not pressure him and had a hard time getting him down once they got a hold of him. Luckily the defense was able to adjust their approach, put guys in different spots, and wrap up better. USF still managed to rip of a good gain everyone once in a while, but for the most part they were held in check. I do feel the Gators caught a break when USF fumbled the handoff in the red zone. If the Bulls would have scored on that drive the momentum would have been in their favor. That fumble changed the feel of the game and the offense capitalized. From that point USF was in a position where they felt they had to answer. USF felt they had to pass more and that played into the strength of the Gator defense. Two more Ints later, one for a TD, and the game was no longer in doubt. The Gators had a 12th player on defense Saturday and that was the heat. In what many have said was the hottest game at the Swamp in years BJ Daniels was the only offense for USF. There was no way he was going to be able to hold up and play 100% all day. Florida's depth of defense was key. They were able to rotate in fresh bodies while the Bulls O-line and Daniels wilted in the Gainesville heat. They still need to work on stopping the run, they can't rely on 4 picks every game. They also need to improve their pass rush, although that was the most athletic QB they'll face all season.

2) Kicking - Again they had issues at kicking. Sturgis was a game time decision with back pain so that may account for the missed FG and the kickoff that went out of bounds. While I applaud him for fighting through the pain, they can't afford to have those problems against teams like South Carolina, LSU, or Alabama. Chaz Henry is also not where he was last year. Maybe he's not used to punting so much. He still has the distance most of the time, but there have been a few shanks that could be costly in close games.

3) WR - They played much better as a group this time. Last week there were several players who played the entire game because other players were being held out for "coach's decision". This week they did a much better job of rotating players and you could tell they were fresher and faster when on the field. They did a much better job of securing the perimeter with their blocks, though not perfect (C.Moore was called for a holding penalty that negated a long screen pass to Demps). They still need someone to step up and be the go to guy like Cooper was last year and Murphy the year before. Deonte Thompson wants to be that guy, but he had 2 more drops this week. He was able to come back and be clutch on several third downs, which is a boost to Brantley's confidence in him. It was also interesting to see the two back-up QBs on the field catching passes. Jordan Reed caught a TD and Trey Burton had 2 key catches. They all still need to focus on getting separation in order to give Brantley better targets and not force him to make perfect throws all the time.

4) RB - What a difference a week makes. Last week there were 3 fumbles by 3 different backs, this week none. Moody actually moved the pile and looked tough, Demps was his usual blur and Gillislee did a nice job spelling them both. There is a concern with Rainey suffering what is being called a slight concussion. Depending on the new NCAA rules, he may have to sit out this week which will hurt a lot. Rainey also fields punts and plays the slot receiver. The Gators took control of the line of scrimmage in the second half. They were able to pound the ball up the middle with Moody and Gillislee. They then sent Demps around the edge when the USF defense was off guard.

5) QB - Brantley played much better. He scared me on the third play of the game when he dropped the snap. I thought "Oh no here we go again", but he settled down and did not have another incident the rest of the game. This allowed him to get into a rhythm with his backs and his receivers. He still has not thrown an INT and only had one pass that was even close on Saturday. He had a few passes dropped and overthrew a couple of others in the first half, but in the second half he played great. The more good plays he has, the more confident he becomes. He will need that this week in his first road start, in Neyland Stadium of all places.

6) O-Line - There is reason that some players are starters and some are not. This week they got some of their starts back and you could see the difference. They were able to push USF back. They were able to open up holes in the middle for Moody, Gillislee, and Demps to run through. They still need to cut down on the penalties, especially freshman RG Jon Halapio #67 who was called for 3 false starts. Mike Pouncey improved so much me was voted the SEC offensive lineman of the week.

7) Coaching - They did a much better job at adjusting earlier in the game than they did last week. On USF's first drive they we able to see what the Bulls had to offer and the type of offense they wanted to run. The coaches were able to alter their defense and personnel to counteract the Bull's offense. The coaches were also able to tell what the Gator offense was doing well (mainly downhill running) and capitalize on it. This allowed them to control the ball and the tempo of the game, something they could not accomplish the first week. They did a much better job of rotating players in and out of the game to give them the rest they needed in that heat. They did a good job playing cheerleader and getting those kids fired up. I saw more smiles from Urban Meyer than I have seen since they won the BCS Championship game. I saw them running up and congratulating not just the play makers, but the linemen as well.

Next Week - It is important that the offense not come out slow next week. Neyland Stadium (largest capacity in the SEC) can get nasty and loud. Brantley needs to stay poised and confident. The Vols are a hard team to figure at this point. They clearly had serious issues last week on offense and defense, but played well the first week (although is was against a FBS school). The Gators will be favored and should win this game, but it is a rivalry game on the road and anything can happen. Meyer should have them focused for their first SEC opponent of the season, a team he has never lost to.

Smack Talk

Hate it when you are out somewhere, minding you own business, and out of nowhere you hear "Roll Tide" or "you need a new shirt", or the more direct "Gator's suck"? I do and I would never stoop so low as dignify it with a comeback. 

You go through several emotions. You feel surprise since it catches you off guard. You have denial because you can't believe an adult would act that way. You feel angry that someone dare insult you and your team in public like that. Lastly you just wish you knew of a way to shut them up.

Smack talk on the field can be good for getting your team psyched up for a game. It can also be bad by being used as "bulletin board material" by the opposing team. The old saying of never writing checks your butt can't cash has merit. If you are good enough to back it up, great. If not, the other team will make you pay double. Smack talk should be limited to the players on the field.

Smack talking in the grocery store, the mall, or a restaurant should be banned. Everyone has the right to wear their colors, heck I rarely wear anything else, but there is a line that shouldn't crossed. Berating coworkers, customers, and friends is never a good idea. Eventually it comes back to bite you. I personally have had waiters who smack talk at a restaurant. Guess who's not getting a good tip? I've had people in stores smack talk as soon as I walk in the door with my Gator shirt on. I've turned around and walked out. Guess who just lost my business?

That may be extreme to some, but it's my way of teaching people a lesson. Don't Smack Talk! I might not be able to stop the guy in the grocery store, but I can try to make other people think twice about doing it to the next Gator fan. You know what they say about payback.

Of course, if I wanted to make that grocery store guy stop, I could remind him of Alabama's 4-9 2003 year where they lost to Northern Illinois. Maybe he'd remember the 2000 season when they went 3-8, lost to UCF and were shutout by Southern Miss. Then again I wouldn't want to break my own rule and be accused of Smack Talk.

Short term memory

Sports is an entity where you have to have short term memory.

Quarterbacks need to have it after an interception. Kickers need to have it after a missed FG. Pitchers need to have it after a home run. Fans seem to have at the beginning of every new season (except for Red Sox fans and Bill Buckner). Sports analysts have it every game day.

Every pregame show starts with statements like "upset potential", "trap game", or "emotional letdown". They talk about how a certain team better look out because this up and comer is looking for a signature victory. Then the post game show is all about how that same up and comer was out matched from the beginning and really not much of a challenge.

Take this weekend. This was touted as "Monster Match-up Saturday" with several big games being played. Oklahoma was taking on FSU, Ohio State vs UM, Alabama hosting Penn State, and of course the Gators vs South Florida.

Okay, maybe the Gator game was not a Monster Match-up, but based on how the offense played last week the analysts included this as a potential upset. At the end of the day the higher seed teams won convincingly. Now it was time to give those winning teams their props right? Wrong, it was time to talk about how the other team was outmatched.

Both FSU and Oklahoma came in as question marks based on last season and last week. After the Sooners manhandled the Noles, people began to talk about how the FSU defense was much maligned, young, untested and that Oklahoma should have won. The same can be said about Alabama. After spending all morning talking about the history of the Alabama / Penn State rivalry and how you can never overlook Joe Paterno, they changed their tune to "a freshman QB really never had a chance against this overwhelming Tide defense".

The Miami / Ohio State game was not as bad. They did give the UM defense some positive comments after the game. Before the game they said it would be a tale of two quarterbacks. Whichever made the least amount of mistakes would win (isn't that almost always the case). They were right, Jacory Harris for UM threw 4 picks and his team lost. The problem I have is before they game they talked about Harris's growth and his maturity this year. After the game they bring up how he has a tendency to throw picks in big games under pressure. Only in this line of work can you have it both ways.

The Florida game hits closer to home. ESPN spent the morning laughing about the problems the Gators had last week with their offense. They talked about how good South Florida is and how their QB, B.J. Daniels, is so hard to defend. They even talked about how South Florida should erect a statue of Skip Holtz and name the field after him if he wins this game. It was all about the "upset watch". I'll admit after the first 10 minutes I was worried myself, but in the end it wasn't close. So what do you think the analysts did? They wanted to talk about how our offense is still anemic, but USF is a young team with talent, a new coach and a new system. They totally downplayed everything they talked up just 4 or 5 hours before.

Finally, that brings me to Boise State (you can see my previous entry BSC BS for the back story). After their win last week people could not say enough great things about the team. They beat a #10 ranked Virginia Tech team in what was basically a home game for the Hokies. Today those same Hokies lost to James Madison at home. James Madison is a FBS school. For those not familiar it's like the JV team in high school. That loss by VT has those same people saying that Boise State shouldn't sniff the BCS Championship game based on strength of schedule.

I listen to all of this and I wonder what these guys are talking about, did they not see their own pregame show. Then I remember, they are not purposely trying to mislead viewers, they forgot what they said earlier. In this industry it's all about short term memory.

The NFL is Back

Finally after waiting 7 months the NFL is officially back.

Now I admit, I am a College Football snob. Nothing compares to the rivalry, pageantry, traditions, and spectacle of college football, but the NFL is second in my book of sports to watch. While the league is driven by money and players make way too much in my opinion, it is still fun to watch the games.

For those who know me, I live vicariously through the Gator football team. I feel every play and every tackle. Close games stress me out and drive me nuts. NFL football is my Sunday escape and my way to relax. I can watch the games, root for whom ever I want, and not really care what the end result is.

I still have a soft spot for Miami having grown up near there. I also like to see Atlanta do well since I lived there for 8 years. My wife roots for the Jags because they are the closest team to us and they used to draft a lot of Gators. Overall though I don't get worked up over the games like I do in college. Maybe it's because not every game is a MUST WIN. Maybe it's because these aren't kids giving their all for their school. Maybe it's because when you are a student at a college you ARE apart of that team. While at school you see the players and coaches around campus, maybe even have a class with some. You're all part of a family or in my case the Gator Nation. With NFL players they are larger than life. They are someone on TV, in commercials, or in a mug shot. There is no deep connection, at least not for me.

This is also the first year I am trying Fantasy Football. I'm sure many people are saying "what took you so long". I always felt it was not being a true fan in a sense. Instead of rooting for your team you're rooting for individual players. I have come to realize that is how I now view the NFL. I don't have a "Team" that I worship. I currently don't have a player I idolize (Tebow would be the closest thing, but he is not starting). I grew up being the Biggest Dan Marino fan and one of the best joys in my life (after my wedding and kids being born) was getting to meet him in person and talk to him. He lives up to the hype and is a very nice man.

With all that being said, I realize I already isolate players I like and ones I don't. That makes trying Fantasy Football an obvious choice. If I had my way my team would consist of all the Gators in the NFL, but I'm also a competitor and know that wouldn't win me many games. Instead I try to go with the players I feel give me the best chance to win. You also have to grab who you can get when it's your turn to draft. All the good QBs may run out and you get stuck with Chad Henne.

So last night I watched the Saints play the Vikings. I saw the Saints start out strong, slip a little, and then finish the game with their ground attack. I also saw my Fantasy chances this week fall to the wayside as Brett Farve looked tired and hobbled. He was not able to get the passing game going and since I have 2 WRs on my team that play for the Vikings, it meant I was done for.

Oh well such is life, there's always next week. I won't sweat the small stuff, only the stuff that really matters, like how bad I want the Gators to beat USF this weekend.

Sportsmanship

This is not specifically about Gator Football, but it involves football in Florida.

On Labor Day the Dwyer High School football team out of Palm Beach Gardens, FL played Glenville High School of Cleveland, OH on ESPN. While watching the game I saw why ESPN put these schools on TV. There are several good players on each team. In fact Matt Elam, a freshman safety for the Gators, is from Dwyer. The speed of those players made my memories of my HS team seem like slow motion. There was a lot of intensity out on that field. Both teams wanting to make an impression in front of a national audience.

Their talent wasn't the only thing that made an impression.

Several times during the game I saw players jawing at each other after a play. I saw them celebrating a little too much after a routine tackle. Many of the hits were hard, but some should have been illegal (leading with their helmet). Each team was trying to out "swagger" the other.

Dwyer had the ball, down 22-26 in the waining minutes of the game. They appeared to have scored the go ahead touchdown only to have the officials rule the player out of bounds. They tried again and apparenlty scored again, only to have the officials say otherwise. A third try was also ruled no good by the officials, ending the game. The players for Dwyer were furious, some taking off their helmets to yell at the officials. Dwyer's coach ran on the field irrate with the calls. (I will add here that replay showed 2 of the 3 attempts to score were actually touchdowns. It is also noted that the officials were from Ohio.) All the yelling and hollering was to no avail, the plays stood as called, Glenville won the game. The players from Glenville began taunting the Dwyer team. The players from Dwyer yelled back. One player from Dwyer, Nick O'Leary (grandson of golf great Jack Nicholas) was seen on camera flipping the Glenville players the bird.

I coach little league football. One our main priorities is teaching the kids fairplay and sportsmanship. No one likes to lose. But in any game there is a winner and loser. You have to be a good sport about both.
These players knew they were on TV. They knew young kids were home watching them. They seemed unable to control themselves. They couldn't stop jawing back and forth. Players were escorted off the field by the coaches, but it was too late. Viewers at home saw what they did and I'm sure many thought it was okay to act that way.
 
Now today the Florida High School Athlectic Assosiation has suspended Nick O'Leary for 2 games as punishment for his On-Air gesture. Two games seems a little much, (I would have gone with 1) but they wanted to make an example. I wish you could punish the taunters too. I see no problem with players being punished when they act out of line.What I didn't like was Dwyer Head Coach Jack Daniel's response.
 
He said it was unfair to punish an 18 year old who was frustrated, but not punish the adults (meaning the officials) who made the calls on the field. He then said that he would forfeit the two games O'Leary was suspended for, making his team inelligable for post season play. This says to me that Daniels thinks O'Leary's right to flip off people is more important than the hardwork the rest of his team and staff have done. Instead of taking the role as mentor and teaching kids what is right and wrong and making them own up to their mistakes, he is going to take his ball and go home. What gives? I note that he has not officially forfieted yet, so hopefully the parents and principal with change his mind, but what message does that send to even say that to begin with.
 
With all that is going on in college sports, with players feeling entitled and braking rules, where do people think this starts. If we teach them young that if you don't play by the rules, you don't play, then maybe it won't be such a problem later. While it's evident that these elite HS programs have thought their players to be physically ready for college play, they haven't always taught them good sportsmanship.

Urgency

Today I'd like to talk about URGENCY. It has been the buzz word this week around Gainesville. From the coaches, to the players, to the media.

The dictionary defines urgency as such 1: the quality or state of being urgent  2: a force or impulse that impels. Well the first definition is fairly obvious. The second is the one that matters, a force that impels. That should the word around Gainesville. It should be the word around all of college football.

After last week's game the Gators realized they had some work to do. Okay, a lot of work to do. They realized that they could not just insert player B into former player A's slot and keep the machine going. It is going to take work to keep going at a level the team, the fans, and the media have expected. Real fans knew there were going to be some hiccups, but the media voted them #4 in the AP poll. ESPN declared Brantley the 3rd best QB in the SEC last year behind Tebow and ARK's Mallet. People figured, oh great now he's #2, we're on the road to another SEC title game. Not so fast.

The Gators started the season with a thud on offense. Players looked like it was their first time playing together. They acted like all the practice since spring was for nothing. They looked like a team that was not urgent. They may have thought they could go through the motions against an inferior team, get their win and move on. I know there were fans who thought that and maybe even some coaches. They did not have that force that impels them to play hard. The problem is they got complacent and that is one of the deadly sins in college football. When a team gets complacent, even the best team, it can end in disaster. Look at Ole Miss on Saturday, or Michigan two years ago. It almost happened to Alabama last year against Tenn. When EVERY game counts, how can you not be urgent?

Now the team says they are urgent. Urgently trying to fix the errors, to right the wrongs. Urban Meyer says their is nothing better than coaching a team that has urgency. I question why they didn't have urgency before the game. Shouldn't they have been urgent to prove that they can be great even without Tebow? Shouldn't Brantley be urgent to show the fans what he has waited 3 years to do? They have the talent, the skill, the know how, they just need to have the drive. Saturday it was obvious that they missed Tebow, but not because of his football ability. They missed him because he lives his life with a sense of urgency. He gives his best effort all the time. Hopefully the people that came behind him will remember that.

This week they face a South Florida team that has come a long way in the past decade. They are not a pushover. They face good competition in the Big East and have beaten the likes of Auburn and FSU in recent history. They have a new coach with something to prove and a team with skilled players. The Gators need to find their urgency, because we know that Skip Holtz saw the film last week and his team will be urgent to prove they are the next big thing in Florida football.

BCS and BS

Today I'm going to go off the Gator path and talk about what everyone else is surely talking about...BS.

Now BS can stand for many things. One we all know and love, the other is Boise State. To me they tend to go hand and hand when it comes to their football team and the talk of a BCS championship. Now don't get me wrong, I watched the game last night and they played well enough to win. Virginia Tech was out coached in the last 3 minutes and Boise State executed their plan well. They were helped a little with two bad calls by the officials, but they still had to score and they did. The win last night is not my issue.

My issue is what some people think this win means. They think it means that Boise State is now deserving to be considered for the title game should they go undefeated. Going undefeated it a great accomplishment no matter what sport or league you play it from little league up to the NFL (go '72 Dolphins), but should all those teams be considered equal? No.

This off season there were several big changes in some of the major conferences, ones with automatic BCS bids. There were opportunities for schools to become part of those conferences. Boise State did elect to move conferences, but not to the PAC10 or the Big10. They moved from the WAC to the Mountain West Conference. The problem with that move is that two of the stronger teams in that conference left, BYU is going independent and Utah left for the PAC10. Which means that Boise State is once again in a conference will only 1 other contender, TCU (which will probably only last until TCU is invited to join the Big12 this off season).

Enough back story. The real story is the major conferences have several teams that are good enough to be considered BCS contenders. The SEC has one the last 4 BCS titles by 3 different teams. The Big10 sent 2 different representatives the last two years. All this means is that, in order for these teams to go undefeated or even sustain only 1 loss, they have to play good, tough football ALL YEAR. They have to get banged up, beat up, sometimes get a little lucky, but mostly maintain a high level of play against tough opponents 8, 9 even 10 weeks out of the season, not just 1 or 2 weeks.

I applaud Boise State for winning the game and for going undefeated last year. I chide them for backing out of joining a major conference. I think they should be allowed to go to a major bowl if they go undefeated. I don't think they deserve the Championship game based on who they play. I stand by my statement that BCS talk for Boise State is just what it is all about...BS.

Game 1 - Wrap up

For those who have been waiting for my analysis of the game (admit it, you have been), here it is.

1) Defense - They looked great. They kept us in the game in the first half and kept Miami out of the endzone when the offense gave them good field position. The new freshmen played and played well. Bostic is a perfect replacement for Spikes. They did give up yards in the 2nd half, but it was hot and they were on the field for a long time. If they can cut down on the dumb penalties we'll be okay.

2) Kicking - Needs a little work. The missed FG was long (44yds), but the missed extra point is unacceptable.

3) WR - They need to practice more catching the ball (D. Thompson) and REALLY need to practice blocking. When you run a sweep the WR has to isolate the DB either outside or inside to allow a path for the RB. Several plays they did not do this (C. Moore) and the RB had no where to go. The one time they did it right Demps went 72 yards for the TD.

4) RB - Although they did not have any holes to run through, they have to bulldoze in there and not go backwards. They also HAVE to HOLD ON to the ball. Miami would have 1 or 2 players stand up the RB while a 3rd player tried to pull the ball loose. Don't think SEC teams won't do the same thing.

5) QB - Brantley needs to stop checking down and calling run plays. Have faith in your arm and your WR. He was limited Sat due to the patchwork O-line (meaning his TE were being used at LG and LT). With Demps and Rainey he needs to use bubble screens, but the WR have to block for that to work.

6) O-Line - What a mess. How Pouncy forgot how to snap boggles me. He's been doing it since Spring practice. We can't let that happen EVER again. I know that the left side starters were out, but we should still be better than that. They were getting man-handled on run plays, though played decent on passing plays.

7) Coaching - 2 things of thought here. They were trying to stay basic and get Brantley some confidence. They succeeded at one, but I doubt Brantley felt confident in any way. The offense was TOO basic. The left side of the O-line was back ups and TE, which meant they ran mostly to the right. Miami figured that out and was there to meet us every time. When they did try to run to the left the linemen couldn't handle the blocks and it did not end well. Brantley also checked down several times to a running play based on seeing blitz. He was worried the o-line couldn't protect him on a blitz (and he was probably right), but the running plays went nowhere. The coaches did not adjust their approach until the 4th Qtr where a few penalties, another fumble, and another bad snap nearly messed those drives up too.

Next week - The O-line should be back and they need to decide what to do about the center position. They need to work on getting the WRs to block (call Riley Cooper to demonstrate). Obviously the new WR Coach from C. Michigan never had his guys block. The Defense needs to iron out the dumb penalties and play like the did on Sat. We should be okay, but if it starts out bad, morale could really mess us up.