I don't know how this is even possible

[tapsgator]

Graham Mertz is completing 77.8% of his passes. He has been better than expected and probably as good as he's going to get. We have played far and away the easiest 4 game stretch of our schedule with 2 games at home including one team that lost 52-34 at home the week before to something called Tarleton State the week before and another that came in on the heels of a 41-25 beatdown at home by Georgia State. So how in the Hell do we get to these numbers?

125 out of 133 teams in 3rd down conversions. 25%. That includes 1-9 against Charlotte (0-1 on 4th down) and 1-17 in the last 6 quarters. That one conversion? A direct snap to Montrell Johnson (because of course) on 3rd and 1.

We have 5, that's right 5, "explosive plays" of 30+ yards. I can't find where that ranks nationally but it's last in the SEC and given that Vanderbilt is 13th in the SEC with 10 I'm guessing we've got to be worse than 100th.



Honestly, this is probably the biggest red flag concerning not having an OC and QB coach. If a QB is completing over 3/4 of his throws and you can't convert 3rd down, score against horrible competition, or create more than 1.25 big plays per game there is either something fundamentally wrong with the gameplan/scheme or the QB is checking down every time. Probably both. With all the constant evaluation and analytics we're running it is odd to me that those numbers are seemingly not being taken into consideration.

[tapsgator]

Nevermind, evidently we played exactly as planned after looking at the film:

www.si.com/college/florida/football/florida-gators-what-billy-napier-said-following-week-4-performance-2023

If you want to save the frustration of reading the whole thing this pretty much sums it up:

"We really had a lot of good stuff on the film. I was proud of our team. There was lots of parts of our team where we executed really well. Met a lot of goals -- offense, defense, and special teams."

[SoTxCaiman]

If RDB starts barefoot waterskiing I am going to take it as a sign of the Apocalypse and bug out quick..........

There is no chance of RBD's Mom and Zook ever being in the same place at the same time is there?

[wahhappen]

This is what has me nervous about the rest of season schedule. We have not shown the ability to make a big play in big moments. We play a rinky-dink, safe, “do just enough to not lose the game” style of offense. It is obvious Mertz can’t make a legitimate completion down the field, and we don’t even try. There are no clutch plays. There are no gutsy calls. Because “scared money don’t make money,” right?

Sadly, I think we are playing to Mertz’s strengths. Maybe I am wrong, but he just doesn’t seem to have the ability to move the ball when it counts.

[tapsgator]

Sept 28, 2023 9:45:58 GMT -5 SoTxCaiman said:

If RDB starts barefoot waterskiing I am going to take it as a sign of the Apocalypse and bug out quick..........

There is no chance of RBD's Mom and Zook ever being in the same place at the same time is there?

To borrow a term: Right? I actually just sent the following text to a group this morning:

Is it just me or is Real Deal Billy with the steady hair making a strong run at the Zooker in terms of looking like a moron every time there's a live mic?

[gatordoll]

Apparently this is the first time since 1988 that the Gators have been underdogs vs KY.

[tapsgator]

So, I didn’t think it could get worse because well I just didn’t think it could, but Graham mertz, he of the career completion % under 60 coming into this year completed 83.3% of his passes and we scored 14 points. Do you have any idea how bad the offensive approach, scheme, gameplan, and playcalling have to be for that to happen? Simple stupidity will not accomplish that, especially 5 games into the season where if you take away the 49 points against something called mcneese state we’re scoring an average of 19 points a game behind a qb completing 79% of his passes. I don’t know if a team trying to throw games would be able to do it in that manner. It defies any sense of logic

[wahhappen]

Oct 1, 2023 20:49:15 GMT -5 tapsgator said:

So, I didn’t think it could get worse because well I just didn’t think it could, but Graham mertz, he of the career completion % under 60 coming into this year completed 83.3% of his passes and we scored 14 points. Do you have any idea how bad the offensive approach, scheme, gameplan, and playcalling have to be for that to happen? Simple stupidity will not accomplish that, especially 5 games into the season where if you take away the 49 points against something called mcneese state we’re scoring an average of 19 points a game behind a qb completing 79% of his passes. I don’t know if a team trying to throw games would be able to do it in that manner. It defies any sense of logic

I am not sure which stat is more surprising - the fact we were basically 50/50 run vs. pass being down from the start of the game needing to score points, or that we completed 25 passes for an average of 8.1 yards being down from the start and needing to score points. I did not see the game, but heard it on the radio. From what Shane Matthews (who sounds like a redneck which I did not realize previously before the broadcast) and Tate Casey were reporting, it sounded like we had 1:1 man coverage downfield any time we wanted it. It baffles me that we continue to ignore what is working during the game and instead force plays that have no chance. I am sure Pearsall is thrilled with his decision to return so he can watch our 2nd best RB catch 6 passes for 3.7 yards a clip. What a joke.

[tapsgator]

www.gainesville.com/story/sports/college/football/2023/10/03/florida-gators-football-coach-billy-napier-must-open-up-the-offense/70997273007/

"Everything that we do is always being evaluated," Napier said. "I think one of the things that's challenging as a leader when you have a core responsibility, if there's things in that area that can be done better, you've got to be able to tell yourself the truth."

Well that settles that then. I know I feel better

[tapsgator]

Ready for some analysis and evaluation?

Etienne is averaging 6.0 yards per carry, Johnson is averaging 4.5 ypc. 6.0>4.5. So the guy with the higher YPC should probably get more touches. At least in 22 it was closer (6.1 to 5.4), but this isn't new. That's high level analytics so we can't expect a guy making 7.4m per year to think of it especially when he's hamstrung with a 7.5m budget for 10 coaches (but no special teams) and another 5m for analysts.

Speaking of which, back to numbers that defy logic:

www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2023/10/03/college-football-coaches-salaries-most-overpaid-jimbo-fisher/70962829007/

"Napier will get the chance to turn things around at Florida, and his very successful run at Louisiana-Lafayette and flashes of top-level play in Gainesville suggest he could eventually get the Gators back toward the top of the SEC and FBS."

He's getting the chance to turn things around. As we speak. What flashes? AR highlights? Etienne breaking long runs? Because that Tennessee game didn't leave me feeling like they flashed jackshit. He had a nice script and actually used his best player in the first half and then sat back and let Hueppel and the refs protect the lead. That was certainly not "top level play."

But I digress, how exactly is the coach at UF the 8th highest paid in the SEC and overpaid at the same time? That level of systemic failure from the UAA/ADs (both acting and Emeritus) is absolutely staggering. You've taken the best sports program in the nation, one that won back to back national championships in basketball and 2 in 3 years in football and run it to a place where we are "overpaying" when our coach makes 1.6 million less than Kentucky's, Tennessee's and Ole Miss, and he's "overpaid." I have to believe that our nosedive in the Big 2 sports and our scandals in female sport's coaching hires make Stricklin the worst AD in the country. Right? That's a deal there man.

I keep hearing how he can't go this year because we can't afford the buyout. Why? Did I miss something? Granted Sexton got over on Stricklin and company by having the contract 85% guaranteed unless there's cause, and pretty sure his using a word of the day calendar to master public speaking isn't enough, but we're not talking about Jimbo here. If we can drop 12.5 million per year on support staff I would think we can handle the 30m buy out.