Thursday, September 30, 2010

La Esquina – The Big One

This is the on you have been waiting for since December 5, 2009. On that wretched day I had a bird’s eye view of Urban Meyer’s most devastating loss as the head football coach of the University of Florida.

I said it then and I will say it again, Meyer was badly outcoached by Saban in that game. It just seemed like Bama was always 1 step ahead. Alabama surprisingly came out throwing to start the game and we had no answer, they also called the perfect play against Charlie Strong’s patented corner blitz (that screen pass to Ingram that went for about 80 yards) and I could go on like this for a while. The point is, they had us off-balance on defense the entire game. Meyer was owned and I know he has been consumed this entire offseason with nothing but figuring out how to best dickslap Nick “the dick” Saban this time around. It will be interesting to see what he has in store considering this is the first time in years that we have been underdogs. I have a feeling that being the underdog just might make Urban less conservative for once. Loosen up Urbs…let it all hang out, blitzes, trick plays, deep vertical throws…this is the “no rubbers” weekend, let’s roll the dice baby! I wouldn’t be surprised to see an onside kick in this game.

Three things I like heading into this game:

1) Our OL against the Bama DL. Alabama has actually had a tough time rushing the passer this year and our OL is finally getting healthy, the starting unit finally got a couple of games under their belt. I need to qualify this a bit, I am a lot more confident about our OL’s ability to pass protect than to run block. I doubt we can get much going in the running game against Bama (especially with a dinged up Demps) but if we throw on first down and stay unpredictable with our play calling Brantley should have some time against Bama corners that appeared a little bit shaky last week against Arkansas. Hopefully Deonte and the boys bring their sticky gloves.

2) Our secondary against Bama receivers. This is a little counterintuitive because our secondary lost a 1st and 3rd round NFL pick from the team that lost to Bama last year (Joe Haden and Major Wright) while the Crimson Tide still has Julio Jones and Marquise Maze out there – so why do you like this match-up you say? Simple, our secondary is the strength of our team (along with our D-tackles). You have in my opinion the best cornerback in the country Janoris Jenkins (although Patrick Peterson from LSU might have something to say about that), a safety that I wouldn’t trade for anybody else in college football in Ahmad Black along with Will Hill (who although disappointing this year, is still extremely talented and due for a coming out game) and finally, Jeremy “the Gambler” Brown who has proven to be a big time playmaker so far. I am concerned about Brown biting on a double move and getting beat deep…that kid is just so aggressive he is clearly susceptible to that kind of route. If I noticed that you can bet that Saban did too. We need to get turnovers in this game if we are going to have a chance to win and the best chance will come from our secondary since Bama doesn’t fumble, EVER.

3) Special Teams. A huge advantage historically for Urban Meyer coached teams, whether it’s returns, blocked kicks or superior punting….we always seem to have an edge. Field position is going to be incredibly important in this game. The one weak link here is Caleb Sturgis. I am so sick of that little tampon missing field goals and kicking the ball out of bounds on kick-offs that I could just scream. He could cost us the game next week. The worst part is that after he screws up he usually pouts like a little 5 year old that just had his lollipop stolen. He needs to man-up and get his sh*t together and fast. I also think that Jeff Demps is an inch away from breaking a kick-off return. This might be the week if Demps is healthy, which is a big if, he’s barely practiced all week with that bum ankle.

Three things I don’t like going into the game:

1) Our chances of shutting down Ingram and Richardson. This might be the best RB tandem in modern college FB history. Both of these guys will be starting in the NFL soon and they just so happen to be on the same college team. If you look at the tape last year, one thing that killed us (and we didn’t have this problem last year against anybody else) was our tackling against these two. We need to have the entire defense running to the ball because 8 out of 10 times the first guy is not going to bring down either of these two. Gang tackling! Look for a 5 defensive line front with 2 linebackers with Jay Howard moving to D-end (especially on obvious running downs). This so called “Heavy Package” should help against the run but concerned about them running play action off of that and finding Julio Jones deep in single coverage. Will be interesting to see how this formation works out.

Also, look for a lot of run blitzes coming from Teryl Austin. I have to say, that guy has been a breath of fresh air with his unique and timely blitz packages and ability to make defensive adjustments at half time so far this year. His NFL pedigree seems to be a real asset to the coaching staff. Bottom line here is that this is a tough matchup and I would be thrilled if we held both of these guys to under 150 yards rushing combined. We need to make Greg McElroy beat us through the air by forcing them to throw. Let’s stack the box and put the onus on McElroy to beat us instead of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson. A little tidbit from the blogs this week…apparently McElroy is hurt and won’t be 100% for this game (hopefully he gets hit by a bus on his way to get a haircut at that place where every pretty boy from the south seems to get their bangs done…just kidding…not really…ok, I guess I am kidding).

2) Our ability to run the ball against Bama. I just don’t feel good about this, especially with Demps having a bum ankle. Although that may be a blessing in disguise because, as I have noted all year Demps doesn’t seem to hold up against SEC defenses (all of his big games have come against inferior competition). The fact that Demps is hurt means that Gillislee and Moody (both of whom are bigger backs who run better and more powerfully in between the tackles) should get more carries – which I think bodes well against this physical Alabama D. However, Demps is the one guy on the field who can go the distance anytime he touches the ball and is always very dangerous on those jet sweeps, swing passes and kickoffs. Thus, overall it’s obviously a big blow to UF’s chances to win if he is not 100%. It will be interesting to see if Urban comes out trying to establish the run or if he cuts Brantley loose and comes out chucking.

3) The Alabama Home Field Advantage. This is huge. You had to be at the SEC Championship game last year to really appreciate how active, insane and well synchronized the Alabama fans are. It will be an impossible atmosphere and in a game of emotion and momentum like football, the impact of home field is not to be understated. This is a big reason as to why we are a 10 point under dog going into Tuscaloosa (yes, you heard that right, double digit dogs). This is Brantley’s first big game also, just not a good recipe for success. All you Florida fans going to the game I implore you to back our guys up. Get on your feet, scream, use your blow darts and take down some red necks (i.e. do whatever you have to do) every little bit counts.

I just don’t know what to make of this Gator team yet. We looked like we are finally starting to turn the corner against Kentucky, but then again we were playing Kentucky. There were some big bright spots and none brighter than Trey Burton…really like the versatility this kid brings to our offense. He lined up at running back, quarterback, fullback, and receiver last week. I don’t know how as a true freshman he has managed to pick-up the offense so quickly but I sure am glad he’s done it. Look for him to line-up at QB and throw the ball multiple times against Bama…he has almost exclusively run the ball out of the QB position this year and you know Urban is going to set-up that Bama D, suck them in expecting Burton to run and then boom, hit somebody deep over the top. By all accounts Burton is a real quality person too, check out his link: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_staples/09/30/florida-trey-burton/index.html.

Also, JB finally is starting to look like a difference maker and not just a game manager. The bottom line is he needs to have the game of his life if we’re going to beat Bama (similar to how McElroy played out of his mind against us last year). He needs to go out and win us that game, none of this no mistakes, conservative passing attack BS. No, think Rex Grossman gun-slinger mentality. Has anybody else noticed that essentially Brantley has two throws that he makes really well and is not asked to do much more beyond those two throws? He throws crossing route after crossing route in the middle of the field and also throws those wide swing passes to the RBs or WRs at the line of scrimmage, but that’s about it. When is the last time you saw him throw an out pattern to the sidelines? Or a deep ball? Or any type of pass that requires that he put some touch/loft on the ball? Not often. I think he has the arm to make all those throws so it must just be conservative play calling. Time to let the dog loose!

The WRs are coming along, Deonte and especially Carl Moore are coming on as is Debose, who finally showed signs of life last week. There was one catch where he is a shoestring tackle away from breaking it if you watch the tape closely. I like Debose’s size and ability to glide in the open field. Maybe he can be that x-factor this weekend. Although I am predicting that another player has a break out game…Jordan Reed. Watch for Urban to go to Reed early and often, this kid is CI in the making, he just needs the touches. And of course, don’t sleep on my favorite man-child Omarious Hines. He is really hard to tackle, we just have to figure out how to get him more touches.

I keep going back and forth on who wins this game, it is just too hard to pick. I will say this though; I think this game is more important for Alabama than it is for us. The SEC West is much stronger this year than the SEC East. We could lose this game, win out the rest of the way and then play Alabama again in the SEC championship game, putting us right back in contention. If they lose this game they might not get back to the SEC championship game the way Auburn is playing, and LSU is no slouch. I just hope Brantley won’t be overwhelmed against that D in that stadium with that kind of atmosphere. JB needs to show up for the big game. Turnovers and special teams play will be the difference.

We need a hero. We need a break-out game from one of the many 4/5 star young studs. Who wants to stick the god damn Gator flag in the ground and let these b*tches know that Florida is back and last year was a fluke? Pressure bursts pipes but it also makes diamonds…this is about as intense and pressure filled a game as you will ever find and we need to have our diamond in the rough (whoever he is) come out and show his face. Let’s go into Tuscaloosa and pillage, maim, rob and claw our way to a W. Let’s inject a few thousand pounds of kick-ass into Bryant Denny stadium. Let’s go be great, let’s reclaim the throne! UF 28-20.

Go Gators!

1 comment:

the SHA said...

Great preview as usual. I hope the score you predicted is as accurate as the one you predicted for the Tennessee game.

Fuck 'bama.
Go Gators.