Thursday, September 16, 2010

WTF edition of La Esquina

First I want to apologize for the long hiatus; I figured I would wait for conference play to crank out the next edition, partly because I thought these first two games would be silly blow outs and partly because La Esquina has been busy at his new job. In case you were wondering, I do have a real job, I am not paid for writing this column -- I do it because I am a lunatic whose primary form of entertainment in life consists of watching young teenage boys smack into each other while chasing a ball around.

I am calling this the “WTF” edition because as I reflect on the season so far I feel like screaming from the top of my lungs, What the F*ck!!!!! I am not just talking about the play on the field, I am also referring to the many off the field shenanigans by current and former players…let’s just start there, one at a time.

WTF #1: Brandon Spikes sex tape
If you haven’t seen it yet, Google it. I don’t know what he was thinking when he made that cute little movie with the Kim Kardashian look-alike but I am sure Bill Bellichick wasn’t too pleased. Not a good way to start your NFL career Brandon. I want to see you GET sacks; don’t want to see your ACTUAL sack. Thanks. At least she was hot, when I first heard about this I was certain she was going to be of the overweight Caucasian variety.

WTF #2: “Time to die”
I have some many questions for Chris Rainey here that I don’t know where to start. First, how did you let yourself get so whipped? You are Chris Rainey, star RB/WR for the Florida Gators…women must be lining up to get with you. Second, on what planet is it ok to text somebody that? Not that it’s cool to think it or say it audibly, definitely not, but it’s uber-moronic to forever create a track record of your OJ Simpson idioms. Also, a 35 year old? Really? You are barely of drinking age and get sprung by somebody who is likely your mother’s age. I just can’t believe Rainey was this stupid, I think he will be made an example of…Urban is getting too much heat for these arrests in the media; I don’t think we will see Rainey on the field for the rest of the season.

I actually have some inside info here, a lawyer friend of mine in Florida who shall remain nameless might end up representing Rainey – word is his family is not too thrilled with the nonchalant approach displayed so far by his current lawyer, the infamous Huntley Johnson (who has literally represented every gator football player to have ever gotten in trouble). Unfortunately, business is a booming lately for old Huntley. We’ll get to the ridiculous number of arrests in the Urban Meyer era later…I have a theory.

WTF #3: Will Hill
I feel like I am playing where’s Waldo every weekend looking for this guy. Our starting stud safety, nominated for the Thorpe award in the preseason, is nowhere to be found. According to Urban, “he wasn’t ready to play” … that is code for, he effed up real bad. There’s all kind of theories floating around, failed drug tests, bad grades, there’s even reports of him being at the wrong place at the wrong time and getting himself mixed up in a grand theft auto investigation. Who the f*ck knows…those are all rumors. I just know that Will Hill apparently is not too concerned with feeding his son after all, because whatever he did is costing him many NFL millions as we speak. Get your sh*t together man…get on the field…and Urban, it would be nice to know what in god’s green earth is going on every once in a while?

WTF #4: Brantley
Ummmm…if this is what all the hype was about I am sorry to say that I am not too impressed. I know that we could barely snap the ball in week 1 and that our receivers are not exactly Duper and Clayton but in the words of Keyshawn and Chris Carter…COME ON’ MAN!!!

I haven’t seen the guy make a play yet. He’s been ok, he can clearly throw the ball…but he doesn’t strike me as a leader or playmaker. I really hope I am wrong here…maybe they are holding him back and not really opening up the offense yet, maybe we unleash him this week against Tennessee. Whatever the case, so far he seems to struggle going through his progressions and gets rid of the ball too quickly if his primary receiver is not open. He needs to extend some plays, whether by rolling out or stepping up in the pocket, he just needs to do something that is above average. So far, I haven’t seen it.
I guess it’s hard to manage your own expectations after being spoiled with Tebow for the last 4 years. Brantley is in a tough position but if he doesn’t get better real soon we will lose 4 games this year.

WTF #5: Deonte Thompson
Catch the ball! You have rocks for hands…imagine yourself cupping a nice breast as the ball is in the air; maybe that will help you soften up those paws. Seriously though, my biggest pet peeve with this guy is that he lets the ball get into his body. Guys who catch the ball by cradling it against their body inevitably have many more drops. Catch the ball with your hands…find the point of the football while it is in the air, stretch your arms out, reach for it and snatch it. If you notice, that is how all the good receivers catch the ball. You need look no further than your homeboy Carl Moore…look at how he sucked in the ball on that big 4th and 3 play where Brantley made a poor throw and Carl Moore a.k.a. Louis Murphy laid out for it and bailed Brantley out.



I want to move on from the WTF section to get into some X’s and O’s real quick.

DEFENSE

First I want to praise the best corner/safety tandem in the nation. Jackrabbit Jenkins and Ahmad Black are playing out of their minds. Jenkins is superior athletically and seems to be a step ahead of every WR and QB we’ve played this year. I want somebody to show me a better cover corner in college football. Black is not too far behind…he will sneak into your house through the screen door, walk into your kitchen, make a sandwich, slap you in the face, steal your wallet and you will say “thank you sir may I have another.” He is that stealth. These guys have 5 picks between them in 2 games and have had a few called back. Let’s hope they can keep it up.

The d-line play has been erratic. I haven’t seen much from the d-ends…they have made some plays (Trattou with the pick 6 and Lemmens with the fumble recovery) so I guess we should be happy about that but those seem fluky. I want to see one of them beat a tackle with a dirty swim move and crunch the QB. If they didn’t do it against Miami of Ohio and USF I am not holding my breath against Alabama. I think Teryl Austin is going to have to start mixing in more blitzes as the level of competition gets better. I just don’t see Trattou and Lemmens generating a pass rush. In my opinion, it’s never a good sign when your starting D-ends are both white. How about a little more William Green and Ronald Powell?

The key is for that 2nd cornerback opposite Jenkins to hold his own (whether Jeremy Brown or one of the freshman). If we can trust that we are not going to have wide open receivers streaking down the field if we blitz then I think Austin gets a little more aggressive with the defensive play calling. I do like the way the tackles are playing, as predicted in my pre-season column Jay Howard has played like a beast. Omar Hunter is occupying a lot of blockers and although unheralded, he is the reason why the other guys are making plays. Also coming on quietly and surprisingly is Shariff Floyd (it sure is nice to finally get some early production from a highly touted 5 star d-tackle at Florida).

The linebackers have been inconsistent. AJ Jones has looked good and Jelani Jenkins looks very athletic…he looks like he’s got that “it” factor when you watch him run around. Brandon Hicks has been hurt but he is very gifted and a senior so we really need him to get healthy fast. I am disappointed in Bostic, he has not looked great in the middle, seems like he gets juked too easily and overruns a lot of plays. We need to give some of these young guys some time but so far they have looked inexperienced out there.

OFFENSE

I would like to see us throw the ball down the field more but generally I don’t really have too many issues with Adazzio’s play calling. I thought it was interesting towards the 2nd half of the FSU game that we went to a lot of I-formation football. Very unlike Urban Meyer but then again, it does speak to his ability to adapt to the personnel. Hell, whether it’s the spread offense or power eye if it’s effective, keep running it. I think they realized that when healthy the strength of this football team should be the offensive line. With the return of Xavier Nixon this week they can all get back to playing their natural positions and I think we will look much improved on offense and much more fluid.

A lot of people have been complaining about the option plays with Brantley but I don’t mind the call so much as the execution. It looks like on a couple of those double option runs where he pitched it inside to Omarius he should have pitched it outside for big gains and just misread the play. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want Brantley running around too much…if he gets hurt we’re done…but it would be nice to get him to roll out and help him find other ways to make plays.

I am also a little hesitant to get excited about Demps. Yes, he looks incredibly fast out there, especially on those kickoff returns when he gets a head of steam (I predict he will take a kickoff to the house soon) but I am skeptical because he always seems to get these 60/70 yard runs against the Miami of Ohio’s of the world. I want to see this kind of production against SEC teams. He seems to have turned a corner and maybe he is indeed ready to take his game to the next level but I want to see it against Alabama and LSU. On a sidenote, I really like Mike Gillislee. He runs with some real venom…very aggressive. I think he is going to start to eat into Moody’s carries soon.

If I had one wish this year it would be for some of the young receivers to step up. I think most of this has to do with the fact that Urban doesn’t let them get out there but for whatever reason I have not heard or seen much from guys we all expected to be big playmakers this year. Where is Debose, Alli, Dunkley, Dunbar? Some of these guys may be too young but some of the others have been in the program enough where they should be able to contribute if they were as talented as advertised. Something has to give…at some point you need to get these guys on the field and let them sink or swim Urban.

One quick thought on the Tennessee game before I get to my Urban/Arrest theory. Don’t sleep on Tennessee…this is a rivalry game and they will get up for it, especially after being embarrassed by Oregon last week. That is a very tough environment to play in and yes we should win handedly but if they gave out awards on paper we would have been National Champions last year. The way we are playing on offense, I don’t feel comfortable against USF, much less Tennessee. I hope our guys bring their A game. We will need it.

BLAME THE COPS
There is no way we can give Urban a pass for the fact that we have had 30 arrests since he started coaching this team. Equally as shocking is that Randy Shannon has only had 1 in his tenure at UM (at least we have some wins and rings to show for it).

Anyways, that sh*t is really not that cool. I understand that these are kids and that they come from tough backgrounds etc. but we are recruiting the same kids Miami, Alabama, LSU and Auburn recruits, so why the disproportionate number of arrests at Florida? Maybe Urban has been too lenient (see Dunlap last year), maybe they think they can get away with it, maybe we have been compromising on character for the sake of talent…but if you look deeper I think one variable that should not be understated is the Gainesville police department. Who do you think sticks out more big black guys in Miami or big black guys in Gainesville? And who do you think will be more tolerant, a diversified police force made up of blacks, whites and Hispanics or one made up strictly of Alachua county red necks? Maybe this is a stupid/biased/homer analysis but I am not the first to espouse this theory. We all know what pricks cops can be in Gainesville, both GPD and on campus/university cops. I just think the detection rate is higher in Gainesville than in larger cities and I don’t think the cultural differences between your standard cop and football player in Gainesville help the situation much. Whatever the case, we are getting a bad rap and I think Urban is going to make an example out of Rainey. There is one thing that can help take some attention away from this bad publicity…WINNING!

Gators 31 Tennessee 17.

Go Gators!

2 comments:

NigJim said...

I can vouch for the police harassment and overall suckiness of the GPD and UPD in Gainesville, and I think you are 100% on the money about the reason for the disproportionate arrests in Gville over Miami, or any other program for that matter. F*ck those assholes

the SHA said...

Money score prediction, cheech.