LA ESQUINA

Welcome back folks and get ready for a long and technical edition of La Esquina. This is heavy on the X’s and O’s and light on the fluff. If you aren’t a diehard this might not be the issue for you. After last week’s exciting game there is much to discuss. We are getting down to the home stretch and everybody, Urban, the players and yes even us the fans need to start getting our minds right as we plow into the post-season.

I want to start by discussing some general themes that I picked-up on while watching the game:

· DEFENSIVE ALIGNMENTS – We were in the “Joker” package with Trattou at nose tackle almost the entire game. We were also blitzing linebackers and defensive backs non-stop, very atypical. I guess Urban was concerned about South Carolina’s passing game but it seems to me like when we take the big boys out of the middle (Omar Hunter, Terron Sanders, Lawrence Marsch etc.) and play a defensive end at tackle we are susceptible to the run. Indeed, SC was running the ball on us consistently in the first half. Overall, it looked like the Old Ball Coach was keeping us off-guard with his play calling early and generally outcoaching Urban for most of the game. Charlie Strong did make adjustments at halftime and the defense came out very hard in the second half as evidenced by the fact that we only allowed 41 yards of total offense in the third and fourth quarters combined. To better illustrate how dominant we were, SC had 6 possessions in the second half resulting in 4 punts and 2 picks. Conversely, the offense was lights out in the first half and then faded as the game went on. More on that below.

· OFFENSIVE PATTERN DEVELOPING – We came out firing with the long touchdown to Coop and another great drive that resulted in Emanuel Moody’s 17 yard touchdown (his first of the year by the way). Great play calling initially but then, same as in the Georgia game, the play calling seemed to get very conservative (Timmy barely threw the ball in the second half) and the only touchdown after half-time came subsequent to Justin Trattou’s interception when we had phenomenal field position. I understand that once we are up by more than one score it makes sense to play to our strength (the Defense) and control the ball/kill the clock since teams are unlikely to tag us for many points…but I would like to see more of a killer instinct displayed by Addazio. This conservativeness may come back to bite us at some point. Did anyone notice that we could have punched in another touchdown at the very end of the game with the clock winding down but Urban was content to run the clock out and let Spurrier off the hook. A lot of respect shown by Urban there…I thought he would donkey punch it in for the proverbial “style points.”

· FIELD GOALS – So Jonathan Phillips who was automatic last year in our championship run misses one kick and loses his starting job to a sophomore when we are in the midst of another title run? I don’t know about that one…why don’t we have JP kick field goals inside of 40 yards since he is much more accurate than Sturgis and have Caleb kick anything outside of the 40 since he has the strongest leg I remember seeing since Sebastian Jenakowski? It’s not a novel idea, teams have done this before…and I think it would help ease Caleb back into the full time role next year. Besides, JP is a 5th year senior who has bled for this program…he shouldn’t have lost his job so quickly. Although, Urban always preaches that performance trumps all and it’s hard to disagree with that mantra … the problem is that Sturgis is not performing.

· XAVIER NIXON – Did anyone notice that we have a new starting left tackle? True freshman Xavier Nixon got the start and we moved Big Carl Johnson back to his natural position at Left Guard. The odd men out were Mo Hurt and James Wilson who were splitting time at the 5th starting spot on the line. For those of you who don’t remember…Xavier Nixon was a very highly touted recruit. Scouts.Inc had him as the top left tackle prospect in the country and 5th best player overall coming out of high school last year. When you look at his measurables you can see why…he is 6-7 and now well over 300 pounds. This is a kid who played basketball in high school (i.e. his agility and overall athletic ability for somebody his size are through the charts). He is the first true freshman to start for the Gators at tackle since 1992. Most surprising is that he didn’t make the mental mistakes (e.g. offsides, missed assignments etc.) that you would expect out of a freshman o-lineman making his first start in a hostile SEC environment. He is a lot longer and quicker than Carl Johnson and thus much better suited to play tackle. Big improvement in my opinion, this kid will be a beast, you can just see it. I wonder where this leaves Matt Patchan when he comes back from injury next year?

· GREAT INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES – Lets start with Joe Haden who had 11 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles and another pass deflected. WOW. I don’t think I have ever seen a stat line like that. Not surprisingly he earned SEC Defensive player of the week honors. He did get some passes completed on him but those were perfect throws by Garcia. Also, Dunlap had a big game even though he didn’t show up much on the stat sheet…he bull rushed a few times and got right in Garcia’s grill to tip passes down at key moments in drives. But he was outplayed by his counterpart on the other side of the line. Jermaine Cunningham is so fast and explosive off the ball it is really something to see. Those truly fast twitch muscle guys at defensive end are highly coveted. Cunningham’s two sacks in the fourth quarter were drive killers. Let’s give a shout out to Will Hill too. The Thrill had 1.5 sacks and looks really good blitzing off the edge with his speed…it was good to see him finally making some plays. Of course, the play of the game was the Trattou interception. Remember this guy is playing with a torn bicep and out of position (they had him playing tackle the whole game in the Joker package). Carlos Dunlap said it best when asked to describe that play; he said Trattou was, “running like dogs were chasing him.” Great to see a good kid and warrior/grinder like Trattou make that game changing play. On the offensive side of the ball, Omarious Hines needs to get some love for coming up with two big first down catches. Finally the coaches are letting some of these freshman receivers in the game and guess what? They are making plays. This kid has the body of Bo Jackson…he is really tough to bring down after the catch and moves very well for his size. Reminds me of a poor man’s Anquan Boldin. Surprising that he has outshined Frankie Hammond so far considering all the reports from spring practice had Hammond as the best of the redshirt freshman receiver class. I thought Timmy played very well too. Had it not been for two big drops by Cooper his stats, and those of the entire offense by the way, could have been much more impressive. Also, this is now the third game in a row that the offense does not turn the ball over, big kudos to that. We might have lost the game last week with one bad turnover. These SEC games are that close.

· SCORE PREDICTIONS – La Esquina once again shows off its uncanny ability to predict game scores…if you take a look at last week’s column the prediction was 24-13 Gators…final score, 24-14 Gators…one word, eerie! Or maybe, absolute football hero badass would be more appropriate. Just kidding, that is admittedly luck...for the most part.

Without further ado, lets get to the first mailbag in the history of La Esquina. I thought this would be a nice change of pace and allow me to answer some of your questions (by the way for next week just e-mail the questions or post them on the blog www.mygatornation.blogspot.com as comments to this article and I’ll try to answer as best I can).

One of our readers wants to know: “How bad is Riley cooper? What kind of stats would he have if he didn’t have bricks for hands and drop a ton of balls? How overrated is he?”

Well, that’s a little harsh I think but some of the criticism is valid. He has dropped some passes this year and most of them have been potential long touchdown scores (4 come to mind right away). The reality is that those are plays he has to make and he knows that and has said as much in recent interviews. On the other hand, think of where we would be without him? He is the only receiver coming up with any big plays. In this game on top of the 68-yard TD to start the game he also had two huge catches on 3rd and 10 and 3rd and 12 of 30 and 14 yards respectively that helped keep drives moving. And considering that this is his first year being the “go to guy” and the fact that in reality he’s been only a part-time football player during his career at UF (he misses all spring practices to play baseball) he has exceeded my expectations coming into this year. He does get the lion’s share of the opportunities though so in theory if Tebow threw to Deonte or somebody else as much as he does to Coop they may be as or more productive. However, Tebow goes to him so much for a reason. He is getting open and Timmy must have a lot of trust in him. I know my analysis is a bit circular but what it boils down to is that he is a good receiver, not a great one. But he is our best receiver this season.

Another reader asks “Which WR duo would you take today on the 2009 offense out of (1) Cooper/Deonte, (2) Gaffney/R. Caldwell, (3) D. Baker/Chad Jackson, (4) Percy Harvin/Louis Murphy, and (5) R. Anthony/Ike Hilliard?”

Good question. I would like any receiving duo with Percy Harvin in it but if we are talking about pure receivers it’s hard to argue against old school Reidell Anthony and Ike Hilliard. Their numbers were sick and with Wuerfel they helped bring Gator football to prominence. In the modern era I have to say that I really enjoyed Rex Grossman throwing to Jabar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell…the passing game was so crisp back then…it was a thing of beauty. I will go to my grave saying that Rex should have won the Heisman over Eric Crouch that one year…it wasn’t even close. To be honest though, both Rex and Wuerfel were pure passing quarterbacks in systems that threw the ball a lot more than we do now under Timmy, who as you know is arguably one of the best running/short yardage QBs to ever play the game. So those older duos got a lot more opportunities to make catches than the Percy/Louis or Cooper/Deonte tandem. By the way, Cooper and Deonte don’t even deserve to be in the same conversation with the rest of the guys up here…I am sorry but that’s just a fact.

Another question was somebody asking for a preview on Joe Haden vs. Julio Jones in anticipation of the Alabama game. I think we are getting a little bit ahead of ourselves here but I will oblige. If you recall the one big play Alabama had on us last year was early in the game when Julio Jones caught a crossing pattern and shook off Joe Haden (seriously one of the only tackles I have ever seen Haden miss) and rumbled for about 80 yards. Alabama scored on the next play. Jones is just so big and physical it’s not hard to see why that play turned out as it did. Julio has a lot of T.O. in him. Having said that, I have seen him this year and I am not sure if it’s due to the new QB at Alabama (McElroy) or the rise of Mark Ingram but for whatever reason, I am just not as intimidated by him. Especially when you factor in how well Haden has played. I think Joe and the rest of the secondary shut him down. I am a lot more concerned about Ingram and the Alabama running game. Is it possible for Julio Jones to blow up and make some plays? Sure. Is it likely? I don’t think so. Similarly, another reader asked for an Alabama preview. I will have a long analysis before the SEC Championship game, hold your horses people.
Another reader asks, “When its 4th and short, why do we insist on going shotgun and running Tebow up the middle? Six yards are harder to get than 1, why not put Tebow under center?”

I have been wondering this myself. That Tebow up the middle play from the shotgun on 3rd or 4th and 1 is as predictable as Lane Kiffin putting his foot in his mouth at least once a month. I know that with our O-line and one of the best short yardage runners in college football history it is the obvious call…but therein lies the problem…IT IS THE OBVIOUS CALL…the Defense will stack the box inside and have more defenders plugging the middle than we do offensive players. That math doesn’t work, no matter who is blocking and running. Why not come out with the same formation but run an option wide pitch with Demps like against Vanderbilt? If they bunch the middle that wide pitch speed play to Demps pops for a long one…nobody is beating Demps to the outside. On the under center point, I especially agree if it’s a 3rd and 4th and inches situation…if Tom Brady can QB sneak for that much so can Tim Tebow…don’t back him up in the shotgun and make him gain 6 yards. If it’s a full yard or two then I don’t like the Timmy QB sneak as much.

***URBAN MEYER’S APPROACH TO RECRUITING***La Esquina is now going to give you a close look at the Urban Meyer recruiting approach from a fellow reader who was specifically acquainted with the recruitment of Justin Trattou. If you recall, Trattou was a 5 star recruit by some outfits and a 4 star by others who was solidly committed to Notre Dame. His family is fairly affluent and well educated and really placed an emphasis on academics. The word is that out of all the coaches (and all the top coaches were going after Justin) Urban was by far the most impressive. He walked into the Trattou family living room and said that he couldn’t promise that Justin would play one down for the University of Florida, but he did promise that Justin would have a chance to compete and compete against the best guys at the highest level. He said Justin would get on the field as soon as he was deserving. No promises, no guarantees, no BS just a straight shooter. Sounds like the anti-Lane Kiffin to me. Urban was also big on letting Justin’s family know that he would treat Justin as if he were his son. He really emphasized the family atmosphere and environment at the University of Florida along with the religious component of the program. Once the family came around to the academics at Florida they switched their commitment and joined the good guys. This is how Urban Legend does it, for my money he truly is the best recruiter in the business. Think about all the negative recruiting he has to combat. For those of you who don’t know, we just plucked one of the top corners in the country (Josh Shaw) out of Pete Carroll’s backyard. The rumor mongers are saying that he is tight with another Californian, Ronald Powell who is the beast of this year’s high school class and #3 overall prospect in the nation (#1 defensive end prospect). Sounds like they are a packaged deal and this all but ensures that we are getting Powell. Another huge coup for Urban.

On to this week’s game against the all might Florida International University. If colleges were like high schools and you had to attend the school closest to your home I would have been a Golden Panther during my college years. Excuse me for a second, I think I just threw up in my mouth. I am sorry but FIU, a commuter school, just does not provide the same overall collegiate atmosphere nor the passion for sports as does Florida, it’s as simple as that. Then again not many places do. I know am looking at this through Orange and Blue lenses but thank god that I ended up a Gator. For the first time all year I don’t know one single player on our opponent’s team…and it doesn’t matter. If we don’t put up 50 on these guys we should be ashamed of ourselves…if we don’t put up 40 we have some real issues. This is one of the worst teams in college football statistically. I know they just started their football program but being in one of the biggest high school football hotbeds in the country they should be recruiting a little better. Tim should not be playing deep into the third quarter here. This is the perfect game to give the starters and others who may be nicked-up a breather and to let the younger guys get some reps in. Stay healthy and Go Gators. 56-3 score prediction.

Go get Ronald Powell,
Go stomp on FIU,
Go Gators