What An FSU Education Yields

Illest.

Fuck the Prom Queen.

So, yeah, today’s a big game. Florida v. Bama, Meyer v. Satan, Genetic Diversity v. Sisterfuckers. But, I’d rather concentrate on a rather underreported but wildly significant stat: This is the first time in 40 games that the Gators will not give points. In other words, for the first time in 3 years, Vegas thinks the Gators are going to lose.

Lose. What does this word mean, “lose”? It’s not an altogether familiar word in the Gators’ vernacular, but it’s not totally alien. It happens… about once a year. And it always sucks. Gator fans, especially the younger ones, don’t know truly what it’s like to lose. What it feels like to watch Auburn’s Wes Byrum kick a field goal to beat the Gators at home, and watch him Gator chomp. I hate that fucking guy. btw. Some Gator fans just like to watch the Gators play, and don't care about winning and losing. I never did understand those people, which is why I try to hit them with my car.

Maybe you’re one of those who thinks it’s okay for the Gators to lose because they’ll face Bama in the SEC Championship, and have another shot at beating them. Well, if I was King Shit of Turd Mountain, I’d have your head on a stake. When is it ever ok to lose? Never, unless you’re a loser, in which case, don’t you have a game against Clemson early this morning on ESPN’s the Ocho?

It’s never ok to lose. Ask Urban, losing causes heart attacks, heart attacks cause death. Ergo, losing kills. Trey Burton, on the other hand, saves. We can all thank Trey Burton for sparing Urban from another heart attack. If the Gators didn’t right the ship in time, Urban would have resorted to his old micromanaging ways again. This would have likely resulted in another natty, but inevitably in another heart attack. An unacceptable outcome? Maybe not for Meyer, who clearly hates losing more than he loves winning. In my estimation, Meyer would rather die a young winner than live to be an old loser.

So what’s the solution? Win. Winning, as it is often said, cures everything. The Navy Seals, known worldwide for their aphorisms, have the following phrase: “It pays to be a winner, it sucks to be a loser.” It's true. It's like Sean Connery said to Stanley Goodspeed said in The Rock, "Losers always whine about their best; winners go home and fuck the prom queen."

Go fuck the prom queen today, boys.
Go Gators.

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!

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!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

It’s time. It’s time to don your Saturday best and celebrate this sacred day: from this day forth there will be no more Saturdays without college football— for months. No longer will you be required to drink your own piss in the desert by watching Baseball Tonight and The International Badminton Championships on ESPN and Versus—you’ve survived. You never know how you do it, how you got by for 8 months without seeing your team on the pitch, without the music of ESPN’s College Football Gameday, without a justification shared by millions for drinking before noon— okay, before ten— on a Saturday morning, but you do. And you did. Why? Because college football is the greatest creation ever created, next to the blowjob with the twisty hand thing. And much like such blowjob, college football not only brings out the best in us but it often leaves the one on other with a bitter taste in their mouth.

College football is, what St. Anselm’s famous ontological argument called, “something than which nothing greater can be imagined.” St. Anselm was talking about God, who, let’s face it, is arguably as controversial as college football. But St. Anselm’s point is no less true: college football is the greatest conceivable conception. Better for the world than religion, I reckon. Really. Consider that while college football has been responsible for at least as much factious, absolutely convicted, multi-generational hate as the three Abrahamic religions, it does not share the body count religion does.

I’d venture to say college football is better for the world than democracy. Much like Rome needed the coliseum’s spectacle of human death to distract the masses who would otherwise rise against the emperor, the world needs college football to distract red meat-eating, deeply drunk American males who would otherwise annihilate enemies with a fiery rain of depleted uranium. College football is good for humanity because it promotes world peace. Yup.

College football is not without its incidental benefits. College football raises our self-esteem, self-worth, and self-indulgence. Unless your team loses of course, in which case it can suck as much as learning your girlfriend is on PornHub. But a win over a rival can have the normally shy and quiet rage and scream that not only is their dick bigger, but it pisses farther and has been inside your mothers. In a league of computer and poll rankings, there exists a fandom who believe that not only is their grandeur not delusional, their superiority is not complex.

There’s nothing like college football. Pro football is whoredom, passionless, overpriced, oversold, and overdone. It's like fucking a hooker, which is all nice and fun, but nothing to brag about. College football, on the other hand, is like taking down a nice scotch, aged 18-22 years, pure, unadulterated, and you don't have to wear a rubber. I mix my metaphors, but you understand. Pro football has salary caps, signing bonuses, and, soon enough, lockouts. College football has pageantry, traditions, fight songs, and parades. It has dark horses, red shirts, bcs busters, recruits, BMOC’s, and Kansas City tiebreakers. It has rose, international, outback, sugar, and Gaylord hotels bowls.
It has coaches named Mack, Urban, Joepa, Bear, and Wannstache. And teams named Cocks, Gators, Wolverines, Hurricanes, and Green and Crimson Tides. One cannot go to school at their pro football team’s home, one can only live in its city, which makes them as exclusive as the other residents. College football is about exclusivity, which is a nice way of saying that college football is about being a fucking snob. It's about looking down your nose at the other school, its student body, and football team.

I love college football. It reminds me that everything is going to be ok, so long as everyone else loses. It brings me close to my old college friends, who, despite seeing me at my worst, covered in my own urine, another’s blood, and Beam’s finest, still want to see me every year. College football is an American celebration of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness through schadenfruede.

God bless college football (except non-UF teams, naturally).

Smartest Gator

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SMARTEST GATOR

LA ESQUINA (RE-LOADED)

Welcome back after a long off-season folks. We all have to get ready for Gator Football A.T. (After Tebow) and there’s no better way to move forward then to start thinking about the upcoming season and new rising stars of the program. I hope everyone has had a chance to decompress, recharge and is looking forward to the 2010 campaign as much as I am. We are going to cover a few key topics in this issue, mainly (1) John Brantley, (2) Position Battles, (3) the Freshman, (4) the Now or Never players and (4) Expectations for 2010. Ain’t nuttin to it but to do it…here we go:

BRANTLEY

Everybody knows that Brantley comes from a long line of Gator sports royalty. His dad was a Quarterback at UF and his uncle was a linebacker for the Gators and went on to have a very successful career in the NFL for the Bucs. He’s had 3 years to learn the system, get physically and mentally stronger and most importantly, learn from Tim Tebow. Early reports from practice are that he is starting to come out of his shell a little bit and is really beginning to own his new leadership role. This is his team and he is starting to vocalize and project that more and more. We know he has a gun and is very accurate. We know he understands Urban’s spread offense. We know his teammates believe in him. The flipside to that is that he is following a legend (never good) and is completely unproven when it counts. On 3^rd and 8 in the 4^th quarter with 5 minutes left when we are down against Alabama and Dan’ta Hightower is coming in free from the A gap on a monster blitz…is JB going to stand tall and deliver or buckle? I don’t know.

I do know this, he has a lot of weapons around him, he needs to rely on them early in the season and not try to make every play, he is a better athlete than people give him credit for (apparently he has a little more straight line speed than Tebow, although obviously nowhere near the caliber of overall runner) and Urban Meyer deeply trusts him. Lets hope for the best with JB but the truth is only time will tell. I will say this though, having the luxury of not playing the former high school Gatorade national player of the year for 3 years is a testament to the type of program Urban has built. It shows the tremendous depth we have been able to stockpile. By all accounts that kid could have started at about 90% of the teams in Division I-A from day one, yet Brantley was willing to patiently wait and endure all of the hardships and demands of the program for 3 years in order to play quarterback for the University of Florida. Truly refreshing in the “me” first, play me or I’ll transfer era of college football. Now go out there and start throwing mother f*cking darts JB!

On a quick side note, you know the sorority house chicken heads are circling him like piranhas. Happy hunting ladies.

POSITION BATTLES

The most intense battles are by all accounts taking place at linebacker. You have A.J. Jones and Brandon Hicks coming back, who should (and I say that cautiously) have their two outside LB spots locked up and then you have the mother of all battles at middle linebacker. Who is going to replace Brandon “Poke You In The Eye” Spikes? (Who by all accounts is having a really good training camp with the Pats and may even start for them this year). Behind door# 1 we have Jon Bostic from Wellington (shout out to my peeps in Palm Beach). He is built like a true middle linebacker, weighing in the 240 range and very fast. This guy just looks like a middle linebacker. After last year everyone assumed it was but a formality that he would start this year.

But in the words of the immortal dunce Lee Corso…not so fast my friends: Behind door# 2, coming straight at you is Jelani “Flash” Jenkins. The 5 star top 5 overall recruit from Maryland who redshirted last year. He came in kind of light for a LB, weighing around 205…but folks, after going through our vaunted strength and conditioning program with the hard ass of hard asses Mick Marotti, he is up in the mid 220s now and has been able to preserve what new Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin called “just absolute flat out speed.” The way the coaches talk about this guy it’s as if he’s Jeff Demps playing linebacker. I don’t think you necessarily need to be a big orangutan to be a successful MLB, look at Patrick Willis for the 49ers…he is the best in the business right now and gets it done with speed and instincts more so than size. If you read between the lines, it sounds like Flash will be the starter in the middle on opening day. Although, it’s going to be hard to keep Bostic off the field. A.J. Jones and Brandon Hicks better watch out! And don’t forget Dee Finley. He was moved from safety to LB this year and is really starting to pick up his play after adding much needed weight. We have some nice freshman here as well, Michael Taylor who coach Meyer compared to a Ryan Stamper type and Darren Kitchens…a really gifted athlete from Homestead who, when it’s all said and done, might be the surprise under cover recruit in last year’s class.

Then we come to the field corner position. Janoris “I am from the Muck” Jenkins has the boundary corner position locked-down. He is a preseason 1^st team SEC corner and is on a short watch list for the Jim Thorpe award (best defensive back in the country). Lets face it, he is a baaad dude. The top contenders for the field corner position are (in no particular order) Jeremy Brown, Moses Jenkins, Josh Shaw and Jaylen Watkins. If you recall, Adrian Bushell, a very promising player who was in line to start got kicked off the team this year for bad grades. It’s sad when these kids don’t get it…he will most likely just fade away into oblivion with nobody hearing from him ever again. If you have a chance to play for Urban and “the Program” you need to claw, kick and fight your way onto the field…it’s a springboard to fame and fortune people…how hard is it to get a B in that Wildlife Issues class? Tighten up. Anyways, Jeremy Brown who came in with Janoris and was actually ahead of him on the depth chart when they were freshman, looks like the early leader to start on the other side. He’s been plagued with chronic back injuries for the past 2 years though and has yet to get on the field. Hopefully he can stay healthy and reach his potential. Moses Jenkins is a senior who hasn’t done much to date other than on special teams. He is tall and lanky and apparently made some big strides recently. Then you have Josh Shaw and Jaylen Watkins who are both true freshman. Shaw was a borderline 5 star from California who was a big get for us this year. Very physically imposing for a corner, looks more like a safety. But Watkins, the slightly lower rated Florida talent (who is much thinner and really needs to get stronger) apparently is more of a natural right now and generally looks to be making more plays out there. At corner, instincts, anticipation and fluid hips are very important and Jaylen Watkins seems like the scrappy little engine that could right now. Don’t count out Cody Riggs, the St. Thomas Aquinas star, but this true freshman has a lot of ground to make up as he didn’t enlist for Spring ball (unlike Shaw and Watkins). Like I said, Jeremy Brown is the early leader but there’s a long evaluation period between now and the first game of the season.

We knew there was going to be a dog fight between James Wilson (Tebow’s former teammate and 5 star lineman from Nease) and Mo Hurt (perfect name) for the right guard spot but what we didn’t know is that Xavier Nixon’s job might be on the line. Matt Patchan is back. Apparently he made a miraculous recovery from that awful knee tare he had last year (where his ACL, MCL and every other CL there is seemed to implode) and is looking real big (at around 300 pounds) and athletic. He had another minor injury setback (fracture in his wrist) but it looks like they are just going to put a cast on him and tell him to keep rocking. This guy can’t catch a break. If you recall he was shot in the shoulder at a party as a freshman, busted his sh*t after falling off a scooter and then had the knee tare prior to this latest injury. Patchan is a really interesting character by all accounts, he is a bit of a nutritionist and monitors every calorie that goes into his body…and also has that crazy white-boy mean streak you need to survive at this level, a la Lattimer from the Program. At the end of the day, I don’t think anybody is really taking Xavier Nixon’s spot, that guy is a future 1^st round NFL pick. But it’s amazing that Patchan is even in the conversation after that injury he had.

Who is going to step up at receiver? It’s pretty safe to say that Deonte Thompson will start, however, it gets real murky after that. Either Rainey or Debose in the slot with Carl Moore and Omarius playing as well. Maybe Frankie “DUI” Hammond or Stephen Alli or Dunkley on the outside (although I doubt Dunkley does anything this year). One of those last 3 guys has to emerge. If you put a gun to my head I say the three starters right now are Deonte, Rainey and Carl Moore with Omarious heavily involved in the rotation. I need to go on a tangent for a second about Omarious (my personal favorite). Check out this picture, homeboy has been putting in some work. He is weighing 220 and apparently still runs a sub 4.4 forty. He is so tough to bring down after the catch I can definitely see him running that inside shovel pass play that Hernandez used to run all last year. Big O has indeed been getting some work at tight end as well in the pre-season. I love the way that guy just sheds tacklers (think Anquan Boldin). I just hope his lingering leg swelling issues (yes, leg swelling) don’t come back.

Before I forget, I do predict that Andre Debose will emerge at some point in the season…this guy was supposed to be the closest thing to Percy Harvin 2.0 (sans migraines hopefully) before his hamstring injury that put him out for the season last year. Let’s hope he still has the juice and jiggle. He just looks so thin though…a few trips to Shoney’s bbq can’t hurt…it’s right on Archer Andre, get you some ribs and sweet tea!

The Freshman

This is as highly rated and celebrated a freshman class as there’s ever been at the University of Florida. So many 5 star recruits…so much hype…such high hopes…it’s like our own little version of the Fab Five. Early reports are that Matt Elam is straight up balling at safety and will be the nickel back (i.e. the first db off the bench in passing situations) since Ahmad Black and Will Hill have the safety spots locked-up. None of the 5 star d-lineman enrolled early in the spring so the jury is still out on Ronald Powell, Shariff Floyd and Dominique Easley…YEA RIGHT!!! Who am I kidding…these guys are all natural born ballers.

Think of Powell as the Jermaine Cunningham type, strong and quick…but more athletic and explosive. He has Cunningham’s body right now, imagine what a few years in the program will do to him…I hope we don’t get him too big though, we need him to be that speedy rush end. Shariff Floyd is the space eater, think Vincent Wilfork. And Easley is a combination of Powell and Floyd, apparently he put on a lot of weight before getting to G-ville and almost weighs as much as Floyd now but has been able to preserve that notorious first step off the line, which by all accounts is second to none for a tackle. I am not really going out on the limb by predicting that Powell will be the best of the three, he was the top high school player in the country last year, at any position. Although right now Easley and Floyd are the ones standing out and may end up being bigger stars, they were all top 10 high school players. I do think Powell will be starting opposite Trattou by the Alabama game -- if not, he’ll be heavily involved in the rotation (sorry Duke but RoPo has LT as in Lawrence Taylor type talent, hopefully without the horse-like cocaine intake and statutory rape charges).

Mack Brown, our lone RB from last year’s class has also shown some flashes early in practice. Besides Elam and maybe one of the three d-lineman I don’t think any other freshman make a big impact this year, we are just too deep and nasty. Look for these guys next year though.

Now or Never

I am talking to Carl Moore, Duke Lemmens and Emmanuel Moody for obvious reasons (they are seniors, this is absolutely it) but I am also talking to you Will Hill. Wake up and show the world what you got this year Thrill! It’s your show, you are starting every game…are you going to be Reggie F*cking Nelson or Kyle F*cking Jackson? You got Ahmad Black out there who gets off the bus looking like a JV player but ends up balling all over the field. And here you are, the top rated athlete in the 2008 class, looking like a physical specimen if I ever saw one, with those lovely predator-esque dreadlocks to boot…now it’s time to be a game changer. You’ve shown flashes of greatness and you’ve had some embarrassing moments (see Alabama game). You have a child now, you have a mouth to feed…are you going to feed your baby Will? ARE YOU GOING TO FEED YOUR SON? Lets go!

I am talking to you William Green…you should have locked up the d-end spot by now. These freshman lineman are going to jump you in the rotation unless you make it happen RIGHT NOW. And most of all, I am glaring, staring and fuming at you Deonte. Lots of cute articles in the paper about how you ran a 4.22 this summer and how you have great hands and are really “impressing” – guess what, talk is cheap. In the infamous words of Rod Tidwell – “SHOW ME THE MONEY”. For such a highly rated player in a position of need you sure have under-delivered. If you don’t get it done this year you’ll be an afterthought. Do you want to be Louis Murphy or David Nelson? Two words for all of these guys this year, “NO EXCUSES”!

EXPECTATIONS FOR 2010

Let’s face it, it’s the University of Florida, expectations are always going to be through the roof. However, considering who we are I do think we are flying a bit under the radar right now. I am not saying that teams aren’t going to get up to play us or that they are going to overlook us, not at all. I do think though that the stress level stemming from the expectations to be perfect is going to be way down. This isn’t last year’s team, coming off a national championship and going to war with Tebow and Spikes. This year’s team is sitting pretty, like a rattle snake just waiting for the right time to strike.

Everybody knows that there are a lot of unknowns and there are going to be some growing pains for this team. If you think we are going to lose 9 NFL players, including Tebow and be as good as we were last year from jump you are out of your little gator mind. I think we’re ranked right in that sweet spot where it’s high enough to help us so that we won’t drop too far if we lose a game and low enough that we don’t have those insane expectations and that big target on our backs (that target is now squarely on Alabama and that little evil Napoleonic Nick Saban, who by the way straight up outcoached Urban in the SEC championship game last year). That series is tied 1-1 between Urban and Saban, this year we will see which coach has made the appropriate adjustments.

Worse case scenario we lose 3 games this year best case scenario is going undefeated (I don’t think that is completely out of the question given the level of talent on this team if John Brantley ends up being who we think he is, although it’s highly unlikely). I think we lose 1 or two games, the first game against Alabama is not going to be as important as people think. We can lose that game and if we win out and beat Bama in a re-match in the SEC championship game we should still get a seat to the big dance.

The strength of this team is the offensive line, if they play how they are capable of and JB shows up, we can beat anybody!

There is a lot of practice left and the main thing is to continue to develop all of the players (especially the freshman who have to learn the playbook and their respective assignments) and most of all, to come out of practice without any huge injuries. Stay healthy boys.

I will leave you with a few little known players who I think will break out this year and really make a name for themselves nationally. Jay Howard, Jelani Jenkins and Jeff Demps. Demps is already fairly well known, but he is going to jump to that next level this year and will be getting Heisman hype when it’s all said and done. He won the indoor and outdoor national titles in track this year and is officially the “fastest man in college football.” With Tebow gone and more carries to go around he will flourish. Another couple of players who could break out are Stephen Alli, Debose and Mike Gillislee, although I am hesitant to put their names in the hat because young players rarely have a big impact at Florida, especially the receivers, it always seems to take them a little longer to come around.

Go Gators!

Chimera.

Gomersindo at the Guateque.

Let's Draft the Gators

Everybody play along, try to pick the round and team that each eligible Gator player will be drafted in. For our purposes with respect to picking rounds, just list either "bottom half" or "top half" with the cutoff for the bottom half of a round starting after the 15th pick, even though there may be more than 30 picks per round due to compensatory picks.

Here is the scoring system:
Pick the correct round and you get 1 point
Pick the correct half of the round and you get 2 points
Pick the correct team and you get 3 points (no points for saying an undrafted free agent does not get picked up by any team)

Below are my predictions, please contribute to this, would love to get your thoughts:

Markihe Anderson – undrafted FA by Jacksonville
Riley Cooper – top half of the 4th Round by Buffalo
Jermaine Cunningham – top half of the 3rd Round by Miami
Dustin Doe – bottom half of the 7th Round by New England
Carlos Dunlap – bottom half of the 1st Round by New Orleans
Troy Epps – undrafted FA by Jacksonville
Joe Haden – top half of the 1st Round by Seattle
Aaron Hernandez – top half of the 2nd Round by New England
Brandon James – undrafted FA by Miami
David Nelson – bottom half of the 6th Round by Pittsburgh
Jonathan Phillips – undrafted FA by Miami
Wondy Pierre-Louis – undrafted FA by Tampa Bay
Maurkice Pouncey – bottom half of the 1st Round by Pittsburgh
Brandon Spikes – top half of the 2nd Round by New York Giants
Ryan Stamper – undrafted FA by Jacksonville
Tim Tebow – top half of the 2nd Round by Buffallo
Major Wright – bottom half of the 3rd Round by Cincinnati

Go Gators!

LA ESQUINA

It has been a long time since the last issue (pre-Alabama) and there is a lot to talk about. The entire Gator Nation has been turned on its head since that glorious beat down of FSU on November 28th. It is difficult to fathom all that has happened in one month’s time. From the Dunlap DUI to the Alabama debacle which led to the Tebow crying incident along with Urban’s aggravated health issues and ultimately, his departure and sudden return to the Gator Nation. It’s exhausting just writing about it. Having lived it, I am sure most of you will agree that the term “rollercoaster ride” doesn’t do it justice. It was more like extreme bungee jumping. In the range of outcomes following the FSU win at the Swamp what has actually transpired since is, if not the worst case scenario, pretty damn close. Our beloved program is at a crossroads, can we keep the freight train rolling or has that Alabama loss truly derailed Florida football? Let us tackle these issues one by one.

ALABAMA

Let me just start out by saying that I had 5th row seats to the game so my vantage point was very different than in most games and I picked-up on things that I normally wouldn’t have seen and probably missed some other things that I am normally on top of. I also still haven’t been able to re-watch the entire game, but it is in my DVR and I expect to work up the courage to do so soon. Definitely before our trip to Tuscaloosa next year, which should be circled on all of your calendars (October 2, 2010). The excitement surrounding the game and the overall pre-game atmosphere were unparalleled. People were gladly paying over $500 for a ticket. The beers and shots were flowing at the tailgate, I can vouch for that. The in-game atmosphere also did not disappoint. The stadium was divided but it seemed to me like we were outnumbered. For whatever reason, their fans also seemed a lot more synchronized with their chants, etc. All of this generally resulted in a not so Gator friendly stadium. Then again, I am sure my account would have been different if we actually had more to cheer about.

Alabama came out and hit us in the mouth and we never recovered. The Alabama possessions tell everything you need to know about this game: FG, TD, Punt, FG, TD, Halftime, TD, TD, Punt, Ran the Clock Out. Our all-world defense that was allowing less than 10 points a game all year only stopped them on two (2) drives the entire game and forced zero turnovers. Think about that for a second…truly unbelievable…it’s incomprehensible really. There are two reasons for this in my opinion, (1) Carlos Dunlap’s absence had much more of an impact than anticipated, and (2) we were outcoached. That and the fact that according to the referees Alabama only committed one penalty while we were getting flagged every other play. But in all honesty that wouldn’t have made a difference. They just flat out beat our ass.

Back to the effect of Dunlap, I have to admit I thought we would throw somebody else in there and be fine…maybe have a little drop off but not an epic drop off. The impact of Dunlap’s absence on our ability to stop the Alabama running game was both surprising and highly evident. This is an area where Dunlap has really improved over the years. He is one of the strongest players on the team and his ability to run down ball carriers from behind I think is highly understated. We missed him dearly in run support. Of course, we obviously missed his ability to get to the quarterback as well. Over the past two years nobody in the SEC has more sacks so this was to be expected, but I didn’t anticipate such a big drop off. The only one getting any pass rush was Cunningham and he wasn’t getting to McElroy nearly enough. Trattou and everybody else we threw out there opposite Cunningham got stoned by the Alabama offensive line. Defensive End is a huge area of concern going into next year, especially if Dunlap leaves early for the NFL. This lack of a pass rush obviously forced us to blitz and right when Charlie Strong came in with one of his patented corner blitzes BOOM…Saban has the perfect play call against us…a screen pass to the eventual Heisman Trophy winner with the Red Sea parting that goes for a huge gain. That was a back breaker. That play was coming right down my sideline and I have to say, Will Hill really hesitated in trying to make that tackle…that kid needs to play more fearless and just needs to start to get after people a little harder. He is too good to be playing so poorly (then again, maybe he is just not that good). I also feel that Cunningham got blocked in the back on that play and it really sprung Ingram. That’s neither here nor there though, the point is that we were out schemed. Their play calling kept us off-balance the entire game, starting from the first series in which they unexpectedly came out throwing the ball. Then in the second half they surgically ran the ball down our throat. It seemed like every run was good for 4-5 yards. It was as shocking to see as it was disappointing. Where was Brandon Spikes? He picked a bad time to have one of his worst games ever as a Gator. Our entire line got pushed around. I just can’t get my head around how a defense that was so dominant all year was itself dominated by an offense that had looked so pedestrian all year.

There has been a lot of speculation about that one question and after pouring through much fodder and “insider information” the explanation that makes the most sense to me is the following: we were overconfident. We had beaten them last year (without Percy Harvin nonetheless) and their film was also unimpressive according to some of the players after the game. Remember, Alabama only scored 12 points (4 FGs) against Tennessee. That along with the toll of massive expectations that was weighing heavily on this team all year seemed to finally catch-up to the Gators. We laid an egg in the biggest game of the year.

On the offensive side of the ball I feel that the coaches panicked. Here is the most telling statistic, our non-Tebow running figures were as follows: B. James 1 carry, Jeff Demps 1 carry, Chris Rainey 2 carries and Emanuel Moody 0 carries. How do the running backs of the top rushing team in the SEC only get 4 carries in the championship game? All year all we do is run, run, run and then we get behind and all of the sudden we throw the playbook to the wind and start throwing the ball all over the place? I will say that I thought that Timmy was throwing the ball real well (save for the one interception which I will discuss in more detail below). It was the most comfortable I have seen him in the pocket all year, the pass blocking was there as were most of Timmy’s throws. What was also there were numerous drops, from the usual suspects like Deonte to the usually sure handed Nelson and Hernandez.

Back to that interception, we were driving the ball, we had some momentum and were moving up and down the field and then, as was the case all year, we made a huge mistake in the red zone. Hernandez was wide open; all Timmy had to do was lob it. But Arenas, being the great playmaking all-American corner that he is, dropped off his man and snuck in underneath Hernandez’s route, Timmy never saw him. I was right in front of that play, it was extremely deflating. It really did feel like somebody had stabbed me in the stomach when he threw that pick. It just absolutely made me want to throw up. That play and the 4th down drop by Nelson the next time we were in the red zone eliminated all chances of a comeback. It is funny how most games really do come down to a handful of plays. In this one, the Tebow Pick, the Nelson drop, the Ingram screen play along with the missed tackle by Janoris on the short throw to Maze all stick out. In the end though, you have to give credit to Saban and Alabama, they seemed to want it more and also were the better prepared team. Although in my heart, I still feel like we were the better team. Maybe that is a silly thing to say considering the outcome of the game, but that is how I feel.

Being at the game I was able to really gauge the team’s body language and for the most part, we were kind of flat. Now I don’t know if that’s because we got smacked early and never really got going (i.e. if Spikes would have had an early hit like he had on Knowshon Moreno early in the game would that have changed the vibe?) or because we just didn’t have it and nothing was capable of changing that. The latter is hard to believe considering the magnitude of the game. Two exceptions that stood out were Spikes, who was walking around in between TV timeouts talking to himself like a lunatic and throwing his hands up (although as discussed earlier, it didn’t show in his play) and of course Tebow, who was sobbing uncontrollably near the end of the game. I will never forget looking up at the video screen in the stadium and seeing that close-up of Tebow crying, as if it wasn’t bad enough we were getting our ass kicked. The whole place erupted on the Alabama side. It was really embarrassing for us and caught me off-guard. My first reaction was, “what the hell are you doing Tim, tighten up and get it together.” But then, I had a chance to step back as the days have passed and realized that there is plenty of precedent for this. Even the baddest of the U thugs, Alonzo Highsmith cried after they lost that game to Penn State in the 80s. It happens, and it happened to Tim and it happened because he really, really, really cares about the University of Florida. So in the end, although I am still somewhat embarrassed by it and I would have rather he not done it, I understand it and on some level, appreciate him even more for it. What was complete BS though was the assclown in charge of the video screen at the stadium deciding to zoom in and show that shot…that is border line criminal, no need to embarrass a warrior like Tebow in that manner. It was just uncalled for. If I saw him on the street I would stomp him, American History X curbside style.

Even though this game has been over for nearly a month now, its impact is still being felt through the program. The events following the loss have shaken the Gator nation and its de facto father, Urban Meyer, to the core. We really have to ask ourselves if this game will be thought of in the years to come as a defining inflection point for the University of Florida. Much like that Jarvis Moss block against South Carolina which resulted in a chance to play for Urban’s first national championship and set off an almost unprecedented string of success…but the exact opposite.

URBAN MEYER

Well, there a million different ways to interpret what has happened over the last week or so with Urban and everybody has their spin on it so I thought I would offer mine. On the whole, this is a bad thing. Having said that, the leave of absence approach is much better than an outright Urban resignation. Are Lane Kiffin, Nick Saban and virtually every other top tier coach who recruits against us coming in their pants about what has happened? Yes. Does the entire staff have a lot of work to do in terms of damage control with recruits? Yes. Will we be ok? Over the short term, clearly, we are still a team stacked with superior athletes top to bottom. Over the long-term, I am not so sure. It really comes down to what happens from here on out. Starting with our staff’s ability to maintain the pledges of our top recruits.

I want to examine this Urban situation a little deeper though because I am still trying to get my head around it. What do we know? Clearly we know that the man is a workaholic. We know that he does not take losing well (and that might be the understatement of the century). We know that he has had severe chest pains over the last few years. We know that such chest pains became increasingly more frequent following the Alabama loss. We know that he has a benign cyst in his brain that flares up under stress. We know that on Christmas day with his family he wanted to give it all up. We know that he changed his mind and now wants to take a leave of absence, allowing the possibility for a return as the head coach at UF.

Here is what we don’t know. We don’t know how severe his illness is. We don’t know exactly what his illness is. We don’t know if he needs to have heart surgery. We don’t know how this leave of absence arrangement is going to work. Is Urban going to be completely out of sight for a few months, or more? Will he pop up once a week at practice during the Spring? Is Addazio going to have complete carte blanche while Urban is gone? And most importantly, we don’t know when Urban is coming back. Even worse, we don’t know for certain that he is coming back. We also don’t know if Urban can really change and become more of a delegator to relieve some of that stress. This man is a micromanager. He is on top of EVERYTHING going on with the program. Every little detail from staying on top of kids to go to class, to disciplinary issues, to recruiting, to game planning etc. Can he change his approach to coaching, an approach that has catapulted him to the top of the profession in a very short time? And, can he do this while still continuing to win games/championships? He better figure something out, otherwise we are in a lot of trouble.

First things first though, the man needs to get healthy. We all need to stop being selfish and understand that he has already given a lot and that if he walked away from the program today for good we should all be grateful and should wish him the best. Now, putting that aside. He has put the program in a vulnerable and precarious position. The timing of the announcement (in the heart of recruiting season) leaves a lot to be desired. He essentially had a breakdown in front of a national audience. On the other hand though, we did get a lot of publicity over the past few days and you know what they say, all publicity is good publicity (Lane Kiffin knows a little bit about that).

My initial takeaways from that press conference were, wow this guy really cares and is trying to do the right thing by his family as well as the program. However, those two things are very much in conflict because usually one has to give and historically it has been his familial life and health that has taken a back seat to coaching. But you can completely sense the love, camaraderie and deep sense of caring between Urban, Jeremy Foley (our athletic director), Tebow and Stamper. By the way, has anyone else noticed that Stamper has completely taken over as the defensive spokesman for Spikes? The disappearance of Spikes as a vocal leader in this regard is kind of odd but I digress. Anyways, I thought the press conference put on national display what a true family and community feel the UF football program has. After some further reflection though, this does not mean that other coaches aren’t going to viciously attack our recruits and fill their heads with all kinds of questions and doubts. They will say that Urban will not be around 4 years and likely won’t come back at all. They will say that the program and Urban personally are both very unstable and ask why would a top recruit, who can go anywhere, not go to a place with stability that can also compete for championships (like Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, Tennessee)? Some of that will surely resonate and we might lose some and maybe many recruits. So what is really important is what we do from here on out. People (both recruits and their parents) want stability. And when the issue is where your own kids will spend the next 4-5 years of their lives, as a parent I would think that you especially want to know who (i.e. what coach) you are entrusting their well being to. Not knowing what’s going to happen or how things are going to work has got to be very unsettling for a player as well as a parent. We need to figure out a specific and detailed plan of action and we need to have a solid outline ready to go when speaking to recruits and parents, and we needed to have this in place yesterday.

I know this will be difficult because it is evident from the press conference that Urban doesn’t know how much time he will need. But for the sake of the program, we need to provide concrete information. I hate to say this but even if to some extent we are selling them a bill of goods I think that’s what we need to do. I am not saying lie to the kids and parents but err on the side of providing well intended specifics. And if down the line some things change here and there that’s ok and we can cross that bridge when we get to it. But this general sense of uncertainty and instability needs to be quickly supplanted with details and a firm plan of action. One bad recruiting class can set the program back for a decade, that is a fact. The truth is we have a brand (Florida Football) that in many ways should sell itself. But that is not to say that other coaches aren’t filling 17-18 year olds’ heads with a lot of puffery. You know what would be a good start in terms of turning things around and building some momentum, beating Cincinnati.

CINCINNATI

Here’s what we know about these guys. They have a great offense and can light it up. A great tall, slinging quarterback who likes to fire the ball around (Tony Pike) and a top NFL level receiver (Mardi Gilyard). This guy had 80 catches for 1,150 yards and 11 touchdowns this year. That is almost double the production of Riley Cooper. Although, he wasn’t playing against SEC defenses. I am very conflicted about this game. On the one hand, we have better athletes and it’s Tebow’s (and possibly Meyer’s) final game – meaning we should blow them out of the water. On the other hand, with all the crap surrounding the program over the last couple of weeks who knows where these kids’ heads are at. You also have the looming NFL shadow hanging over some of our top prospects who are on the cusp of becoming millionaires. I just don’t feel confident about predicting what’s going to happen. I do think that this will be a somewhat high scoring affair. Our offense should be able to move the ball on their Big East defense. Similarly, they have a lot of firepower and I can envision one or two breakdowns in the secondary on our end. Bottom line, it’s not going to be a 13-10 game. But, if our guys have the pride and deep rooted sense of the moment that I think they do, we will show up and keep this behemoth of a program chugging along…at least for the time being.

There is not much we can do except trust in our coaching staff and in athletic director Jeremy Foley, who by the way represented himself and the university very well at Urban’s press conference. That and stay tuned.

Go get healthy Urban,
Go right the ship,
Go lock-up the recruits,
Go get Alabama next year,
Go Gators!

Meyer’s LOA

Florida’s Sugar Bowl game week has been one of the wilder ones in Gator history and none of it has to do with the game. By now everyone knows about Urban’s health and resignation, change of heart, leave of absence. His press conference offered little insight and made me feel that this was all an unfortunate airing of an issue that never needed to see the light. Now columnists all over the SEC are rejoicing and claiming the demise of the Gator dynasty. But, their doom and gloom predictions amount to nothing more than wishful thinking.

Urban Meyer proved something when he pushed the Florida program back to the top of college football in his first two years. Florida is more than Steve Spurrier and its more than Urban Meyer too. Still, Steve Spurrier is exactly who Meyer needs to look to if he wants to coach another five years. Spurrier was notoriously relaxed when it came to recruiting, sure he recruited but he knew that Florida sold itself. Meyer needs to learn to trust in his pipeline of talent, his scheme and in his own words the program he has built here. In the meantime he can step aside and let the program roll until he is ready to come back.

While I am less than excited with the prospects of Coach Addazio as the head man, or even the OC we should not fear a fall from our place atop the SEC east. If Meyer hangs up his whistle and blackberry from Jan 2 to the beginning of Fall practice we will be fine. Our staff is loaded with top notch recruiters and we should still lock up most of our committed recruits while adding a few more. The assistants can handle spring practice, there will be a lot of turnover on both sides of the ball but we are replacing Juniors and Seniors with guys who have been in the program for two or three years themselves. Summer is the domain of the Strength coach and we have a great one. That gives Meyer 8 months to get on the right meds and get his health straight.

If Meyer isn’t on the sidelines when we open the season I will be shocked. Still, the state of Florida football is in a much better place than the columnists in Tuscaloosa, Athens, Knoxville and Tallahassee would like you to believe. We are still more talented than the majority of our opponents. And when it comes to crunch time we will still be better prepared. So, don’t fall for all the negative opinions out there, the Gators will be fine.

Dooley - Finebaum

Did anybody see that notorious gator hator and Alabama columnist Paul Finebaum was on EPSN today side by side with our own Pat Dooley and apparently compared Meyer to Tiger Woods and made other comments like, "if you are a recruit you have to be crazy to go to Florida" and "the program is in shambles" etc. Basically he was lambasting Meyer and constantly taking shots at him...allegedly (not on ESPN but on his own radio show) he also said that Saban ran Meyer out of college football with the beatdown he gave him.

The worst part about the ESPN interview though, is that instead of Pat Dooley standing up for Urban and the Gators the word is he largely agreed with Finebaum and said that we would lose a ton of recruits and not have a top 10 recruiting class. HOW CAN DOOLEY STAND THERE LIKE A DUNCE WHILE THIS CLOWN WHO HAS HAD AN AGENDA AGAINST THE GATORS AND MEYER SPECIFICALLY SLANDERS HIS NAME? He is supposed to be there to counterbalance the radical anti-gator Finebaum and instead he sits there nodding in agreement and doesn't come back at him? I haven't yet seen the video but the message boards are all up in arms about this and many people are cancelling their subscription to the Gainesville Sun as we speak.

Wake up Dooley, for god's sake man show some backbone.

Rainey Stainey Put

Rainey decides to stay for at least one more year.

Go graduate
Go Gators

Gator Gary setting the record straight

This was posted by Gator Gary on GATORCOUNTRY....one of the best insiders refutes the earlier post. (both posts taken from GATORCOUNTRY showing you both sides of the story)


Setting The Record Straight Reply

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SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

Before I get into the meat of this post, let me preface my remarks with the following:

1. I have never seen the need or the reason to call out another poster. Many times I have read things on this Board, and others that were simply not true. I usually was successful in suppressing the urge to flaunt my knowledge and/or inside sources and “straighten them out.”

2. The only reason I began posting in the first place was to calm the fears of the “sky is falling crowd” after the 2005 loss to LSU. You remember, the “Meyer is a crier” game. After the game, the usual suspects are screaming that we made a mistake and that Meyer was no better than Zook.

3. For most of Gator Nation, Meyer was still a relative unknown. Although he had won at smaller schools, he had never stayed more than two years and the real question mark was could he recruit or if he had just won with “other’s players”? Most either wanted Spurrier back or in the alternative a “Big name coach” such as Stoopes, Shanahan, etc. The early struggles in 2005 just confirmed to those that Foley “screwed up again”.

4. I was fortunate enough to have inside sources that had told me that after the UT game earlier that year (Meyer’s first signature win) that no less than ten 4-5 star recruits had verbally committed in the locker room after the game. My first post was titled, ‘Help Is On The Way” and named names. As it turned out 8 of the 10 ultimately signed with UF.

5. I have tried to only bring information that is backed up by sources in a position to know. If I am stating an opinion I will label it as such. Therefore, I am extremely sensitive to others that appear to want to state their opinion as fact.

6. Also, as many on here are aware, I am a trial lawyer with over 30 years of experience and have made a living out of trying to ascertain what happened in a particular case and try to differentiate between fact and fiction. Thousands of times during my career I have learned that things are not what they first appeared to be.

7. Based upon recent events surrounding the Gator football team, there are those that stated their opinions as fact when they really had no idea what they were talking about. Their opinions have been repeated and expounded upon to the point that many have taken these opinions to be fact. The result is that innocent persons have been hurt and their reputations have been damaged. IT IS TIME TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT!

8. The following is based upon every single source I could muster. The two most prominent are two (2) members of the 2009 coaching staff. While I have always promised not to reveal their names, let me say that both have accepted jobs elsewhere for the 2010 season.

9. I fully and intentionally stake my reputation on the accuracy of the facts set forth in this post.

ISSUE #1 ? Billy Gonzales was NOT fired as has been alleged.

1. I had previously posted this FACT earlier and such was met with some skepticism. Even after Meyer came out a few days later and also stated that Billy was not fired, many just assumed it was “coach speak” and that and that Meyer was in essence lying.


2. A popular poster on Gator Country Naphta stated unequivocally that Billy was fired and stated some reasons why. Those allegations were brought to this Board and stated as fact. He could not have been more wrong. Did Billy know there was going to be a birthday party that faithful Monday night? Yes, however, he understandably believed it was no big deal. He did not know there would be alcohol, trusted the few players going to act responsibly and be home at a decent hour. Was Meyer pissed when he found out about the party and that Billy knew? Yes, however, he never blamed Billy for the Dunlap situation or anything else associated with the party. That party had ZERO to do with Billy leaving the Gator program.

3. The reason Naphta’s explanation was so readily accepted was that Gator nation was searching for a fall guy and a reason why this unbeatable team had played so poorly against Bama. Billy was the perfect fall guy and his sudden departure made sense except the firing never happened. The insinuation that he was fired was painful to both Billy and his family.

4. My source was Billy Gonzales himself. The only other person in the room, Meyer, also stated Billy was NOT fired. Naphta, who is your source that says he was, in fact, fired?

5. Naphta owes Billy Gonzales an apology. Anyone that repeated the version that Billy was fired also owes him an apology.

6. Based upon all of my information this is my OPINION as to what actually happened:

A. Billy was upset he was not the OC. (Fact)

B. He thought he should be at least the co-OC. (Fact)

C. He had more input in the play calling under Mullen than he did Addazio. (Fact)

D. LSU had been trying to hire Billy away from UF for the past three years. (Fact)

E. LSU wanted Billy for his coaching/recruiting abilities and because they thought hiring him would weaken UF. (Opinion)

F. Billy went to Meyer and told him he had accepted the LSU job that offered more money and more responsibility in the play calling. (Fact)

G. Billy thought that Meyer’s response would be an offer of more money and responsibility in the UF offense. (Opinion)

H. Meyer basically told him to not let the doorknob hit him in the rear on the way out. (Fact)

I. If Meyer had offered Billy the opportunity to stay at UF with more money and especially more “say so” in the game day offense, he would still be a Gator. (Opinion)

ISSUE #2 ? The Gator Juniors have been maligned and/or slandered:

1. Contrary to what has been written, there was NEVER a meeting at which the Juniors with NFL potential met and discussed leaving in mass for the NFL.

2. While this team is close and they do “hang around” with each other quite a bit, there was never an organized or orchestrated meeting for the discussion of going pro.

3. Of course, these guys would talk about NFL dreams and aspirations; however, nothing more than is normal and expected.

4. To even insinuate that they talked about playing less than their very best in order to avoid injury is SLANDER of the worst kind. How can they ever prove otherwise? To avoid injury you simply fake a minor injury, just “bad enough” to cause you backup to have to play. You don’t play soft. Everyone knows that playing to avoid injury is actually the best and easiest was to incur an injury.

5. The effect of these “opinions” and falsehoods is that a significant portion of Gator nation now believes that some of our best and hardest working players were selfish and quitters. Keep in mind that we are talking about players that got up at 5:00 a.m. all through the off-season and endured the “toughest off-season in Gator history”. Guys that played through numerous “nicks and bruises” to take the field in the orange and blue.

6. To “refuse” to name them by name but to lump them in the category of “Juniors looking at the NFL” painted all of the prominent Juniors with the same slanderous brush. Was it any less incriminating to not mention the Pounceys by name? What about Haden? Hernandez?

7. Naphta owes the Juniors a sincere and public apology! Anyone that repeated the lies without proof or qualification also owes them a heartfelt apology. These guys, although appearing to be men, are nothing more than boys playing a violent game. They do not deserve to be maligned because we are so upset with the results of their last game.

8. The fact that the Bama loss ended “our dream” of back-to-back BCS Championships does not give us a right to question their integrity or guts. It does not give us a right to call them selfish and/or quitters.

9. How can anyone think they did not want to win it all more than we did? Who had invested the time? Who have invested the pain, sweat and tears? Who risked and endured physical pain and injury? Who stood to earn a ring and the possible title of best college football team ever? To insinuate otherwise is asinine and insulting to all of the members of the Gator football team.

ISSUE #3 ? Why we lost to Bama:
1. I know for a fact that we went into the Bama game extremely overconfident.

2. Based upon the tapes of Bama from their previous games there was no fear of them by the Gator players or staff.

3. Even the coaches admitted to me that while they respected Bama they were not overly impressed with them. Bama’s strength (running the ball) played to our defensive strength of stopping the run. The Bama QB would have been at best third string at UF and folded under pressure. They were not concerned about their passing game and believed Haden was more than a match for Julio Jones.

4. The Auburn game further added to the overconfidence in that Auburn, a less talented team, had success by spreading Bama out. Bama was extremely fortunate to beat Auburn and since it was one of the most heated rivalries in college football, there was no thought that Bama simply was looking ahead to UF.

5. Bama came out, hit us in the mouth and we never fully recovered. The coaches panicked somewhat and never tried to establish the run. (Still a mystery to me)

6. The loss of Dunlap hurt as Bama capitalized on his absence to come out throwing which caught us by surprise. McElroy continuously rolled out to his left. He would not have been able to do that with Dunlap on that side. While I am not saying if Dunlap had played we would have won, his presence could have changed the early success Bama had and allowed us to get into the game mentally before it was too late.

7. We played our worst game of the year while Bama played their best. If you want an applicable analogy you need only think back to the 2006 BCS Championship game. We played our best game while OSU played their worst. They were extremely overconfident based upon our season long track record. While we may have truly been the better team we surely were not as much superior to OSU as we appeared that night.

8. Football is an emotional game and we were not emotionally ready to play Bama and it had NOTHING to do with the Monday night party or any Juniors contemplating an early exit to the NFL.

BOTTOMLINE ? Billy Gonzales was NOT fired and the Juniors did NOT quit or act selfishly against Bama. Apologies are in order.






Follow-UP:
Originally posted by jdizel01:
Gary, did you confront Naptha on his post? If so how did he react?
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Among other things, he called me a liar, a "fraud" and a "charlatan". He went on to say that I had absolutely no inside information and that I "make it all up".

Before I could respond, the entire thread was deleted.

Imagine that, for over a week they "sticky" his thread to the top in which he said (without even giving a hint as to who his source was) :

“3) I was told that there was a players meeting among some of these core contributors prior to the FSU game discussing NFL prospects and determining the list of who would be coming out and who wouldn't. A "core group" of players determined that they would all come out together. It was determined in this meeting that some kids would be minimizing their risks in the coming games. Some were offensive and some were defensive players. The impact of the looming rookie salary cap had a huge effect on the mentality of some players. The coaches were aware of some of this, but not the full extent, and there is only so much you can do even if you know, short of benching starters. Some of these were absolutely critical players we were counting on to come through, and simply quit on the team.”

and:

“7) So yes, some of the team "quit" after the SEC schedule. The partying was a symptom of that. Certain star players got a kind of entitlement mentality as they got closer to the draft and it spilled over into our final games. Urban thinks that it is touch and go whether we can get them re-focused for the bowl game. A loss would not surprise me with as widespread as the "relaxation" got. Urban may end up benching some starters if he can't get them focused on trying to win the bowl game. You may see some OL and O skill stalwarts sitting for the bowl game. Don't be surprised.”

And I research for a week and talk with numerous witnesses, including players and three assistant coaches to verify all of that was untrue and my thread gets deleted within an hour. I guess they decided to "rest the defense". Go figure.