My thoughts on Napier. (Spoiler, not all negative)

[ptcarter]

OK, morning after now. UF fans, so used to winning this game didn't. Ending was similar to lots of VOL heartbreak over the years and BVS kicked in full bore the last minute.
So I put myself in the shoes of a UF fan for a moment. Lot's to be upset about with him.

First, the math didn't really add up for the attempted 2 point conversions. The miss on the first cemented that they had to do it on the second. Those decisions will be talked about around the Florida coffee pots at work on Monday. Losing his cool and giving UT first and goal at the one inch line wasn't a good look either.

On the other hand... I think he knew he was outnumbered on this game. We saw a game where Florida only punted once (and UT none), and that punt pinned Tennessee on the one yard line. He rolled the dice on 3rd and 4th down, realizing Tennessee had some holes in their short yardage defense. And his success rate for that was phenomenal. If on any one of those, they don't convert, they would be in a deep deep hole. So what I saw in him - a strong will to win, and a strong will to roll the dice and go for more points and yardage. I would say he never really took his foot off the gas, and he had a pretty good offensive scheme that was well executed. Over 600 yards, and I would say, yes Tennessee had some defensive busts, but give Florida some credit for those busts. (Just like Florida's defense left some of Tennessee's receivers wide open, not just bad players making bad plays, but a coordinator in the booth spotting a vulnerability and exploiting it).

I see this guy as maybe not the brightest coach, but in a lot of ways, a warrior and a competitor. I think of Butch Jones kicking a field goal on 4th and one against Oklahoma - a game that went into overtime and losing. Score there and there wouldn't have been an overtime. Going for it on 4th down sends a strong message to the team that you have confidence in them and it puts the game on the backs of the players. Napier seems like the type of guy that would have scored on that night Tennessee lost to OU. I like his moxy. For those that say they want to keep playing against him for 20 years - I think you are fooling yourself.

 

[TucsonVol]

OK, morning after now. UF fans, so used to winning this game didn't. Ending was similar to lots of VOL heartbreak over the years and BVS kicked in full bore the last minute.
So I put myself in the shoes of a UF fan for a moment. Lot's to be upset about with him.

First, the math didn't really add up for the attempted 2 point conversions. The miss on the first cemented that they had to do it on the second. Those decisions will be talked about around the Florida coffee pots at work on Monday. Losing his cool and giving UT first and goal at the one inch line wasn't a good look either.

On the other hand... I think he knew he was outnumbered on this game. We saw a game where Florida only punted once (and UT none), and that punt pinned Tennessee on the one yard line. He rolled the dice on 3rd and 4th down, realizing Tennessee had some holes in their short yardage defense. And his success rate for that was phenomenal. If on any one of those, they don't convert, they would be in a deep deep hole. So what I saw in him - a strong will to win, and a strong will to roll the dice and go for more points and yardage. I would say he never really took his foot off the gas, and he had a pretty good offensive scheme that was well executed. Over 600 yards, and I would say, yes Tennessee had some defensive busts, but give Florida some credit for those busts. (Just like Florida's defense left some of Tennessee's receivers wide open, not just bad players making bad plays, but a coordinator in the booth spotting a vulnerability and exploiting it).

I see this guy as maybe not the brightest coach, but in a lot of ways, a warrior and a competitor. I think of Butch Jones kicking a field goal on 4th and one against Oklahoma - a game that went into overtime and losing. Score there and there wouldn't have been an overtime. Going for it on 4th down sends a strong message to the team that you have confidence in them and it puts the game on the backs of the players. Napier seems like the type of guy that would have scored on that night Tennessee lost to OU. I like his moxy. For those that say they want to keep playing against him for 20 years - I think you are fooling yourself.

Napier is a very good coach!! We will have a difficult time in Florida next year! We need to get better defensively. We are very slow in the secondary and played way too soft!

 

[FlyFishnVol]

OK, morning after now. UF fans, so used to winning this game didn't. Ending was similar to lots of VOL heartbreak over the years and BVS kicked in full bore the last minute.
So I put myself in the shoes of a UF fan for a moment. Lot's to be upset about with him.

First, the math didn't really add up for the attempted 2 point conversions. The miss on the first cemented that they had to do it on the second. Those decisions will be talked about around the Florida coffee pots at work on Monday. Losing his cool and giving UT first and goal at the one inch line wasn't a good look either.

On the other hand... I think he knew he was outnumbered on this game. We saw a game where Florida only punted once (and UT none), and that punt pinned Tennessee on the one yard line. He rolled the dice on 3rd and 4th down, realizing Tennessee had some holes in their short yardage defense. And his success rate for that was phenomenal. If on any one of those, they don't convert, they would be in a deep deep hole. So what I saw in him - a strong will to win, and a strong will to roll the dice and go for more points and yardage. I would say he never really took his foot off the gas, and he had a pretty good offensive scheme that was well executed. Over 600 yards, and I would say, yes Tennessee had some defensive busts, but give Florida some credit for those busts. (Just like Florida's defense left some of Tennessee's receivers wide open, not just bad players making bad plays, but a coordinator in the booth spotting a vulnerability and exploiting it).

I see this guy as maybe not the brightest coach, but in a lot of ways, a warrior and a competitor. I think of Butch Jones kicking a field goal on 4th and one against Oklahoma - a game that went into overtime and losing. Score there and there wouldn't have been an overtime. Going for it on 4th down sends a strong message to the team that you have confidence in them and it puts the game on the backs of the players. Napier seems like the type of guy that would have scored on that night Tennessee lost to OU. I like his moxy. For those that say they want to keep playing against him for 20 years - I think you are fooling yourself.

Napier, welcome to big boy ball.

 

[VolinMichigan]

He’s a gambler for sure. But in the SEC your luck eventually runs out, a la Les Miles. If we hold them to 50% 4th down conversions, UT wins this game going away.

 

[Jeff Clark]

OK, morning after now. UF fans, so used to winning this game didn't. Ending was similar to lots of VOL heartbreak over the years and BVS kicked in full bore the last minute.
So I put myself in the shoes of a UF fan for a moment. Lot's to be upset about with him.

First, the math didn't really add up for the attempted 2 point conversions. The miss on the first cemented that they had to do it on the second. Those decisions will be talked about around the Florida coffee pots at work on Monday. Losing his cool and giving UT first and goal at the one inch line wasn't a good look either.

On the other hand... I think he knew he was outnumbered on this game. We saw a game where Florida only punted once (and UT none), and that punt pinned Tennessee on the one yard line. He rolled the dice on 3rd and 4th down, realizing Tennessee had some holes in their short yardage defense. And his success rate for that was phenomenal. If on any one of those, they don't convert, they would be in a deep deep hole. So what I saw in him - a strong will to win, and a strong will to roll the dice and go for more points and yardage. I would say he never really took his foot off the gas, and he had a pretty good offensive scheme that was well executed. Over 600 yards, and I would say, yes Tennessee had some defensive busts, but give Florida some credit for those busts. (Just like Florida's defense left some of Tennessee's receivers wide open, not just bad players making bad plays, but a coordinator in the booth spotting a vulnerability and exploiting it).

I see this guy as maybe not the brightest coach, but in a lot of ways, a warrior and a competitor. I think of Butch Jones kicking a field goal on 4th and one against Oklahoma - a game that went into overtime and losing. Score there and there wouldn't have been an overtime. Going for it on 4th down sends a strong message to the team that you have confidence in them and it puts the game on the backs of the players. Napier seems like the type of guy that would have scored on that night Tennessee lost to OU. I like his moxy. For those that say they want to keep playing against him for 20 years - I think you are fooling yourself.

Butch Zook needs some Zanax he looked like a psycho on the sidelines and sounded exactly like Butch Jones during his post game press conference.

 

[Jeff Clark]

He’s a gambler for sure. But in the SEC your luck eventually runs out, a la Les Miles. If we hold them to 50% 4th down conversions, UT wins this game going away.

Florida found their own Butch Jones but doesn't recruit very well which is very good for Tennessee

 

[Hacksaw]

Napier went for it on 4th so many times because he was desperate and didn't have anything to lose by going for it. As it turned out, the gamble almost paid off.

 

[davethevol]

I think if he learns how to recruit well that he’s going to be very dangerous.

 

[Jax_Vol]

Needs to spend more time with his math tutor. If he makes three simple kicks, gators have the mo mo heading into OT

 

[Jeff Clark]

I think if he learns how to recruit well that he’s going to be very dangerous.

FSU head coach Mike Norvell is dominating Florida recruiting and it looks like he will have the top team in Florida

 

[jeff1vol]

Florida found their own Butch Jones but doesn't recruit very well which is very good for Tennessee

Napier can recruit. They are ranked 10 right now by most services.

 

[Jeff Clark]

Napier can recruit. They are ranked 10 right now by most services.

We'll see how it goes . I think Mike Norvell at FSU is going to have the best team in Florida the next few years and he really can recruit.

 

[onthehill71]

Napier is a great coach!! We will have a difficult time in Florida next year! We need to better defensively. I do not think Mr. Banks knows what schemes to use!!

It seemed clear to me that Napier felt he was playing with house money. Knew we would score every time and punts would end up as our TD. He had nothing to lose, first year coach, underdog, away game and the 4th down calls would frame him as a brass balls kind of dude. As he develops a defense, he will quickly move to a more judicious use of 4th down attempts.

 

[508mikey]

Question - what was Napier whining about when UT took the timeout for Smalls review ?

 

[Jeff Clark]

Question - what was Napier whining about when UT took the timeout for Smalls review ?

Tennessee getting a timeout when the clock was 0

 

[vol66]

It seemed clear to me that Napier felt he was playing with house money. Knew we would score every time and punts would end up as our TD. He had nothing to lose, first year coach, underdog, away game and the 4th down calls would frame him as a brass balls kind of dude. As he develops a defense, he will quickly move to a more judicious use of 4th down attempts.

I mostly agree with this. He did a good job of putting his players in a position to win a game, he made a choice to let his players execute versus playing the numbers. This will go a long way to earning trust. Richardson is a handful, but once Banks turned up the heat, I guess it’s debatable, but the turn overs went from -2 to even.

All that said…4-0, feels good, enjoy it!

GBO!!!

 

[sjt18]

I think there’s a lot of Butch in Napier. Encouraging. But he’s going to get talent and be difficult

I wasn’t upset about UTs outright busts. I was frustrated by AR consistently getting holes in zone coverage though he seldom looked off or read more than one side of the field.

I know this angers some of you but I still don’t buy banks

 

[ETV]

If Napier goes for 4th down that much against a superior defense, i.e. Georgia, he’s going to have his arse handed to him.

 

[madbamahater]

Napier had a good game plan yesterday and for much of the game out coached Tennessee especially Tennessee's defensive coaches

 

[Jeff Clark]

If Napier goes for 4th down that much against a superior defense, i.e. Georgia, he’s going to have his arse handed to him.

Georgia will crush Florida just on talent alone

 

[vol66]

I think there’s a lot of Butch in Napier. Encouraging. But he’s going to get talent and be difficult

I wasn’t upset about UTs outright busts. I was frustrated by AR consistently getting holes in zone coverage though he seldom looked off or read more than one side of the field.

I know this angers some of you but I still don’t buy banks

No anger at all. CJH said it half time, playing too soft in the coverage. I’m assuming that’s what he meant, we were dropping 8…that was the book on Richardson, inaccurate but mobile, right? Turns out he was accurate enough to change our plans.

 

[Jaws]

FSU head coach Mike Norvell is dominating Florida recruiting and it looks like he will have the top team in Florida

Which recruiting site has FSU above Florida in their rankings? I don’t see any. I see UF significantly ahead of them on all the sites. FSU’s got some losses coming, this cute little 4-0 start they have playing scrubs won’t last.

 

[508mikey]

If Napier goes for 4th down that much against a superior defense, i.e. Georgia, he’s going to have his arse handed to him.

He went for it on thier own 30 vs Kentucky with almost 5.30 left in the game and Kentucky stopped them and that was pretty much it - They could have got the ball back - so he conceded the game

 

[rgvol]

GO VOLS!!

 

[Jaws]

Regarding Napier, he understood from the day he hit campus that the talent on the roster is not up to Florida standards, especially on defense. So knowing that, his decision-making on 4th downs and xp conversions, I think he’s just trying to score as many points as possible and keep his offense on the field as much as possible to help and protect the defense. The defense couldn’t stop Utah in the second half, they couldn’t stop USF, they damn sure weren’t stoping Tennessee. The only game they’ve showed a pulse in was KY, and that’s the game where AR looked like he was point-shaving or something.

This is a house money season for Napier. I want to see competitive games with guys playing their asses off until the final whistle. We most certainly saw that vs TN. I want him to maintain this recruiting class plus add a few more. He’s already top ten and in play for several other big time guys.

Once he has a typical Florida, SEC-like roster, his in-game decisions will reflect that. 4 games into his UF tenure, I’m pleased with the structure he has put in place. Keep in mind, Mullen had a mindset that he could just out-scheme and out-coach people, even if he had inferior talent. That’s a Miss State mindset, not a Florida mindset. Napier is going to fix that. Has anyone ever seen a Florida defense, that aside from one player (Ventrell Miller), strikes fear into nobody. Maybe a few DB’s that can play, but otherwise, nothing. Florida should be two-deep at every position with DUDES.

He already has a signature win vs Utah, he took a undermanned team into a nutty home field advantage for TN, against Tennessee’s best team in at least 6 years, maybe their best team in the last 15+ years, and he damn near won the game. Led for much of the first half and had a chance for a Hail Mary for the win.

I like Billy Napier and hope he’s at Florida for 15 years. We need that as a program.