Why Florida Can Win Saturday

[lawgator1]

Top five reasons Florida can prevail at Neyland:

5) The offensive line has had two weeks to work together and develop some chemistry and to get some much-needed experience coming into the UT game. They have improved greatly across that 120 minutes.

4) The Gator defensive secondary has shown real ability. This was another spot where the Gators were thin on experience, but they are speedy and I think Charlie Strong has emphasized the fundamentals with this group such that they are ready to take on Meacham, etc. Look for Florida to play a lot of man coverage, but probably not a lot of blitzing.

3) Tim Tebow will get some time in this game, even if its close. During the Southern Miss game, he came in and ran some plays even when the game was still within reach for Southern Miss. that tells you that Meyer has a lot of confidence in his decision-making.

2) Leak is throwing darts on vertical frozen ropes 35 yards. He may not have the same ability to throw to a spot as, say, Danny Weurffel, but he has a better arm than any Florida QB I can remember. One pass in particular last Saturday was a tight spiral zinger to Caldwell directly between two defenders and was never in doubt. Look for Florida receivers to run very sharp routes, with lots of stop-and-cuts, less streak patterns.

1) Percy Harvin. Remember that name. Heck, you don't really need to remember it because you will see and hear it so often over the next few years it will haunt you in your dreams. He's a phenom.

 

[Lexvol]

Top five reasons Florida can prevail at Neyland:

5) The offensive line has had two weeks to work together and develop some chemistry and to get some much-needed experience coming into the UT game. They have improved greatly across that 120 minutes.

4) The Gator defensive secondary has shown real ability. This was another spot where the Gators were thin on experience, but they are speedy and I think Charlie Strong has emphasized the fundamentals with this group such that they are ready to take on Meacham, etc. Look for Florida to play a lot of man coverage, but probably not a lot of blitzing.

3) Tim Tebow will get some time in this game, even if its close. During the Southern Miss game, he came in and ran some plays even when the game was still within reach for Southern Miss. that tells you that Meyer has a lot of confidence in his decision-making.

2) Leak is throwing darts on vertical frozen ropes 35 yards. He may not have the same ability to throw to a spot as, say, Danny Weurffel, but he has a better arm than any Florida QB I can remember. One pass in particular last Saturday was a tight spiral zinger to Caldwell directly between two defenders and was never in doubt. Look for Florida receivers to run very sharp routes, with lots of stop-and-cuts, less streak patterns.

1) Percy Harvin. Remember that name. Heck, you don't really need to remember it because you will see and hear it so often over the next few years it will haunt you in your dreams. He's a phenom.

My one prediction for the game: We will hear no talk about the team rushing for the most yardage winning this ball game. Get ready for a PIER SIX BRAWL through the air.

 

[lawgator1]

My one prediction for the game: We will hear no talk about the team rushing for the most yardage winning this ball game. Get ready for a PIER SIX BRAWL through the air.

Lex, until the injuries to Inky and JH, I'd have agreed with you to some degree. I maintain that UT would have soent at least some effort on more ball control and field position to try to keep Florida offense in check. But I think the injuries situation changes things for UT because now it becomes a real question of minimizing Florida time of possession.

Don't get me wrong. This is not as high an octane offense as Spurrier put together at Florida 95-98. Nonetheless, it is headed back in that direction and these receivers are so incredibly fast that with the injuries you have to deal with I do think that the UT gameplan changes a bit to keeping the Florida offense off the field as much as possible.

 

[therealUT]

4) The Gator defensive secondary has shown real ability. This was another spot where the Gators were thin on experience, but they are speedy and I think Charlie Strong has emphasized the fundamentals with this group such that they are ready to take on Meacham, etc. Look for Florida to play a lot of man coverage, but probably not a lot of blitzing.

LG, I respect your opinions and usually think very highly of your posts, however, I am going to have to completely disagree. I think that Charlie Strong understands that if he gives Ainge time, Ainge might not find Meachem, but he will find Swain, Rogers, Taylor, Brown, etc. I expect a lot of blitzing, which is why I believe Cutcliffe has held off on showing Florida any misdirection, screens, or double moves (as the blitzing will keep any safety from hanging out over the top.)

 

[VOLracerx]

Top five reasons Florida can prevail at Neyland:

5) The offensive line has had two weeks to work together and develop some chemistry and to get some much-needed experience coming into the UT game. They have improved greatly across that 120 minutes.

4) The Gator defensive secondary has shown real ability. This was another spot where the Gators were thin on experience, but they are speedy and I think Charlie Strong has emphasized the fundamentals with this group such that they are ready to take on Meacham, etc. Look for Florida to play a lot of man coverage, but probably not a lot of blitzing.

3) Tim Tebow will get some time in this game, even if its close. During the Southern Miss game, he came in and ran some plays even when the game was still within reach for Southern Miss. that tells you that Meyer has a lot of confidence in his decision-making.

2) Leak is throwing darts on vertical frozen ropes 35 yards. He may not have the same ability to throw to a spot as, say, Danny Weurffel, but he has a better arm than any Florida QB I can remember. One pass in particular last Saturday was a tight spiral zinger to Caldwell directly between two defenders and was never in doubt. Look for Florida receivers to run very sharp routes, with lots of stop-and-cuts, less streak patterns.

1) Percy Harvin. Remember that name. Heck, you don't really need to remember it because you will see and hear it so often over the next few years it will haunt you in your dreams. He's a phenom.

5) Southern Miss asnd UCF are not a UT Defensive front - even with the injuries

4) Man Coverage = Meachem Touchdown

3) Welcomne to the SEC Timmy!!!

2) Who is the leading QB in the NCAA? Not Leak

1) See #3...I am sure he is great just not sure how well he will play against the big boys.

 

[emainvol]

while i am of the mind that florida has two good future players on their hands in harvin and tim tebow, i agree with what i believe the above poster is getting at. wait til they meet jerrod mayo

 

[volmanjr]

5 reasons Florida won't win Sat.

5. They're playing UT not some high school team from central Fl.
4. Leak sux.
3. Ainge and our WR's have shown up.
2. They're playing UT
1. Did I mention they're playing UT?

 

[Lexvol]

Lex, until the injuries to Inky and JH, I'd have agreed with you to some degree. I maintain that UT would have soent at least some effort on more ball control and field position to try to keep Florida offense in check. But I think the injuries situation changes things for UT because now it becomes a real question of minimizing Florida time of possession.

Don't get me wrong. This is not as high an octane offense as Spurrier put together at Florida 95-98. Nonetheless, it is headed back in that direction and these receivers are so incredibly fast that with the injuries you have to deal with I do think that the UT gameplan changes a bit to keeping the Florida offense off the field as much as possible.

Disagree completely. If ball control doesn't work against Air Force do you really think it will work against Fla? If it is one lesson UT has learned from last week it is this: keep on scoring. I say Balls to the Wall offense. Plus the strength of the Fla defense lies in its front seven.

 

[doozer]

i hope Tebow goes in so he can donate footballs to our secondary. Leak alone has never beat us, or anybody else, so he is no concern for me.

 

[GAVol]

Disagree completely. If ball control doesn't work against Air Force do you really think it will work against Fla. I say Balls to the Wall offense.

I agree . . . We're definitely going to try to run the football, but it wouldn't surprise me to see us throw it 40 times.

 

[Lexvol]

I agree . . . We're definitely going to try to run the football, but it wouldn't surprise me to see us throw it 40 times.

Exactly. This team will use the passing threat to create running lanes.

 

[therickbol]

The Inky Johnson injury is going to hurt us if Morley plays like he did in the Air Force game. Lots of posters on here rave about him and talked about how he should be playing more, starting over Stewart, etc. But, I think if you paid attention in the Air Force game you saw some of the things that kept the coaching staff hesitant to put him in a starting role/every snap situation. The game is not all physical. Morley had blown assignments, horrible KO returns, and as soon as Inky got injured they moved Morley to CB and the next pass play went right at him and basically threw a TD pass with the WR stepping out of bounds at the 1 yard line. Morley is still young, inexperienced, and does not a have a solid grasp on the scheme yet. My prediction for the Florida game is going to boil down to the play of Morley at CB. If he improves on last weeks performace and combines the mental aspect with his amazing physical ability then I think UT wins a great college football barn-burner. If Morley stuggles, or they move Hefney to CB and Morley stuggles at S, then I think Florida has the upper hand. Either way it should be a great game.

P.S. I hope Florida fans are not too giddy over our defensive performance against Air Force. Their scheme did not allow us to play UT football on defense. We will pin our ears back again next game and Leak will find his rear-end on the turf and Neyland over and over again...even with the injuries.

 

[TennVols423]

hahah GO VOLS, i'll leaving the talking for sat.

 

[rwemyss]

I'm glad UF's secondary is ready to play against a guy named Meacham. Thank GOD we don't have anyone by that name on our roster.

 

[lawgator1]

Disagree completely. If ball control doesn't work against Air Force do you really think it will work against Fla? If it is one lesson UT has learned from last week it is this: keep on scoring. I say Balls to the Wall offense. Plus the strength of the Fla defense lies in its front seven.

I don't think it will work, but knowing Fulmer, I think it is what he will try to do. Re-reading a preseason magazine this weekend and Cut emphasized that he knows who's boss now, understands chain of command and that Fulmer is The Man. Fulmer will go conservative. He has to.

I agree . . . We're definitely going to try to run the football, but it wouldn't surprise me to see us throw it 40 times.

Forty passing attempts? You might as well just forfeit.

P.S. I hope Florida fans are not too giddy over our defensive performance against Air Force. Their scheme did not allow us to play UT football on defense. We will pin our ears back again next game and Leak will find his rear-end on the turf and Neyland over and over again...even with the injuries.

I don't think anyone believes that the UT defense is poor. But we do think the UF offense is better geared this year to handling any Tennessee blitz scheme. Not saying we'll avoid it every down, but you are thin now and you can't send a blitz every time. Leak will be in the shotgun and there will be lots of receiver end-runs. No one is "giddy," just looking at the match-ups and right now, the way things are shaping up, Florida has a realistic chance to really control the tempo of this game, particularly if my prognostication is right and Fulmer goes for a score in the teens.

 

[GAVol]

Forty passing attempts? You might as well just forfeit.

Granted, 40 pass attempts wouldn't be ideal, but I think you are going to be a little surprised when you see Ainge.

 

[lawgator1]

Granted, 40 pass attempts wouldn't be ideal, but I think you are going to be a little surprised when you see Ainge.

I expect him to throw a lot of short routes. If you relied on, and were successful with, using your talented receivers to catch short passes and turn them into big gains versus Cal, I see no reason for you to change that this Saturday.

Its just that 40 passes means a slow clock and lots of Florida possessions and you don't want that.

 

[rwemyss]

I expect him to throw a lot of short routes. If you relied on, and were successful with, using your talented receivers to catch short passes and turn them into big gains versus Cal, I see no reason for you to change that this Saturday.

Its just that 40 passes means a slow clock and lots of Florida possessions and you don't want that.

How do you figure that when he's completing 75% of his passes?

 

[tidwell]

Perhaps you don't want that because it means the Vols are scoring fast? Hmm?

 

[lawgator1]

How do you figure that when he's completing 75% of his passes?

The reason he completes a high percentage is because they are short throws and the receiver is the one putting all the yards on the completion. I don't view Ainge as a deep ball threat.

I could be wrong, but I'm going off what I've seen and read and it just seems like the UT passing game is built more around the receiver breaking a big play after a 5 yard catch than flinging it 30 yards to begin with.

Perhaps you don't want that because it means the Vols are scoring fast? Hmm?

Again, I could be wrong, but with the problems you have on defense I would think that UT would build a gameplan around minimizing the number of Florida's possessions.

 

[therealUT]

The reason he completes a high percentage is because they are short throws and the receiver is the one putting all the yards on the completion. I don't view Ainge as a deep ball threat.

I could be wrong, but I'm going off what I've seen and read and it just seems like the UT passing game is built more around the receiver breaking a big play after a 5 yard catch than flinging it 30 yards to begin with.



Again, I could be wrong, but with the problems you have on defense I would think that UT would build a gameplan around minimizing the number of Florida's possessions.

Ainge throws the deep ball very nicely. He hung two balls in the air over about 40 yards that dropped perfectly in our WRs hands...

 

[OWB]

I could be wrong, but I'm going off what I've seen and read and it just seems like the UT passing game is built more around the receiver breaking a big play after a 5 yard catch than flinging it 30 yards to begin with.

Ainge can throw the long ball with the best of them and he can make some difficult passes that some QB's wouldn't think about.

Yeah, in the Cal game it was short passes with YAC. In the Air Force game, it was ALL Ainge. He had 15 completions in a row at one point.

I'm not going to sit here and puff him up for the UF game because UF will definitely be the best D we have faced so far. But I will say that he's MUCH better than last year in every aspect. He's making smart plays when nothing is there, his mechanics are solid, he's getting rid of the ball, he's throwing with an unbelievable accuracy right now and his understanding of the defense is night and day from last year. Cut has done his job there. I think you'll be surprised by his play, but who knows..

 

[volwarren]

Disagree completely. If ball control doesn't work against Air Force do you really think it will work against Fla? If it is one lesson UT has learned from last week it is this: keep on scoring. I say Balls to the Wall offense. Plus the strength of the Fla defense lies in its front seven.

I agree + the weak link of the Fla. team is surely the O line and the speed stuff that they do on O, I would think that we would see some 3-4 on the Tn D to counter this. I look for a high scoring game with UT winning a close one.

 

[Lexvol]

Again, I could be wrong, but with the problems you have on defense I would think that UT would build a gameplan around minimizing the number of Florida's possessions.

Since it is game week for Fla I have decided to suspend all rationality. I am going to go out on a limb and say that UT's defensive problems are way overblown. I understand who Florida has played and beaten, but if the UT linebackers play like they played in the Cal game, it is going to be a much faster defense than Fla has seen this year. Consider yourself warned LG. This defense will be ready. Were I you, I would have wished for the D to shut AF down. Now they just feel like they have something to prove.

 

[jakez4ut]

i'm kind of with Lex on this...while we obviously didn't show up on the defensive side of the ball saturday night, they showed up when it mattered. and i have to think Air Force's scheme had more to do with it than just a terrible defense on the feild. And while we're talking about the offense, i'm not overly concerned about the offense. if we score on the poessesion that Ainge throws the pick, the game is 38-17 and never in doubt...and that's a big if....Ainge had a good game, and is playing very well right now, as are the receivers and the offensive line in regards to pass protection.

and having said all of that, UF will present the biggest challenge yet, and i for one think this will be a very difficult game. Harrell's injury hurts, we all know we weren't real deep there to begin with and he was supposedly our best D Lineman. Some of the younger guys are going to have to step up big time, and same goes for the secondary.

i'm not yet ready to say that we're going to lose, but i wouldn't be suprised any more than to see us win it either.