Am sitting here watching the 2018 UF at MSU, "Mullen Returns!" game on ESPN U on a Sunday morn', and thought maybe I'd try something a little different--in the service of addressing an issue important to the season at hand, of course:
I will focus on Feleipe and HIS growth here...Mullen's current/future charge versus his past.
(Gonna be harder than I thought, that "focusing" part: For instance, gotta just more or less let go of my inclination towards outright outrage--in this case at bad, "homer officiating"...First there was that whole fiasco, long delay on a CLEAR dropped MSU pass--they eventually get it right, but only after an inept, unnecessary 10-plus minute delay, THEN, moments later on a Gator punt, the Bulldog receiver MUFFS the fair catch, the Gator cover-guy RIGHTLY sees it and dives for the ball-on-the-turf that the receiver is bent over, fumbling for--and the back judge, who's gotta be 30 yards BEHIND the play on the back endzone line, THROWS A FLAG FOR "UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT", as if the defender just tackled a "defenseless" punt receiver after his fair catch! And they call it TARGETING! I remember being APOPLECTIC at the time--and I'm fighting through the same reaction now, months later...Enough; Onward...)
That call kind of took the wind outta our sails in the first quarter of a game I think we were steadily taking OVER until that bad call. All in all, instead we seemed to shrink some on offense for a coupla ensuing possessions, left too much on our D for the rest of the quarter, half, and find ourselves down 3-zip going into the 2nd.
Way things going so far here, this is shaping up as Mullen able to (wisely) rely on our (STRONG) running game (courtesy much more of THE RUNNING BACKS than the O-line, sad to say: We all know our PASSING game, along WITH that running, will improve hugely if/when we can finally build a first class, EXPERIENCED front of "big uglies") while he waits for (and helps!) until Feleipe can get untracked.
(Sidenote: If/when he can manage THAT, pull together that combination of runner(s), receivers, big/tough/smart/flexible QB, AND O-line, well, that Gator Offense, overall, will be "BACK"! And here's the thing: we are CLOSE...FELEIPE is "close"; the "last step" is IN him, I think, in his talent range--IN HIS HEAD, nowhere else.)
Meanwhile, Gators having a lot of trouble with the crowd (HATE those cowbells--ONLY some BIG PLAYS from our guys can shut these yahoos UP!), having another of their penalty-laden games (albeit somewhat "aided"/escorted by this officiating team).
(Sidenote 2: Unless I have somehow crossed some space/time barrier, am now in some alternate slice of the multiverse, we DO eventually WIN this game...Now, it is at this point well into the 2nd quarter, we are down 6-3 in a game we COULD be down much worse in, and so far, except for a coupla short stretches early on when the running game has begun to look "Champion Caliber", well, the best you can say is that "Our D has kept us IN this one...") The "Feleipe Question" is yet to be answered in ANY way--and I'm finding it harder and harder to either recall or rekindle my recent optimism regarding his and our future with him under center; It's important to remember that all this was BEFORE the Georgia/Mizzou "slide" ("Bulldogs beat us twice!"), Franks eventually gets benched, maybe headed for ignominy before Trask subsequently breaks his foot in practice, Mullen HAS to bring Feleipe back--and everything since has been a kind of "redemption/rebirth"...I guess I'D best return to judging this one, and Feleipe himself here, in terms of what it shows us about "what he's GOT", what he can DO, from here on out.
So next thing I actually put in print here will be whatever signs of life we next see from QB-and-Offense...The way this clunky wind-down to the first half is proceeding, all that WON'T be until the SECOND HALF now. Score 6 to 3 in a game that frankly has been LESS "active" than that score would imply.
Yikes.
OK--We're back. Both teams still playing slow--and (get this) we've STILL only run HALF AS MANY PLAYS as MSU... and a hold in our backfield negates a BIG PLAY/BIG THROW completed by Franks 50 yards downfield inside the 5 yard line... Now a receiver lets it bounce off his chest so that a hard Gator first down becomes a Bulldog interception instead.
Geez, way this has gone, it's a surprise we didn't LOSE this one... Am watching now mainly to see/remember how we DID that.
I can see how though Feliepe has done little (until that unfortunate holding call-play that COULD have turned this game around) to WIN this game , something the current team (missing those parts, O-line etc) will NEED from him from time to time THIS year I think, he HASN'T been the one to LOSE it either. After everything, though, we are STILL "in striking distance" here--on the road in a MAX-hostile stadium and the calls and bounces going against us right and left...I remember being excited at this point last year--just knowing we held the cards that could take all the chips on the table here, and seeing that Coach and his alterego "in the chair" felt it/saw it that way TOO...
FINALLY putting a consistent drive together here--and a nice TOUCH pass to Toney takes them in from 20-some out. TD for the lead.
Have sat here now ever since that TD, through the rest of the 3rd and into the 4th while these two "works in progress" traded punts...Now Gators have the ball in good field position and starting a key drive: I don't remember for sure, but I gotta believe this is where we take control on the scoreboard: The announcers keep talking about how MSU "actually has more talent on the field in this one" (and they are ranked "#23" at this point, while we are still not ranked yet--courtesy of 2017's 4-8 record AND that UK loss, I'm sure) but I haven't seen it that way in the play...No, this was/IS ours to take--though after a nice pickup on first down into their territory we once AGAIN appear to be bumbling away ANOTHER opportunity to take control; have to punt 'em deep again.
We just keep giving them life. ANOTHER penalty gives them an extra 3rd down shot. We get it back on their side of midfield. This has gotta STOP: We continue to do a VERY strong impression of a second-tier team here, I'm afraid. That WASN'T true by the END of the 2018 season; Step One THIS season has to be we DO NOT REVERT TO THIS SORT OF THING TO START THIS YEAR!!!
It does feel like "anyTIME now"--Just need to consistently put together whole sequences of success. But we fail AGAIN on 3rd and one. Damn--is there a "little blue pill" for THAT???
Well, yes, there IS, it turns out: After a back'n'forth time out, Mullens mulls it over--and then goes for it...and MAKES IT! Franks for the 1st down.
Run. Run. Run. 4th down at the 10. This time they kick it, for the 13-6 lead.
Talk about an underwhelming score from two underwhelming teams in an underwhelming game. If I were a hopefully non-emotional betting man, at "THIS point" (as in last year at this point in this season/this game), I would consider it foolish to bet a penny on EITHER of these teams!
Gators will win this one simply by being the LESS INEPT TEAM on the field. But all in all, the main lesson learned/reminded here was that this was still EARLY in Mullen's retooling/reprogramming of the Gator culture, attitude, and overall mindset--especially that of Feleipe Franks!
I can also now see that although his performance seemingly "deserved" the pressure and "mixed grades" overall, it certainly wasn't all his fault. And you can ALSO see the "cracks of light" (and what Mullens no doubt saw/sees) shining through.
Clock running down in 4th, we're up 7 and though we keep finding ways to give them life (ANOTHER 3rd down penalty extends MSU possession at crucial point in game)...This longtime problem in Gator discipline eventually plays its part in our midseason breakdown.
A lot of this seemed to get turned around (I don't want to jinx us by using the word "fixed") by the end of the season...If that indeed turns out to hold true, "sky's the limit"! That, and Feleipe Franks will have a lot to say about how the 2019 season plays out for us.
A sack by our D basically ends/WINS the game, fittingly enough. By the actual end of it last year you had to feel that "the day will come that FELEIPE will have to step up and win games like this one", win them handily--and I think he finally began to show that he "could and WOULD" by the end of that season.
But now we're HERE, in the present: bout to turn-the-page, start fresh...all the MORE reason this coming opener is so huge.
I don't know HOW to feel. Want it so bad--but I KNOW that like Feleipe himself, along with Coach, staff, the whole TEAM and GATOR NATION TOO: ALL we can do now is LET IT COME TO US. Go Gators--we'll love you, come what may.
I will focus on Feleipe and HIS growth here...Mullen's current/future charge versus his past.
(Gonna be harder than I thought, that "focusing" part: For instance, gotta just more or less let go of my inclination towards outright outrage--in this case at bad, "homer officiating"...First there was that whole fiasco, long delay on a CLEAR dropped MSU pass--they eventually get it right, but only after an inept, unnecessary 10-plus minute delay, THEN, moments later on a Gator punt, the Bulldog receiver MUFFS the fair catch, the Gator cover-guy RIGHTLY sees it and dives for the ball-on-the-turf that the receiver is bent over, fumbling for--and the back judge, who's gotta be 30 yards BEHIND the play on the back endzone line, THROWS A FLAG FOR "UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT", as if the defender just tackled a "defenseless" punt receiver after his fair catch! And they call it TARGETING! I remember being APOPLECTIC at the time--and I'm fighting through the same reaction now, months later...Enough; Onward...)
That call kind of took the wind outta our sails in the first quarter of a game I think we were steadily taking OVER until that bad call. All in all, instead we seemed to shrink some on offense for a coupla ensuing possessions, left too much on our D for the rest of the quarter, half, and find ourselves down 3-zip going into the 2nd.
Way things going so far here, this is shaping up as Mullen able to (wisely) rely on our (STRONG) running game (courtesy much more of THE RUNNING BACKS than the O-line, sad to say: We all know our PASSING game, along WITH that running, will improve hugely if/when we can finally build a first class, EXPERIENCED front of "big uglies") while he waits for (and helps!) until Feleipe can get untracked.
(Sidenote: If/when he can manage THAT, pull together that combination of runner(s), receivers, big/tough/smart/flexible QB, AND O-line, well, that Gator Offense, overall, will be "BACK"! And here's the thing: we are CLOSE...FELEIPE is "close"; the "last step" is IN him, I think, in his talent range--IN HIS HEAD, nowhere else.)
Meanwhile, Gators having a lot of trouble with the crowd (HATE those cowbells--ONLY some BIG PLAYS from our guys can shut these yahoos UP!), having another of their penalty-laden games (albeit somewhat "aided"/escorted by this officiating team).
(Sidenote 2: Unless I have somehow crossed some space/time barrier, am now in some alternate slice of the multiverse, we DO eventually WIN this game...Now, it is at this point well into the 2nd quarter, we are down 6-3 in a game we COULD be down much worse in, and so far, except for a coupla short stretches early on when the running game has begun to look "Champion Caliber", well, the best you can say is that "Our D has kept us IN this one...") The "Feleipe Question" is yet to be answered in ANY way--and I'm finding it harder and harder to either recall or rekindle my recent optimism regarding his and our future with him under center; It's important to remember that all this was BEFORE the Georgia/Mizzou "slide" ("Bulldogs beat us twice!"), Franks eventually gets benched, maybe headed for ignominy before Trask subsequently breaks his foot in practice, Mullen HAS to bring Feleipe back--and everything since has been a kind of "redemption/rebirth"...I guess I'D best return to judging this one, and Feleipe himself here, in terms of what it shows us about "what he's GOT", what he can DO, from here on out.
So next thing I actually put in print here will be whatever signs of life we next see from QB-and-Offense...The way this clunky wind-down to the first half is proceeding, all that WON'T be until the SECOND HALF now. Score 6 to 3 in a game that frankly has been LESS "active" than that score would imply.
Yikes.
OK--We're back. Both teams still playing slow--and (get this) we've STILL only run HALF AS MANY PLAYS as MSU... and a hold in our backfield negates a BIG PLAY/BIG THROW completed by Franks 50 yards downfield inside the 5 yard line... Now a receiver lets it bounce off his chest so that a hard Gator first down becomes a Bulldog interception instead.
Geez, way this has gone, it's a surprise we didn't LOSE this one... Am watching now mainly to see/remember how we DID that.
I can see how though Feliepe has done little (until that unfortunate holding call-play that COULD have turned this game around) to WIN this game , something the current team (missing those parts, O-line etc) will NEED from him from time to time THIS year I think, he HASN'T been the one to LOSE it either. After everything, though, we are STILL "in striking distance" here--on the road in a MAX-hostile stadium and the calls and bounces going against us right and left...I remember being excited at this point last year--just knowing we held the cards that could take all the chips on the table here, and seeing that Coach and his alterego "in the chair" felt it/saw it that way TOO...
FINALLY putting a consistent drive together here--and a nice TOUCH pass to Toney takes them in from 20-some out. TD for the lead.
Have sat here now ever since that TD, through the rest of the 3rd and into the 4th while these two "works in progress" traded punts...Now Gators have the ball in good field position and starting a key drive: I don't remember for sure, but I gotta believe this is where we take control on the scoreboard: The announcers keep talking about how MSU "actually has more talent on the field in this one" (and they are ranked "#23" at this point, while we are still not ranked yet--courtesy of 2017's 4-8 record AND that UK loss, I'm sure) but I haven't seen it that way in the play...No, this was/IS ours to take--though after a nice pickup on first down into their territory we once AGAIN appear to be bumbling away ANOTHER opportunity to take control; have to punt 'em deep again.
We just keep giving them life. ANOTHER penalty gives them an extra 3rd down shot. We get it back on their side of midfield. This has gotta STOP: We continue to do a VERY strong impression of a second-tier team here, I'm afraid. That WASN'T true by the END of the 2018 season; Step One THIS season has to be we DO NOT REVERT TO THIS SORT OF THING TO START THIS YEAR!!!
It does feel like "anyTIME now"--Just need to consistently put together whole sequences of success. But we fail AGAIN on 3rd and one. Damn--is there a "little blue pill" for THAT???
Well, yes, there IS, it turns out: After a back'n'forth time out, Mullens mulls it over--and then goes for it...and MAKES IT! Franks for the 1st down.
Run. Run. Run. 4th down at the 10. This time they kick it, for the 13-6 lead.
Talk about an underwhelming score from two underwhelming teams in an underwhelming game. If I were a hopefully non-emotional betting man, at "THIS point" (as in last year at this point in this season/this game), I would consider it foolish to bet a penny on EITHER of these teams!
Gators will win this one simply by being the LESS INEPT TEAM on the field. But all in all, the main lesson learned/reminded here was that this was still EARLY in Mullen's retooling/reprogramming of the Gator culture, attitude, and overall mindset--especially that of Feleipe Franks!
I can also now see that although his performance seemingly "deserved" the pressure and "mixed grades" overall, it certainly wasn't all his fault. And you can ALSO see the "cracks of light" (and what Mullens no doubt saw/sees) shining through.
Clock running down in 4th, we're up 7 and though we keep finding ways to give them life (ANOTHER 3rd down penalty extends MSU possession at crucial point in game)...This longtime problem in Gator discipline eventually plays its part in our midseason breakdown.
A lot of this seemed to get turned around (I don't want to jinx us by using the word "fixed") by the end of the season...If that indeed turns out to hold true, "sky's the limit"! That, and Feleipe Franks will have a lot to say about how the 2019 season plays out for us.
A sack by our D basically ends/WINS the game, fittingly enough. By the actual end of it last year you had to feel that "the day will come that FELEIPE will have to step up and win games like this one", win them handily--and I think he finally began to show that he "could and WOULD" by the end of that season.
But now we're HERE, in the present: bout to turn-the-page, start fresh...all the MORE reason this coming opener is so huge.
I don't know HOW to feel. Want it so bad--but I KNOW that like Feleipe himself, along with Coach, staff, the whole TEAM and GATOR NATION TOO: ALL we can do now is LET IT COME TO US. Go Gators--we'll love you, come what may.
