What I'm Hearing

[DRU2012]

Am hearing LOTS of things, but aside from all the freaked-out OVER-reactions (mostly involving all the ways Coach Napier has come up short and all the things he MUST DO NOW to turn this around--some of which has a certain validity, short of the "Fire him NOW!" idiocy), it seems the MAIN discussion centers on eliminating penalties and team-wide in-game errors, on the one hand, and addressing apparent lack of proper focus on Special Teams and the specific responsibilities with respect to the OC position on the other.
Now, I am HEARING that Billy INTENDS to ADD an actual OC before NEXT season--I take it that means AFTER this one. It sure seems we've got a similar void with respect to Special Teams too.
The only knock I have on Coach regarding these two points IS NOT in his maybe NEEDING a couple of additional talented young coaches to HELP him and him and his team, not just IN-game but in the plans and preparations leading up to them.
I don't know that in either case it is something that can be properly addressed in the middle of the season already under way--yet once recognized it seems best accomplished as soon as possible.
Beyond that, it is time then to TURN THE PAGE.
Never mind all the talk, the continuing crescendo of negativity. I don't care to even LISTEN to it any longer, let alone DWELL on it.
All that REALLY matters now is what comes next. Do we rebound? Does this team suck it up, come together and begin to properly respond, eliminate much of the worst of what we saw last Thursday night and put it behind us?
A big part of how, even WHETHER that happens depends on our Coach. The folks in that lockeroom, coaches and players alike, are looking to him--will follow his lead. How HE responds, what that entails and when any changes are (or even CAN be) enacted will say and in turn affect so much. All WE can do is settle down...then line up in SUPPORT OF THE TEAM AND PROGRAM.
We're still hurting, sure. But we're still GATORS, with the whole season still ahead of us. I may not feel very confident in looking at the schedule still ahead of us, but let's at least sit back and give them a chance to show that if they indeed (just as we thought coming INTO this season) aren't Championship-material yet, this team and program IS on the upswing and WILL get better.

 

[Escambia94]

Every sports analyst on Earth agrees that Napier needs an OC for next year. If he really is a detail-oriented, process-based, analytical CEO coach then he needs to focus on that and bring in a hired gun to propel the Gators into this new era of SEC football. Everything will be different: 16 teams without traditional divisions; perennial top-10 Alabama, Georgia, and FSU dominating the landscape; new teams Texas and Oklahoma threatening to be perennial contenders.

 

[DRU2012]

Every sports analyst on Earth agrees that Napier needs an OC for next year. If he really is a detail-oriented, process-based, analytical CEO coach then he needs to focus on that and bring in a hired gun to propel the Gators into this new era of SEC football. Everything will be different: 16 teams without traditional divisions; perennial top-10 Alabama, Georgia, and FSU dominating the landscape; new teams Texas and Oklahoma threatening to be perennial contenders.

The only thing I'd add is the obvious (master as I am): The central goal of course is for FLORIDA to soon REJOIN that list of "perennial contenders":
We "USED to be" charter members, in effect basically passing our place OFF to the Tide in that 2009 SEC Championship Game--though perhaps didn't realize it at the time. But that's the way it has developed in the years since.
Billy said at today's presser that he didn't plan to see himself or his team GET USED to losing.
That TOO is somewhat obvious, but given everything happening surrounding us so far this season I suppose that needed to be said.

 

[Escambia94]

I agree. FSU is two years ahead of Florida in its rebuild. Napier lost some supporters last week not by losing to a better team but by fielding an awful year two product. Granted, some of us can look at the film and see that many of the mistakes were flukes but that is not what most of us see. Whether Napier likes it or not, he needs to make the Gators look like a program of destiny against little old McNeese because he lost so much good will last week. I became fed up with the “two offensive line coaches and no offensive coordinator” situation last week, so he needs to win me over with 400+ yards of offense, fewer than 60 yards of penalties, and a team that looks prepared to win.

I did not believe this to be true before the season but after the way we lost last week I think Napier needs to pay more attention to perception. The perception is that he runs a high school offense using high school coaches. The perception is that the Gator program is stuck in the basement below Vanderbilt. I think in reality he has the pieces to rebuild the program into a winner by year six, but he will not make it to year six without buying some good will. That first piece of good will is due this Saturday with a convincing win over a normally unimportant opponent.

 

[DRU2012]

I agree. FSU is two years ahead of Florida in its rebuild. Napier lost some supporters last week not by losing to a better team but by fielding an awful year two product. Granted, some of us can look at the film and see that many of the mistakes were flukes but that is not what most of us see. Whether Napier likes it or not, he needs to make the Gators look like a program of destiny against little old McNeese because he lost so much good will last week. I became fed up with the “two offensive line coaches and no offensive coordinator” situation last week, so he needs to win me over with 400+ yards of offense, fewer than 60 yards of penalties, and a team that looks prepared to win.

I did not believe this to be true before the season but after the way we lost last week I think Napier needs to pay more attention to perception. The perception is that he runs a high school offense using high school coaches. The perception is that the Gator program is stuck in the basement below Vanderbilt. I think in reality he has the pieces to rebuild the program into a winner by year six, but he will not make it to year six without buying some good will. That first piece of good will is due this Saturday with a convincing win over a normally unimportant opponent.

No matter how we got here (and I think E-- has pretty well nailed it down TIGHTLY), the fact is that as things stand NOW, I don't see any WAY our Coach GETS "SIX YEARS" to prove it on the field.
Yes, he can get back a LITTLE more time and "room to maneuver" by building a better "perception" of the product ON THE FIELD.
We need to LOOK more like "a winner" NOW, here in Year Two, just to get back to "the rebuild in progress"--which IS happening, folks: Everything ELSE (including RECRUITING, of course, and most of the less visible but nonetheless important "vibe", the wholesale change in team "buy in" that everyone around and close to the program talks about) indicates a squad that is quietly, solidly going about its determined business in building towards its FUTURE.
Now, however mismatched today's contest ought to be, after LAST week's sloppy Gator opening performance I suppose I now likewise believe that our Coach and extensive staff MUST have this team, all three squads READY-TO-PLAY:
They need to execute properly in all areas.
No excuses this time in terms of getting the right people on the field, in the right formations (and all on the same page).
Maybe all that wouldn't have had such disastrous effect had THIS been our first opponent: We'd likely just been bemoaning a "sloppy start" in our first game we eventually won pretty handily ANYWAY...that's what we are assuming, at this point. If that's anything LIKE "true", then not only do we win this one BIG, but it is now probably necessary for us to do so pretty well DEVOID of all (or at least MOST) of the plethora of confusion, miscues and outright breakdowns that characterized that first half last week against Utah. As noted by E--, after THAT Gator-mess it became absolutely imperative for this team to show poise, determination and great improvement here against a lesser squad.