Bulldogs – Dug Jones

September 10, 2024 — 1 Comment

From Where I Sit- Samford at Florida- September 7, 2024

Florida rebounded from a disappointing opening week game by putting the Miami game in the rearview mirror and focusing on getting better at execution and focus. The Miami loss attracted "noise in the system" and necessitated that Billy Napier and staff make keeping the players' focus on the things they can impact instead of social media a priority. While the week two win over Samford wasn't pristine, it was certainly a welcome improvement and snapped a six game Gator losing streak.

The last time Florida faced Samford (2021), the Gators had to overcome a 42-28 deficit late in the first half en route to a 70-52 win. This year's Gators managed the game much more effectively and scored the first 21 points of the game before cruising to a 45-7 win. The headline for Florida fans was DJ Lagway's record setting performance in his first start as a Gator. His stat line read; 18-25 for 456 yards and 3 touchdown passes. A great day, for sure. DJ's arm talent was every bit as good as advertised. He showed off his quick release, arm strength, and soft touch. He spread the ball around to 8 different receivers and had completions that went for 85, 77, 44, 41, 40, and 36 yards. Florida also ran the ball pretty well with 7 ball carriers combining for 169 yards on 34 carries (4.9 per carry). Montrell Johnson is the bell cow for good reason, but both Tre Webb and (especially) Jadan Baugh flexed their skill sets. For the Gator offense, no sacks, one turnover, and only one negative yardage play.

There were a few areas for improvement, offensively, in the Samford game. Lagway slid too early on a couple of runs leaving very short third and/or fourth down plays the Gators ultimately failed to convert. Florida also had a couple of wasted timeouts and several illegal procedure penalties. Things to be cleaned up moving forward.

Florida performed better defensively than it may have seemed in real time. Samford ran a quick-paced offense that made it feel like the Gators were scrambling around, at times. On a few drives, they gave up some yards, but made critical stops outside of field goal range. Once they found their footing, the Florida defense was solid. Other than one long Samford scoring drive in the third quarter and one long non-scoring drive in the first half, the Gator defense was off the field in 6 or less plays the rest of the day. Florida defended 69 plays and gave up just 205 total yards (3 yards per play). The numbers were especially good when you note that the Gators played without 4 defenders (3 DBs) that started the Miami game. Tackling was solid again this week and included 12 tackles for loss. The number of defensive penalties was really low.

Special teams were a bright spot again this week. The Gators converted every field goal and PAT attempt and covered every punt (+49.5) and kickoff (+62.5) well. Chimere Dike had a nice (31 yards) punt return for the Gators. Special team players were on and off the field with no signs of confusion.

Texas A&M, this week, provides an opportunity for Florida to take a step forward. There won't be a large number of games on this year's schedule where Florida will be less than a 3 point underdog, but this is one of them. The Aggies are much more talented than Samford and depth for Florida's defense will be an issue, but being at home should help Florida.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports

Tags: Bulldogs, College Sports, Florida, Football, Gators, Samford, SEC, University of Florida

November 1, 2021 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit- Georgia at Florida (in Jax)- October 30, 2021

The Gator fans who have been clambering for Anthony Richardson to start got their wish. They also got to see why it’s so tough for freshmen quarterbacks to be effective against top tier SEC defenses like Georgia’s. It isn’t just about sequences like the last two minutes of the first half. It’s also about having the ability to change play calls at the line of scrimmage and having mastery of the full array of play options. This is why Dan Mullen was reluctant to bench junior starter, Emory Jones. Still, Richardson earned important experience and remains an exciting piece of the future.

Florida has underachieved this year due to problems in three main areas. The first is the number of turnovers. Gator quarterbacks have thrown 14 interceptions. This is twice as many as all but two other SEC teams. The next highest total is four less than Florida’s total. The especially disappointing reality around this statistic is that Florida is one of the nation’s best running teams. Typically, a strong run game means defenses have to bring linebackers and the strong safety into run support. This opens passing lanes. The interceptions have not only been drive killers, but have also been catastrophic in terms momentum swings. Two have been returned for touchdowns and six others gave the opponent the ball on the Gator’s end of the field. The Florida offense has made life tough for the Gator defense.

A second problem area has been a general absence of “explosive” scoring plays in SEC games. Opponents have taken away vertical pass routes and forced Florida to move the ball incrementally down the field. When the Gators haven’t turned the ball over on these long drives, they have often stalled in the yellow zone (between the opponents 20 and 33 yard lines).

Focus related challenges have been a third area of concern. An abundance of illegal procedure penalties have hampered the offense. The defense has been plagued by poor fundamentals in tackling (an average of 12 missed tackles per game) and a failure to contain by playing edge assignments properly. These types of lapses destroy offensive momentum on the offensive side of the ball and extend the other team’s drives on the defensive side of the ball. This year’s Gators haven’t been able to overcome the adversity they’ve often created for themselves.

Florida faced two #1 teams and two tough SEC road environments over the last six weeks, but now has four very winnable games left on the regular season schedule. These are the circumstances where character determines the direction a program moves. Teams that are able to redirect energy and focus on team oriented goals will improve and position themselves for the future. Teams that lack leadership and are distracted by social media criticism will dissolve into negativity and focus on individual priorities (like NIL and unwarranted swagger) and fall apart. The next four weeks will define the 2021 Gators.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports

Tags: Bulldogs, Florida, Football, Gators, Georgia, SEC, University of Florida

November 9, 2020 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit- Florida vs. Georgia- 11/7/20

In light of the outcomes of recent Florida/Georgia games and the SEC East championship implications each year, Saturday's Gator victory was just what the doctor ordered for Florida fans. The annual matchup serves as a thermometer for measuring the "health" of both programs. Since 2016, the Gators have been working towards a cure for the Bulldog blues. Each time it seemed Florida was on the road to recovery, Georgia delivered bad news. In this year's game, a more poised (and offensively potent) Florida team survived a very ugly first five minutes of football to overwhelm the Bulldogs with a barrage of 38 first half points. Teams with less poise might have relapsed and thought, "here we go again" when Georgia jumped out to a 14 - 0 lead just 3:16 into the game. As has been the case since he became the starting quarterback, Kyle Trask was unflappable. From that 3:16 point in the first quarter through 3:12 into the third quarter, Trask completed 23 of 27 passes for 389 yards and put 41 points on the scoreboard. The 4 incompletions during this span of roughly one half included a dropped pass and a "pick six" for Georgia caused by a poor Gator route.

Florida's defense, like in last week's game against Missouri was solid, but not great. Georgia scored only 21 offensive points, but overthrew wide open receivers behind the Gator secondary twice. The Bulldogs also dropped several catchable balls that killed drives for them. Still, Florida's defense allowed only 141 yards of total offense and only 7 points after the catastrophic first 3:12 (136 yards and 14 points) of the game. In light of the early season defensive struggles and the more recent lineup challenges associated with COVID, the Gators are much improved. It appears Todd Grantham has the players back into their more natural positions. The defense is playing better and with, in most cases, more discipline (controlled aggression).

This year's game was brutal in terms of physicality and player injuries. At least three players for each team didn't finish the game and both teams had several others miss portions of the game. Georgia, in particular, was impacted by the absence of key players in their defensive secondary.

The depth and versatility of the Florida offense was showcased by the production of players NOT named Kyle Pitts and Kadraris Toney. Pitts was knocked out of the game early and Toney had only one productive play on ten touches. Instead, Florida went to wheel routes that featured the Gator running backs. As a unit, the backs had 10 catches for 212 yards. The running game was just productive enough to keep the Bulldog linebackers close enough to scrimmage to create space behind them for Florida's receivers to work. Trevon Grimes, Kenmore Gamble, and Kyle Pitts (of course) all made nice catches on tough balls to help Trask. The talented younger Gator receivers weren't as good on Saturday, accounting for two two dropped passes and a bad route that caused a "pick six". Georgia dropped another "pick six" opportunity also caused by bad Florida route running.

As Florida prepares for Feliepe Franks and the Arkansas Razorbacks this week, the news regarding the health of Gator players will be a factor. Kyle Pitts left the Georgia game with what looked like a concussion. Three Florida offensive linemen missed parts of the Georgia game. Stewart Reese and Jeremiah Moon each left the game with injuries and didn't return. Safety Brad Stewart was also banged up with what looked like a shoulder injury.

The Gator win on Saturday was critical not only for clearing a good path into the SEC championship game, but also to make the point Florida is relevant again. Recruiting gets easier when teams win marquee games and the Gators and Bulldogs very often recruit the same players.

With a one game cushion and all 5 remaining games against teams in the lower half of the league standings, the media has all but awarded the SEC East to the Gators. The reality, however, is every SEC team has talent and is well coached. That's what makes the SEC the best conference in college football. The mantra at Florida has to be "one game at a time" each and every week.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports

Tags: Bulldogs, Florida, Football, Gators, Georgia, SEC

November 2, 2019 — Comments are off for this post.

From Where I Sit: UF vs. Georgia

This was a great SEC battle with high stakes. This type of situation really defines why the SEC “just means more”. To make it to the SEC championship game, Florida needed to run a four-game gauntlet that included three top-ten opponents and three consecutive games away from Gainesville. The task was too tall for this year’s Gators, but the team handled itself well and earned respect. Mullen and his Gators won’t be satisfied with the respectable showing and that’s exactly why even better days are ahead.
High notes for the day included poise and confidence through adversity. Another strong fourth quarter offensively. Zero turnovers. Trask also has another solid day passing the ball. The Gator run defense was good, for the most part, against one of the best running teams and backs (Swift) in the country.

The biggest struggles included third-down defense, especially in the first half. Anemic run offense. The defense failed to get any consistent pressure on Fromm in passing situations. Trey Dean struggled again in coverage. Stone Forsyth struggled again to protect Trask. Not a good day for Mullen and the coaching staff. Wasted timeouts, some struggles having the right guys on the field, and an inability to figure a way to get pressure on Fromm. Georgia was a half step ahead all day.

Florida is still in a position to have a very good season. It will be nice being home next week against what should be a softer opponent. If Florida wins out, a 10 - 2 record and a New Years Day bowl game are nice accomplishments for year two of the Dan Mullen era.

Published by Dug Jones in Sports

Tags: 2019, Bulldogs, College Sports, Football, Georgia, Rival, SEC, UF, University of Florida