Florida Gators -- Week #4

Wow! And I'm not even talking about Samantha Steele. That 48-10 win at Kentucky was played as well as I thought I would see the Gators play all year!

Offensive line, solid. John Brantley, solid. Receivers, solid. Running backs, amazing!

Defensive line, although they disappeared for a short stints, better than "solid." Linebackers, solid. Secondary...*drumroll*... solid!

Special teams, solid.

With such a young team (only 34 juniors and seniors combined) playing their first road SEC game, I could not have been more impressed, especially with how the game started. Their first two drives began at their own 12 and 8 yard lines, respectively. Kentucky's crowd and defense were bringing it. But after punting twice, the Gators were able to force and recover a fumble on Kentucky's second possession. After that, it was like a Piranha feeding frenzy. First play after the fumble, 45 yard touchdown pass, followed by a three and out by Kentucky inside their own 10 yard line. After receiving the ball on their own 42 yard line, 4 Gator plays later, touchdown. Next Kentucky possession, interception returned to the Kentucky 28 yard line. 2 plays later, the Gators scored their third touchdown in 4:02 of game time (2:08 of possession time). The rout was on.

The only glaring negative for the team was turnovers. But even there was a silver lining. Two of the turnovers were made by freshman quarterback Jeff Driskel. After subbing in for Brantley when he left for a short time due to injury, Driskel lost a fumble while in the pocket which led to Kentucky's only touchdown. Driskel then threw an interception in his next series while the Gators were driving to put points on the board at the end of the first half. The silver lining? Well, first, I'm glad he was able to make those mistakes in a 31-3 game. Second, he came back in at the end of the third quarter and finished out the game, gaining valuable experience on the road against an SEC opponent.

I wouldn't say I'm looking forward to next week's game against Alabama, nor to the entire October schedule, but it might just be the wake-up call we need to keep from becoming TOO over confident. Of course, it could also be the first indicator that this year will be far more special than anyone thought was realistic!

Just Joe

Et tu, Atlanta?

Back on June 8, I mocked the Chicago Cubs in my post Still the Team I Remember I mentioned how sick and tired I was of their losing ways. What I didn't mention was that I've put my support behind the Atlanta Braves. Few people know that I actually began rooting for them even before rooting for the Cubs. It was probably 1982 or 1983 when I first started watching the Atlanta Braves on TBS; Dale Murphy, Bob Horner, Rafael Ramirez, Chris Chambliss, etc.

So how is my first year as a reclaimed Braves fan? It started off quite well actually. The Braves were the popular pick in the preseason to win the National League wild-card with a few people even picking them to win the East. Through most of the year the Braves had the second-best record in the National League behind their East rivals Phillies. In fact, on the morning of September 1, although the Braves were well behind the Phillies for the East lead, they had an 8 1/2 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals for the National League wild card! Smooth sailing with only one month to go! I mean, it's not like these are the Chicago Cubs...

Here I sit on the afternoon of September 26, after watching my Braves go 9-15 in September while those St. Louis Cardinals are 16-7 in September, just hoping against all hope that the Braves can hang on to their one-game lead with three games left to play! I'm pretty sure I jumped off the Cubs bandwagon because of situations just like these. The only difference at the moment is that I KNOW the Cubs would not be able to hang on to this one-game lead whereas I'm not really sure if the Braves will hang on. All of my Cubs training tells me it's a lost cause already but I sure hope the Braves won't let me down. I would hate to have to call them "the stupid Braves" after just one full year of fandom.

Just Joe


NEXT WEEK:  LFL (... finally!)

Florida Gators -- Week #3

After a 33-23 victory in the Swamp over a game Tennessee team, a text I received from one of my Gator buddies sums up my feelings quite well, "Should've been by more but I'll take it!"

With 3 touchdowns and 4 field goals, the red zone/near red zone problems are still there, obviously. Way too many penalties! The freshman in the secondary were still freshmen after 2 games, go figure. And some questionable playcalling. Those are the only 4 gripes I can think of at the moment. The first two are pretty big complaints because they WILL cost the Gators victories over better teams. And although the secondary is young, the only way to improve is to play. Even with a promising season ahead, I'm already excited to see this defense for the next two years! As for the playcalling, it seemed like once it was 16-0, Charlie was more interested in showing off (reverse pass from the wildcat) than continuing what was successful. Of course, at that point he may have been feeling the pressure to score a touchdown after 1 touchdown and 3 field goals.

The offensive line looked stout, especially in the passing game. Sure there were a couple of sacks, but the rest of the plays Brantley stayed relatively clean. I'm not really sure I can say enough about Chris Rainey. I guess the most succinct thing I can say is he should be in the Heisman discussion. I know it's early and I know he splits time, but he does it all; over 100 yards rushing, over 100 yards receiving, returning punts and even blocking one this game (not to mention the blocked punt he returned for a touchdown). He definitely deserves consideration.

Special teams again looked great save one lousy punt from out of the end zone. Sturgis remains perfect on field goals and both coverage teams look superb.

All in all, I'll take that first SEC victory of the year!

Just Joe

PS   The hardest part about writing about the Gators is not saying "we" and "us!"

Bottom of the Pile; Top of the World

I was wanting to save this for closer to World Series time but I've decided to open my old journal and share this now. I wrote this about 14 years ago so I was still a Cubs fan. I hope you like it.

Bottom of the Pile; Top of the World

Two are out, bases loaded and 1-nothing is the score.

I’ve thrown a hundred and forty pitches or more.

The pressure has built in inning number nine.

One out to go and glory can be mine.

This isn’t an ordinary game, it’s game 7.

To win this one would feel like heaven.

Since I was five I’ve yearned for this chance.

I turn to the stands and take a quick glance.

These 65,000 people have become a maniacal mob.

Back in the third inning my elbow began to throb.

Lucky for me my arm has long since been numb.

They love me now but one mistake and I’m “a bum.”

For 23 years this game has had my devotion.

Now millions of people hang on my every motion.

But my body is weak and my mind is tired.

I wish this hadn’t come down to the wire.

Okay, gather your strength, your thoughts and your mind.

The great ones look a bit deeper and have extra to find.

I know this guy wants to see my very best fastball.

Let’s look in to see what my catcher will call.

My mate thinks we should challenge him.

If I miss my spot, the result will be grim.

One inch off the outside corner?  No problem.

Just grab two seams with two fingers and a thumb.

Come on, Ump!  You gotta give me some of the black.

Can’t put it down the middle or it won’t come back.

Same pitch but this time let’s try the inside.

This is dangerous but it is a matter of pride.

Five hundred feet down the line!  Whew!  It’s foul.

What does the batter think?  Whoa!  What a scowl.

Definitely time to throw the ol’ slider.

I’m oh so tired but damnit, I’m a fighter.

Umph!  The batter sure was fooled by the spin.

Give him the number one way up and way in.

Didn’t plan for it to be that close to his chin.

He’s alright.  He dusted off and gave me a grin.

Catch your breath... take a stroll around the mound,

Fix the hat, play with the rosin bag that’s on the ground.

I’ll give him a slider ‘cause it’s nothing to pull.

Damn!  It missed low and now the count is full.

Oh, Lord, I’m exhausted.  Hows about a little relief?

How can such a great game cause me such grief?

Let’s end it now.  Fastball down Broadway with all I can muster.

It’s either Alexander The Great or General Custer.

Uh oh!  The hitter is taking a stride and a mighty swing!

He’s right on the ball.  Don’t think I’ll win a ring.

I can’t believe it went straight back!  God was smilin’.

Now I have another chance to send my team pilin’.

But I used my everything on that last pitch.

Now I know this effort will be last ditch.

I’ve no more ability to throw the ball hard,

so I’ll try to fool him though he’s on guard.

I’ll give him my pitch called the “circle change.”

Hopefully Lewis out in center will have the range.

I grip the ball in my hand just right

and make sure not to squeeze it too tight.

I release the ball at the perfect point.

Everyone is standing, I mean the entire joint.

After the swing, the ball gently enters the catcher’s mitt!

Then the batter goes off to have a fit.

After nearly a century filled with flubs,

the championship finally belongs to the Cubs.

Now my face can barely contain this ear to ear smile.

It sure is tough to breathe at the bottom of this pile!


Just Joe

Florida Gators -- Week 2 Impression

Having watched this game on television, what made the biggest impression on me can be summed up in two words... Kristina Akra! Apparently she's a former Gator & Heat dancer. I'll leave the googling to the readers.

Okay, I know it's hard to complain after a 39-0 shutout, which is pretty close to the 41-3 score last week, but I definitely feel like the team took a step backwards. I would be feeling much better if this had been game #1.

The defense was exposed a little more this week against UAB. The Gators had a heckuva time staying on side in the first quarter. I would have expected that in week one but not this week. They were bailed out on two calls that likely saved 10 points: the first was a holding call on UAB's first drive that stalled them out near field goal range and the second was of course the touchdown that was called back for an illegal shift. I feel like overall the defensive line still got a good bit of pressure and did well to stop the run. The secondary... well, let's just say that the two starting freshman looked like two starting freshman. It'll be interesting to see the defensive line next week when tackle Shariff Floyd returns from his two-game suspension.

The offense... maybe they should pretend that they are only allowed to score a touchdown from 20 yards or more away. Three short field goals in the first half against this team really isn't acceptable. With the schedule coming up, it's hard enough getting into the red zone but when you get there you need 7s not 3s. Again, it didn't much matter in this game but I'm trying to apply this to future SEC games. 4-12 on third-down conversions was a big problem as well. I was very excited to see Trey Burton so involved this week. I know he was injured during the game last week but watching Mr. Do Everything in action is really special; from running the dive option to trucking over some poor DB who must've been exhausted from earlier trying to keep up with Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps. I love watching those guys run. Chris Rainey scares me a little because when he's spinning like a gyroscope the ball gets a little loose. Ironically enough, his fumble took place when he was carrying the ball high and tight. The offensive line kept Brantley pretty clean, except when he was blasted on the first play of the game (the flea flicker). It was cool to see Charlie Weis open up the playbook a little just to give Tennessee a few things to prepare for.

The special teams was again very good. Another huge runback to start the game, plenty of field goals and even a punt or two! The only thing that bothered me a little was none of UAB's 6 punts were returned; not even the 47 yarder. Pretty minor but it would be nice to save a few yards there.

Okay, that's all of my nitpicking for this week. Bring on Tennessee!

Just Joe

Half-Lives

Apologies, I know this is a day late but the weather was over me yesterday...

Even though it makes me feel stupid sometimes, it's nice when someone points out how a piece of knowledge you already have can be applied to a bigger picture.

I'm sure a lot of us remember learning about or at least hearing about half-lives of elements. Basically, it's the amount of time it takes for half of the mass of an element to naturally dissolve into radiation. Even "stable" elements have half-lives.

Okay, so what? What's the big deal? Well, aside from that being the basis of the popular Carbon-14 dating, if you extrapolate half-lives out over an enormous number of years, everything simply becomes radiation. In fact, according to physicist Brian Cox of "Wonders of the Universe," every bit of matter in the universe will have deteriorated into radiation waves in something like a trillion, trillion, trillion... I believe he said "trillion" seven times -- so 1 trillion has 12 zeros, which means we're looking somewhere around 10^84. That is a number 1 followed by 85 zeros. SO in that many years, all matter that currently exists in the universe will be *poof* gone.

Now I'm not trying to create any existential crises here but anyone who had hope that humans would resist the urge to annihilate themselves AND that the earth itself would resist any natural, environmental changes AND that our race would actually make it out into space sometime before the sun swallows our planet, now we know that in 10^84 years, nothing will exist.

NOW what does it all mean?!

Just Joe


NEXT WEEK:  Bottom of the Pile, Top of the World

Florida Gators -- Week 1 Impression

After beating FAU 41-3 I've seen a good bit of optimism floating around the Gator Nation. I wouldn't say I'm here to throw cold water on anyone's celebrations but I do think that those celebrations should be tempered.

I think the Gators looked as good as anyone could hope for after all the changes from last year. My grades would probably be Bs for the offense and defense with a special teams A bringing the overall grade to a B+.

John Brantley showed quite an arm on several early throws; a very nice combination of velocity and touch that seemed to elude him last year. The problem was his bad throws were VERY bad! One interception was not his fault (I blame the linemen who whiffed on his cut block) but the other was in the end zone into triple coverage. Eesh! And he had two other throws in the first half that should've been picked off and would've been picked off against a better team!

It was nice to see the Gators come out running the ball though. They weren't between the tackles very often but the offensive line did about as good a job as you would hope for against an overmatched FAU team. They didn't blow anyone off the ball but they opened enough holes to let the speedy running backs get through. (By the way, if those announcers called Jeffrey Demps "the fastest player in college football" one more time I might have had to punch something... even if it IS true.) The receivers looked outstanding. Even Deonte Thompson was holding onto footballs!

The defense looked outstanding in the first half. The defensive line in particular shutdown the run and probably had more quarterback pressures than all of last year. And they did it without blitzing! Coming out for the second half however, the Gators seemed to be trying out some blitz packages. The odd bit to me was that the defensive line seemed to get more pressure rushing 4 guys than when they would blitz. Good news for the standard pass rush, bad news for the blitz. The defense was also helped out by several dropped passes and errant throws by the Owls' offense. A big-time team would have burned them a few times.

What I was most excited about was the special teams play! That was one of my biggest concerns. Urban Meyer certainly stressed the importance of special teams and had plenty of blocked kicks to prove it. But in the first game to return a blocked punt for a touchdown, very nice! On top of that a 50 yard field goal from Caleb Sturgis who has always had the leg strength but not the accuracy.

There is definitely work that needs to be done by the time SEC play rolls around in two weeks, but for a first showing, it definitely appears they are on the right track.

Just Joe

**********************************************

Hey, Matthew. For some reason I'm not being able to leave comment responses so:

I agree with you. Auburn was the other game I considered for a possible win. But it is the third game of that West trilogy and it is on the road. We'll have to come out of those first two games healthy to have a chance. Of course, given the way Auburn played Saturday, I like our chances a lot more. Georgia too, for that matter.

Voiceovers

Okay, LFL is being kicked aside again... so I can discuss a pet peeve of mine.

I'm sure just about everyone has watched a documentary or informative television show on the History Channel or someplace similar. Does it bug you as much as it bugs me when a voiceover that is reading a letter or quoting a speech from a foreign figure has the accent of the country of origin of the letter or speech? I don't just mean a light, pleasant accent. Sometimes those are very pleasing and can almost add a certain authenticity. Well at least it can help submerse a viewer into the program. But on many occasions the voiceovers have such thick accents that it takes effort to understand. He or she might as well be reading the letter in its original language! Check out nearly any World War II documentary. I'm certain I understand Adolf better when he's speaking German than when I hear the voiceover that sounds like a German pronouncing a list of random English words for the first time.

How about when quoting one of our forefathers? Did all of them really speak so arrogantly? I'm currently reading Benjamin Franklin's autobiography and although he structures his sentences very nicely, I don't really get that Thurston Howell III feel about him. Of course, I'm only about a third of the way through. Back on topic, whenever I hear a voiceover representing his voice, it sounds more like a voice from a Dave Chapelle skit.

It is said that Abraham Lincoln had a bit of a high, possibly nasally, voice. So why does it sound like James Earl Jones is doing his voiceovers? How about going for real authenticity and having Jerry Lewis (circa 1960) doing Abraham Lincoln. Think, "Hey, lady!" does "End slav'ry!"

Just Joe


NEXT WEEK:  Half Lives

Florida Gators 2011 Prediction

It's that time of year... COLLEGE FOOTBALL!

This year's Florida Gators are a virtual blank slate. With a new head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and several assistants, no one actually knows what to expect. We know what we are hoping for, 14-0 and the national championship, but that feels as likely to happen as during the Ron Zook years. My realistic outlook is FAR less encouraging.

Quarterback John Brantley will be in his second year as a starter after last year's debacle of trying to make a pure pocket passer into a spread quarterback. The boos from the home crowd certainly must have messed with his head. Will Brantley developed into the quarterback he was touted to be coming out of high school? I'd love to say yes because he's such a nice kid but last year he looked like a freshman -- even on straight drop back plays -- and this year he might as well be since he's learning a whole new offense. Watch out for freshman hotshot Jeff Driskel to get a decent bit of playing time when possible this year. I have read a lot of good things about him.

The offensive line has a few new starters which is never good. Except maybe in this case! Luckily they all had playing time last year so it's not completely new to them. The Gators are still in search of playmakers out wide. Will Chris Rainey and Jeffrey Demps be as explosive running behind a fullback?

Their strength should definitely be the defense, particularly the defensive line. The Gators are switching to a 3-4 base which I really like, provided they can stop the run with only three down linemen. In recent years stopping the run with four down linemen seemed challenging enough. But this is where I think Will Muschamp will flex his muscle. There is big-time talent on the defensive line and Muschamp will make this unit shine.

The schedule this year is absolutely brutal for the Florida Gators. Playing in the SEC is bad enough but their opponents from the West this year include Alabama, @LSU and @Auburn. Not only are those 3 of the last 4 BCS Champions but those games are played in 3 consecutive weeks. October will be rough. Luckily the fourth game in October is only against Georgia, our longest standing rival. All of a sudden the 3 cupcakes on our schedule will be necessary just to make 6-6 achievable. Unfortunately, yes, that is my prediction for this year's team, 6-6. 7-5 isn't out of the question but I'm not sure where the seventh victory would come. POSSIBLY Georgia? The other two games that look like losses right now are @South Carolina and vs. Florida State. Blecch! I just threw up in my mouth.

I'm sure plenty of people think I'm a pessimist but it would take a great team to get through that with only two losses. After watching the first game last season against Miami University, I predicted a five loss season based on the pathetic play of the offense of line. I was right last year but I certainly hope I'm way off this year... but in a good direction!

Just Joe