Florida Gators -- Week #9

So obviously I'm way behind on posting my Gators wrapups but this was from the miserable 24-20 loss to the Georgia Bullsh-ts. (So much for nonbiased reporting.)

Still with the penalties!!! Even after a bye week, no improvement is shown! Of course, the bye week didn't seem to help in any aspect of the game. The defensive line got zero pressure on the quarterback unless sending extra defenders on the blitz. The offense of line pass blocking and run blocking was soooo inconsistent. And on the rare occasion that anyone was given time in the pocket, receivers could not get open. There were a grand total of 2 completions to wide receivers and one of those turned into a lost fumble! Knowing how frustrating it was to watch, I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to coach.

Speaking of the coaching, since I'm usually quick to point out when I disagree with a Muschamp game decision, I'll point out another... but this time Coach gets credit for making the right call. In the fourth quarter, down 24-20 with 8:06 left, there was a 4th & 2 at about the Georgia 42 yard line. My call was to go for it since we may not get that close again. Muschamp decided to punt. The punt was downed inside the 5 yard line and the defense forced a 3 and out. One terrible punt later and the Gators had the ball 1st & 10 at the Georgia 40 yard line. Great call by Coach "Boom!"

The only other notes I have are about the unbelievable kick returns the Gators pulled off. One kickoff return for a touchdown and another well into Georgia territory setting up a field goal. Jordan Reed showed up a bit which was nice to see... even though I jumped off his bandwagon last week. The lack of offensive rhythm was painful to see. It just seems like on every play there is someone who doesn't do his job and it ends up blowing up the whole play. On one place the center, then it's a dropped pass, then it is a bad pass, then it's a missed block... and so on. Seems like it would be way better to make all those mistakes on one play and then execute the next 10 perfectly.

Oh well. Now the Gators have to be a much improved Vanderbilt team in Nashville to have a realistic shot at bowl eligibility. I hope no one is taking them lightly because I know Vanderbilt knows they can win.

Just Joe