2012 Florida Gators Outlook

 Okay, here is the speedy version...

OFFENSE

Quarterbacks -- 2 sophomores with starts last year are battling it out to start this year. One is said to be a slightly better passer and the other is more athletic. The battle still isn't settled and both guys will see meaningful snaps in the opener. I think the saying goes "if you have two quarterbacks, you don't have one." If either guy can give a consistently average performance, that should be good enough to win some games. See DEFENSE.

Running Backs -- For the first time in four years, the Gators will not have someone named Demps or Rainey at running back. Mike Gillislee is the starter and should be solid. He has shown some big play ability although it was mostly in mop up duty. If he quits putting the ball on the ground, the Gators should be okay here. Depth may be an issue.

Wide Receivers -- Yikes! Normally a kid coming in as an early entry in January and winning a starting spot by the end of spring practice says a lot about that incoming freshmen. Unfortunately it also says a lot about the rest of the receiving corps. Just yikes!

Offensive Line -- If you're going to have a strength on offense, it might as well be the offensive line. A good offense of line will make all of the other positions look better on offense. There have been a lot of injuries on the line but there is good depth and a lot of experience so here's hoping.

DEFENSE

Secondary -- Very deep with young talent. I think you'll see quite a few more plays made this year after having a full year in Muschamp's scheme.

Linebackers -- Have some injuries here. But with some experienced guys holding down positions, they should look pretty good.  I think you will see them be more aggressive and instinctual and less calculated and thoughtful... which is a good thing. Hopefully the aggression will lead to more turnovers, especially if Jenkins can hold on to a few more of those 6 interceptions he dropped last year.

Defensive Line -- This is where our boys need to play like men. 3-4 defenses are predicated on having beasts in the front to keep offensive linemen off of the linebackers on running plays while getting pressure on the quarterback on passing plays (which aids the secondary greatly). Similar to offense, if you're going to have a strength on defense, it might as well be along the line.

Overall -- The defense was nearly great last year. With this being the head coach's specialty, and having a full year under the belt, I expect the defense to be outstanding! They should keep the Gators in every game. That's why I think an average offense, just scoring 24-27 points per game, could lead to 9+ wins. The points would have to be scored at the right time in the right games, but I think 9 wins is realistic. Unfortunately, with a new offensive coordinator bringing in a lot of new shifts and motion to the offense, I expect some inconsistency.


Just Joe

Oxymoron?

If "jumbo shrimp" is an oxymoron, what is "medium shrimp?"


Just Joe

UEFA EURO 2012

Back on June 8, the countries of Europe began competing for the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Championship. That's "soccer" to us ignorant Americans. Just yesterday Italy beat England in penalty kicks to advance on to the semi final match against Germany, which is being played in Poland.

Soooo... Italy and Germany are meeting up... in Poland! I wonder if the Pols are as nervous as I am for them?


Just Joe

Evolution (of Skin Color)

Human beings are so remarkable that it's difficult to put into words. I could go 1000 different ways with a statement like that, but this time I'm referring to the complexity of our physiology and how it came about.

Dr. Nina Jablonski is an anthropologist who teaches at Penn State University. She wanted to delve into the evolution of skin color. The prevailing convention at the time she started was that dark skin occurred in areas with lots of sun exposure in order to prevent skin cancer. Although the cause of dark skin seemed right, the reasoning didn't. Skin cancer is normally found in people who are beyond ideal reproduction ages, so in a sense, the body isn't even aware of skin cancer before it passes its DNA onto the next generation. Since evolution occurs through the passing down of helpful gene traits, whichever traits seem beneficial up until reproduction are passed along while traits that develop after reproduction aren't really taken into consideration for passing along. (Example: Let's say longer limbs are beneficial to the aged but a hindrance to the young. Because the young'ns are the ones reproducing, limbs will be shorter. Over simplified, yes. But you get the point.)

Dr. Jablonski dug a little deeper and found that there are 2 types of radiation in sunlight, UVA and UVB. Turns out that UVA radiation is what causes melanomas. But Dr. Jablonski figured it had to effect something up to or during the time of pregnancy otherwise cancer-causing UVA exposure would not affect reproduction. Further tests and evaluations proved her correct as UVA penetrates through skin and destroys folates in the bloodstream. The big deal here is that folates are key in maintaining healthy reproductive cells. Therefore, too much UVA exposure before reproducing could mean reproducing either won't happen or could happen with birth defects. So how did the human body adapt to ensure future generations? Yep, by darkening the skin and filtering out more of the sun's light.

Not fascinating enough? Well, the story continues. If keeping out as much UVA as possible is good, why doesn't everyone just have dark skin? The answer turns out to be UVB!

UVB radiation is actually a good thing (in moderation) because, get this, it reacts with a cholesterol in human skin to create vitamin D! And vitamin D is important because it aids in the absorption of calcium into bones and such. Apparently back in 1900s England there was an epidemic of rickets which was eventually determined to be a result of vitamin D deficiencies and led to laws being created mandating that bread be fortified with vitamin D. Back to the story now, as darker skinned humans began migrating to northerly climates with less sun exposure, too much of the UVB radiation was kept out of the bloodstream (likely leading to skeletal problems) so the human body adapted once again by lightening skin color.

There you have it, an incomplete, tip of the iceberg, generalization on the evolution of skin color.


Just Joe

JFK

It's quote time again! Another one of my favorite quotes comes from JFK's inaugural address: "Ask not..."

I think I was drawn to it because, having heard replays as a kid, it made me consider the greater good and being part of something that was bigger than myself. Basically I fell for the patriotic brainwashing that was so prevalent from World War II through the 80s. You know, all of the "Us vs. Them" stuff. Come to think of it, it still goes on plenty but I suppose as an adult one tends to see through it a bit more easily. Anyway, I still dig the quote for the same reasons but the greater good in my mind now goes way beyond the United States.

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The other night I was watching a show called "10 Things You Don't Know About." As you might gather from the title, each episode contains 10 "facts" about a person/topic that aren't well known. This particular episode was about JFK. The first fact they mentioned was that JFK was a slacker type in school. He attended the prestigious Choate Boarding School in Connecticut during the mid-1930s, where headmaster George St. John once delivered a speech to JFK and his fellow students saying, "The youth who loves his alma mater will always ask not 'What can she do for me', but 'What can I do for her?'" As the host of the show said, "I guess JFK was paying attention."

I had to shake my head and chuckle. It reminded me very much of my "Be like Water" blog where I found out that Bruce Lee wasn't the first to utter the particular saying I hold so dear. Then I came to the conclusion that everything that's going to be said has probably already been said, it's just a matter of finding it. I guess that's why people read so many books. :-P


Just Joe

Martian Sunset

Well, I don't really have much to say but I came across this picture the other day. It was taken by a Mars rover and it's a picture of a sunset from Mars.

I suppose the first thing I noticed is how tiny the sun is -- well, looks. Sometimes you tend to forget the types of distances were dealing with when we talk about the planets. Sure, everyone knows that Earth is 93,000,000 miles away from the sun (on average). But Mars averages another 47,000,000 miles away from the sun making it look much, much smaller.

The next thing I noticed is the color. Sunsets on Mars tend to have a bluish hue due to the atmosphere. It almost makes me feel the frigidity.

I hope the picture sparks your imagination and wonderment as it does for me.

Just Joe

Hippie Me

I saw the most beautiful "lecture" I've ever seen! It's given by a psychiatrist named Jill Bolte Taylor at TED. She recounts her experiences and thoughts she had during a stroke. My machismo doesn't want me to tell you this, but I was nearly moved to tears. It's an 18:42 clip but you can probably start at 4:00 if you need to save a few minutes.

(Sorry, Google won't let me embed non-YouTube videos.)

Jill Bolte Taylor


Just Joe