I hope BOOM

[magnafides]

Yup, the blitz was not disguised in any way and I remember thinking that it didn't appear Jeff even looked to his left. And to those blaming the WR, by many accounts they were running free for much of the game.

[gatorkev_85]

I only have 2 knocks on JD. 1. He hold on to the ball to long in the pocket. He needs more roll out passes if he going to do that. 2. He tends to lock onto on side of the field to much, not always but to much. Other than that I feel that he's a pretty good QB. I know for a fact he won us some games with his ability to run the ball.

[gator07]

Originally Posted by magnafides

Yup, the blitz was not disguised in any way and I remember thinking that it didn't appear Jeff even looked to his left. And to those blaming the WR, by many accounts they were running free for much of the game.

No it was clear that the blitzer was coming from the left side. And the camera angle from the QB perspective showed a WR streaking down the same left sideline (where that safety had vacated) with 1-on-1 coverage. Thats when you just have to launch it out there in the face of the rush and let the WR do what they are supposed to do - win those battles. You saw Bridgewater do the same thing on his fade TD pass against our blitz to perfection.

[SmootyGator]

Originally Posted by GatorByte

My thoughts exactly. If I remember correctly, that defender (a safety?) went completely unblocked and was clearly blitzing pre-snap. Picking that up should have been at the very least a matter of self-preservation. He almost seems at times so concerned about where he is going to throw the ball that he fails to even look for this kind of stuff.

Yep. I mean, our O-line is to blame for not picking it up as well... but for Driskel to not even see it. It wasn't disguised at all.

[nawlinsgator]

Originally Posted by gator07

No it was clear that the blitzer was coming from the left side. And the camera angle from the QB perspective showed a WR streaking down the same left sideline (where that safety had vacated) with 1-on-1 coverage. Thats when you just have to launch it out there in the face of the rush and let the WR do what they are supposed to do - win those battles. You saw Bridgewater do the same thing on his fade TD pass against our blitz to perfection.

1. We don't have the receivers to win those battles.
2. In a ball control offense, you don't just launch it up there. It goes against everything this offense does. You can't expect him to just do that all of a sudden and do it well.

I'm not sold on Driskel 100% either, but the fact is that we are a "grind it out" offense and aren't built to score a lot of points quickly.
The pick 6 and the fact that our defense couldn't stop them made it a 3 score game very early. We went completely away from what we were comfortable with offensively.

With that said, I wouldn't mind seeing the offense change a bit, just for reasons like this.
Imagine if Bridgewater had a running game, their offense would be spectacular. Drool.

[Orange_And_Blue_Gator]

Originally Posted by GatorSean

I didn't realize Driskel was a 5th year senior.

Okay, Lol. I might have gone a little overboard. But he didn't show me much improvement since the start of the year.

I'm hoping he proves me wrong next year.

[DuPontGator]

Why doesn't Brantley get a pass for a garbage o line and bad wrs?

[GatorSean]

Originally Posted by DuPontGator

Why doesn't Brantley get a pass for a garbage o line and bad wrs?

Because a few of those garbage OL and bad WRs are actually in the NFL now and doing well?

[DuPontGator]

Originally Posted by GatorSean

Because a few of those garbage OL and bad WRs are actually in the NFL now and doing well?

Who?

[GatorSean]

Originally Posted by DuPontGator

Who?

Well, the three guys who the Brantley lovers blamed the most where Pouncey, Rainey, and Deonte, and all three of those guys aren't just in the NFL, but are actually playing.

Additionally, Gilbert and Hurt are also in the NFL and playing.

Brantley couldn't even make the practice squad. So who do you think the weak link was?

[DuPontGator]

Originally Posted by GatorSean

Well, the three guys who the Brantley lovers blamed the most where Pouncey, Rainey, and Deonte, and all three of those guys aren't just in the NFL, but are actually playing.

Brantley couldn't even make the practice squad. So who do you think the weak link was?

Driskel is comparable to Brantley. IMO

[GatorSean]

Well, if he doesn't improve by his 5th year, I'll agree.

[DuPontGator]

Brantley didn't play all those years. But fair enough.

[gator07]

Originally Posted by nawlinsgator

1. We don't have the receivers to win those battles.
2. In a ball control offense, you don't just launch it up there. It goes against everything this offense does. You can't expect him to just do that all of a sudden and do it well.

I'm not sold on Driskel 100% either, but the fact is that we are a "grind it out" offense and aren't built to score a lot of points quickly.
The pick 6 and the fact that our defense couldn't stop them made it a 3 score game very early. We went completely away from what we were comfortable with offensively.

With that said, I wouldn't mind seeing the offense change a bit, just for reasons like this.
Imagine if Bridgewater had a running game, their offense would be spectacular. Drool.

I dont buy it. When the defense blitzes and leaves 1-on-1 coverage on the outside you have to make them pay and go deep on them. We may not have great WRs but they are at a tremendous advantage in 1-on-1 situations with nothing but open field. Just put some air under it and lead them. Just put some air under it and lead your man.
Why can't I expect him to "all of the sudden" do that well? A true freshman should be able to come in and attack 1-on-1 coverage deep. Its a low-risk, high-reward play. (And its not "all of the sudden", by the way. The guy has had a whole year and still cant recognize a blitz, let alone beat it).

Thats just football. Thats the play that has to be made regardless of your "ball control" offense. What does that even mean? You will never throw it deep? Thats silly. Otherwise you are playing right into the hands of the defense.

And we have hit a couple of deep balls this year against 1-on-1 that were called back by penalty. It can be done.

[number1]

Originally Posted by gator07

I dont buy it. When the defense blitzes and leaves 1-on-1 coverage on the outside you have to make them pay and go deep on them. We may not have great WRs but they are at a tremendous advantage in 1-on-1 situations with nothing but open field. Just put some air under it and lead them. Just put some air under it and lead your man.
Why can't I expect him to "all of the sudden" do that well? A true freshman should be able to come in and attack 1-on-1 coverage deep. Its a low-risk, high-reward play. (And its not "all of the sudden", by the way. The guy has had a whole year and still cant recognize a blitz, let alone beat it).

Thats just football. Thats the play that has to be made regardless of your "ball control" offense. What does that even mean? You will never throw it deep? Thats silly. Otherwise you are playing right into the hands of the defense.

And we have hit a couple of deep balls this year against 1-on-1 that were called back by penalty. It can be done.

Folks must have forgotten the shot we took at Trey Burton that was poorly thrown was lucky to not have intercepted by the Louisville player. If he makes an accurate throw, Trey would have walked into the endzone for a TD.

Also folks were blaming the WRs, but I saw Wrs open a lot during the course of that game, with Jeff either throwing an inaccurate pass, not even looking for them, or getting sacked because he held on to the ball too long.

[nawlinsgator]

Originally Posted by gator07

I dont buy it. When the defense blitzes and leaves 1-on-1 coverage on the outside you have to make them pay and go deep on them. We may not have great WRs but they are at a tremendous advantage in 1-on-1 situations with nothing but open field. Just put some air under it and lead them. Just put some air under it and lead your man.
Why can't I expect him to "all of the sudden" do that well? A true freshman should be able to come in and attack 1-on-1 coverage deep. Its a low-risk, high-reward play. (And its not "all of the sudden", by the way. The guy has had a whole year and still cant recognize a blitz, let alone beat it).

Thats just football. Thats the play that has to be made regardless of your "ball control" offense. What does that even mean? You will never throw it deep? Thats silly. Otherwise you are playing right into the hands of the defense.

And we have hit a couple of deep balls this year against 1-on-1 that were called back by penalty. It can be done.

No, you specifically said, just launch it up there when you have one on one. Have ever seen us do that on the fly? Probably not all year. You're wrong.

[mac4lyfe]

^and the reason we don't do it is because we have a QB who can't throw...

[gator07]

Originally Posted by nawlinsgator

No, you specifically said, just launch it up there when you have one on one. Have ever seen us do that on the fly? Probably not all year. You're wrong.

So if we cant do it because we've never done it before, when can we do it? Never, right? Or do we have to wait until next year to expect to see any improvement of that kind? I dont get that point.

My point is, I dont really care if we have or have not done it before. Its basic football. If you are getting blitzed you need to recognize it and exploit the defense, usually at the point that man has vacated. In this case, a safety has blitzed, so its a perfect opportunity to throw deep and with no safety you can put plenty of air under it and let the WR make a play. Thats what I mean by "launch it". Im not saying you close your eyes and chuck a hail mary. You have to at least try.

But I could be wrong. You never know what Driskel is being coached to do. But I doubt hes being coached to turn his back to the blitzer and get blind-sided by a strip-sack while trying to throw yet another 6 yard out/curl route at the far sideline.

[gatrfanzz]

The problem is with the offense in general. The passing game doesn't work and it won't work with another qb. The passing game is a second thought with this coaching staff and the offense is VERy predictable. Jeff is a very good talented quarterback. I just don't think the coaching staff knows what passing offense to install with the players they have on hand and I don't think they spend very much time preparing the passing game.

[gator07]

Originally Posted by number1

Folks must have forgotten the shot we took at Trey Burton that was poorly thrown was lucky to not have intercepted by the Louisville player. If he makes an accurate throw, Trey would have walked into the endzone for a TD.

Also folks were blaming the WRs, but I saw Wrs open a lot during the course of that game, with Jeff either throwing an inaccurate pass, not even looking for them, or getting sacked because he held on to the ball too long.

Great post. Thanks for bringing that play up. Once again, UL brought the blitz and our OL actually did a great job of picking it up. Driskel had a perfect pocket but he panicked (cant say I blame him though the way our OL has been pass protecting all year). He got happy feet, looked around and actually did identify the correct receiver - Burton deep and open. But since he panicked he rushed the throw and it was off target and was closer to getting picked than caught. Like you said, if he holds onto it for a beat longer (he had plenty of time), lets Burton get even more open and gets set for a strong throw it could have been an easy TD.

I have been a big Driskel supporter all year and I still think hes the guy and I'd still move forward with him. But I have to call it like I see it. There are QBs all over the country who have gone to that "next level" but he is not there yet and honestly hasn't gotten any closer all year. The Tennessee game was his peak as a passer. I was at that game and I thought he was utterly fantastic in that game - aggressive, lightning quick decision making, accuracy, play-making, etc. He did it all. I was blown away.