Driskel=Kaepernick

[Gatorrick22]

Originally Posted by orangeblueorangeblue

No doubt.

I'm just saying the narrative about Tom Brady really was never true. And Kaepernick was a 4-year starter and pretty good all 4 years.

Well, Tom Brady didn't even start till his junior year.... So when he finally started he was good - Yes. Hope Driskel has two good years for us as well.

[SouthsideGator]

Driskel will show improvement just from being in the system another year if the Oline comes together. The new receivers coming in the fall will have a difficult time standing out. Remember that reps are limited in the Fall so we will be counting on the returning receivers plus Demarcus Robinson who will have gone through Spring practice. With limited contact with position coaches outside Spring ball, Pease and Joker don't have a lot time with QB's and receivers. When Fall practice starts, time for individual development is even more limited.

[orangeblueorangeblue]

Two years in the same system + great O-line + good corps of backs + a bunch of young receivers = a much better Driskel.

By 2014 he'll be in a pretty amazing spot if our incoming wideouts develop.

[orangeblueorangeblue]

Really, we might be looking at a 2001esque group of receivers in 2014. It would be nice to have Jones, Taylor etc be established and Driskel to be here in his senior season.

[deebo65]

He'll be here his senior year. Unless he has a 2007 Tebow year, he will still be here I am betting. Honestly, I look for very big improvements next year just from how I "believe" our offensive line will be improved. We had a very good groud game this past year. It really helped Jeff. Next year I expect to have the same type of ground game plus much improved pass blocking. If this receiveing corp turns out to live up to the potential they have (here already + what's coming in) I expect to have improvment in our passing game as well. I believe Pease will have Jeff really working on his progressions this offseason. He will not be splitting reps with anyone to the degree he did last offseason, so the timing alone should be better also. I am not predicting Heisman stats or anything like that, but I believe he will be a much much improved QB due to just things like the new line and a bigger stable of backs. If Jeff works his tail off like we expect, I think we will all be pleased with our QB play next year

[BobbyGator72]

I like what Driskell did in his first year as a starter. Does he have room for improvement sure he does but I think he gets a pretty bad rap here. What I saw was an inexperienced quarterback who was instructed not to take chances, not to force balls into coverage and on some plays he did not have but one or two options to throw to, so checking down or looking off his main receivers were much harder or impossible to do. I also think that a summer throwing to his receivers will help immensely. From all accounts that I heard last summer it was Briskett who got to spend the time working with most of the receiving core. WM is a conservative coach, I dont see him allowing Pease to open up the offense like a Boise or Nevada offense. I do hope that with improvement and increased confidence in Driskell you will see more play action and passes on firsrt down.

[DawgFanFromAlabam]

He was #10 in the SEC in passing efficiency and #12 in passing yards per game. Some folks with better rankings had poor line/WR play too.

You guys said all off-season your Oline would be much improved. I questioned it and some of you agreed to wait until the season started. Perhaps waiting again before making the same claims would be reasonable again? Same goes for WRs.

Driskel seems to have the physical tools. Will he be a Gator great? Time will tell.

[orangeblueorangeblue]

I don't think we'll see a huge improvement in the WRs next year unless one of the frosh breaks out big time.

But the o-line will be good. I didn't say that last pre-season, btw.

[rserina]

Originally Posted by DawgFanFromAlabam

You guys said all off-season your Oline would be much improved. I questioned it and some of you agreed to wait until the season started. Perhaps waiting again before making the same claims would be reasonable again? Same goes for WRs.

The offensive line was much improved, at least in the run game. The pass protection was terrible on the whole, but we were pretty effective running the ball, whether in specialty packages or in the base offense. The fact that we lose our two worst pass blockers leads me to believe we stand a chance of improving in pass protection again next year, though admittedly neither Halapio nor Green was very good last season, either.

I agree on the receivers. We have a long way to go. The incoming class will rectify that, but I am not convinced they will do so very easily as freshmen.

[orangeblueorangeblue]

I also think it's worth mentioning that Jeff was 3rd or 4th in the conference through the first 6 games, which one could argue were our most difficult.

I can't explain that, necessarily, but I've argued that our team was a tale of two offenses in 2012.

[socraticsilence]

Originally Posted by mac4lyfe

I'm not convinced that Driskel is cut out for a proset. I really think he would be better in a spread offense like Kaepernick was in. Time will tell...

This, more than anything Driskel reminds of OSU when they had Pryor and they tried to force him into an offense similar to the one the Muschamp wants to run- a Big 10, 3 yards and a cloud of dust scheme- its the same hesitancy with flashes of brilliance that almost always occur when a play breaks down- Pryor never looked all that good except when he was running or OSU shifted into a read-option approach, the same is true of Jeff- I just hope we go all spread option like the Redskins do with RG3 instead of trying to slam a square peg into a round hole for 2 more years.

[orangeblueorangeblue]

One would be hard pressed to describe what we ran this year as a pro set.

[rserina]

Originally Posted by socraticsilence

This, more than anything Driskel reminds of OSU when they had Pryor and they tried to force him into an offense similar to the one the Muschamp wants to run- a Big 10, 3 yards and a cloud of dust scheme- its the same hesitancy with flashes of brilliance that almost always occur when a play breaks down- Pryor never looked all that good except when he was running or OSU shifted into a read-option approach, the same is true of Jeff- I just hope we go all spread option like the Redskins do with RG3 instead of trying to slam a square peg into a round hole for 2 more years.

Except that we don't run a "Big 10, 3 yards and a cloud of dust scheme." We run a multiple offense similar to the one Harbaugh runs with Kaepernick under a guy who ran the Air Raid at Kentucky and Baylor and the West Coast-inspired multiple offense package in the Belotti-Koetter-Hawkins-Pedersen line at Boise, none of which have ever been confused with a "Big 10, 3 yards and a cloud of dust scheme." Last year, we integrated plenty of zone read and iso runs for Driskel and those should only increase as the staff develops the offense around him rather than the senior thousand yard rusher we had last season.

[NoahBeanBizzel]

Driskel has a long way to go before him and Kaepernick can be mentioned in the same sentence.

I understand that Jeff clearly didn't have elite talent around him at the skill positions, and the pass blocking was once again suspect. That's not his fault, and I agree with Chris Leak that it's hard to do a whole lot when you don't have much around you. But there's something about Driskel's ability-or inability-to see the field that's disconcerting. He's very raw as a passer, locks onto receivers, his "mental clock" needs some serious work, and he routinely got away with some awful throws. His QB rating was actually similar to Leak's in his first season as a starter; only Driskel is obviously a far better runner.

The good news is that he's got all the talent in the world. With good coaching, improved play from the receivers and tight ends and better pass blocking I'm sure he'll be better. That recipe would make any QB better. Hopefully he'll sharpen up insofar as the mental aspect of the game is concerned. He needs work.

[gtr2x]

Originally Posted by rserina

I think the thread is more discussing the type of quarterback he is and how effective he might be at the collegiate level. Didn't really catch where anybody was comparing him qualitatively to Kaepernick. Regardless, if someone had floated this last summer, I bet A) most would not have known who Kaepernick is and B) they would not have wondered why we were comparing a kid from Nevada with few scholarship offers to such a good prep prospect and Florida quarterback like Driskel.

The thread has evolved in the direction you indicate, which makes it just one of many threads attempting to analyze JB as a qb. I think the original post compared him to Kaepernick. If not why the reference?

I agree with A and disagree with B. After his freshman year, many didn't think JD would even be the starting qb at UF much less be in the NFL. Might as well compare him to Alex Smith, makes as much sense.

[geauxgator1]

Originally Posted by UFFL

He led the team to 11 wins in 13 tries. Sounds damn good to me

Yup.......His last outing was a fiasco, but it can happen to even experienced QB's (ask Peyton)..He needs some more experience, some more coaching, a better OL, and wide receivers.. Next year will likely tell the tale, but he's still young. I was a little disappointed he didn't paly better against Louisville, but we could have said that for a lot of players.

[Gatorrick22]

Originally Posted by orangeblueorangeblue

I don't think we'll see a huge improvement in the WRs next year unless one of the frosh breaks out big time.

But the o-line will be good. I didn't say that last pre-season, btw.

I don't know about that, Joker P. is an excellent receivers coach.

[Tebowism0823]

Originally Posted by whitelakegator

Struggle for them will be top thirty or so. You don't lose what we're losing without some drop off. Losing floyd is huge. Bostic...slam. plus the others. Even bama has drop off. Jd will have to win us games with his arm. Has he shown he can do that yet? No.

Crowd the box and make jd throw it. The blueprint is obvious. I mean did anyone see the la game or Missouri game? Uga? Louisville? We barely passed for 145 yes a game. Sorry but that's crazy. But its everyone but jds fault on here. Sure.

Of course losing those players sting but if we are out of the top 10 for defense I'd be surprised. We have depth; very talented depth.

As far as your Driskel comment goes, I believe the majority here are saying to give him a little time before crucifying him. He had no receivers to speak of, an oline that couldn't pass block most of the time, and a first year OC. Jeff came from a school with a new program and he came in with very raw talent. There's no question he has the physical talent and arm strength to be successful. The only thing left is the mental aspect which I think the spring and summer will do miracles for him. I think most people are going to be shocked come September. We have some great talent coming in at the skill positions and a lot of them will see the field early. I wouldn't be surprised if we have a Sammy Watkins type player show out next year. Our offense is on the rise and it starts next year. Get ready, I guarantee its coming!! I'm looking forward to the practices.

[Tebowism0823]

Originally Posted by whitelakegator

Wow...didn't mean for you to give up on humanity. It's just a message board and maybe you are taking it a tad bit too seriously. What does my life have to do with our friendly conversation. Oh...you are one of those...gotcha.

It is all good. I'll be sure to only post good things from now on. Sunshine and happiness. Sorry boss.

lol.....

[Tebowism0823]

Originally Posted by UGator

Playing down to competition, like we did several times this year, is the sign of a team less motivated and probably undisciplined to boot. It's both on the players and coaches and needs to be dealt with and improved for our return to Atlanta and the MNC.

Saban seems to get his team to play all out and win in a dominant fashion and Bama rarely comes up flat for games. He has the talent and depth to keep everyone hungry for playing time.

Muschamp has done tons to get the players to play, but he is also building depth which should greatly improve the issue. If it's hard to motivate a player, then sit him for another who wants to play and not just show up. It's all about life, not just football.

Agree completely. I love Muschamp, and I'm ecstatic that he coaches our Gators, but he's obviously still learning and that's fine. The man can recruit and the man can coach. Player motivation is still an issue regarding playing down to competition but he'll shore that up. The type of players he's bringing in fit that lunch pale mentality except with loads of talent to go with it.