If you thought that, after yet another offensive embarassment against Mississippi State, we might finally get some answers out of Steve Addazio, or a change in attitude, or a sign of change on offense, then prepare to be sorely disappointed. Addazio’s latest press conference looked pretty much like all the rest of them. One third dedicated to talking about how well things are going, one third dedicated to failed logic, and one third dedicated to talking down to the fans as if they don’t know anything. So let’s break the interview down…
00:00 – 1:00 Addazio makes excuses for the offensive line, tells us they’re not playing poorly, and explains to us the basics of why sacks happen. Mississippi State was not sending overload blitzes. They weren’t sending more guys than we could block, we just weren’t making the right reads in our blitz pickups. Earlier in the week Steve Addazio was asked about our issues with blitz pickup and he said simply “we’re fine”.
As I watched Mike Gillislee run across the front of Brantley to block nobody while the sole blitzing linebacker came through completely unblocked on the side he had vacated for yet another sack it became readily apparent to everyone outside of Steve Addazio that we were not fine in this respect. They sent 5 on that play, and we had 6 in to block, yet someone came through unblocked. That is a scheming issue and we all know who is in charge of our scheme. Mississippi State wasn’t overloading us with their blitzes, they were outsmarting us with them.
1:01 – 2:20 Addazio talks about “staying on schedule” to avoid 3rd and long situations. If you’ll recall, almost a month ago I talked about the way that Addazio’s stubborn over-use of this philosophy is one of the root of the problems for the Gator offense. Not once, but twice.
1st and 10 becomes 2nd and 6. 2nd and 6 becomes 3rd and 2. 3rd and 2 becomes 1st and 10. That’s the idea. The problem, Steve, is that defensive coordinators know that your goal on 1st down is to get 4 yards, so that’s what they defend. So now your safe 4 yard play becomes a 1 yard play, and we’re putting ourselves in long yardage situations anyway. 58 times this year Florida has run for 2 yards or less on 1st down.
What needs to happen, and I’ve been harping on this from day one, is that sometimes you need to try and get 40 yards on 1st down rather than 4. The defense is loading up the box so much that a 4 yard run is no more likely to be successful than a long pass play is. The difference is that when we waste a 1st or second down play with a 1 yard run, we’ve accomplished nothing. When we “waste” a long pass attempt with an incompletion, at least we’ve accomplished something by telling the defense that they’re going to need to back off some or it’s going to hurt them.
We saw Mississippi State do it against us last week. On 1st and 10, they completed a deep corner route for a 35 yard gain. On the next 1st and 10 they ran the ball up the middle, and it wasn’t until the running back was 20 yards downfield that our safety, Will Hill, finally came into the picture.
These are football fundamentals here. You can’t play the field like it’s 10 yards long every play because then the defense can play the field the same way, and you’re running plays that are just as likely to fail as the long ones, only with a much smaller payoff if they do work. Ron Zook had this same problem. The biggest difference between our explosive 2007 offense and our putrid 2010 offense is not Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, or offensive line play. The biggest difference is downfield pass attempts.
2:21 – 3:00 Addazio tells us about more players that are playing well, and more “good plays” that are happening. Nobody is fooled.
Perhaps the most infuriating thing about these interviews is the air of arrogance with which Addazio conducts them. He thinks the fans are idiots. Newsflash Steve, the type of people who take the time to watch your press conferences are no the casual football fan that thinks every play we don’t score on is a bad play.
He tells us that everything is ok, as if he believes that when we hear the offensive coordinator of the team say something, it’s going to mean more to us than what we see on the field just because of who it is. He explains to us basic football concepts as if we just couldn’t possibly comprehend all the intricacies of football to the extent that he does.
Then, on the flipside, he shows no ability to grasp many of those basic concepts himself. I’ve touched on them many times on this site. Predictability, stretching the field, adjusting a gameplan, designing routes with a purpose, and using players to their strengths. These are all basic fundamental football concepts that, quite frankly, appear to be beyond Steve Addazio’s level of comprehension. There are intramural football players at UF that draw up better route design in their plays than Steve Addazio does.
Let’s put it this way. If I met Steve Addazio without knowing who he was, and listened to him talk about these games with no mention of the issues I brought up above, I would not think he was anything more than a casual football fan who flipped the TV on on Saturday’s but didn’t really follow the intricacies of the game much. There is no way that I would ever predict he was actually someone who had been involved in football for years, and certainly not someone who was doing it for a huge program like the University of Florida.
This whole situation has really opened my eyes. Steve Addazio was promoted to our offensive coordinator position because he knows how to run a practice, and because he knows how to teach technique to offensive linemen. As far as designing plays, calling plays, and scheming an offense goes, Steve Addazio is no more qualified, and certainly no better, than a handful of hardcore football gurus you could find off the street.
“Johnny is doing a great job throwing the ball and that’s where that’s at right now”
WTF ???????
I quit!
Great article.
While I was watching his press conference, I was shouting the same things at my computer screen. He tries to sound so smart with the scheduling concept, but yet it makes him look so dumb, because he can never execute his own strategy.
But what really strikes me is that I just watched the highlights of the Orange and Blue game, and I don’t understand who was calling plays in that game. It couldn’t have been Addazio, because they threw a deep pass on the first play of the game. Watch the highlights yourself and you will see Brantley’s perfect execution in the pocket, the O-line blocking well, Pouncey snapping perfectly, the right unpredictable plays plays being called, Deonte Thompson actually catching, etc. I don’t understand where all of this went. Was it pressure? Was Addazio not calling plays during the spring? Did they have leadership and motivation back then that just disappeared? I know that in the Orange and Blue game, they are playing against their own scout team defense, but still, their defense practices with them and knows what plays are going to be called, while real teams during the regular season don’t. I want this spring team offense back…
Orange and Blue Game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJJ33uPS0dM
Word is, the first play was called by a student who won some type of contest they were promoting. Sad, when the student body produces more yards than the OC. I think pressure has a lot to do with it, if they messed up, no biggie, get a lecture form the HC and move on. Win or lose that game meant nothing. Secondly our O line isn’t facing second stringers, it’s facing the opposing teams first string guys, and when someone plays the Gators we’re always gonna get their best shot. but the main thing, as this board is dedicated to, is Addazio. Every time I see his conferences I want to punch him. it’s sad that someone that clueless to his own failure can make that much money. He seems to think that with one or two more blocks all his little dives and screens are gonna go for 30-40 yards a pop. I don’t know if you guys know this, it’s inside info, but if you don’t get any yards on first or second down then, you ready for this? We’re at third and ten. Shhhhhh be vewy vewy quiet. So it is what it is, and thats where it’s at. (Just so you know, as I’m typing this I’m throwing my hands all around making exaggerated motions just so you guys can really get a handle on what I’m talking about. Because I know as fans, you aren’t smart enough to.)
We threw more passes over 40 yards in the first play of Spring game then we have this entire season. Pathetic
Steve all of us that watch this video are now dumber for doing so. Listening to him talk about the line really made my day. lol
This video was truly painful to watch. All I’d like him to do is stop kissing the players’ asses and saying they are good when they really aren’t. Sure, they are extremely talented and have huge potential but don’t sit here and say they are doing what they are doing well when they just lost 3 straight.
He needs to take notes from Spurrier. Do what you have to do to create matchup problems and get guys like Carl Moore one-on-one so you can throw it up to them and let them try to make a play. Alshon Jeffrey has been making people look stupid with simple jump balls. Give Carl Moore a chance!!! What I would do to see a fade thrown to the corner inside the 10 yd line instead of the QB dive or jump pass!! I’ll guarantee Brantley could put it in there. Or how bout some quick slants!! He’s got an arm, let him use it!
This is just unbelievable. Addazio is nonsensical with all of his ‘on-schedule’ BS. First people were screaming for Debose and then when he made plays, SA was shocked it actually happened. So much so he forgot to ever through him the ball again. Then we beg for Burton to throw it every once in a while. One long pass to Omarius Hines and we never see it again. Don’t even start w/ the ‘Oline is playing the best since I’ve been here’ or ‘Pouncey’s never played better’ garbage. I guess we’re all imagining the numerous snaps Brantley has JUMPED to get or all the whiffs on Nevis in the LSU game. Please, Addazio made a deal in the offseason to play him at center to improve his draft stock ala Maurkice and has painted himself into a corner ever since. Can’t move the kid if he wanted to, due to the promises made to get him to stay in school.
Having to watch this putrid display of coaching is making Gator games just another event on a Saturday as opposed to something I used to look forward to. We could lose every game as long as we competed and the other teams were just better than us. But this performance so far by Addazio is pathetic. It’s almost as if he’s antagonizing us or something. The videos of his ‘coaching’ on the sidelines are the most damning pieces of evidence in this whole conversation/issue.
if you can baffle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullsh.t.
i actually watched this video clip twice. once in complete anger, the second time i tried to really listen to what he was trying to say… and i might have to get real masochistic and watch it a third time to try and figure out what he is actually saying, because the man says nothing. nothing of any importance at least. he talks and talks and talks and says nothing. absolutely nothing. its all bullsh.t.
the only mention of the game that was just played was that there were a couple pick stunts and that we need to improve our protection overall as a group. his brilliant thoughts for the rest of the season: get better.
really. really. as the offensive coordinator thats all you can give me? we just lost to miss state at home and it was our third loss in a row. and all you have to tell me is that we need to get better?
i believe that this press conference is a pretty good indication of how steve addazio is as an offensive coordinator. there was no brilliance during that press conference, no one was memorized by his words or felt that he made any really good points.
the same could be said about his play calling. there werent any brilliant plays called this last game(entire season?) and hardly any good points made as well. so without the brilliance all you are left with is the bullsh.t; on and off the field.
the only thing baffling about steve addazio this season is how this man still has his current job. i cant understand that at all. urban meyer and jeremey foley, as a gator fan im calling bullsh.t.
WOW. It’s obvious that Addazio is in complete denial of what’s going on with the offense. There’s no way he is this completely idiotic about the offense. I think now he’s just saying this stuff to try and protect his own ass.
It’s obvious the offense is making WAY more mistakes than they have in the past. It’s obvious the offensive line is playing horrible compared to previous seasons. It’s obvious the offense is continuously putting itself in avoidable 3rd and long plays and not converting. I seriously hope he doesn’t think everyone is going to sit back and actually believe what he’s trying to say in these press conferences. It’s obvious he’s just trying to take the heat off himself.
He seriously needs to be canned. I have to think that if the Gators still didn’t control their own destiny to the SEC title match that he would have been fired after an embarrassing home loss to MSU. I’m hoping that the only reason he is still here is because Meyer knows the Gators still have a shot at some sort of glory and he doesn’t want to make and major changes and jeopardize that. I could care less, I think the Gators would have a better shot at getting there if weren’t in the picture anyway, no matter what point in the season it is.
Why doesn’t anyone in the media ask him directly about his play calling? If I were a reporter I would want to get some response from him about the recruits’ and fans’ criticism.
Part of the problem I believe is this whole NFL corporation and “culture of success” that Addazio and Meyer have hopped on like some sort of new age religion. Not screaming at players, talking about how good they are and how they are first round draft picks ect before they ever play a meaningful game (and then continuing it when they are struggling and losing) is the problem.
Say Pouncey played like shit. Get all over Bradley during the game when mis throws what should be an easy completion. The whole “we are improving” “they are playing well” “the sacks are not the fault of the offensive line” is enough to make you scream.
The man even looks like an idiot
I just want to know what Foley is thinking right now. I wonder who he will go to as soon as the OC job or HC job opens up. I wonder if he’s prepared for this. I wonder if he knows about this site. I wonder if he has read the commentary and comments on this site or the fb group. I wonder if he’s had conversations with Meyer about how Addazio is in way over his head. I wonder if Meyer really believes what he’s telling us.
There is NO WAY that Meyer doesn’t realize what’s wrong with our offense. And if he doesn’t see what’s wrong, then I think it’s time for him (and obviously Addazio) to step down and let Chris Peterson and his gang take over.
The fact that Meyer gave a retard so much authority on the University of Florida’s football program really worries me. We all know Addazio is not capable of anything good. He’s not intelligent enough. That’s the bottom line.
Recruiting a QB who doesn’t fit your system and not adapting your system to his strengths is a stubborn and idiotic move. This is Meyer’s fault.
Dear Urban,
It’s time for you to speak up and address the specific reasons your program has taken a nose “dive”. You need to be held accountable for your actions. Looks to me that when you lose decent play-calling and some talent, you are left with a duck. And we are the Gators goddamnit!
I sincerely doubt that Foley is involved at the level you suggest and I think that’s fine, so long as he checks in with Urban Meyer to make sure that he’s not derelict of his duty. I’ve never been 100% comfortable with Meyer and this Addazio fiasco has really rocked my faith in his leadership. Constantly throwing the kids under the bus after doing everything possible to put them in positions to fail is inexcusable in my book. I would love to have Chris Peterson and his crew from Boise State take over in Gainesville, as was my hope when Urban’s health problems came up over the offseason. I’m not sure how much more of this the fan base can take. Throw us a bone and at least admit the problems we have.
Oh my. Addazio must be the biggest troll on the planet. What the offense is doing doesn’t even qualify as “sputtering”, and he has the audacity to say that people are playing well? Staying on schedule? How about gaining any yards at all?
At first I only wanted him to give up being OC and go back to coaching the O line. But after his last 3 pressers, I just want him gone. It’s clear, Hearsey was the genius behind our O line before he left.
Per Miss State’s website “Despite entering the 2006 season with one player having started a game at his opening-day position, the UF offensive line allowed only 23 sacks on the year, and yielded one or less seven times during the campaign. Hevesy has also shown a penchant for molding individual talents on the interior of the Gators’ line. Starting centers Mike Degory and Steve Rissler earned first-team All-SEC honors as seniors, and Drew Miller earned honorable mention All-SEC.
As the offensive line coach at Utah in 2004, Hevesy directed the front line for one of the most prolific offenses in the country, as the Utes ranked third nationally in scoring, total offense and passing efficiency. Behind the blocking of Hevesy’s group, Utah scored on 62-of-67 trips to the red zone that year.
I wish I could rep you. What great insight. The proof is in the pudding.
Addazio must be REALLY good at sucking Meyer’s cawk.. because he isn’t good at anything else.
If the Gator Nation and the Bull Gators can’t watch an Addazio conference and compare it to a Zook conference, then we are truly screwed.
I swear the more and more I listen to Addazio conferences the more he sounds like the Zooker…completely baffled and clueless.
We are not “good at converting the downs you don’t want to be in.” Teams that convert those situations score more than 7 points a game. Heck, we aren’t even good at converting the downs you DO want to be in. The only thing that is “on schedule” is his pink slip by the end of the season, and that will be long over due.
This guy is betting against the gators. There’s no way he is this ignorant. We all know why sacks are caused. The defense runs stunts and we’re not picking them up on assignment!!!!! Retard!!!!! I wanna punch you right in the nose!!!!
Being “good at converting the downs you don’t want to be in” might be a useful thing to say if we weren’t in undesirable downs every single series. Having a 60% 3rd-and-long conversion rate would be awesome if we didn’t have 20 3rd-and-long situations a game.
I may not know much about o-line protection schemes but I sure as shit don’t know any more than I did before I listened to Addazio butcher that answer.
Does he talk to the players that way? That is the scariest thing to me. I mean, I coach my son’s hockey team and the players have so many questions I want to kill them sometimes. I played hockey my whole life and sometimes I have to really think about their questions. They are 6 years old! I can only imagine how confused the offensive players must be when they ask Addazio a question and they get this kind of answer.
You guys should watch this.
http://www.youtube.com/user/GatorCountryTV#p/u/8/76R_9GYru0w
That hand action at 0.52 …What the hell does that mean Steve?
‘Just like that BAM BAM BAM’. Makes me want to pound you!
Absolutely ridiculous. If I were a Defensive Coordinator for another team watching that video, I would be laughing at how easy it’s going to be to shut you down. I don’t even have to worry about any pass that’s not a dump off on 1st down, and I can crowd the line of scrimmage, because I know you’re only playing for 4 yards. What a dumbass.
Here’s what really chaps my ass:
We didn’t just promote Aduhzio; we promoted him over WR coach Billy Gonzalez, the guy who coached the corps that Tebow used to win the Heisman one year, and helped the team win the BCS title the next. Billy must have seen what was coming, as he took a LATERAL move to be WR coach at LSU.
So in effect, we lost two great coaches, and got the booby prize as our OC. That’s a wicked opportunity cost there.
On another note, Aderpzio’s mantra about staying on schedule really reminds me of Meyer’s team philosophy about staying on the “right” side of the field, only taken to a completely illogical extreme. Meyer was originally all about doing whatever it takes to keep the offense moving towards the goal line, and backing that up with strong defense and special teams play. Our offense used to visibly morph during games as they saw what was working and expanded on it. Now we seem content to bash our collective head into a brick wall.
This site is great and I really appreciate the fact that I was not the only person thinking that our OC really sucked last year. That he cost us a National Championship and that if things didn’t change this year, the team would struggle. Can I suggest that you start the site HireChrisPeterson.com and put a link to it from this site? We need a coach that is dynamic and hungry. I really don’t get that feeling from Urban anymore. He’s got his two NC’s and appears to be coasting (for “health reasons”). Peterson would never put up with an ass-clown like Addazio. Every time I see the guy speak I want to throw my monitor out the window. He is actually worse than Zook! Watching Oregon’s machine-like execution on offense last night really made me angry. Why can’t Florida be like that?? Because we have to “stay on schedule” and keep “time of posession”? Can anyone imagine Oregon’s (or Boise St) offense with Florida’s defense??
HEY ADDAZIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope to hell you were watching what a REAL offense is supposed to look like last night with Oregon. Notice than when they had a big play they didn’t take a time out immediately afterwards? Did you noticed how they had more than two plays in the book? Did you notice how the coaches interacted with the players and didn’t just stare blankly at the field? Did you notice how they threw the ball more than 5 yards down the field? Did you also notice how the threat of that passing game opened up the run game? Did you notice that because of that Oregon had more offense in the first half than we average in a whole game? Lastly, with all of the things that were done so much better than you could ever do, did you notice that despite IMO with less talent than the Gators have, that Oregon put up 40+ points for the SEVENTH STRAIGHT GAME. Hey they even scored in the first quarter. I hope you took a lot of notes, and by notes I don’t mean overexaggerated hand gestures.
Excellent points but I’m not sure about the difference in talent level. Their QB was originally an LSU commit but went to Oregon because The Hat wanted to label him “athelete” even after the high school coach told The Hat “whatever you do, don’t call him an athelete.” James, their RB, was a 4* recruit. I now live in the NW so I’ve been following Oregon more closely than I ever would have thought.
Interestingly, James is about the same size as Demps and Demps may even be a step or two faster yet Addazio can’t figure out how to get Demps out in space. Then I watch James run and catch and run and SCORE. Like you said, so frustrating to watch what the Gators could have, and probably should have, been on offense.
Well when I say a difference in talent level, I don’t mean they have pop warner kids and we are NFL elite. But when I watched how they play vs how we play it fucking baffles my mind how horrible we look. It baffles me even more that after 7 games nothing of significance has been done. I’m interested to see what this so called tweak is going to be. Maybe we switch it up and we run the screen on first and a dive on second.
This is exactly like Groundhog Day, except it is not funny. I am absolutely stunned the Gator’s coaching staff are still spewing out the same talking points. I am convinced that nothing is going to change for the remainder of the season.
Georgia and Florida State are licking their chops, waiting for some serious payback. And trust me you, they’re gonna give it to us big time.
I’m not sure we make a bowl game, and even if we do, who could we beat?
Addazio needs to be fired. No question. But, as mentioned by others, the problems with the offense will ultimately have to be handled by Urban Meyer. Other than Addazio, the biggest problem, in my mind, is the unwillingness (ie, stubbornness) of Meyer to change the offense to fit his personnel. The change does not have to be a major shake up of the core of the spread but make adjustments to fit Brantley. Make adjustments to get Demps (when healthy) out in space and not up the middle on a dive.
Now that I live on the west coast I’ve got a firsthand account of how Oregon runs its spread offense. Watching them win a game in one half last night was impressive. Their head coach states repeatedly that they are not a “running team” or a “passing team” but they will tailor the offense to what their players do best. My god, the Ducks put up nearly 600 yards of total offense last night. The obliterated Tennessee, at Rocky Top. The same UT team and same stadium our Gators could barely escape. We’ll never know if Brantley could reach his potential if they let him throw the ball because the offense will not change and the excuse that he is a first year starter is no longer holding water with me either. Oregon is starting a new QB. He threw for 300 yards. Five guys scored. Their second team offense scored in less than a minute. The Gators have 5* recruits all over the field and we can’t muster more than one touchdown.
I’m getting mad typing this and replaying how poorly our offense executes…and getting even more mad thinking about how good the Gators could be if we executed at even 80% of what the Oregon O executes at.
Stay tuned next week. I have it on good authority Addazio has promised to change things up…and incorporate the “fist pump” into the post-game interview.
Should be fun to watch.
I cant even read Dooley’s articles anymore. He is so far up Urban’s A$$ it’s not even funny. I’m not against Urban….I’m just against not wanting to come out and question certain decisions and/or coaches. (OC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Just read his newest article: Dooley’s Picks: Here’s how you fix the Gators
So ridiculous…
He can’t piss-off Meyer because he’ll get shut-out from Gator Football news reporting for years to come, and that is his livelihood. Keep in mind that Urban is known to be a major dick to “outspoken” sport reporters.
Well, this week has been a bigger disappointment than the losses. I gave Urban his shot to come out swinging, promising big changes, and all we’ve got is the UF coaching staff pissing on our legs and then telling us its actually raining.
I’m wondering, Steve Addazio, if you would indulge me and explain how the offensive line can bear no blame at all for sacks, and since they don’t have anything to do with sacks, what their function is? Can you tell me, Steve, if we’re not making any more mistakes than we ever have, why we can only score 7 points against a very average Miss. State team?
I think what makes me more angry than anything about this is that our coaches, by insisting that the system is fine and that they are doing a perfect job, are calling all of us idiots, and at the same time, blaming all their problems on the players. Our coaches are cowards, hiding behind cute phrases and dumb doubletalk, while accepting no blame and deflecting it on the players. That’s cowardly. I swear, this is like watching Ron Zook all over again, “We’re close, but we’re a long way away”
I’ve got a million dollar question I want the coaching staff to answer. Why in the world did you recruit Brantley, knowing what his style and strengths were, knowing full well you would refuse to adjust the offense to his strengths? That is the definition of stupidity. Not only did you guys ruin this season, you possibly ruined a young man’s future.
I am 100% sick of his demenor and arrogance saying the fans have issues. Bitch I’ve been a Gator since birth and as a Gator grad, season ticket holder and a booster I will not be undermined like that…
Steve Addazio has to go a lot of the problems seem to revolve around him. The biggest is that he is juggling too many duties, and all areas seem to be suffering because of it. The offensive line is playing poorly, and you can’t win without a line. The playcalling isn’t up to par. And, as offensive coordinator, you are the one responsible for the meager seven points put up against Miss State.
Absolutely pathetic!!! I spit on Addazio’s name… I have no respect for him…
Amen Gator Bill!!! amen
I sent a letter to Urban Meyer’s office trying to convince him to get rid of Addazio. I said, “Imagine, Coach, if at the end of the first half of the miss state game, Jeremy Foley (who was spotted on the sideline) was seen talking with Addazio as the team headed into the locker room. Then, amazingly, at the start of the second half, Addazio is nowhere to be found, but in his place Mike Leach runs out of the tunnel with you, coach, throws a gators nike windbreaker on over his tommy bahama shirt he was wearing, and proceeds to launch the ball downfield continuously regardless of interceptions, because, fuck it, the season is a wash anyways, let’s throw it to our all-star players and see if they cant make a play. You can call it the Gator-Raid offense, and just try tossing passes of over 15 yards to Debose, Rainey, Moore, Thompson, Hines, etc. I think those guys are alright at playing football, so they may catch the ball.”
I put a dollar in the envelope and told Meyer he has to give my opinion some consideration because i am officially a booster now and that means I have clout. We’ll see if he listens come Georgia.
Hahaha, genius. Doubtful that he will listen/consider any of that, but I like it. Especially the “Gator-Raid” idea…not just the name, but the actual offense. Would be a nice change from 0-2 yards gained on 1st & 2nd downs…
Guys Fans Need to Unite and Send a Message that Addazio is unexceptable. I am trying to spread the word for Gator Fans to Wear WHITE to Jax as a symbol of unity against the playcalling. Spread the Word.
I took great comfort in looking over the scores a few minute s ago and noted that UAB managed to score 24 points on Mississippi State. UAB can score 24 on Mississippi State, but the mighty Addazio O can only manage 7, all while playing “champion” caliber, mistake free football. I know us lowly fans and boosters can’t possibly understand the intricacies of the game like you can, O Great One Steve Addazio, but, can you explain that one for us Steve?
Mullens was the genius we had at UF. Agree Adazio should coach in the big ten.
Wear White in Jacksonville, we give up, Addazio must go. Lets see that stadium Red and White.
Every time I watch an Addazio presser I’m reminded of the Kevin Bacon character at the end of Animal House. “All is well!” Soon, he’s banging his fists against his head, jumping up and down because he keeps saying “All is well!”, but chaos continues around him. Until the steamroller flattens him.
Where’s our damn steamroller?!
Well our steamroller happens to be Urban Meyer, but luckily for Addazio he’s ridin’ shotgun in it. And, ummm that’s just where we are with it.
here’s my interview I would conduct with Addazio.
Me: Steve, what can you tell us about your offense’s inability for 6 of seven games to score in the first qt.?
SA: Well right now we’re not on schedule, see if you run a dive for no gain, then you have an incomplete pass, you’re lookin at third and ten, and we just need to stay on schedule.
Me:OK?
Me: Where has the creativity gone in this offense. Seems that the other teams know exactly what you’re going to do, and also know you can’t make adjustments?
SA: Well they’re pinning their ears back and coming at us with blitz’s, and we just need to do a better job of picking that up. (Insert funny looks and hand gestures)
Me: Didn’t really answer my question stve, but ok
Me: I know some coaches have the first few plays scripted in advance, last I heard you have the whole game scripted out, is that one of the reasons why you keep trying to do things that don’t work?
SA: Well right now our guys have been playing as good as I’ve seen them play, and we haven’t had anymore mistakes now than we ever have. So we just need to go in there and work a little harder and try to get better.
Me: Is it safe to say that despite teams knowing Burton is going to run, do you keep running him , or do we see him air it out a little bit.
SA: Well Burton has been big for us, we just need to get some more explosive plays.
Me: I hate you Addazio
SA: Pouncy is a phemominal athlete and all-american. He’s graded out a champion every game. There will be no change at center.
Me: What? Ok Steve I’m done.
SA: Thanks guys! (More hand gestures)
Hilarious!
Just looked over the Gator’s schedule again, and pretty much confirmed we will not qualify for a bowl game this year. Even if we beat @ Vanderbilt (big if), and lose to USC, UGA, & FSU, we will not have the minimum 6 FBS (Division I) wins. Appalachian State is a FCS team and doesn’t count as a qualifing FBS win.
Speaking of Appalachian State, they are undefeated and ranked number in the FCS poll. Can we even beat them at this point??? An unlikely scenario, but possible, is we could finish the remainder of the season winless, for a catastrophic 4-9 record.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwq7BYOnDrM
substitute colts for gators. mora for meyer. playoffs for bcs…
where is this press conference?
I think Urban Meyer realized on December 27th that if he resigned he would lose that six-year $24 million contract. However, if he coasts along until they fire him…… BUYOUT $$$$$$$$$. A million dollars per year remaining on the contract to be precise. Anyone else thank this pretty much explains everything?
Glenn, that certainly is possible. The theory my family came up with the day after Meyer un-resigned was that Foley convinced him to “come back” in name only to salvage the recruiting year and to allow him time to get a new coach lined up. I still believe that’s true (even more so after the debacle that is this year). Obviously time will tell, but after seeing the “new Urban.” I’m ready for a house cleaning.
I would love for us to lose all our games the rest of the season. After how bad we looked against Bama I predicted we would. Maybe some changes would be made when we don’t make a bowl game.
I think I know what Steve’s problem is. As near as I can tell, he’s very good at one thing (coaching the offensive line). As I remember, Ronnie Z was also pretty good at one particular area of the game. Unfortunately, as we have so CLEARLY noted, he’s not actually good at controlling the ENTIRE offense.
If you actually are willing to watch the press conference again, with the thought in mind that you’re just listening to the offensive line coach, then it actually sounds pretty good. His line is doing well while the rest of the offense sputters. He’s encouraged by his players. He’s giving them the kind of shout out and encouragement that is valuable when your an o-line coach.
The only problem. And this is the teensy-weensy flea of an elephant in the room, is that he is coach of the ENTIRE OFFENSE!! (speaking of… and this is random, what role does UM play in this whole thing. Why doesn’t Urban call the plays??)
Josh, I’d agree that he looks at the game as an O-Line coach. I would disagree that his line is doing well, they’ve been dominated consistently this entire year despite what Addazio says.
I think we might lose to App State…
Wow, this website is right on point. I was astonished at Addazios interview. This guy is waving his hands around trying to make it seem like nobody could understand Xs and Os and how complicated picking up a blitz is. What a joke. Man fix the obvious things. Brantley is not an option QB! Stop running the option with him! Why even have him in as a WR when Burton is under center, thats a joke! How long are you going to continue to let Thompson drop passes before you bench him! And Addazios play calling is so predictable its ridiculous. He acts like nobody understands the offense and tries to defend himself making it sound so complicated. Urban Meyer is the commander and chief and ultimatley this blame falls on him. He needs to either fire addazio or demote him and take over play calling. He has degressed our offense ever since Mullen left. Even with Tebow at the helm his play calling sucked. He has got to go! And he is in charge of the O-Line which is a group of veterans and he cant get that group together! WTF! ADDAZIO HAS GOT TO GO! Time to make the tough desicions you get paid millions for Meyer! You brought us some National Championships so were giving you some leeway, but you better make a move or next there gonna be askin you to hand over the keys!
The fact that Deonte Thompson is still playing after all his dropped balls is ridiculus. He drops them at the absolutle worst times, killing drives and stalling the offense. He is not a playmaker at all. But Addazio and Urban still treat him like a star. This goes to show Meyer has lost control of this team. With five years of Coaching experience under my belt in high school football, at a school where anything less than a district title is considered a failure, I would bench Thompson’s big mouth behind and start putting a foot in all these pre-madonna 5 star recruits tails. Then fire Addazio. If you cant produce we dont need you
A little something to cheer us all up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLcnA99FZtU&feature=player_embedded
Does anyone think it is possible this week and finally put together a solid performance? I honestly think that we may get pounded by the Dawgs by like 30. But the other part of me has this small glimmer of hope that we come out and finally finish drives, throw the ball down field, and play the defense we know we are capable of playing. Someone show me some optimism so I can muster up the energy to go to Jacksonville! Cause right now, I don’t think they are worthy of my support.
30 points sounds about right. Point margin aside, they are going to physically humiliate our offense. On the bright side, this beating won’t be quite as bad as the one FSU is going to give us. Makes me sick to my stomach saying all this, but at this point, I have no hope to think otherwise.
God bless the Gators………please
Stick with your first thought on the outcome, Florida will get pounded. Richt has been salivating for a couple weeks now. It is simple to game plan for Florida, the O lines lack of blocking ability is there biggest problem and Meyer did not even mention the offensive line in today’s presser. They think Mike Pouncey is gods gift and won’t dare call him or the other lineman out.
I am not being a pessimist but a realist. After all we just lost the 3rd in row and to a team that threw the ball only once in the second half cuz they knew FL could not score.
Save your $, stay home.
Doing an unofficial poll for argument’s sake. If the offensive plan Addazio runs stays the same it has been, how many people think:
A) we beat Georgia, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Appalachian State, and Florida State and go to the SEC championship.
B) we beat Vanderbilt and Appalachian State, but lose to Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida State to finish the season 7-6.
C) we lose to Georgia, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Appalachian State, and Florida State to finish the season 5-8.
A quote from Mack Brown about his assistants, whose Texas team is 4-3 and playing like crap:
“I told them if one of your guys is playing bad, I can change them. If three of your guys are playing bad, I change you,” Brown said. “I am ready to play each week. I’m the CEO who’s responsible for it, (but) I expect Greg Davis to run the offense and get his coaches to get their players ready to play. I expect Will Muschamp to run the defense and get his players, get his coaches to get the guys ready to play … I tell them all the time, ‘Get it fixed.’ That’s their job.”
Definitely not the coachspeak BS we’re used to hearing around Gainesville. Sigh…
“Coachspeak BS” just got a lot worse from Meyer: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5736144
Just check out the beginning of the story:
“Coach Urban Meyer spent last week analyzing every play of Florida’s season and came to these conclusions:
It’s not the play-calling. It’s not the players.
It’s not the effort. It’s not the energy.
Florida’s struggles are directly related to practice. Yes, practice.”
PRACTICE?????????????? Oh for Fuck’s sake.
Just looked at the point spread for Saturday’s game, we are 3 point UNDERDOGS. To tell the truth, if the Gators were the favorite, I’d track down a local bookie and drop a couple of grand on Georgia. My prediction: 38-16 Georgia.
You all need to quit misspelling this guy’s name. It’s Addazi — there is no O in Addazio. In all seriousness, we all need to take a step back from the ledge. We got humiliated by Bama, but one fumble and one defensive stop, and we would be 6-1 right now, instead of 4-3. I, for one, have been a Gator all my life. It has been a long time since I have had to say “wait till next year,” and I am not quite ready to throw in the towel yet. If by any chance we can pull off three conference wins, we might be playing a number 1 Auburn in the SEC Championship. While it’s a stretch, Georgia is really not as good as you people are making them out to be. Remember, they lost to Miss State too. Urban Meyer is a great coach, and you don’t demand a new one just because you have one bad season after almost 3 national championships. As long as Addazio is back to just the line next year, my money will be on the Gators!
Georgia is not good this year, that is the point. Also, if you really believe we are just one fumble and one defensive stop from a 6-1 record, then you’ve been drinking Addazio’s Kool-Aid. Lastly, this is Fire Steve Addazio site, not Urban Myer.
Gator Dad, wat is your point in saying that we are only a couple of plays from being 6-1? The reality is that we should have never been in the position to lose those games with the talent we have period! So if they had somehow won those games, would that validate Addazio and Meyer’s incompetence? I don’t think so. It’s the same shit that happened last year when the offense sucked, but because we only lost one game, somehow Addazio got a free pass. Quite frankly I’m glad we lost those games and i hope we lose a couple more. This season is done. No way Florida wins the SEC no matter how you slice it. If it is a wasted season, I’d rather go 6-6 and be sure that Addazioo will be gone as opposed to 9-4, win nothing of relevance and leave the door open to an Addazio return. No thanks. We need to look at the big picture. Write this season off for the betterment of the program.
Urban, you deserve a chance to get this situation fixed… But, this is your mess. You failed by promoting your bff to OC. Even if he improves, he will still be light years behind other OC’s qualified to hold the same position at UF. I don’t want Addazio to “get a little better” as you keep saying about our team. Even if he gets a little better, he would still be worse at calling plays than one of Steve Spurrier’s turds. Not even a long turd, like a short one with a little corn from lunch yesterday and a black bean from dinner. Not one of those 6-8 inch monsters from the pizza buffet. One of those turds would style on his ass. And At least a turd can’t talk with it’s hands and feeds you less bullshit.
Just read on the SEC blog at ESPN.com that Vanderbilt’s coach has demoted their OC back to QB coach and has put the RB coach in charge of play calling in an effort to “pump any life he can into an offense that has been held to 7 points in the last two games.” They go on to say they will be working harder to feature the talent they have. Hmmm! Even Vanderbilt won’t settle for crappy offensive production without trying to spark some kind of change. Maybe their coach can do an intervention with Meyer.
I understand this is a fire Addazio site. My beef is with those who are now suggesting that we also fire Urban Meyer after three conference losses. That’s pretty crappy after the last three seasons the guy has given us. As for being one stop and one fumble away from 6-1, that’s not drinkng Koolaid, it’s factual. If our defense had stopped LSU on thier final drive, we would have won that game. Also, I am convinced that if Demps had not fumbled the ball against Mississippi State, we would have won that game as well. Unlike you, it will be a pretty cold day in Hell before you ever hear this Gator saying that Georgia is going to beat us by 30 points. BTW, I am no fan of Addazio as O-Coordinator. He’s clearly in over his head. I’m just not ready to ditch the season at this point. We had a chance to win all but 1 of the games we lost.
Technically, I said 38-16 Georgia. It was WH7Gator that said Georgia by 30. With Addazio as OC, I see little reason to hope for a win. Run, run, pass, punt………..
Btw, as bad as Georgia is this year, we are 3 point underdogs (no pun intended) against them. Going all the way back to Spurrier’s first year, I can’t remember us ever being an underdog to Georgia. Correct me if I’m wrong.
I completely agree that we are underdogs and that IS because of Addazio. I think the last time we were underdogs was in 2002, when we were 5-3 going into the game under Zook and we won (Georgia’s only loss that year). We very well might lose if Addazio is calling the plays this year, but I doubt it will be a blow out. I don’t see our defense allowing that many points against Georgia, and this is a huge rivalry game.
Gator Dad sounds like your optimism has turned into a case of delusion as it has with the UF ball team.
After listening to the Monday presser and hearing the players and especially Dumbaz regurgitate the same old shit about how exciting practices are and how happy all the players are I really hope Richt kicks Dumbaz’s dick in the dirt. Who the hell loses 3 games, the third to second rate team, then instead of focusing on problems all they talk about is how happy everyone is, WTF? I don’t think delusion is the word of the day at Florida anymore and I am starting to wonder if they are on Zoloft! Meyer and his staff should take note of how Mack Brown is handling his staff after the recent losses, maybe they would learn something.
No, I think it is the pessismism that is getting delusional. To suggest Meyer needs to be fired is crazy. Also, it is crazy to think the Georgia team is going to rout us, regardless of how crappy our offense is right now. Georgia lost 4 games in a row, lost to Mississippi State by a larger spread than we did, and is really not that good. All along I have said that Addazio is in over his head. I just don’t think the Georgia game is going to be a blow out, and I certainly don’t want the Gators to lose no matter how bad the O coordinator is. Why would any Gator fan want that? That would be like saying that I really hope the economy doesn’t get better because the current administration can’t get a grip on the economy. Anyone who thinks that Florida or Georgia is going to lose just because they are having a down year shows that they have not been following Florida football for very long and have absolutely no clue about the history of the Florida-Georgia game. Being a Jacksonville native and having attended over 30 of these games in person, you just can’t count either team out no matter how good or bad they are.
Gator Dad, I think you are missing the point of the Meyer critics. Lets use a scenario we can all relate to. Lets imagine that we’re all investors in a company that has been wildly successful over the past 6 years. But the CEO had an incident last year that he never really explained, and since that time he has delegated most of his responsibilities to friends with questionable ability. Since that time the company has inexplicably lost tons of money each quarter, and the CEO has no answers except everything goes great in the planning meetings and its just an issue of everybody needs to do their job just a little bit better. I dare say that most shareholders would not find that situation acceptable. And so it is with our football team, Meyer has allowed a number of negative things to go on, and has himself appeared absent, and its so obvious that even Pat Dooley, a notorious UAA “Yes Man” has written that Meyer doesn’t appear to be half the man he used to be. As the head coach, earning $4 million a year, it is both right and proper for us to ask questions of him. At the end of the day, he works for us, and if he’s not 100% committed, he doesn’t deserve the paycheck. Its as simple as that. The alternative is the FSU approach, “He won us 2 national titles, so he can stay as long as he likes no matter what!” The end result of that experiment was a freefall from prominance that they are only now starting to recover from. I’m not criticizing Meyer because we’ve lost 3 games in a row, I’m questioning the whole state of the program in this post-unresignation era. Sorry to say so, but if anything is a dilusion its the idea that we’re 2 plays from being 6-1.
I just don’t think it is quite as bad as that. While I completely agree that Addazio is a prime reason for this mess, there are other factors at work too. I think the company analogy you mention might be a little more along the following lines. Let’s say the company is very succesful for the past six years. Let’s then say that many of the company’s top executives leave to start other companies (e.g., Mullen, Strong, and other coaches). Let’s then say a whole new team of executives come in, and in the middle of the transition, some of the best talent gets long-term illnesses (e.g., Rainey, Demps, Sturgiss, etc.). Not only that, but most of the workforce has retired, and the company now has a majority of its workers fresh out of college. Do we fire the CEO because of a bad year under those conditions? That is my view of what is happening. We have a new defensive coordinator, an idiot with only a year of experience as offensive coordinator, a loss of many seniors who were on the most succesful team in the history of UF and the SEC, and over 40 percent of our team now as true freshmen. Then, we lose Rainey, Demps, Sturgiss and others, and we still barely lose two of the three we have lost. I am willing to reserve judgment on Meyer (not Addazio) at this point — at least until after this Saturday.
Has anyone seen the interview form yesterday on Gatorvision? This guy is a total piece of shit. He shows up to the conference with a piece of candy in his mouth and proceeds to chew, suck, and move it all over the place the entire time he’s talking. Talk about professionalism. Other than the candy, it’s the same. He answers just about ever question with typical Stevo-o arrogance and manages to throw so much shit in there that he never really gives the reporters a straight answer.
http://www.gatorvision.tv/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=730043&db_oem_id=6500
GOd I hate addazinoO
Oh yeah, and there’s the famous addazio qoute, “that just where we’re at, or and that’s where that’s at. I enjoyed his responses to the red zone passing efficiency question. She asks what he plans to do to fix it, and he proceed to give us how many fg’s we’ve missed and how many TD’s we haven’t scored. Then makes the brilliant conclusion that if we change one or both of those issues the the numbers “aren’t out of whack”, then moves on to say “and that’s just where we’re at right”
My favorite part is when adilldo says, “You see what you want and you attack it. I know that not how society is these days. That’s a sad commentary.” This BOOB probably cost us a national championship last year. He has almost single handedly ruined one of the most dynamic and feared offensive programs in all of college football in less than two years, and has turned a largely immobile 5 star QB recruit into an option runner. BUT society not ‘attacking’ is what he wants to talk about? The sight of this moron makes me physically sick. I was tempted to dress like addazio for Halloween. But I’m worried I will get stabbed at this point!
According to UF directory,
His email:
stevea@gators.uaa.ufl.edu
#: 1 352 3754683 ext 4144
Address:
PO BOX 14485
GALE LEMERAND DRIVE GAINESVILLE FL US 32611
source:
https://phonebook.ufl.edu/people/VWTTNSWTV/
I would rather have a way to contact Jeremy Foley..
Why are members of the media trying to blacklist this site? I mentioned this site in the comments section of a Dave George story on Palmbeachpost.com and my comments were quickly deleted.
Zach Azzanni, receivers coach (sounds a little too much like Addazio for my tastes)
zacha@gators.uaa.ufl.edu
Stan Drayton, running backs coach
stand@gators.uaa.ufl.edu
Brian White, Tight Ends coach
brianw@gators.uaa.ufl.edu
Scot Loeffler, QB-keeper coach
scotl@gators.uaa.ufl.edu
Urban Meyer, Figurehead CEO
footballmail@gators.uaa.ufl.edu (new email, btw)
Hey Gator Dad, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The subject is not about you so it does not matter how long you have been a FL fan, how many FL/GA games you have attended or where you reside. You can go post that crap on the Gatorsports forum, there are plenty of “I’m the biggest FL fan there is and if you want them to lose you are not a real fan” folks on that site.
None of us on this site WANT FL to lose but the fact is, Florida NEEDS TO BE EMBARRASSED again in order to shake up this staff and hopefully make Meyer see the light, the ENTIRE STAFF if necessary. Take note I said EMBARRASSED. That does not mean it’s not okay to hang with a quality opponent until the last minutes and than lose. It means you CAN’T play like you have since Sept 4th when FL only had 212 TOTAL YDS against Miami(OH).
If you don’t think the head coach is reposnsible for performance on the field than go ask an FSU fan how they have felt the last few years. Don’t even try that “they were rebuilding” garbage. Their demise was caused by one man! Bowden was a great coach and great for their program but his stubbornness cost them dearly. He was way too loyal to his buddies. Take a look at the history between Meyer & Dumbaz. To date Meyer finds zero fault with the way Dumbaz has handled his reposibilites, it’s all because of player excecution, a fumble, a missed FG etc. ALL BULLSHIT! We will NOT let FL be the next FSU because of one man!
Although the focus here is on Dambaz, Meyer is not handling his resposibilities well as the Head FB coach and the entire staff finds fault with the player execution, not their coaching. There are also way to many “I don’t know” responses from Meyer during pressers. HE SHOULD KNOW EVERYTHING! In regards to his lack of execution comments, execution and coaching go hand in hand, you can’t have excecution if the coaching is poor.
In closing please don’t compare the economy to a damn FB program. Although I could care less about the current administration in Washington don’t compare poltics with football, you will ruin football for everyone. By the way the Commander in Chief of the U.S. does not have a 4.5 mil $ salary.
Keep thinking that one missed FG, one missed opportunity in the red zone or one fumble has cost this team 3 games not to mention the horrid play against Miami(OH), USF and TN. Your “what if” optimism won’t help the FL Ball team, don’t focus so hard when watching the Dumbaz pressers, you too seem to be falling into his delusional trance.
I did not get the note that someone died and left you in charge of this site. I must confess, though, that I am a bit confused (likely due to my recent onset of delusional optimism and the secret messages I keep getting whenever I watch a Steve Addazio press conference). Do you want the Gators to win this weekend or not? Does their NEED to be embarassed equate to your WANT to see a L. Also, is it ok if I compare politics to a “damned FB program,” since that looks to be what we are with good ole Urban at the helm? Please do let me know so that I can behave myself. Until then, let me join you in a hearty “GO DAWGS!”
No need for us to jab, we want them same thing. It was a sloppy W though, them scratching out wins against second rate opponents does us no good in our efforts to see the door hit Dumbaz in the ass. Perhaps an “embarrassment” with Vandy on the horizon will help the effort. Spurrier will definately make them pay, no doubt.
Agreed. I saw lack-of-O Addazio’s fingerprints all over the second drive of the third quarter. I could deal with an embarassing close game to Vandy, but I still think winning out the east will have recruiting implications that will affect us for years.
So here’s interesting read.
I’ll just post the contents…and again remind you that it’s from an “insider” whose legitimacy I cannot validate. His points seem pretty detailed though.
*Warning, this will make Sid’s posts look like a haiku.
The rumor about this being a year during which Meyer was supposed to be a care-taker of the program while UF looked for a new HC was started by a high-money UGA booster. There has been no search, although contingency plans were developed after the resignation last year, and there is always a “list” that Foley has.
There are a bunch of coaches that would jump at the chance to take over UF’s relatively stocked roster. Still there is not a great deal of concern that this eventuality will occur at this time.
My understanding is that the Easley transfer rumor is bogus.
It is true that Loeffler largely called the passing plays in the Sugar Bowl game, as the bowl preparation period was used to put in a new playcalling system at UF that distributed duties between offensive coaches and many more of Loeffler-type plays were ok’d for that game, especially since film study had shown that UF could pass fairly easily on Cincy’s slower secondary. It was decided to go in this direction to give Tebow a chance to show his passing skills on a national stage, since his stats had suffered that year due to protective schemes put in place for his injury. Meyer had little involvement in the preparation for the game except advising Addazio here and there. Another reason for Loefflers increased role was to remove some of the coordinating burden from Addazio, as he was effectively the head coach during the game. It was used as a showcase for the distribution of duties as it was already known that Meyer’s role would have to be reduced across the board.
Loeffler is disgusted with the route running and general performance that Azzanni has gotten out of his WR’s and has told him so.
The whole team feels snakebit and lacks confidence right now, and there is little leadership on the team at this time. Most of it is coming from Burton.
Pouncey is going to remain at center, as it is thought it is too late to make a change and that Robey is “not there.” Addazio has commented that Pouncey has been slow off the line and missing assignments due to his challenges with snapping the ball right. But it is thought that Robey would get his “lunch eaten” and that is why we have not seen him, as well as Meyer simply wanting the senior veteran out there at the OL’s most mentally challenging position.
Meyer considers the new playcalling system an abject failure, and going forward the responsibility will fall to a single individual. It was reported to me that this will be Addazio. This is due not so much to Addazio’s overall value, as it is to the fact that Meyer feels that the only way to cure the run game ills are to run more of the single wing offense to keep LB’s from “sitting down” in the short middle, clogging up run seams and jamming up underneath routes. Meyer is more comfortable with running the Veer and option game right now, as he feels that Burton has turned the corner in terms of his reads. Expect Burton’s role to be increased significantly. Brantley will still start.
Meyer understands the constraints that Brantley has had to work under, but also wants to see him cut down on the errant throws, on the “edginess” in the pocket, and be more of a vocal leader when on the sidelines. Burton is more “his kind of kid” with his fire and passion. Nevertheless, Meyer understand that Brantley doesn’t have that personality, but feels it is something the team needs. The team is not split along QB lines and there is no QB controversy. It is not thought that either QB can get the job done without the other, and the team recognizes this.
Background: the blocking schemes in the passing game this year are different. They were tweaked in the offseason to be more “man” in principle, and the OL has not picked them up well. Close analysis of the blocking will show that we moved away from our zone “stacking” concept to a man principle and this is resulting in breakdowns in blitz pickups.
Meyer knows that we do not have the personnel to run either the option/veer offense or the I-Form/Shotgun Spread. He feels we will have to continue to run something of a hybrid. But as playmakers return to the offense (Demps, Rainey) results should improve.
Background: there have been heated arguments in the game planning sessions between Loeffler (who does not want to be looking for a job next year) and Addazio on the reasons for the offensive breakdowns and the solution. Addazio’s solution has been to simplify and simplify further in an attempt to tweak better execution out of the team. This simplification has caused UF to be highly unimaginative in playcalling on those plays where DAZ is calling them. Meyer knows we are going to the well too often on certain plays, but we don’t execute on others, and the offensive coaches (all) are gun shy.
Thompson’s touches are going to decrease in favor or Moore, Hines, and Hammond. While Meyer does not consider the interception Thompson’s fault, per se, Thompson is thought to be running very poor routes right now.
It is incorrect that it is strictly a run/pass split between Daz and Loeffler. It is more a formation/scheme split, and this structure has caused some of our offensive schizophrenia. We are literally running two different schemes due to the limitations of our QB’s
Durkin will not have Special Teams coordination for the remainder of the year. He’ll run the guys out there, etc. But Meyer will take over coaching ST’s beginning this week. He’s been harshly criticized by Urban for the lack of production from the Kickoff coverage team, as well as the ineffectiveness of the punt block unit.
Coach recognizes that he has delegated too much responsibility, but feels in a bind because his doctors have told him to reduce the stress and workload. He knows he’s got to find a better balance, yet have more involvement. The delegation scheme is not working, especially on ST.
The likelihood is that D.J. Durkin will not be here next season, and Austin is on thin ice, due to the awful performance of the linebacking and safety corps. The observation was made in a team meeting that UF’s linebackers appear to have regressed from last year, and that is not expected with experienced players such as Jones. UF’s run blitzes are being telegraphed, and Durkin has done little to correct the issue with technique sessions with the players. The timing and design of the run blitzing scheme is considered shoddy and rudimentary, but it cannot be revamped this year.
I’m told that UF is going to move to playing a more conventional defense and try to reply more on its native athleticism. UF has been running some fairly exotic schemes to make up for perceived deficiencies at DE, and the solution is to simply get UF’s young athletes “out there.” And play defense more straight up.
Meyer is livid that Austin did not pull UF out of its 4-2 look when it became obvious that Miss State’s game plan was to run the ball straight at us and deflate the football.
Meyer views UF’s hybrid 4/5-2 system as a failure and was particularly pointed in his criticism of defensive substitution patterns where Austin uses an “inside-out” scheme that places DE’s on the interior. This is not an issue except that his substitutions allowed for UF to very often have a “speed” package on the interior on obvious run downs, or when deep in UF’s territory.
Meyer understands that UF is lacking athleticism in the DE position, and Powell is going to play more and more, in order to get some sheer speed on the field. UF’s DE corps is only thought of as “adequate” in keeping containment and defending the run, and the anemic pass rush that has forced the use of overt and constant blitzing is going to be addressed by trying to get more of UF’s young athleticism on the field in the form of Powell.
FWIW, I was told that the likelihood is that NEITHER Addazio or Loeffler is OC next year, and that Meyer wants to return to his bread and butter, running a spread option offense. He will try to accommodate Brantley as much as possible in this transition, and feels that with the “multiples” in place, Brantley can play a modified Alex Smith role, but expect Burton (who is thought to to have an “it” factor in instincts and decision making) to only see his role increase, not decrease.
Meyer is pointing to injuries/suspensions at the skill positions and on special teams as the chief reasons for our losses, though he knows that the entire team needed to have played vastly better. He says that if we had a trio of Demps, Debose, and Rainey available all season we would probably be 6-1 or undefeated. As it stands, he considers Gillislee, and Burton our only real playmakers who are available in the all important run-slot game.
Meyer regrets the diminishing of the slot game due to schematic changes and injury, and is hoping we get healthy soon at RB and slot.
Meyer remarked that the line blocks well when able to rely on their old assignments in the single wing offense, as they are more instinctive. Our OL issues are thought to be timing and assigment related in the passing and shotgun running game. They change depending on which QB is in. They were thought to be better protection schemes for Brantley, but we can’t execute them.
Nevertheless, we are not expected to imporove much on the OL due to the scheme changes implemented in what I will call the “Brantley offense.” These OL scheme changes are not able to be adequately coached by DAZ. Still it is recognized that he has had too much on his plate, and the performance of the OL has been pointed to as among our chief issues, in addition to skill player injuries. This is just my opinion, but I believe that more of the chalk talk is going to be directed to the OL in-between series, and that Loeffler, Azzanni, and White are going to be more involved in discussions with the skill players.
Meyer feels he was not able to take his time with all his hires, and felt pressure to make decisions faster than he would have liked in some cases. Our huge staff turnover, and the working relationship between the coaches is said to be a sore spot. If we lose more games there will be a house-cleaning in certain areas. McCarney, Heater, and Drayton are safe. Everyone else is being evaluated. Meyer is not going to sacrifice the program or his career for Addazio.
I understand you’re just reposting that from somewhere else (thanks for that, btw, it was an interesting read), so this isn’t aimed at you in any way.
Having read all that, I don’t believe any of it, it sounds exactly like it was written by a Meyer apologist trying to vindicate him. Every key criticism of Meyer is magically answered by the “insider” and, even more remarkably, Meyer has identified all the problems and is correcting them all. Why did it take him 7 games to figure all this out when everybody saw it after game 1? Why did he let them transpire in the first place if he thinks its so obviously flawed? He’s going to fix the offense by handing everything over to Addazio, then can him after the season? That’s like asking an alcoholic to hold your booze. Interesting read, sounds like a fairytale to me though.
^^^ that’s a long fucking post.. but all I can say is that I’ll believe it when I see it. Fuck this season. all I want is Driskel to start next year under a new OC.
Hell yeah it was long, but it was kind of hard to paraphrase with all that shit.
Finally, a former Gator has spoken up about his frustrations with our offense. Channing Crowder. I <3 him.
Former Gator Channing Crowder: It’s disgraceful when white LBs run down John Brantley
by Jason Lieser
Everything about the Florida Gators would be more interesting if they replaced offensive coordinator Steve Addazio with Channing Crowder.
Crowder, a Miami Dolphins linebacker who played at Florida until 2004, is disgusted with the post-Tim Tebow offense and said new QB John Brantley’s indecisiveness and lack of mobility is the team’s biggest issue.
Crowder
Crowder
“They don’t have an identity,” Crowder told reporters immediately after last week’s game at Green Bay, which followed Florida’s 10-7 loss to Mississippi State. “They don’t know what — John Brantley don’t know what he wants to do. He can’t outrun anybody. I saw him get run down by a white linebacker last week, which was a disgrace to all Florida football history.”
Later in the week, Crowder continued along that track and might have even included Trey Burton in his outrage. He references “your running quarterback,” who also seems to have a problem evading Caucasian defenders.
“You can see the offense is nothing without Tebow,” Crowder told the Post’s Ben Volin last week. “When I saw a white linebacker … ran down Brantley twice, I said, ‘Yeah, we have no chance.’
“First he’s a linebacker. Tim Tebow would’ve walked away from a linebacker, and he’s white. If a white linebacker is running down your running quarterback, we don’t have a chance.
“They should put (offensive lineman Mike Pouncey) back at quarterback — let him run.
“It doesn’t seem like they have a great game plan either. I don’t know. It seems like they’re out there nonchalant, like, ‘Oh well, that didn’t work, let’s try to throw it.’ I don’t know, they’re killing me.”
http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/gatorbytes/2010/10/28/former-gator-lb-channing-crowder-its-disgraceful-when-white-lbs-run-down-john-brantley/
I hope more guys will speak up!!!
I honestly can’t stand Channing Crowder. Not only did I not think he was that great of a player when he was here, I think he’s an ass. Seriously Channing, the color of the skins on the players has nothing to do with their performance. Stop being a racist twat.
I do agree with his last statement though, but unfortunately I don’t think it’s going to change.
I am good friends with a former walk-on linebacker during the Zook years (Alvin Butler) who saw some limited action in games and he told me Crowder was by far the most talented athlete he saw play on in those Zook/1st year meyer squads. Told me the guy would show up hungover to practices and go beast mode nevertheless. I understand his comments, let’s face it, black people are by and by faster than white people, that’s ok. There is a glaring discrepancy, especially on defense, between blacks and whites, so cut him some slack. At least he aint PC about it, which is refreshing.
Crowder may have been a phenomenal athlete, but I remember watching him scrape downhill and make tackles 10 yards down field. I really can’t remember watching him make any big stops in the back field, but I could just be jaded as I’ve tried to forget the Zook years.
Unfortunately, now I’m trying to forget the Addazio OC years as well…
Seems like Crowder has more problems with white folks than he does with the current situation with addazio. To bad, formers Gators speaking up could be a powerful motivator for change.
true, but he gave Tebow love.
I wish Spurrier would shit on Addazio. Then maybe someone would listen.
Strange point spread swing! Until yesterday, the 3 main casino lines I watch had GA favored by 3, 3, 2 1/2. Now today, the same 3 casinos are at PK, -1GA, -1FL. Obviously something major has happened to send multi-millions of dollars Florida’s way. I’m sure Rainey’s reinstatement was a factor, but no way it swung the spread from +3 to -1 Florida.
My guess and hope is that Addazio is not calling the play today. Personally, that is the only change that would make me even consider putting money on Florida. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Go Gators!!!!
^^^^^^^^^
The posted time above is way off. I made this comment at 3:35 pm, not 7:35 pm. Strange…….
You fairweather bastards better not stop bringing the hate now that we won a game…in OT…against our walking mat georgia. Where are the posts?
I dont give a shit if the playcalling was more creative, it was still contrived. True gator fans will want Steve’s head even if we win out, based on his gross misuse of taxpayer-funded 5-star athletes.
You got it Darky! All this sloppy win did was slightly calm the chatter surround Dambaz. The First series when FL had the ball was awesome! I love how the GA D line BLEW UP the FL O line for a sack. It was nice to finally hear the commentators finding fault with the O line and nothing else. They made a point about it. The O line Blows, to bad these big bodies are not coached well.
We won against Georgia despite Addazio’s best efforts to the contrary.
The playcalling really was not that imaginative or creative. And there was still extremely inexplicable calls made. How about near the end of regulation, tied up on 3rd and 10 and still a good 30 yards from field goal range, with only 40 seconds left on the clock. So a reasonably safe time to go for a deep pass or at least attempt to get the first down. Worst case scenario, there is an interception which turns the play effectively into a punt. What does our offense go with instead? A quarterback run up the middle for a 3 yard gain….
Its just baffling because its so obvious the defenses are playing most of the game very close to the line of scrimmage. Addazio’s schedule is so arrogant in that the opponent is not taken into account at all. It makes you wonder what exactly the opposing team would have to do to actually convince him some more deep plays would be effective? Does the fact that teams are stacking 9 in the box not cut it for calling some deep routes? Do opposing defenses have to go with 11 defensive lineman before addazio would finally relent and attempt something other than a dive, screen, quarterback run, or short dump off pass?
we need to get rid of Brantley, period. If you’re going to call the same plays, start Burton. Wtf is going to happen when we get Driskel next year? Have 4 QB’s in the game at the same time?
The only problem with that is Burton cannot throw the ball. At all. Period.
The why was he signed as a QB in the first place?
On a different note, we say a lot of Urban’s calls in the offensive game plan. I think (hope) Addazio has been permanently watered down to assistant OC.
I love when people say Burton can’t throw the ball. He’s been allowed to throw 3 times and is 2/3 with 60 something yards and an INT which I blame addazio and that dumb ass jump pass. I know most people think youtube is thge best place to get all of the most improtant video from. But to say Burton can’t throw is pretty lame. Let the kid get 40-50 reps before you say he can or can’t throw. Not 3.
it is well known that burton cant throw…when you go watch practice everyday and cover the team, then you can have an opinion on his abilities
I completely agree with this. Even if Brantley has better passing skills, Burton plays with a lot more heart and emotion. I would put the ball in his hands and let the chips fall where they fall. What do we have to lose? Brantley is immobile, and unless our line starts picking up thier game, I would bring everyone on every down if I were an opposing D. The difference to me between Leek/Tebow and Brantley/Burton is that Leek seemed to be more of a competitor than Brantley.
I read somewhere that Brantley plays like he would rather be fishing. No passion, excitement, or drive, all of which Burton has. The only thing holding Urban back from benching Mr Pacifist is Daddy Burton’s legacy and money.
I wonder how much of the playcalling for the UGA game was Addazio and how much was Meyer. I hate having to rotate 3 QB’s.. I would love to see Burton for the first half against Vandy, then Brantley third, and Reed 4th just to see the difference.
I would say the option is to either change the offense to allow Brantley to pocket pass or go to Burton. Burton physically has an arm last time I checked, two in fact. He was recruited to play quarterback. Supposedly his reads are improving in practice.
I mean what would we do if Brantley got hurt? Would we just play without a Quarterback.
Brantley has had a few years to adapt to the option offense and he is dreadful at it. Leak got decent at the option after one offseason. So either you adapt the offense to what he can do or you go to the next guy. Maybe Brantley would be better playing for a coach like Spurrier, maybe he wouldn’t. At this point it doesn’t matter anymore, he can’t play in the current offense we are running.
I also don’t ever remember being completely empty at positions. How did we get to a point where we don’t have a backup quarterback who can throw and we don’t have a backup center that snap and block? We have wide recievers that cannot catch deap balls thrown over their heads. We are Florida, we get at least our second choices at almost every position. We have top five recruiting classes every year. Why don’t we have backups?
Yeah we beat poor Georgia, who was really nice enough to beat itself. We will get wins on talent alone. But we won’t look good again till we get organized and have the kids coached up and ready to play. I can take losses. I can take tough games. But I really can’t take looking like we aren’t ready to play and that we cannot perform the basics.
I want to know who was calling plays in the 2nd. There’s no way it was Addazio. Fire Addazio and hire that guy.
There was definitely another person involved in play calling Saturday. We’ll probably never know exactly how it all played out, as the organization continues to shield Addazio.
Oddly, I think Austin is the coach in Urban’s doghouse right now. There was at least one camera shot during the game that showed what appeared to be Urban giving Austin the business on the sideline.
I know exactly the shot you’re talking about. If I were Urban, I’d be upset too if Jon Bostic was covering AJ Green with the game on the line (lol).
Meyer keeps attributing the hurry-up to the receivers’ coach. He was also the featured coach on the Sunday Talking Gator Football program. Do you think he was involved with the play calling? In the snippet I saw, he showed more enthusiasm in two minutes than our buddy has shown all year.
Also, Meyer was definitely more involved when we had the ball on the sideline this Saturday.
I know I will probably get laughed out of here, but I really do think that if the planets align just right, the Gators could match up well if they make it to the SEC championship game, and Auburn wins the west. I would say forget it if Alabama wins out.