Let me start by saying that I’m in complete agreement with this observation from Saurian Sagacity:
With each passing game it is becoming more and more obvious that Tim Tebow is pressing. He is a shadow of the player he was in 2007 and 2008. Don’t talk to me about the concussion because he was playing the same way before that hit. He is just trying to do too much. Pressing is understandable with the loss of 2 wide receivers who are now starting in the NFL and the loss of 2 key offensive linemen, but something has to be corrected if this team expects to reach its ultimate goal.
Unfortunately the problem is compounded by the fact that the offensive is being coordinated by the inexperienced Steve Addazio, whose previously held the same position for a year at the offensive juggernaut Indiana. This is not to say that the offense hasn’t had some success, because it has, nor I am saying that Addazio needs to be replaced because I don’t think he does – remember last year when fans were calling for Mullen’s head. Unfortunately, the offense is close to becoming a liability.
Old habits die hard. Tebow operates on the basis that the weight of the team is on his shoulders. That may have been true in previous seasons, but this year the heavy lifting is being done by the Gator defense.
If you’re Urban Meyer, it’s not hard to draw up a basic strategy for this week. It boils down to three simple words: play it safe. Let Georgia beat itself; with the Dags‘ Dawgs’ turnover problems and inability to run the football consistently, that’s not exactly a monumental task for a team with the best defense in college football.
I’m not sure they can do it, though. First, for some reason, these guys are still acting like this matters:
Florida is still fired up about Georgia’s 2007 end-zone celebration. DT Terron Sanders calls it a “sign of disrespect,” among other things, after Georgia “stormed the field.”
“We feel as if it’s a slap in the face,” Sanders said. “We can’t just let it be a one-year thing where we feel like we took care of it. We always have to look back at it as disrespect.”
… “acting” being the key word there. I’m not sure why they feel a need to gin up the disrespect card in 2009, but to me it’s an indication that something’s askew on the motivational front.
But the other reason I’m not convinced the Gators can play it safe is because I don’t think Tebow can change his approach to the game. Like the hype or not, he’s a ferocious competitor. How does he switch that off and settle for merely being a competent game manager? To me, that’s something to take advantage of (yeah, I know).
Which leads me to that aforementioned perverse thought. If Georgia pulls off the upset, I’m beginning to think it’ll be because of Tebow, not despite him.
I’m hoping Willie has used the extra week to come up with a good plan. We’ll know pretty quick.
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You know, last year wasn’t the greatest, but Martinez has generally done a good job defending Florida in the Meyer era. Georgia’s problems have been on the other side of the ball, for the most part.
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Here, here!
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I was responding to the ‘Tebow pressing’ point. Against Arky and the slum dawgs he arguably gave away 4 tds. He hasn’t had a great game (4 passing TDs and a couple on the ground use to be the norm) yet. If he makes no mistakes we could easily score 3o. That’s not a boast, just to be expected.
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The good news for UGA is this; while UGA has one of the worst passing defenses in the league, so does MSU and Arkansas. Florida still had less than 200 yards passing against both teams.
The WLOCP will be like most of Florida games this year; a grinder and a nail biter
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16 point spread “We feel as if it’s a slap in the face,” just like Terron, so Macallenlover and I are taking Georgia and the 16 now guessing that the betting public thinks that spread is too big and will be less by the end of this week
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Psychology is a big part of the UGA/UF games and has been since the Dooley era. When we (Dooley) owned them the Gators always seemed to be waiting for the big play to kill them. Heck after the 1980 game most of the Gator Fans acted like they half expected it. Steve was able to change the psychology of the game over his years until the players and the fans came to believe UGA could not beat UF. UGA’s belief was subconscious but the Gator’s was conscious, they belieed they would win and did.
We all hoped that CMR could reverse the psychology of the game but he lost to SOS in the first year and to, and this really destroyed us, the Zooker in the next two. CMR then made the biggest mistake ever in the series, he gave the Gator’s newest generation a reason to make the game personal. Steve used to have to show old films of UGA killing UF to get his guys fired up not CUM just trots out the “Celebration”. It will be years before UF falls back into the we beat them every year so what the heck mode.
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I agree 100%. The “Celebration” was like getting somehing with no money down, but now look how those payments continue to eat us up!.
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I agree 100% and I’m a Gators fan. That endzone celebration was the worst idea in the long, sad history of bad ideas. UGA would have won the 2007 WLOCP regardless and the Gators have strong motivation to get emtional about beating the Dawgs for a long time to come.
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Nothing a win won’t take care of.
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Honestly, the guys who think the endzone celebration had any effects that lingered longer than the 3rd quarter of that game are probably mouth-breathing pillow-biters. Seriously, nothing says “I’m an idiot” like suggesting that the celebration is still fueling the Gators to beat Georgia.
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From one “mouth-breathing-pillow-biter” to another, you’re wrong. The endzone celebration is still fueling the Gators. Didn’t you read CUM’s quote on that subject? He’s going to use this for motivation as long as he’s in Gainesville.
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A “sign of disrespect”? Terron Sanders is either grasping at something small to get himself motivated, or he believes his innate superiority was offended.
Either way it’s fun watching the drum beating, but it leaves me sentimental for the era when coaches would spend the week buttering up the opponent.
Anybody remember this Dooley gem:
“They have the finest deep snapper we’ve faced all year!”
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And, if we somehow pull of the upset the GPOEE falls to 1-2 against UGA as a starter and the first Gator QB to have a losing record vs. UGA since the 80s.
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Correct me if I’m wrong…but wasn’t UF winning at one point on ’07? (17-14 in the second qtr. I believe) Well AFTER the celebration…
So, didn’t UGA actually win the game by coming from behind? Perhaps Coach Urban Meyer continues to bring up the “celebration” as motivation to mask the true performance of his team on that particular day? Maybe UF was simply beaten by the better team in 2007. Just a thought…
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– Yep, the Gators took the lead before a ridiculous Moreno TD put Georgia up for good.
– Seeing how ’07 Georgia finished #2 in the country, and Florida finished #5…in the SEC, the “beaten by the better team in 2007” would seem to have merit. I mean, Auburn? At home?
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That’s what makes the endzone celebration so ridiculous. The Dawgs would have won anyway and CMR gave CUM permanent bulletin board material.
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Let’s give them a new reason to hate us.
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You have to score TDs to beat us. We are good for 20 against Martinez and his boys. I don’t think we’ll beat the spread, but rest assured, your nightmare will continue.
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As you can see from my post, I’m not arguing with your logic. I’m just hoping your team won’t play logically this Saturday. 😉
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You may be right about Tebow trying too hard and hurting the Gators on Saturday. Last Saturday, he gave MSU 12 of their 19 points.
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Wait, why are we talking about Florida basketball?
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Basketball? Unfortunately, we have both been sucking wind in round ball. There have been some promising developments for the Gators in the off season. I will be in Athens to watch that game.
I like to watch basketball in Athens. I buy them on game day and my seats are always good.
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If Georgia pulls off the upset, I’m beginning to think it’ll be because of Tebow, not despite him.
We’ll definitely need Tebow to force some throws and make a bad decision or two. But so far this year nothing has cured an ailing QB more than Willie’s defense.
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Considering Stafford’s INTs were why we lost last year, it’s not out of the world crazy to suggest Tebow could have that same game.
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Is the use of “Dag” in the third paragraph a reference to Brad Pitt’s accent in “Snatch,” or just a misspelling?
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Typo. Thanks for catching it.
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After the LSU game it was revealed that Florida actually used some made-up quotes from LSU players to get themselves riled up. I thought that sounded like Marty Mornihnweg riding his Harley out of Lions practice, but it seemed to work.
Makes you wonder what other teams use as a motivational ploy.
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Yeah, rumor is that in closed sessions with his players Urban is accusing Joe Cox of saying this before Georgia-Tennessee and that it is a big deal, it’s something that he, Urban, won’t, although Tim might, forget; it’s kind of like Terron slapping you in the face when somebody lifts a Tebowian without giving proper credit and paying royalties:
“You will never see any player in the entire country who will play harder than I will play the rest of the season,” he said. “And you will not see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody for the rest of the season, and you will never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season.”
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I think bulletin board material might be the most overrated topic in the history of college football. Does any sane person here actually think that UGA would have lost the 08′ WLOCP by any fewer points had we not stormed the field in 07′? If you do, then I’d like to ask you what disrespect we did to Alabama that caused them to lay the hammer down on us in 08′. If you believe that the reason we’re not beating the Gators on a consistent basis is bulletin board material… well…. bless your heart.
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Let me answer your question with a question: are you still mad at Spurrier for scoring “half-a-hundred” on the Dawgs between the hedges? I’m betting CMR uses it as motivation every time the Gamecocks visit Athens and if he doesn’t, he’s wasting his resources.
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I think you’re right about the bulletin board mat’l being overrated. No Gator player has any trouble working up a good hate for his opposite number and anyother Ga. player.
Haven’t seen any good fights in the stands for a few years now. I think our fans feel this rivalry has lost its edge.
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Well if it hasn’t lost it’s edge it should. There wasn’t too much fight in the Gators during the Dooley years either. Loosing streaks have a way of taking the fans out of the game. Look for the crowd to be 60% Orange 40% Red & Black this year.
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Funny, that’s not how they sounded after the 2007 game. 😉
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