Florida, as we know, hired Curt Roper as offensive coordinator to bring a more up-tempo attack to Gainesville, something that’s pretty much virgin territory for a Will Muschamp team. Roper is at least honest about needing time to make a successful transition.
“I think there’s an adjustment period,” Roper agreed. “I don’t think it’s something where the first practice they know what we’re talking about necessarily. Over time I think they’ll get to the point where they enjoy it. The skill players enjoy it probably more than the offensive linemen in the sense that sometimes it’s hard to stay in a stance. Part of tempo offenses is getting lined up quickly. That’s the whole key to it. If you get lined up quickly, that means you can snap the ball quickly. If you don’t get lined up quickly, then the defense knows you’re not going to snap the football.”
“Well to get lined up quickly that means the offensive linemen have to get lined up quickly, and they’re in a difficult stance sometimes. So it’s a challenge for those guys. It’s a little bit more of an adjustment. The skill players love it because they don’t have to run back to a huddle and then run out, so it actually conserves their energy. It’s actually a good adjustment for the skill players. The linemen it’s the biggest change for because they’re in a stance.”
You wonder how quickly he can change the mindset of his players. You wonder how sold Boom really is on the change. And you wonder how much the Gators’ injury situation will affect the time it takes to get the new offense rolling.
The good news is that Roper has the luxury of three tune up games to get things figured out before going to Tuscaloosa. Maybe by then he’ll have turned Jeff Driskel into the next Johnny Manziel.
Get The Picture 
Well down here in Disneyland the word is the gators will be awesome. The gators have as big a group of bandwagon fans as you will ever want to see. Will will need those three tasty cupcakes to get the fans whipped into a frenzy. Once they are 3-0 there will be no end to the greatness they will envision. Here’s hoping that the Tide can hand them their butts on a silver platter. That will be real entertainment down here for sure.
LikeLike
After the 3 cupcakes plus UK ( another cupcake IMHO) FU gets Bama in Tuscaloosa, UT in Knoxvegas, LSU, Mizzou and UGA all in a row. There is a big probability that the Gators will lose at least 4 if not all of those games. The next game is Vandy in Nashville. I’m thinking Boom is gone by then. If he somehow survives that long and wins at Vandy, he’ll get the ax after losing to South Carolina the following week. However if Foley wants to be gracious about it, he might wait until the loss to FSU at Doak Campbell 2 weeks later. I see 6 losses and maybe more for FU in ’14. Bye Will.
LikeLike
Nope. He’ll lose to Georgia again, and win JUST enough to give some hope. Comrade indeed…
LikeLike
You picking the Hillbillies to beat Florida? That’s generous.
LikeLike
I think he is caching for his job in Jacksonville.
LikeLike
Yep. He’s pretty much got to get at least get 2 wins between GA, FSU, LSU, and Bama to survive, or runs the table with the other games and beats GA, that would probably be enough, right?
LikeLike
I have the FU 2014 schedule in my hand. The Gators will beat Idaho, E. Michigan, UK, Vandy and E.Kentucky. That’s 5 wins. To get to 6 wins they have to beat UT in Knoxville. Where’s the 7th win? Bama? LSU? Mizzou? Georgia? South Carolina? FSU? They’ll be lucky to get to 6 wins and a bowl game. I’m betting UT kicks their reptilian asses for a 5-7 Reptile season. Bye-bye Agent Mus-chump. Sorry to see you go. You did good for your alma mater.
LikeLike
And do you think a 7-win season even saves him unless two of them are FSU and Georgia? I can’t count out the Gators, though – if Roper can make the offense merely serviceable, Muschamp has created some pretty solid defenses over there.
LikeLike
This sounds a lot like when Tom Landry brought in Paul Hackett. Landry was under pressure to modernize the Cowboys offense and brought in a West Coast guy from the 49ers to do that. You could tell Landry never really believed in him. As soon as a situation got close or someone got injured (looking at you, Danny White) the Cowboys went right back to the offense Landry always ran. I’ll bet the same thing happens here. Roper will look good in bursts but Muschamp will never have the guts to actually put the game on his shoulders when the chips are down.
LikeLike
More importantly, will Mr. Roper still BOLO for Top Guns or does he have to dream up different social media skills so secret agent 007 can stay in place for a few more seasons?
LikeLike
I think you may be right. Kinda like Chizik after Cam left never wanted Malzahn to run the complete HUNH because he wanted them to eat more clock to rest his precious defense.
LikeLike
Here’s the big question: assuming it takes at least as long to install an offense as it does a defense, will Roper have more than one towel boy?
LikeLike
Oh NO!! Brent Musburger and Jesse Palmer have each reached agreement with ESPN to be the lead college game commentators on the SEC Network when it launches for the coming season.
LikeLike
The Bachelor and Horndog Forever, Bitches!
LikeLike