My kind of Gator

Jeff Driskel has been, to say the least, a disappointment.  But it sounds like he’s had a heckuva supporting cast.

But Driskel’s biggest problem just might be his teammates. “I don’t think those guys really totally believe in him or want to play for him anymore,” the assistant said.

Not that Florida’s offensive woes are entirely Driskel’s fault. The assistant also placed significant blame on senior wide receiver Quinton Dunbar, who didn’t start for the first time since 2012 in Saturday’s loss and hardly played after repeated drops in previous games.

“He thinks he’s the next NFL dude,” the assistant said. “He’s nothing. He’s just a guy out there filling a spot.”

I bet when’s he’s out there, he’s one of the loudest woofers, though.

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70 Comments

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70 responses to “My kind of Gator

  1. Jeff Sanchez

    That program is in worse shape than I thought if assistants are publicly throwing kids under the bus, even anonymously

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  2. Irishdawg

    I honestly felt bad for Driskel when he got yanked and then Harris threw the luckiest TD pass I’ve ever seen next to the Pass We Shall Not Name in last year’s Auburn game. Harris was getting slung to the ground and threw up a prayer that somehow found a receiver in the middle of 4 Mizzou DBs. You could almost hear Driskel say “You gotta be shitting me”.

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  3. Macallanlover

    If there is any truth to those comments, Boom will not be able to mount a “win one for the Gipper” type response from the FU players. While I doubt it is that bad, I feel Foley made a mistake not using this bye week to clean house and signal a “new day is dawning” battle cry for the remainder of the season. Having another five weeks of wallowing in this season without relief may be beneficial for us against in coming years as it cannot help but impact recruiting.

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    • WF dawg

      This is my take, too. The only thing I can figure out is that they think Treon has a real chance to provide the spark they need. He sure looked worse against Mizzou than he did at UT.

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    • Mayor

      Exactly. I actually thought that was what Foley had in mind all along by not firing Boom at the end of last season–keep Boom, let him take the hit for the coming bad season, then fire him mis-season to get the jump on those other schools who would be replacing their HCs after this year. This last 2 weeks would have been the perfect time to can Boom. Didn’t happen, at least not yet. Several weeks to go in the season, though.

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    • Will (The Other One)

      I think some of their best recruits (the few they have) are already looking around.
      This is dumb on Foley’s part, as if his top names reject him, a la the Zook search, and they don’t even start searching until the dead period, that gives the new coach either no real recruiting time or no time to build a good staff.

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  4. rampdawg

    I couldn’t care less about what’s happening in Gainsville Fl. I want to see a 1982 like, UGA gator stomping.

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  5. Scott

    Colin Cowherd believes that Chip Kelly has serious interest in the Florida job. He just reported it on his show. He implied that he had sources.

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    • Now that would be scary, but I don’t know why he would.

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      • BrightOwl

        The NFL is a completely different kind of organization. In college, the HC is 100% in charge of the team, but in the pros, the GM is the boss and sometimes the owner gets a bit overly-involved. Spurrier still talks about how his years in Washington were the only time he wasn’t the man in charge.

        So it’s possible Kelly doesn’t like the culture in the NFL and wouldn’t mind a return to college.

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        • I’m aware of all of that. But Kelly doesn’t seem to be having the rough time Spurrier did.

          That being said, I don’t follow the NFL closely, so you guys may know more about that than I do.

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          • Macallanlover

            Steve’s issue wasn’t with the NFL, it was Snyder and his relationship. He could barely mention the name without gagging. He walked away from serious cash to go to Columbia (I think five mill down to one), it didn’t matter to him, he wanted out.

            I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kelly make that move at all, and you are right, nightmare indeed.

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            • That’s a nice story, and I’m sure it’s one Spurrier tells well.

              But the truth is also that his protection schemes were being eaten alive by competent NFL defensive coordinators and he didn’t have an answer for it. His offense was never going to succeed at the next level.

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              • Macallanlover

                True, it is a good story and very believable. I don’t dispute your observation on his effectiveness versus NFL players and scheme, but I think it some of both. He has a strong ego, enforced by overwhelming success since an early age. Guys like Snyder, Blanks, Jones, etc. are too pushy and control freaks for Spurrier, especially is it is his ass on the line for players that don’t fit. It was lack of control over personnel decisions that he wasn’t given, but says he was promised that caused much of the rub. Yeah, I think it was that mostly and it is easy to blame that for lack of success on the field. True or not, I think he sincerely feels that way and could afford to be independent enough to walk away from $5MM a year.

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          • Scott W.

            He’s second in the NFC East and Cowherd has sources just like all the MOtherships’s shill merchants have sources.

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      • I said something to a friend two weeks ago that Chip Kelly as UF coach would be scary, but that was predicated on him crapping out as Eagles coach and getting fired. He certainly would fit the hiring pattern:

        Successful and experienced HC with an offensive mindset followed by career defensive assistant …

        However, it was predicated on Kelly crapping out as the Eagles HC this year. Right now he is 5-1.

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    • Merk

      Hmm, that would be odd. Kelly has been pretty good so far in the NFL, at least better than most college coaches that tried the NFL. Also why would you give up the NFL payday to take a dumpster fire over, esp when you are a coach who would be expected to produce asap. If they hire a nobody, then they would give them 2 years, but if they hire someone who has been to NC games, they are going to expect that day 1.

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      • 3rdandGrantham

        UF can match what the Eagles are paying him, and there have been rumors going back to last year that Kelly isn’t exactly all that happy as an NFL coach.

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        • Bazooka Joe

          The problem for FU is that if the Fleagles continue the way they are currently, they will be in the playoffs so unless Kelly pulled a Petrino he wouldn’t be available to talk to FU until January at the earliest after the Fleagles season ends.

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      • Cojones

        I believe that FU will take notice of a good HS Coach and prefer him for rebuilding the program because the natives would be less restless. Besides, that’s the trend nowadays in CFB.

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  6. Merk

    Our problem is not the O, it is the D.There D is not quitting. They did not quit when they were down 28+. This is why getting Gurley back is so important. We need to get a 14-21 pt lead and just pound the ball until time runs out. Throwing will allow those DBs to make plays and they have good enough players to turn an int into pts.

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    • charlottedawg

      This. Florida has always had a good defense under Muschamp. Fortunately, they are susceptible to the run, I believe Mizzou averaged 4+ yards a carry against them. They will fold if we keep them out on the field all game with body blows from Chubb and hopefully Gurley.

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      • Cojones

        The secondary doesn’t match up to their D line, therefore, I think we will pass more initially and use RBs to disguise. That will be especially true if Gurley plays. Any get for stats by RBs will be late in the game.

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    • Will (The Other One)

      They didn’t quit because Mauk isn’t that good right now. This is still a wildly lesser bunch than in previous years: they let Kentucky pass all over them, LSU got rush yards without much QB play. Other than Hargreaves, that secondary is a mess.

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    • Bazooka Joe

      Disagree (ok, partly disagree) yes we need to get up on them to crush their will, but we need to keep our foot to the floor on the accelerator. If CMR wants to “back off” then do it by using subs, not changing play strategy. #1 – subs need the work, #2 taking your foot off the gas kills the killer instinct which we are going to need down the road (Auburn, hopefully SECCG, etc…)

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  7. Rusty

    If our D continues to improve and execute, the gators won’t stand a chance. Our O now has experience in pounding some decent defenses down. I think the O may have our lowest score total of the season so far,but I still think we beat them by at least 10. But a good possibility of more.

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  8. I don’t think there’s any doubt the players don’t want to play for Driskel anymore. It was very obvious in their UT game. As soon as Harris came in, the body language of the entire team, sideline included, totally changed. Harris really didn’t do much in that 4th qtr comeback, the biggest difference was that everyone around him played better. I knew right then that that team had lost complete faith in Driskel, just based on how much harder and sharper they played once Harris came in.

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    • Cojones

      Read that was reported in the Mizzou game as well (team noticeably perked up). Maybe the time proximity of the rape charge prevented him from starting last week. They didn’t want to emulate FSU/Winston episode.

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  9. JasonC

    Even worse than their QB situation, they don’t have an Indoor Practice Facility and we all know that is the #1 thing to hold a program back. ##

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  10. Cojones

    Substituting other players into the lineup seems to be geared toward UGA and used to mollify people. Changes do present a good argument for putting life back into a team. If you jump on and pick on those players and have success early, their spirit surge is quashed early.

    Lookin’ for those great D linemen to have a class game and make Treon pray for rain.

    Has anyone noticed that FU could have run Idaho (St?) back into their schedule and would have gotten a confidence boost plus play all 12 games? Of course that depends on Idaho’s schedule, but I thought that I read several weeks ago that they could do that. If they couldn’t then that will be the second time this year that I was wrong.

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  11. hassan

    Source on gator boards says that Boom is dead coach walking. Just a matter of when. A huge booster offered to pay buy out if done before the UGA game, but Foley won’t bow to that kind of pressure. Maybe done around Eastern Ky game if that is another loss like Ga So. Rich Rod and Hugh Freeze are names tossed around.

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    • Freeze aint leaving Ole Miss, he was born there and loves it. Plus not many big time SEC coaches want to leave one SEC school for another. That would open a HUGE can of worms. That would be a major slap at Ole Miss. Saban had the Fins in between same with Spurrier at DC.

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  12. PatinDC

    Another interesting quote from the same link

    “Florida’s stadium is iconic, but the rest of its football facilities are considered from pedestrian to poor by SEC standards. Florida upgraded its practice fields this summer, but it still lacks the type of gaudy stand-alone football facility, with indoor space, that have become commonplace in the SEC. Florida is looking into whether to build an indoor facility to catch up to its SEC peers, but nothing has been formalized. Foley is one of the best athletic directors in America, but this is one of the areas where he’s missed.”

    I guess the apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree.

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    • Cojones

      Yet, they are far enough south (only Miami and Hawaii are more southern) that not needing one is an option. The farther north you go, the greater the need.

      ‘Course, being that God throws more lightening their way, the rainy season could be a reason for them to build. The NCAA won’t let them play in it, so inclement weather down south doesn’t create the need to practice in the rain. However, see 1968 game to understand they have an aversion to rainy games anyway. Hoo, boy! Still remember the blinding light reflections off the ponded water on the field. That year, UGA’s season games were replayed in the field house and it was crowded to the ceiling and really jumpin’. When the FU game highlights were shown, it was to a continuous standing ovation louder than anything ever heard in Sanford.

      That would be a nice game to review next Fri and again the following Fri.

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    • Irishdawg

      Really? I’ve seen their weight room and it looks pretty damn snazzy to me.

      A fear of mine is that Muschamp ends up a DC in the SEC. He’s a terrible head coach, but a damn fine coordinator.

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  13. Da, dada, da da da … Fold Gators!

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  14. Will Trane

    Watched past of Mizzou – UF game on TV past weekend. Harris comes in, throws away pass into endzone just before being sacked, into a crowd, a gator comes up with the ball, TD. Camera goes to sideline on Driskell, and he has that “can you believe that” look all over his face. My sentiments too. That has been the situation for him on that play. Should have transferred out last fall.
    But shhhhh…it is quiet in Athens. Can hear a pass hit the turf.
    All patiently wait and wonder about news on TG.

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  15. How about Spurrier returning to bring the program back?

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  16. 202dawg

    This reminds me of one of my favorite scenes from The West Wing.

    The punch line is ‘we’re gonna go out there and show the Surgeon General our support…’
    ‘What’s the President going to show her?”
    ‘The door.’

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