Please Read: Welcome to the new-look Inside the Gators
- Grading the Gators: An all-around failure
- Recruit Reaction: Simple plays have to be made
- Uncensored Soundoff
Former Florida wide receiver Reidel Anthony (1994-1996) shares 10 observations on Florida football coming off of a 24-11 loss to No. 14 Utah.
1) After seeing their performance against Utah, the Florida Gators have a lot of work to do. There were too many mental mistakes for a team that had months to prepare for this game. Special Teams are an area that definitely needs improvement in paying attention to details. Offensively, it’s hard not to see that the offensive line needs major improvement to be successful. The defense has too many missed assignments and the defensive line is where it starts.
2) The offense never seemed to fall into a rhythm as far as running the ball, which has been the identity of the Gators offense under Billy Napier, and will be the reason they win this year. Untimely false starts in the red zone were definitely drive killers at pivotal points in the first half. Personnel preference is another thing that is noticeable to me in those situations. Maybe put a receiver on the waggle route.
3) The defense played hard, but there were way too many missed assignments against play action. The defensive line was getting pushed around and didn’t get any pass rush at all.
4) Special Teams for the last few years haven’t been one of the three areas of a football game that Florida has been able to win. They had another rough night, to say the least, and gave a lot of points away.
5) The running game was nonexistent for Florida, and everyone knows that’s the fuel that makes the engine go. The offensive line never got any push against a bunch of Utah backups. That should be a big concern for the Gators moving forward to the Tennessee game.
6) Graham Mertz had enough moments during the game to leave you wondering ‘What if he is that dude?’ He got the ball out quickly while under constant attack and was mobile enough to avoid pressure from the Utah front four on way too many snaps. Then you have the mental mistake of not controlling the huddle during the short-yard situations. Making sure everyone understood what they were going to do on that play. Overall, I would give him a C grade for this game.
7) This one hurts as my former position, but the wide receivers had an average game. They should have easily had a better game by making more plays in tough situations. There was not much separation between Utah defensive backs and the Gator receivers throughout the game. Eugene Wilson needs more touches in this offense. It seemed like he was playing at a different speed. Ricky Pearsall is a good possession receiver, but we need to get the younger guys more involved. My grade for this group is C-.
8) Florida’s lines were pushed around on both sides of the ball. The offensive line gave up quick pressure right in the face of Mertz too many times and the defensive line wasn’t getting any pass rush on Utah’s backup quarterback. We should have rattled him, but he stood back there picking apart the Gators’ secondary. Maybe, the coaching staff will blitz a bit more and play more man-to-man defense. My grade for the big boys is a D-.
9) The Secondary started off as badly as they could imagine by giving up the 70-yard bomb to start the game. Then from there on they seemed to settle down and make some plays. I feel like as the season goes on this group will play at a high level. This group deserves a B-.
10) Our coaches just need to COACH THEM UP and go over everything 20 times. Make sure they know WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT. Be Great! Go Gators!
What was the name of the defensive player who always did them?
He was always spot on.