Coach was on point about Mertz

[407Gator]

The best thing that happened to us yesterday was how Graham Mertz played. It showed that coach knew what he was doing when he signed him out of the portal.

I feel like it pumps us up on Mertz and gives us more faith in coach.

If he can play like that all season and the defense is better there's no reason we can't win 9 games this year and set up for a bigger run in 2024.

 

[crfcom]

The best thing that happened to us yesterday was how Graham Mertz played. It showed that coach knew what he was doing when he signed him out of the portal.

I feel like it pumps us up on Mertz and gives us more faith in coach.

If he can play like that all season and the defense is better there's no reason we can't win 9 games this year and set up for a bigger run in 2024.

I agree, I think Mertz will be fine. Max Brown is a whole different thing, he's the real deal, and in watching the two of them in practice you see the next two years at QB unfolding for UF.

 

[Mark Wheeler]

I wouldn't overstate what happened in a practice in shells where he was in a non-contact jersey.

The reality, or my reality, is that overall he looked better than I expected, but I wouldn't say he had a great day. He really came on at the end to take what was a slightly below-average day and turn it into a positive.

I'm looking forward to seeing if he can build on his finish Saturday heading into the scrimmage this week.

As for Brown, he has a big arm and is mobile, but he had some bad misses in the practice. Napier specifically mentioned his improvement this week, but also pointed out he isn't there yet from an accuracy standpoint. He is headed in the right direction though.

 

[BD489]

The best thing that happened to us yesterday was how Graham Mertz played. It showed that coach knew what he was doing when he signed him out of the portal.

I feel like it pumps us up on Mertz and gives us more faith in coach.

If he can play like that all season and the defense is better there's no reason we can't win 9 games this year and set up for a bigger run in 2024.

Can’t take much from an open practice. If the offense looks too good the defense is suspect and the opposite is true. We should wait about 5-6 weeks in to the season to see where we are

 

[crfcom]

Can’t take much from an open practice. If the offense looks too good the defense is suspect and the opposite is true. We should wait about 5-6 weeks in to the season to see where we are

It's not that bad. Napier is still doing what he did in spring practice, green lighting the defense to play aggressive and not giving the offense anything but vanilla plays over and over so Utah doesn't have any film to study. It's just a fact that Mertz doesn't look bad at all and appears to be comfortable in pressure. The defense can't plant an offensive player in the dirt, but they are playing a lot more aggressively than the offense by design. Barring any more injuries the offense should look much better when they're finally able to go all out and have their o-line starters on the field.JMO.

 

[GatorDMD]

You don't know that Mertz is comfortable under pressure when he's in a black jersey where he can't be hit. You are seriously pumping sunshine with that one.

 

[BD489]

It's not that bad. Napier is still doing what he did in spring practice, green lighting the defense to play aggressive and not giving the offense anything but vanilla plays over and over so Utah doesn't have any film to study. It's just a fact that Mertz doesn't look bad at all and appears to be comfortable in pressure. The defense can't plant an offensive player in the dirt, but they are playing a lot more aggressively than the offense by design. Barring any more injuries the offense should look much better when they're finally able to go all out and have their o-line starters on the field.JMO.

I didn’t say it was bad. Just trying to be neutral based on practice reports and wait to see how we play in games. Got a lot of new pieces and they have to get in rhythm together.

 

[crfcom]

Can’t take much from an open practice. If the offense looks too good the defense is suspect and the opposite is true. We should wait about 5-6 weeks in to the season to see where we are

You don't get 5 or 6 games to decide where we are. That's half a season, by that point you're in the running or your season is basically over. Mertz is proving to be exactly what Napier said he is, mature, experienced, and a good game manager. But, IMO, the best thing that happened in practice is the emergence of Max Brown, b/c if Mertz doesn't work out or starts turning the ball over, Napier has another option in Max Brown, and it's not just another game manager, its an option who brings another dimension into the position with him. Max Brown has a strong arm, stronger than Mertz and maybe Miller too, but he also can motor. He accelerates well, is elusive, and is big enough to evade pressure and get to the down marker. That's the thing Mertz doesn't have. At the rate Brown is improving, it's only a matter of when he becomes UF's best option at QB1. It could happen this season.

 

[BD489]

You don't get 5 or 6 games to decide where we are. That's half a season, by that point you're in the running or your season is basically over. Mertz is proving to be exactly what Napier said he is, mature, experienced, and a good game manager. But, IMO, the best thing that happened in practice is the emergence of Max Brown, b/c if Mertz doesn't work out or starts turning the ball over, Napier has another option in Max Brown, and it's not just another game manager, its an option who brings another dimension into the position with him. Max Brown has a strong arm, stronger than Mertz and maybe Miller too, but he also can motor. He accelerates well, is elusive, and is big enough to evade pressure and get to the down marker. That's the thing Mertz doesn't have. At the rate Brown is improving, it's only a matter of when he becomes UF's best option at QB1. It could happen this season.

I meant for where I think the team is. Just like everyone else I got to excited after our week 1 win and was thinking we’d be 9-3 before the season started. I’m trying to not get too high or low based on practice reports or the first game this year. I’m intrigued by what Browne brings and I’m hopeful he gets some playing time to run the wildcat at worst. Great change of pace opportunities.

 

[crfcom]

I meant for where I think the team is. Just like everyone else I got to excited after our week 1 win and was thinking we’d be 9-3 before the season started. I’m trying to not get too high or low based on practice reports or the first game this year. I’m intrigued by what Browne brings and I’m hopeful he gets some playing time to run the wildcat at worst. Great change of pace opportunities.

I understand. I've avoided posting an expected win/loss projection for the same reason. I'm more interested in how the team looks at the first compared to the last half of the season. If there's steady improvement, and knowing how this current class is trending, I'd be good with that.