SB Nation - Riley Cooper

A Head-Scratching Snub.

Acid Reign — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:00:21 -0000

Auburn wide receiver Darvin Adams (89) frequently abused defensive backs! (AP Photo/ Butch Dill)

War Eagle, everybody. The post-season All-SEC teams are out now, and there aren't too many surprises. It looks like some reporters and sports information directors simply copied their preseason list over again. I guess they DID pay enough attention that Jevan Snead didn't get any votes.

I'd say the biggest surprise of the All-SEC voting was the complete absence of Auburn wide receiver Darvin Adams in the voting. The media voters select 5 wide receivers. Statistically, Darvin Adams was 5^th in receptions, 4^th in receiving yards per game, 3^rd in receiving yards, 2^nd in yards per catch, and tied for the lead in receiving touchdowns. In fact, there's not a single statistical category that Adams WASN'T in the top five. Somehow, Joe Adams of Arkansas made it in ahead of Adams, despite catching TWENTY fewer balls! Adams also finished behind Florida's Riley Cooper, despite having more catches, more yards per catch, and more touchdowns. A similar argument could be made against LSU's Brandon LaFell: fewer yards, and fewer yards per catch. Even compared to the starting All-SEC unit, Darvin Adams had a better yards per catch stat and more touchdowns than Shay Hodge of Ole Miss. When comparing Adams to Georgia's A. J. Green, Adams had more yards, more catches, a better yards per catch average, and more touchdowns. HOW does Adams not get AT LEAST honorable mention notice?

On the season, Darvin Adams finished with 48 catches for 855 yards and 10 touchdowns. War Eagle, Darvin Adams!

In another predictable but irritating snub, kicker Wes Byrum was left out of the all-star balloting. Byrum hit on 14 of 15 field goal attempts, and made all 49 of his extra point attempts. Byrum connected on 93.3 percent of his field goals. The selected All-SEC starter Leigh Tiffin was only good on 87.9 percent of his field goals, and missed THREE extra points. Second-team selection Blair Walsh only hit 90.5 percent of his field goals. What makes Byrum's snub easier to take is that he essentially lost because Auburn was scoring touchdowns in the red zone, rather than settling for 3. The Tigers converted 76% of their red-zone appearances into touchdowns, and got points 94% of the time overall.

There isn't an official offensive lineman stat page on the SEC website. But I'd take Auburn's Lee Ziemba over most of the 2^nd team offensive linemen, and a couple of the starters. Ziemba finished in the "honorable mention" category, surely a result of false starts. The sad fact is that Ziemba earned his reputation for jumping off in previous years. This year, he's actually been penalized less than you think! On false starts, Lee had 1 against La Tech, 1 against WVa, 1 against Furman, 1 against Georgia, and one against Alabama. That's a total of 5 false starts in a 12 game season, which is not many for a starting left tackle. Ziemba had no holding calls against him, all year. And the only other penalty was on his ineligible catch in the Georgia game. How many sacks did Ziemba give up? I don't remember but one, and it was when Ziemba was trying to get over on a corner blitz that was probably not even his responsibility. All in all, Lee Ziemba was the best lineman on a pretty tough Auburn unit.

Let's hear it for the left-out Tigers that led our team! War Eagle!

Other Musings from Championship Week, after the jump.

Once again, we see the need in the Football Bowl Subdivision for a post-season playoff. The argument against undefeated TCU and Boise State for playing in weak, non-BCS leagues is somewhat legit. Big East Champ Cincinnati plays in a BCS conference, went undefeated, and got left out. Rather than play for a national title, Cincy will be taking on a frustrated Gator group. Coach Brian Kelly appears to be headed for Notre Dame, and the Bearcats will be facing a fired up Gator group without their leader. It's a bitter end to a great Cincy season.

As to the Texas Longhorns, has there ever been a more disrespected number two team in the national title game? Oh, yes! I remember about 17 years ago the national press was moaning over a team that had a whole schedule full of single-digit wins, that would NEVER be able to challenge the top-ranked Hurricanes. I think we all remember how that 1993 Sugar Bowl turned out, with the Tide stomping Miami into goo. I'd suggest that the Tide not take Texas lightly. The book on the Longhorns is to contain McCoy and cover Shipley. However, the overlooked part of the 'horn team is their run defense. Alabama will have a tough time replicating their SEC Championship Game effort on offense, I think.

Fellow track'em writer War Eagle Atlanta posted an excellent question earlier this week: Will Auburn fans cheer for the Tide, or the Longhorns? If Alabama loses, I'll snicker and try to get glimpses of Nick Saban's face on the sideline. But there is no hairy way I really want the SEC to lose the BCS title game. We'll never hear the end of it, from the national media, if the SEC loses that game. Yes, I want Alabama to win. No, I absolutely will NOT be screaming "Roll Tide" at my TV that night. Hopefully, I'll be sitting quietly in my chair with a Klondike and a stinger, enjoying a good football game.

It's a difficult time to be a Florida Gator. One of the prices for success is that your assistant coaches become hot commodities. Florida's loss of Tim Tebow pales compared to the amount of talent and experience that has left the Florida coaching staff in the past two seasons. How Urban Meyer rebuilds his staff will be key. It could be a tough transition period ahead.

What a difference a year makes! This time last season, we were jeering the Auburn coaching search. This year, we're cheering a promising foundation, and lauding Jay Jacobs' pitch to the Outback Bowl. Well done, sir, well done!

The Fatal Flaws

mlmintampa — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:17:50 -0000

More photos » by Dave Martin - AP

Browse more photos »

Hopefully, we are far enough out from the SEC Championship Game that we can take an level headed look at the 2009 Gators. As fans, we have seen a team that either was destroying people or not meeting our expectations. Considering the history of college football, 14-0 was a challenge unlikely to be met, especially with the bonus of three outright championships in four seasons. But we thought our boys could do it. Here's some things that I thought were never addressed or fixed and ultimately led to the Gators' fall. As always, tell us where we're wrong. Let's get the hard one out of the way first;

Tim Tebow: In each of his first three seasons, Tebow improved as a player. The problem was that as a senior, he was the same as the year before. Every team he faced knew exactly what he was doing. You saw the strategy Alabama used of daring Tebow to throw to receivers he never trusted behind a line that nearly killed him. Against Tennessee you saw how an NFL-style scheme (even without the talent to do it) could confuse Tebow. There are two reasons for this; either Tebow plateaued as a player or the loss of Dan Mullen impacted Tebow's preparation and chemistry with the offense.

Tebow was pulled in more directions this season. He wasn't just Tim Tebow, quarterback, Florida. He was a missionary, preacher, charity leader, university representative, oh and this was his senior year of college. Everyone is stretched thin in their senior year of school either because of school demands, the pressure of post-graduation or relationships. Tebow had all of that plus everything listed above. The problem is that Tebow wouldn't have it any other way. This season, I have a hard time thinking that everything else surrounding him didn't contribute to his actions on the field. He was still a college senior and no senior ever has a perfect year. Here's hoping that at least he doesn't knock a brick off Century Tower. (If you don't get that, look at the last urban legend listed here.)

Lack of a Go-To-Guy: Tebow needed a running mate this season and no one stepped up to fill that role. Aaron Hernandez had uneven performances and Riley Cooper could never get open before Tebow got in trouble. Cooper might have been the most well-rounded player on offense, but even he got the drops. Jeffrey Demps and Chris Rainey still struggle catching the ball and Brandon James was never going to be the solution at the Harvin position. Emmanuel Moody lived in Urban Meyer's doghouse all season. Carl Moore and Andre Debose never saw the field. That Florida ran the same offense as 2008, without a go-to-guy, is a failure of the coaching staff. Like Donald Rumsfled said, "You go to war with the Army you have. Not the Army you might want or wish to have." Meyer and Steve Addazio knew what they had in front of them and treated them like Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy with Jason Watkins and Phil Trautwein at the tackles. Which brings us to our next point...

Never figuring out the passing game: If yards and rushing yards stay relatively flat, how do touchdowns scored go from 75, 82 in 2008, to 56 this season? I pin the blame on not having a secure 3rd and 4th receiver and not securing the offensive tackle spots. I thought Xavier Nixon and Marcus Gilbert got it together, but it was late in the season before that lineup change was made. I don't blame the line for the 36 sacks (only 2 more than last season) because too often they had to face 5 and 6 man rushes. Teams could afford those blitzes because Florida's receiving options were Cooper, Hernandez and a bunch of nobodies. David Nelson had his best game against Alabama (4 catches, 53 yards, TD). That's nice, but Nelson was supposed to be a number 3 guy behind Cooper and Hernandez, but his output was no better than 2008 (23 catches, 254 yds, 2 TD in 2009; 12 catches, 228 yds, 5 TD in 2008). Deonte Thompson was supposed to explode this season, yet nearly had the exact same numbers. Demps still thinks run first, catch ball second. Rainey is skinner than I am and James was getting too many touches as a returner (62) to be fit enough to be a permanent player (20 rushes, 24 catches). We trusted that Meyer, Addazio and Billy Gonzales would see any red flags and immediately turn the Gators into Georgia Tech South. But they kept calling plays like they had four reliable receivers and two experienced tackles.

Steve Addazio, Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach: It does not matter if you liked Addazio's play calling or not. The fact is that he cannot do both jobs and I would be surprised if anyone could be o-line and coordinator. Offensive line is hands on, requiring the coach to be on the sidelines. Offensive coordinator is a mad genius, sitting in his box and designing plays like a chess player thinking three moves ahead. It didn't help that Florida's play calling by committee was like cooks spoiling the broth. Last year, the offense went through Mullen. You never knew who it went through this season.

A light defensive line: Just the presence of Terrence Cody kept UF away from the precious dive play. UF does not have a monster run stuffer like that (Omar Hunter may get there one day). Plus, Jermaine Cunningham and Carlos Dunlap are long and lean. They can run around you, but not through you. Were it not for Brandon Spikes, A.J. Jones and Ryan Stamper, UF would have been screwed at the front. The Gators got by like this until they ran into an old-school big ugly offensive line at Alabama. Like any great defense that relies on speed, a big line can always win. There wasn't much UF could have done here, aside from eight in the box, and Greg McElroy was too good for that.

The Fans: No one is escaping this. Every college team has good and bad fans, unemployed fans who stalk message boards all day, and the locker room stooges who get off on revealing who was tanked on Monday night and who has the girlfriend sleeping with half the defense. Every college team has jackasses who write blogs, guys who have only played video game football and claim they know what they are talking about, and old men trying to live vicariously through college kids. But we wore the crown, so we fall the hardest. It doesn't help either that we seemingly lost the ability to lose with class. I include myself in this because while this seems very mature and composed, during the game I was screaming obscenities at Nick Saban, my friends, Mark Ingram, "Sweet Home Alabama" (song, not the Reese Witherspoon movie), Tim Tebow, and the band Alabama. I was also figuring out how UF could win in the fourth quarter, when a rational person would have turned off the game and waited for Texas-Nebraska.

We've been spoiled the past four years and the sooner we realize that, the sooner we have some realistic expectations for the Gators. Eventually, Tennessee, FSU and Georgia will get good. Florida may actually lose consecutive games to these teams. Losing these games, if it happens, should not require you to threaten the lives of anyone or throw the Gators under the bus, via your facebook status or twitter. However, all bets are off if Urban Meyer becomes Ron Zook, but I don't see that happening. We need to be rational again, but mediocrity can never be tolerated.

The Confidence and Complacency of Champions: When the Yankees were losing Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS to the Red Sox, Aaron Boone asked Derek Jeter why he was so calm. Jeter said, "The ghosts will come eventually." The ghosts did show up and Boone hit a game winning home run to send the Yanks to the World Series. The next season, the Yanks blew a 3-0 ALCS lead, and the Red Sox won the World Series, defeating the Curse of The Bambino in the process.

When you are defending champion, even if you are not considered to be the best team in your league the next season, there is a certain level of confidence in your team and what they can do. The Gators had won the SEC and National Championship twice in the last three seasons. There was no reason to doubt that they couldn't do it again. With that confidence also comes enough of a lack of drive that it can impact you negatively. You don't want to take those extra reps or spend 15 more minutes running routes. Sure, you can go to the party/Bible session/hookup with that chick from Plants, Plagues and People class, you'll just end your film study five minutes early. What's a few minutes anyway?

It all adds up eventually and for the Gators, it was 19 points in Atlanta. 19 points does not happen in one week of preparation, but over the course of the entire season. It's the reason why guys take extra sprints in August or lift more weights in April. Over the course of 11 months, the Gators were confident they could win no matter what and complacent enough to not put in more time. As for the party that ended Carlos Dunlap's season that included other teammates, let he who never took the edge off an upcoming test by drinking or fooling around with a lady cast the first stone. As for me, I think you got me confused for a better man.

Besides, Alabama played a perfect game. They had one penalty, were 11 of 15 on 3rd down, Bama held the ball for nearly 40 minutes, McElroy was 12 of 18 passing, and Marquis Maze's five catches for 96 yards made up for Julio Jones two catches for 28 yards. Florida could have spent the week in the football complex and St. Augustine's Church and they still would have lost. Give Alabama some credit.

As we said on Saturday, everything sucks now, but this still your team. You have to take the good with the bad and accept that sometimes, the other guy is better and you are not good enough. Time to look forward to next season and put your faith and trust in Urban Meyer. Especially that he finds a new defense and offensive coordinator. And say a prayer that John Brantley and Omarius Hines become the next great duo in Gainesville.

SEC Championship Autopsy

mlmintampa — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 20:36:36 -0000

More photos » by John Bazemore - AP

Browse more photos »

- Urban Meyer checking himself into Shands for dehydration after the game was just another paragraph in this incredibly bizarre season. It could be the flu, it could be food poisoning, it could have been throwing up because of the game, and it could have been his brain cyst acting up. It could be anything, which was the only consistency UF had this year; anything could happen.

- Educated Florida fans know that when UF runs the ball, they win. Yet, one of the glaring stats coming out of the game was the four non-Tebow carries UF had. They were losing the whole game, and big comebacks do not happen with 4-yard dive plays. But, there was no desire to grind some clock, keeping the Gator defense on the field even longer.

- Focus is the easy excuse for the Gator defense's awful play. From Charlie Strong's next job, to Carlos Dunlap's DUI, to Florida's front seven getting knocked off the ball every play, it seemed as if no one was ready. I don't believe focus was the problem because that is an insult to the team and Alabama. Of course, some guys thought UF would win because they won last year. There's also the complacency of champions in that they think they can flip a switch and win. But losing 32-13 is not Florida losing because of a lack of focus. It is Alabama winning because they had a superior game plan. On offense, it was spreading UF out and pounding the line. Greg McElroy is an efficient quarterback and has been winning games since he was 16 years old. Bama was the guy at the poker table who everyone is scared of because you never knew what his cards were. On defense, dare I say, they wanted Tim Tebow to throw the ball. I don't believe Tebow has regressed, but I think he has not improved. With Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy (or David Nelson in SEC and BCS games), Tebow could afford to not be perfect. With Riley Cooper, Aaron Hernandez and Deonte Thompson, he had to be perfect (how many incomplete passes this season hit guys in the arms?). The interception to Javier Arenas was an example of something else; Tebow still struggles with reading coverage. Remember, he threw a similar pick (where an hidden defender gets in the way) against Oklahoma.

- Panic was a large reason why Florida lost Saturday. While Tebow stayed calm, Cooper and Hernandez were in panic mode after every near miss. Brandon Spikes and the rest of the defense were getting caught running themselves out of plays. It got to the point where guys were diving for tackles and not breaking down. That's not a lack of focus or lazyness; that's being so desperate to make a play that you ignore your fundamentals.

- People who should be blamed for Saturday's loss;

1. Whoever picked the white helmets.

2. My friend Hanson for not wearing his lucky shirt.

3. Charlie Strong

4. Steve Addazio

5. Urban Meyer

10. Carlos Dunlap. The kid made the mistake of his life during one of the biggest weeks of his life. He is a huge dumbass. But now he has to live with the possibility that his mistake cost the Gators a shot at a National Championship. It didn't. Jevon Kearse could have replaced Dunlap and it would not have made a difference. Sometimes, the other guy plays better than you could and wins. I hope Dunlap comes back and plays well enough. If not, I don't blame the guy for going pro.

- While I will criticize a college player for the way they play, I have a hard time doing it after a loss in a championship game. As fans, we get upset and bitch and moan about blown tackles and dropped passes. But we get on with our lives. College athletes don't. Of the 44 starters yesterday, very few will be successful NFL players. That means the most dominant memory of their college career will be a blowout loss and a season of a division title. That stays with you forever. Some jackass who was a student, donates money and writes a blog has no authority to talk about how they are hurt by this loss. The guys in that locker room just worked 11 months to finish second place in their league. Consider their pain before you think about how much you were hurt.

- My pick for best Gator performance Saturday? Chaz Henry.

- I always use death as a metaphor for a season ending. The loss was like watching a loved one get a stroke, start rehabbing, and getting another stroke and slowly dying. It sucked. You keep thinking if they had stopped smoking, or Jeff Demps caught that ball in the first quarter, or if he ate healthier, or if UF stopped a few more third downs, that things would be different. You'll go crazy thinking that way. One or two plays in a 19-point deficit will not make a difference.

- Speaking of death, my friends and I finished Saturday night in the only acceptable way for Italian and Irish Catholics; by going out and eating and drinking until we felt a little better. Our first toast of the night was to John Brantley, we screamed curse words at Colt McCoy, wondered if Les Miles was running Texas and Hanson was working women like he was Tiger Woods. It was also nice to see so many people in Gator clothes. Like I told my 13-year old sister after the game, after she insisted she could never go to school again, you never turn your back on the team. If you're willing to be for the team in good times, you have to be there for the bad times too. She will be wearing her Gator jacket to school Monday.

- We'll be back later when Florida is officially announced for the Sugar Bowl, likely playing Cincinnati.

Saturday NFL Draft watch notes: Florida/Alabama

Mocking Dan — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 18:30:13 -0000

More photos » by Dave Martin - AP

Browse more photos »

Joe Haden, CB, Florida: There is no better college cornerback than Haden. He's come along this season as a complete corner capable of shutting down a side of the field and helping against the run. Although Haden struggles at times against shiftier receivers in man coverage, he has good speed and can out-muscle opponents. He'll get matched up today against Alabama sophomore Julio Jones.

Brandon Spikes, MLB, Florida: Spikes is an incredible linebacker who could have been a first-round pick this year. His production has dipped some this season, but he's missed two games and slowed by injuries. Spikes is an excellent leader and good all-around player. Spikes' instincts are that of an NFL veteran and he should start immediately in the pros.

Jermaine Cunningham, DE, Florida: Cunningham has quietly had a very good season, even while battling through injuries. Cunningham is at his best when he can rush the passer, which could limit him to being a 3-4 outside linebacker candidate. He's dropped into zone coverage at times this year and held his own. Where he struggles is against the run, especially when it comes right at him.

Aaron Hernandez, TE, Florida: Another short tight end prospect, Hernandez is dangerous with the ball in his hands. The Chris Cooley comparisons are apt. Hernandez can get open in space and is hard to take down after the catch.

Tim Tebow, QB, Florida: By now, everyone knows the strengths and weaknesses in Tebow's game. But a good game against a pro-style Alabama defense and Tebow could start to make people think differently about him.

Maurkice Pouncey, C, Florida: A junior, Pouncey has had a dominant season. He's very strong and anchors a line really well. He gets into position quickly and has the agility to move around. He plays with a low center of gravity and gets good leverage.

Michael Pouncey, G, Florida: The junior guard really burst onto the draft radar against Alabama last season when he routinely beat Terrence Cody in one-on-one situations. He's a power blocker and excels in the run game. He's not as agile as his brother, but he's a good all-around guard.

Riley Cooper, WR, Florida: With good hands and the ability to get open, Cooper projects as a classic fourth receiver possession target. Cooper doesn't run the best routes, but he's a heady player who knows how to get open.

Rolando McClain, MLB, Alabama: As mentioned on MTD before, McClain may be the best linebacker in the nation. Find more on McClain here. He'll be the best player on the field today.

Terrence Cody, DT, Alabama: The shine started to come off Cody against the Gators last season. He's proven to not have good lateral movement and doesn't break double teams. He's mostly just a space eater, and a big one at that.

Javier Arenas, CB, Alabama: Size and speed concerns will knock Arenas down in the draft. But he's a flat-out gamer. He's a good zone corner prospect because of his ability to makes plays on the ball. He closes really well and, like most Bama defenders, has good instincts. He's also a good return man with seven punt return touchdowns.

Kareem Jackson, CB, Alabama: While Arenas is a top zone prospect, Jackson will fit best in a man scheme. He can jam big receivers at the line and breaks up a lot of passes. He's a sound tackler and if he tests well he could go in the first 50 picks.

Mike Johnson, G, Alabama: Johnson just might be the best senior guard in the nation. He's a powerful drive blocker who uses his natural length to create space. His base could get stronger, but he has starter potential at the next level.

Three Keys for Florida

Year2 — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:00:17 -0000

Stop the run without sacrificing play action coverage.

Florida can afford to spend some extra effort in stopping Alabama's running game thanks to having a clearly good pass defense. The trick though is to do that without allowing Alabama play action game to get going. Too little attention has been paid to Bama TE Colin Peek and how he's one of Greg McElroy's favorite targets after faking a hand off. He can do some damage.

Florida will probably go to man coverage when loading the box, which means a linebacker will likely have to recognize Peek on a pass route and cover him. Brandon Spikes will be in run support far more often than not, so how Ryan Stamper and Brandon Hicks cover Peek will be vital to stopping the Tide attack.

Be able to find someone other than Cooper and Hernandez on third down.

The scouting report is crystal clear at this point. On third down, Tim Tebow generally goes through three progressions: look for Riley Cooper, look for Aaron Hernandez, and then take off. Alabama knows this, and so do the Florida coaches through self scouting.

Last year, little used targets Carl Moore and David Nelson caught touchdown passes on third down. Nelson is back, and Deonte Thompson is pretty good too. Florida has to be willing to go to those guys on third down because it's unlikely that the excellent Bama secondary will leave Cooper and Hernandez open. The primary targets are primary targets for a reason, and they'll get their shares of the third down throws. However, those two alone won't be enough to defeat the Tide.

Win the fourth quarter again.

There is a reason why Florida is a dominant fourth quarter team. Tebow just doesn't wear down over the course of a game as you might expect, and everyone goes through Mickey Marotti's hellish yet extremely effective off season conditioning program. Not only that, but depth in key places like defensive line allow the coaches to rotate liberally and keep players fresh.

It's very unlikely either team will put this one away after 45 minutes. It almost certainly will come down to who wins the fourth quarter again, and UF would appear to have an advantage in that regard once more. They will need to do what they do best: finish stronger than the other guys. That's no small feat against Alabama, but it will need to be done.

What will it take to pull off the upset?

outsidethesidelines — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:53:47 -0000

On Friday during game weeks I generally post a preview of the upcoming game, but I've decided against that this week. Both Alabama and Florida are already well known commodities, and in general everyone is aware of the key players, so I see little need in recapping something that most already knew in the first place.

Instead, I want to take a look at the things that we must do in order to pull off the upset. Florida knocked us off a year ago in Atlanta, and despite another 12-0 start by the Tide, the general consensus is that the Gators will send us to New Orleans once again. And unfortunately, I'm afraid to say that the general consensus is indeed probably the correct one. We're fighting an uphill battle here, and victory will not come easy for the Tide. Let's look at some key things the Tide must do in order to pull the upset.

Avoid the slow start. Sluggish performances early have plagued the Tide all year, and truthfully did for much of the second half of last season as well. That continued last week against Auburn as we found ourselves down 14-0 before we could even blink. Likewise, we got off to a slow start last year against Florida. We received the ball on the opening kick-off, went three and out, punted, and Florida marched right down the field for a touchdown. Simply put, we cannot afford another slow start this year against the Gators. We don't necessarily need a blitzkrieg from the beginning -- like the Blackout two years ago -- but we cannot get ourselves in a hole early and still expect to overcome that and get the victory over a team like Florida.

Win the field position battle. Offensively Florida is still a juggernaut, and giving this offense a short field is almost guaranteeing a touchdown. Last year, for example, the combined average starting field position of Florida's four touchdowns was past their 40-yard line. Likewise, Florida is very good defensively and any offense consistently forced to drive 60+ yards against them to get points is likely to be very limited in point production. Given that, we must win the field position battle in this game.

Limit the big play from Florida offensively. You heard all that talk about how Florida cannot generate the big play? Don't buy the hype. They might not be producing them at the prolific clip that they were last year, but this is still a big play offense. Riley Cooper had a 51-yard reception against 'Bama last year, and has had four catches of 35+ yards in 2009 (not to mention averaging over 17 yards per reception). Aaron Hernandez and Deonte Thompson both have big play ability. Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey both average over 7 yards per carry, and have had several 40+ yard runs this year. Again, they aren't producing the big plays at the prolific clip they were last year, but don't interpret that to mean that they haven't generated big plays. They can still strike you at any time, and we must limit big plays for the Gators.

Get off the field defensively on third down. Last year, in many ways, the difference in the game was the ability of Florida to convert on critical third downs. And once again the Gators bring that reputation to Atlanta... they are one of the top teams in the country in third down conversion percentage. Simply put, we must get them off the field when we have the opportunity. A breakdown defensively on third down gives them new life, which with an offense of this caliber will more likely than not result in points.

Stop the dive play and control the interior run by Tebow. For all of the talk of speed and spreading the field, Florida relies heavily on the inside running game on the halfback dive and the draws by Tebow. It is of the utmost importance that our defensive line can stop this on their own. If they can shut down Florida in this capacity, that allows the linebackers to play sideline-to-sideline, and it allows the safeties to stay back and limit big plays. If you cannot do it in the trenches, however, linebackers and safeties have to come up to stop the run and that is what really allows all of the elements of their spread game to expose you.

Establish a consistent pass rush with the defensive line. Blitz packages can be great, but against a spread team -- one that will always have checkdowns to high end players at their disposal -- led by a senior quarterback they can be of limited effectiveness. If you have to rely heavily on them in order to rush the passer, much like we did last year, it will many times be ultimately futile because you get picked apart on the back end. And to that end, we have to be able to rush the passer with the defensive line. Florida is young at the tackle position (one of their few weaknesses), and we must take advantage of that. Along with controlling Florida's interior running game, our defensive line needs to get to Tebow. Simply put, they need to play the game of their lives.

Greg McElroy must be a game changer. Remember earlier in the year when we were saying that McElroy had transcended the game manager label and had turn himself into a legitimate game changer? Well, that hasn't been true in the past two months, and McElroy hasn't played particularly well since the Arkansas game. He has been checkdown happy, hasn't been able to throw the football vertically, has missed key throws, and has made a lot of poor decisions. That is acceptable enough against teams like Ole Miss, Kentucky, and Auburn, but that all must change on Saturday if we are to win. McElroy will have to be able to throw the football vertically, and will have to eliminate dumb mistakes, especially turnovers. There is simply no two ways about this one... if McElroy plays at the game manager level, we'll need an almost perfect performance by the rest of the team in order to win, and that is simply not feasible against a team like Florida.

Offensive line must get the job done in pass protection. Lost in the very low Adjusted Sack Rate that the Tide's offensive line has posted this year is the fact that our offense almost never throws the football vertically, and thus the ball generally comes out quickly on three and five step drops. That makes the offensive line's life very easy, but against Florida they will probably not get any such luxury. We'll have to throw the football vertically and in turn they will have to protect on long drops. And don't think the suspension of Carlos Dunlap is going to dramatically change things. Florida still has a ton of talent coming off the edge, and remember last year that the Gators clinched victory not with Dunlap, but with a key sack from Jermaine Cunningham.

Run the football relatively well. Injuries are really limiting our running game right now with Mark Ingram, Mike Johnson, and James Carpenter all being slowed by some ailment or another, but they must overcome that this week and still play at a high level. Florida has a great run defense in their own right, and as a result we aren't just going to run over this team. Much worse run defenses than Florida have been able to shut down our running game (see Arkansas and Auburn), and we cannot allow that to happen in Atlanta. Again, we aren't going to be able to run it down Florida's throat regardless, but we do need to be able run the football relatively well (and do it on a consistent basis).

The wide receiver corps must make plays on the outside. Julio Jones had a big game last year in Atlanta, and he will need another one this year. Likewise, Darius Hanks and Marquis Maze -- both of which had big catches in the Georgia Dome in the season opener against Virginia Tech -- will need to use the fast track of the Dome to their advantage once again. We haven't been able to get the football to our receivers consistently all year long, and that must change tomorrow.

Kick and punt return defense must hold up. It's going to be tough enough to control the Florida offense and move the football on the Florida defense as it is, but it's going to create an almost impossible task if we have one major breakdown in either kick or punt coverage. Brandon James is as good as any returner in the country, and we cannot afford to give Florida a cheap score in the return. Again, given how difficult of a task we face in the first place, giving up a cheap score on special teams will likely be the death knell for us.

All in all, simply put, we need to play at a very high level. We need to play our best game of the year in order to win on Saturday, and anything short of that will likely result in defeat. We cannot afford to play like we did against Virginia Tech. Or Kentucky. Or South Carolina. Or Ole Miss. Or Tennessee. Or LSU. Or Mississippi State. Or Auburn. We're going to have to take our game to another level if we truly expect to beat Florida.

In short, what we really need is perfection. Of course, a football game (not counting kicks) usually consists of 120-130 snaps, and that's just entirely too many snaps to not expect some breakdowns, particularly against a team of Florida's caliber. Thus, as with most things, perfection is an elusive goal in football, and it is one that we will not attain tomorrow. Nevertheless, the harsh reality is that we are going to have to come very close to that level if we are indeed going to knock of Florida. They are on the verge of a bona fide dynasty, they have one of the top three coaches in the country, they probably more talent and depth than any other team in the country, and they are led by a senior quarterback who will undoubtedly go down as one of the great college football players to ever live. A "good" performance will probably not bring down the mighty Gators, rest assured. We had a "good" performance last year and it was not enough. It likely won't be enough this year either. Perfection may be an unattainable goal, but Alabama will need to come almost as close as humanly possible in order to pull off the upset tomorrow night.

Hope for the best.

Lessons Learned from Last Year's Game

Year2 — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:00:15 -0000

by Brant Sanderlin - AP

Just about everything's the same as last year. That must make it easy on the grounds crew since they can recycle the end zone patterns.

View full size photo »

Yesterday I watched the 2008 SEC Championship Game looking for things that could apply for this year's game. The squads are so similar to their former selves that the lessons from last year's game still apply to this year's. These are the top things that stuck out to me that might not easily come to mind when thinking about the events in 2008.

Watch Javier Arenas.

Arenas was a guy who kept coming up all over the place. He helped set up Alabama's first field goal with a great punt return. He also foolishly caught a kickoff and went out of bounds at his own four yard line, a field position nightmare that led to Florida's shortest scoring drive (a 57 yard TD series) after a punt.

He was also talking trash all game, nearly getting into fights on multiple occasions. If he's as hyped up this year as he was last, there will be plenty of times where his actions come to the forefront.

Field position is critical.

The two teams combined to get points every time they started a drive within 60 yards of the end zone except twice: Alabama started a fourth quarter drive at its own 41 and punted, while Florida ran out the clock at the end when starting at Alabama's 33. Every other punt came from a starting field position no better than a team's own 31.

Both of these coaches have been known to play for field position on occasion, and the two defenses are going to be fierce. The teams didn't take many chances when backed up a year ago, and while each was able to score on extended drives, they were money on shorter fields. Don't get antsy if your coach of choice plays conservatively for field position in this one. It will be even more critical than usual.

Can Alabama cover intermediate to long passes?

Three of Florida's five scores were set up by intermediate to long pass plays: a 51 yard pass to Riley Cooper on the field goal drive, a 22 yard strike to Aaron Hernandez on the second touchdown drive, and a 33 yard sideline pass to Louis Murphy on the final touchdown drive. None of these were screen passes where the guy got away either; in each case, the ball traveled at least 20 yards in the air. When Florida got close enough to miss a field goal on another occasion, the drive began with a 34 yard pass to Murphy.

A lot of focus on this game will be on Tim Tebow's rushing ability, and rightfully so. He often ends up with the most rushing attempts on the team each week. However, whether or not he will be able to hit on longer passing plays will be critical to Florida's offense. Florida's down a deep threat from last year's contest without Murphy, but Cooper is still there and Deonte Thompson has gotten loose on occasion. If Bama can cover long, Florida will be in great shape.

How will Greg McElroy handle the blitz?

Charlie Strong loves to blitz, and this weekend will be no exception. The experienced John Parker Wilson did a fairly good job of dealing with it for most of the night. When he couldn't find an open guy to throw to (which wasn't often), he still threw it away instead of taking bad losses. He didn't try to be a hero, and that was a big help to Bama throughout the game.

McElroy has not faced anything like Florida's blitzes yet, and for sure he'll see more corner blitzes on Saturday than on any day in his life. He was in the house for last year's SEC title game, but there's a big difference between standing on the sideline and starting. How McElroy handles things when some blitzer inevitably breaks through the protection will be a big factor in this year's game.

Who will win third down?

Florida converted on seven of 13 (54%) third downs, including all three Tebow touchdown passes. Alabama only converted on five of 12 (42%) third downs by comparison. I know between this and the field position argument I sound like a coachspeak spouting robot, but when the teams are this close, the essentials get magnified. The Gators were the better third down team, and that made a huge difference in the fourth quarter.

How will the officiating go?

I know the focus has been on bad calls by SEC refs this year, but we didn't have that last year, remember? Anyway, the tendency in the game was to let the teams play. There were borderline things on both sides that didn't end up in flags flying. In fact, only eight penalties were called in the entire game despite the teams combining to average 11 penalties a game last year.

How absurd will Gary Danielson be?

He's a great analyst, but Danielson can go off the rails sometimes. He made economy jokes. He referred to Alabama's head coach as just "Nick" all night. He talked about how he didn't play quarterback in the same style as Tebow does, even though that's been evident for years.

What will his new theme be for this year? Will he set himself up neatly for Verne to toss some zingers at him again? Will he feel the need to campaign for the SEC champ to go to the national title game even though it obviously will, or will he focus on making a Heisman campaign for either Tebow or Mark Ingram? There are few dull moments when Danielson's on the air.

Classic Moments In Championship Mode: 2008 SEC Championship Game, Alabama vs. Florida

mlmintampa — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:00:35 -0000

The second of Tim Tebow's 4th quarter drives against Alabama ends in the arms of Riley Cooper.

As for this season, expect a similar outcome in that the winning team will take a late lead and score to make it a two-score game to clinch the title.

An "Exclusive Interview" With Evil Tim Tebow

mlmintampa — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:25:00 -0000

While we were in Gainesville last week, we had an opportunity to meet with Evil Tim Tebow in his office in the back of Lillian's. Here is that interview;

We're sitting at a small circular table in a storage room at Lillian's. Tebow is wearing a smart looking gray suit with a white shirt, unbuttoned at the top. He has a glass, a bottle of liquor, and a Blackberry on the table. He leans back in his chair.

Alligator Army: Tim, thanks for meeting with us.

Evil Tim Tebow: No problem. It was a slow day today, I had time. pours himself a glass of Bushmills

AA: I think the question people want answered the most is why you have not had as many opportunities as last season?

ETT: First of all, I don't really care what people think. I care what my teammates and family think. Are these the same people who bitch and moan about how we don't have the offense we had last season?

AA: Well, yes.

ETT: Those people need to understand that this is a different team. Not just because we don't have Mullen or Percy. We're a running team. Our running backs are a lot better than our receivers.

AA: That still doesn't explain why we haven't seen you play.

ETT: This is year four, jackass. I can't come around every game and act like every game was a championship game. Timmy needs to play more this season. The guys would get tired of me and I would get tired of it. Last year, Timmy couldn't do it and I had to do it. This year, if I came around every game, Timmy would lose the guys.

AA: Off topic for a minute. You're Tim and the sort of Good Tebow is Timmy?

ETT: Yeah. I hate being called Timmy. Although I like Good and Evil Tebow. I should use that.

AA: Go ahead. Now, some of your most memorable games have been against FSU. 07's win got you the Heisman, 08 was a massacre after they cheered Percy's injury. Does this game still mean a lot, or is the bigger concern Alabama?

ETT: takes a long swing of Bushmills You play the team in front of you, so I'm worried about FSU, not Alabama. That said, I hate FSU. I've hated them my whole life. It's not just football either. When I first got to Nease, we had a kid on defense who liked to talk a lot and who had a Dad that played at FSU. So he starts yelling at me.

AA: That seems fairly normal.

ETT: I'm not done with the story, ass.

AA: Sorry, go ahead.

ETT: Evil Tebow leans forward But he goes too far. He starts talking about my family and our ministry. Someone told him about the orphanage, so it was the usual shit about abusing kids or something. So, after practice, we do Bull In The Ring and he's in. Coach calls out five, but at that time, I wasn't yet number five yet. The kid who is five runs in, and I come from the side and low.

AA: Take out his knees.

ETT: Hell yes I took out his knees. This guy is rolling on the ground and crying. Boofuckinghoo. I get up and I'm like, "My bad." And no one wants to go after me, because you know, I'd kill them. The kid ripped all his knee ligaments and I think he chipped a kneecap too. Never played again.

AA: He was that injured?

ETT: Relax, pussy. He can still walk. sips Bushmills, finishing the glass Well, he can sort of walk. laughs and refills his glass

AA: I don't understand how that can be why you hate FSU.

ETT: he looks down and spins his glass I have a very good memory and I use those things to motivate me and Timmy. looks up, lowers his voice Every FSU player is trying to hurt my team. Every FSU fan is trying to hurt my family. I have to hurt them first and I have to hurt them last.

AA: Do you think people are surprised that there are two sides of Tebow?

ETT: They shouldn't be. sips on his Bushmills

AA: But you're the good kid.

ETT: laughs Oh, really? You don't know who my roommates are?

AA: Ahhh, ha!

ETT: laughs harder Very good. You think a good little Christian boy could live with Tony Joiner? Or Riley Cooper? Coop punched through a car window! I'm not saying those guys are criminals or something, but do you think it was Timmy living with them? Or that Timmy was the reason Brandon came back? Come on. drinks more Bushmills

AA: Yeah, I though about you after the Georgia game, when Timmy defended Spikes by saying that UF wasn't doing anything Georgia didn't do.

ETT: Well, that was me. I love jumping in those press conferences and making those fat boys from the recruiting sites squirm.

AA: I've already taken a lot of your time, but I wanted to ask if you ever try to choose a random Bible verse for your eye black.

ETT: Well, Timmy picks those and they're always happy New Testament verses.

AA: Like if you did Judges 3:21 or something.

ETT: Oh yeah, that's a good one. He stabs the king so hard, shit falls out. leans back We'll see. Plus, apparently people are going to wear eye black with Bible passages. I'm sure Timmy will pick something safe like he did in the Oklahoma game.

AA: What do you think about that? The eye black thing?

ETT: Look, it's Senior Day, not Timmy Tebow Day. leans towards the table

AA: Yeah, but you know you're the star, people want to honor you.

ETT: But I already told you I don't care what people think and I don't care what they do. Timmy does, not me. You know, I see t-shirts with my number on them or that stupid I-Heart-T-Bowtie. They're making money off me. You want to support me? Use your ten bucks you spend on eye black and a silver sharpie and donate it. You've heard about the violence in the Philippines? Almost 60 people dead. And more people will probably be killed too. Guess where our orphanage is? On the same island. Why not donate to the orphanage, instead of buying eye black? Or donate to Danny Wuerffel's Desire Street Ministries? Evil Tebow finishes his second glass of Bushmills

AA: Well, do you have anything else you'd like to add?

ETT: Look, we have three games left for an undefeated season. I say that I don't care about other people, but I do care about our fans. On Saturday here and in Atlanta and hopefully in Pasadena, our fans need to dominate. If you expect us to destroy people, we need your help. And the students should stand up the whole game. We're not fucking Miami.

AA: Tim, thanks for joining us.

ETT: No problem.

Looking Ahead: The Return Of The Troubles

mlmintampa — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:27:47 -0000

More photos » by Phil Sandlin - ASSOCIATED PRESS

Browse more photos »

"These kids are spoiled. They don't know what it was like watching Ron Zook for three years."

As a Florida transplant, I wasn't a Real Gator Fan until I attended UF. The Gators were always my favorite college, but Danny Wuerffel and Steve Spurrier were as close to me as characters on a show. (Now I rip on current students for being lazy at games. I'm an old man.) It is one thing to attend games or watch on TV, but as a student, you see players walking around campus and going out. That exposed me to how unprofessional and unfocused the Zook Era was. How was Bubba Caldwell supposed to learn his playbook when he couldn't show up for the Age of Dinosaurs at 10:30am? Why should I have been surprised when UF blew a 23 point lead at Miami, when the players were more excited to go out the night before than playing in the game?

Those stories are few and far between now. College athletes will still skip out on class and everyone wants to go out on Friday night, but Urban Meyer's cultural change was a 180 from the Zook years. But those of us who were there wear the scars and remember the losses to inferior teams every time UF starts slow. I'm not trying to bring down the room, but Florida is looking at a 2010 season that looks more like Florida 2003 than Florida 2007.

Based on Meyer's comment that there are seven juniors that are "quality NFL players" and Jeremy Fowler's estimate of five guys, we will assume three guys; Carlos Dunlap, Joe Haden and Aaron Hernandez. All of them have an NFL body and NFL talent. There are always guys who leave after a championship who shouldn't, so we will include Emmanuel Moody, so would get more touches in the pros than in Gainesville.

Now include Tim Tebow, Riley Cooper, Jermaine Cunningham, Dustin Doe, Brandon James, David Nelson and Brandon Spikes. Throw in the loss of Charlie Strong and Steve Addazio (fingers crossed!), and you're looking at a legitimate rebuilding season.

I think most people trust John Brantley, but any concerns about the loss of Tebow was stifled by having a high quality backup. How many of you trust Jordan Reed to handle the ball next season? The defense should be ok, with enough guys in the pipeline to take over (Brendan Beal, Jelani Jenkins, we've seen Jaye Howard and Omar Hunter), but who would take Strong's duties? Even if you do trust Brantley, do you trust Andre Debose coming back from surgery, when it seems like every Florida player returning from surgery gets hurt again? (Cornelius Ingram, Dorian Munroe. Apparently UF's team surgeon uses push pins and Elmers' glue. The failure of those surgeries is a story on its own.) Plus, without Cooper and Hernandez, who is going to catch Brantley's rockets? I don't see UF wasting Brantley's arm and sticking with the running game like they have done this season. But I also don't see TJ Lawrence and Omarius Hines as the answer.

The cupboard isn't bare, but playing at Tennessee, at Alabama, at FSU and dealing with improved Georgia and LSU, Florida 2010 doesn't look good. Just something to think about between your weekly heart attacks during Gator games.