SB Nation User Blog: tdchrisdavis

JEFF LUC COMMITS TO FSU PER THARINGER

tdchrisdavis — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:02:42 -0000

JEFF LUC COMMITS TO FSU PER THARINGER

party time.

Strategy vs Florida

tdchrisdavis — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:14:02 -0000

I know many fellow TN readers/writers have already given up on this game and are just hoping to not be blown out. I am not one of these people though. I understand the odds are against us. We will be out coached and out "athleted," however should a bounce or two go our way this is a game we can win. Take a look at UF's schedule this year:

http://florida.rivals.com/schedule.asp

Sept. 5, 2009 Charleston Southern (FSN-FL) W 62-3 1-0

Sept. 12, 2009 Troy (SEC-TV) W 56-6 2-0

Sept. 19, 2009 Tennessee (CBS) W 23-13 3-0 (1-0)

Sept. 26, 2009 at Kentucky (ESPN2) W 41-7 4-0 (2-0)

Oct. 10, 2009 at LSU W 13-3 5-0 (3-0)

Oct. 17, 2009 Arkansas (CBS) W 23-20 6-0 (4-0)

Oct. 24, 2009 at Miss. State (ESPN) W 29-19 7-0 (5-0)

Oct. 31, 2009 Georgia (CBS) W 41-17 8-0 (6-0)

Nov. 7, 2009 Vanderbilt (ESPN2) W 27-3 9-0 (7-0)

Nov. 14, 2009 at South Carolina (CBS) W 24-14 10-0 (8-0)

Nov. 21, 2009 Florida Int'l (PPV) W 62-3 11-0

Fellow 6-5 Tennessee only lost by 10, at UF. Arkansas lost by just 3. MSU lost by 10. South Carolina by 10.

The only quality teams that UF beat by 11+ are who? Georgia? Kentucky? Neither of those teams are very good. Now, there is something to be said about 11-0. You don't get there by a fluke. But an untimely fumble, bad call or injured quarterback in any of those games could have changed the outcome in a flash.

That's what I'm hoping to see on Saturday. Maybe Tebow will get a little too hyped up in his final home game and makes a bad throw. Maybe one of UF's anorexic running backs will get hit hard for once and cough up the ball (like last year). Or maybe the ACC refs give us some calls (like 2003).

I had a few ideas to float out here about how I might try to attack/stop the #1 team in the nation.

Defense:

Idea #1: Start Greg Reid at rover. I know this will raise eyebrows but really, what do we have to lose? There is no way Mangum gives FSU a better shot to win than Reid. In our system the rover is almost always either in man coverage with a slot receiver or is playing a freelance zone/qb spy. I understand that Reid is not a reliable tackler, but is Mangum? I would much rather see Reid in coverage, as well as in a freelancing position over Mangum.

Idea #2: Bradham should be on Tebow every play. If Florida throws Bradham should be spying the QB. Should UF run the zone read Bradham should take Tebow. Same with the option. If FSU does this Tebow's running ability will not be much of a factor. I'm also hoping Nigel can give him a few big hits to rattle Tebow early.

Idea #3: zone defense. We don't do this much and we usually mess it up, but it is needed. I've seen Tebow complete way too many easy crossing routes where his WR burned the DB for my liking. OU played zone against him last year and forced two silly throws that were picked off. I feel comfortable with Jamie Robinson and Greg Reid playing deep. Maybe even doing some sort of cover 2 inverse so the two Robinson's are playing deep. Tebow is not the smartest at reading defenses, but if we sit in a cover 1 all day it won't matter.

Idea #4: Lots of Mister Alexander and Dekoda Watson at DE. Our pass rush is terrible, might as well give these guys a shot at DE as they are proven to be more successful as pressuring the QB than any of our DEs. Also, I would use the prowler more in 3rd and mediums or 3rd and longs. Just keep an eye on that triple option shuffle to Hernandez.

Offense:

Idea #1: Need to get Jermaine Thomas going. We absolutely need Jermaine to have a big game. Give him some runs early to get him going.

Idea #2: Easy throws for EJ to start the game. Get his confidence going. I would be all over the bubble screens if UF stacks the box, as well as double flares or maybe a WR tunnel screen to Fortson.

Idea #3: We need to pull out the gadget plays. I don't necessarily mean double reverses, but we need to use the misdirection stuff we've seen a lot of lately with a guy like Bert Reed in motion and then run the zone read out of it. A TE throwback would be nice too. UF's defense is crazy fast, we need to use misdirection.

Idea #4: Control the clock. We need to shorten the game and give our defense rest. We should really stick to the run in this game and not try any unnecessary, low percentage downfield throws.

In closing:

I think the defense will play hard for Mickey, and I know our offense is ready to go and knows they need to score some points if we have any shot of winning this game. I truly believe that a victory is possible. If we can shorten the game, catch a break or two and not kill ourselves with penalties, freshman QB mistakes or senior safety mistakes, this team can win. Look back at the schedule - if feakin' MSU can keep it to 10, and keep in mind they threw a pick-6, FSU certainly can.

Analyzing film

tdchrisdavis — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 02:43:46 -0000

Disclaimer: This fanpost has nothing to do with Florida State.

Maybe this isn't the best place to do this, but I figured I'd give it a shot. To follow recruiting I think it's very important to watch film and come up with our own conclusions on players. Reading the reports given by websites, quotes from analysts and comments from other recruitniks is of course valuable, but I know that personally I would love to have a better understanding of just how to watch film.

The problem with highlight videos is that every QB has pinpoint accuracy, every WR has glue for hands, every OL never misses an assignment and every LB makes every tackle. It's almost impossible to find film showing where guys mess up, so you have to make the best of only being able to see what players do well.

Now, when I watch film of a guy like Teddy Bridewater, a guy many believe is the #1 recruit in the country in 2011, and then watch film of another dual threat QB, some random 3 star, I have a hard time telling the difference between the 2. Same with when I watch any RB film... they all seem very similar. All these guys are outrunning defenders, or throwing bombs past the defense, or blowing by blockers making big hits.

I guess what I'm trying to get here is for some of the guys who really know what they're looking for to give some insight to the rest of us of what exactly we should be looking for watching film. It's real frustrating for me how I never can seem to get a handle of what to watch for, what is important, what isn't. Just today I watched som video of Gio Bernard and to be honest, I wasn't very impressed. My thoughts were that he had some nice power but not enough of some other stuff that he would need to be an elite D1 back... then I read the ESPN scouting report and they say he has pretty much everything but needs to work on his running power! Very frustrating.

Anyway, if any of you guys who are good at watching and analysing player film have any insights to share, I'm sure there are MANY people on the site that would love to read.

Tallahassee Regional Thread: FSU baseball all weekend!

tdchrisdavis — Sat, 30 May 2009 03:40:23 -0000

We don't have one so I figured we could designate this to all things FSU baseball, at least for this weekend.

The' Noles beat Marist last night (game ending after midnight), and today will face Georgia, who crushed Ohio State and then proceeded to pound their chests in chants of SEC, SEC, SEC.

The Noles have freshman sensation Sean Gilmartin on the mound.

That's MaryAnne Gilmartin, who is apparently in the fashion industry in New York.

Ms. Gilmartin, you're not really good enough to be famous, and I think Sean Gilmartin needs to take over the number one slot in google image searches for "Gilmartin".

GAMETIME: 4PM!

Here's what Sean Breslin has to say (newer 'Nole blog):

Freshman Sean Gilmartin has had a brilliant season. Gilmartin has compiled an 11-3 record with an ERA of 3.64, bests for the starting rotation. In 84 innings, he has struck out 75 batters while walking just 35.

In order to beat the Bulldogs today, the walks must stay minimal. Georgia is going to hit, but keeping unnecessary runners off the basepaths will be the key to victory.

As for Seminole hitters, the task will be equally tough. Georgia will counter with their ace, Trevor Holder. Holder has a 7-4 record this season with a 4.34 ERA. If he has a flaw, it's that Holder has been known to give up the long ball. The senior righthander has allowed 19 homers.

T1: Gilmartin gets out unscathed, 1-2-3

B1: Noles get 1 run, but UGA pitcher throws 40 pitches, as FSU sends 7 guys to the plays. That's the Noles I know!

T2: Noles still lead 1-0 as Gilmartin looks great. Another 1-2-3 inning!

B2: Noles plate 3 on 5 hits as UGA's pitcher has thrown 60 pitches!

T3: Gilmartin 1-2-3! Faced the minimum through 9!

B3: Still 4-0 Noles, as UGA's pitcher is up to 78 pitches!

T4: Georgia 1B hits a bomb, 4-2 Noles.

B4: FSU with 2 k's in the inning, 4-2 Noles as UGA's pitcher is now hitting his stride.

T5: UGA down quickly

B5: FSU down 1-2-3 again. Need to chase this pitcher.

T6: 1-2-3 inning for Gilmartin with nothing out of the infield!

B6: 1-2-3 for FSU. Damn.

T7 1-2-3-4 for Gilmartin!

B7: Great play by UGA 1B saves a run for the Dawgs. Still 4-2 Noles!

The 2009 NCAA Tallahassee Regional Field welcomes:
No. 1 Florida State - 42-16, 19-9 ACC
No. 2 Georgia - 37-22, 15-15 SEC
No. 3 Ohio State - 40-17, 18-6 Big Ten
No. 4 Marist - 31-26, 15-9 MAAC

LETS GO NOLES

Denzel McCoy to GT

tdchrisdavis — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 19:41:35 -0000

Denzel McCoy to GT

per tharinger

Michael Snaer in McDonald's AA game

tdchrisdavis — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:24:29 -0000

So far he's had 3 touches: The first was on a fast break, he made a behind the back pass to a guy who dunked.

The second was a rebound, he dribbled past a few defenders and made a pass to a guy who missed a layup...

Then Snaer grabbed the rebound and laid it in.

I'd say he's doing pretty well.

#21, looks kind of small but he's looking pretty fast.

Freshman numbers for 09

tdchrisdavis — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:36:51 -0000

Today I received my garnet #99 jersey (just 30 bucks by the way) and it got me thinking about to whom this jersey would belong to next year with Everette Brown playing on Sunday's. And Monday's. And sometimes Thursday's.

Why not take a look at the whole incoming class?

Now, obviously there will be some more number changes by upperclassmen, but I have no knowledge of any other potential moves so I'll just give some thoughts on the incoming class and who I think should have what...

Using Warchant's roster, here are the "open" numbers for next year:

maybe 1 - even if Surrency is gone, let's give this cursed number a rest for a year, then give it to Joyner in '10.

4 - Thompson (needs a single number)

5 - Rhodes

6 - Downs (Derrick Gibson)

8 - Secord

19 - Haulstead (Esko is also 19)

24 - Reid (HS number)

25 - Pryor

32 - Harley

34 - Bright

49 - Mizell

50 - McDaniel (Or maybe have Jamar Jackson switch to give him 55)

61 - Orelus

68 - Prior

74 - Hicks

76 - Phillips

78 - Jenkins

84 - Smith

99 - McAllister (This is what I'm hoping for. Him or Jenkins should be 99, can't go wrong)

Stork is greyshirting so he can wait a year.

And please, let's give Louis Givins a number not 89, it looks ridiculous on him. Maybe give him 8, while Secord redshirts.

Commitment #2

tdchrisdavis — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 01:52:00 -0000

Commitment #2

NoleDigest either does a really bad job at disguising their premium stories, or they just don't care.

What should be the main focus this offseason?

tdchrisdavis — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 02:29:00 -0000

Okay, I know the coaching staff doesn't make a to-do list like I am about to do, but I think this concept can still work. If you were in charge of this team (so imagine you're Jimbo Fisher), what would be your main objectives this offseason?

Here is mine:

1. Recruiting. I'd like to see us take all of our current commits, in terms of new guys I'd like to see us bring in some good DBs. Byrd, Thomas, Hosley and McDougle are some names that come to mind, I'd be happy if we got 2 of those guys. Now, if we offered all 4 we'd probably go 4 for 4, but whatever. I'd also like to see another OL this class, as well as another DE. I don't think we need any more WR with how many we have, and how many young guys on the roster already, and with how deep south florida is next year with WR. Debose is the only WR I'd spend any time on anymore.

2. Quarterback development. Ponder, Manuel, etc. No matter how good we are everywhere else we will not be among the nation's elite until our quarterback play improves. I want the QBs to spend as much time studying film as Amato spent watching Wisconsin tape. We are going to face lots of zone defenses next year, we need to have a QB who can attack it and isn't afraid.

3. Coaching staff. I'd like to see us find another defensive coordinator, linebackers coach, defensive ends coach, running backs coach and defensive backs coach. EIther the DE, LB or DB coach should also be the DC.

4. Add strength to that offensive line and running backs. It is vital that we get bigger up front, they were pushed around too much this year. We will always face big DT, and the only way to control those guys is with muscle. Our RBs should add some muscle as well, no longer is Antone Smith the lone guy up the middle, we'll need Pressley, Thomas and Jones to be ready for that.

5. Work on discipline on the defensive side of the ball. We get beat by misdirection and throwbacks almost every time. The players need to learn to trust each other and worry about their own responsibilities. I know Mickey's defense is centered around attacking the ball and being aggressive, but teams nowadays take advantage of that kind of defensive style, especially UF.

6. Teach our defensive backs how to cover. We get called for so many pass interference penalties and miss tackles all too often. Let's teach our DBs how to play the ball and not take yourself out of position.

Thoughts? I know some of you guys might put my #3 at #1 but I figure #3 will get done next offseason if not this offseason, whereas #2 I'm not so sure about.

The biggest problem with FSU post-Richt: Player Development

tdchrisdavis — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:17:04 -0000

I have a pretty important final tomorrow and didn't really have any idea of what to write for today. That being the case, I've decided to feature a fanpost that TDChrisdavis wrote. It's sort of an extension of something I was pondering the other day. I think there are some other names that should be on this list. Enjoy.

I'd like to do a little thinking about the state of FSU football and how we have arrived here. Obviously there have been many problems in these last 8 years - poor QB play, poor OL play, inconsistent defenses, lack of playmakers, etc. But what the question is, is what lead to this?

I think we have to take a serious look at how well poorly we have developed our players. There was a recent blog post on this, but I'd like to look further into the past.

Let's take a look at our starters/big PT guys in the past 7 years, and how many years they had significant PT during that span.

QBs: Rix(4), Weatherford(3), Lee(2), Ponder

RBs: Jones(2), Washington(4), Booker(4), Smith(2)

WRs: Boldin(1), Gardner(1), Thorpe(2), Sam(1), Stovall, Reid, Davis(2), Carr(4), Parker(2), Fagg, Easterling

TEs: Henshaw(2), Irons, Carter, Warren, Graham, Piurowski

DL: Dockett(2), Johnson(3), Jackson, Emanuel, Womble, Bunkley(2), Wimbley(2), Fluellen(3), E Brown (3), Guion(2), Boston, Griffin, Moffett(2), Thacker (2), Stewart

LB: Pope(2), Boulware(2), Augustin(2), Nicholson(3), Sims(3), B Davis(3), Timmons(2), Hayes(2), D Nicholson (2), Watson(2), Verdell

DB: J Carter(3), Samuels(2), Ward(2), Hall(3), Watkins(4), McFadden (2), Cromartie (2), T Carter(4), MRG(4), Williams(3), Rolle(3), P Robinson(2), McClure

I don't have any OL data and the defensive data is a crapshoot, this is the best I could come up with from the defensive stats I got from seminoles.com

Anyway, there are a few distinct patterns in this data:

1. Lots of multiple year starters

2. Lots of freshman and sophomore starters

3. Lots of guys who started a bunch of years who were not that good of a player by their final year

Let's take a closer look at the multiple year starters/big contributers/players of note:

QB:

Rix - His best year might have been his freshman year

Lee - Never showed any improvements from the day he stepped onto campus

Weatherford - Like Rix, never took the next step after year 1 and might have even stepped back

Overall Improvement grade: F

RB:

Jones - Was a strong runner for 02 and 03, injuries plagued him

Washington - Steady contributer, never really broke through

Booker - Most impressive as a freshman

Smith - Showed potential early, never reached it

Overall improvement grade: D

WR:

Thorpe - Broke through for junior year, injuries hurt his senior year

Reid - Got better each year at FSU

Davis - Freshman year looked okay, by senior year he still wasn't anything special

Carr - Stat-wise, freshman year was his best

Parker - Breakout sophomore, not as good as a junior

Overall improvement grade: C

TE:

Henshaw - If he got better we wouldn't know with the way we use TEs

Piurowski - Bounced postions too much, still isn't a weapon catching the ball

Overall improvement grade: C

DL:

Dockett - TFL monster his last couple years

Johnson - Same as Dockett

Bunkley - Same as Dockett

Wimbley - Turned into a top pass rusher but got hurt

Fluellen - Looked good as a sophomore but couldn't continue or DT dominace

E Brown - Better each year, now is an AA

Guion - Decent contributer when he was out there

Moffett - Freshman and senior years were probably his best

Thacker - Not any better than his first crowd pump-up as a freshman

Overall improvement grade: B+

LB:

Pope - Pretty good player as an upperclassman

Boulware - Turned into a star

Augustin - Same as Pope

Nicholson - Good as sophomore, got a bit better

Sims - Freshman year was great, soph and junior was more of the same

B Davis - Almost left team, turned into our best player

Timmons - Big freshman year, turned into a great player

Hayes - Looked lost as a freshman, than turned into a pretty good LB

D Nicholson - Some improvements

Watson - Breakthrough as a freshman, injuried plagued junior year

Overall improvement grade: B+

DB:

J Carter - Decent safety in final years

Samuels - Turned into a good corner

Ward - Mostly a kick block specialist

Hall - Did show improvements, had a good senior year

Watkins - Freshman year showed promise, never lived up to the hype

McFadden - Very good corner by junior year

Cromartie - Decent freshman year, strong sophomore year then got hurt

T Carter - Looked great as a frosh, never got much better

MRG - Got WORSE after freshman year

Williams - Same as Carter

Rolle - Strong freshman year has shown almost no improvements

P Robinson - Breakout sophomore, step back his junior year

Overall improvement grade: C-

Now, lets take a look at at our Rivals 5 stars since 2002:

Booker - no improvements

Platt - never played

Stovall - no improvements

Davis - very little improvements

Watkins - no improvements

Washington - solid improvements

Sims - little improvements

Lee - no improvements

Rouse - brought back the funk!!

Smith - very little improvements

Bright - never played

Rolle - little improvements

Warren - 1 decent year

Overall improvement grade: F

FSU football has been the same painful cycle for years now. We start young talented guys, they show their skills, then they never get any better. The list of these guys goes on and on - Rix, Weatherford, Booker, Smith, Carr, Rouse, Lee, Davis, Thacker, Moffett, Fluellen, Sims, Watkins, Carter, MRG, Rolle, Williams to name the obvious ones.

In some cases you could even argue our guys got worse - Carr, Rix, Weatherford, Carter, MRG, R WIlliams to name a few. Clearly our player development is terrible, and it's hard to see just what the problem is. It can't be that ALL of our positional coaches were so bad? And it can't be that Coach Bowden held back our players that much? I'm searching for answers.

The 2008 team showed lots of talented youngsters we should be excited about - Ponder, Thomas, Jones, Easterling, Reed, Fortson, Bradham, etc. But with our recent track record, that fits in with just about every other year since Richt - good looking underclassmen who never got any better.

What do you guys think has been the problem? And don't just say "Bowden," if you're going to go that direction at least expand on it. Why didn't Bowden hurt our development in the late 90s when he coached the same way?

Also, Is this year different or is it just another promising group of young guys who show their potential but never get coached well enough and never turn into the type of players they should become?

Sept. 5, 2009	Charleston Southern (FSN-FL)	W	62-3	1-0
Sept. 12, 2009	Troy (SEC-TV)	W	56-6	2-0
Sept. 19, 2009	Tennessee (CBS)	W	23-13	3-0 (1-0)
Sept. 26, 2009	at Kentucky (ESPN2)	W	41-7	4-0 (2-0)
Oct. 10, 2009	at LSU	W	13-3	5-0 (3-0)
Oct. 17, 2009	Arkansas (CBS)	W	23-20	6-0 (4-0)
Oct. 24, 2009	at Miss. State (ESPN)	W	29-19	7-0 (5-0)
Oct. 31, 2009	Georgia (CBS)	W	41-17	8-0 (6-0)
Nov. 7, 2009	Vanderbilt (ESPN2)	W	27-3	9-0 (7-0)
Nov. 14, 2009	at South Carolina (CBS)	W	24-14	10-0 (8-0)
Nov. 21, 2009	Florida Int'l (PPV)	W	62-3	11-0