After settling down observations...

[Peyton Berry]

- That first half was still awful, even after settling down, and possibly the worst half of offensive football I've seen that I can remember. IF we had an average, capable QB we could have really took over that game in the first half. Heck, even if we had a QB that didn't turn it over 4 times in the first half we could have been all over Florida. I was glad Butch tried a new QB, it was time. But I do believe he stayed with Peterman 1-2 turnover's too long.

- The O-Line getting bashed a lot on here. Yeah, they could do better. But the defense wasn't respecting any pass greater than 5 yds, playing tight man coverage on the outside, and looking for the run almost every play. NFL O-lines stuggle under these circumstances. Until we have a QB who can either be a threat to run off the option in this offense or consistently complete a pass greater than 5 yards, it's going to be real hard for us to score on good defenses. I know we have 3, maybe 4 future NFL'ers on the O-line, but Florida has 2-3 future NFL'ers on the D-line.

- After everything he has been through, glad to see Palardy playing so well.

- I thought AJ and Randolph had good games on D and made some plays, but no one else really stood out. Seems McNeil was in position a lot to make tackles but didn't.

- I honestly can't understand how we couldn't stop Florida on offense in the first half (and first of the 3rd quarter) after Driskell got hurt. We knew they were going to run it someway somehow, but still couldn't stop them. Don't know if its coaching, talent, mental mistakes, or all the above, but a team that one dimensional had no business scoring 2 touchdowns in the first half. I seen bad angles on tackling, missed tackles, and bad calls all. From after the first drive in the 3rd quarter on, I give them a pass. Murphy settled down and looked like a real QB throwing and running. Looks like Florida solved there QB situation not even trying to, and Butch giving open competition and it seems like he has to play the less worse QB.

- This year it seems we are a good QB from a very good offensive team. I don't like his ways or attitude, but makes me wander how the O would look with Bray.

- Next year we SHOULD have better QB play, but the O-Line looks to drop off in a big way. Folks, its going to be at least another couple years before we will be able to see the fruit of Jones' recruiting on offense. Going to take that long for everything to come together.

- After the gauntlet after South Alabama, if QB play doesn't improve between Worley and Peterman, I could very well see Butch playing Dobbs or Ferguson around the Mizzou game forward, but not before then. Don't believe we should through out a true Fr. QB against the Bama's and UGA's of the world. Maybe so if one of them really stood out in practice, but if they were, one of them would have probably played today.

- Leaning more toward 6-6 than 7-5 now.

 

[TheBigOne10]

Yep, pretty much.

 

[ejvols4]

- That first half was still awful, even after settling down, and possibly the worst half of offensive football I've seen that I can remember. IF we had an average, capable QB we could have really took over that game in the first half. Heck, even if we had a QB that didn't turn it over 4 times in the first half we could have been all over Florida. I was glad Butch tried a new QB, it was time. But I do believe he stayed with Peterman 1-2 turnover's too long.

- The O-Line getting bashed a lot on here. Yeah, they could do better. But the defense wasn't respecting any pass greater than 5 yds, playing tight man coverage on the outside, and looking for the run almost every play. NFL O-lines stuggle under these circumstances. Until we have a QB who can either be a threat to run off the option in this offense or consistently complete a pass greater than 5 yards, it's going to be real hard for us to score on good defenses. I know we have 3, maybe 4 future NFL'ers on the O-line, but Florida has 2-3 future NFL'ers on the D-line.

- After everything he has been through, glad to see Palardy playing so well.

- I thought AJ and Randolph had good games on D and made some plays, but no one else really stood out. Seems McNeil was in position a lot to make tackles but didn't.

- I honestly can't understand how we couldn't stop Florida on offense in the first half (and first of the 3rd quarter) after Driskell got hurt. We knew they were going to run it someway somehow, but still couldn't stop them. Don't know if its coaching, talent, mental mistakes, or all the above, but a team that one dimensional had no business scoring 2 touchdowns in the first half. I seen bad angles on tackling, missed tackles, and bad calls all. From after the first drive in the 3rd quarter on, I give them a pass. Murphy settled down and looked like a real QB throwing and running. Looks like Florida solved there QB situation not even trying to, and Butch giving open competition and it seems like he has to play the less worse QB.

- This year it seems we are a good QB from a very good offensive team. I don't like his ways or attitude, but makes me wander how the O would look with Bray.

- Next year we SHOULD have better QB play, but the O-Line looks to drop off in a big way. Folks, its going to be at least another couple years before we will be able to see the fruit of Jones' recruiting on offense. Going to take that long for everything to come together.

- After the gauntlet after South Alabama, if QB play doesn't improve between Worley and Peterman, I could very well see Butch playing Dobbs or Ferguson around the Mizzou game forward, but not before then. Don't believe we should through out a true Fr. QB against the Bama's and UGA's of the world. Maybe so if one of them really stood out in practice, but if they were, one of them would have probably played today.

- Leaning more toward 6-6 than 7-5 now.

I really don't see 4 more wins on the schedule. I'm optimistic for the future under Butch, but this season (and likely next) could be ugly. The cupboard is bare, and no amount of coaching is going to make Dan Hood or Jacques Smith consistently play with the Dominique Easleys of college football.

Brendan Downs, Josh Smith, Brent Brewer, etc. I'm sure they put in a lot of work, but at the end of the day we can't be an elite SEC team if our starters are players of this caliber.

 

[biggestvols]

I for one think the defense is much better. Last year we gave up the edge and big running plays constantly. If our offense could get a few first downs and put a drive or two together, I believe you would see our defense hold up well.

Obviously, our offense is worse due to losing big time playmakers. But I'm not so pessimistic. I think our offense will find an identity and if it can score 17-24 points a game, we go at least 6-6.

Last years team was horribly coached but had big playmakers. If this team had Bray, Corderell and Hunter with these coaches, we easily win 8 games.

Think about how many walk-ons and freshmen are playing. This teams defense seems much tougher than last year. If the offense can help them out by not going 3 and out or turning the ball over every play, we will beat the teams we should beat.

 

[Grand Vol]

Some random observations...

- Kicking game has improved by leaps and bounds from last year. Palardy hit a 44 yarder right down the middle with plenty of room to spare. Last year we would have been cringing when the ball was snapped.

- And on the subject of kickers...if we get into an APSU or WKY situation next week, CBJ ought to consider putting in one of our underclassmen kickers for the PAT. Palardy is gone after this year so someone will need some working up. And as we've seen in the past, a good kicker can make or break a game.

- Still minus a great pass rusher. Defense is battling all sorts of injuries, but we are still missing that key player that gets into the backfield and creates all kinds of havoc.

- Worley has improved and if you look at where he was in the APSU game til now, his accuracy and strength has gone up. He's still not top SEC tier, but minus the Hail Mary at the end of the game, his passing was pretty decent on the day. He came in a little more aggressive than in games past and that's something that needs to be worked on further.

- Having said that...receivers still need some work. Saw a few passes that shouldn't have been dropped. Pig looked very good out there and it seems Worley was able to connect with him a lot better than other receivers. Timing with North seemed to be a bit better as well.

- Peterman...needs some serious work. Hard to take a freshman into the Swamp and expect miracles. But some of the plays were just outright being forced. His accuracy was nowhere near it needed to be.

- And on the subject of Peterman. With an injury, someone is going to have to be the back up next week. A thumb injury is a pretty significant problem for a QB so CBJ might have to end up burning a red shirt whether he wants to or not.

- Additionally, none of the QBs ran today save once by Peterman and he was pretty slow out of the gate. In the end both are still pocket passers.

- One thing about our QB situation, minus our freshmen. Peterman and Worley have both been under the coaching of Dooley and company the past year and two respectively. It does take time to unlearn bad habits and move into different offenses. However, Worley seems to be catching on. Could have been that the coach benching him this game lit a fire and he came out with the desire to stay in for good this time. Sometimes all that's needed is a little spark.

- Running game was/is in need of attention. I like how Lane will pound the ball and gets good yards even after getting hit. Neal on the other hand seems like he isn't comfortable heading up the middle. But both compliment each other to an extent. Lane is better in the middle bashing his way up, Neal is better on the outside.

- Someone needs to let Dallas know he doesn't have to run head first into oncoming defensive traffic each and every time he returns a kick. From time to time it's okay to head down the sideline instead of running right into the middle of the field.

Just some random thoughts from today's game. I do think the first half was extremely pooly executed, on both sides actually. But Florida made in game adjustments quicker than UT and recovered quicker. And them having a QB that nobody has ever seen before was not helpful either. No excuse, but it's kind of like a new dog. You have no idea if it will bite or just sit around on the porch. And today, we got bit.

But overall, I think we saw some better performances from Worley and the receiving corps today. Defense was still putting up a good fight and our special teams were pretty quick to stop forward progress in most cases. There is visible improvement, even if some people don't want to see it.

 

[governmentmule]

do you really think Bray would do good in the read option ? I doubt it,the more i see of it,the less i like it,since everybody knows the QB isn't going to run,get the QB under center and use the I formation,of course,that is just my 2 cents worth

the team didn't roll over and give up,is what i'm most impressed with,especially the defense,they were on the field way to long

 

[Peyton Berry]

do you really think Bray would do good in the read option ? I doubt it,the more i see of it,the less i like it,since everybody knows the QB isn't going to run,get the QB under center and use the I formation,of course,that is just my 2 cents worth

the team didn't roll over and give up,is what i'm most impressed with,especially the defense,they were on the field way to long

I like they didn't give up either. Worley is no more mobile than Bray. Bray would be handing it off just like he is. Bray would hit many of the passes Worley isn't though.

 

[gatorwrestler]

I'll genuinely be shocked if all 4 on the gators DL aren't playing on Sundays.

- Easley, Powell, Fowler, Bullard. -packages where those 4 are in (Powell plays buck and olb)- those are all 5 star recruits

 

[hillccs]

We turned it over 6 or 7 times and lost by 14 in the swamp...I would have said 35 points if somebody told me that