FL Game Plan(s)

[Frozevol]

FL on Offense - With the way FL has been playing, and this being a home game for them, I feel like the game plan against us this year will be more or less like last year: run the ball, dink and dunk passing and try to limit our possessions. Also I expect FL to go for it on 4th and manageable most of the time.

UT on Defense- Our strength this year is stopping the run. The pass defense has been serviceable but it is hard to tell because we have gotten a lot of pressure on the opposing QB (VA nor AP had good OL play). We will learn how good our DL is this week as FL has the best OL we have faced so far. I expect we will keep attacking on defense to make FL one dimensional.

UT on Offense - I expect us to run the ball 60% of the time this week (we average 55%). I think Joe and the receiving core are not quite on the same page just yet. I do expect us to try a couple of long passes early in the game just to try and keep 6+ out of the box. FL will have watched the VA and APSU games and notice that we gave up on the long ball and did a ton of screens and short passes and will adjust accordingly.

FL on defense - pack the box and run blitz to try and stop our rushing attack and force Joe to beat them with his arm. FL will emphasize tackling in space as that is a core to our short screens.

I do not expect this to be a double digit win for the Vols. It is in the swamp and a night game. I do expect we win as we have the better team this year.

What do you think the game plan for each team will be?

Edit: Does Cooper Mays play this week? If so, does this help our run game? Remember FL has that 400+ pound nose tackle that now has a year of play behind him.

I think UF will say damn the torpedoes and come out throwing. Our corners are our weakness and they are going to attack it. And yes, they will go for it on fourth down.

 

[Frozevol]

How is he the weak link?

Both QBs in this game have a history of poor play in big games. I expect each will make some mistakes. This is a team game so the winner will be the one that can get past those and make some big plays. I am sick of hearing that our success hinges on Milton’s performance.

 

[ptcarter]

The difference is that it’s Mertz and not Anthony Richardson taking snaps to bail their ass out .

I just did watch the Austin Peay replay. Wondering how Mertz compares to AP's QB? That guy had a pretty good deep ball, was quick and good at the RPO. I wouldn't say he was doing what Rattler did last season, but I did experience some South Carolina PTSD watching him.

Interesting how a bad team with a great quarterback can hang in a game, and a good team with a bad quarterback can lay an egg (right Saban?). Do you think Mertz's style may be easier to defend than the AP QB style? He also reminded me of Ga's qb last year some. Obviously not the same supporting cast.

Making FL QB have a bad game is a big part of winning in the swamp. Also stopping them on 4th down. Last years game in Neyland wouldn't have been close with just a few 4th stops. Florida seems to work magic on 4th down against us. That's gotta come to an end. And for those who keep saying Florida played us close, I'll remind you that the onside kick they executed was a thing of beauty, but if they tried that 10 times, they'd be lucky to do that again. That ball bounced very favorably on that play. If they fail to get that, game over.

 

[Honest Abe]

The offense has been extremely vanilla. I expect us to mix it up a lot more this week. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a half back pass or some sort of trick play. I also expect more motions and pre snap movements in the backfield. Josh is an offensive genius, so whatever Florida tries to do, I have faith we are going to score a lot of points in this game.

On defense, we are going to get a lot of pressure on the QB. I imagine Tim banks is going to be blitzing a lot. I think we’ll have Mertz in constant scramble mode. If we can bottle up their run game, this will be a long game for Florida.

I think the Vols win big.

 

[greenbacknative]

Florida 400+ lb defensive lineman is a non-factor really. He is slow and he gets blown off the line. Utah OL made him look terrible. I guess there is a chance he has a breakout game against UT though. Chalk that up as a “coincidence.” He has not impressed me in the slightest so far.

he was playing in altitude though..

 

[volsincebirth]

I am hoping that the UF game plan includes each player having his own jersey number.

See I was hoping for the opposite

 

[RDU VOL#14]

I just did watch the Austin Peay replay. Wondering how Mertz compares to AP's QB? That guy had a pretty good deep ball, was quick and good at the RPO. I wouldn't say he was doing what Rattler did last season, but I did experience some South Carolina PTSD watching him.

Interesting how a bad team with a great quarterback can hang in a game, and a good team with a bad quarterback can lay an egg (right Saban?). Do you think Mertz's style may be easier to defend than the AP QB style? He also reminded me of Ga's qb last year some. Obviously not the same supporting cast.

Making FL QB have a bad game is a big part of winning in the swamp. Also stopping them on 4th down. Last years game in Neyland wouldn't have been close with just a few 4th stops. Florida seems to work magic on 4th down against us. That's gotta come to an end. And for those who keep saying Florida played us close, I'll remind you that the onside kick they executed was a thing of beauty, but if they tried that 10 times, they'd be lucky to do that again. That ball bounced very favorably on that play. If they fail to get that, game over.

I really didn’t have a chance to watch the AP game as closely as I would’ve liked. Having to watch my 1 and 2 year old by myself and the game being on a YouTube live stream isn’t a good recipe for being able watch the game closely. I think that Mertz has some more athletic ability than I realize, but he’s not even close to Richardson. I think we dared Richardson to beat us with his arm last year and he tuned us up pretty good, but we also did a good job of bending and not breaking through 3 and a half quarters. I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t blitz a lot early and try to see what we can do with our front 4. I could be completely wrong on that and we just try to hammer him, but that puts our corners on an island and no doubt that the Gators are telling Mertz just to throw the ball up on 3rd down and try and force a PI on Hadden or whoever. On early downs I expect a lot of motion and play action to try and get Mertz easy throws and to get our D to over pursue. Of course if this is how I see it, I’d imagine Banks has a very good plan in place that is pretty much ready for whatever they’re going to throw at us.

Overall, I think this game will be the hardest Florida plays all season long. This is a monster game for Napier and for their season. I hate to say it, but we’re their most winnable rivalry Game left on the schedule. They still have UGA, @ LSU and FSU. If we win this weekend we will break them and then Napier will be firmly planted on the hot seat. You can’t go 0-8 your first 2 years there against those 4 teams. Then you have 11 power 5 teams on the schedule next season.

This is the biggest game of Billy Napier’s career.

 

[sjt18]

FL on Offense - With the way FL has been playing, and this being a home game for them, I feel like the game plan against us this year will be more or less like last year: run the ball, dink and dunk passing and try to limit our possessions. Also I expect FL to go for it on 4th and manageable most of the time.

That seems pretty obvious so I will be shocked if they don't try something down the field early.

UT on Defense- Our strength this year is stopping the run. The pass defense has been serviceable but it is hard to tell because we have gotten a lot of pressure on the opposing QB (VA nor AP had good OL play). We will learn how good our DL is this week as FL has the best OL we have faced so far. I expect we will keep attacking on defense to make FL one dimensional.

CBs have to hold up so the front 7 can play run first. UT has been good at TFLs and that will be important to keep UF off schedule. The D's main job is to get off the field as quickly as possible. The death of this D over the last two years had been multiple sustained drives that wear them down and keep the O from dictating the game.

When UT scores quickly, it forces opponents out of their game plan. When that happens early, it is pure poison to the opponent.

UT on Offense - I expect us to run the ball 60% of the time this week (we average 55%). I think Joe and the receiving core are not quite on the same page just yet. I do expect us to try a couple of long passes early in the game just to try and keep 6+ out of the box. FL will have watched the VA and APSU games and notice that we gave up on the long ball and did a ton of screens and short passes and will adjust accordingly.

UT will run. But IMO, you will see the "vanilla" get spiced up. We really haven't seen Heupel scheme anyone open this year. I believe UT will take some shots down field. How well they do will determine the course of the game. If the Vols can hit a couple of deep throws then the run game will be wide open.

I'm going to be really surprised if UT doesn't throw a deep ball to the backside... one of those throws at a depth that only Milton can reach. DBs can normally drop off a receiver on the opposite side of the field 60 yds from the LOS... If I'm Heupel, I make them defend that by rolling Milton to one hash then throwing deep sideline to the opposite side.

FL on defense - pack the box and run blitz to try and stop our rushing attack and force Joe to beat them with his arm. FL will emphasize tackling in space as that is a core to our short screens.

I think they will respect the deep ball and try to mix things up like they did last year. Until the Vols prove they can throw and catch... I'd basically do what APSU did. Of course the danger is that if Milton hits those throws in the middle of the field then suddenly UF has to defend every yard of the field that Milton's arm can reach... most of it.

I do not expect this to be a double digit win for the Vols. It is in the swamp and a night game. I do expect we win as we have the better team this year.

I actually do. But the wheels could also fly off for Milton resulting in a really, really ugly game for the good guys. UT cannot just line up and run at UF. UF has too much talent on D for that. But if Milton can hit a couple deep and have the D get some stops... then UF will likely fold. I base that on what we've seen from Napier more than the players. He may have had confidence in the past but he seems a little Dooleyish to me. I think he's waiting for the next bad thing to happen to him.

What do you think the game plan for each team will be?

Edit: Does Cooper Mays play this week? If so, does this help our run game? Remember FL has that 400+ pound nose tackle that now has a year of play behind him.

That guy hasn't been a problem for any good team so far. You can't move him very easily but he's manageable otherwise. Their front 7 looked slow vs Utah.

I don't know how much Mays will play. I suspect he will play some. It never hurts to have a guy like him out there but the others have not played poorly. Based on Cain's recent podcast talking about how they "graded"... I think the Vols are getting much closer to a clear starting 5 and knowing who the back ups are.

 

[bonavol]

One way Tennessee can win is the way we did it at LSU last year. As risky as it sounds go to the deep ball early, get an early lead, and take the crowd out of it. Joes confidence will surge, our pass rush will be relentless and our D line will stuff the run.
No way Florida can score enough points to hang with Tennessee.
Also Williams will tack on at least one return for a touchdown.

 

[Ancient Reptile]

Probably why he is 3rd team on the UF/UT depth chart.

 

[McDad]

Ladies and gentlemen, we have nothing to fear in this game. For I, the least successful gambler of all time, have lead pipe locked our victory in Gainesville by betting big on the Gators. I have somehow managed to lose every sure fire bet placed in front of me for as long as I can remember. So this bit of insurance is money well spent. But I’ll still be doing my annual teriyaki gator grilling throughout the day, in celebration of losing my money later that night.

So? How much did you win???

 

[Fightmaker]

So? How much did you win???

$400 and change to the clear

 

[OrangeTsar]

Did we HAVE a plan for Florida?
Here’s what it looked like to me