Florida Gators Football Fanatics

1. Does anyone think that the Gators have a shot at making a BCS bowl?
2. And if so, how?
3. What current top ten team could the Gators beat easily?
4. Who is the best player on our team right now?

My answers to these questions- 
1. Yes, they are ranked 15 right now, getting into the top ten isn't that far away, and the top ten will be knocking eachother down for awhile yet.
2. They would have to continue to play well and win for the rest of the season, and the teams in the top ten that play each other would have to knock the others out.
3. I think our running game and our defense is a strong-point. So any team that is not very fast, and has weak passing, we could topple. For example, we probably will be able to beat FSU if E.J. Manuel's injury stays serious, because the Noles will have to use their back-up quarterback, which will open up an oppurtunity for our great defense to shine (in interceptions and sacks)
4. I think Chris Rainey most likely is our best player, especially after the pheunomal game against Tennessee.

These are my answers, now I'd like to hear yours.

Category: NCAAF

Charlie Weis has been really effective, certainly using the Shotgun Tight F21 formation. It is diagramed in detail here.

Category: NCAAF

The Falcons defense showed improvement from their second preseason game holding the Dolphins to 241 total yards, including 46 rushing yards. Miami’s vaunted rushing duo of RB Ricky Williams and RB Ronnie Brown managed just 14 yards on 12 carries against the Falcons defense.

The defense’s performance on third down also improved against the Dolphins. Atlanta’s defensive unit held Miami to a 17 percent conversion rate on third downs, going 2-for-12 in the game. The Dolphins did not convert a third down until the final minute of the first half.

Linebackers Mike Peterson and Curtis Lofton combined to stuff FB Lousaka Polite on fourth and one, forcing a turnover and leading to a 13 play, 54-yard drive and a K Matt Bryant field goal to put the Falcons up 10-3.

Lofton paced the defense with 11 total tackles (six solo), including two tackles for loss. Lofton played a major role in the Falcons’ success against the run.

 CB Chris Owens broke up a third-down pass from Dolphins’ QB Chad Henne to WR Brandon Marshall that kept Miami from converting a first down and forced them to settle for field goal. The pass was originally ruled a completed pass and a fumble, which Miami recovered. Falcons head coach Mike Smith challenged the ruling bringing up a fourth down.

 The Falcons took a 7-3 lead on their second offensive possession when QB Matt Ryan hit WR Roddy White for an 18-yard touchdown strike. The score capped a 10-play, 60 yard drive for Atlanta. In 2009, the Falcons led the NFL with 38 drives of 10 plays or more. They also led the League with 18 touchdowns on 10-plus play drives.

On Atlanta’s first scoring drive TE Tony Gonzalez showed why he is so important to the offense. Gonzalez caught a nine-yard pass, setting up a third and one midway through the drive. On Ryan’s touchdown pass Gonzalez ran a route over the middle forcing the safety to come down and cover him. This allowed Ryan to exploit a one-on-one matchup on the outside and find an open White.

DE Kroy Biermann recorded his third sack of the preseason when he brought down Henne for a nine yard loss on third down. Biermann has registered a sack in all three of the Falcons preseason games, including strip sacks against the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots.

Rookie LB Sean Weatherspoon narrowly missed his first sack, coming in unblocked and hitting Henne who was able to get rid of the ball but not find a receiver. Weatherspoon finished the game with four tackles and showed his tenacity by dragging Williams down on a pass play. After Williams initial stiff arm looked like it would shed the tackle, Weatherspoon stayed with the play and pulled the runner down.

Dolphins’ TE Anthony Fasano caught a pair of touchdowns against the Jaguars in Miami’s second preseason game. Henne targeted Fasano for another potential score in the final minute of the first half that would have tied the game but S Thomas DeCoud broke up the pass to help preserve the lead.

S Erik Coleman made sure Atlanta’s 10-3 lead was safe going into the locker room at half time when he intercepted a ball that Peterson tipped in the endzone allowing Ryan to kneel the ball and end the half on the ensuing play.

DE Laurence Sidbury recorded his second sack of the preseason when he brought down QB Pat White for an eight yard loss on a first down play in the fourth quarter.

RB Michael Turner saw his most significant action of the preseason, carrying the ball 16 times for 47 yards as the Falcons faced a 3-4 defense for the third straight week.

WR Roddy White led the team in receiving, catching six passes for 47 yards and a touchdown. White’s 18-yard touchdown catch was his first of the preseason. It was also Ryan’s first touchdown of the preseason.

WR Harry Douglas also saw significant action in this week’s contest. Douglas caught four passes for 41 yards, including a 12 yard reception on third-and-11 that gave the Falcons a first down and set up their first score.

Category: NFL

On how the final practice going into a preseason game went:
“It was our Friday practice and of course a little different in the terms that we wanted to get some of our guys that didn’t get an opportunity to play in the game last week for as many snaps, that are going to probably get more snaps this week, prepared. We went through some situations. We had a longer two-minute than we normally do, to allow those guys to get an opportunity to work that situation. We really worked on situations at practice today.”

On how RB Michael Turner has performed on the field so far:
“Again, I think you can’t just look at the games in terms of performance. I think you’ve got to look at the whole body of work and the offseason with all of our players, just not Michael. I think that he’s running faster than he ran last year and I think he’s running with more confidence. He’s going to be big part of what we want to be able to do during the regular season. I say this, all 32 teams right now that are finishing up the preseason, they all have different objectives. You know we’re going to play those four preseason games, and of course when we play the games we want to win. The objectives here in Atlanta, are much different than what they are in Jacksonville or what they are in Green Bay. I think there’s certain things that everybody’s working on and ultimately everybody’s shooting for that opening weekend because that’s when the games start to count.”

On whether he should be concerned about the kicking game and K Matt Bryant having some misses:
“As I said yesterday, that’s one of many concerns that I have. We’ve got to kick the ball between the uprights especially on extra points. When you’re kicking a 50-yarder or a 48-yarder that’s a little bit of a different situation, but we’ve got to make extra points when they’re presented to us. That’s one of many concerns. We’re trying to, right now, go through these last four or five days and put together a roster that we feel like we can go out and compete once the season starts. That’s really my biggest concern right now, putting our roster together. That kicking situation is one of many.”

On seeing both sides of the kicking situation in regards to last year with former K Jason Elam:
“I have. Of course when a kicker makes a mistake everybody in the stadium knows about it. An offensive or defensive linemen makes a mistake you have to have a trained eye to really know who made the mistake. So, they get magnified. Special teams is not like offense and defense. When you’re out there on special teams you’ve got one snap. It’s the kickoff, it’s the extra point, it’s the punt. You don’t get a second chance, you know, if you miss a block and it goes from first and 10 to second and 12 you know the offense has an opportunity to make up for it. On special teams, it’s completely different, there series are one down at a time. It is truly one play at a time with them.”

On QB Matt Ryan’s completion percentage and if he has concerns:
“Well no, we don’t want to be a 50 percent completion team that’s for sure. As we evaluated, Matt evaluated we saw some things that we needed to work on and I think we’ve got those things corrected. Again, it’s the preseason and everybody is working on different things. Everybody is holding things back. Everybody is working on certain schemes that they want to show, then there’s schemes that they don’t want to show. Then there’s working on routes, how they want to run routes. This preseason, it’s really an interesting time because there’s a lot of speculation going on across the League. I think it’s a great build up to the opening week. Next Thursday night the NFL season kicks off in earnest and we’re excited about it.”

On how players trying to make roster spots are mentally preparing themselves:
“I think the mental part of it is very important. The guys that we’re talking about that are fighting for roster spots are going to probably play more plays in this game than they will during the regular season. I think it’s going to give us an opportunity to see how they prepare for significant playing time. Most of the guys we’re talking about will be in back-up roles or special teams roles. We’re going to get a real good evaluation because they’re going to play significantly in the game on Thursday.”

On what a player needs to show him during a game to prove they can earn a roster spot:
“For one thing, they’ve got to perform at a high level when they’re on the field, that’s the most important thing. They’ve got to be efficient in their job. The second thing that I look for is, is it too big for them? You watch them on the sideline and you see how they interact with the coaches. So much of the game, believe it or not, is not necessarily when your unit is out there on the field. We’ve got to be able to communicate. Communication is very, very important. We’ve got to get information from the players. We’ve got to get information from the press box. Sometimes, those pictures that we’re looking at on the sideline, they’re still shots; they don’t always tell the truth. We’ve got to rely on the players and we’ve got to rely on the information that they’re giving us so that we can make our adjustments as a coaching staff. You want to see some composure there on the sideline. You don’t want to come over and talk to two defensive linemen and you asked them what happened on that play and this guy got double teamed, the guy next to him got double teamed, and the guy next to him got double teamed. I’m saying ‘now wait a minute, how many guys are they playing with out there on the offensive side of the ball?’. You want to be able to get information and believe me in 28 years of coaching that has happened on more than one occasion.”

On experimenting on third down on defense:
“We have to experiment because what we did last year wasn’t acceptable. We’ve got to look at different things. We took a good, hard look at what we do. We took a good, hard look at what the teams that do it well do, and tried to come up with a plan to make us and help us be more efficient on third down.”

On WR Michael Jenkins status:
“He’s on track. I think you guys may have noticed Michael’s catching the ball, throwing the ball. I think that time frame that we mentioned when the injury first occurred, I think we’re still on schedule for that. I can’t comment on that (whether Jenkins will be ready for the season opener) at this point in time, but I do know this, that we feel like he is on track. He’s doing everything in his power to get back

Category: NFL