JessN: Florida wrap-up: Hopefully a message for Bama, not its opponents instead

JessN

Administrator & Editor-in-Chief
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Oct 13, 1999
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Florida wrap-up: Hopefully a message for Bama, not for its opponents instead
By Jess Nicholas, TideFans.com Editor-In-Chief

There are two ways to look at this game, a 31-29 Alabama win on the road in The Swamp with a quarterback who was making his first SEC road start.

You can choose to look at it as an exercise in guts and tenacity, and consider the flaws that exhibited themselves over the course of this game to be hidden opportunities for improvement.

Or, you can wonder whether Florida gave better teams a road map on how to beat Alabama in the future.

CONTINUE READING

 
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FaninLA

2nd Team
Jul 9, 2019
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Cantonment, FL
Thank you for the rapid turnaround on your analysis. I always look forward to a great read. I must confess that I am now concerned about some of the very issues you highlighted.
 
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BayouBama75

All-SEC
Dec 7, 2001
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Thanks for the analysis. I thought we looked very slow on D in the second half. I agree with you on the middle of our D, inside LBs and Safeties. Our corners still get too many PI calls, especially with a passer who is not spot on accurate. The O got stale after the first 21 points instead of trying to pour it on. Mullens usually plays Bama tough but doesn't win. Ole Miss will present some challenges with their O. We will need to score a lot of points.
 

twofbyc

Hall of Fame
Oct 14, 2009
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Thanks for the analysis. I thought we looked very slow on D in the second half. I agree with you on the middle of our D, inside LBs and Safeties. Our corners still get too many PI calls, especially with a passer who is not spot on accurate. The O got stale after the first 21 points instead of trying to pour it on. Mullens usually plays Bama tough but doesn't win. Ole Miss will present some challenges with their O. We will need to score a lot of points.
More points than Bama has scored yet, and by more than a few.
 

GrayTide

Hall of Fame
Nov 15, 2005
18,810
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Greenbow, Alabama
I agree that Ole Miss and Arkansas both have the offensive chops to win unless a better defense reappears. While Ole Miss doesn't have the defense of Florida, their offense and skilled players are better than Florida's. What little I have seen of Arkansas this year, they seem to be a mirror image of Florida, although less talented. I continue to be underwhelmed with O'Brien's play calling. I am not going to predict wins and losses, but, there are quite a few teams (beyond TAMU) who could keep us out of a December trip to Atlanta.
 

Rush

All-American
Jul 5, 2011
3,190
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Ontario, Canada
Thanks Jess, for the usual detailed breakdown and incisive analysis.

Turned around in record time, no less...

Could not agree more about the Safety play, particularly in the second half...
 

JayBama_in_PCOLA

All-American
Oct 2, 2020
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Andalusia (living in Pace/Pensacola, Fl)
Every single point made was spot on. It isn’t time to panic of course, but you have to wonder what’s really going on with this team. When we have the intensity we look like we can beat an NFL team. Once we go up big, well, not so much. We took our foot off the gas and played to survive, or seemingly did. TOO MANY DROPPED PASSES! That has to stop. TD passes at that!
 

STONECOLDSABAN

All-American
Sep 21, 2007
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Mobile, AL
Every single point made was spot on. It isn’t time to panic of course, but you have to wonder what’s really going on with this team. When we have the intensity we look like we can beat an NFL team. Once we go up big, well, not so much. We took our foot off the gas and played to survive, or seemingly did. TOO MANY DROPPED PASSES! That has to stop. TD passes at that!
Unfortunately, inexperience, and complacency can be a real team killer.
 
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Tideflyer

Hall of Fame
Dec 14, 2011
7,828
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Savannah, GA
Sometimes in life in general, it`s beneficial when someone shows you in no uncertain terms that you may well not be as good as you thought you were in whatever the endeavor in question might be. To what extent that applies to the team probably varies from player to player, but I hope they`re all mature enough to benefit from yesterday`s lessons.
 
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Crimson Speed

All-American
Oct 2, 2005
4,751
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The Shoals, North West Alabama
Jess, as usual, your thoughts are on point. I view this team as far away from being a championship contender. However, I can remember having this opinion before and things turned out just fine. I believe any issues with the offensive line can be corrected in short order. But, I was stunned at the performance of our defense. The defensive line got pushed around for three quarters. When that happens, linebackers and the backfielders are in a guessing mode. If (and a big if) this DL can be fixed, this team will take a huge step forward. The good news is we have the best coach in the business and he knows a little something about team defense. For now, I remain cautiously optimistic.
 

bamadwain

All-American
Oct 8, 2018
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Jackson Tn
Great analysis as always! I wonder when we play OLE MISS why couldn't we Moody over the nose to get some pressure since they dont run much inside?
 

Bill from NYC

Scout Team
Dec 24, 2020
187
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Thanks Jess for a great summary as usual. Your posts are far superior to those I read on the mainstreem media. I just want to add a couple of thoughts if I may.....

1) Bryce really needed this game as a learning experience. He is a smart, calm kid but he blew many opportunities to take advantage of running lanes and held the ball WAY to long in many instances. It was almost as if he was instructed to do so. I can almost understand, in that if we lose Bryce the season is probably over in terms of winning a title. Sorry, this is jmo.

2) We are spoiled. Bryce had Metchie for an easy TD (imo) and threw it behind him. If he lead Metchie just a little, he was gone. Mac would have completed that pass 99 out of 100 times. I am very fond of Bryce, and he has better mobility than Mac but again, he didn't use it.

3) I didn't understand the defense. If you did, please explain. Harris and Sanders dominated the first quarter. In fact, Sanders caused the interception with his pass rush, and even managed to hit their QB on that play. Harris was making play after play. Why did this just disappear. Was it coaching? The scheme?

4) Do we need to see more of Jace and Sanders at RB? Note that this is a question, not a statement.

5) In all, I will take this win despite the slim margin. It was certainly a learning experience for many players and possibly, some assistant coaches. Bryce was starting his first away game in front of a loud, hostile crowd and a broken clock to boot and we were triumphant. We could have lost.

6) ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

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