Florida head coach Urban Meyer made the following comments during a Sunday teleconference following the 30-24 road win over Ole Miss:
Now that you've had a chance to sleep on it, what was the prevailing emotion about getting out of Mississippi with a road win?
"That's one's in the rear view mirror. Give a lot of credit to the team we just played because I think they're a tough physical team that wanted to win that one, that was the landmark game to kind of make a statement. We did not play very well. We did not play very well on defense, but to get out of there, I don't want to say relieved, but we're relieved. It's a great teaching tool to use for the future to realize exactly where we're at."
Kestahn Moore only carried once in the last 12 minutes of the game. What's his health status?
"He got a little dinged up, his shoulder, but he should be fine for next week."
It seemed like there wasn't much rotation on the defensive line in the game – what's the status of some of the young players on the D-Line?
"We're going to meet about that later on. We actually didn't rotate guys this week, they basically played the entire game, (Clint) McMillan and Javier (Estopinan at tackle) and Jermaine (Cunningham) and Derrick Harvey (at end). We'd like to get a rotation going but we did not, for whatever reason. That's something we'll still continue to work because it's not acceptable where we're at. They (Harvey and Cunningham) are frustrated, sure. For defensive linemen, when it's second-and-long or third-and-long, that's their time. We're not making the most of it right now."
Do you think some of the young guys, after everybody was saying how great the team was after Tennessee, might have bought into that a little?
"I just went down and talked to our defensive staff and I do believe that. When I first met Charlie Strong, when I was at Notre Dame, we talked about that, the buildup. The same things happens at Notre Dame and Ohio State, you play a good game and maybe you didn't play as good, maybe the other team didn't play well, but regardless, everyone's a hero and has all the answers. We did not play particularly well in a lot of areas in this game. You look at our history, the first year we beat Tennessee, play great defense and then just get crushed by Alabama two weeks later. Everybody had all the answers. So I'm very concerned about that with a young team."
Was the plan to get the ball to Percy Harvin as much as possible or would you like to see things spread out a little more?
"I'd like to see it spread out, but we're always going to have a plan to get it to Harvin. Jarred Fayson was wide open twice and we didn't get him the ball. CI (Cornelius Ingram) is very involved in our offense but he only had a couple of touches. We're always going to have a 'Get it to Percy,' because he's one of the most electrifying players in college football, but we also have some other good playmakers. I think we went a little conservative. I don't think Tim had that same stare he had throwing the football. He kind of muscled the ball a bit, for whatever reason, and we need to find out why. We had to move the chains to keep our defense off the field, so we went a little conservative. They played us in a defense that was forcing us to manage underneath instead of going over the top."
Do folks criticize Kyle Jackson maybe a little too much, especially since it was Reggie Nelson back there the last two years?
"That's the quarterback, regardless of whether it's fair or not. You miss a tackle and you're a defensive end, someone else helps you out, that's part of the position you play. You miss a tackle on the back end, that's a home run. I'm not aware of the criticism, I don't really listen to what goes on outside, but our free safety position has to play much better than it is right now."
Are you still wrestling with the notion of knowing what you have with Jackson over the potential of true freshman Major Wright?
"It is. I've made this comment and whether people agree with it or not, this is the way it is – with skilled athletes, you play 'em when they're ready, you don't play 'em before they're ready. There's a lot of people who say, 'Just throw 'em out there and see how they do,' that's absolutely not the case. We're playing a couple of young corners because, check the roster, we have no other choice. I'd rather not play young corners, because once you lose your confidence as a skilled athlete, a lot like quarterback or receiver, it's hard to get that back. We're four games into it now, it's going to be week-to-week. We'll see how Major and Kyle play and compare the two."
Tim carried it 27 times in order to win this game. Are you a little concerned about his durability over the course of the season?
"I'm far beyond a little concerned, I'm very concerned. That's no one's responsibility other than mine. Those were not all pre-designed quarterback runs. He did not have a particularly good game throwing the ball and at certain times, they would drop eight or nine people into coverage, and he'd tuck it and go get what he could get, which is not a bad thing to do. He had some that were designed and others that were due to the way they were defending us. I'm very concerned. Object No. 1 is to win the game but you have to take care of your players too. We just have to be very careful with that."
What's made this team so strong in the Red Zone on both sides of the ball?
"We have a great plan down there. We work it far more than any place I've ever been. Our first year on defense and offense we were not very good in the Red Zone. We just kept working and working and I think our players believe in the plan. We spend a lot of time down there during the week of practice, during two-a-days and during spring practice."
What changes about the plan once you get inside the 20?
"It changes the throw game completely. There's really not a vertical stretch you can't count on. When you get inside the 12- or 15-yard line, a lot of times people play what we call 'Goal Line Seven.' We spend a lot of time on it – the touchdown we scored against Tennessee and Troy – we research that. (Receivers coach) Billy Gonzales is kind of our Red Zone guru, he spends all his time studying how teams play and what works against it. So our passing game changes completely once we get down there. The run game is pretty much the same, we'll go with what is working. Having a quarterback who can run, you can spread guys out and then out-number 'em in the run game with the quarterback. I like our plan down there on offense. On defense, we spend a lot of time with our 'Goal Line Seven' package because it's been pretty good to date."
How much of the secondary's struggles are tied directly into the lack of a consistent pass rush?
"I wouldn't say it's all, but it's tied together. When your defensive backs are playing well, it's usually correlated with a great pass rush. I haven't had the final (defensive) breakdown with the coaches, but there's youth and you've got give credit to the guy who ran right by us – you can't blame the pass rush on that one. That's a real fast guy, the quarterback made a great throw and 80 yards later, you have a touchdown. It's somewhat tied, but you can't use it as an excuse – we've got to get a lot better back there."
You talked about Tebow muscling the ball, what does that mean?
"It's a little bit like when he first got here. He over-strides and tries to aim it. He also had unsettled feet. There were a couple of times where all he had to do was what call, re-set your feet. When the first option is not there, you re-set your feet and find your second option. That's something (offensive coordinator) Dan Mullen is really good at teaching and Tim has been really good at times this year (doing). He wasn't particularly good at re-setting his feet and finding an open receiver (against Ole Miss)."
meyer reviews game
meyer reviews game
Obviously, I wasn't enthralled with the way we played, but glad we pulled it out and happy with the way Urban is addressing the game afterwards. Can you imagine if Zook were still here? We'd have lost that one for sure and all we'd be getting now is that it's all correctable.
meyer reviews game
Wow to that picture of Tebow...the thing about him I love is that he is, plain and simple, a winner! He will not be denied! We haven't had that around here in a long time...I don't even think we had it when Spurrier was here. Shoot, I've said it before but sometimes I think Spurrier was more interested in winning with style than just winning at all costs. He'd rather lose pretty than win ugly. I know that's probably an exaggeration, but still. TT is the man!
Okay, let's try this!
meyer reviews game
Obviously, I wasn't enthralled with the way we played, but glad we pulled it out and happy with the way Urban is addressing the game afterwards. Can you imagine if Zook were still here? We'd have lost that one for sure and all we'd be getting now is that it's all correctable.
Agreed. This IS a rebuilding year, whether you like the term or not. However, the Gators' recruiting classes have made rebuilding years into top-10 years as opposed to 7-5 decades like the one FSU is currently enjoying.
Anyone who thinks the Gators shouldn't have growing pains should go back to review all the talent they lost to graduation and the NFL last year.
I'm very happy with the win, and the Gators will be a better team come November for having to sweat this one out. 49-3 doesn't make a team better.
meyer reviews game
i'm just waiting for that ball to pop. geeze
Can I borrow your towel? My car just hit a water buffalo.