meyer reviews loss
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 7:54 am
Florida was a man down for some of its preparation early Saturday. It was not a player. Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Dan Mullen had emergency surgery early Saturday morning to remove his appendix.
Coach Urban Meyer said on his Sunday morning post-game call Mullen called a fine game in fourth-ranked Florida's 20-17 loss to Auburn.
"He told me at dinner time he had side pains, next thing I know I get a call that he's going to have an appendectomy," Meyer said. "He wasn't there for the first walk through. The second one he was. He's a tough guy. He still called a fine game. He should be fine."
Mullen might not have been 100 percent. The offensive line knows the feeling. Meyer said the line is banged up and they need to get better fast because the Gators visit second-ranked LSU next week.
Think Auburn's defensive front was fierce? LSU has allowed only 6.4 points per game. Opponents average 39 rushing yards and 135.6 total yards per contest. The Tigers have outscored their opponents, 199-32, in five victories.
"I don't believe we played very well up front," Meyer said. "We faced a good defensive line and we didn't control the line of scrimmage. That's the first time I felt like that this year. I didn't feel like we were consistently blocking them. We need to get those guys healthy and improve that because we're going to have a heck of a test this week."
Meyer said Florida's offense is too reliant on sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow to gain rushing yards. The plan is to get junior running back Kestahn Moore more carries but that will be a problem if the offensive line cannot open holes.
The Gators are not a traditional pound-ahead running team but Moore had only three carries for seven yards against Auburn. He and others, maybe sophomore Brandon James, are needed out of the backfield so Tebow, who completed 20 of 27 passes for 201 yards with a touchdown and an interception, does not continue to take a pounding when he runs the ball.
Tebow carried it 19 times for 75 yards. His 2-yard keeper with 7:36 left tied it at 17. He leads the team with 433 rushing yards and eight scores on 89 carries through five games. Moore is second with 286 yards and four touchdowns on 56 attempts. Sophomore Percy Harvin, who had seven catches for 119 yards and added 19 rushing yards on four carries, is third in rushing with 174 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries.
"We were doing decent and then we weren't moving the ball without (Tebow)," Meyer said. "Second half we called a few more designed runs. A lot of those were scrambles. The defensive line did a good job rushing the quarterback. The thing we have to watch is designed quarterback runs. We have to watch we don't call too many of them…We'd like (Moore) to get more carries. We'd like people to block better so we can do that."
More Meyer quotes from Sunday
On freshman Chris Rainey and why he didn't dress Saturday: "He's going to have shoulder surgery. He re-injured that. It's been an unstable shoulder since he got to Florida. Don't know exact date and it's not final."
On why wide receiver Andre Caldwell played: "Bubba didn't practice during the week. He just ran. He's an inspiration for us. He felt very good and was warm to start the game. The one thing you have to be careful about, I didn't want him in run plays where they can roll up on the back of his legs…He understands that. He wanted to play in the worst way. That's the reason he didn't get involved in the second half."
On responding after the loss: "The phrase I was taught as a young person is, 'the soul of a man is exposed when you get hit in the face.' I don't want to over-dramatize a loss in football with other things in life…How are we going to respond? I don't have that answer. There's a lot of character on this team and they are good people."
On Auburn's strengths: "They have a very good defensive line, a great defensive end and their inside guys are strong, powerful guys. We made a couple shots over their head but we also had a few incompletions. I don't think it's a scheme. I think they have some pretty good players."
On Jamar Hornsby's running into the punter penalty that led to an Auburn's first score: "We had a couple errors in the kicking game. You talk about getting your defense off the field. The No. 1 adjustment is you don't run into that punter and you get your defense off the field."
On the timeout before Auburn freshman Wes Byrum kicked the game-winning field goal: "We did that last year and I've done that before against South Carolina. It says something about that kicker about hitting not one but two. It's by the rules. Do I think it's fair? Sure. That's part of the game."
On getting the ball to James: "Brandon is a dynamic football player. He's a guy we'd like to see touch the football more."
On top-ranked teams losing Saturday: "I have great respect for college football. Any given Saturday you have to tee it up. It shows how hard it is to go unblemished throughout the season. It's a marathon, not a sprint."
On early impressions of LSU: "Just blocking the defensive front. They have very good corners as well. They have excellent football players and they're very well coached. I have not studied them yet."
On whether Florida recruited Byrum: "I knew about him because we know the program very well down there. We weren't really going to take one (that) year. To knock two in there, I think he's a great player."
On freshman punter Chas Henry: "He's getting the ball off in decent time. He had that shank and the 25-yarder toward the end of the game. Bobby Kane has a back issue. Chas is our punter and needs to get better."
Coach Urban Meyer said on his Sunday morning post-game call Mullen called a fine game in fourth-ranked Florida's 20-17 loss to Auburn.
"He told me at dinner time he had side pains, next thing I know I get a call that he's going to have an appendectomy," Meyer said. "He wasn't there for the first walk through. The second one he was. He's a tough guy. He still called a fine game. He should be fine."
Mullen might not have been 100 percent. The offensive line knows the feeling. Meyer said the line is banged up and they need to get better fast because the Gators visit second-ranked LSU next week.
Think Auburn's defensive front was fierce? LSU has allowed only 6.4 points per game. Opponents average 39 rushing yards and 135.6 total yards per contest. The Tigers have outscored their opponents, 199-32, in five victories.
"I don't believe we played very well up front," Meyer said. "We faced a good defensive line and we didn't control the line of scrimmage. That's the first time I felt like that this year. I didn't feel like we were consistently blocking them. We need to get those guys healthy and improve that because we're going to have a heck of a test this week."
Meyer said Florida's offense is too reliant on sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow to gain rushing yards. The plan is to get junior running back Kestahn Moore more carries but that will be a problem if the offensive line cannot open holes.
The Gators are not a traditional pound-ahead running team but Moore had only three carries for seven yards against Auburn. He and others, maybe sophomore Brandon James, are needed out of the backfield so Tebow, who completed 20 of 27 passes for 201 yards with a touchdown and an interception, does not continue to take a pounding when he runs the ball.
Tebow carried it 19 times for 75 yards. His 2-yard keeper with 7:36 left tied it at 17. He leads the team with 433 rushing yards and eight scores on 89 carries through five games. Moore is second with 286 yards and four touchdowns on 56 attempts. Sophomore Percy Harvin, who had seven catches for 119 yards and added 19 rushing yards on four carries, is third in rushing with 174 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries.
"We were doing decent and then we weren't moving the ball without (Tebow)," Meyer said. "Second half we called a few more designed runs. A lot of those were scrambles. The defensive line did a good job rushing the quarterback. The thing we have to watch is designed quarterback runs. We have to watch we don't call too many of them…We'd like (Moore) to get more carries. We'd like people to block better so we can do that."
More Meyer quotes from Sunday
On freshman Chris Rainey and why he didn't dress Saturday: "He's going to have shoulder surgery. He re-injured that. It's been an unstable shoulder since he got to Florida. Don't know exact date and it's not final."
On why wide receiver Andre Caldwell played: "Bubba didn't practice during the week. He just ran. He's an inspiration for us. He felt very good and was warm to start the game. The one thing you have to be careful about, I didn't want him in run plays where they can roll up on the back of his legs…He understands that. He wanted to play in the worst way. That's the reason he didn't get involved in the second half."
On responding after the loss: "The phrase I was taught as a young person is, 'the soul of a man is exposed when you get hit in the face.' I don't want to over-dramatize a loss in football with other things in life…How are we going to respond? I don't have that answer. There's a lot of character on this team and they are good people."
On Auburn's strengths: "They have a very good defensive line, a great defensive end and their inside guys are strong, powerful guys. We made a couple shots over their head but we also had a few incompletions. I don't think it's a scheme. I think they have some pretty good players."
On Jamar Hornsby's running into the punter penalty that led to an Auburn's first score: "We had a couple errors in the kicking game. You talk about getting your defense off the field. The No. 1 adjustment is you don't run into that punter and you get your defense off the field."
On the timeout before Auburn freshman Wes Byrum kicked the game-winning field goal: "We did that last year and I've done that before against South Carolina. It says something about that kicker about hitting not one but two. It's by the rules. Do I think it's fair? Sure. That's part of the game."
On getting the ball to James: "Brandon is a dynamic football player. He's a guy we'd like to see touch the football more."
On top-ranked teams losing Saturday: "I have great respect for college football. Any given Saturday you have to tee it up. It shows how hard it is to go unblemished throughout the season. It's a marathon, not a sprint."
On early impressions of LSU: "Just blocking the defensive front. They have very good corners as well. They have excellent football players and they're very well coached. I have not studied them yet."
On whether Florida recruited Byrum: "I knew about him because we know the program very well down there. We weren't really going to take one (that) year. To knock two in there, I think he's a great player."
On freshman punter Chas Henry: "He's getting the ball off in decent time. He had that shank and the 25-yarder toward the end of the game. Bobby Kane has a back issue. Chas is our punter and needs to get better."