The Back Alley Archives

This has nothing to do with the loss. I would have started this thread had we won by 30. Our teams behavior is atrocious. I was getting fed up with the arrests before. Now, our team looks like an FSU or Miami team. Personal fouls, running their mouth, pushing and shoving, jumping up and down at mid-field taunting the other team, etc etc.

As I have said before, I have met Urban and have a ton of respect for him but I as an alum, booster and fan I am losing patience with the lack of leadership this team has. As the head coach it is squarely on his shoulders to raise the discipline level and standards this team currently has.


Thoughts?

This off-season is going to be the most important one since he's been here. I've heard him comment multiple times that we have too many guys who were along for the ride for the national championship and think they had something to do with it, without having made the commitment. I think yesterday may have been the wake up call.

I look for this off-season to be one of the most grueling since season one. Time to weed out those who've been cruising. And bye bye Jamar.

Agree, TT. That shit was just awful. I want to win with class and quiet confidence.

I didn't see it, but I heard someone on radio this morning talking about the Gators jumping up and down on the big Michigan M on the field.

Is that the truth?

If so, I'm ashamed. That is so classless. I think that Richt's stunt vs. Florida was borderline, but really, it was celebration, not a direct insult -- and they paid for it in two 15-yard markoffs.

I want to be proud of my school, and UF players must realize that they are its most visible representatives. Thuggish and moronic displays of the sort that FSU engages in cannot be allowed.

actually, one 15 and one 7.5 yard markoffs.

I didn't notice it but my guess is that it is the regular jumping up and down that they do during warmups of everygame. Might have been near the Michigan logo.

What they showed on the broadcast was that they came out halfway on to the field and started jumping up and down, like they were challenging Michigan. I would have preferred that they stay back on their own sideline after warm ups.

I didn't see the warmups. If I had, that would have been the only emotion I saw from the team then. Cause I surely didn't see any during the game.

Adding to what I posted previously, I have seen it posted on a couple of different places that after the game, Urban made remarks on the radio that he'd miss the people who were leaving this year who had bought into the system and made the commitment (like Bubba) but that those who had just cruised and were leaving could go ahead and move on. People were reacting like that was aimed at some of the seniors and who knows, maybe it was. I took it that it was more aimed at guys like Jamar Hornsby.

But think back over Urban's first two years. The first year, when we had some losses the players called players only meetings to rally the troops and try to regroup. Same thing happened after Auburn last year. Did you hear about that happening at all this year? I sure didn't.

Urban can only go so far. He has always about laying the groundwork and then the players have to buy in and take possession of the team. We had a small senior class this year; same thing next year. We need players to step up in the offseason and become leaders like we had with guys like Siler and Dallas Baker.

I suspect Urban will be having one on one meetings with certain players to push them to assume leadership roles, much like he did with Leak. I would guess that the candidates for that would be B Spikes, Tebow, Harvin, and Trautwein. Might also be some underclassmen like the Pouncey twins.

I didn't see the warmups. If I had, that would have been the only emotion I saw from the team then. Cause I surely didn't see any during the game.

I wanted to reserve judgement because I was there in person and you miss alot of things. However, after watching the game again on Tivo last night it became more obvious that we acted like classless assholes. I expect more from Gator football players. All of the jawing and jersey popping, taunting and things like that should be reserved for UMiami. I simply expect better from our guys I suppose.


We were a brawl away from being UMiami yesterday. We just needed someone with a helmet in their hands running in throwing haymakers.

Brandon Spikes was the worst offender. He needed to shut his mouth. He had at least three penalties called on him yesterday.

And yeah, they were taunting the Michigan players before the game. And I'm the first one to make fun of Kyle Jackson, but he was all class, trying to get the guys to stop and move back. He might not be the best football player but at least he tried to step up as a leader.

i thought the wr matthews, mike hart, and half their db's were worse than us. i don't mind a lil jawing and stuff. everybody does it. siler was great at it. i just wish it wasn't so 'animated' is all. doe seemed to be the most animate imho but again, imho, he gets a pass cause he was up against jake long all game... [img]{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_lmao.gif[/img] ... the back of doe's jersey must've been the most filthiest, most scraped up jersey of the whole team.

i did notice that the ones who seemed to be less animate seemed to have less of an impact or seemed to be the least effective (wondy, co-captain joiner, and haden)...chirping off isn't necessarily such a bad thing...it gets you in the game and when you're not chirping, you've got less vested into the outcome...usually, the ones who are quiet are either scared or playing with lack of confidence in their teams ability to overcome.....AGAIN, i'm not talking throwing up stupid ass bubba caldwell poses, and or throat slashing gestures or throwing up gang signs...i'm talking about the normal jib-jab that always occurs after the whistle on the way back to the huddle. it's a part of the game and i would be more concerned about those holding back.

I was not a huge fan of the taunting at the beginning of the game, but I concur that the team needs leadership from within. Next year we will have a good amount of juniors that I'm hoping will step up to leadership roles. I don't really think they need to be seniors to be leaders...Siler was a sophomore and was very much a leader on the defense both his sophomore and junior years. Left before his senior year.

I think that the offense is in good shape with Percy and Tebow being good leaders. But the defense really hasn't had anyone step up yet in that role. IMO. Maybe Pouncy will be the guy to do so next year...who knows. But while I do hold the coach responsible for developing those leaders, if there really aren't any that want to step up to that role, then the coach needs to go recruit players that will. Again, IMO.

I was there in person and the player I saw jawing the most was Tony Joiner.

i can see the point about wanting UF to be represented well on national tv, but i don't have a problem with our guys talking shit. i don't like when we look like we're trying to start a fight before the game. that's bush league and i don't really see the point. save it for the game boys, between the lines.

football is a violent, dirty sport that a lot of guys play much better when they are jacked up. talking goes with that. i know you need control and i don't want us to be a dirty team but talking isn't dirty, IMO.

i also am more forgiving of shit talking because i know that just being a fan, i cannot control my mouth during gator games. i can't imagine the emotion of being a player. i can't ask those guys to sit with their hands folded on their lap and smile and keep their mouth shut the entire game.

I was there in person and the player I saw jawing the most was Tony Joiner.

i'm surprised. on tv, everytime i looked, he was looking at the sidelines or picking up an opposing player...i'm miffed.

those of us who've played competitive sport know that shit talking is just a part of the game. you can shit talk with words and you can shit talk with your actions/posturing....i'm not a fan of the posturing and td celebrations and td flips and jamming your face mask into the other guys facemask and mocking of the gatorchomp. i just wished they toned that down.

i watched 97 on hawaiis defense throw up some gang sign gestures in the 4th quarter after he made a solo tackle (shoelace tackle at that)...i thought THAT was kinda foolish looking considering it was 41-10....USC 22 who did the flip crossing the goaline on their 2nd or 3rd TD should be thrown out of the game imho...that's poor sportsmanship.

^^Agreed on the flip across the goaline. I wish the NCAA would institute one of two rules. Either consider it part of the play, like holding, and back it up 15 yards from the Line of scrimmage. For instance, the LOS is the 25 and a player breaks a 25 yard run and flips into the endzone causing a 15 yard penalty. It would now be first and 25 from the 40. Instead of giving them the 7 points and backing it up off of the kickoff.

Or throw them out of the game. If the NCAA ever grew a set of balls they would make the penalty for taunting and unsportsmanlike behavior so severe that it would hurt a team or take points off of the board, then and only then would the shit stop.

If they wanted to stop the flipping into the endzone, they will start to take away the TD and put back up the ball 15 yards from the previous LOS. That would stop it. They don't have the balls to implement that harsh of a penalty.

unfortunately they won't stop the flip into the endzone until some kid breaks his neck on national television.

That is what I was going to say AA...I said this in another thread but there was a Bama player in their Bowl game that did a flip into the endzone with NO ONE around him and they didn't flag him at all. Inconsistency is what annoys me most. Actually, the lack of thought towards fellow teammates really annoys me the most, but still.

I agree Todd...take away the touchdown for such antics...just the threat of that, and I'm sure players would stop doing it.

since the ncaa won't stop it and until sportscenter stops making it a highlight, it will happen.

you know the worst part of it? even if they did institute such a harsh penalty, i bet there'd be one idiot who forgot the rule and did it without even thinking.

This is what I'm talking about with leadership and the players taking ownership of the team:

"We didn't have a very good offseason this year," Harvin said. "We had a lot of individuals doing their own thing. We didn't have that the year before when we won the national championship. I'm going to put that on my shoulders and get everybody back on the same page."

(...)

Linebacker Brandon Spikes said defenders know they folded at crucial times, and they have to get better.

"Throughout this whole offseason, we've got a lot of growing up to do," Spikes said. "We've got to grow up and man up. If we need plays to be made, people have to stand up."

(...)

Meyer also hopes someone fills Florida's leadership void. With only a handful of senior contributors this past season, the Gators didn't have the stable, steady leadership they enjoyed during their national title run in 2006. Harvin, a rising junior, seems the most willing to accept the mantle. Tuesday, he said he will try to force teammates to listen to their coaches because this past season's result "proved that our way doesn't work."

"I'm not satisfied. I'm going to get hungry, get to the offseason and work hard and get everybody else to play at a certain level," Harvin said. "I hope to get back to the championship next year."

Kick some ass, Percy!

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/jan/03 ... ges-gators

i want major wright to emerge as a leader. is major wright one of the targets of spikes/harvins words or no?

Major Wright should be. There are certain positions where I think you have to step up and be a leader. Safety is definitely one of them.