The Back Alley Archives

I don't know why, but this team looks poorly coached. I seriously don't like the showboat moves from Dustin "Hand Job" Doe and Brandon James.

This is the first week -- even after 23-13, 13-3, and 23-20 -- that I've felt that "we're not that great and we deserve to be beaten" feeling.

1. Brandon James looks like he's auditioning for Barry Sanders's job. But he's not quick, shifty, or strong enough to pull the shit he pulls as running back.

2. When we're down toward the goal, why do we move away from the spread formation and spread-type plays? Why do we go to the I? Why not keep the defense thinned out and allow Tebow to make the call on a pitch or a short pass?

3. As a passer last night, Tebow looked terrible. Completely indecisive. The Meyer postgame comment was, I think, a papering over of this: we put him in some bad spots, Meyer says. Well, yeah. He's quarterbacking in the SEC. That is a tough spot. A typical good QB makes his reads and he throws the ball quickly. Tebow's flexibility allow him to succeed as something other than a typical QB, but Steve Spurrier would have Tebow off the field by now -- he absolutely could not tolerate, if I remember anything about Spurrier, slowness of decisionmaking and release. (What was revolutionary about Shane Matthews is that he saw and he threw, like an NFL QB. The SEC wasn't used to a guy who could progress through five receivers in two seconds.)

When he does throw, he's hanging Hernandez and Cooper (do we have any other receivers?) up there like a pinata. They're likely to die if he doesn't start throwing a quicker, sharper ball.

I hope it's just a bad game by Tebow. But he looks seriously shaken out there.

4. Caleb Sturgis, what the fuck? Did Phillips diss Meyer's daughter or something?

5. Dustin Doe, the refs gave you six. You got stripped like Leon Lett. One thousand pushups.



A few things that mitigate my horror:

1. The penalty on Stamper was pretty ticky-tack. Should have been a touchdown INT for Florida.

2. This defense has stayed tough as nails with its All-American leader on the bench for two games. I mean, MSU's 19 points included 13 that the offense gave away on interception returns. Damn.

3. Still can't fault the special teams, other than the fact that our kicker can't hit the broad side of a barn.

4. The Gators went 3-0 against the West in October. We can bitch about how they did it, but it's a rare year when they do it. So let us celebrate that. Man, nothing looks terribly difficult between here and the SECCG -- until we take the field with them, that is.

Um, I agree with everything here, too!

USCe scares me a little. I don't think we can struggle against them and win. Agree with the Stamper penalty in that it was ticky tacky.

and i'm kinda pissed about the way deonte gives up downfield when he runs his route and is not thrown the ball...on several occasions, he'd throw his hand up to alert tebow he was open and then would stop running when the play got busted....he did that on the play where tebow was running trying to make a play on the short side of the field...tebow avoided like 3 guys in the backfield and chucked one up that hernandez missed...i too think the coaching is down as a result.

- as for james - i think that's part of his game...he's strong and fearless for his size...i like that he's always trying to make a play in traffic...i think his lack of opportunities has him trying harder than normal to break one.

- as for the I-formation where we scored, i thought it was such an unexpected thing that it may have caught the bulldog defense off guard

- i got to believe tebow is still feeling the effects of the concussion....since that play, he's not been himself...remember - even the littlest things like barking out the cadence or shouting out the play in the huddle trying to be heard over cowbells can make a concussed person feel dizzy...i gotta believe he's still off and he's still giving it his hardest...i'll say it because i know we all saw him give up on that interception in the endzone for a td...he got knocked down and got up but didn't really pursue like we've seen in the past...his decision to wing it in on that play in the first place was a total chuck up...poor decision imo....agreed w/your points about putting his receivers in bad positions though toothy...he's always done that...he did it with murph, he did it w/percy...bubba too...coop and hernandez are getting killed out there as a result.

- i haven't any insight on the sturgis/phillips competition...i'm sure there's a good reason for one over the other...i'll just say that the extra point missed might've been a hold issue and not a kick issue...don't know but i kinda have no issue w/sturgis kicking...he's proven he can hit the game winner already...i've not lost any confidence in him when and if that time should come where we'll need one to tie or win with 3 seconds to go.

- i was VERY surprised to see doe back out on the next MSU possession...i would've thought the staff would've sat his ass down...with all these celebration penalties and such, why the fuck is anyone celebrating before they get the TD???? WTF??? that's coaching and y'all know it....are we that thin at LB? can't we see a lil of bostic in there? not on the outside but can't we shift stamper to get bostic in?

- agreed w/stampers penalty being ticky-tack and that TD was taken away from us...the way i see it though, we got the doe call so meh...

- defense was tough and stout...though we got outcoached on a few plays...right out of the half, mullen audibled to a swing pass to dixon (i think it was dixon) in the vacated flat by haden...haden had signaled a corner blitz and mullen saw it...great play by msu...we didn't see another cb blitz the rest of the way.



i think this was an emotional game for both sides...both sides wanted to win this for their coaches...UF wanted to prove that we could succeed w/o mullens guidance and MSU wanted to prove that they can compete with their new head guy...both sides early tried to dictate the pace by going for it on 4th down...mullen called a fake punt and meyer the following possession opted to go for it on 4th down twice (due to a penalty)...mullen knows the UF tendencies...he knows the back doors...he played it well imho...meyer and staff did not prove that they can move past the mullen departure...there was no new wrinkles added and that was dissappointing


don't know if meyer has lost control at this point but i kinda get the sense that the inmates are running the asylum at this point...doe playing immediately after his fumble is clear in my mind.

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oh - and moody looked good imo...he's not exactly the power back i'd like to see running between tackles but we all know that's not his game...LOVED that spin move in the box on that one play...i just hope that the spin won't get him out of control and will compromise ball security.

so funny because Bill was SO pissed about that Doe run into the endzone and seriously thought that TD should have gotten taken away from us...at the very least they should have pulled him from the game for that.

I seriously think it's the coaching...but then after reading rad's post, maybe the concussion does have something to do with it. I have such a hard time watching the games this year, simply because I want to see Tebow play at his best and he just isn't. Like I said, I thought at first it was coaching because really...he isn't WORSE than he was last year and what's different? The coaching. But maybe it does have something to do with his decision making and the hit to the head?

I certainly don't want to sound like I'm complaining about 7-0 but the one thing that IS different this year than I've ever noticed since Meyer has been the coach is that he (Coach Meyer) seems pretty happy with this team and their attitude. I remember in past years that he would NEVER sound positive after a game...even after a win, he would get sort of annoyed at how the team wasn't playing like a team, etc. This year, he seems like he's pleased with the team itself...blames the faults on bad coaching or just "we need to work on that and it can be fixed"...I just had a dejavu of Ron Zook...LOL. But seriously, unless he's changed his attitude about coaching, or he sincerely thinks this team is great and just needs a few fixes here and there?


And I just laughed again at rad's last sentence in his first post...Bill got up and almost turned over the table when he saw Doe on the sideline smiling after his f' up. Started screaming about the coaching on that. Maybe the coaches think they've done a good job in that aspect of the game (players attitudes) and have forgotten that part of the job never ends? Like being a parent.

if you pull Doe...who do you put in?

You can't cut off your nose to spite your face in the SEC.

What's up with all the public whining about SEC refs nowadays after losing to the Gators? First, Petrino and now Mullen.

I'm looking forward to next week, when Richt will undoubtedly whine about a bad call that doesn't go UGA's way.

Man up, gentlemen. There are bad calls in EVERY game, sometimes they go your way, sometimes they don't. Even Spurrier didn't complain this much, and I remember getting hosed by the refs week-in and week-out.

What's up with all the public whining about SEC refs nowadays after losing to the Gators? First, Petrino and now Mullen.

I'm looking forward to next week, when Richt will undoubtedly whine about a bad call that doesn't go UGA's way.

Man up, gentlemen. There are bad calls in EVERY game, sometimes they go your way, sometimes they don't. Even Spurrier didn't complain this much, and I remember getting hosed by the refs week-in and week-out.

both teams were within striking distance of upsetting the #1 team in the land...i think it's understandable that they talk about it...not as an excuse from what i've read...but just a footnote.

if you pull Doe...who do you put in?

You can't cut off your nose to spite your face in the SEC.

good point i guess...tough to answer you...just goes to show that winning comes first before coaching i guess.

Jelani Jenkins. Move Stamper over and put in Bostic. There are a number of moves.

Jenkins was hurt for a while and thus fell behind. Maybe Bostic isn't ready despite the potential he showed? I don't know.

rad, you seem surprised by that. If Meyer doesn't win, but sits Doe, you won't see anyone applauding him for the decision despite losing the game. He knows what butters his bread.

Werd hater....werd.

But when does it get to point where someones gotta be made an example of?

Doe has been in the dog house before and has gotten back into the rotation based on injury and to special teams play. I can see a guy with a good track record being given a pass but Doe? C'mon. We've all read Hbobs reports about Doe doggin it in practice. We've all heard about attitude adjustments and not being in good playing shape. If there's anyone on the team that should be the exemplary player, it should be Doe given where he came from.

But - coaching never ends. Sometimes a coach has to coach and part of that is showing what to do and what not to do

Mr Doe clearly needs a clue and its a damn shame that Meyer allows that shit on his watch.

Who knows though? Maybe Doe gets called in this week and gets the bench. We'll soon see I guess

I agree with you rad...at the very least I would have liked to see Meyer giving him a lot of crap on the sidelines and knocking the smile off his face.

I don't remember the reports about Doe being out of shape or dogging it in practice. He had issues with remembering he's not allowed to drive, but I dont' remember the other stuff. I reserve the right to be completely wrong about that, though.

^ lawspeak.

^Code for I have no real response.

I don't remember those reports either rad. See if you can dig them up.