Chompin' at the Bit - Vol.5

Week 3 Recap

LB Jarrad Davis and team - Photo Cred: gatorcountry.com

I have to start off this week's post with saluting our defense. Those boys held North Texas to 53 yards in the ENTIRE game. I don't care who you're playing... you hold a team to 53 total yards in a game, that is pretty impressive. That unit played with their hair on fire and ended up with 7 sacks in the 32-0 win. Number 1 defense in the country? It certainly appears that way, but there is a lot of ball left to play and we need to stay healthy to make that a reality at the end of the season. LBs Alex Anzalone and Jarrad Davis were all over the field making tackles. We often talk about having the best CB tandem in the country, but we could be overlooking the LBs. Anzalone and Davis are first round talents making a decisive impact on games and it's fun to watch.

The offense played decent, but nothing spectacular, with most of the shine coming from the talented running back group. Each of our big 4 scored TDs and played very well. I still favor Jordan Scarlett as my go-to guy and my second back would be Lamichal Perine. All are very capable of getting the job done, but for my preference of runner, the two aforementioned would match more of what I am looking for consistently on offense.

Of course the downer of the game came when our starting QB Luke Del Rio went down on what looked to be a season ending injury. I just knew his season was over when I saw that hit, but thankfully he didn't tear anything or require surgery so he should be back for the LSU game in a couple of weeks. The OL still is not where I think they should be. They showed flashes of greatness, but also blew tons of assignments and did not keep a clean pocket for the QBs a good portion of the game. I'll reemphasize as always... without them, this team won't win. They have to continue to get better.

Week 4 Preview

WR Antonio Callaway headed for the game winning TD in last
year's matchup - Photo Cred: miamiherald.com

The week most of us had circled is finally here. It's Tennessee week so I am extra hyped about this one... I once thought of them to be a "rival", but after losing 11 straight, I think it's kind of hard to use that term. "Divisional foe" would seem more appropriate to me, but that's neither here nor there. Florida leads the all-time series 26-19. At this point I am just tired of the Tennessee hype. Predicted SEC East Champion, possible CFB Playoff Contender, blah, blah, blah... I have said from day 1 that they are overrated and I would say they have proved me to be correct with how they have played the first few weeks of the season. We own them and have won the last few years with sub-par, backup quarterbacks. As a fan on either side of the "rivalry", what would make you think anything different is going to happen this year? After what happened last week to Luke and how coach Mac defended his players, this Gators team is ready to go "run through a wall" as LB Jarrad Davis said earlier in the week. CBs Teez Tabor and Quincy Wilson have not held back either, by basically guaranteeing a win this weekend in candid comments they have had in interviews this week. Normally I would not agree with trash talking the opponent before the game and guaranteeing wins, but I think this week, this team, and this Tennessee is different. Exceptions can be made and I fully expect UF to come out and bust UT's head this weekend in Knoxville.

It's pretty obvious that all of the attention will be on backup QB Austin Appleby as he replaces the injured Luke Del Rio. Hopefully he gets good protection up front and makes some solid decisions to go along with accurate throws. He brings a running threat that Luke didn't have, so that should bode well for us if he needs to get out of the pocket. Expect a heavy dose of the run game with our four headed monster as well. WR Antonio Callaway is questionable for the game with that quad injury, but something tells me he will be on the field Saturday.

The defense, as I mentioned earlier, is ready to go. It will be fun to see them try and shutdown this Tennessee offense after they let them run all over them last year. That, plus the trash talk among the fans and players, reminds me of that year UGA stomped the field on us in 2007. I feel that type of disrespect and I'm sure you remember what happened to UGA the following year as well... 49-10 UF :) The key here will be staying disciplined against their run-option game. If we shutdown UT's run game and force them to throw, you might as well go ahead and get the celebratory shots ready because that's the ballgame. Pass rush situations equals our D-line eating all day long and I'm here for it.

Prediction: Florida over Tennessee (4-0).... Again... Make that 12 in a row. I just talked a lot of trash so I hope the Gators don't let me down lol 

Enjoy the weekend. Go Gators!