The thing with the jump pass is that it absolutely requires the defense to believe the QB is a credible threat to score running up the middle. When Tebow took the ball and ran two steps toward the line, everyone had to move up to protect the goal because they knew he could carry six guys into the end zone. Burton simply does not provide that reaction from defenses both because he's a different kind of runner and because no one really fears him yet. The jump pass is as poor a call for Burton as the dive play is for Demps or the option is for Brantly. I guess what I really meant is not that the jump pass is inherently stupid, but that I think it was a stupid call for that time and place. I like that we went for it on 4th down - that's exactly what an underdog needs to do in a game like this - but I hate that he resorted to a play designed for Tebow's team instead of calling a play that was suited to the strengths of the players he had on the field. I couldn't agree more, though, that the QB needs to be willing to pull it in and run if the pass isn't there. If I recall correctly, Burton wasn't actually in trouble when he released the pass and he may well have been able to bounce to the outside for a credible chance at scoring.
Rob From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Helen Huntley Sent: Sunday, October 03, 2010 2:04 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [gatortalk] for what it is worth... I dont' think the jump pass is stupid, but I do think that the person throwing it needs to know what to do if the intended receiver is not open. The inability to score when we're right on the goal line was the most disappointing thing to me in this game. If we'd punched it in a couple of those times, the end result would have at least looked respectable. The defense wasn't great, but it did better than the offense. I confess that I went to bed after Brantley's pass was picked off and returned for a TD to make it 31-6. I was shocked when I got up and saw the final score was still 31-6. I was really expecting something more like 46-9. Hopefully we'll play a lot better and look a lot better against LSU. Helen On Sun, Oct 3, 2010 at 12:51 PM, Rob Alexander <[email protected]> wrote: I must admit that, while I didn't think we had much chance of winning this game, this was worse than anything I had imagined. I wish that Meyer had never brought up the Bad News Bears before the season started; it keeps coming back to haunt us. We needed to have the coaches call a great game and they didn't. We needed for our kids to step up and play with focus and intensity and they didn't. I am particularly irritated that this veteran offensive line cannot seem to give enough of a push for us to get half a yard when we need it. I suspect that's why we try stupid trick plays like the jump pass. because Addazio has no confidence in his O-line. Given their size, strength and experience, we should have been able to score that touchdown straight up the middle in one try. But it is what it is (a disastrous night), and I'm happy to put it behind us and think about the future. So the real question in my mind is the last one Scott asked. Can we close this gap, even if we manage to get back to the SECCG (not at all a sure thing)? I'll take these positive points from this contest. - We DID get in the red zone five times in this game. In fact, we showed we can consistently move the ball against this excellent Alabama defense. That's no small achievement. Our offense gained more yards than theirs, so we do have the ability to get the job done. - Our defense did an excellent job. We held their Heisman Trophy winning running back to 28 yards! We held Richardson to 62 yards. We held McElroy to 86 yards passing. Seriously, if I had told you before the game that those would be the stats, would you have thought we could do that and not win? - What the score reflects is the number and magnitude of our mistakes, not our fundamental ability to play the game. Helen Huntley (727) 823-3801 www.helenhuntley.com <http://www.helenhuntley.com/> -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
