Not beating a dead horse talking about some of things that stood out and have been talked about the most. But other thoughts...
1. The Blades Jr penalty. Just so irresponsible. Would have had 1st and 10 at the Gators 25 if not for that. I understand it's an intense, emotional game Blades Jr has that emotion in his blood, but that's not the way to express it.
2. Choosing to go for 4th & 9 rather than attempting a 47 yard FG. Didn't get this decision. Couldn't have been because of the clock, there was over 4 minutes left in the game. That's more than enough time to kick a FG, get a stop, and try to get in range to kick a game-winning FG. Would REALLY like to know if it because the coaches had lost some faith in Baxa after the miss or if they just didn't think he could make it from 47 yards. I thought he had a big leg?
3. The "holding" call on Mallory.. grrr!!! I don't think it was a hold honestly. But he didn't even need to commit anything that would have been close to a hold. Baxa picked up the first down easily. Can say that the late hit negated the hold but if they don't make the call it's first down inside the 10.
4. The fake FG was a HELL of a call, and executed perfectly. It actually looked like Baxa was gonna take it in for a TD once he got the pitch after both of Florida's players on the end of the line crashed down inside.
5. That long TD by Toney seemed like a busted defensive play. Not just the obvious missed tackles, but Toney motioned across the formation before the ball was snap. There was no shift or adjustment at all by the defense when he went in motion, like they paid no attention to him. Hence why Florida had the big numbers advantage once they threw the quick pass to him.
6. The fake punt call by Mullen was BALLSY. Inside their own 40, if that doesn't then they're basically giving us at least a FG. We actually didn't defend it that poorly. Blades almost made the play but that punter had some speed.
7. To come away with no points after Amari Carter's pick was devastating. Just took momentum in a big way after Dallas' long TD run. Carter gets the pick two plays later and for the first time all night, I was like holy shit we might actually win this game. A TD to go up 10 after that may have sealed it for us. To not even get a FG there after Carter took it back to the 25 was brutal.
8. Deejay is a freaking stud. It's really impressive how slippery of a runner he is, and showed nice speed on the long TD run. Can tell him dropping weight this offseason is already paying off.
9. Furthermore, Cam Harris looked good as well. The long run that was negated by penalty was nice. We have very nice talent at RB, just not great depth.
10. BREVIN.F'IN.JORDAN. Straight killer. No such thing as too many touches for him. Hopefully Darnell Washington was watching how we used him.
11. Scrap the Martell wildcat package. Got nothing from it, and even made some situations worse. Just total wasted downs. Maybe it expands and he becomes a threat to pass out of it, but until he does it's pointless. Every time I saw Ohio St try to bring him in to do the same thing, it never worked because it was so obvious what they were doing.
12. First and 10 at the 11yd line following the late hit on Baxa. I don't know what plays Enos loves the most but he has to pull them out right there. Absolutely, positively have to get 7 there. Our win probability probably jumps to like a 98% if we go up 10 at that point.
13. Expanding on 12, really disappointed Jordan didn't get any targets in that sequence. Jordan and/or Mallory need to be the primary focus in the redzone all the time. Jordan in particular is too good not to go to in that situation. Even further, motion him out wide to get him singled up in space. He's too big for a corner or safety and too athletic for most LBs. Same with Mallory. For instance, imagine if that comeback route that Thomas almost pulled in for a TD was thrown to Jordan or Mallory. With the size and length they have, and ability to shield off a defender, that's a guaranteed TD.
14. It's kinda crazy that Jordan still almost pulled in that catch in the endzone on 3rd down on the last drive with two defenders draped on him. The ball got through to him, maybe if he doesn't hit the ground so hard then he's able to pull it in. How epic of a catch would that have been!
15. If we all were told before the game that we'd hold Florida to 50 yards rushing(I think?) and force FOUR turnovers, we'd all be like no freaking way! Not capitalizing on turnovers are such a punch to the gut.
16. Pope was ready to transfer last season after not getting many snaps. I can't imagine he'll be thrilled with getting passed up by a QB who has been playing WR for like two weeks or so.
Bunch of random thoughts I know but that was such a wild game. Definitely have some things to work on but also a lot to be excited about. I really do think the team can and will have a good season. Go Canes!
1. The Blades Jr penalty. Just so irresponsible. Would have had 1st and 10 at the Gators 25 if not for that. I understand it's an intense, emotional game Blades Jr has that emotion in his blood, but that's not the way to express it.
2. Choosing to go for 4th & 9 rather than attempting a 47 yard FG. Didn't get this decision. Couldn't have been because of the clock, there was over 4 minutes left in the game. That's more than enough time to kick a FG, get a stop, and try to get in range to kick a game-winning FG. Would REALLY like to know if it because the coaches had lost some faith in Baxa after the miss or if they just didn't think he could make it from 47 yards. I thought he had a big leg?
3. The "holding" call on Mallory.. grrr!!! I don't think it was a hold honestly. But he didn't even need to commit anything that would have been close to a hold. Baxa picked up the first down easily. Can say that the late hit negated the hold but if they don't make the call it's first down inside the 10.
4. The fake FG was a HELL of a call, and executed perfectly. It actually looked like Baxa was gonna take it in for a TD once he got the pitch after both of Florida's players on the end of the line crashed down inside.
5. That long TD by Toney seemed like a busted defensive play. Not just the obvious missed tackles, but Toney motioned across the formation before the ball was snap. There was no shift or adjustment at all by the defense when he went in motion, like they paid no attention to him. Hence why Florida had the big numbers advantage once they threw the quick pass to him.
6. The fake punt call by Mullen was BALLSY. Inside their own 40, if that doesn't then they're basically giving us at least a FG. We actually didn't defend it that poorly. Blades almost made the play but that punter had some speed.
7. To come away with no points after Amari Carter's pick was devastating. Just took momentum in a big way after Dallas' long TD run. Carter gets the pick two plays later and for the first time all night, I was like holy shit we might actually win this game. A TD to go up 10 after that may have sealed it for us. To not even get a FG there after Carter took it back to the 25 was brutal.
8. Deejay is a freaking stud. It's really impressive how slippery of a runner he is, and showed nice speed on the long TD run. Can tell him dropping weight this offseason is already paying off.
9. Furthermore, Cam Harris looked good as well. The long run that was negated by penalty was nice. We have very nice talent at RB, just not great depth.
10. BREVIN.F'IN.JORDAN. Straight killer. No such thing as too many touches for him. Hopefully Darnell Washington was watching how we used him.
11. Scrap the Martell wildcat package. Got nothing from it, and even made some situations worse. Just total wasted downs. Maybe it expands and he becomes a threat to pass out of it, but until he does it's pointless. Every time I saw Ohio St try to bring him in to do the same thing, it never worked because it was so obvious what they were doing.
12. First and 10 at the 11yd line following the late hit on Baxa. I don't know what plays Enos loves the most but he has to pull them out right there. Absolutely, positively have to get 7 there. Our win probability probably jumps to like a 98% if we go up 10 at that point.
13. Expanding on 12, really disappointed Jordan didn't get any targets in that sequence. Jordan and/or Mallory need to be the primary focus in the redzone all the time. Jordan in particular is too good not to go to in that situation. Even further, motion him out wide to get him singled up in space. He's too big for a corner or safety and too athletic for most LBs. Same with Mallory. For instance, imagine if that comeback route that Thomas almost pulled in for a TD was thrown to Jordan or Mallory. With the size and length they have, and ability to shield off a defender, that's a guaranteed TD.
14. It's kinda crazy that Jordan still almost pulled in that catch in the endzone on 3rd down on the last drive with two defenders draped on him. The ball got through to him, maybe if he doesn't hit the ground so hard then he's able to pull it in. How epic of a catch would that have been!
15. If we all were told before the game that we'd hold Florida to 50 yards rushing(I think?) and force FOUR turnovers, we'd all be like no freaking way! Not capitalizing on turnovers are such a punch to the gut.
16. Pope was ready to transfer last season after not getting many snaps. I can't imagine he'll be thrilled with getting passed up by a QB who has been playing WR for like two weeks or so.
Bunch of random thoughts I know but that was such a wild game. Definitely have some things to work on but also a lot to be excited about. I really do think the team can and will have a good season. Go Canes!
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