REFLECTIONS ON COACH WILL'S DEBUT

GATOR GRIDIRON
ROGER FRANKLIN WILLIAMS

Some quick, off-the-top-of-the-head thoughts on Saturday's season debut of the 2011 Gators....

.......loved the Orange jerseys, would like to see those every now and then, once a year or so....it was very disapointing that the game wasn't an official sellout, breaking a string that went back to Vanderbilt in '89, the 4th longest string in the country.....C'mon Gators!!! Where were you for Coach Will's debut??!!!...actually, the game was virtually full, and the alumni section was jammed solid, as it always is....we have to suspect that many of the alumni section Gators have had those season tix for generations.....a very pleasant surprise was an early September game without our trademark, infamous stifling, oppressive September heat and humidity, in fact, Gator Gridiron can't recall a season opener that was ever this "comfortable"....that being said, this Gator would still prefer daytime games...the post-midnight trek back home is always tedious.....

Charlie Weis is the real deal....really liked the way Weis utilized both Demps and Rainey together in the backfield, they combined for 272 yards both rushing and receiving....it was great to see Rainey and Demps utilized as receivers out ot the backfield, in additon to rushing the ball.....Gator Gridiron is still not sold on JB as the answer at  QB for the long haul.......would  have liked to have seen at least a FEW shots down-the-field, but realize FAU was working hard to take that away, BUT....if FAU can take it away, what will Alabama, LSU, Tennessee do?.....BUT, we  realize Coach Weis didn't want to show any bells and whistles........

...would have like to have seen Jordan Reed featured more at TE.....missed seeing Trey Burton (Gator Gridiron predicts a big year from him), but apparently he was injured early......over 10 Gators caught passes, nice job of scheming by the coaches and distributing by Brantley....Deonte Thompson made some nice catches, including one where he took a vicious shot to the back of the head, Gator Gridiron is going to "get off of Deonte's back" going forward, he is a hard worker, is respected by the coaches,,,,,,O-line performed well, (they should against FAU, but as we know, that doesn't always happen during "exhibition season").......

Defense was great......Gator Gridiron continues to emphasize we expect a big year on D.....and when your defense plays well, you always have a chance for a good year.....D-line solid and, even more impressive looks to have depth, linebackers and young (started 2 freshmen at CB for the first time in the modern era) secondary had a good night.....special teams blocked a punt for a TD (Solomon Patton got the block and Rainey ran it in fot TD) and Caleb Sturgis' kick-offs went consistently to or into the end zone.

Rainey, who is also a team captain, had a big night.... scored 3 tds, 1 rushing, 1 receiving and 1 on special teams on a punt block.....you probably won't see this anywhere else, but Gator Gridiron detected that Frosh QB Jacoby Brissette looked awesome throwing the ball in warm-ups....just sayin'

One major criticism for Coach Muschamp and/or Weis.....when Jeff Driskel came in and threw an early interception they pulled him immediately, that was wrong...if they felt confident enough to put him in the game at that point (about 5 minutes before half, with a 24-0 lead) they should have stuck with him.....the message they sent was, "Hey Jeff, make a mistake and you're coming out".....that's not productive for his development...

....along those same lines, first  half was too soon to put in your 2nd string Freshman QB, anyway......there is a great rule of thumb in football and that is get all you can in the first half, don't start to coast or make major substitutions in the first half.....Gator Gridron is a believer in that axiom....Anyway, even though the Gators then lost the momentum for the rest of the first half, they recovered nicely in the second half ... Driskel even came in at the end and finished nicely leading an 11 play 4th quarter drive with 4-6 passing that garnered 3 points (on a 29 yard Sturgis field goal) ....

Overall a nice, tidy, efficient, respectful "exhibition season" 41-3 victory; a good night and nice debut for Coach Will and the 2011 Gators....