GATORS ROLLED IN BATON ROUGE

Defensive Collapse Leads To Another Route

GATOR GRIDIRON
ROGER FRANKLIN WILLIAMS

For the second week in a row the Florida Gators were routed by an elite SEC team, this time suffering a thorough 30 point shellacking (41-11) at the hands of the LSU Tigers, the nations' number one ranked team. The lopsided loss to LSU follows a 28 point blow-out in the Swamp to second ranked Alabama.

While the Florida came into both contests as underdogs, the lopsided nature of the beatings came as a surprise to most observers, from Las Vegas to national media to SEC fans to Gator Gridiron and, of course, to die hard Gators.

So, what the heck is going on with the 2011 Gators?

2011 IS A REBUILDING YEAR

First, let's not forget, Gators, that this year is fundamentally a re-building year....new coaches, new schemes and philosophies, on both offense and defense, and a very, very young team. And, whereas most Gators, including Gator Gridiron,  expected the Alabama game in the Swamp to be close, going on the road, toTiger Statium against the Number 1 ranked team in the country no less, with a pure Freshman QB, is not exactly a situation for rosy optimism. Whereas Florida has many talented players, the Gators are also very thin in various key spots; especially the offensive line, linebacker and the secondary and approx 65% of the team are  Freshmen and Sophomores.

VARIOUS REFLECTIONS ON LSU

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DEFENSE? ESPECIALLY THE DEFENSIVE LINE? A line that looked so talented, deep and aggressive in a big home win against Tennessee (and a road win over Kentucky...but let's face it, routing Kentucky obviously means nothing once you go up against the Big Boys of the SEC) has been absolutely punked by the elite teams of the SEC West. For those of us who were optimistic about the potential for this season, one of the key elements of that optimism were the prospects of a solid D. You are not going to have much success in the SEC if you can't stop the run. Well.... the last two weeks Florida's D-line has been OVER-RUN to the tune of 250+ plus yards rushing per game. Most disturbing is the fact that Alabama and LSU moved the chains at will by running between the tackles, especially in the crucial 4th quarter when most games in the SEC are either won or lost. Against Alabama and LSU the Gator D-Line looked tired and soft. You are never going to win anything of consequence in the SEC without a solid defense, especially D-Line.

COME ON, WE DIDN'T FALL FOR  ANOTHER LSU FAKE KICK, DID WE? Would someone please tell the Gator coaching staff that Les Miles likes to fake kicks and punts? Seemingly every game that LSU has played over at least the last 5 years or so has included a dramatic fake kick or punt. Yet, EVERY YEAR the Gators get caught off guard and hurt at a crucial moment by a fake LSU kick or punt. Maybe Jeremy needs to send a memo to every member of the coaching staff the week before the Gators play LSU to remind them to LOOK OUT FOR THE FAKE KICK!!!!

PUT GILLISLEE AT TAILBACK! Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps are outstanding weapons who give Florida an extra dimension in the running game. What they don't give you, however, is something that is vital to a successful offense---the ability to pound the ball between the tackles and move the chains consistently...to pick up that unspectacular, but crucial 3-4-5 yards between the tackles consistently. Against Alabama and LSU the Gators had no inside running game at all! There is a back on the Florida roster who gives you that ablitiy----Mike Gillislee. Gillislee is bigger and stronger than Demps and Rainey; more importantly, he HAS PROVEN he can play. Gillislee has performed well every chance he has had to get in the game, from the very first game of  his Freshman season to the 2010 Sugar Bowl where he gained almost 100 yards in back-up duty to the 2010 Alabama road loss to the limited duty he has had this season, in fact Mike Gillislee has an average of over 5 yards per carry for his career at Florida. PUT HIM IN THE LINEUP AND START MOVING THE CHAINS ON OFFENSE!!!

GET ANDRE DeBOSE THE BALL. While lack of depth and youth are legitimate concerns for Florida, Gator Gridiron really doesn't want to hear about lack of depth or lack of talent as long as a proven playmaker like Andre DeBose is languishing on the bench. In the very, very few times he got to play last year, the Sophomore speedster from Sanford Seminole made big plays and lit up the scoreboard. The only player to score 2 touchdowns on kick-off returns in the same season in Gator history? Andre DeBose in 2010. The only offensive bright spot against Alabama in the 2011 route? Andre DeBose 65 yard TD on the first play of the game. The only bright spot on offense in the road route against LSU? Andre DeBose 65 yard TD reception from Jacoby Brissett. Come on Coach Will and Coach Weis, you guys are being paid millions of dollars to coach football. Stop doing your Steve Addazio impersonation and GET THE RIGHT PLAYERS----INCLUDING MIKE GILLISLEE AND ANDRE DeBOSE----ON THE FIELD AND GET THEM THE BALL!!!