Full Offensive Breakdown

Main Point:

The Gators scored on 5 of 10 possessions and took one off the board to try and get more. No turnovers, even though a couple of close calls. They were 9 of 17 on 3rd down conversions. Outside of the failed 4th down attempt there was major push on the quarterback sneaks, something we never saw a year ago regardless of the opponent.

Del Rio had way many more good plays than bad. With Massey going down on the opening kickoff and Callaway running the wrong route on the opening play, the deep threats basically went out the window for the night. That is why things were in the short field so much. That will get rectified with someone filling in a lot of Massey’s role one way or another.

Loved the way Scarlett, Thompson and Cronkrite ran. All three had some very bright moments in my mind. Thompson needs to work on catching the ball.

Powell is one heck of a blocker, that kid gives everything regardless if he has the ball or not on the play. Oh yeah, he can make a play or two with the ball as well. The two freshmen receivers will continue to grow, They performed well on the big stage for the first time. Swain was thrust into a much bigger role when Massey went down.

Not enough from Goolsby, need more and with Cyontai back that is a positive.

I have seen a few comments on the offensive line and I thought I was pretty fair and in-depth with my assessment, stating how I thought they played. As I have stated, I believe they are still the weak link of the team. But, I thought they were far better than many have characterized.

I think when we watch a play and try and grade linemen, sometimes you have to know what the play is. Sometimes, it is okay for that linemen to let someone free. Or if the play is to the right side, you can let the defensive guy come past you full steam on the left side. It is all relative to the play. Sometimes we ask linemen to block a guy that is one spot over and in front and the leverage isn’t going to be the best. You ask them to do the best they can to make that block knowing that the other guy will have the advantage. When a lineman is in the open field and blocking a smaller guy, you aren’t asking him to bulldoze that guy every time even if he is the guy blocking at the second level. Sure, if they can, go for it. But, the moment these guys start diving at these smaller players to block them in the open field is when they end up on the grass and the smaller player running right by them. When grading linemen, all these things are taken into account.
They certainly weren’t perfect. Dillard got blown up twice that I saw. Although Jordan didn’t get blown up, he missed a block or two when in motion. Not the wrong assignment from him, but just unable to get in front of his guy and engage like he should or late recognizing the right guy. Ivey had issues with spin moves and smaller guys got by him a few times. Both Sharpe and Fred had 2-3 whiffs on the outside that can be costly. I don’t know how anyone can complain about Jawaan Taylor’s time on the field. I still believe he will take that right tackle spot before too long.

We S cored or should've scored on 60% of possessions, good 3rd down success rate. It was just one of those games where if we were playing a great team, it would've been an incredible offensive showing. But because it was UMass, it wasn't impressive and appeared like we struggled. When you read into it, I think it was a little better than it appeared on the surface.

All that being said, they gotta get a whole lot better if we wanna go to Atlanta or compete with FSU