As a recent subscriber to Warchant I have found the boards are met with overwhelming negativity. Do not know if it is because of our lack of success last season, the results of being in the social media era where everyone is prisoner of the moment, or people are just trolling. Maybe I should have seen what was being said the last few seasons when were (3-5) in the conference the last year with jimbo, (5-3) the year before that. Maybe it was all negative then as well.
But to blame entirely what happened on Willie for a 5-7 record is quite reactionary. We have been trending downwards for years right after the Auburn game. Yes we went 12-0 in regular season which is nothing to sneeze at and I'd take it every time regardless of "game control", but every week was a roller coaster ride and thankfully we had a number one pick at QB to overcome those problems. We can also thank Dalvin Cook for the post Jameis era, carrying us to 10 win seasons when we were still barely beating teams who were far less talented than us. Coming off 29 straight wins those seasons were disappointments and phantom success seeing what Alabama and Clemson have done with sustained success.
Our offensive line was a complete joke and arguably the worst in college football. I haven't watched every team play but to find one worse than ours would be difficult to do. It is criminal what Trickett and Fisher left us with after they departed. Yes in 2016 we had this "amazing" highly ranked class in O-line but Dickerson the only one worth his salt can not stay healthy, and everyone else was either grossly overrated Johnson and Williams, or no longer on the team Ball and Boselli. Trickett had two years to develop these players, Frey has had one. From Corey Clark here were our O lineman PFF grades the last two seasons:
2018 Rankings (Out of 836 OL who played 20% of team's snaps)
No. 836 (J. Williams)
No. 827 (Scott)
No. 791 (A. Williams)
No. 750 (Kelly)
No. 547 (Arnold)
No. 542 (Eberle)
No. 429 (Minshew)
NOTE: Abdul Bello would have been ranked No. 835 on this list but he didn't play quite enough snaps to qualify.
Here's what 2017 looked like (out of 827):
No. 169 (Leonard)
No. 267 (Kelly)
No. 312 (Dickerson)
No. 398 (Minshew)
No. 438 (Eberle)
No. 691 (Ball)
From sheer attrition if Dickerson and Ball are on the field last year we are at least average. You literally have the two worst tackles in the country blocking for you.
Then you have the cultural problems brought with guys who brought a sense of entitlement in the locker room. Beginning with players like Matthew Thomas and Mcfadden (among many others) who are literally jogging out there on defense, resting on their 5 Stars to get them into the NFL. Both were undrafted free agents. This set precedent for players like Noonie Murray to try when they want too. Basically when they have the ball. D12 has great football toughness but is clearly a me first guy with his constant comments to the media downplaying his teammates or in his various instagram posts. Gavin is so domed up he drops a touchdown vs Virginia Tech or fumbles the ball running down the sideline because he did not switch the ball to the sideline arm after making a great play vs Wake Forest. On defense, Marvin Wilson and Asante Samuel (among other players but not many) were constantly bringing it on the field giving full effort but how many other guys were playing for the logo?
There is a lot of things that were out of WT control, until he can fix this O line and get rid of the culture left by the previous staff I do not know what improvement is reasonable to expect. Now was he free from blame, of course not. We looked out of sync, undisciplined, disorganized all of these completely on WT. He butchered the QB situation. Regardless who you feel should have started he did not handle it well. Made poor hires on a rushed clock but the decisions were still his to make. Clearly never on the same page with Bell. Penalties and timeouts taken were outrageous. All of these are fair criticisms of his and good reasons for concern if he can turn it around or not. No denying that. If we come out and look the same way on the field next season as this past one he will rightfully be in trouble.
If we can go 8-4 this season with the offense putting up 30 points a game and looking fun to watch with Briles running the offense the recruits will flock to us. I am a firm believer in this, echoing Corey Clark's thoughts. Now maybe this is a huge if on my part but the schedule is pretty favorable next season so 8-9 wins should be more reasonable to come by than last season. Florida is ahead of us in recruiting rankings as of now but they had twice the wins and we are in the ballpark. I'll take a top 15 class after 5-7. Don't look like the hot mess you were this season and WT recruiting chops will be evident.
This is why I think we will make a 4-Team playoff before Florida does.
If you look at it on a macro level, we have one team to pass up in reality to make a playoff, and that is Clemson. This is a tall task right now after seeing the kid they have at QB right now but in 2020, 2021, we may have something for them. Again not saying this will definitely happen but these things flow up and down all the time. In 2013-2014 I was standing on the mountain top screaming there is no end to our domination. Went to the Clemson game when we had SMAG on the road and damn near won that thing. Clemson fans treated my friend and I great by the way at their tailgate as we were wandering around until a group offered us to hangout and pregame, giving us all the beer and chicken nuggets we could handle. While feasting on their provided chick-fil-a platter they were attempting to inform me how our time was up and they have all these guys coming in who are going to make a dominant run on college football. I did not think we would win that game, but I let them know we weren't going anywhere as we have studs for days. Here we are 4 seasons later, they were right I was wrong. If we can gain positive momentum again the same thing could happen for us. I need to see more from Miami before I consider them a roadblock and doubt Louisville will get a QB like Lamar again anytime soon. So with that being said there is one program for us to derail and that is Clemson in the ACC. Win the ACC you have a great shot at the playoff.
Florida on the other hand has to contend with Georgia in their own division. I've been hearing Tennessee will be back for years now so I do not give that too much weight but they are recruiting well this season. Florida has to beat LSU in the regular season who they play every year. Very tough for Florida to go into Baton Rouge to win but they did beat them in Gainesville this year. Then in the championship game if they make it there with Georgia being the powerhouse the dogs are now would be against Alabama, aforementioned LSU, Auburn some years, maybe even Jimbo's Aggies (Worst thing for all Noles is to see is an Aggies vs Gators SEC Championship with a spot at the playoff on the line).
Basically the path to the playoff is a lot more daunting for UF than it is FSU. Georgia is their Clemson but we do not have nearly as intimidating opponents on the other side of that championship game. Maybe Diaz changes that for us in Miami, maybe. Do I think it will be Willie as the head coach, I do given a culture change and recruiting momentum. Does he have a lot of proving it to me this year, yes. Did Mullen have a better year 1, by a long shot. Giving the offense to Briles shows he's aware there is a lot more for him to be concerned with than calling the next play, and Briles I think like most of us do is a home run hire. Who knows how long Briles will be here but if he is able to leave in two years that is a great sign for us. Don't get too high or don't get toO low, we will be back soon enough and I think WT will be the man to do it. Even if he isn't, FSU will be in the playoff before UF. GO NOLES!
PS I know we have already made the playoff.
But to blame entirely what happened on Willie for a 5-7 record is quite reactionary. We have been trending downwards for years right after the Auburn game. Yes we went 12-0 in regular season which is nothing to sneeze at and I'd take it every time regardless of "game control", but every week was a roller coaster ride and thankfully we had a number one pick at QB to overcome those problems. We can also thank Dalvin Cook for the post Jameis era, carrying us to 10 win seasons when we were still barely beating teams who were far less talented than us. Coming off 29 straight wins those seasons were disappointments and phantom success seeing what Alabama and Clemson have done with sustained success.
Our offensive line was a complete joke and arguably the worst in college football. I haven't watched every team play but to find one worse than ours would be difficult to do. It is criminal what Trickett and Fisher left us with after they departed. Yes in 2016 we had this "amazing" highly ranked class in O-line but Dickerson the only one worth his salt can not stay healthy, and everyone else was either grossly overrated Johnson and Williams, or no longer on the team Ball and Boselli. Trickett had two years to develop these players, Frey has had one. From Corey Clark here were our O lineman PFF grades the last two seasons:
2018 Rankings (Out of 836 OL who played 20% of team's snaps)
No. 836 (J. Williams)
No. 827 (Scott)
No. 791 (A. Williams)
No. 750 (Kelly)
No. 547 (Arnold)
No. 542 (Eberle)
No. 429 (Minshew)
NOTE: Abdul Bello would have been ranked No. 835 on this list but he didn't play quite enough snaps to qualify.
Here's what 2017 looked like (out of 827):
No. 169 (Leonard)
No. 267 (Kelly)
No. 312 (Dickerson)
No. 398 (Minshew)
No. 438 (Eberle)
No. 691 (Ball)
From sheer attrition if Dickerson and Ball are on the field last year we are at least average. You literally have the two worst tackles in the country blocking for you.
Then you have the cultural problems brought with guys who brought a sense of entitlement in the locker room. Beginning with players like Matthew Thomas and Mcfadden (among many others) who are literally jogging out there on defense, resting on their 5 Stars to get them into the NFL. Both were undrafted free agents. This set precedent for players like Noonie Murray to try when they want too. Basically when they have the ball. D12 has great football toughness but is clearly a me first guy with his constant comments to the media downplaying his teammates or in his various instagram posts. Gavin is so domed up he drops a touchdown vs Virginia Tech or fumbles the ball running down the sideline because he did not switch the ball to the sideline arm after making a great play vs Wake Forest. On defense, Marvin Wilson and Asante Samuel (among other players but not many) were constantly bringing it on the field giving full effort but how many other guys were playing for the logo?
There is a lot of things that were out of WT control, until he can fix this O line and get rid of the culture left by the previous staff I do not know what improvement is reasonable to expect. Now was he free from blame, of course not. We looked out of sync, undisciplined, disorganized all of these completely on WT. He butchered the QB situation. Regardless who you feel should have started he did not handle it well. Made poor hires on a rushed clock but the decisions were still his to make. Clearly never on the same page with Bell. Penalties and timeouts taken were outrageous. All of these are fair criticisms of his and good reasons for concern if he can turn it around or not. No denying that. If we come out and look the same way on the field next season as this past one he will rightfully be in trouble.
If we can go 8-4 this season with the offense putting up 30 points a game and looking fun to watch with Briles running the offense the recruits will flock to us. I am a firm believer in this, echoing Corey Clark's thoughts. Now maybe this is a huge if on my part but the schedule is pretty favorable next season so 8-9 wins should be more reasonable to come by than last season. Florida is ahead of us in recruiting rankings as of now but they had twice the wins and we are in the ballpark. I'll take a top 15 class after 5-7. Don't look like the hot mess you were this season and WT recruiting chops will be evident.
This is why I think we will make a 4-Team playoff before Florida does.
If you look at it on a macro level, we have one team to pass up in reality to make a playoff, and that is Clemson. This is a tall task right now after seeing the kid they have at QB right now but in 2020, 2021, we may have something for them. Again not saying this will definitely happen but these things flow up and down all the time. In 2013-2014 I was standing on the mountain top screaming there is no end to our domination. Went to the Clemson game when we had SMAG on the road and damn near won that thing. Clemson fans treated my friend and I great by the way at their tailgate as we were wandering around until a group offered us to hangout and pregame, giving us all the beer and chicken nuggets we could handle. While feasting on their provided chick-fil-a platter they were attempting to inform me how our time was up and they have all these guys coming in who are going to make a dominant run on college football. I did not think we would win that game, but I let them know we weren't going anywhere as we have studs for days. Here we are 4 seasons later, they were right I was wrong. If we can gain positive momentum again the same thing could happen for us. I need to see more from Miami before I consider them a roadblock and doubt Louisville will get a QB like Lamar again anytime soon. So with that being said there is one program for us to derail and that is Clemson in the ACC. Win the ACC you have a great shot at the playoff.
Florida on the other hand has to contend with Georgia in their own division. I've been hearing Tennessee will be back for years now so I do not give that too much weight but they are recruiting well this season. Florida has to beat LSU in the regular season who they play every year. Very tough for Florida to go into Baton Rouge to win but they did beat them in Gainesville this year. Then in the championship game if they make it there with Georgia being the powerhouse the dogs are now would be against Alabama, aforementioned LSU, Auburn some years, maybe even Jimbo's Aggies (Worst thing for all Noles is to see is an Aggies vs Gators SEC Championship with a spot at the playoff on the line).
Basically the path to the playoff is a lot more daunting for UF than it is FSU. Georgia is their Clemson but we do not have nearly as intimidating opponents on the other side of that championship game. Maybe Diaz changes that for us in Miami, maybe. Do I think it will be Willie as the head coach, I do given a culture change and recruiting momentum. Does he have a lot of proving it to me this year, yes. Did Mullen have a better year 1, by a long shot. Giving the offense to Briles shows he's aware there is a lot more for him to be concerned with than calling the next play, and Briles I think like most of us do is a home run hire. Who knows how long Briles will be here but if he is able to leave in two years that is a great sign for us. Don't get too high or don't get toO low, we will be back soon enough and I think WT will be the man to do it. Even if he isn't, FSU will be in the playoff before UF. GO NOLES!
PS I know we have already made the playoff.
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