National Signing Day

by Arnaldo

Since this is a blog for everybody, including, and especially, those less knowledgeable, let's explain recruiting real quick.

Coaches and scouts for college programs spend all year traveling to high schools talking to prospective recruits, watching them play, and discussing why they should come to their institution.  If a coach is impressed with a player, he'll schedule home visits during the offseason and invite the potential recruit to visit the campus during a football game weekend in the fall, with dozens of phone calls in between.

The recruit juggles several pursuing coaches, visits, and offers while trying to graduate high school.  When they've reached a decision, they'll typically let the coach know how committed they are towards the institution, but until the papers are signed on National Signing Day, absolutely nothing is final.  Verbal commitments mean very little now a days.  Recruits sometimes decommit from one program only to commit to another and then subsequently decommit all over again.

"Recruiting's kind of like shaving.  If you don't do it every day, you look like a bum." - Will Muschamp

This leads to a good amount of National Signing Day drama and plenty to cover on ESPN, which held an eleven-hour block of live coverage.  We're gonna examine some of the National Signing Day drama that affected Florida, and the incoming freshmen that should make an immediate impact for the 2012 season.

I should mention that all recruits get rated two ways:  a 1-5 star rating, and a national rank.  There are several entities that rate recruits but the most popular are Rivals and ESPNU.  Then, an aggregate score determines a national ranking for overall recruiting classes for a school.  These are usually great for getting an idea of how talented a player and class should be, but in reality they should be taken with a giant grain of salt.  None of these players have made it to the SEC field of play yet.  A strong recruiting class determines very little actual success down the line.  Florida recruited the nation's top class in 2008 and look at all the national championships that class won for us in their four years.  

Okay, so we won one with them as freshmen, but that just brings me to my next point.  Players don't usually make the starting teams until their sophomore year, at least.  Only about an eighth of the class will see the field at any given game their first year.  That 2008 National Championship was won by the impressive sophomore and junior classes and the only freshman who really contributed was Jeff Demps.  The moral of the story is to not take any ratings for any player or recruiting class too seriously, sometimes these recruits prove they were underrated, and oftentimes they prove they were overrated in the years to come.

National Signing Day 

So what happened on National Signing Day for the Gators?  In short, not much.  We had already had 21 commitments and went into February 1st expecting news on a handful of swing prospects, the ones that decided to withhold their announcements until the very last moment.  Recruits do this for a variety of reasons, the most popular of which is simply to become famous.  If a five-star recruit announces where he'll be playing in the summer before his senior year in high school, it barely makes a blog.  No one is that interested quite yet.  However, if that same player withholds his announcement until say, the All-American Game, or National Signing Day, he gets treated like Tim Tebow.  Less than half of these guys have truly successful college careers and even fewer end up in the NFL so this kind of publicity is a lifetime achievement, even though they haven't actually done anything yet.  Once they sign, they become first year players and are back on the bottom of a totem pole where they'll only be noticed if they play spectacularly, or get arrested.

Or sometimes, both.

The second reason is simple:  they still can't decide where to play.  This even applies to the recruits who have decided where they're going.  Like I said earlier, even verbally committed players change their minds on National Signing Day.

Florida had essentially four recruits that could still chose the Gators:  Nelson Agholor, Tracy Howard, Raphael Andrades, and Stefon Diggs.  In a one-two punch, both Agholor and Howard chose against us.  Agholor, a five-star athlete chose USC, and Howard, a five-star cornerback (and the No. 1 CB in the nation) chose Miami.  A bit of a blow considering both players are among the nation's elite.  Later that day a big surprise came when five-star defensive end, Dante Fowler Jr., announced he was coming to UF.  Though heavily recruited by Florida, Fowler kept saying he was "100%" a Florida State Seminole.  No one, especially FSU, expected him to decommit and join the Gators, marking an always satisfying victory over FSU.  Soon after, three-star wide receiver Raphael Andrades committed to UF.  The only piece of the puzzle left was five-star wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who opted to visit Maryland after National Signing Day, postponing his decision to February 10, delaying this article to today, two weeks after.  Diggs decided on Maryland over Florida, wrapping up our 2012 class to 23, and ranking us (according to Rivals) No. 3 recruiting class behind Alabama and Texas. 

You mad, Bros?

Players to Watch 

In general the entire class looks good and favors what the Gators lacked in 2011.  8 of the 23 are defensive linemen, which is a huge amount for a class.  Will Muschamp knows his top rebuilding needs are at the line of scrimmage, both of them.  

D.J. Humphries.  Who's ready to block?!

This brings up our top recruit, D.J. Humphries, five-star offensive tackle and the nation's top offensive lineman.  Rivals has him ranked No. 2 overall player, as in regardless of position.  He should make an immediate impact on pass rush protection, and power running game.  Offensive tackle is probably the least glorious position in football but for last years Gators squad, it was the most transparent.  Between the amount of John Brantley sacks and lack of run yardage accumulated, the impact D.J. Humphries has next year, even as a freshman, should be night and day.

Dante Fowler Jr., moments after flip flopping from
FSU to Florida. 

The next two players I'm most excited about happen to play the same position, which is great for us:  Jonathan Bullard and Dante Fowler Jr.  They'll both help contribute immediately to the depth of a defensive line that already oozes talent but has lacked productivity.  Excess depth is always the best solution for such a problem and both of these players happen to be two of the nation's best at defensive end (both five-star).  Fowler Jr., who has played both end and outside linebacker, will be a good fit at the buck position with Ronald Powell and William Green.

Is it me, or does he kind of look like John Brantley?

No matter what the recruit rankings say, the quarterback position is always incredibly difficult to predict.  Elite quaterbacks may come from no where while highly touted ones may disappear.  Enter Skyler Mornhinweg, a three-star prospect who happens to be the son of Marty Mornhinweg, the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles.  Needless to say, Skyler has football pedigree and a full time quarterback coach on his side.  I'm not here to say the Gators need him, but a year after recruiting two out of the top three quarterbacks, depth and competition are definitely healthy.  Look for solid competition between Jeff Driskel, Jacoby Brissett, Tyler Murphy, and Skyler Mornhinweg. 

Lastly, here is the entire 2012 Florida Gators class (position / hometown / high school / size).

Florida Gators Recruiting Class of 2012

Raphael Andrades  ★ ★ ★ 
WR / Tallahassee, FL/ Lincoln / 6'0'' 190 lbs

Willie Bailey  ★ ★ ★ 
DB / Hallandale, FL / Hallandale / 6'1'' 167 lbs

Jonathan Bullard  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 
DE / Shelby, NC / Crest / 6'3'' 263 lbs

Bryan Cox Jr.  ★ ★ ★ 
DE / Fort Lauderdale, FL / St. Thomas Aquinas / 6'3'' 247 lbs

Jessamen Dunker  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
OL / Boynton Beach, FL / Boynton Beach / 6'4'' 320 lbs

Dante Fowler Jr.  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 
LB/DE / St. Petersburg, FL / Lakewood / 6'3'' 261 lbs

Austin Hardin  ★ ★ 
K / Atlanta, GA / Marist / 5'10'' 204

D.J. Humphries  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 
OL / Charlotte, NC / Mallard Creek / 6'6'' 271 lbs

Damien Jacobs  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
DT / Houma, LA / H. L. Bourgeois / 6'4'' 290 lbs

Matt Jones  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
RB / Seffner, FL / Armwood / 6'2'' 213 lbs

Rhaheim Ledbetter  ★ ★ ★ 
S / Shelby, NC / Crest / 5'11'' 195 lbs

Jafar Mann  ★ ★ ★ 
DT / Stone Mountain, GA / Stephenson / 6'3'' 293 lbs

Marcus Maye  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
S/ Melbourne, FL / Holy Trinity Episcopal / 5'11'' 200 lbs

Alex McCalister  ★ ★ ★ 
LB / Clemmons, NC / West Forsyth / 6'6'' 223 lbs

Skyler Mornhinweg  ★ ★ ★ 
QB / Philadelphia, PA / St. Joesph's / 6'3'' 190 lbs

Antonio Morrison  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
LB / Bolingbrook, IL / Bolingbrook / 6'1'' 209 lbs

Omari Phillips  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
DT / Venice, FL / Venice / 6'6'' 315 lbs

Latroy Pittman  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
WR / Citra, FL / North Marion / 6'0'' 195 lbs

Brian Poole  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
CB / Bradenton, FL / Southeast / 5'10'' 202 lbs

Jeremi Powell  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
LB / Largo, FL / Pinellas Park / 6'1'' 193 lbs

Kent Taylor  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
TE / Land O'Lakes, FL / Land O'Lakes / 6'5'' 225 lbs

Colin Thompson  ★ ★ ★ ★ 
TE / Warminster, PA / Archbishop Wood / 6'4'' 252 lbs

Quinteze Williams  ★ ★ ★ 
DE / Tyrone, GA / Sandy Creek / 6'5'' 255 lbs

Gator Bowl: University of Florida v. Ohio State University

by Arnaldo

The "Urban Bowl".  An unfair moniker in my opinion with Urban Meyer having nothing to do with this bowl game, but it is the featured storyline nonetheless.  And why not?  Florida and Ohio State are both in a dismal state of despair.  They are not typically 6-6 programs, and Urban Meyer becomes the source of despair for one program, and the source of hope for the other.

"Do battle, my children!"

What's at Stake?


Fans of each program who started the season with big expectations might just want to get this season over with, but there is serious pride on the line for both teams.  Both narrowly escaped losing their very long bowl eligibility streaks, but at 6-6 each, one squad is going home with a losing record.  Ohio State hasn't sustained a losing season since 1988 when they finished 4-6-1, their first year under John Cooper, and the Gators haven't had one since 1979 when they went 0-10-1, their first year under Charley Pell.  Note that this is the longest active winning season streak in FBS.


Florida


Year one under Will Muschamp with a new coaching staff and a new style of play, the Gators were destined for some growing pains.  Combined with injuries across the field and one of the hardest schedules of all time (back to back National Championship contenders in Alabama and LSU) and the result is a soft defense and a nonexistent offense.  Florida suffered its first under .500 SEC season since 1986.  The most recent blow has been celebrity offensive coordinator Charlie Weis's decision to take the Kansas head coach job and forgo his play-calling duties for the Gator Bowl.  Running backs coach Brian White will be taking the reins as interim offensive coordinator, effectively "trying out" for the still vacant job for the 2012 season.  The Gators will be playing the without right tackle Matt Patchman, who sustained a back injury during practice last week, or defensive tackle Dominique Easley, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against against Florida State.


Ohio State


Ohio State is in no better shape.  After the violations by players selling jerseys and other memorabilia for cash and tattoos in 2010, Jim Tressel resigned and Terrelle Pryor left to enter the supplemental draft, leaving Ohio State under interim head coach Luke Fickell and an unexpected disappointing season.  Last month, the NCAA further sanctioned Ohio State with a one-year bowl ban (2012) and the loss of nine scholarships over three years, effectively punishing a team two years removed from the actions of players no longer on the team and a brand new coaching staff under Urban Meyer.  Sure there's not much else the NCAA can do, but don't ever call them swift or fair.  The Buckeyes went 3-5 in Big 10 competition, capping their season with a loss to archrival Michigan for the first time in seven meetings.  Ohio State will be playing the Gator Bowl without injured tight end Jake Stoneburner or running back Rod Smith (unknown off-the-field reasons), but linebacker Andrew Sweat will be returning from his concussion.


Keys to Victory


Both teams are hot and cold.  Florida has had moments when they held their own against competition like Alabama and Georgia, but others when the offense is can't find a first down and the defense looks like they've never seen a run game before.  Ohio State has been competitive, either winning or losing most of their games by ten or fewer points.

For Florida, the key to this game is fairly simple: establish an offense.  The Gators this year are either producing solid offensive gains, or stuck in neutral, 3 downs at a time.  Like most games this season, it's going to come down to John Brantley and a shake offensive line.  Brantley has proven he can momentarily pretend to be Tom Brady, carving chunks of field against the nation's best secondaries, and then switch gears to throw uninformed passes and consecutive interceptions.  He works terribly under pressure, so a Patchmanless offensive line needs to man their gaps and give Johnny decent pocket time.  Just as importantly, they'll need to run block better than they have all season to give Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps sufficient room to find open space, where they can be lethal against a slow Buckeye defense.  If the Gators are to win, they'll do it the same way they did the only other time they met up with Ohio State, with speed.  On defense, if the Gators can reproduce the Florida State performance, even without Dominque Easley, they should be fine.  Solid tackling and containing OSU's quick-footed quarterback, Braxton Miller, are key.


For Ohio State, it also comes down to a shaky dual-threat quarterback in true freshman Braxton Miller.  While hoisting undeniable running and tackle-breaking abilities, Miller handles pressure like any true freshman would and is quick to rely on his feet.  To relieve some pressure, the Buckeyes need to establish an effective run game and keep the Gators' blitz game in check.  Miller needs to be kept out of impossible situations and in his comfort zone, where he passes effectively.  On option runs or when the pocket does break down, which it will, Miller just needs to focus on what he does best, and take off.  The Gators will put extra emphasis on containing Miller so he and his receivers need to exploit defenders who may give up on their assignments when they see him on the move for some clutch passing opportunities.  On defense, the Buckeyes need to improve all around, especially their linebackers, to keep a potentially effective Florida offense in check.  They can't magically get faster, so to win, they'll need to play smarter.  Defensive coordinators Jim Heacock and Luke Fickell will need to prepare for anything and everything against the new play-caller in Brian White across the field.

Because of the inconsistencies in both teams this season, making an accurate prediction is extra tough, but in an informed and slightly biased twist, I'm going to have to pick:

Gators over the Buckeyes 24-21 in overtime.

Let's go for more of this!

Special thanks to Chris Pinson for his Ohio State expertise.

Another One Bites the Dust: Charlie Weis

by Arnaldo

It's been rough few years for coaching at the University of Florida.  In case you haven't noticed, we've lost a top coach (head, offensive or defensive coordinator) every year since 2008: Dan Mullen, Charlie Strong, Urban Meyer, Charlie Weis.  It's clear we've been feeling the effects.  Stability is one of the most important aspects of a coaching staff; where would we be as a country if we switched presidents every year?

Someone pointed out we don't need
his "fupa" around anyway.

Since Charlie's hiring as Florida's offensive coordinator, many fans have had mixed feelings about his possible contributions and whether or not he would fit in the culture we have. As I've said, I was a Weis fan, along with many Gator fans. Dub, however, stands on the other side of the ropes. He feels Weis was a big sexy hire by a new coach who felt like he had to make a splash to get Gator fans excited.

We have the most demanding fans in the nation, at any level, in any sport. It's a culture that was rebuilt by Urban Meyer and his all-star coaching staff, which can only lead to heartbreak. From 2005-2009 (Urban's glory years at Florida) we had one single digit win season, and three 13 win seasons, all of which resulting in a BCS National Championship or BCS Bowl victory. Our team was so hypercompetetive, that we as fans grew to accept nothing less than elite national contention year in and year out.

Coach Muschamp stepped into a position where he had to make noise immediately. He had to get someone as flashy and as storied as the Florida program had been during it's streak of absolute dominance. He went after the man who coached the offense of the New England Patriots during their historic "3 out of 4" Super bowl run, circa 2001-2004.


So What Now?


First and foremost, there's a bowl game to be played.  In situations like these, a departing coach makes the decision to stay to coach the bowl game, or get a head start at his new institution, familiarizing himself with the team, fellow coaches, perhaps hire new coaches, recruiting, etc.  When Dan Mullen accepted a head coach position, he stuck around to coach the 2008 National Championship game, but it seems a 6 win Gator Bowl isn't enough to keep Charlie Weis around.  This promotes current running backs Brian White to interim offensive coordinator, which has its advantages and disadvantages.  On the one hand, he hasn't called plays since 2007 at Syracuse, but on the other, Ohio State has absolutely nothing to study and must prepare for everything.

Now let's look at some candidates to replace Charlie Weis.


Leading Candidate: Kerwin Bell


Who's Kerwin Bell?  Kerwin Bell is probably Florida's most prolific quarterback not to win a Heisman Trophy.

He's even in the "Gator Legends" painting.

Suck it Palmer!

Bell walked on to the 1983 Florida team as a quarterback and earned a scholarship and the starting job the following year.  He led that team to a 9-1-1 record, an SEC championship (later vacated), and a No. 3 AP end-of-season ranking.  The following year was a repeat 9-1-1 record and atop the SEC (though ineligible to hold title or bowl game).  Bell was awarded SEC Player of the Year in 1984, finished honorable mention All-American in 1985 and 1986, first team All-SEC in 1985, and received Florida's Fergie Ferguson Award as a team captain his senior year.  While at Florida he passed for 7,585 yards and 56 touchdowns.  In 1997, he was inducted into UF's Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great".

No joke: voted 2nd ugliest football
uniforms ever on an ESPN fan poll.

Drafted in the seventh round by the Miami Dolphins, Kerwin Bell didn't see the field despite being traded twice.  He played for several non-NFL teams before landing a spot in 1996 for the Indianapolis Colts where in week 15 was put in late for his only NFL appearance.  Interestingly, he completed five for five passes and one touchdown, giving him the highest passer rating in NFL history.

Bell began coaching as the offensive coordinator for the Toronto Argonauts for the 2000 and 2001 seasons.  He then was the head coach for Trinity Catholic High School from 2001 to 2006, where he briefly coached our very own John Brantley, and led the Celtics to a state championship.  This led to the head coaching job at Jacksonville University.  He took a 3-8 Dolphins squad and made them a 9-4 Pioneer Football League champions in 2007.  2008 had Bell recognized as the PFL Coach of the Year and a finalist for the Eddie Robinson award.  His 2010 squad went 10-1 and ranked No. 22 in the FCS, an all-time high for the young program.


It is clear that Kerwin Bell has an immense talent for coaching, and has sufficient experience in running an offense as a quarterback, coordinator, and head coach.  Also, he is very familiar with the recruiting landscape in Florida, having played and coached almost exclusively therein.  Will Muschamp has stated he is looking for a coordinator who is very proficient with a pro-style game and assures the Gator Nation he will hire "the nation's best offensive coordinator."  He has already interviewed Bell, but the nature of the interview was kept private.  No official decision has been made.

Secondary Candidate:  Brian White


Brian White, as mentioned earlier, will be the interim offensive coordinator for the Gator Bowl this January.  He is officially our running backs' coach and is one of the only staff members retained by Will Muschamp from Urban Meyer's administration.  Meyer hired him days after the 2008 National Championship game as the tight ends' coach.  White served the University of Wisconsin for 11 years, under icon Barry Alvarez, as running backs' coach and offensive coordinator in 1999.  He led the Wisconsin offense to its Big Ten prominence it still enjoys today, and earned an Assistant Coach of the Year award in 2004.  He was the unfortunate collateral damage of Alvarez's retirement from coaching in 2005.  White made his way to Washington and Syracuse as offensive coordinator before Urban Meyer brought him to Florida.

It is uncertain if he's been interviewed for the position since he is already part of the program.  However, White has a giant opportunity calling plays at the Gator Bowl to impress Muschamp and secure his future at Florida.

His advantage over Kewin Bell: extensive resume.  His disadvantage: his extensive resume.  Let me explain.  Assistant coaches who have high level experience (offensive/defensive coordinator) coupled with success, do not last.  They'll receive head coaching jobs elsewhere that will pay much better.  One of the reasons behind hiring Weis was that he already tried head coaching and was not very successful; we thought it was unlikely he would receive, or accept, head coaching offers.  If we choose Brian White and have a successful year, there is a risk he'll be noticed again and picked up.  Kerwin Bell, on the other hand, has no FBS experience and shouldn't be offered another job, no matter how much success he has, for at least three years.  Keep in mind that what the Gators need now more than ever is stability.

We aren't in the business of speculation so we won't go into detail on any other possible candidates.  However, he is a list of some being mentioned:

Todd Monken - Oklahoma State offensive coordinator
Major Applewhite - Texas co-offensive coordinator
Greg Davis - Former Texas offensive coordinator

Conference Realignment: What It Means for the SEC and Florida

by Arnaldo

A conference is like a party.  You go where your friends go, that is after all, the whole point of the party, being with your friends.  If one person wants to leave to go to another party, chances are, they'll take someone with them.  Two less people there give a third person less reason to be there instead of another party.  A chain reaction ensues and before you know it, said party is over and the keg is still full.  Now I don't know what the keg is in this metaphor but the rest should be pretty clear, and that's exactly what's been happening the last year of college football.


But how does it affect us?

First of all, it really shouldn't.  The SEC scheduling looks like this (as of before the realignment): there are 12 teams and 2 divisions.  Each school plays the five other divisional schools, one permanent school from the other division, and two rotating home-away basis schools from the other division.  The four remaining games are out of division and up to the school itself to schedule.  I say this because intraconference scheduling is up to the conferences and not the NCAA.  Each conference schedules differently.  The Pac-12 plays a 9 game conference schedule with 12 teams.

So does this mean the SEC needs to move to a 9 game conference schedule?  Not necessarily, but it isn't a bad idea.  The problem here is that removing one of those slots removes the SEC's much needed "padded match-ups".  Coaches will tell you they need these games, especially in the beginning of the season.  The SEC is obviously the toughest conference in the NCAA; that's no longer a point of contention.  Each match-up has the potential to be unforgiving and disastrous.

We have to contrast this to the problem with keeping an 8 game conference schedule.  With one more team in each division (Texas A&M to the west and Missouri to the east [sure, moving Auburn to the east was rumored and makes more sense, but that's just making too many waves]), one interdivisional game has to go.  Schools and fans will not allow the permanent match-up to dissolve.  Florida would lose playing LSU every year, and Deep South's Oldest Rivalry (Auburn-Georgia) would need a new name, or actually no name at all.  The SEC, however, will probably prefer this option so that there is more complete competition.

Trust me, we NEED this game.

Either way, the media loves to pretend these things are already decided and that all rivalries will cease to exist starting next year, but they're just plain wrong.  The worst case scenario involves some teams losing secondary or tertiary rivalries, which is a loss, don't get me wrong.  When the SEC was last expanded in 1992, Florida and Miami had to stop meeting up yearly.  Miami's rivalry with Florida State held together because Miami moved from the Big East to the ACC in 2004, FSU's conference.  The teams that suffer the most are the teams actually moving, and they elected to move in the first place.  Texas A&M will most likely keep their rivalry with Texas in the same way Florida plays Florida State every year even though they're in separate conferences.  They will lose yearly match-ups with Texas Tech and Baylor, but coincidentally, the Aggies are rivals with Arkansas and LSU and total over 60 match-ups with each.  Obviously they'll be awarded those rivalries back.  In the same fashion, Missouri should keep their Border War with Kansas but lose their rivalries with Oklahoma and Illinois.  Their rivalry with Nebraska already dissolved when The Cornhuskers moved to the Big 10.  Hopefully, Mizzou will develop another Border War with Arkansas in the upcoming seasons.


Where do we go from here?

But we JUST made this cool new logo.

The SEC looks pretty comfortable with 14 teams; let's hope the superconference trend ends there.  I say this because larger conferences only complicate things.  Think about it, if conferences get bigger, more divisions will be formed, more rivalries lost, and there will be a larger pool of teams from which to play all around.  The end result is a copy of the NFL, where there are no real rivalries and nobody remembers which conference they're in, because the conferences mean nothing, only the divisions do.

However, I see no problem with the constant changing of conferences for teams scattered around the map; not only is it happening now, it's been happening for years.  This holds with me as long as the party scenario doesn't happen again.  Conferences were already nicely set geographically across the map, rivalries were well established, and scheduling was simple.  The sad news is that despite adding TCU and West Virginia, the Big 12 is still not stable.  Less stable than them is the Big East.  Losing their BCS automatic qualification is looking inevitable, and hopefully this may make them less desperate to add more significant teams and help them to stabilize.

What's most important to remember is the SEC is looking indestructable. Five consecutive national championships (six soon), the addition of two teams that should be growing back to prominence (new management at Texas A&M with an SEC budget should help), and a sweet TV deal with CBS that should (God willing) be opting for an ESPN upgrade in the near future makes the SEC party look like New Years at the Playboy Mansion.

This actually looks kind of awesome.

Xs and Os: Recognizing Penalties: Episode 1

by Dub

The stadium is roaring. The other team is on offense on its own 20 and just ran a deep pass play on 3^rd and 10. Forty yards down the field lies a yellow penalty flag. Your team’s number one corner back is walking back to the defensive huddle shaking his head and trying to speak to the referee. He throws his hands up in frustration and the referee queues his mic to let us all know, “Pass interference, Defense, Number 31, Automatic first down”. The crowd erupts, as a fan next to you is screaming and trying to get a “BULLSH*T” chant started among the others. You feel lost, not knowing what just transpired on the field, and you want to know how to avoid it for next time.

We here at Bruce and Albert know that watching football with your friends can be a little intimidating. No one wants to stand up and scream at the television, cheering and high-fiving his friends, or to rally the marching band to play the penalty song, only to find out the penalty is against your own team. This is our first installment of Xs and Os: Recognizing penalties. 

The first set of penalties we will discuss is one that hits rather close to home for us Gators & Buccaneers fans: interference calls on receivers and defensive players. There are a number of calls that can be made down field that could either negatively or positively influence your team's success. For all of our rules discussions, we will be using the 2011 Official Playing Rules and Casebook of the National Football League which can be found here.

I could just tell you what the penalties are, and have you look them up, but we'll explain here with some photos to better detail the rules. The most often called penalty down field is Defensive pass interference, often referred to among football geeks as "PI". As a precursor to all of this verbiage, though, we want to make very clear that none of these penalties will ever be called, NCAA or NFL, if the defensive or offensive player is watching the ball and making a play without looking back at the other player. This will be explained later.

As defined by the National Football League in Rule 8 Section 5 Article 1, "It is pass interference by either team when any act by a player more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage significantly hinders the progress of an eligible receiver’s opportunity to catch the ball. Pass interference can only occur when a forward pass is thrown from behind the line of scrimmage, regardless of whether the pass is legal or illegal, or whether it crosses the line". In short terms, Defensive PI occurs when the quarterback (or whoever is acting as the passer) throws the football to a receiver, and the defensive player makes contact to prevent the receiver from making a catch, before the ball arrives (see figure to the left). Offensive PI is the same, but the roles are switched; it occurs when a receiver is going down field and realizes he cannot make a play on the ball, so he keeps a defensive player from catching the ball through contact, which is defined as any touching between two players after the ball has left the hand of the quarterback, but before arriving at a catchable point for either player. These are usually tactics used by players when playing very aggressive coverage, or if there is possibility of the receiver or defensive player making a game changing play on the ball, like a touchdown or interception as the case may be. As a side note, contact down field between a defensive player and receiver to prevent making a catch is called Illegal Contact, if the ball has not left the hand of the quarterback. The distinction between the two is easy to remember, if the ball is thrown its interference, and if it’s not, it’s illegal contact.

While penalties are usually a sign of an undisciplined football team, pass interference is not always a bad thing. Now we’re going to talk about situational pass interference using some names you might know. Florida is playing against Tennessee, and Florida is on offense. John Brantley receives a snap and looks down field for Andre Debose. He throws the ball down field where Andre and a corner back are sprinting toward the end zone (for all intents and purposes this corner back will be referred to as CB). The ball is in the air, arching down toward the two players racing to make a game changing play. Debose jumps into the air to make a catch, but jumps too early, realizing he may have misjudged the ball. He realizes that, not only is he not going to catch the ball, but CB who ran slightly slower than Debose is closer to the ball and  looks to make a clean interception, and possible return. Mid-air, Debose grabs the defensive player and wraps his arms around him, dragging him to the ground, preventing CB from making the play. You know, though, that this will not result in a turnover, and instead just be a penalty. As a football team, you ALWAYS want to prevent a score, at whatever cost.

The other kind of down field “interference” penalty is Defensive Holding. Defensive Holding is defined in the NFL rulebook Rule 8 Section 4 Article 6“… defensive holding if a player grasps an eligible offensive player (or his  jersey) with his hands, or extends an arm or arms to cut off or encircle him”. This occurs when a receiver is running down field and a part of his body or uniform is held by a defensive player, who is trying to prevent him from making a play. This call is also very easy to understand, when you have the right signs. A player might be running slower than normal, or look hindered; this is a situation when you check the defensive player’s hands during the play and see if he is grasping any material or part of the other player. This is a call that, like pass interference, can be made to prevent a big scoring play. However, sometimes both of these plays are made by a defensive player who realizes he is beaten and is just making a last ditch effort to disrupt the play.

As we stated in our precursor, none of these plays will be called penalties if a player is “playing the ball” not “playing the man”. Here is a very quick explanation. Imagine two players standing on the goal line. We’ll use Andre Debose and CB again as our examples. Debose and CB are looking back downfield toward where John Brantley is standing and has thrown the ball. As the ball approaches the two players on its downward arc, Debose and CB bend at their knees and prepare to jump. Debose is in front (closer to John Brantley than the end zone), and uses hand to stabilize himself on the other player as he is in the process of jumping. They both jump and Debose makes the catch, immediately being tackled by CB. This is what is known as Incidental Contact, and will be a “no call” every time. The reason it is not called is because Debose is making a play on the ball without vastly changing the outcome of the play. While it may give him a slight edge, as long as he is looking at the ball and not making an obvious effort to give himself an advantage, he won’t get flagged.

Hopefully, now you will be able to watch a football game and know not only the penalties being called, but how to quickly recognize them, and whether or not they were situationally advantageous for your team. If you have any questions, please comment on this post and we’ll respond as soon as possible!

Twitter Update: Florida Gators

by Arnaldo

What are players tweeting about? Wide receiver Stephen Alli tells full back (athlete) Trey Burton he's craving a banana at 1:30 in the morning.  Strong safety Matt Elam replies, "huh?"

In other news, I'm starting to rethink this entire twitter update idea.

'11 Florida Gators: Who's to Blame?

by Arnaldo

 .500: in baseball if you're a .500 team you're having a good season, not a great one, but a good  one.  In the NFL breaking .500 means you're not a failure, no one is getting fired, but you still have a lot to work on for next year.  Only in top tier college programs is a .500 record considered failure; miserable, miserable failure.  It didn't stand for the '10 Gators, and they broke .500 by 3 games.  Fans were relieved when Urban Meyer retired, blaming him for somehow "losing his touch".  Funny enough, those same fans weren't too pleased to hear he'd be "losing his touch" at Ohio State in 2012. But 6-6 to end the regular season is no laughing matter.  Here's a list of who you can point your foam fingers at in violent anger.

1.  Yourself.  I know this whole thing sounds like a trick but follow me here.  First year coaching staff, transitions in both offensive and defensive schemes, and one of the most difficult schedules in all of college football.  After losing four in a row, when asked what was wrong with the Gators, Lee Corso replied, "nothing, they lost to four teams who have a combined four losses."  Do you know how many other teams had to face the top two teams in the nation back-to-back? One: Tennessee, and they're next to dead last in the SEC.  If you honestly had high hopes for this season, shame on you.  Then again, I will admit I didn't see a .500 regular season coming either.

photo: photo-gator (flickr)

2.  Lady Luck.  Yeah she can be quite a b... she's not nice.  It's no secret John Brantley hasn't been the shining star we'd all hope he could be but he's not all to blame.  Sure he threw three interceptions in one quarter of play against FSU but those are honestly uncharacteristic of him.  Up until then, he had only thrown 3 all year.  When he's been healthy and focused, he has the ability to be a little Tom Brady out there, picking at secondaries with ease. Refer to his short time in the Bama game where he had a very successful 11/16 before being sacked twice in a row in Hail Mary situations sending him straight to the locker room and out of the game.  Enter Jeff Driskel the top QB recruit in the country and like an unlucky charm, everything that can go wrong with him on the field, goes wrong.  I watched the poor 18 year old drop a snap onto his shoe, which bounced through the line of scrimmage and into the hands of a Bama defender.  There's no skill to be measured here, it's plain bad luck.  Injuries didn't stop there, several key Florida starters were injured in subsequent games leading to 9 Gators sustaining injuries during the FSU game.  No one can expect to win under these circumstances.

3. Not the coaching staff.  Curse your various deities please, but leave Will Muschamp and Charlie Weis out of your finger pointing.  Weis admitted he had to "teach himself" how to effectively run from the shotgun again, but game in and game out, I've watched Weis do something I've never seen an offensive coordinator do.  He adapts, then he adapts again if the circumstances demand him to.  First he's brought into a team that was built for a system he doesn't coach, not a problem.  He refits the players he's dealt into his system, and then reforms the system around whatever limitations he finds.  Florida has no big back type playmakers that are usually a very key ingredient in Weis' offense.  No worries, Weis impliments strong Is, weak Is, and full house sets to get the two tiny yet explosive speedsters into the outside as fast as possible.  This works like a charm up until Alabama whose linebackers are too quick and clog up the sides before Demps or Rainey can manage and the pass game seems defeated without a healthy Brantley.  Weis starts implementing the old spread option techniques because Trey Burton has had experience running them.  And for a time, they work great.  When Brantley returns but doesn't have the mobility to step back into coverage, he introduces the pistol formation to keep Brantley from moving too much in the pocket, while getting some charge out of our runningbacks and the merger has some success again until Brantley recovers going into FSU.  Count them up, Weis' pro, innovative shotgun and I variant running, spread option, pistol, wildcat (left that out).  Charlie Weis has had to work harder this year than he probably ever did with any other team just so we can win 6 games.  He's by far the most valuable individual on our team and without him, we'd be looking a lot like Ole Miss right now.

When can we expect results?  Give these geniuses 2 years.  It may sound like a long time, but I honestly don't think we'll be having this conversation on our way to Atlanta in 2013.