News and notes from New Orleans

By
Robbie Andreu
-
19
319

We offer a little this and that from New Orleans:

* Now that defensive line coach Dan McCarney has said he has no desire to become UF’s next defensive coordinator, the assistant on the staff most likely to be promoted to the position (if that’s what Urban Meyer chooses to do) is safeties coach Chuck Heater, who has worked with Meyer the past seven years.
Outgoing defensive coordinator Charlie Strong said Tuesday that Heater would be a good pick to run the Gators’ defense.
“He would do a great job,” Strong said. “He’s been here, in the program, and he knows the players and understands the defense. You wouldn’t have to make any changes defensively.”
Meyer does not appear in a hurry to name a new defensive coordinator, but it’s looking more and more like Heater will get strong consideration.

* Even though the Florida defense is coming off a miserable performance against Alabama, Cincinnati wide receivers coach Charley Molnar had nothing but good things to say about the Gator D on Tuesday.
“There are great defenses in the Big East (Conference), but the Florida defense is, in my opinion, the best defense in the country,” Molnar said. “They certainly are an outstanding defense. We have not faced a defense of that caliber, but I’m not sure anybody (in the Big East) has this year. The problems they present are so many. They can get pressure on the quarterback with just a four-man rush. They don’t have to blitz to get pressure on you. It certainly changes the way you play the game. It will take a very concentrated effort on our part to have success on offense.”

* Who is your defensive MVP this season for the Gators? Strong’s is senior linebacker Ryan Stamper, who played outside and in the middle and was one of the Gators’ most consistent and reliable players.
“If (linebacker) A.J. Jones hadn’t gotten hurt (late in the season), he would have been right there with Ryan,” Strong said. “But Ryan was so good and so consistent for us. With him, you always knew what you were going to get.”

* Junior cornerback Joe Haden said two weeks ago that he would know what his decision about leaving early for the NFL would be before Friday’s game. Now, it doesn’t sound like it. Haden said he’s still waiting on paperwork from the NFL that will give him an idea of where he projects in the draft. He said he might return for his senior year even if, as expected, he’s slotted in the first round. But if he projects to be a top five pick (which could happen), Haden said he’s coming out for sure.
“I would be silly not to,” he said.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

19 COMMENTS

  2. Considering all the uncertainties regarding the Gator coaching staff currently, the DC choice is a tremendously important pick….Heater may turn out to be a stud – if selected. However, it would nice to bring someone on board with an NFL pedigree to handle the SEC and all the benefits they would inherently bring to recruiting….

  3. Attn: Urban Meyer

    Our running backs are very fast once they have a running lane in the defense’s secondary. But they are small. They are not punishing running backs. They are not well suited for short yardage. Our starting wide receivers are better known for dropping the ball, than catching it. So, lets talk about running the ball on short yardage.

    My suggestion is to put as much power as we can focused on the selected hole – between the tackles. There are several options with Tebow over the center; Moody or Justin Trattou as the running back, our two 2nd string offensive guards leading the ball carrier, and two tight ends Hernandez and Coleman. I saw Justin’s long run and he did not fumble when hit hard. Please use Moody on more plays.

    With the above scheme, their Defense now has to worry about Tebow running or throwing to TE’s who actually catch and hang on to the ball and can also block, the running back, the Pouncey twins + the rest of our interior offensive linemen, 2 tight ends, plus the additional two guards in the backfield. This is unpredictable, unlike our offensive play calling of late.

    You laugh, but in our gutless performance against Alabama for the 2009 SEC championship, on short yardage Bama placed their middle guard in the backfield to block for the running back. They didn’t need much as our defense seem to avoid tackling at every opportunity. Arm tackling, shoulder tackling, tackling the wind, etc.

    Whatever happened to our punishing tackling with both arms around the ball carrier driving the runner backwards. I pray those are the defensive players we will see on Jan 1st. Santa Claus, please bring those bone marrow jarring Gator tacklers back for this game.

  4. In my opinion we need to find someone outside that is an accomplished defensive coach to be D Coordinator just to bring in some new fresh ideas. I am very concerned about how the D played against Bama, they got straight out run over in that game. We didn’t stop Bama at all in that game and if we are to compete with them in the future, we need some new “perspective”. Right now, Alabama is the new boss of the SEC and everyone else is a distant second place…THAT needs to change!!

  5. Tampa Dave-Always best not to have a knee-jerk reaction over the results of a single contest. Our defense had poor execution in that game, no doubt. But to ignore the fact that we’ve had a top 10 defense in the country 3 out of the last 4 years? Alabama is the new boss of the SEC b/c they won it this year? I don’t think so. Florida will be back with a vengeance. Next year Bama gets to deal with what we’ve dealt with all year. Having a target on their backs every single game. We’ll see if they can parlay that into a 12 win year and if so and they win the SEC again, then I might be inclined to agree with you. One season, does not a dynasty make.

  8. Joe–Don’t you think Alabama has a target on their backs many years? The tradition in Gainesville is but the blink of an eye compared to that in Tuscaloosa. Teams like Tennessee, Auburn, LSU, and Ole Miss always seek to elevate their game when facing the Crimson Tide. Plus the Tide mixes in the occasional national power, unlike Florida. To further disturb your illusion, the gators won’t “be back with a vengeance” next season. They’re losing a ton of players to the NFL and graduation. Meyer knows this, hence his recent “bed-wetting” antics. But, you’re right when you say “one season doesn’t a dynasty make.” Neither does two. But, 12 national championships? Yeah, that’s a dynasty. Like many gator fans you make the mistake of thinking that college football was invented in the last three seasons. Good luck against Cincinnati. Meantime, Bama will be in Pasadena looking to prove there is nothing unlucky about the number 13.

  9. Joe–I forgot, you guys go to Tuscaloosa next season. I hope the target you put on Alabama’s back helps you keep the game close. If Meyer is back I will lay you odds Nick Saban makes him cry before halftime. Notice with all the Meyer hoopla how many coaches have spoken in sympathy about the pressure they face? Have you noticed who hasn’t sympathized? That’s because Nick handles the pressure by crushing the hopes and dreams of johnny-come-lately dynasties like the one posing in Gainesville. Going to the Sugar Bowl? I hear there are plenty of tickets.

  10. Dave Linvale – ten years since the last sec title and another 17 years since the last legitimate national title do not constitute a “dynasty.” Florida also plays FSU annually, and di so during the 90s – during that time they did qualify as a national paower. If you nevertheless wish to claim yourself as a “dynasty,” then do the SEC a favor and ACT LIKE YOU’VE BEEN THERE BEFORE!

  11. Dave Linvale you haven’t been sh%t for most of the decade; you are like most Bama fans, you think the Bear gave you a birth right. How many National Championships have you won since the SEC had a playoff between 2 divisions and how many have you had since there were recruiting limits and the Bear couldn’t sign an unlimited number of players just to keep them from other places. Bryant once said that Florida had the best atheletes and if they ever had the right coach (see Spurrier and Myer) that they would dominate. Go back to your Redneck state!!

  13. Dave Linvale: You won and won convincingly. Congratulations. Now be a good winner and go provoke some Longhorns. Don’t be a classless turd and continue to rub it in our noses. Good luck against Texas. I will be pulling for you.

  14. to stupid yourmamabama fans, stay on your own blogs losers, no one here cares about the uninformed opinion of lowly sharecroppers. i dont know what skynyrd was thinking but i was there for a short period and there are no good people in alabama, except for forrest gump and a couple of girls from mobile….. i bet this linweed zub lives in a bullett ridden school bus with a giant dish on the roof with his parents outside of the talladega track, the only other good thing in the state. what idiot puts his number on his helmet anyway, maybe so the players know which side faces forward? the gators may have stunk up the sec game this year but ill still take them over the putrid red tide..its almost enuf to make me pull for texas, go gators!

  15. Very classy gator fans. I live in Ponte Vedra Beach btw. While I’m a Floridian by birth and residence, I chose to attend school at UA. You see, my heart has always beaten red. Just like the necks of you inbred denim shorts wearing gator fans. The way most of you (not all) run your mouths you shouldn’t expect any mercy and compassion from opponents. You’ve run up a big bill with the rest of the SEC, and the bill is coming due. Nick Saban may indeed depart for the NFL one day, but until then he’ll pretty much own the gators. Try and discount the Crimson Tide legacy all you want, it only shows your ignorance of the game and your hyper-inflated sense of self worth. Twelve national titles with the opportunity to play for number 13. Suck on that gator b*tches.

  16. Dave Linvale, how many of your titles were when you actually played for it and not been voted? Even your Heisman was someone out of state, talking classy; you are the Sh%t for brains who ran their mouth about your “historic” legacy. The only reason you went to Bama was, your SAT scores wouldn’t allow entry into UF, jealosy of our record since 1990 is all that drives you Gator haters.

  17. Ken–Uh, no, but thanks for parroting the gator talking points. I could have gone to school “just about” anywhere. Maybe not MIT or Harvard, but no problem with any SEC school, including Vanderbilt. (The standards really aren’t that high at any of the conference schools with the exception of Vandy.) You guys have bought a huge bag of hype on th academic standards at UF. Plus, what was Tim Tebow’s SAT score? I don’t mean to disparage him because he has done a great job getting his degree in, what is it? Home Economics or something?

    I’m going to leave this debate now and watch more of your recruits de-commit as your coach continues his nervous breakdown. Besides, if you seriously think UF has a legacy that rivals that of Alabama, you aren’t knowledgeable enough to spar with anyway. Seriously, good luck against Cincinnati. I’ll kind of be pulling for you. First, because I want the SEC to do well; and second, I’m starting to feel sorry for you pathetic b*stards.