Florida after the storm

[CoachKen]

The weather was not a factor (rain and cloud cover was great) Let's get this out of the way right now. We got beat and beat badly. No excuses and all the credit going to the Florida Gators. And now the good, the bad, and the ugly. Let's start with the ugly:

1. The QB play was bad, period. I don't think you can expect JC QBs to walk in learn the offense and them travel across the country to play the fastest team in the nation. There were two passes that should have gone for TD's to Bain and Washington there were just bad throws. The QBs did not read their progressions well, telegraphed throws and panicked in the pocket after holding the ball too long. Fanaki came in and made something happen with his athleticism and he is to be commended. The think the answer here is simple, it's called Tyler Graunke.

The bad:

1. You cannot run wrong routes and drop balls in this offense. Dropped passes, dropped shuffle passes stall drives and create three and outs.
2. Special teams showed weaknesses that must be corrected. There is no excuse for not having a contain man on punts and letting the punter run for a first down.
3. Do not punt or kick the football to Brandon James, number 25 of Florida. Not smart.

The good:

1. The defense- Yes, Florida's speed took over a couple of times for long gains but overall we played very well, I especially liked the linebacker play.
2. Daniel Kelly- How do you say "the best!" Deep endzone kickoffs and great field goal. He is "NFL" ready.
3. Greg Salas- This kid played the game with an injury (cannot disclose) and still came up big!
4. The offenses ability to move the ball early showed what we can do when we don't drop the ball, run the wrong routes, throw interceptions for touchdowns and fumble the football. Call me crazy but I think when Tyler Graunke is at the helm of this offense it will be great.
5. I believe we will need to be ranked higher in the WAC once we solve our QB problem.
6. I think the offensive line did a solid job. Some of the sacks were a result of QBs holding the ball too long and not finding wide open receivers. I am not totally blasting the QBs, these guys will be fine once they have the time in this offense.

I like this team, I like what Coach Mack has done and I will not lose my enthusiasm for what these guys can accomplish, erase this nightmare from your minds and lets get ready for a very solid Weber State team.

CoachKen

[LoneWarrior]

Nice post coachken, do you think aaron bain still starts? I would like to see more of jovonte taylor or jon medeiros instead. How come none of the hawaii coaches challanged the call that was ruled a fumble by aaron bain but it was actually a drop?

[Tone96795]

Florida was just way to fast you heard it over and over. Hey this is the 5th best team in the nation maybe even the best team. its a rebuilding year an truthfully Hawaii looked pretty damn good. if Hawaii loses the next game an get there a$$ handed to them then we should worry.

[HawaiianHogster]

You darn tootin CoachKen. It's behind me already. We can bust up on each other all day long and it won't make things any better. I'm ready to move on to Weber State cause they are going to do their best to make us look bad. I believe in the coaches and the players. We will get better play from the WR's and QB next game. From here the only way to go is up. One game at a time. One and done. The season just started. We have two more games to get ready for conference play.

GO WARRIORS!

[daddy]

I was waiting to read your thoughts, CoachKen. I was very happy with the defense, I think in any level of football if your offense leaves you out to dry, a great team will take advantage. With an even field, the D held their own very well. I liked the play of the RBs and of Salas and Taylor. I think this team will be fine, just need to grow from this one and move on.

[BigWave96744]

CoachKen,
I was SHOCKED by the number of Penalties by the Gators...
Especially the late hit on Funaki out of bounds, late in the 4th...
I'm sure Urban Meyer will have running, come monday practice...

[Poopsnorkeler]

Great post Coach. The only item I might disagree with is the simple answer in Graunke. Now I know he's proven he can play in the past but I feel at this point you have to give the ball to Funaki. I think he's earned his shot starting from spring practice through this game. If Graunke wants the ball, he'll need to strip it from Funaki. Still, I'm interested in seeing how Funaki does with the 1st team in a game.

Let the best man win!

And I actually saw a lot of positives in the game starting with better discipline (fewer and no stupid penalties), a better defense, and it seems our players are actually in good physical shape. I'm not down on our team by a longshot!

[CoachKen]

LoneWarrior,

I still like Bain, he is tough, strong, a team player and he seldom makes mistakes. I would not make a change here. For my money he is still the best player at the right slot.

Coach

[Irse]

Good post Coach. I think Tyler may be fighting for a starting job soon. I thought the QB play was not good. It's not like the DBs made great plays on the picks. They were just bad throws. Too many drops by the slots. Wouldn't mind the two Taylors getting some PT there. I'm really encouraged by the D. I think they will win us a more than just a few games.

[lol808]

great post as usual coach. BUT i whole heartedly disagree with the fact that TG is needed. first of all, you are a respectable coach so how can you say that you would give a kid numerous chances to let him disappoint you, the team and the fans; then let him back on the field with a snap of your fingers? this may not be what you are saying but it seems as if youre giving him a free pass to the front of the line. furthermore, after the spring, funaki and TG were in a dead heat, with funaki over shining TG at times that they were not JUST equal. funaki deserves the next chance, if that doesnt happen then im sure a lot of people will lose confidence in coach mack and his obama-ish "change" persona that he is selling to us. i still totally believe this team can still win 7 or 8 regualr season games and we dont have to do it with the kid who keeps screwing up and keeps saying, "it will be taken care of by the end of the week or the next week at the latest," then finally see in the news a month or more later that the issue is cleared. trust in what we have right now, the pieces will fall in place.

[Old Diver]

I agree with everything you said Coach Ken except the part about Tyler. Tyler has proved himself not to be a leader. He has not even practiced with the team yet. His not going to Florida is his fault.
He let the team down twice this year. He is a guy you just can't count on, so as far I'm concerned I ain't counting on him. If Coach Mack decides to play him I will be Ok with that but until then..............

[auloa]

Precise comments with good feel for both programs.
Kudos to Florida. Hope they win out from here, but I have a feeling Georgia will give them a good game.

I guess expecting GAlex and BRausch to fill in seamlessly for CB was expecting too much.
I am glad CMacK let GA stay in and get a good feel and let him try to work out some of the nuances of our system.
It can't help but payoff later in the season.

The D looked very good.
Their special teams worked us over quite a bit. Did remind me a bit of Boise.
Let the games begin

Remember what we did after the USC blow out.

[Irse]

great post as usual coach. BUT i whole heartedly disagree with the fact that TG is needed. first of all, you are a respectable coach so how can you say that you would give a kid numerous chances to let him disappoint you, the team and the fans; then let him back on the field with a snap of your fingers? this may not be what you are saying but it seems as if youre giving him a free pass to the front of the line. furthermore, after the spring, funaki and TG were in a dead heat, with funaki over shining TG at times that they were not JUST equal. funaki deserves the next chance, if that doesnt happen then im sure a lot of people will lose confidence in coach mack and his obama-ish "change" persona that he is selling to us. i still totally believe this team can still win 7 or 8 regualr season games and we dont have to do it with the kid who keeps screwing up and keeps saying, "it will be taken care of by the end of the week or the next week at the latest," then finally see in the news a month or more later that the issue is cleared. trust in what we have right now, the pieces will fall in place.

He's on the team so Coach Mack already made that decision. And if he is on the team, he should be able to battle for a starting job just like everyone else and because of where he is on the depth chart, it may take him a while to move up. If he isn't given the chance, why have him on the team and on scholarship. He should get less snaps because most of them will go to the guys in front of him, but if they can't get it done, including Funaki, then he should be given a chance. That said, I hope Funaki gets a chance to start next week.

[xer 21]

The weather was not a factor (rain and cloud cover was great) Let's get this out of the way right now. We got beat and beat badly. No excuses and all the credit going to the Florida Gators. And now the good, the bad, and the ugly. Let's start with the ugly:

1. The QB play was bad, period. I don't think you can expect JC QBs to walk in learn the offense and them travel across the country to play the fastest team in the nation. There were two passes that should have gone for TD's to Bain and Washington there were just bad throws. The QBs did not read their progressions well, telegraphed throws and panicked in the pocket after holding the ball too long. Fanaki came in and made something happen with his athleticism and he is to be commended. The think the answer here is simple, it's called Tyler Graunke.

The bad:

1. You cannot run wrong routes and drop balls in this offense. Dropped passes, dropped shuffle passes stall drives and create three and outs.
2. Special teams showed weaknesses that must be corrected. There is no excuse for not having a contain man on punts and letting the punter run for a first down.
3. Do not punt or kick the football to Brandon James, number 25 of Florida. Not smart.

The good:

1. The defense- Yes, Florida's speed took over a couple of times for long gains but overall we played very well, I especially liked the linebacker play.
2. Daniel Kelly- How do you say "the best!" Deep endzone kickoffs and great field goal. He is "NFL" ready.
3. Greg Salas- This kid played the game with an injury (cannot disclose) and still came up big!
4. The offenses ability to move the ball early showed what we can do when we don't drop the ball, run the wrong routes, throw interceptions for touchdowns and fumble the football. Call me crazy but I think when Tyler Graunke is at the helm of this offense it will be great.
5. I believe we will need to be ranked higher in the WAC once we solve our QB problem.
6. I think the offensive line did a solid job. Some of the sacks were a result of QBs holding the ball too long and not finding wide open receivers. I am not totally blasting the QBs, these guys will be fine once they have the time in this offense.

I like this team, I like what Coach Mack has done and I will not lose my enthusiasm for what these guys can accomplish, erase this nightmare from your minds and lets get ready for a very solid Weber State team.

CoachKen

these are exactly my thoughts. especially on the TG starting, which isnt the most popular view right now. just written out much more coherently.

[xer 21]

about the issue of TG not starting because of his issues. he's already been punished, and already paid his dues, and you know, even if you want to deny it now, that TG is the absolute best QB we have on the team. Inoek may the sentimental favorite right now, but TG can takes to the top 25.