Started By
Message
Florida seems to have a bright future
Posted on 11/24/24 at 4:39 pm
Posted on 11/24/24 at 4:39 pm
They seem to play hard for Napier. Lagway should be a stud the next couple years if he continue to develop. I also think the defensive coordinator does a good job
8
Posted on 11/24/24 at 4:49 pm to Allthatfades
I haven't paid a huge amount of attention to UF since we played them, but I looked at Lagway's stats for the last couple of wins.
58.8%, 180 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT vs Ole Miss (-9 rushing yards)
50%, 226 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT vs LSU (0 rushing yards).
I then looked at all the games he had at least 10 pass attempts in against a non-FCS team.
50%, 259 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT vs UK (46 yards rushing)
52.9%, 98 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT vs Tenn (1 yard rushing)
46.2%, 54 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT vs A&M (-20 yards rushing)
Am I missing something? It seems like most of UF's success has been the defense stepping up. Am I wrong?
58.8%, 180 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT vs Ole Miss (-9 rushing yards)
50%, 226 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT vs LSU (0 rushing yards).
I then looked at all the games he had at least 10 pass attempts in against a non-FCS team.
50%, 259 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT vs UK (46 yards rushing)
52.9%, 98 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT vs Tenn (1 yard rushing)
46.2%, 54 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT vs A&M (-20 yards rushing)
Am I missing something? It seems like most of UF's success has been the defense stepping up. Am I wrong?
Posted on 11/24/24 at 4:52 pm to DawginSC
It’s the explosive plays and the way he opens up the offense. He had the highest QBR on attempts over 20 yards going into Ole Miss game. He makes some throws/plays that not many can make in CFB.
Yes, the defense has definitely stepped up as well.
Yes, the defense has definitely stepped up as well.
Posted on 11/24/24 at 4:52 pm to DawginSC
I wouldn't want to play Florida when they're healthy...most improved team to me.
Posted on 11/24/24 at 4:56 pm to Allthatfades
Let’s see this class before we get carried away
Posted on 11/24/24 at 4:56 pm to DawginSC
quote:
Am I wrong?
Yeah, sort of. DJ pushes the ball down field, has great accuracy on the deeper throws, and just adds a dimension to the offense Mertz never could. We're also coming out on the right side of these close dog fights, when it had previously mostly gone the other way. The defense has certainly stepped up as of recent, but they've always had pockets of playing well. Everything is just clicking a little bit more now.
Posted on 11/24/24 at 5:10 pm to DawginSC
quote:
Am I missing something?
His deep ball accuracy is just about the best I have ever seen. If his hamstring wasn't holding him back, at least a few of those incompletes would be scrambles for big gains. More than anything I think he helps the running backs. When he is a threat to keep, it helps open the running lanes. Also, stretching the defense vertically also opens up the running game.
Realistically he's probably a bit overhyped at the moment. There are questions about quick and intermediate passes. Sometimes he throws a covered deep pass when a higher % pass is available at a closer range, etc. But, he is promising for sure.
Posted on 11/24/24 at 5:16 pm to Allthatfades
He's a natural playmaker.
UF has talent. That's never the actual problem at Florida. They basically always have top 25 talent. Similar to LSU.
Team is playing well and the QB makes plays.
Always tough playing in the swamp.
UF has talent. That's never the actual problem at Florida. They basically always have top 25 talent. Similar to LSU.
Team is playing well and the QB makes plays.
Always tough playing in the swamp.
Posted on 11/24/24 at 5:19 pm to Allthatfades
I'm TERRIFIED we're gonna lose to FSU.
Posted on 11/24/24 at 5:20 pm to NickPapageorgio
The biggest issue by far still is Napier calls offensive plays. Hopefully the rumors are true and he hires Pitt's OC (Kerwin Bell's son) after the season.
Posted on 11/24/24 at 5:24 pm to DawginSC
quote:
I haven't paid a huge amount of attention to UF since we played them, but I looked at Lagway's stats for the last couple of wins.
You have to watch him to see how special he is. He isn't going to have stats that look amazing on paper. Go check out the first scoring drive vs Ole Miss. Dude has crazy ability.
Posted on 11/24/24 at 5:34 pm to AlligatorEnthusiast
quote:
Yeah, sort of. DJ pushes the ball down field, has great accuracy on the deeper throws, and just adds a dimension to the offense Mertz never could. We're also coming out on the right side of these close dog fights, when it had previously mostly gone the other way. The defense has certainly stepped up as of recent, but they've always had pockets of playing well. Everything is just clicking a little bit more now.
UF as a team has improved... but DJ's got a lot of sub 60% completion percentages which is generally NOT what you want to see from a QB.
I get he's got a strong arm, but I'm not seeing the accuracy that people are talking about. He's got a 58% completion percentage and it only looks that high because of games against Samford (72% on 25 throws), MSU (100% on 7 throws) and UCF (100% on 4 throws). Every other game has been 58% or worse this year.
It's hard to look past stats that don't seem all that great. I see other freshmen like Reed at A&M and Sellers at SC as well ahead of Lagway to be honest. I'm not sure if I'd say Lagway has performed better at QB than Van Buren at MSU has.
I honestly don't see a transformation in QB play from Mertz on paper. I just see the defense playing better. I mean 45 vs MSU compared to 48 vs UK... seems like the same thing. 24 vs Ole Miss and 27 vs LSU compared to 20 vs A&M also seems on par.
Maybe it's something not measureable like "leadership", but to me it looks like the main factor is the UF defense has improved a bit. Yes, I get that Mertz was more of a high accuracy short passer where Lagway is a low accuracy guy who takes deep shots, but the end results don't seem all that different.
Posted on 11/24/24 at 5:47 pm to 954gator
quote:
You have to watch him to see how special he is. He isn't going to have stats that look amazing on paper. Go check out the first scoring drive vs Ole Miss. Dude has crazy ability.
Well he was 4-4 (100%) throwing the ball on that drive. But that means on the other drives he was 6-13 (46%). He literally had 40% of all of the completions he had the entire game in that one drive.
Can you see how that might not seem like a good thing to some people?
I mean I look at Mertz vs A&M going 12/15 for 195, 1 TD and 1 INT.
I compare that to Lagway vs Ole Miss going 10-17 for 180, 2 TD and 1 INT
And I see those as about the same performance. The difference between them is the UF defense played a lot better vs Ole Miss (who has a way better offense than A&M) and players on UF other than Mertz added two turnovers for UF (in this case it was Lagway subbing in to throw picks) while nobody on UF turned the ball over against Ole Miss other than Lagway's pick.
The only thing I can imagine is that you're seeing potential. We saw that at UGA with Matt Stafford as a freshman. But the reality is... he also sucked as a freshman. He just had potential.
Posted on 11/24/24 at 5:47 pm to DawginSC
quote:
Lagway is a low accuracy guy who takes deep shots, but the end results don't seem all that different.
He just makes plays, you'd honestly have to just see it I guess, I'm not sure how else to describe it. He made a play yesterday where he scrambled around the pocket , and in the midst of getting sacked and brought to the ground, he got it out to a receiver who got a first down, Mertz would've been sacked and we would have punted. He's making Billy's Mickey Mouse offense work, and weather a difference can be spotted on the stat sheet I'm not sure, but you can certainly see it with your eyes.
Posted on 11/24/24 at 5:48 pm to Allthatfades
Seems like every season we get these teams that suddenly "turn it on" after their season is over and they can just play loose and ruin other people's seasons.
It rarely translates to long term success. Kansas is the current Big12 equivalent.
It rarely translates to long term success. Kansas is the current Big12 equivalent.
This post was edited on 11/24/24 at 5:50 pm
Posted on 11/24/24 at 5:57 pm to DawginSC
Like I said you have to see it is all I'm saying. 2 of those 4 throws he was already in the process of being sacked. Mertz and 99% of ncaa qbs couldn't make the throws he made on that drive. Don't get me wrong I'm sure there are qbs that could have done it a different way in the same situation, but he's special.
LINK
LINK
Posted on 11/24/24 at 6:00 pm to AlligatorEnthusiast
quote:
He just makes plays, you'd honestly have to just see it I guess, I'm not sure how else to describe it. He made a play yesterday where he scrambled around the pocket , and in the midst of getting sacked and brought to the ground, he got it out to a receiver who got a first down, Mertz would've been sacked and we would have punted.
But Mertz likely would have completed more passes in many of the other drives not resulting in as many of the other punts UF had.
UF punted against Ole Miss 7 times and had another drive end in a pick.
Again, using Mertz's performance against A&M as a comparable for Lagway vs Ole Miss.
Against A&M Mertz had 2 drives end in a punt and 1 end in a pick. 2 drives ended in TD's. He was only in there for 5 drives and had 20 points and 195 yards passing against A&M. He was alternating series with Lagway and Lagway wasn't very good.
I get that you see his talent shine through at times. But what doesn't seem to shine through is any kind of consistent statistical performance.
The more you guys post about it, the more I think of Matt Stafford as a freshman. Moments of incredible talent, but overall not good play.
Posted on 11/24/24 at 6:11 pm to DawginSC
quote:
Am I missing something? It seems like most of UF's success has been the defense stepping up. Am I wrong?
That's mostly right but at least two INTs you couldn't put on Lagway. He's played really well, had some true freshman moments but mostly an upgrade
Posted on 11/24/24 at 6:12 pm to 954gator
quote:
Like I said you have to see it is all I'm saying. 2 of those 4 throws he was already in the process of being sacked. Mertz and 99% of ncaa qbs couldn't make the throws he made on that drive. Don't get me wrong I'm sure there are qbs that could have done it a different way in the same situation, but he's special.
I guess I'm not seeing it. 5 of his 10 completions against Ole Miss were in that video. Only one was more than 20 yards down the field and the player was wide open in a busted coverage that most QB's could complete.
One was a middle distance pass while getting sacked. It was nice in that he got it off, but other than that it was a normal throw.
The other three were dump off's within 5 yards of the LOS. I didn't even see any "wow" pass plays like I saw with Stafford where he'd thread a needle 30+ yards down the field on a throw he shouldn't have attempted that just make you imagine how good he'd be when he made good decisions. With those clips the only impressive factor was him escaping the rush and getting passes off under pressure. The throws weren't impressive.
This kind of feels like Tennessee fans talking about Nico when they were undefeated when Nico wasn't the actual reason they were winning games.
Posted on 11/24/24 at 6:16 pm to DawginSC
Ole Miss has a really good defense.
Just like the UF defense is solid and was making plays.
The kid is young so he can grow in the passing game I'm sure. He extends plays in the pocket. I was impressed with him against what is a very, very good Ole Miss defense.
I don't know anything about your other QB but from what I saw, his team believes in him....and that matters, a lot.
UF won where you have to win, OL/DL. Running and playing D and letting your playmaker QB make a few plays to win. UF got a lot of momentum heading into 2025.
Just like the UF defense is solid and was making plays.
The kid is young so he can grow in the passing game I'm sure. He extends plays in the pocket. I was impressed with him against what is a very, very good Ole Miss defense.
I don't know anything about your other QB but from what I saw, his team believes in him....and that matters, a lot.
UF won where you have to win, OL/DL. Running and playing D and letting your playmaker QB make a few plays to win. UF got a lot of momentum heading into 2025.
Page 1 of 2
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News