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Who gets the blame; the players or coaches?

Much of the criticism this season for Florida has been aimed at Urban Meyer and Steve Addazio. Between not being able to settle on a quarterback or No. 1 receiving option and poor play calling, there is a significant about of doubt in the team's coaching staff.

But, if John Brantley was more accurate and performed better under pressure, he would have locked up the quarterback position. But, if the offensive line blocked better and Mike Pouncey was a better center, that would have helped too. It also has not helped Florida to have Andre Debose, Jeff Demps, Mike Gillislee and Chris Rainey all miss time. 

Florida's problems clearly go both ways, but to me, the failures of the coaching staff are far beyond what the players have done. UF has had enough big plays this season to demonstrate they have talent. However, I tend to side with players before coaches in any sport.

What do you think? Vote in the poll below and drop your thoughts in the comments.

Poll
Who is to blame for Florida's poor season?
Meyer and Addazio
935 votes
The players
83 votes

1018 votes | Poll has closed

Comment 38 comments  |  0 recs  | 

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The coaches.

The Once and Future King

by FlaGators on Nov 15, 2010 7:50 AM EST reply actions  

has to be the coaches

I think we all know how much talent the Gators have, and it’s the coaches job to put that talent in the right position to win. I don’t think you could identify a single offensive player, who’s had the kind of season that they’re capable of. Obviously for some, like Rainey and Demps, there are extenuating circumstances, but seriously not a single offensive player had a season commiserate with their potential….that’s on the coaching

by Cardsfan25 on Nov 15, 2010 8:40 AM EST reply actions  

Need a both option

Players have not performed well with any consistency, but the coaches have not placed them in a position to succeed.

Also, anyone else find it strange that the only player to score a TD in the thee quarters was never involved in the offense?

by Pecan on Nov 15, 2010 8:41 AM EST reply actions  

Ha. That is so sad, but at the same time so true.

The Once and Future King

by FlaGators on Nov 15, 2010 10:51 AM EST up reply actions  

Well - look at this way.

Would you call Thompson a good player? Despite the drops, yes, overall I think he’s “good.” Not great. Burton? Ditto. DuBose, Demps, Rainey? Ditto. Pouncey? Now, yes – same goes for defense.

Now, would you call Steve Addazio a good offensive coordinator?

Thought so.

To me, this means that even though the players (obviously) share the blame, I’m looking first at Addazio. And if I’m looking to swing the axe, that’s where I’m looking first. Maybe not the only place, but definitely first.

STR 11 DEX 14 CON 10 INT 16 WIS 14 CHA 16

by delicious.crab on Nov 15, 2010 9:22 AM EST reply actions   1 recs

exactly...

personally I think it would be a cop out to blame the players exclusively for this. Florida recruits at a level that almost everyone else, only dreams of. Now, even with that, you may have a down year, or a rebuilding year, but we know what these players are capable of. It’s the job of the coaches to take these uber talented kids, and make them into champions, not the other way around.

by Cardsfan25 on Nov 15, 2010 9:53 AM EST up reply actions  

Unfair

No, a third grader still has the potential to learn from his mistakes. Given a little time he’d make something edible.

This OC has been given plenty of time and still won’t admit his cooking stinks.

by ThomasD89 on Nov 15, 2010 10:10 AM EST up reply actions  

yep

it began last year
we were so predictable, especially in short yardage situations, that it cost us bigtime
now we are doing the same things, but with less capable players

we also lost charlie strong last year and gonzalez the year before

not many left from last championship season

I may be in a rut, but at least I know where I'm going
...to DFA TLR

by sportsman on Nov 15, 2010 11:57 PM EST up reply actions  

Greatness.

The Once and Future King

by FlaGators on Nov 15, 2010 10:51 AM EST up reply actions  

Third Option

Injuries.

If we have a healthy O-line, maybe they block better.
If we have a healthy Demps and unsuspended Rainey, maybe we win against LSU.
If we have a healthy Caleb Sturgis, we DO win against Miss St.
We go from being 6-4 to maybe 8-2.

Do I think that the coaches game plans have been… lacking? At times. Sure. But I have the benefit of hindsight.
Do I think the players haven’t quite executed? Sure, at times. But some of the game plans didn’t put them in position enough times.

That said, I’d still demote Addazio… the O line hasn’t performed nearly as well since he’s become Coordinator, and I’m assuming it’s because he can’t concentrate on his duties as Line Coach.

by The Commenter Formerly Known as Not You on Nov 15, 2010 12:42 PM EST reply actions  

only a partial explanation.

Injuries might explain a number of things this season. They do not explain last Saturday night at all.

by ThomasD89 on Nov 15, 2010 1:01 PM EST up reply actions  

Trick Question.

The thing is, the coaching staff handpicked all of these players. They’ve trained them, developed the schemes they run, gameplan for them, etc. In college football, it is all 100% on the coaching staff. Especially at a place like Florida, where you basically have your pick of the national litter…

MileHighReport.com member since 02/06/07, promoted to "Position Coach" (i.e. new staff writer) on 02/16/10!

by ejruiz on Nov 15, 2010 1:39 PM EST reply actions  

coaches

they are responsible for the plays called and the positions the players are playing. they are also largely responsible for the progress (or lack there of) that the current players are making..

Gotta rest 75% of the failures this season on the coaching. 20% on the players, and possibly 5% on unforseen stuff.

by silverstreak3k on Nov 15, 2010 3:46 PM EST reply actions  

Bye bye Addazio

For the slow learners amongst us, if UM riding his defense all year last year to an inevitable loss in the SEC title game wasn’t enough, it should have been obvious how oblivious and stubborn both Addazio and Meyer are when they moved a perfectly good offensive guard to center – a position Pouncey had never played before. When it became immediately clear he could not handle the position, instead of moving him back to guard and replacing him with an experienced center (we can assume they recruited one, can’t we? Who snapped the ball to Brantley when he was on the 2nd team?), they did nothing – result, numerous bobbled snaps, poor pass protection – but a grade of A from Addazio every week. Might as well have asked him to play tight end. Just an illustration.

by CvGator on Nov 15, 2010 5:28 PM EST reply actions  

I was talking about this the other day

The blame has to be mainly on the coaches for this all. There are a lot of worse offensive teams doing a lot more offensively than us. Bad teams with a lot less talent find ways to score and put up points yet we cant get a drive going… Brantley has been terrible but the coaches should then not have him play. We have way too much talent to not be doing anything with the offense and that means it comes down to the schemes and coaching.

by MPDevils on Nov 15, 2010 5:49 PM EST reply actions  

Sad Season

A team boils itself down to it’s essence pretty quickly, if allowed and leaders emerge. If a team is overly tampered with, it’s true leaders may never come to the surface. A big part of coaching is observing and respecting the natural chemistry among the players. Tim Tebow was a once-in-a-lifetime player with all the gifts and the fire to compete. Brantley has not been given an ideal situation for his abilities but he has not left his heart on the field either. The raw talent of this Florida Gator team is stunning. If Meyer and Addazio take a two week ski vacation and let the team choose the starters, UF will win their remaining games. A coach’s job is to guide and let the fire burn.

by renegator on Nov 15, 2010 10:17 PM EST reply actions  

i'm not sure the talent is stunning

it’s not coaching that we can’t get a pass rush from 4 lineman, or even blitzing
it may be a little bit coaching that we could not stop miss st running the ball, exclusively, in the 2nd half, but also a weakness in the d-line and middle linebacker.
will hill has not been an eraser in the secondary, more of a lost puppy
no strong, no haden, no spikes, 2 manly d-ends—dropped off on all accounts
this starts with recruiting, ie, having 15 wide receivers on the roster, 16 with rainy

I may be in a rut, but at least I know where I'm going
...to DFA TLR

by sportsman on Nov 16, 2010 12:10 AM EST up reply actions  

How long is Meyer exempt?

I’ve heard plenty of people calling for Addazio’s firing, but I’ve read articles on ESPN and from the Sentinel today saying that Meyer has no plans to fire Addazio.
At what point do we say that enough is enough? Yes, Meyer has brought in some great recruiting classes, but if he continues to support his friend Addazio and not see the path that he is leading this program down, when do we let him stop resting on his laurels and stop the damage he’s doing to the program by refusing to axe Addazio?

http://www.firesteveaddazio.com/

by colombo259 on Nov 15, 2010 10:36 PM EST reply actions  

Winning Two National Championships

gives Urban a tremendous amount of goodwill. Granted, he’s burning through that goodwill quickly, but I doubt he’ll ever be fired. He’s been friends with Bernie Machen ever since they were both at Utah.

The only way I see Meyer leaving is if the Boosters stop contributing. Money talks.

"I’ll tell you one thing: The grass at Tiger Stadium tastes best."

by LesMilesEatsGrass on Nov 16, 2010 10:13 AM EST up reply actions  

I agree that Urban won't be fired...

But I believe that because I think if he can’t turn it around, he’ll retire. I don’t think Machen would interfere with a decision that’s Jeremy Foley’s to make…

by The Commenter Formerly Known as Not You on Nov 16, 2010 12:48 PM EST up reply actions  

it’s the coaches obviously but meyer has won two championships which pretty much gives him the right to burn this program to the ground and replace it with a dance team if he wants. (which is what he appears to be doing)

by travy on Nov 16, 2010 7:47 AM EST reply actions  

Coaches are not in the Huddle

The players have gotten fat, dumb and happy. They are living off past performances, usually built on the backs of others. There efforts, discipline and execution is poor.

by Lord Willie on Nov 16, 2010 10:39 AM EST reply actions  

Coaches didn't set the right expectations

Given the high expectations, they needed to reset expectations, like lower them so they can develop the talent they have instead of try and win now and slow the development of players.

They seem to want to continue to run a scheme that needs a dual option QB. But they don’t have Tebow anymore so they are creating a 2-3 headed Tebow. They should stick with developing a dual threat and pick someone who will get the needed reps so they can develop. The current 3-headed QB seems to only confuse the offense. Also with a defense that cannot stop the run, going no-huddle 3-and-out will only wear down the defense. If Brantley is in they might throw but doesn’t look like he gets enough reps or the passing attack isn’t that well developed. When Burton or Reed is in you know it’s a run, so they can just run blitz.

Coaches should have just said it’s going to be a transition year because they need to develop that dual threat QB, Reed or Burton. Because I don’t see them changing their stripes and going with a different style offense. But even if they do develop such a dual threat, folks are starting to figure out the run oriented spread attack, even Tebow last year wasn’t moving the ball as well. It’s all about being able to adaptable.

Gator football should take a look at the basketball team and see what they went thru after the national championships. They had down years trying to rebuild and it’s kinda expected. It should be more a transition year.

by gatorchuck on Nov 16, 2010 12:26 PM EST reply actions  

no pointing fingers, no excuses...only solutions....riiiighhhhttt

Meyer says he’s not into blame and excuses but rather into finding solutions (sounds good, right?) and yet he has repeatedly blamed the players (poor execution, lack of intensity, lack of energy, etc.) and has repeatedly made excuses (inefficient practices, injuries, some kind of unknown ‘void’, etc.). So, stop contradicting yourself, coach, and truth is – if you don’t correctly identify the problem, how will you ever find the right solution? Here’s the point, what he’s really not into is…he’s not into blaming the coaches and having to then make excuses for THEM. I’ve always liked Meyer well enough up to this point but to be honest, lately he’s been saying some strange things. One of the strangest is when he said there are no bad plays/calls. In other words, in his world, the play may not be executed properly but that doesn’t mean it was a bad call. So, the jump pass was a good call (even though Alabama knew we were going to run it well before the ball was ever snapped) and we could all give many examples of supposed ‘good calls’. Please. Main point and question – Has Meyer ever admitted that he and/or his coaches are at least partly to blame? His failure to ever blame HIMSELF or his coach/friend smacks of arrogance and it’s getting very tiresome. Meyer should pay Tebow at least half his salary from the past four years because it’s becoming very apparent that in additon to Tebow’s great ability to make plays, HE brought an intensity to the team which Meyer, without Tebow, doesn’t have.

by swamplifer on Nov 16, 2010 8:52 PM EST reply actions  

The “intensity” lacking is a function of horrible offense. No one gets excited about 3 and outs. Can you imagine Brantley pumping up the crowd after getting sacked on 3rd down for the 3rd time???

Meyer has lost his mind if he thinks it’s not time to “blame.” Blame is part of identifying the problem. That blame belongs to Addazio (and Meyer for trusting Addazio). We fell off last year and made excuses about missing Harvin and Murphy. We played a lot of close games, relied on the defense, and Tebow went and won games on his own at the end. You could just see Tebow at the end of games glaring at Addazio and doing the exact opposite of what Addazio wanted, which was exactly what it took to win.

So what do we do this year? We take a QB fit for a passing attack and give him the keys to the offense when the O-line has never blocked for a pocket passer. We recruit no big RB and no blocking TE. It’s too late to recruit the pieces Brantley needs to be successful. The coaches need to do Brantley the favor of recognizing this and allowing him to go somewhere he can be successful with the one season he has left to audition for the NFL.

by Andrew Nordine on Nov 16, 2010 10:32 PM EST reply actions  

Totally agree with you analysis. Sad but true.

by tngtr100 on Nov 17, 2010 10:13 AM EST up reply actions  

I’m sorry to disagree with Urban, but the reason the effort isn’t there from the players is they don’t believe in the system either. The stats show very clearly that it is play calling not player effort. There is no plan or organization to the play calling. They don’t stick with anything long enough for it to work. It is like he can’t figure out what kind of team they are, and every play is within 10 yards of the line. Using half of your plays on the dive play or end around that everyone knows is coming doesn’t work. If we would have had Dan Mullen as OC last year with Tebow there is no doubt we would have had another National Championship. Tebow will-powered us to several victories even though he was hamstrung by Adazio’s play calling. As long as Adazio is around the Gators will continue to struggle and lose recruits. I just feel bad for Brantley and all of the players who are stuck in this system without direction.

by tngtr100 on Nov 17, 2010 10:12 AM EST reply actions  

i totally agree. seems like they go with what has made them successful in the past. problem is they dont have tebow anymore.

this 3-headed QB system makes little sense to me. might work on vandy, but not on a top defensive team. also teams have figured out they can run on the gators, so this no-huddle thing can really back fire.

by gatorchuck on Nov 17, 2010 1:09 PM EST up reply actions  

Will somebody please post this on campus

If you live on or near campus will you please print the graph out and post it around campus on the bulletin boards and whatnot. It is really time for the players and coaches to realize that this is the prevalent attitude amongst Gator fans. If Meyer thinks the players are about to mutiny then perhaps change may happen.

Also, don’t go to the App St game this weekend. It will probably be another embarrassment anyways and if the stadium is half empty the UAA will start to worry about lower concession revenue.

by Tractorr on Nov 17, 2010 10:45 AM EST reply actions  

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