pandora
09-23-2005, 11:51 AM
AUDIBLES WITH LEAD COLLEGE FOOTBALL ANALYST TODD BLACKLEDGE
(On Florida’s Offensive Struggles vs. Tennessee): There were three factors involved. The offensive line did not play particularly well. Chris Leak is still going through growing pains with the offense, as all of them are, but particularly him because it’s a quarterback-based offense. And the third factor is that Tennessee is really good on defense. Their defensive line is an outstanding group and in a number of situations in that game they just physically manhandled Florida upfront. The other thing that really hurt their offense the other night was they had about ten penalties as a team and a good number were mental-type mistakes on their offense, motion penalties and false starts, that set them back at the beginning of drives.
(Florida’s Offense vs. Kentucky): I would expect the whole offense to play much better this week. Part of that is obviously they are not facing the same caliber defense against Kentucky. Kentucky is a defense that is kind of beat up with injuries on top of the fact that they aren’t as deep or talented as some of the other defenses in the league. I see this as an opportunity for Florida to take a step forward offensively and get some confidence, continuity and consistency. I would expect they will look a lot better on offense this week. If they don’t, then I would say it’s a little bit of a cause for concern as they get into the meat of their schedule.
(On Florida’s Injuries): Andre Caldwell was a critical player in their offense because it gave them four outstanding receivers and now you have to think they are down to three, which is still more than a lot of people have. They have healthier, quality receivers then Kentucky has, for sure. The injury to Ray McDonald, probably their best pass rusher and defensive end, hurts them with his big play ability. But, there is a chance they will get him back in 4-6 weeks. They are both critical injuries because they were key players, but Florida will be able to plug some people in there and be okay.
(Kentucky’s Keys to the Game): They have to play their best game of the year. They played well in the second half against Louisville. I would say the need that kind of effort, the kind of enthusiasm and energy they showed in the third and fourth quarters against Louisville in a comeback. That is the way they have to play from the very beginning of this game. They can’t afford to get down early. And, they have to have some good things happen to them early on both sides of the ball. If they can do that, get the crowd involved and keep the crowd involved, then it could be interesting. But they really need to play at a very high level.
CBS Sports’ coverage of SEC College Football continues on Saturday, Sept. 24 (3:30 PM, ET), with national coverage of *No. 5-ranked Florida visiting SEC Eastern Divisional foe Kentucky
(On Florida’s Offensive Struggles vs. Tennessee): There were three factors involved. The offensive line did not play particularly well. Chris Leak is still going through growing pains with the offense, as all of them are, but particularly him because it’s a quarterback-based offense. And the third factor is that Tennessee is really good on defense. Their defensive line is an outstanding group and in a number of situations in that game they just physically manhandled Florida upfront. The other thing that really hurt their offense the other night was they had about ten penalties as a team and a good number were mental-type mistakes on their offense, motion penalties and false starts, that set them back at the beginning of drives.
(Florida’s Offense vs. Kentucky): I would expect the whole offense to play much better this week. Part of that is obviously they are not facing the same caliber defense against Kentucky. Kentucky is a defense that is kind of beat up with injuries on top of the fact that they aren’t as deep or talented as some of the other defenses in the league. I see this as an opportunity for Florida to take a step forward offensively and get some confidence, continuity and consistency. I would expect they will look a lot better on offense this week. If they don’t, then I would say it’s a little bit of a cause for concern as they get into the meat of their schedule.
(On Florida’s Injuries): Andre Caldwell was a critical player in their offense because it gave them four outstanding receivers and now you have to think they are down to three, which is still more than a lot of people have. They have healthier, quality receivers then Kentucky has, for sure. The injury to Ray McDonald, probably their best pass rusher and defensive end, hurts them with his big play ability. But, there is a chance they will get him back in 4-6 weeks. They are both critical injuries because they were key players, but Florida will be able to plug some people in there and be okay.
(Kentucky’s Keys to the Game): They have to play their best game of the year. They played well in the second half against Louisville. I would say the need that kind of effort, the kind of enthusiasm and energy they showed in the third and fourth quarters against Louisville in a comeback. That is the way they have to play from the very beginning of this game. They can’t afford to get down early. And, they have to have some good things happen to them early on both sides of the ball. If they can do that, get the crowd involved and keep the crowd involved, then it could be interesting. But they really need to play at a very high level.
CBS Sports’ coverage of SEC College Football continues on Saturday, Sept. 24 (3:30 PM, ET), with national coverage of *No. 5-ranked Florida visiting SEC Eastern Divisional foe Kentucky