11/15: Weis evaluates players, talks offense

As the Florida Gators prepare for their upcoming home contest against the Furman Paladins on Nov. 19 in The Swamp, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis met with the media on Tuesday to discuss his team’s upcoming game.

DESPITE SETBACKS, EFFORT REMAINS IMPRESSIVE

The Gators may not be performing up to Weis’s standards on the field but during practice throughout the week they continue to make him smile.

“I just came back from practice and I’m talking to one guy and saying, ‘That’s not a 5-5 team,’” Weis recalled, noting that the team was upbeat and working hard. “As one of my old mentors said, ‘You are what you are.’ We’re 5-5 for a reason, because we’ve been too inconsistent at critical times.”

He was also impressed in the fact that the players showed up 15 minutes early for their weekly meeting on Monday at 6 a.m., explaining that is usually not the mentality of a team with such a record.

“I am not saying I was shocked, but I was pleasantly surprised. I always get here early, and I was surprised that so many of the guys, when you have a 6:00 meeting, were here so early,” he said. “Usually they’re ducking for cover. That’s usually the case. That has not been the case with this team. I can’t really put my finger on it, but it’s definitely a positive not a negative.”

OFFENSE MUST AND WILL EVOLVE IN 2012
[EXPAND Click to expand and read the remainder of this post.]Florida’s two speedsters – running backs redshirt senior Chris Rainey and senior Jeff Demps – have at most three games remaining in the orange and blue. Once they are off the team, the Gators’ offense is going to have to be reshaped, but Weis said Tuesday that he is not overly concerned with their replacements picking everything up.

“What they all know is they all know the system. They all know the verbiage. They all know the terminology. They all know how to get lined up. They all know how to motion. Now that allows you to do just about anything. Most playbooks, especially with guys who have been doing this for a while, are quite expansive. And then you try to find out who you have and direct it in certain directions,” he said.

One player who may play a big role in his junior season is newly positioned RB Trey Burton, someone who has been in at halfback, fullback, quarterback and wide receiver.

“We’re going to get to this offseason and settle him in at one position, give him a chance,” Weis said. “For example, when Rainey and Demps are gone, rather than play him at fullback, play him at halfback and give him the chance to be the guy at halfback. We’ll have to wait and see how that goes. There isn’t one guy who wants to be a jack of all trades and master of none. They want to find a home and be the guy where they have an opportunity to help the team however we see best.”

PLAYER EVALUATIONS

Redshirt sophomore tight end Jordan Reed: “Jordan’s arrow has been pointed up for over a month now. […] On and off the field, every day Jordan with us has been pointing up. It makes it easier now because now you can coach him harder. I always coach people hard to start off with, but you can squeeze them more because when they have some success they’re willing to take even harder criticism and that makes them better. The harder you get on them without them going in the tank, the better off they play. Jordan has got a very high ceiling that hasn’t even come close to being reached yet.”

Redshirt freshman guard Ian Silberman: “I only worry about the guys that are really out there repping right now. He’s not getting a lot of reps right now. If he were playing well enough, he would be in there. I’m not trying to be sarcastic, that’s very matter-of-fact. Frank [Verducci] does a diligent study on those linemen. If he thought he deserved to be in the first seven-or-eight guys, he’d be in the first seven-or-eight guys.”

Wide receivers: “I’m not happy with the production at a lot of positions, receiver being one of them. It’s tough to be happy with the production. Am I happy with the effort? Am I happy with their blocking? Yeah, but am I happy with the production that we’re getting? No. Join the club.”

NOTES AND QUOTES

» On his frustrations with the offense: “I’m frustrated on a number of things. It starts off by not scoring enough points. That’s really the bottom line. In a game like South Carolina, you get in the red zone three times and you only come up with one touchdown. That’s just not good enough. They get down there and they score two touchdowns and that’s the difference in the ball game. Sometimes in the Southeastern Conference you’re going to win games in the teens. Not every game is going to be in the 20s, 30s and 40s. That’s the frustrating thing, getting down on the two-yard-line and ending up having to settle for three, getting down on the five-yard-line and ending up having to settle for three. Those types of things are frustrating, yes.”

» On using a cane during the South Carolina game: “What has happened is my knees are great but my left hip is killing me. I can either take a lot of drugs and walk fine – it’s one thing if you take it at 9 at night like a painkiller – but then it affects you during the day. You really can’t do [your job on drugs]. People will probably wonder if I took them anyway.”

» Weis said the pistol set was installed because of redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley’s limited mobility due to his ankle but added that it will not disappear from the playbook when he is fully healthy. “I like it,” he said before noting that “there’s things that you lose not being underneath center.” Elements of the pistol have given the Gators an added dimension. “It’s something you don’t throw away,” he continued. “You’re not going to run your whole offense from it but there are elements you can go ahead and utilize.”[/EXPAND]