The Silver Bullet: A Coach's Story

[trekfan]

System/Game: PS3/NCAA Football 14
(Moved to PC and RPCS3 for the 2016 season)

Mode: Dynasty
Rosters: 2013 Roster Set by jhasley10
Sliders: All-American – no alteration to anything, straight default flavor
(For Year 3 2015 season, these were switched to Heisman, fatigue off, to provide a greater challenge and increase user injuries)


Quarter Length: 8 Minutes


Coach Progression: Normal
Coach Contracts: ON

My coach is at a normal progression but starts off with 0 skills — he’s totally new to this game, coming from a non-coordinator background (think a Dabo situation) and taking over a big program.


House Rules:

I’ve added in a few wrinkles to keep this interesting, but nothing too extreme. I haven’t played this game for many years and recently renewed my love of it when I found some classic college football games on YouTube.


1. Juniors MUST leave – if a junior declares for the draft, I cannot persuade them to stay. I’m of the mindset that if a player wants to go pro and get that money, then they should, so that’s what my coach here will do as well. This means that when recruiting I’m going to have to take my best guess at who among my juniors/redshirt sophomores are staying or going, which adds a bit of guesswork.


2. Schedule MUST rank at least A in difficulty – I’m not here to play (many) patsy schools. My schedule must be tough in order to impress the pollsters and get my program to the top of the mountain.


3. Opening game must be a top-25 opponent every-other year, minimum – my school must schedule a tough opener every other season (starting in year 1).


4. Random number generator for random storylines – at the beginning of each year I roll between 0-10 using a random number generator. That determines the number of “storylines” my team will have in a given year. If that number hits 0, my team starts the season with no storylines.


If it’s greater than 0, we go into the roll off. So, say for instance I roll a 5 at the beginning of the year – that means I have 5 storylines I must choose for my team. I’ve composed a list of 99 of the most common college storylines you can get – from training camp accidents, arrests, injuries (sending guys to the bottom of the depth chart to remove any chance of play time), suspensions, academic issues … you get the gist.


Since I rolled a 5, that means I have 5 attempts in the 1-99 random number generator. For each attempt, I have to choose a position group (there are QBs, RBs, FBs, WRs, TEs, Ts, Gs, Cs, DEs, DTs, OLBs, MLBs, CBs, FS, SS, K, P — so 17 in total) for that storyline to take place.


So, I rolled a 5, I then roll 1-99 and it lands on #29 — suspension. I then roll for the position group, 1-17, and it lands on 7 — so one of my guards is about to get suspended. I then look to see total number of guards, set the number generator 1-maximum number (let’s say 6), and it lands on 2 — that means my second best guard must be suspended.


I then roll 1-15 (number of weeks in season) to see how long that storyline plays out, and that guard is suspended for that amount of time.


It’s kinda a long math problem but it adds a good bit of flavor to the proceedings.






And with that out of the way … welcome! I’m trekfan, a frequent poster of dynasties over in the basketball side of the forum, and a lifelong, diehard fan of one team and one team alone: the Florida Gators. NCAA Football used to be how I got my fix in the long summer months back when I was in school, many moons ago, and I recently rediscovered my love of this game. I went and tracked down a good copy off Ebay (my first attempt with the Gamestop copy did not work, as that disc looked like it was used by a DJ with long fingernails), dusted off my old PS3 (still rocking), grabbed a capture card, and have my set up locked in.




I’ve got a bunch of material written up, two season’s worth, and I’m steadily adding to it as we go along — so sit back, relax, and enjoy. I’ll be reporting on the team and the squad with news articles, game recaps, recruiting news, and looks at the top-25 each week.


As always, any and all comments are welcome.

Florida Gator Ring of Honor

[trekfan]

Florida Hires Eric Silver to Replace Muschamp

By Sabrina Barrows 1/31/13



The Florida Gators didn’t expect to be in this position after finishing the season 11-2. Fresh off a loss in the Sugar Bowl against Louisville and former Gators Defensive Coordinator Charlie Strong. Florida had a hugely successful year, filled with a dominant defense and an offense that did just enough — but it wasn’t enough for Coach Will Muschamp. After being lured away by the Gators two years ago from Texas, Muschamp returned to the Longhorns to take over their head job after Mack Brown retired (or was convinced to retire).



Muschamp takes over a Texas program that won their final game of the year for Coach Brown, but left the Gators lurching — Florida has, over the last two decades, been a top-tier program in the football world. But with Muschamp leaving, the Gators and Athletic Director Jeremy Foley were left high and dry.



Foley could have gone any number of directions to replace Muschamp. He could have tried to convince Spurrier to come back (a favorite dream of some older Gator fans). There was always Dan Mullen, the coordinator that seemed to make Meyers offense go best during the peak years of Urban’s reign. But Foley went way, way out into left field and hired a man whose name was on no one’s tongue: Eric Silver.



Who? Exactly.



Silver isn’t a no name; he’s known to be a hard worker, a valued member of Mullen’s staff as a recruiter, line coach, wide receiver coach, and quarterback coach. He has had many positions on either Meyer’s staff (starting as a graduate assistant fresh out of college at Bowling Green) or on Mullen’s staff, as a lead offensive assistant who filled whatever role was asked of him.



But Eric Silver has never been a coordinator. He’s never been a head coach. He’s never been in the big chair with a diehard fanbase desperate to get back to title contention. Though the last Gator title was only four short years ago, it feels like the program has become unstable — this will mark the Gators’ third head coach in four seasons.



The opening press conference announcing Silver’s hire amounted to an awkward first date; Foley seemed sure that he had found his guy.



“I have a great deal of respect for Coach Mullen and Coach Meyer — both men have done a lot for this program. I wanted to hire a coach who knew, intimately, the level of dedication and skill that would be required of the head coach of the Florida Gators, and Eric is that man. He has a clear plan for this team and how he’s going to bring a national championship back to this school,” said Foley.



All well and good, but it certainly sounded like Foley was explaining why his choice for the biggest job on campus came down to an assistant of one coach who abandoned the program with “health” issues (Meyer) and another coach who left the program on chilly terms (Mullen).



Silver, for his part, acquitted himself well in the press conference, answering the criticisms of his hire head on.



“I have no experience as a head coach or a coordinator — that’s a fact. It isn’t because I was awful at either, it’s because that’s not what was needed from me. I’m a person who will fully dedicate himself to the task I’m assigned to and Director Foley has assigned me the task of being the head coach of the Florida Gators; I will make sure he doesn’t regret it, I will make sure the players, staff members, and fans of our program don’t regret it. The only ones who will regret it will be the opposing teams — that much I can guarantee you.”



Silver had an air of Spurrier-like confidence about him — he didn’t shy away from answering hard questions, or from taking a few shots at rival schools, as demonstrated by his answer regarding a question about Florida State, and how they claimed dominance of the state.



“Losers can’t claim dominance over the winner,” Silver said. “This team put up 24 points in the final quarter of our last game with them and they want to say they’re the best? Not even a good joke.”



Silver talked the talk, but the question for Gator faithful — and for any of their rivals — is what will he do on the field? With no experience as a coordinator or head coach, Silver is the ultimate enigma.



As a source close to the program put it, “He’s either going to make everyone look like a genius — Foley included — or get everyone fired. That’s the bottom line.”



For the Gator faithful, they’re hoping against hope the former scenario will play out.

[trekfan]

Five Wide: Top Questions for 2013 Gators
By Sabrina Barrows 5/31/13



The Florida Gators are four months into the reign of Coach Eric Silver and its clear where the coach is going — back to the recent past and the Urban Meyer era. Silver has hired longtime friend and fellow Mississippi State assistant Ricardo Gonzales as his defensive coordinator, giving Gonzales — a longtime staff member of either Meyer or Mullen, and a former Iraq war veteran — a chance to prove he can run a defensive in totality. Gonzales has been up for a few coordinator jobs in the past, but has stayed with either Meyer or Mullen.



As for offensive coordinator? That job is also Eric Silvers, as the coach, a longtime offensive assistant, will be designing the playbook and calling the shots himself. Silver has promised to return to the Gators spread option offense, and throw in a couple of wrinkles of his own.



The months of speculation and hirings have led to a number of questions from the Gator faithful, so in this edition of Five Wide, I’ll ask the most pressing of those questions and provide my best guesses at the answers.



1. Who’s the Gators starting QB?



Is it Jeff Driskel, Tyler Murphy, or Skylar Morhinweg? As the quarterback of the Florida Gators goes, so does the school in many cases; rare has the occasion been when the Gators were in title contention and didn’t have a highly-regarded QB. Florida has a number of options — two juniors (Murphy a redshirt junior) and a redshirt freshmen are the choices on the roster right now.



If Eric Silver is true to his word and indeed plans to run a spread option attack, any one of the players could theoretically fit, but its likely between Driskel and Murphy. Murphy is a mystery — he saw no game time last season and will have a chance to take the starting job away from Driskel, who was fine starting last season — 12 TDs, 1648 yards passing, and only 5 INTs — but has never had a ‘wow’ moment.



If Driskel wins the starting competition, expect the offense to be opened up more than it was under Muschamp, though there’s no telling if that will be a good or bad thing.



2. Who’s starting HB?



Florida lost senior Mike Gillislee to graduation, which leaves the running back job wide open. Mack Brown and Matt Jones were both above average as backups, but neither carried a huge load and neither gives Gator fans confidence they won’t fumble.



Enter in freshmen back Kelvin Taylor, the son of legendary Gator Fred Taylor, and a back many have high hopes for. Taylor is a powerful but speedy runner, a player that eats up big chunks of yards and can be a reliable receiving back as well — he’s no Jeff Demps, but he may very well be the kind of player that thrives in the offense of Eric Silver. Will the new head coach trust Taylor enough to play him? That’s the million dollar question, but sources inside Florida indicate that Silver is leaning heavily towards starting the true freshmen Taylor over the upperclassman.



3. Which receiver will break out?



Any Meyer/Mullen type offense needs a wide receiver who can haul in passes and take it a long way up field. Meyer’s first offenses had the likes of Dallas Baker and Louis Murphy before Percy Harvin walked through the door and made speed a priority.



Florida doesn’t have anyone close to Harvin on the roster right now, but they will need to find steady contributions from one of their many upperclassman wide receivers. Will it be Trey Burton? Solomon Patton? Andre Dubose? Quinton Dunbar? Could Silver find another receiver buried on the roster to use?



One of the receivers will need to step up and be the go-to target for their quarterback. Burton is the likeliest candidate, with Dunbar behind him.



4. Which Gator defense will show up?



Florida’s defense lost a lot of talent on that side of the ball to the NFL draft and now has to contend with an entirely new defensive coordinator and style. The holdovers from last year’s defense — Dominique Easely, Michael Taylor, Antonio Morrison, Cody Riggs — each are crucial to making the transition as smooth as possible.



But Florida’s defense was almost an all-or-nothing affair last season. The Gators on defense played better with leads than without, but they either gave up little, some or a lot of points. The final four games of the year the Gators give up 20 to Louisiana, 0 to Jacksonville State, 26 to FSU, and 33 to Louisville.



Can the Gators defense be closer to the 20 than the 33? That’s the question the staff has to answer. With the veteran talent on the roster, our guess is that the Gators defense looks closer to the 20 points a game team, though with a new scheme, that could radically alter how well some players play.



5. What will Florida’s record be at year’s end?



The biggest question on the board and with the deepest implications. Florida finished the regular season at 11-1, normally good enough to win the SEC East and make it to the title game — but that one loss came against Georgia, who also finished 11-1, and Florida lost out on a conference title chance because of it. The Gators then dropped their bowl against former Gator DC Charlie Strong, finishing the year with a tepid 11-2.



This season, there is plenty of reason for optimism — and also concern. Florida features a new coach, a brand new defensive scheme, and a return to an offense fans remember fondly … when it worked. Florida’s schedule does it few favors as the Gators first home game isn’t until Week 4 of the season. The Gators schedule goes something like this:



Boise State (Neutral Site)
@ Miami
BYE
Tennessee
@ Kentucky
Arkansas
@ LSU
@ Missouri
BYE
Georgia (Neutral Site)
Vanderbilt
@ South Carolina
Florida Atlantic
FSU
BYE

The toughest games the Gators have are either at a neutral site or on the road — minus FSU, which is a home game at the Swamp. Looking at schedule and taking into account all the changes for the Gators, I have the Gators falling to LSU, South Carolina, and FSU — the talent and experience of those teams makes them difficult games to win. A 9-3 record would be a good year for a first time head coach and a new staff, but probably not good enough to get to the SEC title game.

[trekfan]

One on One: Head Coach Eric Silver
By Sabrina Barrows



The Florida Gators are one month out from the start of the regular season with new head coach Eric Silver. Silver arrives in Gainesville with no experience as a coordinator or a head coach, but plenty of enthusiasm — the program watched as Will Muschamp left them for Texas, which shocked many. But Silver has spent the seven months since his hiring establishing the foundation of a culture that values communication above all else.



Sabrina Barrows: Coach, your hiring in late January caught many by surprise. Now in August, how do you feel the team has adjusted to your presence?



Eric Silver: I think the players were caught off guard, like many were, but we’ve come together. We’ve had spring practice, training, and a lot of time off the clock to get to know one another. My door is always open and the players know they can talk to me about anything, anytime.



SB: There’s been a lot of talk about the offense, but the biggest change comes one the defensive end — you’re playing the 4-2-5, a defense known for its aggressiveness. Do you feel the personnel of this team fits well with that?



ES: I do. Looking at this roster, we have a lot of talent across multiple positions but strongest in the trenches and in the secondary. The 4-2-5 allows us to play our best defensive backs across multiple formations. It’s different from the 4-3, yes, but not so much so that it’s going to cause problems for us. Our depth is a strength and I plan to use it.



SB: You have a strong background in recruiting and little in gameday coaching. What kind of playcalling will you bring to the field?



ES: I will be aggressive, point blank. The most important thing, in my mind, for an offense is to control the game. The best way to control it is by being steady in the ground game, using it to set up the pass, and giving our defense a lead so they can play with their ears pinned back.



SB: Who’s the starter at quarterback?



ES: The starter is Jeff Driskel. Jeff’s done his due diligence and he’s going to be the starter for the opener.



SB: Does that mean Trent Murphy going to see some play time?



ES: Trent will get some play time, but Jeff is the guy unless he’s injured. I’m not a believer in a two quarterback system … if you have two guys, you have no guys. The offense has to have one quarterback and that quarterback, for the Florida Gators, is Jeff Driskel.



SB: True freshmen Kelvin Taylor has already been announced as the starter. What did he do to get the job over upperclassman Mack Brown and Matt Jones?



ES: Kelvin is an exceptionally gifted player and he came into camp absolutely ready to take the job. He showed no fear, no hesitation, in going against the defense and taking hits. I feel like Kelvin’s best way to help the team is by being the starter. That doesn’t mean Mack or Matt won’t see the field, this offense has play time for any player who can help it, but Kelvin will be our bell cow and he’s embraced the role fully.



SB: Starting right tackle Chaz Green has been suspended, can you shed some light on why and how long?



ES: Chaz is a great player but a better person, let me start off with that. The last semester his grades began to slip a little and his GPA isn’t what is should be. I want my players to be on the field, but that degree is more important than the game — football is a part of their lives now but it won’t always be. Chaz has been suspended until his grades come back up. I expect he’ll need most of the season to do that — his academic advisers say he might be ready by week 12 or 13.



SB: What do you see as the biggest strength and weakness of this team?



ES: Our biggest strength is our depth and experience. We have players across multiple positions that can do multiple things and we’ll be using guys all over the field to put pressure on our opponents.



Our biggest weakness will be our lack of over the top speed. We have a lot of fast players, but Percy Harvin isn’t walking through that door and taking the top off the defense will be hard, but we’ll get creative.






SB: Your prediction for this season?



ES: I think we’ll surprise people. The Florida Gators are not going to fall off a cliff, we’re going to keep rising.



SB: Thank you for your time, Coach.

ES: Thank you, Miss Barrows.

[trekfan]

Gators mash Broncos in opening game

By Sabrina Barrows







The Florida Gators started out their new head coach’s reign with a win after a dominating performance against the 18th ranked Boise State Broncos as the Gators, on both sides of the ball, had their way with the perennial “dark horse” candidate.



The defense was led by multiple Florida defenders swarming to the ball, as DC Ricardo Gonzales deployed a defensive scheme not seen often in the SEC, the 4-2-5. Florida had a number of surprises ready for the Boise State offense, whose creative playcalling was stymied by unexpected defensive looks. The Gators consistently put the Broncos in 3rd and long, and got pressure on the Broncos QB.



At the half, Florida was up by 18 and looking like a juggernaut.







In the second half, the Gators went from a an aerial attack, which saw the maligned Jeff Driskel toss two TDs (one to TE Kent Taylor, the other to FB Hunter Joyner — two unlikely recipients of touchdown passes) and shifted to a run game. The Gators sucked clock, gave their defense a long rest, but offensively shrunk — Florida didn’t score all quarter as the Broncos added six points on the board from their kicker.



In the fourth, however, the Florida offense got back on track as the Boise State defense fell apart. Driskel and RB Kelvin Taylor (son of Fred Taylor, Gator and Jaguar great) took to the ground and Taylor broke out, pounding away at the Broncos and delivering soul-sapping run after run. Florida added 14 points in the fourth (getting a two point attempt and missing second such attempt) and walked out of Dallas with a big win against a marquee opponent.








Coach’s Corner



Coach Silver’s evaluation of his first win was succinct: “I’m glad it’s out of the way. I’m relieved, actually.”



Silver’s win marks the first win of his career as head coach, and thanks to the Gators win and the large margin of it, his detractors have — for now — less ammunition to attack his hiring.



“Frankly, I could care less about my detractors; if they hate me, let them, but I’m here to win titles and I’m here to build this program into the chomping death-machine it was meant to be. This team went out there and performed at a high level, all game, and did just about everything I asked for. We need to work on some decision making, but otherwise, I’m very pleased with the win.”






Recruiting News



The win against Boise State capped off a good weekend for the Gators, as Florida got into the recruiting race for a number of prospects after the performance. With Will Muschamp leaving as he did, the 2014 recruiting class took a major hit and the new staff of Coach Eric Silver has been playing catch-up ever since. With the win, Florida has entered into the conversation for 5* recruit TE Travis Crooks, 4* recruit DT Jared Leslie, and 4* recruit QB Dominique Purcell.



The Top 25

[TylerHL]

Hopefully you can help Jeff Driskel have a better end to his career at UF than he did in real life. I still don't know how he went from getting benched for Treon Harris to being among the nations passing leaders as a grad transfer at Louisiana Tech AND getting drafted the VERY next year. Like dude, Treon Harris???

But on a more serious note, I'm actually really curious to see how your roll-based storyline system plays out. Seems like a cool idea!

[trekfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by TylerHL

Hopefully you can help Jeff Driskel have a better end to his career at UF than he did in real life. I still don't know how he went from getting benched for Treon Harris to being among the nations passing leaders as a grad transfer at Louisiana Tech AND getting drafted the VERY next year. Like dude, Treon Harris??? But on a more serious note, I'm actually really curious to see how your roll-based storyline system plays out. Seems like a cool idea!

Yeah, Driskel -- I have no idea what was going on with him or that offense when he was at Florida. The defense was legit, but the offense felt like the most boring, vanilla thing ever and the coordinators Muschamp had were uninspired.



As for the random roll storylines -- in year one it's okay, year two I rolled a 0, but year three things FINALLY get interesting and I am dealing with some missing players now.



I think it still needs a bit of tweaking, but the idea is sound in theory and looks promising in execution.

[trekfan]

Gators shut out Hurricanes in second-half in route to win

By Sabrina Barrows

The Florida Gators had a tougher challenge this week in a rainy game as the Hurricanes and Gators faced off for the first time since 2008. Miami came out firing early, showcasing the arm and legs of their QB, but the Gators withstood the first blow and scored two TDs in the first to take the lead.

Heading into the second, Miami consistently went to the air and consistently found success as Florida struggled to slow down the multi-threat attack of Miami — if their QB wasn’t running the ball, their running back was tallying some hard yards on the ground. The Florida offense stalled as receivers dropped ball, Driskel took sacks, and the game became a muddy affair.

At the half Miami had scored 10 point straight and was close to taking the lead.

But in the second half Florida pivoted, going from an air attack to a ground game, giving the ball to Kelvin Taylor, true freshmen back, and letting him demolish the Hurricanes on the ground. Miami was flummoxed as Taylor pounded his way through the defense and into the open field multiple times; when the Hurricanes stacked the box, Driskel went to play-action, keeping drives alive and Miami honest. Florida dominated the time of possession and the ground game, but got little in the way of scoring — only one FG in the third as the Gators nursed a slim lead.

Miami’s offense, meanwhile, was stuck in the mud — their run game became nonexistent and their QB was forced to make plays on his own as the Gators brought pressure and exotic looks. In the final quarter, this resulted in a backbreaking interception on Miami’s side of the field, which gave the struggling Florida offense a short field to deal with.

Florida took advantage, going to Driskel repeatedly on QB runs (evocative of Tim Tebow) and forcing the opposing defense to pick their poison on the offense; would they focus on Driskel or try and stop Taylor? Ultimately, Miami had no answer as Driskel got in for a rushing touchdown and the Florida defense, playing with a bigger lead, pinned their ears back and attacked Miami.

Coach’s Corner

Notching the first win at Miami in a number of years, the Gators head coach happy to get out of the wet, muck-filled game with a victory.

“We played in a mess of a field and it was a mess of a game,” said Silver. “Offensively, we did what we wanted to on the ground but we clearly suffered through the air. We’re going to have to take a look at the film, figure out whether it was just a mixture of weather and poor field conditions, or if it was something on our end. Hats off to our defense, who bailed the offense out in a few spots.”

Recruiting News:

Florida continues to close in on multiple recruiting targets and is in a battle for DT Jared Leslie. Leslie is a top recruit of Miami, but after their recent loss to Florida, is now up for grabs — the Gators are reportedly making him a high priority target and with them and Miami as the two front runners, Leslie could be a prospect that doesn’t commit till late in the season.

On the offensive side of the recruiting trail, Florida continues to impress QB Dominique Purcell, the 4* recruit is top in the state and one of the best 100 prospects in the nation — largely seen as the best QB in an underwhelming QB class, Purcell has the looks of a freshmen starter, if he commits to Florida and if Jeff Driskel goes pro. Purcell has Florida well in the lead and could be ready for a visit soon.

The Top 25