Tuesday Afternoon Linebacker

Football was played. Gators won. Bulls lost. Bucs were off. You know the drill.

Roll Your Ass Home!
That was the refrain sung from high up in the student section in 1991, the last time the Gators were victorious against the Crimson Tide at Florida Field. Hopefully my young brethren of today recited the same epitaph as the Elephants slinked from the field. Though, during the first quarter and a half, things did not look as good as they did by the end of the game. Once again the Gators came out of the tunnel struggling. Chris Leak continued to force plays that just were not there. If Bama’s DBs weren’t so club handed this might have been a very long day for Leaky. Though, Tebow’s lone pass attempt was nothing to be proud of.

And then, like the previous games of this campaign, the switch was flipped. The offense figured out what they were doing and drove 95 yards, including a 44 yard rush by Leak. Yeah, you read that right. Chris Leak ran for 44 yards, not Tebow. From there the Gators would score on a two yard bull rush by Tebow. After that, Alabama’s drives went like this: missed FG, punt, FG, INT, INT (returned for TD), sacked on 4th down. Remember what I said about teams that shouldn’t win but are ahead? That they need to keep the pressure on? Everyone in the media was talking about this game as the start of the “Gauntlet” for Florida (more below). But consider that in the previous three games Alabama needed a late defensive stand to stop Hawaii and squeaked past Vandy by three. They are unranked as well. Maybe it was the supposed sting left over from last year’s drubbing in Tuscaloosa.

So, leading 10-0 and pinning the Gators at their own 5, the Tide should have put the pressure on. They should have been doing what they were doing for the first quarter and a half. But instead they let the Gators build some confidence and the ever present “mo”. Slowly the crowd got back in the game and the home team would score. Thus essentially ending any chance the lowly Tide had of winning the game; even though they went into the locker room with a three point lead. When you’re the lesser team and you have the lead, you must keep bringin “it”. If you let up for even a second, the better team will take that opportunity and shred your team.

With the first of the four “Gator Gauntlet” games out of the way I think we can talk about it some more. By the way, I don’t know of anyone calling it that, but TALB is trend setter if nothing else. As far as we here at TALB are concerned, only the next two games make up any kind of “test” or anything like that. Bama was not the same team we faced last year, nor are we. The Bulldogs from UGA are not as good as their ranking or record would indicate. As evidenced by two straight weeks where they had to come from behind late against teams that they should have handled. And UF always has the psychological edge against the Dawgs. So, LSU and Auburn make up the meat of this gauntlet. LSU has been very good against the Gators over the last five or so years. I expect something very tough and probably low scoring (maybe 20-13, that’s low scoring for these teams). Though LSU’s points-per-game average is inflated by games against Louisiana-Lafayette, Arizona, and Tulane. In their lone contest so far against a ranked opponent, they managed three points versus Auburn. Take that for what it’s worth. As for Auburn, in their brace of SEC match-ups they struggled a bit before finally taking the victory. The War Kitties will take on a surging Arkansas team before hosting the Gators. They could lose that game. Which would be a shame for the Gators from a poll standpoint. A good win against #3 should help to close the 50 or so point game between UF and WVU in order for us to leapfrog them into the 3 (or 2) spot. Though, should we be fortunate enough to earn a victory this week against LSU that might put us into the 4 spot before we meet the Kitties.

Hell, if we win all four of these games that might be enough to run us all the way up to #2 by the end of the month.

Remember:
Statements in this release that are “forward-looking statements” are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors such as: fumbles, interceptions, Chris Leak, an ugly-ass bulldog mascot, Tim Tebow, that damn War Eagle, changes in general football conditions that affect the ability of the Gators to score points, defend the pass, or to keep Chris Leak from throwing interceptions.

For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Gator football, please refer to the Ron Zook sections of UF’s football history.

Pro Foosball
Albert Haynesworth, you might have heard about him was suspended for five games in response to his act of stomping and kicking another player in the head. What is wrong with these guys? Maybe I don’t get it, but to give up that kind of money just to get some petty revenge for some (real or not) dirty play by another player (I’m assuming that’s why he kicked the guy) is just nuts. Haynesworth stands to make $646,251 this season. Divided by 16 that’s a little over $40,000 per game. Now, presuming he’s being docked pay during this suspension, he’s letting almost $202,000 get away. Over what?

TALB has decided not to address the TO suicide thing from last week.

Who Dat?
Is what Bucs fans might be saying should Gradkowski and Rattay go down during the course of a game over the next few weeks. Possible emergency quarterbacks on the roster: Josh Bidwell, Micheal Clayton, Ike Hilliard, Ryan Nece, Jermaine Phillips, and Jerald Sowell. The latest word is that Simms may be available again in December.

Finger Banged
I won. I won. I frakkin won!
Led by Santana Moss as his trio of scores I posted a 92-72 victory over the Gunslingers. For once this season I finally got some production out of my offense. I’m cautiously optimistic for next week as well. Both of the QBs on my opponent’s roster are on bye for week 5, and the only available starting QB is Vince Young. Though he might be able to make a trade.

Running Items
Plus One Bowl
Ohio State vs. Florida/Auburn winner

Super Bowl XLI
Saints vs. Broncos
Why the hell not? Stranger things have happened.

Team TALB
TALB is always looking for fresh insight and additional input. If you want to submit something to be included in TALB, please feel free to contact me and I’ll get it put in the next edition.

King Of Football
As always, feel free to submit your entry for TALB’s King Of Football 2007. It will appear during the off week between the NFL conference championships and the Super Bowl (January 30, I think).

Next Time: More football will be played.