His mere name strikes fear into every one of us Tennessee people. I also figured the few of you that read my site hadn’t heard his name enough so I decided to use it. And here’s that name a few more times just for the hell of it…

Incredible editing job there. Anyways, the Gates have gotten so much publicity and are so loved by ESPN, who showed their spring game, that everyone forgets they were 9-4 last year and lost to Michigan in the bowl game. Of course they absolutely crushed Tennessee (I know, I was there) so that’s probably why we Vol fans have reservations about our chances of beating Florida this year.

Tebow scored 55 TDs last year. Think about that. It’s ridiculous! Then again, when you’re your team’s QB and short-yardage/goal-line running back you’ll score…alot. And he did. He perfectly fits the gimmicky offense of his lover coach Urban Meyer. To Meyer’s credit (about the only thing I can credit the man for), he’s recruited the fastest bunch of players this side of the Jamaican track team.

Percy Harvin, Chris Rainey, Brandon James, Mon Williams, Kestahn Moore, Jeff Demps, Louis Murphy, Riley Cooper (ask LaMarcus Coker), all have blazing speed and can turn a simple end-around into six with a missed tackle. However, a huge part of that offense, TE Cornelius Ingram, a mismatch nightmare for defensive coordinators around the world, tore his ACL and won’t play a down this year. I honestly felt horrible for the guy since he withdrew from the NFL Draft to come back. The health of Harvin has also been a little in doubt with his nagging heel injury that required surgery in the offseason.

The wildcard for the Gators is USC transfer Emmanuel Moody. Florida’s leading rushers last year were Tebow and Harvin and the use of a halfback was minimal at best. They still averaged 42.5 points/game, why would they add in a halfback now? I’m not sure how I can see Moody fitting in to the offense, but Meyer will have to find some way to take care of Tebow and not let him get as banged up as he did last year. Another possibility is using backup QB Cam Newton a la Tebow 2006. Ask Dennis Rogan about Newton (although Rogan has come so far since that awful September afternoon).

I still wonder how good Florida is along the lines, since line play is essential to winning championships. The OL should be pretty good with the Pouncey brothers, and senior returning starters Jim Tartt and Jason Watkins. Also back in the mix is Phil Trautwein, a 2006 2nd Team All-SEC selection who missed all of last year. So that’s a group that might have improved, and they only gave up 13 sacks last year as it was.

Florida’s defense was iffy last year and the reason they lost four games with the Heisman winner. It wasn’t necessarily the front seven that was the trouble, it was the secondary that had a tendency to give up big plays.

Up front Florida did a decent job for replacing an entire line that’s in the NFL (or in jail) now. Still, I want to see what Urban does when he doesn’t have Ron Zook’s linemen. The ends are scary – Jermaine Cunningham had 6.5 sacks last year and Carlos Dunlap has NFL potential – but DT depth is a concern after the no-show of Torrey Davis, despite the return of Mr. AK-47 himself Ronnie Wilson. The front needs to be able to allow the fast LB corps of Brandon Spikes (#51), Dustin Doe, and A.J. Jones to range and make plays.

As for that iffy secondary, the CBs – Jacques Rickerson, Joe Haden, Wondy Pierre-Louis, and Markihe Anderson better have improved. The safety siutation is a total mess – Dorian Munroe and John Curtis will miss the season, leaving Major Wright (#21) and possibly highly-touted Will Hill – and of utmost concern.

The bottom line is as long as the defense improves just a little bit, the offense should be enough to win games for Florida. The best way to stop this offense seems to be to (a) not let them get into any sort of rhythm, (b) make Tebow beat you with his arm, and (3) hit them in the mouth many times. Auburn and Georgia were both really physical with the Gators, and Michigan wasn’t exactly love-tapping them either. That and hope to force turnovers or you’re gonna have to score 40+ to win.

Of the three East contenders (sorry South Carolina), Florida has the most favorable schedule, drawing Ole Miss and Arkansas out of the West and getting LSU at home. Since 1992 Florida has lost ten more games to SEC West teams than to SEC East teams despite playing 36 less games against West teams (thank you Phil Steele). A split against Tennessee and Georgia isn’t undoable, so that alone has me putting Florida as the team to beat in the East.