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FBF Rookie
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 157
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Weatherford almost benched....
Quote:
Warchant.com & Osceola
For a short time it looked like Xavier Lee would finally get a real chance to prove himself.
With Florida State down two touchdowns and a quarter and a half to play against Boston College, the decision was made to change quarterbacks. Up until that point, FSU had scored just 10 points and was in desperate need for somebody to jumpstart the offense. It looked like that somebody was Lee, at least until starter Drew Weatherford made his case to quarterbacks coach Daryl Dickey to give him one more series.
"I was ready to give Xavier a chance, no question," Dickey told Warchant.com. "But I saw his (Weatherford's) point and I was also trying to make my point. For whatever reason, we aren't getting much done and we needed something to happen. 'Either make it happen or we are going to get somebody else.'"
After hearing from Dickey via the headsets that a change was in the works, Weatherford convinced the staff to hold off for one more series before making a switch.
"He was pretty emphatic that he was alright, that he was seeing things he needed to see and that he could get it done," Dickey noted.
"I just asked them what I should be doing out there, if he had any suggestions really," Weatherford said. "If there was anything that he saw out there - if I needed to be taking more chances down field. I just wanted an answer, I wanted to know what I was doing out there or what I wasn't doing out there that he saw. Really what it came down to is he said I was doing my job but we needed a spark for the team."
Weatherford provided that spark by directing the offense to its best drive of the day. While that was going on, Lee was on the sideline getting himself ready to take over.
"The coaches told me to 'warm-up' and the next series 'you are going in' if Drew doesn't perform well," Lee said, "so I just got my mind right and was ready to play if need be."
It nearly happened as Weatherford came within one play of being benched in favor of Lee.
"When I came out on the field and my first to passes were incomplete and it was third and 10 I'm like 'Oh my God, if I don't get this first down I'm (out),'" Weatherford said. "I tried to throw to Chris (Davis) twice in a row and I overthrew one and the other got batted down and it was third and 10. That was a little pressure right there because I definitely didn't want to be taken out of the game and I wanted the opportunity to come back and win the ballgame."
On that third down play, the sophomore from Land O'Lakes hit Greg Carr on a 14-yard pass to keep the drive alive and himself in the game. The drive eventually ended in a touchdown to cut BC's lead to 24-17. When that happened, Lee took his seat back on the bench.
"He was fine with it," Dickey said. "Xavier, like every game, he wants his opportunity and wants his chances to play. I'm sure he was disappointed like he is in every game."
Lee says was glad to see his teammate and good friend direct the offense to a much needed score, but at the same time admits he was chomping at the bit to get in the game.
"It would have been a great opportunity," Lee told Warchant.com. "I'm glad the coaches actually looked at me to come in and save the game, but everything happens for a reason."
Following his three-interception performance at Duke just a week earlier, it would have been easy for the Seminole coaching staff to give up on Lee, but the fact that he was within a hair of going into a huge game with so much on the line has provided him with a boost of confidence.
"That makes me feel a heck of a lot better," Lee said. "I just wish I could have performed and proved them right that I am ready to play in a tough situation."
Close but no cigar (By Derek Redd, The Osceola)
FSU coach Bobby Bowden has said one of the rays of hope he's found in the Seminoles' 4-3 record – the first time the Seminoles have been 4-3 in the first seven games since 1978 – is that those three losses weren't blowouts. All three games were up in the air late in the contest.
Center John Frady, though, has found it tough to find silver linings around those clouds, that close games might hurt more than the blowouts.
"It's almost more frustrating this year," Frady said. "All three of the games we lost were games we should have won, whereas, last year, Clemson beat the heck out of us and Florida did the same thing. This year, we let three get away that we had no business letting get away."
Senior running back Lorenzo Booker said it shouldn't have to be that way, that those games didn't need to be nail-biters, contests that hinged on one or two plays that ultimately did not bounce Florida State's way.
"We shouldn't have to go out there and feel like we can't make any mistakes, because that's not going to happen," he said. "You're never going to not make mistakes. You're never going to play and not have penalties.
"Turnovers you can do without," he added. "You can control holding on to the ball. You can control where you throw it, with the exception of the receiver running the wrong route. We have to find a way to not make it come down to that."
The key, Booker added was for the Seminoles to strike when they have the opportunities, like the 17-play drive Florida State had in the second half against Boston College. That drive produced no points, as a low snap on third down and a play breakdown on fourth down kept FSU out of the end zone.
"We can't walk away with nothing," he said. "When you settle and you settle and then, late in the game, you wish you had those opportunities back, then that's when those plays become critical. You can't afford to make any mistakes at that point
Hayes will not play against Maryland (By Jim Lamar, The Osceola)
Sophomore linebacker Geno Hayes watched Monday night's practice in crutches, and said he will not play against Maryland. He hopes to return to action the following week when FSU plays host to Virginia.
"I'm going to sit this out for another week and make sure it gets healed up," Hayes said. "I just want to be smart about this. I've got two years left and I don't want to mess it up this year and prolong anything. It's best to just sit it out this game."
Hayes, FSU's second-leading tackler on the season before injuring the knee against Duke, said he liked what he saw from his replacement at the weakside ("Will") linebacker position during the Boston College game. True freshman Dekoda Watson started in Hayes' place and recorded eight tackles in the game.
"It's comforting when you see a freshman out there playing ball," Hayes said. "He actually did very well. He made a couple of mistakes here and there, but overall he played a very good game."
Bowden calls on Unity Council (By Chris Nee, Warchant.com)
Starting quarterback Drew Weatherford was running a little late for his weekly meeting with media on Monday afternoon, but he had a good reason. When he finally arrived he explained that he was one of several players that took part of an afternoon meeting with head coach Bobby Bowden. The players in the meeting were part of the Unity Council, a group selected to represent the players in dealings with the coaching staff or the athletic department.
The purpose of Monday's meeting was to discuss the state of the team following a disappointing 4-3 start.
"He was just talking to us that we have the whole rest of the season to look forward to, and that we have a lot of young guys." Weatherford said. "He just explained that we needed not to pay attention to what has happened in the past, but look forward to the future and try to get better."
Bowden called the Monday meeting to make sure the players weren't getting down on themselves after losing three games by the narrowest of margins.
"I met with our Unity Council today just to be sure that everything is okay and to be sure they know where we stand." Bowden said. "We've lost three ball games that we could have won. I like the way they've kept fighting. They fought the whole way and never gave up in games we could have won in the last minute. I don't want them to get to hanging their heads like they are nothing."
Although there were good intentions behind the meeting, the sophomore quarterback said it didn't produce much conversation since the team is still struggling to get a handle on the underlying cause for the recent losses.
"We really haven't understood what has been going wrong with our season so far so there wasn't much to talk about." Weatherford said. "We just can't really put a finger on what has been going wrong. It is just a bunch of different stuff."
Bowden usually meets with the Unity Council if the players have a problem off the field or if the players call a meeting with him and have something to discuss concerning the team. Thus far this season that has not been the case. The group consists of Weatherford, Lorenzo Booker, Xavier Lee, Andre Fluellen, Darrell Burston, Everette Brown, Cory Niblock, and a few other players.
Weatherford noted that a player-only meeting could also be in the works for the near future.
Notables
• Wide receiver De'Cody <Censored>g is considered 'very unlikely' to play at Maryland according to Bobby Bowden. <Censored>g suffered a high ankle sprain against Boston College on while making a block downfield. He is currently wearing a boot on his left ankle that he expects be removed on Wednesday. Junior wide receiver Joslin Shaw says he will probably start in <Censored>g's place against Maryland if he is unable to play.
• Tight end Brandon Warren returned to practice on Monday evening and participated in all agility drills. The freshman from Alcoa, Tennessee said he expects to be able to play against Maryland. He felt he could have played if necessary against Boston College but admits he was still hampered by his hamstring injury.
• Senior running back Lorenzo Booker participated in all of Monday night's non-contact practice. Booker left the Boston College game on the final play of the third quarter when he suffered a thigh bruise. He said it felt as though he got hit in the leg with a "baseball bat" but that his recovery has been drastic since Saturday. He expects to start against Maryland.
• Kickoff for the November 4th game between Florida State and Virginia was set for noon. The game will be carried on the ACC's Lincoln-Financial Services/Raycom television network.
• Florida State alumni and former roommates Burt Reynolds and Lee Corso will be featured in a segment on the HBO series "REAL SPORTS WITH BRYANT GUMBEL" when the show goes behind the scenes with ESPN's "College Gameday". The show will air Tuesday, October 31, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT).
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The season is a lost cause so why not open up the QB competition?
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Weatherford almost benched....
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