I don’t understand the logic in the move. Bert Reed, soaking wet and with cleats, is 5’11 165. That’s lighter than most field cornerbacks we’ll face this season. Our offense last season was predicated heavily on edge blocking from the wide outs, both because of scheme (generally, zone blocking will predicate a more continuous blocking line from WR to WR because the hole isn’t predetermined; thus your hole could be the hole any play, whereas man-blocking schemes don’t necessarily involve both WRs) and because of our propensity to run the wide zone read / bubble screen.

Does anyone honestly see Bert Reed clearing out a team mate for a bubble? It feels like an egregious misallocation of valuable resources and an obvious economic inefficiency.

I want to believe that this is being done just as a “spring stint”, one of those oft-handed position changes that are immediately washed out when the season begins in earnest in the fall. Maybe he’s being put there to aggravate the susceptibility our Man-0 defense has to spreading athletes out? Bert Reed burns our corners —> Mickey puts in more Man Under-2 (we did see more of this coveted defensive scheme during the Spring Game.

Or, maybe it’s a portent of what’s to come? It is my opinion that there is no true “Jimbo Fisher” offense. Instead, our HCIW usually chooses to customize our general offense around general archetypes that emphasize the best of what our best players do. Like, in 2007, where we had an OL that was more built for defending the Pass Rush, and a QB in Xavier Lee that had a legit NFL arm that could challenge every quadrant of the field. So, we ran much more pro-set and a good bit of NFL route combinations, like Deep Comebacks, Deep outs, Quick outs, and Deep Posts.

Maybe Bert Reed is being moved out to flanker because we’re to see more of this in 2009? That Jimbo has deemed the OL proof enough against the pass rush and either Ponder or EJ composed enough and capable of throwing these routes? Reed simply as “slot wr” would be wasted in this scenario, because his speed is too much of an asset to be on the bench.

Or maybe that speed being Bert Reed’s most redeemable quality is why he’s being moved outside. Perhaps the Staff feel confident in our incoming Bubble threats (Chris Thompson, maybe Wilie Haulstead (he ran a 4.37) or Lonnie Pryor, in addition to Louis Givens). Admittedly, I believe Bert Reed’s elite repeatable acceleration (as in he’s able to stop and go and stop and go at full speed multiple times per play) and game-breaking speed makes Bert Reed our best bubble threat. He’s usually good for 7+ yards and is always a threat to go deep if he can find a seem and remain untouched.

But when he was touched, he’d often go down immediately. Maybe the staff has noticed this as well, and has deemed that we need a more “break tackle-ly” threat on the bubbles. It’s nothing more than a lead sweep jettisoned from the interioir congestion, and usually runners that run behind lead blockers are capable of breaking at least one tackle.

Concurrently, I guess they see Bert Reed’s speed better utilized to “create” his own space on regular route combinations? Create the separation so that he doesn’t get touched at all? This makes sense, but…

…. I still come back to the caveat that we’re basically removing a blocking option. We run too many bubbles and outside-seal dependent running plays for this to be a sustainable move, in my opinion. The Running Game, as we saw it in 2008, but with more carries from the two backs that were better suited for our blocking scheme, is going to win us games in 2009 before the passing game does.

The plusses of this move don’t outweigh the negatives.

I would have much preferred that they considered moving Bo Reliford from “traditional TE” to “Cornelius Ingram in UF’s offense TE”.

That’s to say, basically a strongside and bunched Wide Receiver. He has enough speed and body control to run rudimentary routes and pose natural mismatches against Linebackers and bigger Safeties, while his 6’7 height makes him almost invincible by a cornerback not using perfect technique (but it can be done).

It’d also assuage the concerns that have sprouted in some with Corey Surrency’s departure and allow us to keep future 3 time All American Strong Safety Willie Downs at Strong Safety.

And wrote it off as a misattributed quote. I thought there is no way Reed is playing Carr’s old position.

What made him such a bad blocker? was he too tall for good leverage?

it’s unfortunate that the coaching staff needed a big-play receiver to the point where they didn’t hold him accountable for a lack of effort. There should not be any room on the team for players who don’t apply themselves to open-field blocking, especially on the team with the best run game in the ACC last year.

Is willie haulstead really capable of running a 4.4 at 6-3 and 215lbs? There are NFL receivers that big who can’t run a 4.4. With half a brain for running routes it sounds like he could be very special. I certainly don’t mean to suggest he could play in the NFL because there is obviously more to being a professional than being athletic.