Remember when the Florida Gator football seasons were fun? Ah, good times. These days all Gator fans can do is celebrate briefly after another last second win and then go back into stress mode hoping that one day the sun will shine down on the program again. Yes, even the wins leave much to be desired. But, it is the terrain surrounding the program that makes it so difficult to enjoy being a Gator fan. Standing in the middle of Gator Nation these days is like looking out across the landscape of Kuwait after Desert Storm. Nothing but smoldering flames and black smoke as far as the eye can see. Normally, a fan base would be calling for the head of their coach when a once great program finds itself in such turmoil, but most people, myself included, believe there is little Jim McElwain could have done to prevent this carnage. He simply put his trust in a group of despicable people who let him, their teammates and Gator Nation down in an epic fashion.
I will assume that by now, if you are a Gator fan, you know all about the suspensions and the charges recommended for those players. I will not waste my time trying to sort out the odds of this player or that player being reinstated or when that might happen. In my opinion, these are not kids who made a bad decision. These are criminals who did not care in the slightest about right or wrong, about their team or teammates. Just two months ago the Gators were riding the crest of a great recruiting wave. It will take miraculous accomplishments to hold even most of those commitments in place now. If it were my call, I would release all nine of offenders immediately and move on with the program. I will leave it at that. I am not saying that is what I think coach McElwain will do. I think he will try to salvage some of these young men. I hope that does not blow up in his face.
For now, coach McElwain, his staff and what is left of the football team must decide what they will do with the hand they have been dealt. Let’s be honest here, the team has not looked very good so far in 2017. The defense is solid but not dominating. The young cornerbacks have fared well but the safeties and linebackers are out of position too often and miss far too many tackles when they are in position. While that may improve as the season proceeds, I think it is safe to say that the defense will not be able to continue to cover for inept offense. And the offense has most definitely been inept again this season.
I want to give coach Mac credit for making the change at quarterback at exactly the moment he needed if the Gators were going to beat Kentucky. I don’t think there is any chance Florida wins that game if Luke Del Rio had not entered the game when he did. Felipe Franks feels like the correct choice at quarterback due to his arm strength and upside but after nine quarters as the signal caller he has been unable to generate any consistency with the offense. I think that is the result of a myriad of factors not all of which are on him, but I do think he fails to choose the right receiver at critical times. For whatever reason, the offense instantly looked more functional when Del Rio entered the game. Even the drive where Luke threw the interception, the offense was moving the ball first. I believe that success was a combination of things including knowing how and when to change the blocking schemes, going through the proper progressions and finding the right receiver and forcing the defense to cover the entire field which in turn loosened things up for the running game. Freshman Malik Davis took ample advantage of that opportunity allowing the offense to move well and converted some critical plays to keep drives alive.
I was not at all surprised when Mac announced Del Rio as the starter against Vanderbilt. It was really the only choice. Something had to change. Florida is fortunate to be 2-1 right now. These miracle wins will not last forever. At some point, the team must actually play quality football. The offense cannot continue to flounder like a rudderless ship in a maelstrom. I don’t know if anyone is paying attention but there is finally a complete team in the SEC East and it is not the Florida Gators. Hopefully Luke Del Rio will be the answer at quarterback. He doesn’t need to throw the ball sixty yards in the air. He needs to throw the ball to the right receiver at the right time. He needs to get the ball into the hands of the real playmakers early and often. Playmakers have emerged. Tyrie Cleveland, Kadarius Toney and Malik Davis have stepped up nicely. DeAndre Goolsby’s return should add another possession receiver to the mix. It is time for someone to arise as a competent quarterback.
I realize that coach Mac has faced some bad luck to begin this season, but people do not get paid that kind of money to produce excuses. He and his staff are expected to produce results. They must ignore the scorched earth around them. Vanderbilt is a very beatable football team. Alabama made that brutally clear on Saturday. Florida must come out and put this team away. The offense must be efficient and effective AND be able to give the defense enough rest to play four quality quarters. The Gator program is reaching critical mass. If the team continues to stumble listlessly along the upcoming recruiting class will fall apart and Mac’s fate will be sealed at Florida. I know that sounds grim but you know it is the truth. If the Gators are forced to change coaches again there will be three or more years left in this rebuilding process. If the teams pulls it together and shows signs of life, Mac can put together a great recruiting class and this team could be celebrating championships in a year or two. The paths truly are that diverse. It starts Saturday with Vandy. Florida needs to not only win this game but look formidable doing so by blowing the Commodores off the field. If the Gators do not stand up and take control of the SEC East now, the Georgia Bulldogs will and will do so for years to come. It can no longer “be cool” to win on the last play of the game every week against mid-tier teams. It is time to state emphatically that the Gators are here to stay and a force to be reckoned with. Otherwise Florida is just another Ole Miss or South Carolina.
When you are running the ball 64% of the time on first down, teams adjust to that reality. On the few times that you do throw on first down it is into the flat, teams adjust to that. When you have 3-4 reliable receivers who are going to run precise routes, but somehow are not open enough to warrant a strong-armed QB to throw them the ball, that is a factor of not studying the defensive schemes of the opponent well enough.
7 years of this stinkfest is long enough. This is an embarrassment.
I disagree with you Mark. I went back and tore through every Franks and LDR play and Franks never made a bad call. If you look, all of the pass plays were scripted in a way to get the ball out quick. Once Kentucky saw through that, they put more in the box and especially didn’t bite on the deep routes. Once LDR went in, they did the same thing and Powell had a great catch to extend that drive before LDR threw an awful pass. That was the last time he got to throw a deep pass, from then on, it was short and spread the ball to the playmakers. Both of his scores came from the others. You had Toney on a flea flicker for 50 yards and then a broken coverage for a 5 yd TD. If anything, the good thing about LDR is he stands in the pocket longer and doesn’t bolt when it collapses. In most cases, that’s a good thing but not with this offensive line of matadors. I will say this, if LDR starts the Vandy game and he stands in the pocket and takes a beating, at some point he’s going to get drilled. A QB can stand back there a few times a game and get hit but not 17 times. His has no mobility and Vandy knows that. They will be blitzing his butt all game.
The other observation from the Kentucky game that helped the offense click when LDR came in was someone decided to stay with Davis and the next 16 carries were all his. When Franks was in on a great drive in the 1st half, guess who was in the backfield? Davis. If Davis isn’t starting, someone needs to turn in his pink slip – they had week of watching game film to notice his contribution.
Ok, there was that batted ball he caught. He should have batted it down but he’s a freshman going on instinct:-) Got to give him props for at least trying to make something positive.