The Monday Morning Quarterback

There’s nothing worse than losing to Florida State, especially at Florida Field.  When they beat us here they really know how to rub it in, evidenced by their linemen holding up the Gator head and parading it around after the game.  Typical Seminoles. Snapping photos of themselves. It rankles my soul.

Do we run around their erector set stadium holding an Indian headdress after we beat them? No, but we are THE University of Florida, and they still can’t stand the fact that we are a better university.  Class is something they have never been accused of.

They had a better team this year.  Their wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin (#1) is a man among boys.  We continually let the slot man in their three wide receiver set have the inside. They called it every third down and hit him for a first down on a third and 26.  They also threw it over our head to him. Too bad he has another year.  Their quarterback, Jameis Winston, is very good. I wonder if he would have been playing if he was at Florida.  It seems we have a different due process in Gainesville.

Our woeful offense managed one touchdown but at least we didn’t get shut out. Thank God we fired Brent Pease and the O-line coach, Tim Davis, today.  Maybe other changes are going to be made.

Will Muschamp has one more year to right the ship.  He better make some good choices because the honeymoon is over.  Jeremy Foley is letting him select the replacements. So it’s all on him.

Coaching makes such a huge difference. Look at Auburn. What were they 3-9 last year? They hire an offensive guru, Gus Malzahn, and he turns them around in one year – 11-1 and an upset of Alabama in what some are calling the best college football game in history.  Why can’t we do the same thing?  We have good players.

As mentioned previously, 15 of our 18 commitments are linemen, linebackers, defensive backs – a typical Muschamp recruiting class.  With the remaining scholarships I would bring in the best skill position players in America – two quarterbacks, three wide receivers, two running backs and two tight ends.  What an opportunity they have.  They could possibly come in and start right away. I wouldn’t be opposed to bringing in a juco quarter.  Auburn has done quite well with that.

So our year of misery is over.  No more excuses.  It’s wait until next year.  I would take it one day and a time and make the most of the opportunity. I would try to determine why there are so many injuries. I would push this team to another level, beyond what they can imagine.

Recruiting season; offseason conditioning program; spring practice; summer workouts and then two-a-days.  When I went up to the last scrimmage before the season this year at the Letterman’s barbeque I was astonished at the sluggish practice.  It looked like they were going in slow motion. There were a ton of dropped passes.  We didn’t look like a well-prepared team.

I hear that we lack leadership, that the players joke around at practice and don’t pay attention … that it’s not their fault and always someone else’s fault. Some one has to be accountable.  Some one has to stand up and demand excellence. Some one has to be a Gator.

Until we meet again.

John Reaves, QB7

John Reaves
When he finished his University of Florida playing career in 1971, John Reaves was the most prolific passer in the history of college football. He threw for 7,581 yards in his UF career but he's best remembered for the 70-yard touchdown pass to Carlos Alvarez on the third play of his collegiate career against Houston in 1969. A first team All-American, Reaves played in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals, Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Bucs, plus three years in the USFL with the Tampa Bay Bandits. He was the quarterback coach at Florida from 1990-94. He's also the father-in-law of former USC coach Lane Kiffin.

1 COMMENT

  1. I’ve been to practice often. Once the whistle blows, they neither joke around nor don’t pay attention. There’s a big difference between facts and innuendo. It’s one thing to have an opinion, it’a quite another to speculate on false rumors. You’re better than that.