Time to be mature, Gator fans

The Gators have a lot of problems on offense. But there are two things especially that bother me; fans calling for Urban Meyer to be removed and John Brantley to be benched.

First off, I'm not someone who thinks Meyer is that great of a guy or that great of a coach. But the man has won two National Championships. He's not Vince Lombardi or Father Flanagan. He deserves all the criticism he can get. But thinking that he should be fired is absurd. One bad season does not make a career. Between allowing Chris Rainey on the field and backing his best friend as offensive coordinator, Meyer hasn't been doing very well in his decision making. Neither qualifies as a reason for removal, especially when the guy gave you two rings in the last five seasons.

As for Johnny, I thought he would be a 2011 Heisman candidate, and I'll stick with the kid. What concerns me, as a fan, is that other people are quick to pull the trigger on him. I don't mean to be rude when I say this, but those fans are idiots. If you think changing the quarterback is going to make a difference, you are an idiot. If you think Brantley is the problem, you are an idiot. He's been asked to run what amounts to a West Coast offense passing game, while dealing with pressure on every play. He's been injured, which isn't an excuse, but must be considered. Brantley has his flaws (touch on his passes, mobility in the pocket, deep ball accuracy), but so does every QB. I understand if you don't want to consider the whole picture, which is your right as a fan. You don't have to be sophisticated. You can believe in message board conspiracies about Cam Newton or that Trey Burton has a better release and arm, even though he never throws. That's fine. I'm just telling you that you are an idiot.

You are not supposed to have blind faith in your team, but act mature. Florida losing three games is not the end of the world. Neither is having an awful coordinator. I'm probably wrong in thinking Brantley will be a Heisman contender next season, but I'd rather have too much faith in the future than none at all. I'd also rather consider this as Year One of a Two Year Plan. If you don't have the patience for that, or if you can't deal with losing, maybe sports are not for you.

During the bye week, teams try to look at themselves and figure out how to fix themselves. As a fan, try to do the same. If you can't handle losing, or if you freak out over high school kids not picking your college, maybe you should sit out this season. Find something else to do on Saturdays. The Gators might be bad this season. Really bad. We might lose to FSU and Georgia. But Florida's had 104 seasons of this. Some are good and some are bad. Deal with it.