The Patron Saint of Hoping Things Work Out In The Future
It's time to stop dwelling on this craptacular season. John Brantley was bad, Mike Pouncey can't play center, Steve Addazio is an idiot and Urban Meyer took the year off. It's over. Move on.
At the minimum, we know that Florida needs a new quarterback, a new wide receiver, a tight end (not Trey Burton; doing three things at a below average level is not a qualification for playing time), three offensive linemen, both ends, two linebackers, and our two best defensive players, Ahmad Black and Janoris Jenkins. UF will also need a defensive line coach, offensive coordinator and probably new quarterbacks and tight ends coaches (they played an entire season without a tight end, what was that guy paid for?).
Reenforcements are on the way, but only Jeff Driskel looks to provide an instant impact, and that is as someone chasing a job. If Urban was willing to yank around Ronald Powell, Sharrif Floyd and Andre Debose, who worked their asses off on game days, don't expect the 2011 freshmen to get playing time they have earned or deserve. For me personally, I still can't get over how little Omarius Hines and Debose were used. Urban can't use the practice or playbook excuse, because Percy Harvin sucked as a practice guy, but played because he would murder people on gamedays. Debose could be that guy. It is a crime that Debose had more touches as a returner than offensive player.
Much of what the Gators do in 2011 is dependent on the players taking the initiative and improving themselves. In 2007, after thinking he was a failure, Brandon Spikes reasserted himself and became the core of a National Championship defense. That needs to be Jelani Jenkins and Jon Bostic. Will Hill, after showing his talent but also lack of focus, needs to finally grow up. Matt Elam appears to be on his way to being a great player, but he cannot get lazy. As for the line, Dominique Easley, Leon Orr and William Green all need to meet the expectations set for them when they came on campus. As for Easley, I really want him to be a success because he and Floyd could be the foundation of the Gators' new defense.
For the Gators offense, we might see a holding pattern as we wait to see the fate of Addazio and Scot Loeffler. Florida will need a new offensive coordinator, which could result in the demotion of Addazio and removal of Loeffler. This isn't the NFL where you can have an offensive coordinator and QB coach. Florida's done it for two years and it has sucked. UF needs a QB coach who can call the offense.
If Brantley returns, it will force Meyer's hand to either change the offense to the 2005 version or Meyer will roll hard with the spread to eliminate Brantley from the race. If that is the case, I'd much rather see Driskel start from day one. Burton is a smart kid and Jordan Reed works hard, but neither has the package that Driskel will have. In addition, UF can clean house at receiver with Carl Moore graduating and Stone Hands Thompson (hopefully) getting sent to the glue farm. UF's fleet at receiver is just waiting to explode, led by our boys Omarius and Andre.
As angry or as upset as we are right now, it's time to get over it. Everyone has bad years and we got the bonus of a distant head coach and ignorant offensive coordinator. That's the way it goes. Just shine the flashlight and think about the future.