why is florida starting Chris Leak? he just doent look ready to be out there yet. Ingle was doing decent...but you have to expect that from someone who hasnt started much. will Leak start against LSU next week?
God I hope Leak doesn't start next week. Zook has to keep all his stud recruits and BullGator Boosters happy so that is why he started Leak. He promised Leak he would start, that is how he signed him. Thing is he started Leak too damn late, he shouldn't have played musical QB's and started Leak at the beginning of the season and let him play every down against UM and the SEC opponents. He could have let Ingle Martin have the mop up snaps against the Slippery Rock teams we played at the beginning of the season. Now Leak is being thrown to the wolves and the big wolves still remain on our schedule so it is only going to get worse. I like Ingle Martin and hope he plays next week. I think Leak will start but after he throws his 5th INT in the second quarter Martin will come in. Zook coaching and calling plays for a team like Florida is the equivalent to giving a monkey the controls to a Playstation2 and letting him play EA Sports NCAA 2003. :cuss:
SovietGator, The last few weeks I have been lurking over at the Florida board (the one that is linked to this site) and the feelings over there seem to be that Leak is the best QB to ever put on the blue and orange. My questions are: Why is FL putting so much pressure on Leak this soon? Couldn't this actually do more harm than good? Does anyone realize that Leak isn't NFL ready just yet, and that he could (like any Freshman) not pan out? It seems like Leak is getting a free ride (where Ingle was thrown to the dogs), b/c of Leak's potential, and all the blame is rested on Zook. When the problem might be Leak and not Zook. Ingle might be the only QB on the roster that can save this team, and he was benched to satisify some recruiting promise. I guess my problem with Leak starting and benching Ingle is that Florida is telling the nation . . . we are in rebuilding mode. Florida never used to rebuild, just reload. Will this have any effect on Zook? Or is Florida going to give him time to make Leak and his system work. I also read a lot of post stating that starting Leak will help recruiting, no matter the losses. How is this possible? No one (atleast good young HS QBs) will want to go to Florida since Leak is the future for atleast the next 3 to 4 years. If Florida keeps losing, what will keep the in-state talent from going to FSU or Miami? Even after the Tenn lose, fans seemed to feel that recruiting would be big again this year. But it is going to be tough to recruit against Georgia, Tenn, LSU, etc. Please don't take this post as bashing . . . just observations. I want to know what the feelings are now about Leak and the future of football at Florida. When Leak was named starter, it seemed anyone who doubted Leak was crazy (I was questioned on this board when I posted that a few weeks ago). Now after two game losing INTs, what can Florida do to keep Leak happy and the team winning. Seems like Florida put all it's eggs in one basket to me. One more thing about Leak . . . the NFL doesn't draft based on potential like the NBA. Everyone a few weeks ago seemed to feel Leak was a lock to be drafted his Jr year. What is the backup plan if Leak can't get the job done on the college level. And would another coach want to come in if Zook if fired, knowing he would have to put his future in Leak's hands. To me, this is the most important question facing Florida football if things get any worse this year.
No problem. Thanks for the response. I find your Florida football posts insightfull and interesting. I just want to make sure you understand I wasn't bashing or trying to gloat . . . just general college football type interest. I know anything can happen in a LSU/Florida game, and no matter how good or bad either teams looks, college football is a game where truely anyone can win on any given Sat (or thursday depending on the TV contract).
LSUfan, Your post isn't taken as bashing so don't worry. I've only had one problem with someone on here. GatorCountry is the best Florida board but also the worst. So many of those guys over there wear Orange and Blue glasses. They also take the word of a few expert armchair QB posters as gospel. They jump behind every Parade All-American frosh QB as being the next Danny Wuerffel. There has been a long list of Parade All-American BlueChip flops at the QB position at UF. Like Terry Dean, Bobby Sablehouse, Brock Berlin, and Ingle Martin. I wish we still had Berlin even though he isn't as good as advertised and didn't live up to his hype. We could have used his experience though. Leak will never rank up there with the great UF QB's because the best QB coach in the country isn't there to coach him up or give him an offense to shine in. When his career at UF is over, Leak won't be able to carry Wuerffel's jock strap, because there is nobody in Gainesville to coach him or give him an offense to flourish in. I'm beginning to think Zaunbrecher is dead and it's a "Weekend at Bernie's" type of situation. Zook and Larry Fedora (Our true Offensive Coordinator) just prop Zaunbrecher up each game and put a headset on him to make it look as though he's alive and coaching the offense. Florida fans would put a HS freshman QB on the field if they thought he could give them wins. They seem to forget Spurrier is gone and because of that fact Leak isn't going to be the second coming of Wuerffel or Shane Matthews. We should be playing Ingle Martin but Zook has to keep his young stud recruits happy. A lot of those guys signed because Leak signed and because Leak was promised starting time and they would all get to play in the Fun N' Gun type offense. The younger players were pissed when Martin was starting. The older Spurrier era players/recruits were pissed that Ingle was put on the bench so Leak could start. That has created a lot of animosity on the team. Zook is loyal to a fault. It's apparent by Florida's play that the players have quit on Zook and Fedora's system and the team is in a shambles because of pathetic coaching. All those stud recruits we signed were promised Zaunbrecher's wide-open Marshall offense and they didn't get it because they were lied to. Zook and Fedora are like Gene Stallings. They run a boring ground based, ball control offense and like to sit on a lead, even if it's 3 points, and let the defense win. Zook got that mindset from the NFL. The only problem is our defense is young and inexperienced as is our QB so you can't win with that philosophy at UF right now. The current situation at Florida isn't going to help recruiting, any UF fan that believes that is delusional. Miami and FSU will raid all the in-state talent because Florida no longer has anything to offer. Those two schools are the best at recruiting and will make sure to point out that Florida's program is in a shambles and the coaching staff is clueless as to how to win. A lot of the players in the state of Florida are related some kind of way. Calls will be made and talk will spread and players will steer clear of UF. The Spurrier mystique and Grossman staying helped Zook land that recruiting class. Once players find out he is a great recruiter but he can't coach and win games they will stop coming. There is nothing Zook and company can do to right this ship. This team and Florida football is fixing to implode. Leak picked the wrong school to sign with plain and simple. As things get worse his meddling dad will start to whine like he did when Chris's brother got benched at Tennessee. We do have another Blue Chip QB in Gavin Dickey who is also a frosh. He is a scrambler/option type QB with a rocket for an arm. He is short, that is his only drawback but he is an exact clone of Herbie Tyler and Charlie Ward. I don't think a new coach would have any problem finding a QB at UF. The only way to fix Florida's problem is for our AD to make Zook fire Fedora and let Zaunbrecher finally call his offense. Zook won't fire an assistant even if it will ultimately mean him losing his job because of his staunch loyalty. I liken it to Jim Mora when he was head coach of the Saints. The Saints could have been so much better in the 90's had Mora fired Carl Smith, but they were friends and Mora was loyal to his friend. That is the situation with Zook and Fedora. But just as that buffoon Tom Benson should have made Mora fire Smith, our AD Jeremy Foley should make Zook fire Fedora. But our AD Foley and Zook are also buddies. So in the end, I think because of loyalty Foley, Zook, and Fedora will all be fired. I hope we ride it out the rest of the season with Zook and next season as well then Fire Zook and company. The only way I would want Zook fired at the end of the season is if a big heavyweight proven head coach verbally commits and basically signs on the line first before they give Zook the axe. By big name I mean Bob Stoops, Bellotti, or Jimmie Johnson (There's been rumors of his interest). There really aren't many assistants in the NFL or NCAA that are qualified to come in and be head coach at Florida. Hell I'd take proven winners Osborne, Switzer, or Stallings right now, or even Rick Neuheisal. The other problem is a lot of those guys cheat. Naturally the history of Florida football hinges on what happens next. If we fire Zook at seasons end and hire another bad coach we could end up like Bama or ya'll during the Halman/DiNardo fiasco. It may also scare off some potential coaches too. I think the only guys that would apply would be young upstarts with no proven head coaching experience, they would want the job because it's big money and nothing to lose if you can't replace a legend. The other guys would be the heavyweights that are looking for a challenge and EASY money (Multi Millions) like Switzer, Osborne, Stallings, or Johnson. I think June Jones, Mike Mularkey, Rich Rodriguez, or Rick Neuheisal could all come in to Florida and kick a$$ with our talent, facilities, program, and money. We'll see what happens, all I know is the SEC will enjoy getting some payback now that we are down again. This next hire is crucial to the program, even more crucial than the Spurrier hire was. I'll have my money on LSU next week and will be pulling for a repeat score of the 1996 Tostito's Fiesta Bowl when Nebraska beat Florida 63-24 or something like that. I'd be scared as an LSU fan because ya'll are prime for the upset having a bye week and being undefeated, and Florida looking so bad. I think LSU will be underestimating and disrespecting Florida. It's kind of fun being on the other side of the fence now. LSU is so good and Florida is so bad though that ya'll could play horrible and still win the game. I'm going next week just to visit, tailgate, and enjoy the Death Valley atmosphere. I have no interest in watching Florida get stomped. If it wasn't my wifes first ever college game I would sell my tix to some ticketless LSU fan and pocket the cash.
SovietGator, I'm also a little afraid that LSU may now underestimate Florida next week. But I have confidence that the coaching staff will make sure this doesn't happen, so that little bit of fear is hopefully unwarranted.
Fightin, Two reasons why Zaun hasn't left yet... Loyalty to Chris Leak, Zaunbrecher's offense is what got Leak to sign on the dotted line. Zaun and Leak are very tight where as Larry Fedora and Ingle Martin are very tight. Zaun's rep hinges on all this, he quits now he's a quitter and the spin will be he was fired or it was sour grapes. Florida's UAA won't let Zaun bad mouth Florida football, trust me... So it's a lose lose situation for Zaun for now. He will quit at seasons end or be fired with the whole staff before he even has a chance to resign. There are some big NFL head coaches out there that want the Florida job but weren't able to accept it in January of 2002 for a variety of reasons. I'm starting to get the feeling that Zook was merely a pawn to keep the recruits coming in until one of those NFL head coaches could accept the Florida job. Before anyone laughs, Stoops and Shanahan both were offered $3.9 Million a year to be the head coach at Florida. There are a lot of NFL coaches that don't make that kind of money so don't think an NFL coach wouldn't bolt in a second for an offer like that. June Jones and Pete Carroll did it. Shanahan wanted the job (He was a Gator coach in the 80's) but wasn't able to accept it at the time for family reasons.
Thank you very much for answering my questions SovietGator, excellent post. Overall I think Florida needs to address the QB situation and stick with it, for better or worse. I understand how this could be a good year for Leak in the long term, but this is certainly not Florida football right now. I'm not used to Florida rebuilding, taking losses, and waiting for players to mature. Sometimes I think fans and even coaches put too much on potential, and not enough on players who can help you win right now. I never thought Florida would be a school where they would allow a season to fad away to groom a freshman. I look forward to next weeks game b/c it could really let us know where LSU football stands. No matter how bad Florida might look, it is still Florida.
