Would McElwain — be still, my heart — really think about pulling a Faton Bauta in reverse?
How would you handle the QB position?
McPherson: With Florida still needing three wins to secure a bowl game and still having an outside chance of making waves in the SEC East race, I would be doing whatever it takes to put the best team on the field. To me, that means giving Malik Zaire a chance to see what he can do while the Gators still have a chance in the East. Remove Feleipe Franks’ his two wow-factor plays — the game-winning touchdown pass to Tyrie Cleveland against Tennessee and the 79-yard run against Texas A&M — and his production has been minimal this season.
Young: I’m on record saying that Florida has to at least try Malik Zaire before it’s too late. This Georgia game is a chance to change the narrative of this season. Beyond that, this team could be battling just to get bowl eligible. Feleipe Franks has looked like the same limited QB every week without any signs of tangible progress. The Gators know what they’re getting with him and the last two games it wasn’t enough. If Zaire fails, fine, go back to Franks and go all in on trying to get him ready for 2018. But I don’t understand not even trying Zaire when Franks has shown through six games he can’t elevate this offense.
It certainly paid off last time.
Get The Picture 
My psyche is damaged from too many beatdowns during my formative years (class of ’98).
Just friggin beat Florida. I don’t care how. I don’t care why.
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The offensive changes Meyer made in 2005 during the bye week still haunt me. It was 14-0 before Willie adjusted and Georgia with Joe T didn’t have enough to catch up.
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Meyer basically ran ‘our’ offense in that game.
Never understood why it took Two Thumbs so long to adjust.
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That game was when I knew that Meyer was an excellent coach
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The 14 points were the first two drives–something that happened to us a LOT back in those days. We would give up two quick touchdowns, as we did against UT in 2004, then give ’em zilch for most of the rest of the game. It’s not as if Martinez had much time to make these adjustments. We’re talking midway through the first quarter. If Shockley had been healthy, it would have been fine.
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Don’t forget the super obvious fake punt that we were completely unprepared for.
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2005’s loss was all about Shock, imo. Yes, they made an adjustment but we just had no offensive firepower. An example why I have always said you cannot go by one game to say who had the best team that year, perhaps for one day, but not for the whole year. Key injuries at the exact wrong time have determined many games/seasons. And not just in UGA’s favor (for instance, we would not have beaten AU last year if Pettway had been healthy.) Happens every year, dozens of time (see Guice, LSU).
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Except Zaire already has 15 games experience as a starter.
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Thought he had been beaten out by Franks. His game experience was in another system where he didn’t excel and if he doesn’t have the signals and system down pat for FU… … … .
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If they want to install a run-heavy spread in the off week, more power to them.
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I always thought the Gators would be playing Zaire. Why did they recruit him in the first place if they didn’t plan to play him? The bye week allows them the chance to put in a different O suited to him.
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Everything I’ve read and heard is that they realize what a mistake it was to bring him in, because his skill-set is so ill-suited for their offensive philosophy. If they couldn’t put a different offense in over the summer for him, I don’t know how well they could do it over the bye week.
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I hope you are right. I remember 2005 really well. I guess McElwain isn’t Urban Meyer, though.
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I figure McElwain panicked because he realized he had shit for quarterbacks on the roster and was desperate.
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I’m reminded of 2003 when they were starting some freshman at QB and we had one of our most talented squads EVAH.
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That freshman was Chris Leak who is a great comparable to Jake Fromm. He was very accurate, nimble in the pocket, and generally made good decisions.
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…until recently.
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Understatement of the year 😖
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hence the “generally” 😉
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Leak was an excellent quarterback. It is unfair that Tebow gets credit for QB’ing UF to two national championships when the 2006 NC was Leak’s.
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Gator fans hated Leak. I think they associated him with Zook, and then it seems like Urbz threw him under the bus when he was trying to install his spread in 2005. Regardless, Gator fans hated him for not running it properly.
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Are they giving back the 06 NC?
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HA I think the sane ones came around finally after that. The rest just credited Tebow with it.
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No I think Orson Charles broke it.
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The Gator fans I knew loved him and knew that Meyer was not using him properly.
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Looks like it’s going to be a fun week of everyone reliving their worst memories of Georgia-Florida. No Georgia team in my lifetime, or probably anyone else’s here (were any of you alive in 1946?), has played at this high a level for this many games in a row. If Florida is even remotely in the game by the end of the 3rd quarter, I’ll be stunned.
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The only one I remember that was like this was the ’82 team. We crushed people, including a top 10 Florida team 44-0, until we got to Nawlins and Penn State. I was convinced no one could match us and that game still hurts.
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I’ll go to my grave believing Paterno and State Penn somehow stole our signals in that Sugar Bowl game.
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Dan Marino stole our lunch money in that Sugar Bowl game.
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You reminded me–Marino and Pitt were the original 4th and Grantham. 1 more play and game won for the Dawgs–then a 4th and 20 completion for a TD with almost no time left In the game for the opponent to win. How many times has that exact thing happened to Georgia since?
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Don’t remember the ’82 team that way…I recall Munson saying “we hadn’t put anybody away until we came to this place, of all places”
This team reminds me more of the ’81 team.
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Oddly, of those four teams at the beginning of the ’80s, the ’81 team was probably the best and ended with the most losses. Perfect seasons and national championships are hard.
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I was in Sanford for the home-and-home half-a-hundred whooping. Nothing will ever suck worse than that. That game broke me on some level I’m only just now coming to terms with.
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From ‘80-‘82, the Dawgs were 33 and 3. With a National Championship.
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Could have won national championships all 3 years too.
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You are right, we were a whisper away in both 81 and 82.
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My point was the consistent blowouts. The ’81 team actually came pretty close to the level of dominance Georgia’s displayed thus far, but they had that loss to Clemson. The ’80 team had a fair amount of luck, and the ’82 team was very good, but they still had a few struggles.
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We will probably get their kamikaze shot without the vodka and Triple Sec.
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Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun (and longtime Gator beat writer) told Paul Finebaum on the radio this week that Zaire wasn’t good enough to win the job early this season, which is why Franks has been playing … It makes sense to give him a try (what’s left to lose?) but my guess is such a move would really only help out our defense.
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They will have trouble coming up with a spiked fruit named after Malik Zaire.
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What’s that????Put in a dual threat QB?
Hmmmm…hope we could defend that…
I don’t care who they start…I see a beatdown of epic proportions coming for the ernge and blue…
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Made CMR an extra 4 MILLION in 16…Swamp Donkey ain’t dumb…
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I really want this to be the 2003 Alabama game where we keep knocking QBs out and see who they bring in next.
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That would be fantastic, but the hits that Thomas Davis applied to their QBs in that game would almost certainly get him ejected for targeting (or simply tackling too hard and being penalized and ejected for targeting)
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If they do put in Zaire, I’d assume they would also install plays to take advantage of his strengths, unlike our “experiment” with Bauta.
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Putting a running QB in (Bauta) without installing a game plan with running plays for the QB was just plain stupid.
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So wish someone in that staff would write a tell-all on that season. Of all the baffling, WTF moments we suffered through in 2015, that certainly tops them all.
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Probably would make a great Lifetime network movie.
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I keep thinking that eventually a grad assistant or someone will get out of coaching and spill about that season.
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The booger eaters reek of desperation.
We are going to crush their souls.
I want to score 53 points on these motherfuckers.
It is long overdue. I can still feel the sting of the zeiers rain time out game wrapped in a hefty garbage bag field by Jack daniels and Coca Cola
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Fueled not field
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Fueled, fielded, and felled by. I’ve been all three brother.
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I’m fairly sure it won’t be like 2014 when Muschamp started Treon Harris. FLA came into the game 3-3 vs. UGA 4-2. They proceeded to rush 60 times for 418 yards en route to a 38-20 whupping. FLA’s best shot in the game this year is to keep our D on the field for extended periods and picking up first downs on the ground. I pray we get them in early trouble and force them to beat us throwing. We’re a much more complete team than we were then. Still can’t believe Richt and Pruitt got out-coached by a lame-duck whose team had supposedly quit on him.
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That game is always my pump the brakes argument on Pruitt. He was awesome, but not infallible. That was an awful coaching display, ditto UT in 2015 and Tech in 2014.
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Richt was the coach. What did you expect?
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Senator, how about a bye-week “other games” thread?
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Coming!
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