A. The program had lost some of its mojo after the '96 natty.
B. You could just sense the frustration with his growing impatience over the quarterbacks. The alternating thing was no longer a novelty; it had become the way he managed the situation and, frankly, it was nuts. I really thought he had lost some of his coaching luster in 1998-99. I was actually worried about the guy. It seemed at times like he was going off the deep end.
C. although I never felt Graham was an elite back
D. Then came the BS Dockett incident a week before the rescheduled Tennessee game for all the marbles.
E. I was at the Tennessee game ...That was the only Spurrier loss at home I experienced in person, and I went to a lot of games back then. The end really felt like the end.
I really should leave this alone as I am too busy today, but there is just too much Stalinist type revisionist history in it for me not to unpack it. Clearly I added the letters so I could key my responses to them.
A. UF won 49 games the five season post 1996. UF won 52 games the 5 seasons pre-1996. Really the peak of the Spurrier year were 1995-1996 when UF went 24-2. So pre-1995 UF won 49 games so, the program if fact did not decline in record post the 1995-96 peak. UF did fall off from winning the East every possible year and the SEC four of the five years pre-1995 to winning the SEC only once and the SEC East only twice post 1996. Still a program winning 49 games in 5 years is not one that lost its mojo.
B. This revisionist history makes one wonder if you spent these years watching the noles with Omar. Spurrier rotated QBs one time in his UF tenure. His soph QB was suspended after a loss. He had to go with a true frosh who was not ready and a limited walk on. He rotated them some and then rotated a bit more when his Soph QB came back from suspension. Actually Gator fans who watched games back then know that Shane Matthews played almost every down Spurrier's first 3 seasons. They know that for two seasons Dean and Wuerffel battled for the QB job but did NOT rotate the position. They know that for the next two seasons Wuerffel played all but mop up duty and one game against a scheduled win that was given to Kresser. They know that after that came the one year of rotating Palmer and Brindise and even Johnson when he came back after suspension. They know that then Johnson played three years with Palmer playing when he was hurt as in bowl games. Then Grossman played the next three years and Spurrier left. Yes backups played mop up duty if the starter was experienced. But NO Spurrier did not rotate QB for novelty, but rather by necessity at UF. Gee!
C. Go to twitter if you want to tell people your FEELING. There are lots of snowflakes there with their feelings on their arms. Graham was like Fred Taylor and maybe as we have discussed this week like Scarlett more of an NFL type back than a college back. You don't play in the NFL for 8 years if you are not a good back. What elite means vis-a-vis your feelings who knows or cares. Of course your feelings AGAINST UF players does make one wonder more if you are an Omar sock puppet.
D. The Docket incident and UF NOT standing behind Spurrier is the key to this situation. Spurrier made a living at this sport. He understood the idea that you don't want to hurt people in this game, you want everyone to come out whole though you know it won't happen. One of Spurrier tenets was Gators don't hurt Gators. He did not accept foolish fighting in practice that some coaches take as evidence of spirit. He viewed it as foolish.
E. See point D above. Spurrier made his stand and UF did not back him. He is not some kind of quitter like you make him out to be who left because of a loss. He left because UF did not stand behind him. He was a man a decade or two ahead of the game. Today standing against someone trying to intentionally hurt an opponent in this game would get him tons of deserved praise. All it got him then was two terrible decision makers, Foley and Young, making the terrible decision not to back a visionary employee of the University.
