Morgan Died Today...

September 24th, 2010

My sweet Morgan died this afternoon, one of the very best dogs ever, I won't ever have another Morgan. I still have her daughter a pain in the ass, but I love her too. If I get another dog it will be a Lab.

I thank the Lord for having six wonderful years with this animal, she was given to me when she was four and a half. When she wanted to be petted some she'd use her nose like a dolphin and flip my arm up in the air, the mischievous look on her face, she'd jump in bed and snuggle right up getting her head close to mine with that sneaky happy look in her eye, but when you quit petting her she'd get up and go sleep on the floor except for the few times she was mad at her daughter. Gabby sleeps with me all the time.

I put Gabby back in the bedroom when I took her mother outside to bury her. It took me quite a while, several times just to get her out there am still filling in. Anyway dog tired I came back in and she was wanting to get out. I let her out and didn't think, but she ran through the house looking for her mother. Gabby was the only pup that Morgan had that survived. Her mom is the only other dog that she knew. I let her out back, she went all over looking for her, it was really sad. Poor Gabbs...

Thank God for dogs...

Junior Seasons For Gator Quarterbacks...

Where does John Brantley stand as a junior against other Gators starters in their junior year. Guys like Wayne Peace, Kerwin Bell, Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel, Rex Grossman, Chris Leak and Tim Tebow...

If it wasn't for Tim Tebow charting Gator QBs would be easy for the above group where rushing wasn't a factor. Tebow had 3037 yards rushing in his career to go with 9,285 yards passing. He had 88 TD passes to go with 49 rushing for a grand total of 137.

Since Brantley is expected to throw the ball and run it far less than Tebow the stats below will concentrate on that area.

The chart below has the combined Fr/So - Freshman and Sophomore years C/A completion and attempts, % completion percentage and TDs/INTs. The next four slots are the junior years of the quarterbacks below including Swampie's prediction for John Brantley...

Player	Fr/So C/A	%	Yds	Td/Int	Jr C/A	%	Yds	Td/Int
John Brantley	54/76	71.1	645	10/1	245/365	67.0	3200	26-6
Tim Tebow	256/383	66.8	3490	37-7	192/298	64.4	2746	21-5
Chris Leak	428/719	59.5	5632	45-12	235/374	62.8	2639	20-6
Rex Grossman	390/607	64.5	5762	55-19	287/503	57.1	3402	22-17
Danny Wuerffel	291/485	60.0	3984	40-19	210/325	64.6	3266	35-10
Shane Matthews	447/739	60.5	6082	51-30	275/463	59.4	3205	23-16
Kerwin Bell	278/472	58.9	4301	37-15	131/242	54.1	1515	10-10
Wayne Peace	250/453	55.2	3074	16-20	174/246	70.7	2053	8-10

What jumps out at this man besides the amount of experience all the other guys had by the time they were juniors, is how Urban Meyer football has drastically changed the TD to INT ratios. It is interesting to note Brantley's lone INT was on a tipped pass.

Rex Grossman had a horrible season after finishing third in the Heisman voting his sophomore year. A new staff and losing a couple of receivers to the NFL really hurt. Grossman was hard headed, actually got a caustic email from his dad requesting I lay off of his son.

I had written he was erratic, throwing a great pass then seemingly losing concentration and chunking up an INT. That was after his freshman season, I laid off thinking maybe I was too hard on him, but he went on with his career at Florida and onto the NFL and proved Swampie right. Always liked Grossman but consistency wasn't his trademark.

It seems it isn't too much to expect Brantley to complete 67% of his passes this fall other real quarterback before him threw for darn near that percentage (66.8%) as a freshman and sophomore.

Florida is a run first football team, Tebow was good enough to sling it around a lot more than they did in his career. Doubt Brantley throws it 45% of the time, would think he goes around 3,100 yards, 3,400 for the season at most. He will throw around 25 TDs and keep it down to 6 or 7 INTs depending on the amount of mistakes his receivers make.

Every QB who's started for any amount of time at Florida has won big at the high school level...

John Brantley - Owned a 27-1 record as a starter, won a state championship his junior year and was runner up his senior year. Broke the state record for career touchdown passes with 99, topping the total of 98 shared by UF quarterback Tim Tebow and Florida State signal-caller Xavier Lee…Threw for 2,766 yards and 41 touchdowns in his final prep season…Established a Trinity Catholic career passing record with 6,802 yards…Was an all-state selection in Class 2B…A Scout.com five-star passer who was named the Most Valuable Player of the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp…
Tim Tebow - Lead Nease to their 1st ever state championship, threw for 9,940 yards and 98 TDs.
Chris Leak - 46-0, lead team to three straight state championships 2000, 2001, 2002, 185 TD passes
Rex Grossman - Won 5A title in Indiana, 7,518 yards and 97 TDs in his career, Parade AA
Danny Wuerffel - 14-0 State title at Ft. Walton Beach and #2 national ranking
Shane Matthews - Led Pascagoula to 14-0 record and state championship in Mississippi 1988
Kerwin Bell - nickname in high school the throwin' Mayoan couldn't find record his team did play very well for Mayo and beat some people.
Wayne Peace - 11-2 Lakeland team lost in the state semifinals to physically dominant Pine Forest 26-14
John Reaves - As a senior in 1967, he led Tampa Robinson Class 2A football semifinal game before losing to the Coral Gables, who won the state championship and were ranked as the national champions afterward. Reaves was lauded as the State Player of the Year. He also played basketball and baseball and ran track for the Knights, and once scored fifty-two points in a high school basketball game.

Gator QBs Signed Since 1979

It takes a lot of quarterbacks in a program like Florida. Many will play other positions, as you'll see below there aren't that many starters and the ones that do play for a while.

Note - Kerwin Bell wasn't signed, he was a walkon so he didn't show up on the recruiting list in the media guide although he was a 4-year starter. Terry Dean and Danny Wuerffell actually split two years. By 2004 just used recruiting services data base to finish this list.

You have to recruit a whole bunch of quarterbacks.

Name	Ht	Wt	Town	Pos	Starter
79 - Johnell Brown	6-1	180	Gainesville	Qb/Wb
79 - Ivory Curry	6-0	175	Miami	Qb
79 - Larry Keefe	6-3	200	Ft. Walton Beach	Qb
79 - Mike Mularkey	6-4	220	Richmond, VA	Qb
80 - Dale Dorminey	6-1	188	Hialeah	Qb
80 - Mark Massey	6-1	180	Pensacola	Qb
80 - Wayne Peace	6-2	203	Lakeland	Qb	4- year
80 - Roger Sibbald	6-0	190	Dunnellon	Qb
82 - Vernell Brown	5-11	175	Gainesville	Qb/Wr
82 - Ray Criswell	6-0	175	Orange Park	Qb/K
82 - Donnie Whiting	5-11	175	Titusville	Qb
83 - Derrick Crudup	6-1	190	Boca Raton	Qb
83 - Pat Pinner	6-4	200	Lakeland	Qb
83 - Scott Rismiller	6-4	215	St. Petersburg	Qb/TE
84 - Rodney Brewer	6-2	205	Apopka	Qb
84 - Brian Massingill	6-0	190	Tifton, GA	Qb
84 - Clifton Reynolds	6-4	200	Palatka	Qb
87 - Billy Deeds	5-10	170	Auburndale	Qb
87 - Kyle Morris	6-3	205	Clinton, MS	Qb	2- year
87 - Johnny Nichols	6-0	185	Pensacola	Qb
87 - Herbert Perry	6-1	190	Perry	Qb
88 - Jerry Dunn	6-1	185	Denver, CO	Qb
88 - Scott Hoffman	6-3	205	Elgin, IL	Qb
88 - Shane Matthews	6-3	175	Pascagoula, MS	Qb	3- year
88 - Lex Smith	6-2	202	Dade City	Qb
89 - Donald Dogulas	6-2	181	Liberty, TX	Qb
90 - Jay Austin	6-3	195	St. Petersburg	Qb
90 - Terry Dean	6-3	195	Naples	Qb	2- year
91 - Luke Bencie	6-3	197	Sarasota	Qb
91 - Antwan Chiles	6-2	236	Lauderdale Lakes	Qb
92 - Danny Wuerffel	6-2	193	Ft. Walton Beach	Qb	4- year
95 - Bobby Sabelhaus	6-5	225	Owings Mills, MD	Qb
96 - Doug Johnson	6-2	195	Gainesville	Qb	3- year
97 - Tim Olmstead	6-2	196	Binghamton, NY	Qb
97 - Jesse Palmer	6-2	220	Nepean, Ont.	Qb	2- year
99 - Rex Grossman	6-1	205	Bloomington, Ind	Qb	3- year
99 - Chris Stephens	6-3	205	Gainesville	Qb
00 - Brock Berlin	6-1	204	Shreveport, LA	Qb
01 - Ingle Martin	6-3	210	Nashville, TN	Qb
02 - Gavin Dickey	6-0	190	Tallahassee	Qb
02 - Patrick Dosh	6-3	205	Glen Allen, VA	Qb
03 - Chris Leak	6-1	205	Charlotte, N.C.	Qb	4-year
03 - Justin Midgett	6-3	180	Punta Gorda	Qb
05 - Josh Portis	6-3	183	Woodland Hills, CA	Qb
06 - Tim Tebow	6-3	217	Ponte Vedra, FL	Qb	3- year
07 - John Brantley	6-2	190	Ocala	Qb
07 - Cameron Newton	6-4	232	Atlanta, GA	Qb
07 - Bryan Waggener	6-4	230	Glendora, CA	Qb
09 - Jordan Reed	6-3	235	New London, CT	Qb
10 - Tre Burton	6-3	203	Venice	Qb

Opening Day Stats for Gator QBs

Name	Year	team played score	at/cm	yds	td/int	PR
Steve Spurrier	1964	Alabama L 17-14	9/14	140	1 - 1	157.57
John Reaves	1969	Houston W 59-35	18/30	342	5 - 1	204.09
Kerwin Bell	1984	Miami L 32-20	15/30	159	1-1	98.85
Shane Matthews	1990	Ok St W 50-7	20/29	322	1-0	176.51
Terry Dean	1993	Hogs W 44-6	16/22	237	2-1	184.12
Danny Wuerffel	1993	Vols W 41-34	19/38	231	3-1	121.85
Eric Kresser	1995	N. Ill W 58-20	26/42	458	6-1	195.84
Doug Johnson	1997	Srn Miss W 31-6	17/34	231	2-3	108.83
Rex Grossman	2000	LSU W 41-9	18/28	276	3-0	182.44
Chris Leak	2003	UK W 24-21	20/35	268	2-2	128.89
Tim Tebow	2007	Wrn Ky W 49-3	13/17	300	3-0	282.94

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiwR6A32gfw

Contract In, Swamp 24-7 Launching Tonight

OK, Very excited to join the staff of 247 Sports, the Florida site named "Swamp 24-7" launches tonight. Franz Beard, Justin Wells and yours truly. Several other well known Gator internet guys are coming to pitch in, we will be well monitored on the boards...

When I get a web address I'll post it.......

Won't be able to do anymore work on my story for a good while, football season is about to begin...

Tebow Had Strong Showing vs Bengals

Tim Tebow played in his first NFL game, be it a preseason, none the less for a first outing his play was remarkable.

He entered the game in the third quarter, the #2 guy for now Brady Quinn went 6 for 16 for 68 yards and 1 INT. Quinn also ran the ball twice for 1 yard and fumbled once but the Bronco's maintained possession.

Tebow was 8 of 13 for 105 yards, a 7 yard TD pass on the next to the last play of the game was dropped, it was perfectly thrown. He also launched a 35 yard pass down field that was dropped.

Tebow completed passes for 33, 21 and 17 yards. Believe it or not Tebow was second in rushing for the Bronco's with two carries for 10 yards.

On the seven yard drop, there was only 3 seconds left. The Bronco's called time out and asked for a review. The ruling on the field was confirmed by replay. On the last play of the game the Bronco's spread the field, Tebow moved to the right just out of the pocket and saw a clear field. He decided to run it in meeting two Bengals at the one. Those two just weren't enough to stop Tebow and one of them was real slow getting up.

With time out they let the Bronco's kick the PAT, ending game 33-24 for the Cats.

The Denver Post praised Tebow's play and wrote that Quinn needs a good showing to hold onto #2.

On the last drive Tebow's big play a pass to Davis for 33 yards was vintage Tebow. Flushed out of the pocket Tebow ran to his right then spotted Davis down field. He launched a perfect spiral with his new compact release well down field right on the money.

The pass was crisp and thrown with velocity, the Bengal crew in the booth were really impressed, it's hard to run in the opposite direction of your throwing arm and drop the ball in that well, Tebow made it look easy.

Tiger Woods

I like Tiger Woods and wanted him to win the PGA today even though it was out of his reach. I always want Tiger to win.

You can count this man as one who's upset with all the talk of Tiger no longer being what he used to be. Actually dislike golf these days, some no-name young guy just goes postal and shoots lights out.

I like rooting for the old fool that I know and love. I like Tiger, I like Phil.

Of the four major championships - US Open, Masters, British Open and the PGA - the top two aggregate golfers were Phil Mickelson at -18 and Tiger Woods at -11. No one else was close.

Figured out what's wrong with Tiger having been a decent golfer once I had a five handicap. It's just simple, Tiger's game stinks right now.

There you go, you heard it here first.

Today I was rooting for him to have a big day and post a score. He had four birdies on the front nine, but after he boggied the ninth hole, his third boggy on the front, this man had enough.

Discouraged I felt it was more fun to watch Richard Burton torture John Hurt in the move 1984 than continue watching the Tiger.

I mean Hurt met the girl, sank a few birdies, then boggied his way in on the movie. In the end he finished at seven over par and failed to qualify for the human race.

Believe it or not Tiger is still on shaky ground emotionally. Whenever you make a major pattern of living change it has a dramatic affect on your central nervous system.

Be it giving up gambling, drinking, drugs, smoking, or a divorce, a death of someone very close when you quit or lose something you depended on you're not going to be right for a while, the bigger the attachment good or bad the greater the time it takes for your system to get somewhat back to normal.

It usually takes a year believe it or not.

I would like to see Tiger hit more fairways, and my goodness he used to just destroy the par fives, now he just butchers them. On a difficult course like this I wonder why can't he use his three wood more off the tee like he used too.

And I question pros who try and manufacture so many shots that they end up swinging like a duffer.

Whatever, as ugly as it is I'm going to continue to watch the Tiger. He was on the leader board the final day in the Masters and British Opens this year, you aren't there unless you're a hell of a golfer.

Tiger isn't done, don't stick that fork in him yet, he's just recovering. I mean my goodness he's only 35 years old, you aren't washed up in golf at the age of 35.