Philo is the Florida quarterback at least for now

Because it is universally described as the single most important position in all of team sports, when it comes to football fingers immediately point to the quarterback whenever things go south, which they have the last two weeks for the Florida Gators (4-2, 2-2 SEC). Aaron Philo, whose numbers were just a shade under brilliant in Florida's 4-0 September have taken a serious plunge in losses to Missouri and South Carolina. In the four wins, Philo was 76-104 passing, good for 1,091 yards (10.49 yards per attempt) and eight touchdowns. Two of his three interceptions were deflections by a wide receiver who should have caught the football. In the losses, Philo is 53-75 for 550 yards (7.33 yards per attempt), three touchdowns and two picks.

The yards per pass attempt is the single most revealing stat in football and a three yards per attempt differential between games one through four and the last two says plenty about an offense that scored more than 40 points each game in September to one that has produced a combined 36 points in October. The Gators were a top five offense in September, averaging more than 523 yards per game, but that plunged significantly starting with Missouri (325 yards) and got only slightly better against South Carolina (387).

When numbers plunge from midday summer heat on black asphalt hot to slightly better than permafrost cool the first fingers of blame always/ point at the quarterback. Things came to a head against South Carolina when Philo threw a pick that led to a South Carolina touchdown before the first half ended then killed a promising drive with a fumble when the Gators still had a chance to make a comeback. When Tramell Jones Jr. came on in relief in the fourth quarter with a touchdown and moderate success moving the ball a growing faction of fans began calling for Jones to at least have a shot at replacing Philo on a permanent basis, but are the calls justified?

Change isn't always a bad thing but quarterback controversies are and before declaring this a controversy other factors have to be injected into this equation, starting with the play of the offensive line and on to injuries at wide receiver.

The O-line that allowed only two sacks among the scant 14 negative plays in September has been exposed the last two. Philo has been sacked six times in the losses and there have been 11 other negative plays. Jadan Baugh, who was second in the nation in rushing through four games has gained 72 yards on 27 carries (2.66 per carry) in the last two. The running game produced 1,040 yards in September but has 162 yards on 38 carries in October (2.66 per carry).

The threesome of left guard Knijeah Harris, center Harrison Moore and right guard TJ Shanahan have played consistently well all six games, but there are issues at the tackles which opposing defensive coordinators have figured out and exploited. That has affected the running game, and certainly it has plenty to do with the falling productivity of Philo. He has had little to no help from the running game and has been under constant pressure off the edge.

At wide receiver, Vernell Brown III has missed the last two games with the lingering problems caused by a sprained MCL and Eric Singleton Jr. hasn't been effective since suffering a high ankle sprain in game one. Brown had 17 catches for 271 yards and two touchdowns before injuring his knee against Ole Miss. Singleton has played in four games, but has only three catches for 50 yards to show for it. Against South Carolina, Singleton had a noticeable limp.

When Brown and Singleton are healthy, safeties have to back off and when the box isn't stacked with defenders, the running game instantly gets better even if the tackles aren't exactly playing at a high level. The threat of a running game makes play action possible and effective, which makes a substantial difference in Philo's productivity.

Compounding issues with the offense is the inability of the defense to get stops. Bad defense, spotty play by the offensive line, little to no help from the running game and injuries at wide receiver have put the Gators in constant come-from-behind mode which raises the question is he the type of quarterback who can thrive when he has to rally the troops?

Jon Sumrall sees the problems, feels the pain and understands something has to be done to tap the brakes to stop this from becoming a freefall. The season is halfway through but three of the next four games will be played away from Gainesville and the next three (at Texas, Georgia in Atlanta and Oklahoma) are against defenses that are among the most ferocious in the country. Saturday in Austin (12 noon, ABC) the Gators will face a Texas defense that has allowed only two touchdowns in the last 14 quarters and only one of those TDs was scored on a lengthy drive.

Tapping the brakes, at least for the moment, doesn't mean making a change at quarterback. Right now, Philo is Florida's best chance to help the Gators revert back to their winning ways. Monday at his press conference, Sumrall used a couple of examples during the South Carolina game to point out that not all Florida offensive problems are quarterback induced.

"Philo had the pick and the fumble, those were two not-good football plays," Sumrall said. "… People might have booed on this one where he threw the ball to our sideline. Well he made the right throw and the guy ran the wrong route. I'm not even going to take a shot at who ran the route, but we have to run the right route. Now he didn't throw the cleanest ball on that throw, but like, the route wasn't the right route.

"I actually thought when you looked at his decision-making outside the two turnover-worthy plays that do matter – the fumble wasn't the decision, it was just not finishing with the ball; the interception wasn't a bad decision; they had a good call on for our route concept. They played cloud coverage, corner fell off on the sail route. It was best call for that route. And on that route, we have our running back chip in protection, supposed to chip the edge rusher, but because we got penetration inside, we didn't get to chip the edge rusher; we had to chip the interior rusher. Now, the edge rusher gets pressure on the quarterback, the quarterback's like, 'I gotta get the ball out,' and forces it to speed up this process. I thought Philo, honestly, with his decision-making was decent, was good … but his performance wasn't such that, like: you played so bad that you cost us by yourself. There's a lot of things around him that need to go better."

Yes, things do have to get better in all phases on both sides. The defense certainly has to share some of the blame for what is going on with the offense. When deficits reach two touchdowns, the game plan goes in the shredder and the running game is forgotten. Everybody in the ball yard and watching on TV knows what's coming next.

And when there is no threat of a running game and the injuries at receiver have limited the play calls, it spells trouble. Pass rushers coming off the edge live for such moments.

"It's really easy to critique the quarterback position when we don't block the edge rusher very good," Sumrall said. "You're getting ready to get smacked, and you have to speed up your process, and you don't get the opportunity to take a good picture of the coverage."

For the Gators to have any chance at all to beat Texas in Austin, Philo has to elevate his game. If he turns the ball over multiple times or has a game in which his decision-making jeopardizes the offense, it might force Sumrall and offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner to consider a change at QB. Since there is an open date following Texas and leading up to Georgia, the timing will be right if they think the Gators would be better off with Tramell Jones Jr. taking the snaps.

Right now, the plan is for Philo to be the starter with Jones ready to step in when his name is called.

"There's still a lot to work on and improve upon, but they're both working hard every day, and Tramell is gonna be ready when his number is called, and he's gonna continue to have opportunities as we move forward," Sumrall said.

That wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement of Aaron Philo, but it was the best Sumrall could offer under the circumstances. If change is inevitably due, the off week will beckon a decision. But not now.

Photo by Chris Spears / Gator Bait Media