I have said it before and I will say it again. For some reason Leak has always appeared to be a little "soft" to me. I cannot lay my finger on why, so I will let the UT defense explain it for me on Saturday.
I've watched him a lot, so I can put my finger on it. Leak tries to avoid contact. Now as much as I like to see a big QB lowering his shoulder and knocking a LB over, I don't particularly like it when MY team's QB does it. Why? Because I think it's foolhardy except in extreme situations where the gamble is justified.
Last year Leak played with a sore shoulder much of the year. That story went untold for most of the year for obvious reasons - Defenses would take aim for that shoulder if they knew. But it also makes sense that as a QB you take an extra measure to avoid contact on that sore shoulder, since your bigger objective is to stay in the game and give your team the best chance of winning.
Before last year, when UF's O-line was so bad that he couldn't even get set to throw before exiting the pocket, Leak was also prone to slide VERY early to avoid a hit. He is better coached now, when he does slide it's at a time in the run that's appropriate, but since he's not really a rusher (though he is a good scrambler) he's more likely to either run towards the 1st down marker at the sidelines or throw the ball away, depending on the down. That's the result of coaching.
Leak can definitely be beaten. Some folks say that he scrambles out of the pocket too early. That's no accident. He's not very tall (closer to 5'10" than 6') and has a hard time seeing over linemen, so the moment that his passing lanes close up, he needs to scramble to see the field. The good news for Gators fans is that he's scrambling almost as much to his left as to his right this year. Last year it was predictable - if he scrambled, it was generally to his right.
Leak throws a very catchable pass and throws as accurately on the run as most QBs when they are set. Obviously he can't get as much zing on the ball as a good QB who is set, but he's great at picking those passes where touch is more important than zing in those situations.
Is Chris Leak the savior of Florida football? Absolutely not. Neither is Tebow. But Chris is VERY effective at playing his position. He's durable, seldom missing ANY plays in his career (except when the 2nd team QB was getting PT), a team player, and relentless student of the game. Despite having had 3 different Offensive Coordinators since he started playing at UF, and 3 different head coaches since he committed to play, Leak has never appeared down or feeling sorry for himself. He hasn't run off at the mouth about what "might have been" had he not had to endure the Zook years. He's led for the last 3 years with his actions. This year he's risen to the challenge of being a more vocal leader as well.
Will Leak lead the Gators to victory in a hostile Neyland stadium this weekend? Nobody knows. But I expect that he'll remain calm under pressure and provide good leadership to the team, putting the Gators in the best possible position to get a victory. If that effort falls short, so be it, but if the Gators end up on the short end of the scoreboard, I doubt that it will be Leak that cost UF the game.
It should be a great game!
In the end, let's just hope for a good, clean, well-called game where every player gives his all, and everyone (players and fans all) arrive home safely and injury-free.
With everyone doing their best we end up with a game in which the best team wins - the answer to which we will not know until the end of the game on Saturday.
JMHO
