Noah.Dreams
10-28-2005, 12:52 PM
GEORGIA VS. FLORIDA: Cocktail coaches learn from experiences: Spread offense spread too thin?
Tony Barnhart - AJC Staffon Friday, October 28, 2005
Seven games, two losses, 93 incompletions and one teary-eyed press conference into the Urban Meyer era, a lot of folks are fretting about Florida's offense.
Topping the list of worrywarts: the head coach himself.
"Disappointing," Meyer said from his office this week when asked about Florida's offense --- or lack thereof. "But to think we were going to come into the SEC and run the spread offense up and down the field the way we did at Utah ... I knew that was not going to happen."
Even the most optimistic of Florida fans didn't think the Gators would average 45.3 points a game, like Meyer's Utah team did last season in the Mountain West Conference. But they also never dreamed Meyer's offense would be so inept against the SEC's top defenses.
Florida has faced three of the SEC's most stifling units in Tennessee (No. 4), Alabama (No. 1) and LSU (No. 6). Florida had just one legitimate touchdown drive in those games --- an 80-yarder against Tennessee. The other two scoring drives --- both of 32 yards --- were set up by turnovers.
"There are some great defenses in this league," Meyer said. "And we're getting ready to play another one [in Georgia]."
Fans had high preseason hopes for the Gators' offense, which featured SEC passing leader Chris Leak, four senior starters along the line and one of Florida's best group of wide receivers in years.
So what's the problem?
We asked three former SEC coaches --- Pat Dye, Gene Stallings and Jackie Sherrill --- to assess what's behind Florida's offensive struggles:
> Reason No. 1: Leak isn't the right quarterback.
"It doesn't mean that Leak is a bad player. He's a good player," said Sherrill, who coached Mississippi State from 1991-2003. "But he's not an option quarterback and he doesn't have the speed to challenge a good SEC defense. To run this offense, you need an exceptional athlete at quarterback, like Vince Young at Texas. Leak is not that guy."
Leak, who has appeared uncomfortable with what he's being asked to do in this offense, is coming off one of his worst games. He completed only 11 of 30 passes for 107 yards against LSU. He also has taken a physical pounding.
> Reason No. 2: Meyer's offense lacks the power running game.
"You don't beat an SEC defense with screens and draws and just trying to trick people," said Dye, who won four SEC titles at Auburn. "Sooner or later, in order to win a championship, you have to line up jaw to jaw. You can run some option, but you have to back that up with some kind of power running game."
"You can be a good team in this league without the quarterback under center and the fullback behind him," said Stallings, who won a national title at Alabama. "But you can't be a great team in the SEC if you can't run the ball and stop the run. That has never changed."
> Reason No. 3: Meyer's offense is too much east-west and not enough north-south.
"The SEC is different than most leagues because the best teams have large defensive linemen who can really run," Sherrill said. "New coaches who are unfamiliar with this league have to learn that. You can't outrun the best defenses in this league. Your blockers have to hold them up and then you have to run past them."
Meyer concedes that after watching Alabama beat Tennessee 6-3 last week, he's beginning to understand the SEC better. There are indications his offense has been tweaked during the off week.
"Our problems are more than execution because that would be putting all the burden on the players, and that's not fair," he said. "My job is to adjust our system and adapt it to the reality of our situation."
3:30 P.M. SATURDAY * ALLTEL STADIUM, JACKSONVILLE * CBS * WSB-AM
NO OFFENSE
A look at Florida's scoring drives in its three big games:
vs. TENNESSEE
Plays ..Yards ..Result
8........80 ....Touchdown
4 ........7 ....Field goal
7........13 ....Field goal
16 ......68 ....Field goal
> Total offense: 63 plays for 247 yards, 3.92 average
> Outcome: Won 16-7
-----
vs. ALABAMA
Plays ..Yards ..Result
5........45 ....Field goal
> Total offense: 68 plays for 326 yards, 4.79 average
> Outcome: Lost 31-3
-----
vs. LSU
Plays ..Yards ..Result
2........32 ....Touchdown
5........41 ....Field goal
3........32 ....Touchdown
> Total offense: 62 plays for 206 yards, 3.32 average
> Outcome: Lost 21-17
Tony Barnhart - AJC Staffon Friday, October 28, 2005
Seven games, two losses, 93 incompletions and one teary-eyed press conference into the Urban Meyer era, a lot of folks are fretting about Florida's offense.
Topping the list of worrywarts: the head coach himself.
"Disappointing," Meyer said from his office this week when asked about Florida's offense --- or lack thereof. "But to think we were going to come into the SEC and run the spread offense up and down the field the way we did at Utah ... I knew that was not going to happen."
Even the most optimistic of Florida fans didn't think the Gators would average 45.3 points a game, like Meyer's Utah team did last season in the Mountain West Conference. But they also never dreamed Meyer's offense would be so inept against the SEC's top defenses.
Florida has faced three of the SEC's most stifling units in Tennessee (No. 4), Alabama (No. 1) and LSU (No. 6). Florida had just one legitimate touchdown drive in those games --- an 80-yarder against Tennessee. The other two scoring drives --- both of 32 yards --- were set up by turnovers.
"There are some great defenses in this league," Meyer said. "And we're getting ready to play another one [in Georgia]."
Fans had high preseason hopes for the Gators' offense, which featured SEC passing leader Chris Leak, four senior starters along the line and one of Florida's best group of wide receivers in years.
So what's the problem?
We asked three former SEC coaches --- Pat Dye, Gene Stallings and Jackie Sherrill --- to assess what's behind Florida's offensive struggles:
> Reason No. 1: Leak isn't the right quarterback.
"It doesn't mean that Leak is a bad player. He's a good player," said Sherrill, who coached Mississippi State from 1991-2003. "But he's not an option quarterback and he doesn't have the speed to challenge a good SEC defense. To run this offense, you need an exceptional athlete at quarterback, like Vince Young at Texas. Leak is not that guy."
Leak, who has appeared uncomfortable with what he's being asked to do in this offense, is coming off one of his worst games. He completed only 11 of 30 passes for 107 yards against LSU. He also has taken a physical pounding.
> Reason No. 2: Meyer's offense lacks the power running game.
"You don't beat an SEC defense with screens and draws and just trying to trick people," said Dye, who won four SEC titles at Auburn. "Sooner or later, in order to win a championship, you have to line up jaw to jaw. You can run some option, but you have to back that up with some kind of power running game."
"You can be a good team in this league without the quarterback under center and the fullback behind him," said Stallings, who won a national title at Alabama. "But you can't be a great team in the SEC if you can't run the ball and stop the run. That has never changed."
> Reason No. 3: Meyer's offense is too much east-west and not enough north-south.
"The SEC is different than most leagues because the best teams have large defensive linemen who can really run," Sherrill said. "New coaches who are unfamiliar with this league have to learn that. You can't outrun the best defenses in this league. Your blockers have to hold them up and then you have to run past them."
Meyer concedes that after watching Alabama beat Tennessee 6-3 last week, he's beginning to understand the SEC better. There are indications his offense has been tweaked during the off week.
"Our problems are more than execution because that would be putting all the burden on the players, and that's not fair," he said. "My job is to adjust our system and adapt it to the reality of our situation."
3:30 P.M. SATURDAY * ALLTEL STADIUM, JACKSONVILLE * CBS * WSB-AM
NO OFFENSE
A look at Florida's scoring drives in its three big games:
vs. TENNESSEE
Plays ..Yards ..Result
8........80 ....Touchdown
4 ........7 ....Field goal
7........13 ....Field goal
16 ......68 ....Field goal
> Total offense: 63 plays for 247 yards, 3.92 average
> Outcome: Won 16-7
-----
vs. ALABAMA
Plays ..Yards ..Result
5........45 ....Field goal
> Total offense: 68 plays for 326 yards, 4.79 average
> Outcome: Lost 31-3
-----
vs. LSU
Plays ..Yards ..Result
2........32 ....Touchdown
5........41 ....Field goal
3........32 ....Touchdown
> Total offense: 62 plays for 206 yards, 3.32 average
> Outcome: Lost 21-17