Wow, this article addresses exactly what I was just wondering! Thanks for posting it, Woody.
> On Nov 12, 2015, at 1:00 PM, Woody <[email protected]> wrote: > > By Brady Ackerman on November 12, 2015 > > GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The big question surrounding the Florida Gators — the SEC > East-champion Gators — is whether the offense can be rebooted for the stretch > run. > > Florida is averaging 367.2 yards per game, which is 10th in the SEC and 90th > nationally. In SEC play, though, that number drops to 332.3 yards per game, > ahead of just Vanderbilt and Missouri. > > Throw out the New Mexico State game because the Aggies are really bad and > because both of Florida’s quarterbacks played equal time in that game. Since > Treon Harris has become the starter, the Gators are averaging 333 yards per > game; that’s 7 fewer yards per game than when Will Grier was the starter. So > does the offense need to re-charge, or is it the same and just feels > different? The answer is both. > > The offense seemed to be trending upward with Grier because he had had three > consecutive 200-yard games as a passer. That feat had not been accomplished > in five seasons, so that Florida finally was showing life through the air was > encouraging. The Gators continued that trend against LSU with 271 passing > yards, but they have regressed in the past two games against Georgia and > Vanderbilt (320 total passing yards). > > Florida’s offensive line has struggled in pass protection the past four > games, and Treon Harris has been knocked around at times. KIM KLEMENT/USA > TODAY SPORTS > > Keep in mind that Harris has faced defenses ranked 23rd (LSU), 14th (Georgia) > and 19th (Vanderbilt) overall in his three starts. Those are the three of the > top four defenses Florida has faced this season; Missouri (No. 11) is the > other. Another reason for the recent struggles is that the Gators have > surrendered 10 sacks in the past three games and 15 in the past four. This is > a combination of both the quarterback change and the play of the offensive > line. Sprinkle in four top-25 defenses in the past four games, and you have > an offensive attack in reverse. The question now is how do you get this thing > headed in the right direction. > > 1. Tempo. I think Florida needs to go up-tempo a couple of series per half. I > think this allows Harris to react and not let the defense get set. You can > speed up things without getting into two-minute situations. Florida likes to > use a lot of packages, but maybe one series per quarter the Gators can go > into attack mode and let things speed up. I don’t believe this offense can > slow-walk its way to wins over Florida State and the SEC West champ in the > league championship game. I think the staff must get aggressive and take some > chances by going up-tempo. > > 2. Throw on first down. I think Florida has been a little more conservative > the past two weeks trying to get the SEC East locked down. Now that the trip > to Atlanta is secure, coordinator Doug Nussmeier needs to re-open the > playbook. Grier completed nearly 71 percent of his passes on first down and > averaged a bit more than 10 first-down throws per game. With Harris, the > Gators are throwing less on first down — and also not as effectively. Harris > is a 57 percent passer on first down and has 23 fewer first-down attempts > than Grier. Let Harris throw on first down and get him some plays he can > complete with confidence. > > 3. Diversify the run game. Florida has been mostly a zone team in the run > game, but now may be the time to draw up some draw plays and wide runs. > Florida tried the counter against Vanderbilt last week, but that play is too > slow to develop to be effective against a good defense. The off-tackle power > with the tight end as the lead blocker can be an option. Florida has used > formation overload to get Kelvin Taylor outside; a simple toss sweep or speed > option to Jordan Scarlett might be a better choice down the stretch. Zone > blocking is tough, especially with teams run-blitzing you, but the Gators > could use that to their advantage down the stretch. > > Florida’s offense should be improved this week and next as long as the > players remain confident. South Carolina is 90th in the nation in total > defense and 109th against the run. I expect Taylor to have 100 yards and the > passing game to find some big throws downfield. Next week, FAU rolls in to > Gainesville with the 87th-ranked defense in the country, which should provide > the Gators’ offense with another opportunity to get well. > > (You can follow Brady Ackerman on Twitter @bradyack) > (Feature photo by KIM KLEMENT/USA TODAY SPORTS) > > Copyright 2015 by GridironNow.com. All rights reserved. This material may not > be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. > > OTHER GRIDIRONNOW.COM STORIES: > > Report: Gators’ Grier has flu, could miss Ole Miss… > > Winning despite turnovers was impressive for Gators > > Here are 3 specific things Harris, Gators must work on > > Florida’s 3 keys to victory against Georgia > > The Gators should be in celebration mode Saturday > > It wasn’t pretty, but Gators win SEC East > > Comments > > 0 comments > > UM booster said to want Mike Shula as coachMinnesota promotes Claeys to > coachCould Sonny Dykes be in play for Houston?Fuente, Morris top candidates > at Virginia TechKill lobbying for Minnesota interim to get job > > OUR EXPERTS > > MORE > > TONY BARNHART > Gridiron Now - Expert > Crimson Tide now No. 2 in CFP rankings > > JIMMY HYAMS > Gridiron Now - Expert > Jones’ ‘build a program’ comment is unrealistic > > MIKE HUGUENIN > Gridiron Now - Expert > The top 3 individual matchups this weekend > > Saturday, Nov 14 > > Georgia (6-3) @12:00 PM > > Auburn (5-4)CBS > > Florida (8-1) @12:00 PM > > South Carolina (3-6)ESPN > > North Texas (1-8)12:00 PM > > Tennessee (5-4)SECN > > Alabama (6-1) @3:30 PM > > Mississippi State (6-2)CBS > > Kentucky (4-5) @4:00 PM > > Vanderbilt (3-6)SECN > > Western Carolina (6-3)7:00 PM > > Texas A&M (6-3)ESPNU > > Arkansas (4-4) @7:15 PM > > LSU (7-1) @ESPN > > BYU (7-2)7:30 PM > > Missouri (4-5) in Kansas CitySECN > > 21 > Shares > > 98 > > -- > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 > National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 > National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "GatorNews" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GatorTalk" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
