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09 October 2010
Question: What's the best way to stop a team full of speedy, talented, creative playmakers?
Answer: Have Steve Addazio call the plays.
Okay I know - not exactly Comedy Central material there. But then again, the decline in Florida's offense since Dan Mullen left after the 2008 BCS Championship Game and Addazio took over as offensive coordinator is no laughing matter for Gators' fans. Since then, we have watched some of the most predictable, boring, unimaginative, conservative playcalling possible, which has hindered the growth of the younger playmakers and stripped the Gators of any confidence on offense.
It led to quite possibly the most joyless, stress-filled 13-1 season ever in 2009, as we watched the the team struggle to put away inferior opponents all year before getting blasted by Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. And this year, we've watched an offense that is so inept, it's almost unrecognizable in a Florida uniform, not to mention a team that has lost two games in a row and looks to have at least two more losses on the schedule unless they get things fixed.
The problem with looking for a fix is that the man responsible for the mess isn't going anywhere. Addazio is a close friend of Urban Meyer, and although the calls for Addazio's head are growing louder and louder in Gator Nation, it's very unlikely we'll see any changes this season. So that means at least six more games of an offense that would have trouble moving the ball in a coed flag football league. Six more games of seeing two runs directly into the middle of the defensive line before lining up for a third-and-long. Six more games of never thinking to throw the ball more than five yards downfield. Six more games of trying, and failing to convert on, gimmicky plays that the rest of the country caught onto two years ago.
How bad is it? In 2008, the last year under Dan Mullen, the Gators averaged 43.6 points per game, and 43.3 points against SEC opponents. In 2009, with much of the same cast on offense (minus WR Percy Harvin), the Gators averaged 35.8 points per game and only 26 points against the SEC. And this year? Well they're putting up just 31 points per game, and 28.5 against the SEC. Of course, those 2010 averages also include a 6-point train wreck of a game against Alabama, a game in which they not only failed to score a touchdown, but also turned it over twice inside the 1-yard line. Now I understand that execution falls on the players, and that turnovers can't directly be blamed on the offensive coordinator. However, in this case, it's hard not to blame Addazio for putting his offense in the positions they've been in all season.
In both 2008 and 2009, the Gators averaged over five yards per rush, thanks largely to the running of guys like Harvin and Tim Tebow. The dive read play worked perfectly, because both guys were threats in their own way. If the defensive line collapsed, Tebow could pull the ball back, use his legs to move the pocket, and throw the ball downfield. If Tebow saw the line lose contain on the outside, a subtle shift in the play could spring Harvin to get to the corner and head downfield. And, if all else failed, Tebow could lower his head and use his 240-pound frame to get tough yards up the middle. Simply put, this play was effective because of the people running it, not because it was an exotic scheme that was impossible to predict.
Don't tell that to Addazio however. He's still firmly attached to the play, even though both Harvin and Tebow are wearing NFL uniforms right now, and the Gators don't have any players comparable to them on the roster. To begin with, QB John Brantley isn't a runner. So calling a play that hinges on the threat of a quarterback tucking the ball and heading downfield probably isn't going to work. Consequently, since the defense now knows that the ball will be handed to the running back when they line up in the dive formation, they can load up at the line and stuff the back. This doesn't bode well for the Gators' best back, Jeff Demps, who is only 5'8 and 190 pounds. He's a tough kid and can make things happen in the open field, but he's not moving the pile against SEC defenses. That's why after averaging 230 rushing yards per game in 2008, and 220 in 2009, they're humming along at only 140 in 2010. Luckily, the Gators compensate for this shortcoming by running this play somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 times each game.
And that brings me to my next point...is the Florida offensive playbook only one page? Never in my life have I seen such predictable playcalling, mainly because they run the same four or five plays over and over, typically with minimal success. In the loss to LSU, I kept track of their goal line snaps. They took 12 total snaps on the goal line (including two penalties that erased the play). Of those 12 snaps, eight were runs up the middle. There was also a failed screen pass after a holding penalty (presumably because they were too far from the endzone to run the dive play again), an incomplete pass and two missed field goal attempts on the same drive (one following an LSU penalty). And of those runs up the middle, only superhuman efforts from Trey Burton and Jordan Reed ensured that they got into the endzone, meaning LSU was in place to stop it but just didn't. In other words, the Gators managed to find the endzone despite being totally transparent on offense. That's not exactly a ringing endorsement for the playcalling.
Furthermore, I kept track of all of Florida's offensive snaps against LSU, including a few plays that may not have stood because of penalties, because I wanted to see just how limited their playcalling was. Of the 62 snaps I counted, 38 were either runs up the middle or pass attempts of fewer than 10 yards, with many of those being swing passes to the outside where they gained minimal yards. Of the remaining 24, four resulted in sacks and one resulted in a turnover when the pass was tipped at the line. That leaves 19 plays that were either runs outside of the tackle, or pass attempts of more than 10 yards. So it's no wonder their offensive stats are so bad. When two-thirds of your plays are being run inside the box where both the linemen and linebackers can defend them, you're going to struggle to move the ball. With no hint of a vertical passing game, Florida's offense becomes incredibly bland, and the crowd on Saturday let their displeasure be known, booing the conservative play calls and trying (unsuccessfully) to get Addazio to open things up a little.
Now the people who defend Addazio (a group growing smaller by the week) will point out that the offensive line has been spotty at best, and the wide receivers have been inconsistent as deep threats - two statements that aren't entirely untrue. But I should also point out that the offensive line coach is - you guessed it - Addazio. So if bad playcalling is a result of poor offensive line play, and one man is responsible for both of those facets, shouldn't that tip us off as to how to fix things?
As for the supposed "lack of deep threats" that Addazio supporters like to talk about, I'm not buying that either. Sure, Riley Cooper had a few drops last year, and speedster Deonte Thompson has had a few this year. But when you're only getting three balls thrown to you each game, it's kind of difficult to get into a flow and develop some confidence. I'm fairly certain that although Thompson may not be the next Randy Moss, he has the ability to beat cornerbacks and catch the ball downfield if he's given the chance. But at this point, Addazio isn't even giving him the chance. Two-thirds of the pass attempts by Brantley against LSU were less than 10 yards. So I guess in one sense, it is fair to say Florida doesn't have any deep threats. However, I don't know that it's because of the personnel as much as the playcalling.
Sadly, as I mentioned, none of this is likely to matter. Addazio may be feeling more and more heat each week from the fans, but he has a big supporter in Meyer, and that's the only support he needs. So as Gator fans, we're just going to have to live with a playbook that is better suited for a middle school, and an offensive coordinator who is in so far over his head, it's embarrassing. With games still left against South Carolina and Florida State, not to mention Georgia and Mississippi State, this has the potential to be a very long season unless something changes.
Until then, Gators' fans should get used to plenty of dive plays, third-and-longs, and frustrating Saturdays.
