The Gators’ quarterback summarized his team’s inept play rather simply.
“We had too many mistakes,” he said. “We didn’t execute the way we could have.”
Florida’s offense only saved face because it was bailed out by defensive turnovers. Its rushing attack was clogged by predictability and inconsistent blocking. The passing game? Even more out of sync.
In short, that 2005 loss to LSU was bad.
Doubts lingered about Urban Meyer’s spread offense throughout his first year in Gainesville. The system did not allow you to “run the ball consistently,” a term synonymous in the SEC with “win consistently.” At the very least, the spread option was ineffective with immobile quarterback Chris Leak in the shotgun.
Five years and two national championships later, Meyer doesn’t need to defend his offense. But when he said this year’s version would be a throwback to the Leak days, fans should have seen the red flags against Miami (Ohio).
Saturday’s 212-yard performance was the worst the school has seen since that 206-yard effort against LSU. But breathe easy; one game is too small a sample size to draw conclusions.
The Gators can win with a pocket passer like John Brantley. They won a national championship in 2006 with Leak. But, like four years ago, UF’s offense needs a change-of-pace quarterback to take pressure off its starter.
During his town hall meeting with students two weeks ago, Meyer dispelled the belief that his offense is about “finesse.” He wants his team to smash opponents in the mouth, he said. And in the weeks leading to this season, he was more confident in Florida’s running backs than ever.
But Meyer’s Gators have never established a dominant running attack without a mobile quarterback. When Leak gained just 81 yards on the ground in 2005, Florida’s rushing offense ranked fifth in the conference.
Leak wasn’t a threat with his legs, and defenses focused on Florida’s running backs. The option, Meyer’s bread and butter, was one-dimensional.
Those woes were alleviated by Tim Tebow’s arrival in 2006, when the Gators’ running game improved to the second best in the SEC. But Florida still relied on Leak.
Compared to his previous season, Leak attempted just five fewer passes for about nine fewer yards per game in 2006. The addition of an option quarterback did not marginalize his role. It merely adjusted his responsibilities.
Brantley is the key to Florida’s offensive success this season. But, without a mobile quarterback, the team’s running game looked anemic. Remove outliers — the 72- and 41-yard runs by Jeff Demps and Mike Gillislee, and the negative-55 yards coming from fumbled snaps — and the Gators averaged 1.6 yards per carry.
Much of Florida’s ground trouble can be attributed to its mixed-and-mashed offensive line. Even so, modeling Brantley’s role after the 2006 version of Leak rather than the 2005 edition would boost UF’s running attack.
Freshman Trey Burton is not ready to be a starting quarterback. Neither was Tebow his first season, yet he was essential to the offense’s transformation.
Seventy-three percent of Tebow’s plays in 2006 were runs. Regardless, the offense was effective because the option has, well, plenty of options.
Sure, you know the Gators will run. But how? Will the quarterback keep the ball? Will he pitch it? Why is that receiver going in motion? And pay attention to the tight end. They might be setting up a shovel pass.
Burton did not see the field much last Saturday, but he flashed promise with his goal-line touchdown run — one of the few bright spots in UF’s short-yardage run game.
Meyer needs a smash-mouth attack to win. Brantley can’t run a smash-mouth offense. But the Gators can still win with him.
They just need to add a variable.
