Long scoring drives have been in short supply this season for No. 9 Florida, but you won’t hear Carl Johnson complain.
“I really don’t think we should ever start at our own 10, that’s what special teams are for. I’m fat, I don’t want no 90-yard drives,” UF’s 355-pound left guard said. “I love 40-yard drives. We have to rely on special teams. That’s special teams’ job, to put the offense in good situations.”
True, the Gators have set the table nicely for quarterback John Brantley through three games, with average starting field positions of the 49-, 33- and 41-yard lines, but the lack of lengthy possessions is still troubling for UF.
Florida has just three scoring drives of 65 yards or longer compared to 10 at this point last season, and two of those this season came via Jeff Demps touchdown runs of 72 and 62 yards.
UF ranks 11th in the Southeastern Conference in total offense (317 yards per game), but it’s still fourth in the conference in scoring (34.3 points per game) despite those struggles.
Field position and defense have had a lot to do with that scoring total.
Against Tennessee, the Gators started as many of their 13 drives in Vols territory as they did from inside their own 35-yard line: three.
“Our field position in that game is why we won [in Knoxville],” coach Urban Meyer said. “That whole thing about 41 percent of our team being freshmen, most of them don’t understand that. The value of being a left tackle on kickoff return is just as valuable as carrying the ball. It takes a lot to beat that into them.”
The message appears to be taking hold, and Demps deserves much of the credit.
The junior is sixth in the nation for kickoff returns, bringing the ball back an average of more than 36 yards per try.
But UF is averaging just 7.57 yards per punt return, and Demps’ dual role as starting running back could jeopardize his consistency in the return game as the season wears on.
Meyer is a self-professed lover of special teams, but he knows his offense can’t get too reliant on the unit to carry it.
“Offensively, we just have to improve,” he said. “[Brantley], the receivers, the offensive line all [need to improve], and there is a lot of urgency, which I have been saying. We need to start seeing results. We are, but I’m a little bit more down on the offense right now. But they are getting better.”
