Tyler: I know this sounds boring to the casual fan, but you need to watch the offensive line Saturday. If the group plays well this year, the offense will thrive. And if the offense thrives, the Gators will exceed the ho-hum expectations we all have thrust upon them.
I’m not saying the offense will be the strength of the team. Florida’s defense was ranked ninth nationally in 2010, and the unit should be one of the best in the Southeastern Conference again. To hear players talk about him, Will Muschamp must wallpaper his office with hand-scribbled zone blitzes. Think John Nash from “A Beautiful Mind,” only with football diagrams instead of equations.
But it’s precisely because Muschamp’s brain is so big and the defense is so talented that the offensive line is key. If Florida can put up points at a decent clip, it should be able to keep games close against heavyweights like Alabama and South Carolina. To do so, the Gators are going to need to pound the ball.
Running backs Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey are the best players on offense. Give them lanes to run through, and UF could be off to the races.
Tom: Speaking of “A Beautiful Mind,” I don’t know whether you’re brilliant like John Nash, or crazy like him with your argument here, Tyler. Sure the offensive line is key and all if you’re talking football theory. But we’re talking about Florida, not football in general.
You of all people should know that defense wins championships — just look at 2008 when Florida shut down Oklahoma’s high-powered offense. It was the secondary that set the tone then (see: Major Wright blowing up Manny Johnson), and this year will be more of the same
As in, the secondary will be the pivotal unit on this team, and the Gators’ success will hinge on that very young, very talented corps of defensive backs, especially after losing Ahmad Black and Janoris Jenkins.
Replacing the best two players on a passing defense that ranked 12th nationally last year is going to be more important to the team’s outlook than piecing together an offensive line that was just 58th in sacks allowed.
Tyler: Don’t forget about Will Hill.
Yes, the defensive backfield is young. But running the football is more important than airing it out, whether that be in “football theory” or specifically at Florida. A passing attack can be off from time to time, whether it’s because the quarterback isn’t accurate, the receivers aren’t running precise routes, pass protection has broken down, whatever.
A good running attack, on the other hand, is butter. If you can pound the ball, you control the game. Go watch Florida’s 2009 SEC Championship loss, when the Crimson Tide gutted the Gators for 251 yards on 53 carries.
Florida has to stop the run on defense, and it has to run the ball on offense. If Florida’s front seven lives up to preseason hype, the pressure will be off the defensive backs. Opponents will find themselves in obvious passing downs, which makes the job that much easier.
Offensively, there are plenty of doubts about Florida’s big men. Can Xavier Nixon recover from an offseason during which he lost and then regained 55 pounds? Is Dan Wenger truly safe after suffering two concussions at Notre Dame? Are the other starters (who hold a combined eight starts) ready?
Florida’s season hinges on these questions.
Tom: Right now, the hype with that front seven is just that — hype. None of those highly touted players — Ronald Powell, Sharrif Floyd or Dominique Easley — have shown us anything to prove Florida’s pass rush will be vastly improved from last season.
Until they do, the pressure remains on that group of defensive backs because, after all, they are the last line of defense for the Gators’, well, defense. That’s a lot to ask of a (very) young defensive backfield that could likely start two freshmen and two sophomores.
Oh, and one of those sophomores, by all accounts, has been the leader of the defense as a whole.
I’m talking about Matt Elam, by the way. You know, the guy Easley referred to as the best out there. If he’s really the leader everyone says he has become over the last year, that means not only the secondary’s success is on his shoulders, but the entire defense depends on Elam and that group.
Tyler: Nah. Offensive line is more important. And that’s that.
Contact Tyler Jett at tjett@alligator.org and Tom Green at tgreen@alligator.org.
