Coaches Corner: UF vs FSU breakdown

The systematic dismantling of Florida State in the mud and rain of Tallahassee will go down as one of the greatest additions to the legacy of a very special team. Saturday’s game against FSU was not always pretty. With “Ron Zook Field” looking more like a rice paddy than a football field and Tim Tebow looking more like William Wallace than the guy in the suit holding a bronze statue at the Downtown Athletic Club, the Gators proved that messy can be a thing of beauty, too.

With the field conditions being what they were, the gameplan had to be adjusted.  Rain like that makes it tough to block, tough to catch, tough to throw, and tough to change direction.  It requires teams to be more disciplined in their assignments and typically offers an advantage to the team that can move the ball downhill better.  Fortunately for the Gators, their 235 pound quarterback is one of the best in the country at running straight through the heart of the defense, and he showed it on the second play of the game.

During first play of the game, FSU showed that they were going to key their defense on Percy Harvin.  As was the case against South Carolina, Florida used this to their advantage to create room in the middle of the field.  The Gators start with Harvin in the Slot and motion him into the backfield, causing FSU to rotate the defense to take away the sweep and option, with Myron Rolle walking down from the high safety position.  This is of no concern because the Gators will not have to block Rolle as he is already out of the play.  This essentially leaves 8 Seminoles to account for 9 Gators in the box.

At the snap, Tebow fakes the hand off to Harvin and no less than four Seminole defenders flow to the sweep.  Two are unblocked and out of the play, one is picked up by Hernandez, and the remaining one will be dealt with later.  On the line, the Pouncey twins block down, Jason Watkins goes to the second level and positions himself to seal the Mike linebacker, Carl Johnson pulls and seals the defensive end, and Phil Trautwein pulls right behind him.

Trautwein leads through the hole and takes out the remaining outside linebacker.  Tebow follows the block to daylight and builds a head of steam with only members of the secondary left to bring him down.

Thanks to the downfield blocking of Riley Cooper, Tebow manages an extra 5 yards out of an already great play.  He’s finally pulled down at the 50.

One player who has stepped up lately is David Nelson.  While he has been an excellent blocker the last couple of years, his ability to use his body and make himself a target in the passing game has really improved over the last couple of weeks.  His 28 yard catch on 3rd and 5 was an excellent example of the improvements he has made to his game.

Florida State shows 6 possible rushers and zero high coverage before the snap.  Deonte Thompson is motioned into the backfield for extra protection and Florida State shifts into what is either a cover 2 or cover 4 look.

With the look the defense is giving, Tebow is going to read the safeties right to left.  The middle linebacker is not going to be able to get enough depth to interfere with the play as he has to stay close enough to the line to make sure Tebow doesn’t take off and beat him with his feet.  At the snap, Tebow gives a quick glance to the strong safety to make sure he doesn’t drop down into a robber zone, and immediately looks at the free safety.  The free safety widens out with Harvin’s flag route, opening up the middle of the field.  Nelson runs a textbook route.  He gets past the linebacker and makes a sharp break, making sure to get to the hole in the zone fast and be ready for the ball.  Tebow delivers, but the throw is a little late to catch in stride.  Nelson makes an adjustment, using his body to shield the ball from anyone who might be behind him.  As it is, the safeties arrive late and Nelson is able to pick up another 10 yards after the catch.

This is where Nelson’s improvements really show.  In the past, Nelson might have “drifted” and taken his route deeper than it is supposed to go, meaning a longer time for Tebow to have to wait until he clears the linebacker and more time for the Strong safety or free safety to help.  No matter what the coverage, precise routes can create separation just as well as acceleration.

Notes:

  • I’ll say it again: there is not a better freshman corner in the country than Janoris Jenkins.  You would be hard pressed to find many seniors who are better than our own number 29.  He really is the complete package, from lockdown cover skills, to good knowledge of the scheme, to outstanding tackling ability.  It’s going to be a pleasure watching him develop the next two years.

  • Credit Phil Trautwein and Jason Watkins for the excellent protection Tim Tebow had all day on Saturday.  Despite the difficult conditions, Trautwein and Gilbert handled a quality pair of defensive ends with relative ease. 

  • Don’t look now, but Carlos Dunlap is sitting on 9 sacks for the season.  He has quietly put together a pretty solid season rushing the passer despite not being the starter much of the year.  The last few games he has really started to display that every down effort that separates great players from ordinary players.  If he keeps it up he’s going to make a big impact against Alabama and in the bowl game.

  • I wouldn’t blow Florida’s kickoff coverage problems Saturday out of proportion too much.  Florida State does have a quality return team and the weather tends to neutralize some of the speed and athleticism the Gator coverage team has.  The advantage in that case goes to the larger blockers.  Additionally, I noted more than once that Florida had a player in position that simply had the ground give out on him.  Also, don’t discount how kicking a heavier, wet ball can affect a kicker.
  • You can’t play much bigger than the Gator defense against the Noles.  Despite FSU starting with very favorable field position most of the game due to the kickoff coverage and a fumble, the starting defense held in the red zone and found a way to keep Florida State out of the end zone until the game was well out of reach.  The stop after FSU started inside the Gator 15 with the score still 14-3 was absolutely one of the keys to the game.  There is nothing more demoralizing to an offense than to get the ball deep in the opponent’s territory and not even be able to move the ball 10 yards.

Looking forward:

The big question this week is the line of scrimmage.  Alabama will be the Gators’ greatest test all year in the trenches on both sides of the ball, but count me as one who thinks we can match up.  Offensively, the trouble will be adjusting to the 3-4 scheme run by the Crimson Tide.  Florida hasn’t seen anything similar this year, so there may be an adjustment period, but I think our line will be able to manage.  Terrance Cody also presents problems on the interior of the line, but the Gators are bigger on the outside of the line than Alabama is, and more mobile.  Look for the Gators to try a couple of different things to use that to their advantage take Cody out of the game.  I think running the ball wide will tire out the big man, even if it doesn’t pay immediate dividends.  If the Pouncey twins and Carl Johnson have trouble with the zone read, the Gators may even choose to read Cody instead of trying to block him, much like they did with Glenn Dorsey last year. 

Defensively, look for Florida to follow a plan similar to the one they used against Georgia.  Like Georgia, Alabama likes to run the ball to set up play action.  Though their quarterback and running backs aren’t as physically gifted as Georgia’s, their offensive line is better.  Florida will keep a safety in the box on running downs and go plus one in order to stay gap sound.  If Florida controls the run, that will put the game squarely on the shoulders of John Parker Wilson, especially if the Gators can build a 14 point or more lead.  Wilson, like Matthew Stafford, is at his best when not asked to win the game with his arm.  If Florida can stop the run and keep up their stingy red zone defense, I like their odds.  Figure in the speedy surface in the Georgia Dome and I’ll take the Gators, 38-20.

Stay tuned tomorrow for our an in-depth look at playing Alabama…