Gator Country

Florida junior defensive end Carlos Dunlap sacks Troy quarterback Levi Brown at the 22-yard line for an eight-yard loss during the third quarter of the Gators' 56-6 win against the Trojans on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium./Gator Country photo by Tim Casey

Contrary to that well-known courtroom parlance, the defense never rests. At least not the defense of Charlie Strong and Urban Meyer.

You probably once thought Urban was all about The Spread. For all the hullabaloo about the Meyer offense being an off-brand and how it would never work in the Big Boy world of the SEC, the cornerstone of Urban’s Plan to Win is … D-E-F-E-N-S-E.

Sure, every coach wants to have a strong defense, but Urban’s intention is bigger than that. His defensive bent is borderline, slobberknocker, smashmouth, punt-on-third-down Bob Neyland-style. Okay, maybe not the punt on third-down thing, but everything else. While he’s an offensive guru, Meyer is also a defensive fanatic, right out of the Woody Hayes school of obsession.

“Play great defense” is the very first tenet of the Plan to Win. Not offense --- defense. We read about it in Urban’s book, are still reading about it in the weekly press releases and hearing about it after every game. In fact, we read and hear about it ad nauseum.

Most all of us could recite the darn thing now --– certainly his players can --– and in its own way, the Plan to Win has earned its way right into the football DNA next to Neyland’s famed Seven Game Maxims.

So on Monday, at his pre-game Tennessee press conference, I asked Urban once again to define what he meant by “great defense,” even though I had a feeling I knew what was coming.

It is more than a few pep talks or words on a page. Meyer backs up his commitment by paying his defensive coaches top dollar and giving them some of the best talent in the pool --- even if that talent comes from the other side of the ball.

Urban always likes to talk about how Joe Haden would have been an outstanding wide receiver, but Chuck Heater needed him at cornerback, so Dan Mullen and Billy Gonzalez let Haden go without a whimper. Now he adds Matt Patchan, a stellar offensive line prospect who became a D-lineman for a year before moving to left tackle this season, to that list of crossovers.

“It’s personnel driven,” Meyer says of his commitment to “Great Defense.”

“Our players know that we manage the game with defense in mind,” said Meyer. “And we try not to put them in bad field position.”

He is right about that. His quarterback bought into his philosophy a long time ago. The Plan to Win is tattooed on his brain.

“We have the utmost confidence in our defense right now,” said Tim Tebow. “It’s not a bad thing for us to make a few first downs and punt. We play the field position game, we play The Plan to Win, we play great defense.”

Tebow added in rote-like-fashion, as if programmed to be Robo-Quarterback with a memory chip: “ ‘Win the turnovers, score in the red zone, win the kicking game.’ It’s not ‘to score more points than the other team .’ ”

And then he went into the Meyer trance again, repeating the Plan to Win mantra. Yada, yada, yada. Four years of having that pounded into your head would tend to do that.

It’s too early to dub this Gator defense as “great,” but with the versatility and depth of talent on Strong’s squad there is a chance we’ll be using that adjective before the year is out. Granted, Charleston Southern and Troy didn’t exactly push them, but there are new faces emerging and some of the veterans are having to fight for their jobs.

We’ve yet to see the best of players like Lawrence Marsh (back from Injury), Janoris Jenkins (returned last week from suspension) and Ahmad Black (sat out much of the opener). The stars are out and they will be shining brightly on Saturday --- Haden, Brandon Spikes, Ryan Stamper, Major Wright, Carlos Dunlap, Justin Trattou, Jermaine Cunningham, Will Hill, etc.

Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton may find out the real meaning of “Up to his eyeballs in Alligators” come Saturday.

Lane Kiffin’s daddy, Monte, may have been the defensive guru of the NFL with his famous “Tampa Two,” but in this game, on this field, I fully expect Florida’s defense to live up to the last name of its coordinator. And the name “Strong” will have more gravitas in the SEC than “Kiffin” before the season is out.

One great example of “Great Defense” is deferring it as your strength in the heat of battle. We go back to 2006 and the critical moment in the SEC Championship Game against Arkansas.

The Razorbacks were on a roll in the third quarter and were ahead, 21-17, when the Gators pulled off a brilliant gadget play on fourth down and 10 at their own 13-yard-line --- an end-around handoff from punter Eric Wilbur to wide receiver Jemalle Cornelius. The play reversed momentum to Florida’s side, except that the drive fizzled at the Gator 41 and Meyer had to make a decision again on whether to go for it on fourth down again, this time for just a yard.

As he deliberated, Meyer heard the voice of co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison as he said: “Urban, let’s punt it way and go play defense.”

True to his own football code, Meyer listened and had Wilbur punt the ball this time. And a magical thing happened: The ball was fumbled by Razorback Reggie Fish, who inexplicably attempted to run it from inside the 5-yard line and fumbled. Wondy Pierre-Louis fell on it for a touchdown and Florida went ahead 21-17, holding on to win the SEC title, 38-28.

The football gods honor those who stay true to their convictions.

About the author

BuddyShow

Buddy Martin is the author of seven books, including Urban Meyer's authorized biography, and was a recipient of an Emmy while working for CBS Sports on "The NFL Today." The native son of Ocala and Florida-educated journalist is the former sports editor of the New York Daily News, Denver Post, St. Petersburg Times and Florida Today. He has won more than 165 state and national awards for writing and editing. "Urban's Way" (St. Martin's Press) is now out in paperback. It can be purchased at all major book stores or by writing Buddy at buddyshow@aol.com.

More Football | RSS