Gator Country

Photo by Tim Casey

There is nothing wrong with the Florida offense that two more footballs won’t solve. Which is to say, if you are a playmaker, take a number and wait. Because touches are hard to come by in the modern version of Football Lite.

In Gainesville these days, where The Fun ‘N’ Gun was born and The Spread has taken wing, it’s not so much about stats anymore. Coaches and players are too busy scheming how to do more in less time. And how to broaden the roles of their best players.

While pundits may be grousing about the lack of an explosive offense, players are looking for ways to get on the field and coaches are doing a balancing act of egos and playing time.

Whether those opportunities come on offense or special teams, however, doesn’t matter: A touch is a touch is a touch.

Games are running about 15 plays shorter for Florida’s offense. Conversely, everybody is in a hurry-up mode and some of the game’s rhythms seem to be lost. Among the SEC teams have played just three games to date, the Gators have run fewer plays than anybody: 171. Arkansas and Tennessee have run 38 more each; Kentucky 36; and LSU 24

Since Meyer designed The Spread for the purpose of getting the ball in the hands of his playmakers, and since Florida is loaded with playmakers – well, you do the math. Now throw in 15 fewer plays a game and you can see the challenge ahead.

Instead of lamenting these facts, Meyer’s coaches have chosen to emphasize and reward effort over talent. And on places like special teams, effort makes the difference.

A prime example of this: At the showing of the game film in the Champions meeting this week, Percy Harvin got a huge ovation for throwing a block on Tennessee punter Chad Cunningham to spring Brandon James on his 74-yard return for a touchdown. Harvin reportedly received more enthusiastic applause for the block than he did for catching Tim Tebow’s touchdown pass.

Therein lies the response that Meyer wants: Talented players stepping up to contribute in roles outside the norm. These unselfish crossovers build layers of pride.

For instance, check out the number of regulars on the punt block team, said to be the fastest in America. World-class sprinters like Jeffrey Demps and Chris Rainey are among them. So Louis Murphy decided he would jump aboard, too.

Observe the punt team gunners: Joe Haden and Brandon James.  Now Major Wright and Kestahn Moore want a piece of the action.

Meanwhile, Demps is also on the kickoff team, so Will Hill and Justin Williams – both speed guys – figured they might as well be on it, too.

Even the kickers have been asked to sacrifice distance for accuracy. Jonathan Phillips has only been perfect. Chas Henry, who ripped off a 57-yard beauty in Knoxville, is punting better because he focuses on altitude and not distance; meanwhile, his distance has improved.

James Smith will likely leave Florida as the best long-snapper in school history. Fans may not realize the value of his role as a long punt snapper who streaks downfield to cover punts, but you can bet his teammates and coaches do.

Tim Tebow may not win the Heisman Trophy, but he also knows they will never be able to take the one from 2007 away. And if there was going to be an All-Unselfish Team this season, Tebow might be the captain. Look at the Tennessee numbers: a paltry 15 passes and eight completions. High school numbers.

So how about all those missing touches?

Memo to offensive players for the Gators: Seize the moment and don’t squander any opportunities because they might not be coming your way again soon.

Everybody but the TV network timekeepers seems to hate Football Lite. The 40-second clock not only shortened the game, it has also removed some of the flavor and shortchanged us all.

“I’m not a fan of the clock rule,” said Meyer. “I think it’s wrong. I think it’s cheating the fans. And more importantly, (it’s) cheating the players.”

Meyer complains loudly about the modernized, shortened version of the game, but the truth is that this might play right into his wheelhouse. And he is creating more game-changing plays in others ways on special teams and defense. That includes shortening the field and shortening the game even more.

When Florida jumped on top of Tennessee Saturday, 17-0, Meyer’s Gators wrote the textbook on how to win at Football Lite: Tilt the field.

This is the formula on how to win at Football LIte because it gives the opponent less time and fewer plays to try and catch up. Therefore Urban underscores offensive efficiency, which is the by-product of ball security, along with superior defense and special teams excellence.

Football Lite or not, it isn’t about how many possessions his team gets, but what that team does with those possessions. That is determined, at least in part, by where the special teams or defense deposits the ball and where the offense starts.

Of course it’s always nice when the ball is deposited in the end zone, as was the case with James following his 74-yard scoring jaunt.

If you were fooled by Florida’s geared down offense in the second half last Saturday, then don’t be. You’d find that in Urban’s mythical textbook on “How To Close Out An Opponent.”

Winning by a big margin was not a priority for Meyer. After all, the 59-20 landslide victory over the Vols in 2007 only gave the young squad a false sense of worth last season. That lopsided victory was somewhat hollow after Tennessee rebounded, won the East and made it to Atlanta while Florida sat home that week.

That’s why I laughed when Miami’s Randy Shannon and some of the Hurricane fans accused Meyer of running up the score because he kicked a field goal. Did they notice that twice last Saturday Florida’s offense ran what Meyer called “non-competitive plays”?

Officially there were 54 plays, but three times Florida took a knee or the equivalent of a time-killing tactic and five other times there were what Meyer calls “non-competitive” snaps. Overall, just 46 competitive plays. 

The only stat the Florida coach really cared about was that by taking the knee, the Gators were a mere 4-for-5 in the red zone and not perfect – because those are the figures which quantify the success of his “Plan To Win.”

So it goes like this with Meyer and his coaching staff: Competitive balance runs deep with some 70 players who could wind up making the field in a single game.

And in the end, the only real stat that matters is the one under “wins.” No matter how much they shorten the game that will always remain as empirical data.

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.

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