Passing Game

[akaijenkins1]

This play I put this squarely on Driskel’s shoulders.

Nixon blocks the end as he should, as Driskel’s being hit he’s clearly engaged with the end, if he steps out to take on the blitzer Driskel is hit even sooner, the Oline’s job is to block from the interior out unless directed otherwise by either Driskel or the Center checking protection at the line.

Which brings me back to WHY this is Driskel’s fault and where his primary development as a QB needs to come in. Right before your still image is snapped, I remember vividly that Gilly was lined up to Driskel’s left before the snap, lined up beside Driskel and just over Nixon. I’m almost positive the blitzing player creeps down into the box before Driskel sends Gilly into motion. Right when he did, I yelled at the television that Driskel needs to either change the protection, check the receiver to a hot read or audible to a QB draw, anything other than running the same play after sending his protection out wide into the formation.

As well, when Gilly heads out wide, the DB playing him remains twelve yards off the ball. This is why I feel Driskel is not processing the information presented him but rather operating within a very small window of predetermination. Reading the blitzer stepping into the box where he’d just sent his protection out wide from, the QB has to respond by checking to the shifted advantage: Gilly out wide on a bubble-screen type pass or Driskel himself taking the snap and running a QB draw. The absolute worst thing is to see the blitzer move into the box after you yourself has motioned your protection out wide yet not adjust.

Two other things to consider: such checks at the line simply aren’t in the offense at present, which is a horrible thing to consider this deep into the season. As well, that the center isn’t helping Driskel, the Center and Left Guard double on Tackle, leaving Nixon to take the end one on one, which Nixon has every obligation to do unless directed otherwise from QB or Center, Nixon is the least of the problem on this play.

Looking at the pre-snap formation of offense and defense, Gilly is where this ball should go immediately at the snap, everything about it is perfectly setup pre-snap and then completely abandoned: our best player with the ball in his hands with a blocker in front of him, one man to beat and an eight to twelve yard cushion with which to operate if the ball is out to him immediately.

Was thinking about this very play all week, glad you posted it!

by OaklandGator on Jan 5, 2013 12:26 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

Watched the video just now and it happens a lot faster than my write-up makes it seem. Gilly goes out wide but it’s not a motion play, he’s confused about where to line-up because we’re in hurry up and Driskel tells him to go to the bottom of the formation.

The blitzer also waits until about a two-count before the snap to walk down into the box. The rest I stand by, Driskel looks right at him as he begins to creep down into the box but does not slow down the snap count to adjust, nor does he audible to the line or to Gilly.

These are from a post over on Alligator Army I responded to. Figured it made sense to post in this thread, very much related to the discussion here and with the pictures included is a nice show and tell way of getting at the problem.

[Gatorrick22]

As delicately as I can say this..... I sincerely hope that JD gets great QB pointers/camp with someone that knows how to accentuate their positives and eliminate their negatives...

[GatorByte]

Originally Posted by akaijenkins1

These are from a post over on Alligator Army I responded to. Figured it made sense to post in this thread, very much related to the discussion here and with the pictures included is a nice show and tell way of getting at the problem.

Good to see that others are very aware of what I feel is our most serious problem on offense. Couldn't agree with him more about how horrible it is that things like line checks might not even be in the scope of things we can even do right now... and how scary that is when you are playing in a freaking BCS bowl game!

[Gatorrick22]

Originally Posted by GatorByte

Good to see that others are very aware of what I feel is our most serious problem on offense. Couldn't agree with him more about how horrible it is that things like line checks might not even be in the scope of things we can even do right now... and how scary that is when you are playing in a freaking BCS bowl game!

Lets not jump to any conclusions just yet.... Why don't we all just chill a bit.

[mac4lyfe]

Anybody that thinks the problem is anything more than the QB position needs to turn on the TV ad watch today's NFL playoff games.

Dalton for Cincinnati - 3 completions for 6 yards in the first half
Webb for Minnesota - 2 completions for 12 yards in the first half

Game over for both teams at halftime. Blame their OL, WR and RB's all you want but there's only one reason they're both going fishing right now... Their QB's sucked.

TAM had a new HC and staff, a new playbook and a new QB and they improved as the season progressed, especially Manziel. UF... zero progression and maybe went backwards. Driskel??? Backwards. What's so depressing is that Driskel has not shown any glimpses of improvement. None. He's the same QB he was game 1.

We keep blaming our WR's, OL and RB's but several of them have gone on to some success in the NFL already. The day Brantley and Driskel have success in the NFL is the day I will eat a hat and post it on SG. It ain't happening.

[LTG61]

Strangely, the 2013 recruiting class has multiple athletes (and really good ones, at that) coming in at every position except one: QB. CWM has recruited only one QB for next year, and I believe he's rated as a 3-star.

I hope he is really under-rated and/or one of the current QBs takes a quantum leap forward. Otherwise, this offense may not be much different next year.

[KronoGator]

You don't need a lot of stars to hand it off.

[LTG61]

Can't argue that

[GatorAvatar]

Originally Posted by int1974

So is it the WR's, or the routes we run. I did see WR's open and the ball not thrown, but most times they were covered.
Did we run a slant all year? Crossing routes, do we use them at all?

What are those

[gator07]

Originally Posted by akaijenkins1

These are from a post over on Alligator Army I responded to. Figured it made sense to post in this thread, very much related to the discussion here and with the pictures included is a nice show and tell way of getting at the problem.

During the broadcast they showed the replay of that play from the qb perspective and you can see the wr at the left with one on one coverage running a fly route and getting a step on his man. Perfect time to attack deep and let it fly in the face of the blitz for a chance at a big play.

[gtr2x]

Originally Posted by gator07

He looked just fine against Jax St where our offense scored 1 TD?




ONE!

Relook at his stats and the game plan for that game. Or the prior LA lafayette game for that matter. None of which matters now tho.

[GatorLaw]

Originally Posted by Tolbert1906

. . . teddy bridgewater was under more duress and somehow made plays.

louisville's wr core is not as good as florida's. . . .

I'm not sure how you get either of those conclusions. I didn't think Bridgewater was under more duress. Which isn't to say his OL was great but he got rid of the ball so quickly, and to the right receiver, that it was hard to say he was under much duress.

As for WRs, good grief, I thought their WRs looked much better than ours. For one thing they got open. For another they caught everything thrown near them. Not that they had to make a lot of difficult catches, Bridgewater put the ball right where it was supposed to be most of the time. But they did make some excellent catches the relatively few times he wasn't on target.

Our difficulties at the WR position are a continuing mystery. You look at a team like Louisville and it looks so easy, you wonder why it's been so hard for us the last four years.

[njgator11]

Originally Posted by GATORAZ

what do you think about the OL and the WR's?

I think the wr's are better than the O-line. Not great, but not as bad a people think.
Last year, Debose caught a couple of bombs, this year not 1, I can't even recall any thrown. We don't throw enough balls to the receivers to assess. We really don't allow them to make plays. Other than Percy, depsite the NFL talent we've had over the last 5-10 years, no receivers have established themselves in our systems, though numerous OC's. Not sure why but Nelson, Thompson, Cooper, etal have shown better in the NFL than they did in college.
The O-line has proven to be fair at best and certainly disappointing as compared to what was written in the preseason. They rarely blew people off the ball, yes we had a couple of games (mostly LSU) they we played well, but there were more games that they couldn't open a hole or move the pile in 3rd and short, even vs weaker competition. The pass protection was not very good, and like the run offense was inconsistent. It became clear that they couldn't pick up the blitz and teams regularly blitzed us, especially in passing situations. They certainly need improvement, but their limitations were exacerbated by a QB that held the ball too long, couldn't read a defense and stood still in the pocket. He rarely stepped up, moved in the pocket, etc. things that could buy time for the O-line.

[njgator11]

Originally Posted by akaijenkins1

These are from a post over on Alligator Army I responded to. Figured it made sense to post in this thread, very much related to the discussion here and with the pictures included is a nice show and tell way of getting at the problem.

This is GREAT!!! Thanks and it shows what has been obvious. Most of our offensive issues came from the QB's lack of recognition, instincts and football IQ. look at the picture, how did he niot see the db cheating over before the snap, how did he not step up in the pocket, which was sizable. He did what he did all year and that is just go with the play that was called ignoring what was happening on the field and having no movement inthe pocket.

[Swampmaster]

Originally Posted by njgator11

I think the wr's are better than the O-line. Not great, but not as bad a people think.
Last year, Debose caught a couple of bombs, this year not 1, I can't even recall any thrown. We don't throw enough balls to the receivers to assess. We really don't allow them to make plays. Other than Percy, depsite the NFL talent we've had over the last 5-10 years, no receivers have established themselves in our systems, though numerous OC's. Not sure why but Nelson, Thompson, Cooper, etal have shown better in the NFL than they did in college.
The O-line has proven to be fair at best and certainly disappointing as compared to what was written in the preseason. They rarely blew people off the ball, yes we had a couple of games (mostly LSU) they we played well, but there were more games that they couldn't open a hole or move the pile in 3rd and short, even vs weaker competition. The pass protection was not very good, and like the run offense was inconsistent. It became clear that they couldn't pick up the blitz and teams regularly blitzed us, especially in passing situations. They certainly need improvement, but their limitations were exacerbated by a QB that held the ball too long, couldn't read a defense and stood still in the pocket. He rarely stepped up, moved in the pocket, etc. things that could buy time for the O-line.

njg--very good observations about the oline and QB play.

[njgator11]

Wow, now I just read that Brisset has asked out. This is terrible news! I was hoping the qb battle would be an open try-out again. As I have said, I don't think the issues that JD has are correctable (instincts, football IQ, etc.). If we have to limit our offense again next year because of the limitations of our qb, I will be sick. It has been extremely tough to watch a team which plays well below its talent level because of the limitations of the #1 position. OC's always have to adjust their systems to their qb's or find qb's that fit their systems. We have not had a qb that fit the system since TT. Our system is a pro-style and we have more of a running qb. The Gators have been an extremely tough watch for that last 3 years, despite our great season this year and it seems this will only continue...

[Dreamliner]

Originally Posted by mac4lyfe

Anybody that thinks the problem is anything more than the QB position needs to turn on the TV ad watch today's NFL playoff games.

Dalton for Cincinnati - 3 completions for 6 yards in the first half
Webb for Minnesota - 2 completions for 12 yards in the first half

Game over for both teams at halftime. Blame their OL, WR and RB's all you want but there's only one reason they're both going fishing right now... Their QB's sucked.

TAM had a new HC and staff, a new playbook and a new QB and they improved as the season progressed, especially Manziel. UF... zero progression and maybe went backwards. Driskel??? Backwards. What's so depressing is that Driskel has not shown any glimpses of improvement. None. He's the same QB he was game 1.

We keep blaming our WR's, OL and RB's but several of them have gone on to some success in the NFL already. The day Brantley and Driskel have success in the NFL is the day I will eat a hat and post it on SG. It ain't happening.

Your synopsis falls apart on Dalton. He manifestly does not suck as a quarterback. Indeed, some thought he should have won ROY over Cam.

Now, he may have had a sucky game. And I would certainly agree that Driskel had a sucky game. So ? And ? Had the coaches put Brissett in, and he performed no more effectively, would you be blithe to say he sucks as a quarterback ? Probably not.

[Dreamliner]

Silly overreactions abound. Yes, yes, Driskel has some notable deficiencies. And you'd like to think he can improve on them. But are you people really saying that we needed a crack quarterback to beat a fricking Big East team ?

Get a grip.

[62gator]

The lack of progression in the passing game should be the biggest concern.

[Dreamliner]

Yes, yes, Driskel clearly held the ball to long or failed to use the pocket on some occasions. On other key occasions, Nixon was a veritable human turnstile. And on other occasions, receivers dropped the ball. It's silly to zero in on Driskel. Seriously, do we need a Johnny Manzeil to beat fricking Louisville ?