Orange and Blue Hue » Fellas, It’s Not Just the Playcalling.

Fellas, It’s Not Just the Playcalling.

In spite of a team averaging 35.5 points per game, an average that 99% of all BCS teams would kill for, Dan Mullen has emerged as a scapegoat for the Gators’ “lack of explosiveness” on offense.

But in spite of all the finger-pointing, bear some things in mind.

He was Urban Meyer’s offensive coordinator when his boss turned Bowling Green from a MAC doormat to one of the top programs in the conference. He was Meyer’s offensive coordinator when Utah went undefeated in 2004. He was Meyer’s offensive coordinator when Tim Tebow won the Heisman Trophy with record-breaking numbers last year.

And to those who moan that he can never make adjustments, he helped create a pro-style scheme for Chris Leak in 2006 - the same year that Florida won its second national championship in football and its second of three in the national title sandwich.

Dan Mullen didn’t suddenly become incompetent from one season to the next. Could he have handled certain situations better? Absolutely. Nobody is perfect.

He had good intentions with making Tebow a game manager and spreading the ball around more. The offense was supposed to be more explosive, and it can be. But there is more to Florida’s offensive troubles than meets the naked eye.

Remember, last season was the first time that Coach Meyer used the spread offense since his days at Utah. Heading into SEC competition, the only way that league teams could plan for the spread was:

A. Watch tapes of the ‘04 Utes to see how Meyer handled the spread and used quarterback Alex Smith, a dual-threat athlete similar to Tebow.

B. Watch tapes of Florida games played earlier in the season.

Because nobody really knew the wrinkles that Meyer developed in his spread, and yes, there are different types of spread, it allowed Tebow to put up mind-boggling stats that season en route to the Heisman that year. Thus, it was no accident that Florida was able to put up 59 points against Tennessee, their SEC opening opponent.

Suffice it to say, had this year’s team played last year, we would be looking at very different results.

But in the SEC, as with any other conference, league teams have a way of getting very, very familiar with each other’s schemes and plans (Just ask USC). Heading into this season, Florida’s opponents not only have tapes of the spread offense last year, but they’ve also had close to nine months to adapt their defenses accordingly. Consequently, the coaching staff has had to adapt new ways to use the spread on the fly.

The results? Tebow’s completion percentage has dipped from 66.9% last year to just 60.8% after Ole Miss. He’s averaging less than 2.6 yards per rush, down from 4.3. Through four games, he’s been sacked six times. Through his first four games in 2007, he was only sacked twice. He was held without a rushing touchdown in his first three games until breaking through this year. His 146.7 passer rating, while still very good, seems pedestrian compared to his 172.5 mark last season.

And for Florida fans, the most visible one was the ill-fated 4th-down rush yesterday. The Rebels’ defensive line got enough of a timing edge after the snap count to push the offensive line back and stop Tebow short of the goal line.

And that’s why, if Meyer decides to ride Tebow for the entire rest of the season, the plan will only end badly. The offense will continue to sputter. And fans accustomed to three championships and a Heisman in two years will push for Mullen’s firing.

Offensive coordinator or not, it’s the ebb and flow of competition.

22 Comments so far
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Pretty fair commentary. I think its knee-jerk to be calling for Mullen to be fired and I hope its just fans letting off steam after a tough loss.

There’s no question that the SEC is evolving and that Meyer is going to have to continue to innovate just as quickly.

The “qb keeper” has become the most predictable call in UF’s playbook.

Agree completely. Even towards the end of last year we were getting pretty “vanilla” in the sense that other teams knew what we were trying to do. It’s just that most could not stop us. Balance, surprise, call it whatever… but we have to be a bit more unpredictable on offense. And we probably have to do that week to week

Vince, don’t know how to break it to you, but Mullen has never been a OC prior to his current stint at UF. yes he was on Meyer’s staff at Utah and BG, but as a QB coach.

The man does not seem to make good adjustments. He seems to have tunnel vision and call the same plays over and over, ones that have not worked all game.

IOW, he is a slow game day learner. That is not a good thing

Mike

Yeah, to reiterate, Mullen was not an OC prior to coming to UF. Gregg Brandon was the OC at BGSU and Kyle Whittingham had that post at Utah.

I disagree 100%. You cannot compare the defensive coordinators in the MAC and the Mountain West to those in the SEC. The SEC guys learn and make adjustments. They have made adjustments to this Mickey Mouse offense and it clearly is no longer working against even average defenses. Yet, we continue to stubbornly run the shotgun every single play and run the same silly misdirection run plays that take 9 seconds to materialize.

During the 2006 season, the Gators did not win the championships because of Mullen’s amazing ability to adapt. We won because of denfense. Period. Our offense that year was more than a little frustrating to watch. In fact, no real adjustments were made at all. Leak, who fit into the spread offense about as well as Phillip Fulmer fits into size 34 jeans, was forced to repeatedly run option plays that he was way to slow to pull off. It was only when Tebow took over in 2007 that the offense really started to click. However, one year later, the SEC (and Michigan) has caught on. It isn’t working and needs adjustment.

Count the three and outs to start the 2nd half. Every week. No adjustments. We do exactly the same thing we did in the 1st half, whether it worked or not. Meanwhile, our opponents outcoach us, make adjustments and start doing new things that catch us off guard.

As for the 4th down play, it was easy for Ole Miss to get the push because they knew exactly what was coming and put 11 men in the box. They knew just how predictable our offense is, and they were able to spin it into victory.

I am not sure what is wrong with Tebow. He is missing too many throws that he typically hits. Nobody is perfect, but typically Tebow will hit 50% - after oeverthrowing Murphy on 1st down, how can he overthrow Percy on the same play on 2nd down? I’m puzzled that our all-everything QB is floundering right now.

Guys, I’m curious as to what you have to say about Urban’s complaints about the blocked PAT.

My thoughts regarding the blocked PAT…

What were those 2 o-linemen doing getting so low? I’ve never played offensive line obviously, but aren’t you supposed to get up and block the guy in front of you? Especially on kicks? Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but it seemed like them going so low was how Ole Miss got through.

It’s a basic principle of pass-blocking that linemen need to spread their feet as much as possible. Next time you watch the Gators play, notice how the O and D line never stand up.

That’s because spreading your feet lowers your center of gravity more when you stand. If Mike or Maurkice Pouncey were to stand up straight when they blocked, they would be immediately taken down by a player who had a lower center of gravity than them,falling backwards and hitting the ground. Vice versa on D.

Also, guards and tackles are usually shorter than centers. If a center is blocking a tackle six feet taller than himself and they both spread their feet, he’ll more than likely get overwhelmed by the bigger/thicker player.

On an unrelated note, even though Mullen is the OC, he doesn’t coach wide receivers or running backs, only quarterbacks. A lot of plays where the wide receiving corps drops the ball or the running back fumbles the play, he doesn’t directly coach those players responsible.

Interestingly enough, none of us have criticized Billy Gonzales, the guy who *does* work with the wideouts. Judging from their play, Coach G has taught them how to run the right routes, beat the corner on the first five feet from scrimmage etc., but he hasn’t dedicated nearly enough time to catching the ball. As a result, on a lot of the plays where Mullen does go deep but a wide receiver drops the ball, he takes the heat, even though he doesn’t spend time directly coaching those players.

And because he has coached all of Meyer’s QBs as a head coach, I get the feeling that firing him is going to make things worse before they get better. Just a thought.

I don’t think Billy Gonzalez should have to teach our 4 and 5 star WR recruits how to catch a football. You’d think they’d kind of have that skill down pat when ranked as a top WR recruit in the nation….

The problem is more basic than skillsets. The problem in the entire offense. The formations, the misdirections, the carnival style motions all unwinding in slow motion….it isn’t working anymore.

Do you realize we don’t even have a simple running play where we hand the ball to a RB or FB to try to get 1-2 yards on 3rd and short? When you line up EVERY SINGLE PLAY in the shotgun formation, you need 5 yards just to get to the line of scrimmage. Then add in all the silly misdirections and play action fakes that aren’t fooling anyone and you have to wonder how Tebow actually converts so many of them.

I am fine with the shotgun on occasion, or even on a lot of the plays. But it really limits your short down options when every play is run from the gun.

As far as the blocked kick and Urban’s whining about it, I really have nothing to say other than a home game against Ole Miss shouldn’t come down to a blocked kick anyway. With all of the press that Urban has received regarding his amazing special teams, it’s ironic that special teams cost us a chance to win last weekend.

Urban has said that he will revisit the entire offensive scheme and make big changes if required. I’m waiting to see if he really means it, or is just blowing hot air. My prediction is the latter.

Skigator, I am with you.

At times I felt this way about our offense last year. We had Tebow and Harvin bail us out so many times with otherworldly plays. Well, they can only conjure up miracles so many times before it finally comes back to bite us in the ass, and it did.

I am tired of not having a power running game. I am tired of not using the I-form or Ace formations. I’m tired of not having a HB Iso play that works at the goal line. I’m tired of never seeing the halfback toss. I’m tired of never seeing a single three step drop and a ball on a rope fired to a receiver on a slant. I’m tired of weird screen plays that never seem to work (why is Brandon James trying to block on screens?) I’m tired of plays that take forever to develop. Come on, we’ve got athletes. Drop back and get that ball out of their pronto! If the defense is blitzing, you’ve gotta have a quick out pass! Yet we never do.

There are lots of basic ways to attack an opponent when you have the skill players you do at Florida, and to give them up totally and completely doesn’t seem logical to me.

I dont know if anyone took the time to read dooley’s article, but I agree with him 100%. We need to free Tebow. He just hasn’t been the same.

I think that where one of our melt downs are. I think we have taken too much control over what Tim does and shouldn’t do. Let’s throw those rules out the window and let him do what he did to win the heisman.

I understand not standing straight up to block, but there’s a difference between spreading your feet and holding your ground and nearly diving forward. On the PAT it didn’t look like they spread their feet and readied themselves for the rush at all. Of course like SkiGator said, a home game against Ole Miss shouldn’t come down to a PAT anyway.

And aren’t centers usually shorter than tackles? Not the other way around. Both of UF’s tackles are taller than the center (even if it’s barely) and on most other rosters it’s the same way. I think the Gators have a unique situation with a guy as big as Pouncey playing center. Maybe I’m too much in my NFL mindset at the moment, but in most cases the center is the smaller one across the line.

I think Bullgator is right - typically size goes center-guard-tackle from smallest to biggest.

I just read an article on Gatorsports.com wherein Meyer claims that he learned from Lou Holtz that the last 5 minutes before the half and the first 5 minutes after the half are the most important times of the game. If that is so, then Meyer is a colossal failure and needs to call Holtz back for some more sessions. He consistently leaves timeouts in his pocket before half while letting our opponents drain the clock instead of using them and trying to get one last chance to score before the half. His after halftime antics are well documented.

I am not sure what goes on in the locker room at the half, but it isn’t working. Meyer claims that “there is no pixie dust that you sprinkle on their shoes…” he claims that UF is a “make adjustments, here’s our plan, let’s go” type of team. You could have fooled me. I would love for him to show me an adjustment made during halftime of his tenure as coach of UF.

Here’s the link, where he also whines about injuries. I think we should be able to beat Ole Miss with our second team, but that’s just me:

http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20080929/NEWS/809309993/1090?Title=Injuries_hit_offensive_line_hard

SkiGator…

I am usually the eternal optimist when it comes to the teams I cheer for…almost to a fault. But I’m with you on this one. Even in the wins this year, you could see something just wasn’t right. I don’t know exactly what it was, but something needs to be changed. There is an aura of uncertainty about this year’s team. Meyer and Mullen are uncertain about adjustments and Tebow is uncertain about his ability (as evidenced by his long run late in the Ole Miss game…he had a big gain, but he looked like he was running in slow motion anticipating the upcoming tackle. The 2007 Tebow would’ve charged away to the end zone. The announcers even commented about his lack of fire. I’m not necessarily knocking Timmy, but we need the Tebow back that is like a 5-year old when he scores. Getting himself and the rest of the team pumped up.

Vince, your comment” As a result, on a lot of the plays where Mullen does go deep but a wide receiver drops the ball, he takes the heat, even though he doesn’t spend time directly coaching those players.”

The problem is that we never go down field anymore. Additionally, when you have the fans knowing what the play is going to be after a 12 pack of Natti light, that spells big problems for our offense.

Why didn’t we just do a sneak from under center if we wanted the first? Why not try and draw the D offside? Why not just kick the damn field goal?

From the game I was watching, it was because UF just thought it would all fall into place at some point. Only problem is UF as a keen inability to come from behind. I cannot recall the last game we were trailing to put together a closing drive to win the game.

By the way, Tebow is tied with Earnest Graham for 3rd place in career rushing touchdowns.

Mr2Bits, I respectfully take exception with some of your comments.

1) We did take shots down the field. In fact, the first play from scrimmage was a long shot down the field, which missed. It was a sign of things to come. When your quarterback is clearly off, you don’t keep calling difficult passes for him.

2) Tebow has never liked the sneak from under center, from day one. He’s always preferred running out of the shotgun. That’s the way he likes it and you have to admit, statistically it’s a great short yardage play.

3) I can’t believe anyone seriously thinks going for a 47-yarder was the right call. The odds of making that kick vs. getting the first down — on 4th-and-1 — do not favor sending your kicker out to win the game.

4) Agree. We just can’t seem to put together a winning drive at the end of the game. Five losses across 2007 and 2008, and 4 of them were winnable in the final moments. Aaargh.

Gatorpilot, what I don’t understand about the choice to go for the 1st down instead of the kick is that it’s possible the they would have only gotten a few yards closer before they would have had to kick. They only had time to run two or three more plays. And what happens if Tebow takes a sack? I know that the 4th and one was a higher percentage play, but is it worth it if you’re only doing it so you can kick a FG a couple of yards closer?

I agree that the kick was not the right play on 4th and one. Trying to draw them offsides might have, especially since they were leaning to stop Tebow. The thougt is that we were moving the ball pretty well - when we weren’t throwing 2 deep balls in the row, and could have moved another 20 or so yards downfield. You can understand the hesitation of putting in a kicker in that situation who has never kicked under pressure…and his last kick was a blocked PAT.

On that one Tebow scramble - I think he was gettinf ready to trot out of bounds and then saw a seam to turn it upfield and get more yards. It worked well because the defenders sort of let up when he started trotting toward the sideline. I don’t have any issue with that.

I like 2-Bits comment about the Natti light! I could have guessed what was coming even after a 750 bottle of Captain Morgan!

I don’t doubt not kicking the field goal at the end of te game…

It bothers me we didn’t kick a field goal on the opening drive from the Ole Miss 30…

That ended up being the difference in the end…

maybe, maybe not. I don’t mind giong for 4th downs and short when we have been moving the ball. What bothers me is running it into the middle of the line when our strength is speed outside.

Plus, a 47 yard field goal is hardly a given with this bunch. When playing Ole Miss at home, you don’t figure that a first quarter FG is going to be the difference.

Just more of food for thought as I’m screaming at my wife that we needed to go for it and she’s yelling for the field goal.

Thanks about the Natti. Nothing brings me back to college than quarter mania at Grog house and dirty used pitchers at Balls plus I see the remnants of most tailgates and know that nothing has changed.

I’m a Gin guy now so those days are gone but fun to reminisce.

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