Epic Fail
The 2007 Florida Gators football team closed out their season by doing what they did all year. Struggle mightily on defense while also enduring brain-lock on offense during the end-game.
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| An accurate representation of the Florida defense in 2007 |
I’m getting tired of saying the exact same things about the defense each and every time. Not once this season have they stopped anyone from doing what they wanted. The only times they’ve looked great was against teams that either couldn’t get their act together on offense (FSU, Tennessee), or teams that got behind by a lot and had to play risky offense in order to try and come back (South Carolina, Vanderbilt). And credit the Michigan offensive staff for looking at tape and coming to the only logical conclusion possible; attack the Florida defense. The Wolverines never let up, not once. They could have gone into a shell after any of their FOUR turnovers, but they didn’t. Once they got the ball back, they attacked again.
In two of the Gators’ previous three defeats this season, the team had a chance to win and the ball late in the game. And in those two games Dan Mullen failed to call sensible plays that would have a chance at victory. And he continued that habit against Michigan. No coach is perfect, and Mullen seems to not be able to comprehend that Florida might be losing with four minutes to go. And he doesn’t seem able to call plays for that situation. The other thing he doesn’t seem to do (or doesn’t want to) is adjust to what is going on. I think I said something like this earlier in the season, he is so enamored with his scheme that he can’t imagine that anyone can counter it, so he’ll keep calling the same plays. On the other hand, the lack of a true tailback allowed Michigan (and Georgia, Auburn, and LSU) to be successful doing what they did; rush Tebow. If there was a viable up-the-middle running threat the pass-rush would slow. Also, I was disappointed that Tebow wasn’t established as a runner early. Without the tailback, and in the face of the rush, that was about the only thing left to counter the pressure; and no one seemed to figure that out. And since he wasn’t established as a runner, the “Tebow Action” play wasn’t as effective as it normally would be. Finally, simply rolling Tebow to one side or another might have been an effective counter to the rush. This then leads me to the thought of, “If *I* can figure this out, why can’t Dan Mullen?” That’s not to say he’s a bad coach, but as said above; maybe he’s too close to the situation. The same thing happened to Supurrier at Florida early-on.
Looking Ahead
The offense in 2008 should be better (imagine that) with the addition of Emmanuel Moody at tailback. What happened against Georgia and Michigan won’t happen next year. Opposing defenses won’t be able to send the house against Tebow, unless they’re willing to let Moody slip by them for 15 yards. I don’t have any worries on offense.
Defense. Over the course of 13 games, they did not get one ounce better. That unit needs to take a good look around and decide what they want their legacy to be about. Do they want to be remembered as the unit that, in this crazy season, cost the football team a shot at a BCS repeat? Or do they want to be the unit that rose from the ashes of defeat to become great? If they’re happy being the former, then Tebow and Harvin might as well head to the NFL now. They can only do so much to win. If the defense can’t or won’t pull their end then why should anyone else? Now, if they want to be the latter, then they have a ton of work to do. Those guys should be in the film room EVERY DAY of the off-season. They should be working out EVERY DAY of the off-season. The defensive schemes haven’t changed from 2006 when that unit destroyed damn near every offense they faced. The problem isn’t the coaching or the scheme, it’s the players. What frustrates me the most is that, short of lack of effort, I can’t figure out why they haven’t improved. Simple game experience should have allowed them to get better. Which means it’s probably lack of effort.
2008 Schedule
Sat Aug 30 Hawaii
Sat Sep 6 Miami (Fla.)
Sat Sep 20 at Tennessee
Sat Sep 27 Ole Miss
Sat Oct 4 at Arkansas
Sat Oct 11 LSU
Sat Oct 25 Kentucky (HC)
Sat Nov 1 Georgia
Sat Nov 8 at Vanderbilt
Sat Nov 15 South Carolina
Sat Nov 22 Citadel
Sat Nov 29 at Florida State
241 Days until we find out…
