My friends at Gators First have been nice enough to contribute a great article regarding the special teams play of the almighty Gators this week. If you've seen even one quarter of a Florida game this season, you know how important this unit is to Urban Meyer's ball club.
If you ever need any kind of Gator news, I suggest you check out Gators First. They have a forum with a wide variety of topics revolving around all that is Gator Nation. There is also a daily blog that provides way more insight and intellect than I could ever hope to bring to the table.
So go check them out, and witness the thrashing I put on them in their weekly picks section.
The article this week was provided by James, a founding member of Gators First.
Enjoy!
Spectacular Teams
When thinking of this year's Gators, one unit in particular stands out above all others: special teams. The offense's yardage stats are down, but points are up. Kentucky was out of the game after just two possessions. Phil Fulmer's downfall may have begun with Brandon James. There are many other examples of our 'spectacular teams'…
Much has been made in the media about the fact that Urban Meyer coaches the special teams himself. And how he makes it desirable for players to be on the special teams unit- notably because they get to eat first at team meals. Special teams have become a proving ground to earn more playing time, with all these hot shot recruits coming in. I've already told you about Will Hill's recent emergence that began with special teams. This isn't always the case. Highly recruited guys generally do not want to be on special teams- punt protection team was for the backups and walk-ons, not the stars.
Look at what Urban Meyer has accomplished in getting players to buy into special teams. On punt blocks, Matt Patchan, Justin Trattou, and Carlos Dunlap make a big push up the middle. That's 14 stars between the three of them, according to Rivals.com recruiting rankings. On the ends, you have Deonte Thompson, Chris Rainey, and Jeff Demps for opposing teams to block. Those may be the fastest three college football players, period. Those guys are hard to run down, let alone keep from turning the corner and getting to the punter. And if you worry too much about getting outside, Vanderbilt knows what sort of problems Carlos Dunlap can cause up the middle. Want to go into max protect? The most dangerous return man in the nation- Brandon James- is ready, willing, and able to make you pay.
Our offense has been scary efficient, even when not getting excellent field position from the special teams quandary I just described. But when the offense stalls, our punt coverage team is capable of the big play. When I first saw the 'new' punt formation that we run, I did not like it. How could making a shorter distance for someone to come off the corner (and block the kick) be a good thing? Turns out, the formation involves more than just players standing in goofy places. The underappreciated long snapper, James Smith, is often the first man down the field, due to the differences in blocking schemes this formation allows. He is often down the field more quickly than many players would be in a more traditional punt coverage scheme. This is advantageous not just because he is able to make the tackle more quickly, but also because several times throughout a season, the ball is not fielded cleanly by the punt return man. Off the top of my head, I can think of twice where this has happened, and resulted in a big play for the Gators. Both of them are against Arkansas, but I'm sure there are other instances; I'm just going to pick on the Hogs for now. Everyone remembers Wondy Pierre-Louis recovering that fumble in the end zone against Arkansas. Yes, we were lucky Reggie Fish made a stupid play- but our ability to play such a speedy guy (Wondy describes himself as "fast as hell") puts us in position to be lucky in those situations. The Arkansas game this year had a similar play, though the fumble wasn't returned for a TD. Who recovered the fumble? Mr. Brandon James. The fact that the speedy return man would also play such a typically non-prestigious role on the punt coverage team is all you need to know about Urban Meyer getting guys to buy into special teams.
In the Georgia game, we saw special teams again make a momentum-shifting play. And I mean beyond the fact that I think our field goal team is at least partially responsible for one of the two missed field goals. Georgia had finally gotten a field goal to go through. Momentum was turning their way, at least a little. Every coach in America must have nightmares about kicking to Brandon James in a big spot; kickoff returns for TDs are always a big momentum shifter. So what does Mark Richt do? Try to gain some more momentum on his side by a trick play, an onside kick. The Gators easily recovered and Tim Tebow and Co. were given a short field… Advantage Urban Meyer. Richt basically admitted he was terrified of this aspect of our team, and it made him change his game plan and do something wild- something probably out of his normal comfort zone.
The dedication and emphasis on special teams, which is attributable to the attitude Urban Meyer has given this team, are a big advantage Florida holds over any opponent. I've already told you how the personnel (and, to a degree, the schemes) tilt the playing field in Florida's favor. Another by-product of our coaching staff getting so much out of special teams is what it does to other teams in game-planning. And I mean this beyond the obvious "What do we do, kick to Brandon James? Let's just go for 4th-and-10" discussion that undoubtedly takes place each week. College football coaches are forced to spend a limited number of hours with their players each week. When more of these hours must be devoted to our incredible special teams, it takes away from the two 'more important' units. Another benefit I've already touched on a few times- great special teams give us great field position, give us more points more easily. The converse is also true- giving the opponent bad field position makes things easier on our defense- for the most part we have not been putting the defense in tough situations and allowing opponents to score easy points.
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1 comment:
Great to have another friend of GatorsFirst.com. We'll be looking forward to contributing to each others' sites.
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