Mullen talks about the State of the Offense

[IHateUGAlyDawgs]

For a team that’s 3-0, ranked fourth in the nation andaveraging 37.3 points per game, you would think the offense is doingjust fine and spending all of its time shoving the ball down theiropponents’ throats. We know that’s not the case because the Gators aregetting point production from the defense and special teams andconstantly working on a short field. There are some problems, though,and Gator Country talked to offensive coordinator Dan Mullen for astate of the offense report.

The offense has lookedout of rhythm but now that guard Jim Tartt is back in the lineup,all-universe wide receiver/tailback Percy Harvin is healthy again andtailback Emmanuel Moody seems to be finding a groove, the Floridaoffense should get better. Anytime you get healthy, talented andexperienced players filling key roles in the offense it shouldimprove.
One area that is a major issue that is causing havoc with the collegegame are the ridiculous new clock rules. The running clock limits thenumber of plays a team can run in a game and plays right into the handsof the underdog by shortening the game. Mullen is not a fan of the newchanges.
“The hardest thing with it is that for three years in a row, they’vekind of changed the make-up of the game,” Mullen stated. “Everybodywent in this year; well we don’t know how it might affect us. You’readjusting on the fly for the third straight year. It’s shortened thegame. Obviously, way shortened the game right now.
“We’re averaging, I think, fifteen plays less per game than we did lastyear. You’ve got to catch-up in a hurry if you fall behind. And thenthere’s little things if you hit a big play and the clock is alreadystarted you’ve got to call the next play faster. When that forty secondclock starts, if there’s any sort of discussion there’s little marginfor error in play calling.”
There are other explanations for the lack of offensive plays as well.First of all, the number of touches for personnel is directly relativeto the number of touches a team receives. And Florida hasn’t gotten asmany of those either.
The Gators have lost offensive possessions when the defense and specialteams score touchdowns. Safeties Major Wright and Ahmad Black havetaken interceptions into the end zone for scores. Return specialistBrandon James has also taken two punts for touchdowns. In thosesituations, the defense goes right back to work.
Getting turnovers and great returns from James also mean the Gatorshave been working with short fields a lot. It’s hard to rack up theyardage when your average drive is starting on the other side of the 50as has been so often with the Florida offense in the first three games.
Florida leads the Southeastern Conference and ranks among thenation’s leaders (3) in punt returns. In fact, only two teams havereturned two or more punts for touchdowns. The Gators also arecurrently ranked 12th in the country in kickoff returns with a 27.6yard average.
Florida currently ranks 86th in the nation in total offense with 331.3 yards per game.
Why?
The Gators have run a total of just 171 offensive plays. Only twoschools among the top 120 schools listed in the country have run fewerplays than Florida. Those two schools are USC (140) and New MexicoState (135) and there is good reason for that --- both of those squadshave played only two games.
In fact, many of those top total offense teams who have played threegames have run 210-220 more plays. If Florida adds 45 plays at 5.8yards per play (which they currently average) they move over 420 yardsof total offense per game and into the top 40.
You also have to give a tip of the hat to the opposition. Two ofFlorida’s three opponents rank among the top 26 in the nation in totaldefense. Like it or not Miami and Tennessee had pretty good defenses.Big plays provide plenty of offensive fireworks, but limit the numberof plays the offense will run.
Mullen was asked if there were any statistics that he considers important other than points.
“Wins,” Mullen said with a grin. “Points and wins. Is there anotherone? third down conversions, red zone, turnovers ---that’s about it. The rest of it to me is irrelevant. Win the game to meis number one. That’s goal number one for us. If we win I’m happy.”
Mullen seems generally pleased with the production of the Florida offense and who can blame him. The numbers speak volumes.
“He’s [Tim Tebow] doing a nice job managing, leading the team, rightnow,” Mullen said of his offense. “I think statistically we’re rightabout where we were last year. We’re 54 percent on third downconversions. We’re ten out of eleven in the red zone and the one was atthe end of the game last week where we didn’t score.
“So, I think statistically Tim is three and zero and that’s where wewere last year. That’s what we’re going to do from this point. So, Ithink that’s kind of where we’re at with that. But, Tim’s a guy that’salways improving. We were working on every fundamental today atpractice. That’s never going to change, hopefully for the next fifteenyears for his sake.”
The Gators are ninth in the nation in third down conversions.They’re tied for second in the country in turnover margin and rankamong the best in red zone conversions.
“Our game plan has always been that there’s a fine line, you want tohave enough to be able to attack what they’re doing to you, but not toomuch where you’re bogging down your whole offense all week with so manyplays that they can’t execute,” Mullen said. “You always want to havemultiple plans ready, because you never know when they can come out andplay a whole new defense. They can come out and do something different.
“You can be in a game where you have to run it. You can be in a gamewhere you have to throw it. So, you want to have enough of everything,but try to keep it balanced where you don’t bog down.”
Taking what the defense gives you is perfectly understandable. Miamiand Tennessee dictated what they would give the Florida offense. Theirsafeties refused to give up any deep balls. Could Florida have had someother plays on that perhaps would have given them an advantage? In somecases, that’s probably true. But, the season is early and as Mullensaid, Tebow is doing a good job of managing the offense and game giventhe situation.
My broadcast partner on “The Gator Country Radio Show”, Brady Ackermanis fond of saying that statistics are for losers and assistant coaches.And he’s right. Count this loser among those that believes the Floridaoffense is on track. Things are not perfect mind you, but you can seethings coming together and perhaps the rhythm that was so evident lastseason will return very soon.

[radbag]

makes perfect sense to me...shortened plays, 2 top 26 defenses in miami and tenn, and defense on the field longer due to special teams returns (3 tds)

i like what mullen says when he says he takes what the defense gives...seems like a lot of schools defend us the same way...safeties back and defending the deep pass first and foremost...that would/should mean more touches for moody/rainey/moore/harvin/demps