How to break ...
Florida's spread offense
Tennessee vs. Florida, Sept. 17
By John Harris
In a great week of games, in particular in the ACC, the best game is the one that is always the best game Florida v. Tennessee in the Swamp. With the Gators, if you didnt know that the offense has changed from Larry Fedoras hurry up offense to the Urban/Mullen Plan, then I question what planet you been living on. One of the staples in this offense is essentially a blast from the past with a twist. Take a little veer option read with some zone cutback and put in the shotgun and you have a base play that the Vols must stop this weekend. So, lets go to the chalkboard.
Play Design
Hailed as genius, the spread option offense that Urban Meyer made popular the last two years at Utah is thought to be so difficult to stop. Nearly every college, high school and Pop Warner team has tried to install some facet of this offense and the one that is most successful for teams is the Gators Gun Zone option. There are a number of sets that the Gators can line up in, but the one that they tend to use is a three or four wide receiver look with DeShawn Wynn next to QB Chris Leak with Chad Jackson in the slot.
Jackson goes in Zac motion and ends up, essentially, as the second RB next to Leak on his right.
The whole premise of this scheme is to put the backside DE and, in particular, the outside linebacker in peril to see how they react. Leak, on the snap, will stick the ball in Wynns belly and then take his eyes to the DE immediately. Wow, that sounds a lot like the same read that the QB at Navy and the QB at Air Force have to make, but I digress. Wynn takes a hard line path at the outside leg of the right guard. The offensive line steps hard right and essentially takes the DL where they want to go. With the threat of Wynn running the ball, theyre going to step hard to the left, reacting to the movement of Wynn.
Leaks first read is the DE. If he crashes with Wynn, chasing down the line of scrimmage, Leak pulls the ball from Wynns belly and takes a direct beeline at the OLB. Now, Leak and Jackson are playing two on one and the OLB has to make a decision as to who hes going to take. Then, its easy OLB to Leak, pitch the ball. OLB stays with Jackson, Leak keeps it.
If the DE stays wide to play Leak, the Gator signal caller will give the ball to Wynn. When that happens, look at the cutback lane for Wynn. Ouch.
Three options, all of them pretty good ones, and whether Tennessee can stop it is a major key in Saturdays game.
Why it works
1. Its old school, baby. Its wishbone, veer option and nuovo riche shotgun all wrapped in one, how could it not work?
2. The offensive line really cant be wrong. They just have to get off the ball and not get stoned at the line of scrimmage. Against guys like Jesse Mahelona of Tennessee, even if he gets some penetration, Mike Degory and company just ride him down the line and let Wynn make the cuts, off their backside. The only way that the offensive line fails is if they dont come off the ball hard and dont stay on their block for a three count. They should at least be able to do that
3. Trying to prepare for this scheme in practice isnt the easiest thing in the world. A scout team QB unaccustomed to running this offense sometimes does more harm to a defense than good. Furthermore, with a guy Urban Meyer, theres always a counter to the base look. You know that there is a rail route for Jackson off of play action in this look (which puts the left corner in a high-low situation) its just a matter of time before Meyer pulls it out of the playbook.
How Tennessee can beat it
1. Let Leak have it. Give Leak eight yards here and there and a headache. Urban Meyer didnt like the way that Leak read the option the other night against La. Tech, so Leak is going to want to show that he can read what Tennessee can throw at him. So, let him. Give him the run. Slow play (slow play means to not pick one responsibility or the other until the last second) the outside linebacker to slow down Leak (and give inside out pursuit time to get there, in particular the free safety and DE peeling back to the ball), then sprint him right to Jackson. Leak now has the ball and one of the white shirted Vols needs to make him pay. Legally, of course.
2. When Jackson goes in motion, slant the defensive line in the same direction that Jackson is going. The outside linebacker opposite Wynn then comes hard off the edge, occupying the tackle. Then, bring the strong safety off of the edge on the backside and he should come scott free. When Leak sees that playside DE step to the outside, hell hand to Wynn, but Wynn will have to bounce the run to the outside, with the DL occupying gaps (and no cutback lanes available), going head on head with the strong safety.
3. Play four across in the secondary and on that run motion (and a run read from the offensive line), sprint the playside safety up in the box to take Jackson on the pitch, while the backside safety sprints to the middle of the field to play the deep middle.
If its play action and the safety bites on the fake, he can then help the playside corner on the rail route drawn above, allowing the backside safety the opportunity to stay in the middle of the field. But, if Tennessee does a good job stopping this run initially, then the safeties can be slower to support the run and stay deep, not getting beat on play action.
IF TENNESSE CAN GET TO LEAK AND PUT HIM ON THE GROUND ALOT AND DONT JUST LET HIM SIT IN THE POCKET WE WILL WIN!!!!!!!!!!! :yahoo:
Florida's spread offense
Tennessee vs. Florida, Sept. 17
By John Harris
In a great week of games, in particular in the ACC, the best game is the one that is always the best game Florida v. Tennessee in the Swamp. With the Gators, if you didnt know that the offense has changed from Larry Fedoras hurry up offense to the Urban/Mullen Plan, then I question what planet you been living on. One of the staples in this offense is essentially a blast from the past with a twist. Take a little veer option read with some zone cutback and put in the shotgun and you have a base play that the Vols must stop this weekend. So, lets go to the chalkboard.
Play Design
Hailed as genius, the spread option offense that Urban Meyer made popular the last two years at Utah is thought to be so difficult to stop. Nearly every college, high school and Pop Warner team has tried to install some facet of this offense and the one that is most successful for teams is the Gators Gun Zone option. There are a number of sets that the Gators can line up in, but the one that they tend to use is a three or four wide receiver look with DeShawn Wynn next to QB Chris Leak with Chad Jackson in the slot.
Jackson goes in Zac motion and ends up, essentially, as the second RB next to Leak on his right.
The whole premise of this scheme is to put the backside DE and, in particular, the outside linebacker in peril to see how they react. Leak, on the snap, will stick the ball in Wynns belly and then take his eyes to the DE immediately. Wow, that sounds a lot like the same read that the QB at Navy and the QB at Air Force have to make, but I digress. Wynn takes a hard line path at the outside leg of the right guard. The offensive line steps hard right and essentially takes the DL where they want to go. With the threat of Wynn running the ball, theyre going to step hard to the left, reacting to the movement of Wynn.
Leaks first read is the DE. If he crashes with Wynn, chasing down the line of scrimmage, Leak pulls the ball from Wynns belly and takes a direct beeline at the OLB. Now, Leak and Jackson are playing two on one and the OLB has to make a decision as to who hes going to take. Then, its easy OLB to Leak, pitch the ball. OLB stays with Jackson, Leak keeps it.
If the DE stays wide to play Leak, the Gator signal caller will give the ball to Wynn. When that happens, look at the cutback lane for Wynn. Ouch.
Three options, all of them pretty good ones, and whether Tennessee can stop it is a major key in Saturdays game.
Why it works
1. Its old school, baby. Its wishbone, veer option and nuovo riche shotgun all wrapped in one, how could it not work?
2. The offensive line really cant be wrong. They just have to get off the ball and not get stoned at the line of scrimmage. Against guys like Jesse Mahelona of Tennessee, even if he gets some penetration, Mike Degory and company just ride him down the line and let Wynn make the cuts, off their backside. The only way that the offensive line fails is if they dont come off the ball hard and dont stay on their block for a three count. They should at least be able to do that
3. Trying to prepare for this scheme in practice isnt the easiest thing in the world. A scout team QB unaccustomed to running this offense sometimes does more harm to a defense than good. Furthermore, with a guy Urban Meyer, theres always a counter to the base look. You know that there is a rail route for Jackson off of play action in this look (which puts the left corner in a high-low situation) its just a matter of time before Meyer pulls it out of the playbook.
How Tennessee can beat it
1. Let Leak have it. Give Leak eight yards here and there and a headache. Urban Meyer didnt like the way that Leak read the option the other night against La. Tech, so Leak is going to want to show that he can read what Tennessee can throw at him. So, let him. Give him the run. Slow play (slow play means to not pick one responsibility or the other until the last second) the outside linebacker to slow down Leak (and give inside out pursuit time to get there, in particular the free safety and DE peeling back to the ball), then sprint him right to Jackson. Leak now has the ball and one of the white shirted Vols needs to make him pay. Legally, of course.
2. When Jackson goes in motion, slant the defensive line in the same direction that Jackson is going. The outside linebacker opposite Wynn then comes hard off the edge, occupying the tackle. Then, bring the strong safety off of the edge on the backside and he should come scott free. When Leak sees that playside DE step to the outside, hell hand to Wynn, but Wynn will have to bounce the run to the outside, with the DL occupying gaps (and no cutback lanes available), going head on head with the strong safety.
3. Play four across in the secondary and on that run motion (and a run read from the offensive line), sprint the playside safety up in the box to take Jackson on the pitch, while the backside safety sprints to the middle of the field to play the deep middle.
If its play action and the safety bites on the fake, he can then help the playside corner on the rail route drawn above, allowing the backside safety the opportunity to stay in the middle of the field. But, if Tennessee does a good job stopping this run initially, then the safeties can be slower to support the run and stay deep, not getting beat on play action.
IF TENNESSE CAN GET TO LEAK AND PUT HIM ON THE GROUND ALOT AND DONT JUST LET HIM SIT IN THE POCKET WE WILL WIN!!!!!!!!!!! :yahoo:
and the idle talk of fans on a forum isn't indicative of how our players and coaches will prepare for and play the game.
