Theater of Operations, Florida Vs. Florida Atlantic: Reviewing The Gators' Running Game

by FlaGators on Sep 5, 2011 10:05 AM EDT in Florida Football Analysis

Theater of Operations will be a regular feature (Sunday, Monday or Tuesday mornings) in the coming months reviewing film from critical moments in Florida Gators football games. The film reviews will not always focus on the running game or the passing game. Sometimes they'll be on things like the defense or special teams. You get the idea.

Against Florida Atlantic, Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey combined to rush for 184 yards and three touchdowns. That's not a bad day at the office by any means. What is even more impressive is that they averaged a combined 8 yards per carry. In other words, that type of an average makes it a whole heck of a lot easier to convert second and third downs.

I know this came against Florida Atlantic and all, but still, last year's opener against Miami of Ohio was a lot different.

The first play I want to look at is Demps' second down 22-yard scamper in the first quarter:

Demps2ndand4on43_medium

(Photo courtesy of ESPN)

What makes this run impressive is the fact that the offensive line did a phenomenal job in holding off the blitz long enough for Demps to break it up the middle untouched. The block that set the play was made by Kyle Koehne (No. 64, the one with the straight line on his back) who did as good as job as you could expect.

The only problem I have with this play and probably the reason why Demps failed to run it into the endzone is Denote Thompson (44 yard line, the highest Gator on the screen) he was in perfect position to take out the top DB who is situated on the 50. But, he missed on the block, which in fairness to Deonte, was the result of a cut by Demps. Still though, minor things to work on.

This second picture, is the one of Demps' 35 yard touchdown run to open the 2nd quarter:

Demps35yardtd_medium

(Photo courtesy of ESPN)

Now this is what I like to see. Great blocking from the receivers on this play. Thompson (above receiver) and Hammond Jr (below receiver) both take out their man, which means that Demps has a relatively easy run to the endzone from there. Thompson clearly makes up for his earlier miss (noted above). Again, the solid blocking by the offensive line all game was a huge factor in the overall success of the running game.

This next play is the second rushing touchdown on the day for Demps:

Dempstddeboseblock_medium

(Photo courtesy of ESPN)

On this play, you'll notice two yellow circles. The lower one is of course Jeff Demps. The higher of the two circles is Andre Debose who executes his block to perfection. Once Debose takes out his blocker, Demps has by far, his easiest touchdown run (and probably overall run) of the game. This play is also noteworthy for another reason. It shows that Debose understands his assignment on this play. Which shows a marked improvement already over last season.

The final running play that I wanted to look at was Rainey's 14 yard touchdown run in the 2nd quarter:

Raineytd_medium

(Photo courtesy of ESPN)

There is a lot of action in this picture. Offensive lineman are everywhere down the field blocking everybody in sight. Matt Patchan, Jon Halapio, Jonotthan Harrison, and Xavier Nixon cleared the way for Rainey. Of course, all that occurred after Rainey preformed an amazing spin move to evade a tackler or two.

Overall, this was a predictably dominating performance by the running game. We should continue to see a lot of this as the season progresses. Because whether we like it or not, we are a better running team than passing team.

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We may be a better running team but...

when Brantley has a little bit of protection he can be a competent passer. I doubt he is going to win that many games for us but I think he can be a reasonable game manager. We will see what he can do when a team loads the box to stop the run. Can Brantley hit the down field receivers and make them pay.

by Tractorr on Sep 5, 2011 12:21 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah, I’ve got one of these that dissects the passing game (Brantley and Driskel) scheduled to be published tomorrow morning at the same time. I agree with you though.

Editor at Alligator Army - The Florida Gators Blog
The Florida Gators - The most despised team in all of college football - Which is fantastic.

by FlaGators on Sep 5, 2011 1:26 PM EDT up reply actions

yeah

I came away feeling good but not ecstatic. I like that we will be using the backs more effectively, and I fully expect Brantley to be more a game manager. I know we won’t know for sure until probably the UT game, but that seems to be what he’ll be good at.

Brantley Watch. The mood is tense; I have been on some serious, serious reports but nothing quite like this. I uh... Jon... John is inside right now. I tried to get an interview with him, but they said no, you can't do that he's a live Gator, he will literally rip your face off.
[to the Brantley] Hey, you're making me look stupid. Get out here, Brantley!

by ECFIVESTER on Sep 6, 2011 8:16 AM EDT up reply actions

I can see that development as well.

Editor at Alligator Army - The Florida Gators Blog
The Florida Gators - The most despised team in all of college football - Which is fantastic.

by FlaGators on Sep 6, 2011 9:25 AM EDT up reply actions

It’ll be interesting to see the addition of Burton for an entire game. With Rainey, Demps, Burton, and Gillislee, the Gators have the makings for a fine backfield group. I thought Hunter Joyer did a nice job blocking when he was in as well.

by Raoul Duke on Sep 5, 2011 3:19 PM EDT reply actions

I had meant to highlight a couple of blocks done by Joyer but couldn’t because those pictures didn’t copy for some reason. Neither did all the pre-snap formation photos. But yeah, he did play fine.

Editor at Alligator Army - The Florida Gators Blog
The Florida Gators - The most despised team in all of college football - Which is fantastic.

by FlaGators on Sep 5, 2011 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Weiss is the key here ....

as long as the top guns stay healthy. I wouldn’t be surprised if Driskel is the starter by the end of the year. That kid has ice in his veins…. and what is he? Eighteen years old? We need a basher FB and the ability to consistently throw the defence off with competent screen passes. Oh ya, our new TE should be a plus. I really like Muschamp’s demeanor. Gotta go shine off my Gators licence plate holder and have a shot of Jim Beam in my Gator shot glass from Bealls :)

by Muscle-Dolphin on Sep 5, 2011 6:25 PM EDT reply actions

You had me until Jim Beam.

I’m not over the moon with optimism for JB but I don’t think Driskel is the starter at the end of the season either. Hopefully he’s just getting his Tebow reps to get him ready for next year. Let him start the Furman game, but other than that, let Brantley have his senior season.

I’m loving Weis’ formation shifts. Lining up in a run formation only to flex out and still have Rainey/Demps, Burton, and Reed on the field all at the same time is gonna pay dividends.

by Landlubber on Sep 5, 2011 8:07 PM EDT up reply actions

the jb issue remains decision making

he was accurate on the throws out to the sideline, but could pull the trigger only once between the hashes and we still had nothing downfield
his intercept in the south endzone was a horrible decision to throw into such coverage

I may be in a rut, but at least I know where I'm going
...to DFA TLR

by sportsman on Sep 5, 2011 8:20 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree, but only partly so

Right after the game, I was very critical of Brantley, for all of the reasons you pointed out, but looking back on it a lot could be explained away. He made some really great throws to the sidelines on swing passes, where he hit Demps and Rainey in stride, and allowed them to make plays. He threw out routs fairly well. He had trouble the handfull of times the Gators went deep, and making throws over the middle (like the interception in the endzone).

The large number of passes to the flat can be attributed, in part, to Weis. On the post-game show (on the radio) one of the analysts said Weis told him in a preseason interview that in a game against the Bills, the offense wasn’t having a lot of success until they ran a power sweep (I think), when it worked he called the same play 16 times in a row. He changed the formation, ball carrier, and direction, but it was the same play. The passes into the flat were very successful, so why change it up?

JB made some poor decisions, and had some throws that may have been picked off by a more athletic defense. Maybe it was just first game jitters, maybe it means more. We’ll find out as the season goes on. Brantley had a C or C+ game, but that was all that was needed. If the defense can play well, a C+ offense may be all that is needed. After all, Trent Dillfer won a Super Bowl.

by NC_Gator on Sep 5, 2011 10:04 PM EDT up reply actions

The pessimist says...

look at the common thread in those screencaps. Edge, edge, edge (except the first one).

This shouldn’t be surprising (or all that worrying…for now), as edge/toss/swing passes etc make the most sense when you’ve got burners for backs, but against SEC linebackers and DBs who don’t immediately drop off, this kind of stuff will be exponentially harder to rely on.

There was little happiness found up the middle all night, and that is cause for concern. I don’t know if it’s a line issue or simply that Demps and Rainey aren’t gut runners (or a little of both), but it’s a key part of this kind of offense. The genius of the spread is that you can make it work with virtually any type of players and using virtually any type of plays (see: 2006 NC, and the fact that Mike Leach and Chip Kelly are both known as “spread” guys, despite running vastly different systems). The pro style isn’t remotely as versatile, either in personnel or plays. The deep ball has to be a legitimate threat, and running up the gut has to work, at least a little bit.

If the DTs alone can bottle up the inside running game, that leaves the defense free to assign the OLBs and DEs to guard the edges in running situations. The option isn’t an option (sorry, sorry) anymore to keep the DEs honest, and I’m less than fully confident in our ability to pass our way to numerous touchdowns.

Side note: the more I think about it, the more I’m astonished at the terrible gameplan by FAU. At no point in his career or in the game has Brantley shown an ability to go downfield, against good coverage or no coverage, and win a game. Why on Earth would you give him easy pass after easy pass in an effort to stop the big play passing game that UF simply doesn’t have? It was like they were gameplanning for an entirely different opponent. Any DC worth his salt will sell out against the run vs. UF and make Brantley prove that he can win games for Florida.

Because if it's about Brantley going in the ocean, the answer is "No."

by Troll2Troll on Sep 6, 2011 12:43 AM EDT reply actions

I don’t like Chip’s “spread”. I believe Florida will be better in the long run with this pro style. As you saw in last years Title game big ol’ 90 was able wreck havoc all by himself against the spread. Both have their pros and cons I understand, but I like the pro style. I think it will help will recuriting as well.

by Aaron.50cal on Sep 6, 2011 1:01 AM EDT up reply actions