Leave it to the professionals to point out the obvious; ESPN's Pat Forde buries this note in his Terrence Cody ode Saturday.
[Alabama] managed just four field goals -- kicker Leigh Tiffin was nearly as big a hero as Cody, making one from 49 yards and another from 50 -- and has scored only three touchdowns the past three games.
Alabama only has two offensive touchdowns in those three games against Ole Miss, South Carolina and Tennessee. Florida has scored five times in their last three against LSU, Arkansas and Mississippi State. That Bama and Florida are both deciding to win with sheer force should not be unexpected, but it is jarring to see both scoring so infrequently. This is either because both cannot throw the ball (possibly true but Bama has a different reason than UF) or because the SEC is so tough (S-E-C! S-E-C!, says the obnoxious fan).
Urban Meyer and Nick Saban both blamed coaches for their offensive struggles;
"We can't be so risk-aversive," Saban said. "We've got be more aggressive in what we're doing on offense right now."
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""I did not coach well tonight," Meyer said. "I put Tim in some tough situations. As an offense, we're not well right now...Tim's not trying to be a hero," Meyer said. "But we might be asking him to do too much."
Saban throws his offensive coordinator under the bus with the gracefulness of Mount Cody. Give Urban credit for falling on the sword a week after his offensive coordinator blamed the players for his own crap playcalling. (Seriously, you throw from your own 1 with less than four minutes left? And you have Riley Cooper blocking on a 3rd and Goal pass play? Steve Addazio needs to be done as offensive coordinator.)
The amazing thing is that while we are SEC homers and will contend the league is a deep one, we expect Alabama and Florida to get to the Georgia Dome. This is a sign of how much confidence fans and each team has in their running game and defense. Florida still has to go through Georgia and Bama gets LSU and the Auburn Frauds, which are all dangerous games. But they should be in Atlanta the first weekend of December, even if they don't bring their offenses with them.
0 recs | 5 comments
South Carolina on the road isn’t necessarily a game to overlook either, though Florida can nail down the division before then, just as Bama can nail down the West by beating LSU – Bama-Auburn only matters in the standings if LSU wins in two weeks, then trips up again before the finish line. Of course, every game matters in the national picture, including UF-Vandy.
peachy rex - October 25, 2009
Why was I under the impression that Billy Gonzalez calls the plays inside the red zone, and Addazio outside the red zone? Is that wrong?
mtri - October 25, 2009
according to Adam Silverstein Billy Gonzalez is responsible for the red zone:
http://www.onlygators.com/10/25/2009/grading-the-florida-at-mississippi-state-game/
mtri - October 25, 2009
Accurate, but is Billy Gonzales responsible for the lack of creativity and poorly designed plays too? If so, it’s time to get Scot Loeffler in there and leave Addazio and Gonzales to their position jobs.
mlmintampa - October 26, 2009
Yeah I’m with you there. Johnson/Gilbert and the rest of the O-line aren’t getting the attention they need/deserve, which is undoubtedly the reason for some of the regression up front. You can’t simultaneously call plays and keep a close eye on the offensive line to help them make the adjustments they need to make. Especially when your playcalling is so horrendously bad and obviously is taking all your attention. Could the WR position be suffering in part due to lack of full attention from Gonzalez as well? Maybe Meyer and Loeffler need to take the reins and let Addazio and Gonzalez coach their positions. Doesn’t have to be a public decision. Figure out the permanent solution after the next 7 games are through.
mtri - October 26, 2009
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