Film Study: The Scripted Drive

If we’re being honest, there weren’t many Florida fans who expected the Gators to beat Florida State last Saturday. Yes, I know, it was rivalry week, and on rivalry week anything can happen. But, going into the game knowing the Florida offense was going to be limited, and knowing many of their defensive starters were out due to injury, you could kind of see the writing on the wall before kickoff.

So why did the loss hurt so much if it was so expected?

My guess is because, to start the game, Florida’s biggest weakness – their offense – looked like a well-oiled machine. On the first drive of the game, the Gators marched down the field for 73-yards in four-minutes only to come up two yards short of the goal line, turning it over on downs. That drive was pretty methodical. It contained a pass of over 20 yard, a 24-yard wide receiver reverse by Antonio Callaway, a big gain on the ground by Jordan Scarlett and a long Lamichal Perine catch from Austin Appleby.

It was pretty much Florida’s perfect drive.

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Even without the points, that drive gave Gators fans a sense of hope. But, when it was all said and done, that hope was hallow. Florida recorded 35 percent of their total yards for the entire game in those first four-minutes. As the game went on, Scarrlett never had a run longer than the one he had on the first drive (13 yards), Perine didn’t have a touch that got more than five yards, and Callaway’s wide receiver reverse was the biggest connection the offense had with him all game.

We’ve seen this before.

On Florida's first drive or two, Doug Nussmeier’s scripted offense can move the ball effectively; it happened against Kentucky (47-yards, missed field goal and 87-yards, touchdown), Tennessee (75-yards, touchdown), and Florida State. But, why can’t the offense sustain what they do early on?

Is it execution?

Is it lack of creativity?

Let’s take a look.

Unless the offense gets completely behind schedule (due to a penalty, sack, loss of yardage), the first drive of every game is usually completely scripted. Normally opposing defenses aren’t going to line up in unique formations or doing anything outside of their norm, so offensive coordinators build a set drive of 10 or so play that they’re going to run to move the ball down the field based on the film of the other team.

The first play of the game for Florida was out of a very standard look. Two receivers out wide, two split tight ends on either side of the line of scrimmage and a single back in the backfield. The formation wasn’t all that creative, but it didn’t need to be. What was creative was how the Gators used a standard look to fool the defense.

The play was designed to go right at Florida State’s best defender, defensive end Demarcus Walker. Walker is the Noles backfield specialist. He’s their most productive player when it comes to tackles for loss and sacks. Knowing this, the Gators tried to get him off his game early. By using a block-and-release route against him, Florida was able to capitalize on him being over aggressive on this play, and also put a small amount of hesitation in his mind for future plays to keep him from jumping the snap. This proved to be the theme of the opening drive.

On the very next play, the Gators went three wide receivers bunched to the left and ran the ball that way. It ended up being a great run by Scarlett, but that was due to more of a missed opportunity to seal the edge by Florida State’s defender. The yards on that play were just a bonus, because that play design was actually just a set up for what was about to come next.

On the following play, the Gators lined up in the exact same formation only with different players at the wide receiver spots. Knowing the Seminoles would be looking to stop a similar play before Scarlett could get space again, Demarcus Walker’s first move of the line on the right side was pushing inside to try to cut off Scarlett in the event of a hand-off.

But Nussmeier was one step ahead of the defense on that play, and once against caught the Noles over-pursuing.

Walker’s first step was indeed to the inside and knowing Callaway’s speed, that’s all the Gators receiver needed to take the reverse to the sideline. Florida’s top priority in their scripted opening drive was to get Walker off his game, and they did just that.

There’s always a game plan that coaches like to follow, but it is much less rehearsed beyond that first drive and thus requires more of an ability to think on the fly. Nussmeier has been on the wrong end of some heavy criticism this season for the offense’s lack of ability to move the ball against some of the better teams. Some of the criticism has been fair, but was the game on Saturday a game he should take blame for? I say no.

On the Gators second drive of the game, Appleby fumbled. Fumbles happen and though it was a costly turnover, it wasn’t the end of the game for the Gators. But, it did give more evidence to what is the real problem with the Gators offense.

The screenshot above is of the play quarterback Austin Appleby eventually fumbled.

The play was deigned for two options: either the linebackers were going to play up in run support and tight end DeAndre Goolsby (the receiver on the left) would get the ball behind them, or the linebackers were going to play back in soft zone coverage and Brandon Powell (the receiver coming across the middle on the right) would get the ball with plenty of open space. As the ball was hiked, the linebackers dropped back. Goolsby was well covered due to the zone coverage, and, as expected, Powell was wide open. The problem was that Appleby couldn’t recognize this soon enough. By the time he moved his eyes from Goolsby, the pressure was on him and he was hit from behind.

This was just one example of a good play gone to waste. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the only one.

On the third down play above, a good design again gave Powell a lot of room in space to make a play, but Appleby just couldn’t get him the ball. I know this is a cross-body throw, and those can be tough, but Appleby had the time to get Powell the ball; he just couldn’t.

The roll out to the left is by deign. It got Appleby away from the strong-side rush, and also away from Florida’s state’s best defender. This is a play that worked well that the quarterback had to hit.

The final play I’m going to show you is the one above. It was on third down in a drive where Florida had already converted two 4th downs, yet could not keep the ball moving to get it into the red zone.

The play above showed heavy pressure in Appleby’s face when he got rid of the ball. That error was on the running back Scarlett, something he struggled with a few times that game. However, it also highlighted Appleby locking into one player when the correct read was just a few yards away.

Part of this might have been Callaway’s fault as you can see he raised his hand to call for the ball when he wasn’t open. But, look at Powell right behind him. The cornerback in coverage on Callaway was completely flat footed, so there was no was he was going to be able to get to Powell going to the sideline.

Even when the ball was being thrown, if it was just ten yards further, we might have been looking at a touchdown.

I know that playing the quarterback position is hard, especially when you have pressure coming right at you, but every quarterback is going to have to make throws against pressure. Appleby is looking right in that direction. If he can’t assess that Powell is going to be open to the corner, there’s not a lot of room for growth.

Fans are allowed to be as critical as they want; they are fans, after all. Nussmeier deserves some criticism this year for the way he’s called games, but I’ll argue that he doesn’t deserves nearly as much criticism as he’s getting.

The fact of the matter is this: Florida still needs a quarterback. Austin Appleby, being that he’s a graduate transfer and that he can’t see the field the way he needs to, is not the guy. Luke Del Rio, due to his lack of arm strength, is not the guy. You can only make an offense so quarterback-friendly; the rest is up to the gunslinger himself. Right now, Florida doesn’t have one to compete, no matter who is calling the plays.

All screenshots courtesy ABC Sports

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