Will Muschamp and Jeff Driskel Are Not the Answer for Florida
Jeff Driskel is exactly what people say he is.
He is not what people used to say he was.
Florida's junior quarterback added a lowlight to his decidedly unimpressive canon at Alabama Saturday, completing 9-of-28 passes (25 percent) for 93 yards (3.3 yards per attempt), one touchdown and two ugly interceptions in a 42-21 loss.
The Gators actually hung around for 40-or-so minutes, but when the wellspring of turnovers that kept them alive in the first half ran dry, the better team took and pulled away with the lead. After three quarters, Alabama held a 400-yard offensive advantage, 546-146.
Will Muschamp's team combined the worst elements of last year's 4-8 disaster with a newfound concern in the secondary, allowing Blake Sims to throw for 445 yards (the most ever by a Nick Saban quarterback). But the story of the game-at least as far as Florida was concerned-was not Sims or Amari Cooper or anything that happened when the other team had the ball.
It was Driskel.
It was the quarterback Muschamp 'developed.'
Butch Dill/Associated Press
At halftime, Florida trailed by just seven points, 21-14, but Driskel was 5-of-17 passing with 53 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Demarcus Robinson and Andre Debose dropped catchable balls that could have made that line look better, but for the most part, it was reflective of what had happened on the field.
In the second half, Muschamp and offensive coordinator Kurt Roper had to reel in the offense because they didn't trust their quarterback to make plays. He was tentative and weak-armed and inaccurate, and they didn't want to let him throw them out of the game.
The immediate result was a game-tying touchdown run on a short field after an Antonio Morrison interception, but after that, things got ugly. The new Florida offense looked a lot like the old Florida offense, committing its defense to play on insufficient rest after a three-and-out and a Driskel interception. Alabama's offense took advantage, scoring three consecutive touchdowns and effectively ending the game.
That's a tired Gators D out there. Getting zero help from their QB
- Matt Hayes (@Matt_HayesSN) September 20, 2014
Florida hired Roper away from Duke this offseason, in part because he was (and is) supposed to be a good coach for Driskel. The predominant story out of spring and fall camp concerned his high-tempo, shotgun-based offense, which was supposed to complement Driskel's running ability and serve as a refreshing counterpoise to the slow, banal offense Brent Pease had run the previous two years.
'In the new offense, we really want to create space and that's going to be the best thing for our guys,' Driskel told Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee this summer. '...Spreading it out and getting more one-on-one matchups for our playmakers is going to be great for us.'
But spreading it out and getting more one-on-one matchups did not go great for them against Alabama, despite the Tide trotting out a true freshman (Tony Brown) at cornerback and an overmatched career backup (Jabriel Washington) in the slot. Not enough receivers got open, and when they did, Driskel missed them.
Butch Dill/Associated Press
For both of those things, Muschamp must bear the blame.
Florida recruits too well to average less than four yards per play, no matter the opponent.
The caliber of athlete on this offense is leagues above what Roper had it Duke, but the product is leagues below it. The difference between those outputs isn't just unfamiliarity with the system (although that plays a part), it's the way those athletes have developed since arriving at school.
Duke's offensive players got better and better each season.
Florida's just sort of...plateaued.
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Muschamp has never pretended to be an offensive coach. He's a defensive guy, through and through. He maximizes his defensive players' talents, and he puts them in a place to succeed. Even after a bad game on Saturday, none of those sentiments have changed.
But being a head coach-or at least being a good one-requires a semblance of balance, the ability to maximize players on both sides of the ball. And that is something Muschamp hasn't done. With each game like Saturday's, he looks more and more like an exercise in The Peter Principle: an assistant with a head coach's job title.
Brynn Anderson/Associated Press
Other than Sims and Cooper, the man most responsible for shredding Muschamp's defense on Saturday was Lane Kiffin, a man whose still-in-progress redemption story seems fitting for the coach he just beat.
Like Muschamp, Kiffin competed for and won national titles as a coordinator. And like Muschamp, he rose up the coaching ladder because of it.
But like Muschamp, he didn't (or hasn't) make a very good head coach.
It's rash to say Muschamp should be fired mid-season (the way Kiffin was at USC in 2013), especially with the SEC East in a state of flux. South Carolina, Georgia and Missouri all have losses, the latter coming at home Saturday against Indiana. ( Indiana!) There were enough mini-positives on Saturday (e.g. linebacker Neiron Ball) for Florida to feel like it can compete in the division.
But if things don't change drastically, it's also rash to suggest Muschamp and Driskel should keep their jobs past this season.
They are running out of chances to prove themselves.
Follow Brian Leigh on Twitter: @BLeighDAT
Post a Comment for "Will Muschamp and Jeff Driskel Are Not the Answer for Florida"