A lot of speculation went in to what Charlie Weis' version of the Gator offense would look like. I tried many months ago on a different blog to give a small sample size of what it would look like, but even I had no clue. Well, the waiting time is over. We have our first sampling of the Charlie Weis offense, Gator style. In this blog I will draw out some of the specific plays I saw, both good and bad, and show why they worked or didn't work, as well as the mindset behind the play. I will draw out formations, follow with what the play is designed to do, and finish with the result. The offensive movement will be Red, the defensive movement will be Blue. Please note that what I name the plays is what I call them, not what Weis calls them. We will begin with the first drive.
1st play of the game, after the holding brought back the kickoff return to the 20 yard line. 1st and 10, ball on the 20 yard line. The personnel was 1 RB (Rainey), 2 TE (Reed and Burton), 2 WR.
The formation was 2TE to the right, 2WR to the left. The defense was in their base 3-4 all night, with the outside linebackers (OLB) playing loosely off the TE or Tackle. Notice the Strong Safety (SS) has moved down over the slot receiver. This was the primary way FAU adjusted to Twin Receivers throughout the game. This formation gave Coach Weis two things. One, FAU's base adjustment to twin receivers, as well as their coverage. The defense adjusts to this formation using a zone, most likely cover 3 but possibly using cover 4.
The play call was an inside zone or stretch, with each offensive lineman blocking not a particular man, but an area, depending on the movement of the defense.
Notice the Center and Left Guard will move to the playside, double team the nose tackle (NT), and one of them will move on to the linebacker. The Right Guard and Right Tackle will do the same thing. The Left Tackle is responsible for cutting off the defensive tackle over him, creating a cutback lane for the runner.
Rainey is a great cutback runner, and Nixon does a great job of cutting off the DT. Wenger and Harrison get very little push on the NT, and the LB runs over the top quickly. Rainey does a nice job of cutting back for a gain of 14 on 1st down.
The third play of the game, after a 2 yard loss on 1st down, was 2nd and 12, ball on the 31. The personnel grouping was 2WR, 1TE (Reed), 2 RB (Rainey and Burton).
The formation was split backs, twins to the right, single receiver to the left. I noticed two things immediately. One, the tightness of the formation - all receivers were within seven to ten yards of the tackles, and the depth of FAU's CBs. The CBs played off all night, and Coach Weis has a tendency to spot a weakness and then attack it until the defense changes its game plan. The defense here is likely Cover 4, with the corners and safeties occupying 1/4 of the field approximately fifteen yards downfield. There is no player to cover the flats, so if a running back comes out of the backfield, the OLB has to break off his rush and cover the back. With Rainey, Demps, Gillislee or Burton, that is a mismatch.
The route combination is classic. To the right a Drag behind the LBs and a Dig behind the safeties. If the Safeties come up, the QB throws the Dig. If the safeties retreat, the QB throws the Drag. To the left, the WR runs the CB off, occupying him from making a play on the Drag as it pops out the backside. The RB runs a Flare, often called a Flare-Control because it controls the blitzing LB - stops him from rushing and forces him into coverage.
Here, probably on a pre-snap read based on the alignment of the CB and the presumed Cover 4, Brantley judges that the OLB will not be able to cover Rainey out of the backfield. Completion, gain of six. This play was run from several formations throughout the night, using both backs and both sides of this basic formation. The very next play was similar, except the receivers to the right ran curls and Brantley hit Burton for 11 and a first down. Brantley hit Rainey on a similar play for the one passing TD, and once again to Demps for a gain of 7. Even when Brantley did not throw to the back, this combination seems to be a staple for Weis to the backside of the play. Expect big things from the RBs this year catching the ball. Not many LBs in the country can cover Demps or Rainey or Burton out of the backfield on a consistent basis. The RB group may in fact lead the team in receptions this year.
The fifth play from scrimmage is a good example of a player losing an individual matchup, causing the entire offensive play to be stopped. The situation was 1st and 10 after Brantley hit Burton for the first down. The personnel grouping was 1TE (Reed) and 3WR.
Using different personnel and a different formation, Weis has again forced FAU to show their hand to the adjustment to what will be a base formation. Based on the position of the FS and SS, the coverage here will be Cover 3. FAU has not substituted a 3rd CB (Nickel), so it is unlikely they will ask their SS to cover our slot receiver man-to-man.
The play is a quick counter play, with the RB taking a quick jab-step to the left to simulate a stretch play, then countering back to the right. On this play, the Right Guard and Center double team the NT, and the Left Guard loops around their double team to block the playside LB. The Left Tackle cuts off any penetration by the DT.
On this play, the DT over the Left Tackle (Nixon) slants hard to the inside, and Nixon is unable to block him. This throws off the path of the Left Guard (Wenger), who is unable to block the LB, who stops Demps for a loss of 2.
The 11th play of the drive, after the bad snap, left the Gators in 2nd down and 25. The personnel is 2WR, 1 TE (Reed), 2 RB (Rainey and Joyer).
Believe it or not, this is a balanced formation as far as defenses go. There are two receivers to the left (WR and FB) and two receivers to the right (WR and TE). The defense can stay in its traditional Cover 2 look, able to run multiple coverages to that side. Weis uses motion to change the status quo.
The motion of the fullback to the opposite side puts three receivers to the right, and FAU chooses to adjust by moving their SS into the box. 2nd and long is a traditional running down, and the motion has created a traditional running formation. Weis calls play action.
The outside receivers run Out routes, and the TE runs a Post. The two backs stay in pass protection.
As it turns out, the defense still ran Cover 4, and since the safeties split, the Post from Reed had the best opportunity. Reed did pop open, but Brantley delivers the ball a touch late, and the FS is able to break the play up. The next play Brantley makes a great throw to Dunbar on the sideline, setting us up for the Field Goal. It is clear that Brantley is not the QB this year that he was last year, and Weis has got him where he needs to be for the season opener.
On the Gators second possession, 2nd down and 10, ball on the Gators 39 yard line. The personnel grouping is 2WR, 1TE, 2RB. Demps and Rainey are on the field at the same time.
The formation is a familiar one, the Gators used it heavily all night for run and pass. The Gators have run stretch to the TE/WR side at least four times.
The play is a bootleg off of the stretch to Demps. The right RB is Rainey getting to the flat. Brantley throws the ball to Reed for 15 yards and a first down. The remarkable thing is the throw. There was about three yards of clearance between the FS and the LB. Brantley put the ball on Reed's back shoulder, forcing Reed to reach back for the ball, where he makes a great catch. Reaching back for the ball shielded Reed from a big hit because the FS barely got a piece of Reed after he caught the ball. This is the Brantley we hoped for last year.
Later in the game, 1st and 10, ball on the 35 yard line. Personnel in the game is 3WR, 1TE (Reed) 1RB (Demps).
The formation is Trips to the left, with 2WR and 1TE. The defense shown here was the expected defense based on previous formations. This was not the defense FAU showed.
FAU tries to stay in its Cover 4 shell. The OLB walks out over the slot receiver. This leaves the defense outflanked to the left. The TE has no defender over him. It is easy for him to block down on the DT over Left Tackle, and the offense can easily gain 5-7 yards off tackle. The play call was stretch to the left. Watch what happens.
The TE (Reed) and the Left Tackle (Nixon) make a cross block. Reed comes down on the DT, Nixon comes out to the OLB, and the outside receiver (Thompson) makes a wonderful block on the CB. The SS runs under the slot receiver's block, taking himself out of position, forcing him to take a bad angle to Demps, who cruises by him for the TD.
Later, Rainey makes the same run from a similar formation - the one where he does a 360 to avoid a tackler. The thing that I absolutely loved about this play had nothing to do with Rainey. Halapio was beat on the play but continued downfield, picking up the block to spring Rainey for a TD.
2nd and 12. The personnel in the game are 2WR, 1TE (Reed), 2RB (Rainey and Joyer).
The formation is a familiar one.
This play is a High/Low route combination run by the TE/WR. A Quick Out and a Deep Out forces the CB to choose. The QB throws to the route the CB leaves. Notice even when the right side is the primary route, the backside always has the flat route by the RB.
This time the CB comes hard on the Quick Out, and the SS is slow getting over the top of the Deep Out, and Brantley makes a nice throw to Reed for a First Down.
The offense was nothing like I expected, however I am allowing for the fact that we did not want to show too much this week. A lot of these plays were the same concepts used here for the last six years under Urban. The difference was, nobody asked a QB to run the ball (except on the sneak). The RBs will be featured this year and going forward. I was pleased (for whatever that is worth) with Brantley's development, although he is not where he needs to be. He needs to develop as the season goes on, and I think he can be a top-3 QB in the SEC.
As the week goes on I may add more plays as time allows.
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