Florida State is the defending ACC Champion, but things haven’t been going all that well in Tallahassee. The Seminoles are sitting in the Atlantic Division cellar and they’ve lost four conference games so far in 2006. Still, the FSU offense is dangerous when it is clicking. What can the Hoos’ defense expect this week? Truthfully, it is hard to say – the Noles are unpredictable on offense and quarterback Xavier Lee adds a different kind of weapon under center.
Virginia Defense vs. FSU Offense
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UVa’s Mike London may be preparing two different approaches for the Seminoles’ different offensive sets. |
The biggest issue I’m facing this week as we look ahead to FSU is the same issue coach Al Groh and friends are wrestling with and that is what Seminole offense will we see this weekend? With the announcement that quarterback Xavier Lee will start Saturday, the athletic quarterback appears to be a perfect fit for Jeff Bowden’s three-and-four wide receiver sets. But the Noles have killed the Hoos running the football over the last few seasons. In 2002, the Seminoles pounded out 397 yards rushing and over the last three seasons the boys from Tallahassee have averaged 161 yards per game. Coach Groh noted in his weekly media gabfest that the Hoos have seen the best Florida State has to offer over the last two seasons.
“Two years ago it was a big run game. They had Leon Washington and Lorenzo Booker both in the backfield and they were hard to handle,” Groh said. “Last year it was very much a spread game, I think they threw 55-60 passes in the game and it started that way and it stayed that way.”
Florida State gave Virginia and the rest of the ACC a heavy dose of the spread last season in route to leading the conference in passing at 282 yards per game – a full 934 yards over the second-place finisher in passing offense.
This year the Seminoles have gone back and forth between the two schemes and have had fairly consistent success as they currently sit second in the conference by averaging 362 yards per game overall and 335 yards in ACC contests. They have been fairly successful in both the spread offense and in traditional running sets. Groh says this diversity is what makes preparing for the Noles difficult.
“That’s what makes them challenging to prepare for because it’s been the same circumstance this year,” Groh said. “They opened in four wide receiver against Boston College and they played three and four wide receivers almost exclusively throughout the game. They came back last week against Maryland and opened in the I formation and so it runs the full range. What makes it challenging isn’t putting things on paper but there are only so many practice plays available every day and it’s caused a lot of thinking on our part to try to make our choices.”
“You can have a heck of a practice today and if you choose to work on the wrong thing or if you miss the mark in terms of what they do, and there’s such a range in what they do, it’s kind of like pinning the tail on the donkey,” added Groh.
The other factor is the emergence of Lee. In his first career start against Maryland, the sophomore quarterback threw for 286 yards – that ranks second among Florida State first-time starters since 1992 when the Seminoles joined the ACC. Only Danny Kanell had more passing yards in his first career start with 341. Lee completed 22 passes (third highest among first time starters since 1992) on 36 attempts (tied for fourth highest among first time starters since 1992). He completed 61 percent of his passes in the game.
But what makes Lee so appealing to the Florida State coaches and so daunting to opposing defensive coordinators is his ability to run with the ball (either to get out of trouble or on designed runs). The spread creates space and opens running lanes for Lee. In the I-formation, his running opportunities would be somewhat limited.
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My guess is that the Florida State staff is wrestling with exactly what they’ll do as well. The Seminole success in the running game against Virginia is uncanny so the temptation to go full-tilt with the I-formation and the running game is compelling.
Although spreading out defenses was effective last season and has had its moments this year, completely suppressing the I-formation or the running game is not a practical option. The running game has shown improvement and the Noles have always seemed to be more productive when remaining balanced with their attack.
If the I-formation is the plan of attack, the Seminoles like to run motion to one side and then counter the play to the opposite side of the movement. They will do this with the tight end and receivers plus they will motion fullback Joe Surratt to one side and trap to the opposite side.
The Seminoles rely heavily on screens and short dump off passes to the backs as part of their offense. Even though they are statistically passes, they are nothing more than an extension of the running game. FSU will run out of the shotgun, utilizing a zone-blocking approach that allows the backs to pick their spots. They run power plays, options, and sprint draws from the gun.
In the I-set, Surratt is not resigned to a blocking only role, especially in the red zone. The junior fullback has scored five touchdowns this season, the most rushing touchdowns by an FSU fullback since William McCray scored five times during the 2001 season. The spread option has limited Surratt’s effectiveness as Jeff Bowden has preferred the short dumps and drag routes that are built into the play calls instead of a power run inside. But in the power sets and I-formations the Noles like to run belly or wham type plays to set up their play-action and the deep routes for the receivers.
Uncharacteristically, Florida State has not been the big-play offense of old. Part of the issue is that the Seminoles appear to lack the legitimate deep threats we’ve become accustomed to seeing in the Garnett and Gold. Accompanied by a tough running game, opposing defenses used to pick their poison by deciding to either place eight in the box to try to shut down the run or play nickel and dime coverages to try and contain the passing game. Without the big-play burners at wideout, defenses have been able to take a more balanced approach and rely more on their base schemes against FSU this year.
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Chris Long and Jeffrey Fitzgerald may have to provide pressure and help contain Xavier Lee in the pocket. |
Poor downfield blocking by the receivers has also added to the lack of big plays. So much of the emphasis on the running game is placed on the backs and offensive line, but most explosive runs come from the downfield blocking of the receivers and tight ends. Peter Warrick made it to the NFL in part because his blocking. The current Seminole wideouts are not very physical and struggle to sustain blocks, struggles that limit the big gains in the run game.
This may explain the recent return to the spread.
When new offensive line coach Mark McHale joined the FSU staff last season from Marshall, he brought with him the trendy zone-blocking scheme that produced one of the top offenses in the country. Under the new line system and with the four-wide spread or “Rifle” set, the passing game has flourished. The spread offense opens running and passing lanes for Seminole running backs. The four-wide system has involved tailbacks Lorenzo Booker and Antone Smith more in the passing offense to take advantage of their speed and elusiveness in space. Booker and Smith have combined for 41 receptions and 427 yards.
Booker is a speed and power back; like North Carolina’s Ronnie McGill and N.C. State’s Andre Brown and Tony Baker, he is a very powerful runner after contact as well. Smith gets his shoulders very low to the ground, making himself a difficult target for most defenders to wrap-up and tackle. After two weeks of dealing with big time yards-after-contact backs, the Hoos should be well-versed in the art of limiting these hammers to first contact yardage and they’ll need to be effective at stopping these types of backs again this weekend.
The FSU passing game may not possess the vertical success of the past, but Jeff Bowden goes to the deep well often and he has playmakers at the receiver spots that can execute. With his 15-yard touchdown reception in the Maryland game, sophomore Greg Carr leads the team with eight touchdowns this season and is one away from his total of nine from 2005 which tied an ACC freshman record.
At 6’6”, the Noles try to isolate Carr on smaller corners where he uses his height to ward off opposing defenders to catch lob passes in jump ball situations. He has developed into Florida State’s big-play receiver, and is especially dangerous in the red zone. But at times he is a sloppy technician. His mechanics and footwork are not great and he is often short on routes which create issues for the timing in the spread offense. Opponents have had success jamming Carr at the line of scrimmage and throwing him of route.
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FSU receiver Greg Carr and UVa corner Marcus Hamilton may see a lot of each other during Saturday’s game. |
Carr is balanced by speedster Chris Davis, who leads the team with 31 receptions and is tied for fifth in the ACC at 3.88 receptions per game. His 52.6 yards per game ranks first on the team and third in the league. Against Maryland, Davis exploded for his second consecutive 100-yard receiving game with 132 yards – that was more yardage than Maryland recorded as a team (131). Seven of Davis’ eight catches came in the second half and five of his eight catches went for first downs. He had a career-high 10 catches for 100 yards in the previous week’s game vs. Boston College.
So what does FSU do Saturday? I expect Virginia will see a combination of both sets.
Even though the passing game has been superb and the running ability of Lee adds an intriguing dimension to the dangerous Seminole skill players, I would be surprised if the Seminoles did not come out and attempt to run the ball against Virginia as they have done successfully two of the last three years.
If Bowden decides to establish the running game, look for opportunities in the passing game to open up on play-action passes. FSU tight ends Brandon Warren (18 catches, 189 yards) and Caz Piurowski (6 catches, 51 yards) could be difficult match-ups for Virginia’s linebackers and safeties.
Should Florida State have success with the run, watch for defensive coordinator Mike London to attack with his super end tandem of Chris Long and Jeffrey Fitzgerald and to bring the zone blitz to pressure Lee. In what has been Virginia’s M.O. most of the season, the Hoos will alter coverages, bring safety blitzes, and possibly look to come with the corners as well as the linebackers at times.
The Virginia safeties will need to guard against FSU’s play-action passing and the defenders responsible for containing Lee must maintain their position to prevent big-play scrambles. Defensive backs will need to stay close to their responsibilities because as Lee displayed against Maryland, he can throw with good velocity on the run and hit his target in tight spots.
When the Seminoles go to the spread offense, I suspect London will back everybody off and try to keep the offense in front of the defense; that will require a controlled rush to contain Lee and make him prove that he can duplicate last week’s success against Maryland. The Terps didn’t have time to prepare for Lee and still won. Virginia will try to confuse the young signal-caller with multiple coverages and various blitz packages.
As they did in 2005, the Hoos need to make the Noles play with patience. This is not a grind it out club. They are highly skilled players that want to (and believe they can) make big plays on every touch. Virginia must force the Seminoles to move the chains and finish drives. That means the ACC’s third best red zone defense must be at the top of its game and limit FSU’s Gary Cismesia to field goal attempts rather than giving up touchdowns to Carr.
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