See. Told you so.
When the Miami Dolphins stunned the New England Patriots on Sunday, there were smiles in some SEC coaching offices. Not for the result, but for how it was achieved.
The NFL is considered the epitomy of coaching and strategy and maybe it is. But when the Dolphins lined up tailback Ronnie Brown to take direct snaps they were borrowing a page from the college ranks.
Brown, a former Auburn tailback, generated four touchdowns - three running and one passing - from the direct-snap formation in a 38-18 win over the Patriots.
"Some day I thought somebody would try this,'' Alabama coach Nick Saban, who drafted Brown during his tenure as coach of the Dolphins, said Wednesday. "I'm sure New England had no idea. It would be very difficult on their players to adjust.''
It's a formation that Arkansas used to bedevil the SEC the past two years with Heisman Trophy runner-up Darren McFadden.
After watching McFadden rush for 321 yards against the Gamecocks last year in a 48-36 rout, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier got a kick out of the Dolphins' audacity.
"They used to say you can't do that in the NFL,'' Spurrier said. "The Dolphins said, 'Why not?' Now the key is can they do that week after week?''
Houston Nutt, who unleashed McFadden on the SEC at Arkansas, said the Dolphins "put a heckuva plan together.''
It's no coincidence that David Lee, the Dolphins quarterbacks coach, was Nutt's offensive coordinator at Arkansas last year.
"I've sort of thought the Titans ought to let Vince Young run that,'' said Spurrier. "That's what he did in college. That's what he does best.''
Shrinking Game: There are a lot of frowns about how the 40-second play clock is shortening the game by reducing the number of snaps. The new rule is the third clock-management change in as many years and is in line with the NFL's play clock.
"My concern is when people want to change college football to be like the NFL,'' said Florida coach Urban Meyer. "I couldn't disagree more. I think the others ought to change to be like us.
"The reason why the NFL does it is their roster is only 53 so they want to shorten the game. We have 85 and they all deserve to play.''
Added Spurrier, "As we all know, television tells us what to do.''
Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino isn't a fan, either. For one thing, fewer snaps makes it harder to stage great comebacks.
"Which is a shame,'' Petrino said, "because I've always loved the way college football games play out.''
The affect on Tennessee has been minimal. The Vols are averaging 69.6 plays, compared to 70.9 last year (which included five overtime periods).
It's also one more snap per game than in Peyton Manning's high-scoring senior year (1997) and dwarfs the 60.9 snaps per game in the 1998 national championship season.
Flag? So What: Penalties are a killer, Tennessee will tell you. The Vols are tied for 113th out of 119 teams nationally in penalties at 8.67 per game.
All those flags are costing the Vols 71.7 yards per game, up from 45.8 yards in a better-behaved 2007 season.
But don't think that's the big explanation for why Tennessee is 1-2.
The five teams worse than UT in accumulating penalties are a combined 19-0. All five are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25: TCU, Florida, Utah, Texas Tech and Georgia.
Maybe the true interpretation of that statistic is to define how thin UT's margin for error is.
Stat of the Week: There have been 19 touchdowns scored by SEC teams on defense or special teams. Florida leads the way with two of each. Auburn, UT's upcoming opponent, has scored two defensive touchdowns and one on a punt return.
Last Word: Florida's Meyer on upcoming opponent Ole Miss: "They're much faster than the team we just played, especially outside, and that's alarming.''
Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strangem@knoxnews.com.
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Comments » 15
Madkels writes:
Um, Dave...are you reading this? Maybe G. Jones should have thrown a couple times in the "G Gun" formation. Do you think it would have "Surprised" the UF defense?
Colliervol writes:
What? How not to discipline players.
99gator writes:
Florida's Meyer on upcoming opponent Ole Miss: "They're much faster than the team we just played, especially outside, and that's alarming.''
apparently, there is another gator out there who does not think much of the tenn wr corps.
WeLoveTennesseeVols writes:
A lot of people are blaming Fulmer, but what about the trouble makers like John Adams? And the malcontents which have no role to play , they alon know how torun their mouths.
ibvolman writes:
What about JA? Do you think he is responsible for what has been placed on the field this year? Do you think he is responsible for the offense being completely out of synch for 3 complete games? Is he responsible for turnovers, poor execution, bad decisions, terrible clock management, poor special teams execution? ... and the list goes on and on.
Why are people blaming Fulmer? Oh, um, maybe its because he is the coach, and he is responsible for the product on the field!
But perhaps you are right. No one should blame Fulmer. After all, he is above reproach, and everyone knows it is a spend happy do-nothing Congress that is really to blame. Yep, that's it. Congress is responsible for our lousy game play and plan.
MidTennVol writes:
I'll tell you, I never thought I'd see another SEC coach hated by TN fans as much as Spurrier was but this Meyer is certainly trying hard.
At least he didn't run up the score on us this last time. I've give him that.
He was probably concerned about leaving town in one piece if he had.
rusty_shackleford writes:
Yeah, Nutt really revolutionized coaching and brought the SEC to her knees with all of his championships. Sure, that's it!
richvol writes:
It's not the game that needs shortening...it's all those damn commercials. They have put so many in a telecast and delayed the game so much. That's why the games were running long. Soon it will be one long commercial...they already have them superimposed on the field during play. What's next...the officials making a pitch for McD's before the call?
CoverOrange writes:
I agree with Rich. The only sport I want fewer plays in is golf.
How is reducing the game by 20% making it better? Shorter games mean fewer opportunities to show commercials so I'm surprised the networks went along with it.
Volgrad777 writes:
hahaha , he said he was doing it on " playstation college football" haha , probably should have copyrighted that move. hahahahaha playstation
TommyJack writes:
Man that sounds exactly like some ol' Visor Boy would have said. Must be something in the water down there.
rusty_shackleford writes:
Long games are a "TV" problem, not a "game problem" like baseball. Make TV fix it!
Here's the solution: Charge twice as much for half as many TV spots. The ad revenue is the same (MSM push), fewer commercial breaks (fans win) and the game can go back to the 25 second clock that made college football better than the NFL (game wins).
I always hate to attend games that CBS covered because it was going to be so freaking long due to the little
fat man in the red hat in the NW corner!!!
murrayvol writes:
Hate him if you must but Urban Meyer said what he did because it's true (much like Spurrier). Has anyone else noticed that our receivers can't get separation.......against anybody?
Sometimes the truth hurts but it can also set you free.
CrankE writes:
"The NFL is considered the epitomy of coaching and strategy"
Ah yes, from KNS, the EPITOME of proper spelling.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
More bricks on the load.
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