Deconstructing Tim Tebow: How we Stop Him and The Rest of Those Ugly Dudes

Much has been talked about the smashing success of Meyer’s full-fledged version of the spread here in the SEC in 2007 and 2008. Last year, Georgia was able to shut them down, allowing only 23 points to the Gator offense. How exactly? And can we do it again?

First, let’s look at the difference between last year’s Gator offense and this year’s.

Last year, Tebow was the absolute centerpiece of Florida’s offense. Once in a while, he would give the ball to Harvin as well. This was evident by Tebow’s stunning stats, which led to him being the first sophomore to ever win that somewhat important trophy thingee. Basically, the Tebow smash and the read option were two big components to the rushing game. for the most part, they worked pretty well. The other effective options were handing the ball to Harvin lined up as a tailback and handing the ball to Harvin on reverses. These were used to a much lesser degree. As for passes, four things stood out to me, and Tebow did them all well. Shallow cross routes, short outs/hitches/turnarounds at the chains, bubble and wide receiver screens, and finally, the fake smash-run, long ball to a wide open receiver. How did UGA slow them down? Georgia was able to contain Florida’s offense by focusing exclusively on Tebow’s runs. They almost all but ignored Harvin in the run game. The result was Tebow running 13 times for -15 yards (six sacks) and Harvin rushing 10 times for 97 yards and a whopping 9.7 yards per carry. In the passing game, Tebow was 14-22 for 236 yards with 89 of that in the 4th quarter. We sacked him six times by bringing relentless pressure and forcing him to make quick decisions. Also important was the fact that Florida was largely playing from behind, sometimes by two scores. A few times, Tebow missed open receivers on downfield throws. While this is certainly an important factor, the real key was stuffing Tebow’s runs. It worked fairly well and led to a Bulldog victory.

Fast forward to this year. Tebow is still the most important piece of the puzzle, but he is no longer the alpha and omega of this offense. It seems they figured Harvin at tailback worked best and went out and found two Harvin clones in Demps and Rainey. Both extremely fast, they are paying huge dividends by making the running game multi-pronged. Remember, you still have Harvin on the reverses. More important, the zone read is now MUCH tougher to defend, as before you could almost exclusively focus on Tebow keeping it. Not any more. These guys will be though the line and to the 2nd level in a nanosecond. As a result, Tebow seems to be doing even less in the passing game. Most of the games I have watched consist of short shallow cross routes coupled with those turnarounds at the chains. There is still the fake smash with the up and out routes as well.

So what the heck do you do about all that. This offense puts incredible pressure on the defense to make no mistakes. On top of that, with the speed they have, the margin for error is also smaller on each play. That’s a ton of pressure. Georgia’s game plan should be similar to last year with a few wrinkles. First, I believe we should practically sell out to stop this running attack. Last year, it was easier to key on Tebow. This year, we must shut all of the running plays down. This may require more of a commitment in the box. Coupled with that, we should also aim to get plenty of pressure on Tebow on passing plays. For our team, this means bringing more than just four. As I’ve eluded to, we have been spectacular on blitzes, and horrific when we rush four without twists or stunts. Two of the games I did see were Miami and Ole Miss. In both games, Florida was passed more than they have the rest of the year (thanks to Jody). This is what you have to do. Otherwise, they will roll up 250 rushing yards and crush you. I also advocate blitzing frequently. If you already have many in the box, go ahead and send the house. Yes, Tebow is accurate. But most of his inaccuracies are on downfield throws of 15 or more yards. This is by far his weakest spot. While Stafford will overthrow a deep ball with the best of them, he is still more accurate than Tebow downfield. Press the receivers, and most of all take away that crossing route. Force long throws on out routes and long throws downfield. Zone coverages should be aggressive up front, and safeties should not bite on the fake Tebow smash play. Man coverage should be accompanied by mucho pressure and blitzing. On first down, stopping the run is almost a must. Putting 8 in the box is fine with me. We really want to see 2nd and longs. And that doesn’t mean, that we relax and back off into standard zone. I’m looking at you Martinez. But it does mean Florida is more likely to pass downfield, which is their largest weakness. Third and eight or more should be just about an automatic send six blitz. Yes a big play or two by the offense will happen with an aggressive defense. But this has been by far the most effective way to contain Tebow.

Or, to put it shortly, take away his strengths and force him to play to his weaknesses.