Offensive Line Is Gators’ Strength Says Pease
Florida offensive coordinator Brent Pease has called the Gators’ offensive line the strength of the offense.
That comment will surprise many Gator fans considering that Florida has given up nine sacks in two games, and is struggling in short-yardage situations.
Pease counters the sack question by pointing out that of the nine sacks, six are on quarterback Jeff Driskel, two are on the offensive line, and one is a receiver’s fault.
“We go back and study them,” Pease said. “That’s what everybody on the outside always looks at — the sacks. Go back and look. Out of eight sacks, two of them were ones that we needed to have better protection. You can’t put that (the rest of the sacks) on the O-line.”
As for the offenses short-yardage woes, Florida is only 5-20 when facing 3 yards or less to go for a first down. And one of those conversions came on a fake field goal against the Aggies. Pease, however, says to look at the running game as a whole and it’s obvious the offensive line is doing a good job.
Taking away the eight sacks for minus-48 yards and two kneel downs for minus-9 yards, the Gators ran for 258 yards on 38 carries against the Aggies — 6.8 yards per carry. Taking away one sack for minus-7 yards and one kneel down for minus-4 yards, the Gators ran for 231 yards on forty carries against Bowling Green — 5.8 yards per carry.
Even with the losses factored in, the Gators are averaging 181.0 yards per game on the ground. So that proves his point, Pease said.
“The strength of the team is our O-Line,” Pease said. “I think they’ve been consistent from spring on.”
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