Remember when Spurrier was an evil genius?
by tommy.deas
I do. Steve Spurrier was the ol’ ball coach when he was with the Florida Gators. Now he’s becoming just an old ball coach.
Don’t get me wrong. Spurrier is doing an outstanding job with the South Carolina Gamecocks, but he’s doing it in old-school fashion. South Carolina is winning with a hard-nosed defense and a grind-it-out running game more than with the Fun-n-Gun style he dominated with at Florida.
No longer is Spurrier an offensive guru. Somewhere along the way, after he left his once-beloved Gators, Spurrier lost his offensive panache. Any idea that his innovative passing attack would set the National Football League on fire was squashed in two seasons with the Washington Redskins, where in two losing seasons his offense was held to two touchdowns or less 10 times. At South Carolina, Spurrier’s teams have averaged 23.6, 26.6, 26.1 and 20.1 points per game, with the Gamecocks currently ranked seventh in scoring offense (27.3 points per game) and seventh in total offense (370.3 yards per game).
To those who point out that Spurrier had superior talent at Florida, I would agree. But I also wonder if he wouldn’t have been equally successful running I-formation plays from a Big Ten playbook with all that talent. If Spurrier’s system only produces great offensive numbers when he has a physical advantage at every position, maybe it’s not the system that made the difference.
When Spurrier was interviewed on ESPN right after South Carolina upset Ole Miss this season, he quickly turned the discussion from praise for USC’s defense to criticizing his own offense, as if the win didn’t satisfy him because his side of the ball didn’t roll up and down the field. Winning, it seems, just isn’t as fun for Spurrier when his offense isn’t a cutting-edge attack.
It’s still fun to watch Spurrier coach, whether he’s yanking a quarterback after a bad throw or slamming his visor into the turf in frustration, but it’s just not the same as when Spurrier could sit on his throne in Gainesville, Fla., and toss barbs at opposing coaches, practically daring them to do anything about it.
No doubt, Spurrier was a revolutionary force in the Southeastern Conference, changing the league from a run-first approach and ushering in the passing era. It appears, however, that the competition has caught up with Spurrier’s ways.
Spurrier’s offense isn’t innovative anymore. Bobby Petrino runs the same offense, with many of the same, simple play calls. However, Petrino has added formations and blocking schemes that have allowed the offense to keep up with more sophisticated defenses. Spurrier’s offense would be fine if he just freshened it up a bit and added blocking schemes that didn’t make his QB’s run for their lives on every passing down.
by Mike
I never thought it was fun to see old Spurious Steve act like a spoiled rotten two-year-old child. And as to yanking his kids around, that’s not far from Woody Hayes, who graduated to punching out other people’s kids and was fired for it. I am not the least bit sorry to see him suffering because he can’t adapt with the times. His overweening hubris all those years and his deplorably juvenile behavior make his coming down to earth exceptionally enjoyable.
by Sharissa
innovators are often imitated… he could have stayed at fla and been the ole ball coach and be beating alamba regularly right now or he could have come back to fla and be beating alabama regularly with tebow who regardless of what he says would have been playing for spurrier because he loves fla that much…and would be beating alabama like they did last year…maybe spurrier had a harder task introduciing the spread offense in those days than now, and players grow up with it in high school today, but there are many factors not related to spurrier that has caused usc south to struggle…and spurrier has been a big factor in addressing these issues…he may or may not build a championship team at carolina but he is building a foundation for carolina to b become a championship team in the sec of the future, and that will be his legacy, not the win loss columns, … but as to the present, being a person who enjoys challenges, spurrier is nonetheless bringing to town a bunch of freshmen and sophs who beat the number five team just a coupla weeks ago…stopping you guys is a former alabama defensive coach’s problem,and eric norwood and company…but the offense is on the way, too…yes, any coach needs the playmakers, even spurrier, but if saban doesn’t need julio jones, send him up, we dont live by the run alone. . although it is a common mistake to state that spurrier is all about the pass… if we get any kind of pass protection, your db’s better watch their backs saturday or we will pick your pockets …hopefully they have posted this article and others like it on the gamecocks locker room wall go gamecocks.
by tom
[...] Tommy Deas of the Tuscaloosa News remembers when Steve Spurrier was an evil genius. [...]
by » SEC links: Alabama wary of South Carolina John Clay’s Sidelines
If you can’t be a coach the only thing left is to write about those that can coach. There is always a market to critize opposing coaches.
by Bill
The “Old Ball Coach” may have just put kibosh in Bama. While watching the game films of last Saturday night’s game, he discovered that the mighty tide was using a throughly illegal spot marker for kicking field goals and extra points. According to the rule book this illegal, and if further investigation reveals that they have been doing this all season, they will have to forfeit every game. Did they think they wouldn’t get caught, or were they just too dumb to know? Bama has a good, if somewhat one dimensional team, and this could crash their entire season. It may be a blessing since they really don’t want to tangle with the Gators who have more offensive weapons than Carter has little liver pills.
by John Gault