11/23: Addazio, Sanders discuss Florida State

By Adam Silverstein
November 23, 2010

Florida Gators offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Steve Addazio and redshirt senior defensive tackle Terron Sanders spoke to the media Tuesday as they look a look back on the year and ahead to the team’s final regular season game against the Florida State Seminoles.

PLAYERS NOT QUESTIONING THE OFFENSE

Asked if individual offensive players were venting any frustration to him about the unit this season, Addazio said he has not heard any direct concerns because everyone is on the same page both pre- and post-game. “The answer to that is simple: They have complete faith and trust and they watch the tape. They know. You come in here and you watch the tape on Sundays and surely see what we set out to do, what happened and what didn’t happen. There’s no mysteries there. One-on-one conversations are about how that particular one guy is doing. Our guys are great, man. They’re great. The eye in the sky doesn’t lie. What happens is not complicated to see, it’s not hidden in numbers. It’s on video – there it is.”

INJURED BACKS HURT BRANTLEY, INCREASED NEED FOR OPTION

With all three of Florida’s primary running backs injured at one point or another early in the season, Addazio believes redshirt junior quarterback John Brantley had no choice but to reduce his role behind center for some more athletic signal callers to get snaps. “There’s no question that we went through a period of time here where we really had virtually no running backs,” he said. “So you have to have the ability to still run the ball. The utilization of some running quarterbacks – you have to use all tools that are available to you. Did injuries impact that? Obviously the answer is, ‘Yes.’”

That being said, Addazio agrees with Brantley’s assertion that he took the reduced role in stride and thinks both redshirt freshman tight end Jordan Reed and freshman QB Trey Burton’s selflessness are integral to the success the trio has had recently. “[Reed’s] a beautiful kid, he really is. ‘I’ll do whatever I need to do to help this team win,’ [is what he says]. That’s his mindset, that’s Trey Burton’s mindset, that’s Johnny Brantley’s mindset. That’s what’s great about our kids.”

QUOTES (After the break…)

Addazio on Brantley’s passes being tipped: “There’s different reasons why balls get tipped. There’s situations where there’s a free rusher – you got to negotiate that. There’s situations on some screens – those are window-style plays. And then there’s just some normal tips that go in there. Like everything else, you want to find those lanes and fire the ball through. You’re going to get some tipped balls.”

Addazio on if the coaches are talking about the long winning streak over FSU: “I just think it’s a rivalry game and you make a big deal of the fact that it is a rivalry game. We don’t really talk about streaks. The players know – they know. This is not one of those games where you have to build up hype or anything like that.”

Addazio on his involvement bringing freshman safety Matt Elam back to Florida from Florida State: “Everybody was involved – everybody was. It was a great team effort. There’s been long relationships there with myself, coach [Urban] Meyer, his brother [Abe Elam] – we all went back a ways. There’s some trust factor there within the family. At the end of the day people decide what’s best for them. He’s where he wants to be.”

Addazio on young players developing: They’re all coming along; they’re just coming along at different paces for different reasons. Sometimes there’s injuries that slow guys down. I always felt that guys are going to develop at a pace. You can wish some guys to come along faster, but it’s not how you start – it’s how you finish. It’s always been that way.”

Sanders on Saturday’s game: “This is probably one of the biggest games of my career, especially this season. Don’t want to be the team to lose to this team under coach Meyer, that’s for sure. Don’t want to be the first one.”

Sanders on if pride is enough motivation: “I think so. Especially with the way we’ve come together. It’s been up-and-down all season. With the type of connection and chemistry that was formed within the team going into Senior Day after that devastating loss to South Carolina, I believe it can be enough.”

Sanders on getting ready for the game: “With us being Florida, we still have that target on our back even if the record doesn’t show [it]. If you don’t get yourself ready for every game the same, then you’re going to face problems.”

Sanders on if the game gets nasty and dirty: “To an extent. We hate each other, but at the same time we have respect for each other. There’s some talking on the field and stuff, but I don’t think it’ll ever go out to where there’s a huge brawl between us.”

Sanders on how his unit can improve: “We got to fill our gaps and give them nowhere to run. We got to make tackles, we had too many tackles. The whole unit, we didn’t really fill our gaps like we were supposed to. It all starts with us.”

12 Comments

  1. HardToKillGator says:

    What is Addazio trying to say? Nothing that comes out of his mouth makes sense.

  2. Gatorgrad79 says:

    The eye in the sky, baby, it don’t lie! The eye see what it see – dontcha’ know? The offense is all good – we got no problems! If the backs weren’t injured, JB would be winnin’ the heisman, dontcha know? The eye in the sky – it knows! Sheeesh!!! We are gonna get our butts kicked all the way from T town back to Hogtown!!

  3. Gatorgrad79 says:

    Sorry – the devil made me do it. GO GATORS!!!! Kick some nole butt!

  4. Matt says:

    Sounds like SA needs to take his players attitude: ‘I’ll do whatever I need to do to help this team win.’ and call smart plays that actually gain yardage and teach his “best O-line in the country” how to pick up a blitz. If they can’t then go max protection with Reed who can pass if a receiver gets open or run if they don’t. Otherwise we need to rotate O-Coordinators as fast and as often as we have been QBs.

  5. Luke says:

    If Steve O’s quote bothered you, don’t watch his interview on gatorsports.com! The guy comes off so aloof and doesn’t seem to know how to give a straight answer. The question on tipped balls was basically, the FSU D tips a lot of passes and JB throws a lot of tipped balls… has there been any discussion on that? Then ole dude goes on a tangent basically making it sound like there’s so many reasons for a tipped pass that you can’t do anything about it and you can’t change it. Then he gives a look like, “You’re a stupid person for asking such a question to the OC of Florida… duh.”

    I’ll call that man Steve O as long as he’s with UF because reminds me of Steve O from Jackass: he continues to do and say stupid things and either thinks it’s cool/funny/reasonable, or just doesn’t grow from mistakes.

  6. Aligator says:

    he sounds worse than zook …

  7. g8ter27 says:

    “The answer to that is simple: They have complete faith and trust and they watch the tape. They know. You come in here and you watch the tape on Sundays and surely see what we set out to do, what happened and what didn’t happen. There’s no mysteries there. One-on-one conversations are about how that particular one guy is doing. Our guys are great, man. They’re great. The eye in the sky doesn’t lie. What happens is not complicated to see, it’s not hidden in numbers. It’s on video – there it is.”

    What in the hell is he saying? Does this make any sense to anyone. Is this how he coaches the players and calls plays too, no wonder we are where we are.

    Asked why JB has so many balls tipped: “Well those guys have unusually long fingers on those teams and tipping JB’s passes…well its just plain mean if you ask me. I mean, what are you gonna do? We are trying to schedule some games next year against hobbits but coach won’t let me. Its just not fair!”

  8. g8ter27 says:

    No Adam I actually do like him. I like him as a recruiter, a TE coach and maybe even as a person. I don’t like him as the OC…and I am starting to question his line coaching too. Not to get political but as an example, I bet Sarah Palin is a cool chick who would be fun to hang out with and have a beer …just don’t want her as the President.

    • I suppose my sarcasm was lost on you…I wasn’t looking for an explanation. My point was that all you do is criticize everything he says…you don’t have to…everyone here knows how you feel about him. Haha.

  9. g8ter27 says:

    Well iif they do then I am making my point I guess. Ha, can’t help it, I just want to see a positive change and listening each week to him only makes me (most of us0 feel worse about the potential in the future with him as OC. Anyway, keep up the good work.

Join The
Discussion

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Top
WordPress Appliance - Powered by TurnKey Linux