Florida Gators
South Carolina
Quinn wants to see fewer "missed ops" and more "rips and strips" vs. UAB
Thursday, September 8, 2011 | Football, Women's Tennis, Scott Carter
A common phrase in defensive meetings for the Gators this week is “missed ops.''
Those are plays that defensive coordinator Dan Quinn points out on film when a defensive player could have done a better job at trying to “rip and strip'' the ball from an opposing player.
Perhaps the most surprising stat from Florida's 41-3 win over FAU was the Owls' edge in turnover margin. FAU picked off Gators quarterback John Brantley twice and backup Jeff Driskel once. The Gators did not force a turnover.
Quinn is stressing how that must change on Saturday when UAB's pass-happy offense visits The Swamp. Whether it's picking off Blazers quarterback Bryan Ellis or stripping the ball from UAB's receivers and running backs really doesn't matter.
“It's a topic I feel so strongly about – taking the ball away,'' Quinn said following Wednesday's practice. “I thought we could have had more attempts on the ball [against FAU], what we call 'rips and strips.'
“Sometimes you may be just digging out the ball and you don't get it but you see a guy really rip the arm out, or a strip is when the ball actually come out. I'd like to see that number drastically increase.”
The Gators swarmed to the ball effectively against FAU, limiting the Owls to 137 total yards and only 30 yards rushing. Their best opportunity at creating a turnover came when linebacker Jelani Jenkins dropped an interception in the first half.
Fellow linebacker Jon Bostic said the defense hears Quinn's message loud and clear.
“Even though we held them to limited rushing yards and limited passing yards, that's one thing we need to stress every game,” Bostic said. “We need at least three turnovers a game. That's our goal every game.”
Creating turnovers has always been a staple theme in head coach Will Muschamp's and Quinn's defensive philosophy. That theme has never been louder than this week in practice.
“We really feel there is some unique ways [to create turnovers],'' Quinn said. “We feel like in the run game, it's something we can do better. It's such a huge stat.''
