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The dread offense

The Gamecocks’ many problems of the offensive side of the ball once again has Spurrier searching for answers

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USC head coach Steve Spurrier stretches before a first quarter as the Gamecocks take on N.C. State at Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C., August 28, 2008.

Gerry Melendez/gmelendez@thestate.com /The State

Written by JOSEPH PERSON

jperson@thestate.com
Posted on 09.10.08
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Offensive woes

Five reasons the USC offense has struggled:

1. Who’s the quarterback?

Tommy Beecher had four interceptions in Game 1. Chris Smelley had two in Game 2. Those six picks were returned 122 yards. When does Stephen Garcia get a chance?

2. Inconsistent line play

Jamon Meredith returns and will play either left tackle or left guard. Without him, the line allowed nine sacks for a loss of 39 yards. Is it the players, O-line coach John Hunt or the blocking schemes?

3. No big plays

Against Vanderbilt, USC had two plays of longer than 20 yards. Smelley scrambled for 24 yards and completed a pass to Jared Cook for 24 yards. What happened to going deep?

4. McKinley and who?

Kenny McKinley sat out most of the Vanderbilt game with a hamstring injury. He leads wide receivers with nine catches. Will C.C. Whitlock, Joe Hills and Jason Barnes receive more playing time?

5. No breakaway back

Mike Davis has 186 yards rushing in two games, including a run of 50 yards vs. N.C. State. But is Taylor Rank the best No. 2? What happened to Brian Maddox and Eric Baker?

Steve Spurrier is accustomed to leading the country in offensive categories — just not this kind.

Through two games, South Carolina has thrown more interceptions (six) than any of the 118 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision and has allowed more sacks (nine) than every school except Florida International, which also has given up nine.

Besides reopening the quarterback competition between Tommy Beecher and Chris Smelley and promising to play more young receivers, Spurrier has no plans to overhaul his system heading into Saturday’s game against No. 2 Georgia.

Instead, Spurrier will work with his quarterbacks on a new throw: the high ball to the sideline.

“We certainly need to get the ball out of the quarterbacks’ hands a little quicker at times,” Spurrier said Tuesday. “I told Tommy and Chris yesterday that the more college games you watch all over the country, linemen are going to sometimes come free. ... You’re not going to have perfect protection all day. There’s going to be times you’re going to have to sidestep a guy and throw it away.”

After Beecher was sacked five times in a 34-0 victory against N.C. State, Vanderbilt dropped Smelley four times, including twice in the Gamecocks’ final offensive series of their 24-17 loss.

As he watched the Wake Forest-Mississippi game Saturday, Spurrier marveled at the way Demon Deacons quarterback Riley Skinner sidestepped a blitzing linebacker, released the ball and drew a pass-interference penalty that set up the game-winning field goal in Wake’s 30-28 victory.

“That’s how you’ve got to play nowadays. You can’t say, ‘Well, that guy sacked me, coach.’ Well, you got to sidestep him or throw it away or do something,” Spurrier said. “Sometimes they’re going to blitz more than blockers you’ve got, and sometimes their linemen zigzag around and what have you, so we’re trying to teach our guys to have somewhere to throw it and do a better job of having a throwaway play or place to get rid of it.”

Spurrier indicated the Gamecocks might use more three- and five-step drops against Georgia, which led the SEC last season with 3.2 sacks per game.

While Beecher is more mobile than Smelley, the Gamecocks’ most elusive quarterback remains on the bench.

Stephen Garcia, Rivals.com’s No. 4 dual-threat quarterback prospect in 2006, has shown an improved attitude and more maturity but is not ready to play this week, according to Spurrier.

Garcia, a redshirt freshman from Lutz, Fla., missed the Gamecocks’ summer conditioning program while serving a four-month suspension following an underage drinking citation in March, his third run-in with the law during his first 15 months on campus.

“We’ll wait and see as the season progresses,” Spurrier said when asked whether Garcia was in the quarterback mix. “Tommy Beecher and Chris Smelley were here all summer, working out with the guys. I really believe they deserve every opportunity to be our quarterbacks right now.”

Beecher, a redshirt junior from Concord, N.C., threw four interceptions against N.C. State in his first start before leaving near the end of the third quarter. Smelley, a redshirt sophomore who is 4-3 as a starter, completed all five of his passes and directed three fourth-quarter touchdown drives against the Wolfpack.

Smelley threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns and set career highs with 23 completions and 39 attempts against Vanderbilt. But the right-hander was intercepted twice after USC had driven inside the Commodores’ 40-yard line.

Center Garrett Anderson said the offensive line shares the blame for the quarterbacks’ struggles.

“No one’s going to play a perfect game, and everyone makes mistakes. It’s the quarterback’s job to come out of the pocket once in a while, but it’s our job to make sure that never happens,” said Anderson, a junior who played at Dutch Fork.

Tight end Jared Cook said it is unrealistic to expect perfection every play.

“Every offense is going to have problems. That’s just how football works,” Cook said. “It’s just how you pick up and roll after the problem.”

Or in this case, it’s how you roll out — and sometimes throw the ball away.

Reach Person at (803) 771-8496.

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