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Noles' Offense Looking Familiar

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By SCOTT CARTER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 17, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - At the conclusion of his weekly media session Monday, Florida State offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher answered the final question, quickly glanced around the room, and began walking toward the exit.

'You all have been great,' he said. 'Heck, I was waiting to get shot.'

Who would have imagined a room full of reporters repeatedly asking what's wrong with the offense providing a safe refuge for Fisher?

Based on his closing statement, Fisher apparently spent his weekend reading Internet message boards full of upset Seminoles fans questioning why at midseason, FSU's unsteady offense looks so familiar - at least in the numbers - to the one that cost former offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden his job last season. The critics spoke loudest the day after FSU's offense performed a Houdini in the second half of Thursday's 24-21 loss at Wake Forest, snapping the Noles' four-game winning streak and dampening the enthusiasm of back-to-back wins with Xavier Lee at quarterback.

In many ways, the loss to Wake Forest resembled most of FSU's eight losses the past two seasons: no running game, too many penalties and inconsistent quarterback play. In the end, FSU suffered its seventh loss by a touchdown or less over that stretch, including both losses this season.

'We are not a sharp football team right now,' Coach Bobby Bowden said. 'We are a team that still makes mistakes, and in a close game, it's going to get you.'

For the first time since Fisher arrived in January to revive an offense that had become stagnant under Jeff Bowden, Fisher walked directly into the line of fire. Those anonymous Internet coaches yelled that Fisher wasn't calling the right plays, or that he doesn't utilize FSU's talent properly, or that he lacks patience with Lee, who was pulled for a series late in third quarter.

Fisher has his own message: He's as frustrated as all those fans.

'We just have to keep going and keep finding who we are,' Fisher said. 'It's going to be a process. Hopefully, we won't be as up and down. I don't think it's a lack of effort. I don't think it's a lack of want-to. I don't think it's a lack of caring.

'We just have to learn that, in certain situations in a game, we have to make a play or maybe make a better call. I put it on myself, too, to maybe make a better call for something that's really easy for them to do.'

Fisher's playbook and game-calling methods are more complicated than Jeff Bowden's system. Fisher's scheme allows for more reads and checks at the line of scrimmage, and provides the quarterback numerous options.

'We are more complex, but we're not brain surgery here,' Fisher said.

When Bobby Bowden hired Fisher, he turned over all the play-calling to the former college quarterback. Of course, as head coach, Bowden still has plenty of input, and he sees the lack of a running game (FSU is ranked 102nd in the nation) as one of the team's biggest problems.

'I think the thing is, with the running game, that we just aren't running enough,' Bowden said. 'We're going to really have to analyze that part of it.'

The lack of a running game and avalanche of penalties - FSU leads the nation, averaging 10 penalties per game - is frustrating junior Antone Smith, who is on pace to barely gain 600 yards for the season.

'It's to the point now that when I have a good run, I kind of look back and expect a penalty,' Smith said.

Injuries on the offensive line - David Overmyer and Rodney Hudson have missed playing time - haven't helped, either. Another factor in FSU's offensive struggles - one coaches won't admit publicly - is that FSU's talent level is not what it used to be.

Fisher knows there are no easy solutions, but he is determined to place his stamp on the program sooner rather than later.

'You have to find that balance,' he said. 'And I have to do a better job of coaching formations and being patient at times, maybe taking a few average gains and not trying to make every play perfect. You just have to keep working hard and believe ... do everything right and it will evolve.'

All those Internet coaches are still waiting.

THE WAITING GAME

Florida State's revamped offense remains stuck in neutral at midseason under offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher, whose first year on the job is producing results very similar to what FSU did in former OC Jeff Bowden's final season:

*-Yards per game; #-Points per game

Note: 2006 statistics cover 13 games, including Emerald Bowl; 2007 statistics are through FSU's first six games.

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