So the question is, do you honestly believe that his play calling is the chief thing that sets them apart from everyone else?
Yes, by far I do. It's not so much the playcalling as it is the scheme in general, and his ability to coach that scheme.
You spend all the time recruiting to put yourselves in the best position to win and to get the players that work for YOUR scheme. Remember when Urban Meyer said "I want to have the fastest team in college football." That's what he recruits, speed, because that's what his scheme entails, speed.
When a guy gets the ball 3 seconds after the ball is snapped and there are 1 maybe 2 guys in position to make a play and 1 is the safety and you have a guy with 4.3 speed it's very hard to defend. That's what his scheme is designed to do. Make it easy on the QB and get the ball out of his hands quickly and into the hands of your speed guys.
He makes you spread your defense out then he hits you up the middle with Tebow, who is a very good runner. Don't get me wrong I understand that Tebow is a great runner but it isn't what makes the offense work. Not at all.
It's not only a game of pick your poison with the QB/RB. He makes you respect receivers on both sides of the field and the misdirection with the RB/QB. They may run a play where he fakes to Rainey on an end around, then Tebow fakes a run up the middle, and quickly turns and throws to the other side of the field to Harvin. In order to stop this play you are going to need atleast 3 guys in position to make the tackle on Rainey and Harvin or your toast due to speed. It's very hard to have 3 guys in position to make a tackle on one sideline AND 3 guys in position to make a tackle on the other sideline. Not to mention you have to worry about the 240 lb QB running up the middle. Then they run the same play over and over again yet the ball ends up in the hands of a different guy. What ends up happening is the defense gambles because they can't possible cover every possiblity and expect to win. Eventually you will gamble and lose, and when you do you are dead. That's why they have so many big plays.
And then if you want to blitz, Urban Meyer is very good at making adjustments, and he can really burn you. If you show where your going to blitz from before the snap, your already dead.
To me, that is scheme. The fact that Rainey runs a 4.3 doesn't make him a great or special player, but in Urban Meyer's offense it makes him very dangerous when added to other guys with speed. I attribute that to scheme.
When you've got a guy that runs a 4.3, your probably not going to get him down with the first defender, doesn't matter how good the player is, just how speed works. That's what Urban's system takes advantage of.
I do agree that Tebow's running ability adds another dangerous element to their offense but it is not what makes their offense go.
When you watch the SEC championship game count how many throws you think are difficult. IMO Tebow's biggest downside as a pro prospect isn't his ability, it is that he isn't challenged due to scheme. He isn't asked to make difficult after difficult throw. Something that you will HAVE to be able to do as an NFL QB. Just like bad OL can ruin a QB, being spoiled with easy throws can limit your progression as a QB.
That's essentially why I think Tebow should come out now, because he isn't progressing as a pro prospect in that UF offense. Add that with the situation in NFL coaching now where you could be done after 1 year. Who is going to take a QB in the first round or two that may need 3 or 4 years of time in the NFL to get where a QB that ran a pro-style scheme in college is? I wouldn't because by the time he came around, I probably wouldn't be the head coach.
Just my opinion.