Let's begin with this . . .

“Last year we learned how to win, start winning those closer games, but now we didn’t know how to finish it. So I feel like this year, we know how to win, we know how to finish, this is the year. It’s building blocks, like everything you do in life – you have to crawl before you can walk.”

These were the words of All-American cornerback Jalen Tabor a little more than six months ago, the day before Florida would begin preseason practice in early August. The wounds of the three-game losing streak to end the 2015 season lingered, tempering a bit the fast 6-0 start and eventual SEC East title in head coach Jim McElwain’s first season.

Indeed, the term “finish” was the simple mantra surrounding the Gators entering the 2016 campaign. Yet after a second season that was nearly a mirror reflection of the predecessor, “finish” can be resurrected again if so desired this August.

Simply put, Florida didn’t “finish” for the second consecutive season, crawling home at 3-3 in the final six games after a 6-1 start, similar to the 4-4 ledger in the second half of 2015 which followed the glittering 6-0 opening. September and October have been times to celebrate – November and December, not so much.

While the reasons for the fizzle are numerous, and pointing to merely one element as the prime culprit would be a tad short-sighted, there’s no disputing the Gators’ efficiency on offense nose-dived dramatically in the second half of 2016.

"I would challenge us to be dramatically better," McElwain said. "Now, are we going to get to where we are eventually going to be in the program? No. But with that being said, I think the experience we developed up front is going to be very helpful. And I'm going to challenge those guys to help us get a little better.”

Again, some more dialogue from August that will surely be resurrected next summer, although McElwain wasted no time to issue the challenge to the offensive line just moments after the victory over Iowa in last month’s Outback Bowl. Upgrading the performance of the offensive line is absolutely paramount if there’s going to be progress made in 2017.

We’d previously detailed Florida’s ineffective running game, with the total of 1,667 yards rushing reflecting the lowest output since 2001. The struggles on the ground led to dramatic drops in both third-down efficiency and Red Zone production in the second half of the season as well.

While the Gators were breezing to another fast start in 2016, the third-down numbers were among the nation’s best – 58 conversions in 115 attempts through the first seven games, a healthy 50.4 percent. But beginning with the disaster in Fayetteville, the wheels came off in just about every category, but nowhere as glaring as on third down, when the Gators went 22 of 77 in the final six contests, plummeting to a measly 28.6 percent.

The Red Zone numbers were equally uneven, although the Gators had trouble scoring touchdowns once inside the 20-yard line all season, finding the endzone just 20 times in 40 Red Zone trips. Above all else, that glaring number – touchdowns on only 50 percent of the possessions deep in opponent’s territory – simply has to change.

But let’s delve a little deeper into the Red Zone carnage, because not all possessions are the same. A drive where a team gets a third-and-9 on the opponent’s 19 is considered just like first-and-goal at the 1-yard line when computing Red Zone efficiency, and obviously, there’s a slight difference. So let’s take a look at Florida’s production close to the goal line instead.

In 13 games this past season, Florida made it inside the opponents’ 10-yard line 28 times, prime touchdown territory. In those 28 possessions, the Gators managed 15 touchdowns and six field goals, while failing to score a whopping seven times – 25 percent. Out of a possible 196 total points (based on 28 touchdowns), the Gators wound up with 123, or 62.8 percent of the maximum.

Blame it on poor play-calling (the first-and-goal sequence in the third quarter against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game was a horrendous example) along with sloppy execution (quarterback Austin Appleby fumbled three times in the shadow of the goal line, with the Gators losing two), but the offense was nowhere close to strong enough to survive all those squandered opportunities.

And once again, there was a pretty strong division between the first half and the second half of the season. In the first 14 attempts inside the 10-yard line – through halftime of the Vanderbilt game – Florida’s efficiency was outstanding, yielding 10 touchdowns, two field goals and two empty possessions, 76 of a maximum 98 points, or 77.6 percent.

In the final 14 drives inside the foes’ 10-yard line, the dropoff was glaring – just five touchdowns and four field goals, with five opportunities coming up empty. That’s 47 points out of a potential 98, an awful 48.0 percent efficiency.

Yes the Gators certainly have to show improvement in every facet on the offensive side, no stone unturned. But being efficient is critical to success in all phases – third-down production helps keep the defense off the field, aids field position as well. Certainly converting when near the opposition goal line speaks for itself.

To that end, the Gators must develop what we like to call the “bread-and-butter,” the plays to pull out on third-and-goal from the 5-yard line, plus the go-to players who can be trusted to deliver at the most critical moments. All great teams sport both, and for two years, the Gators have found neither.

Can that silly Jumbo package (please!) and develop a handful of plays the coaches and players are confident can be executed with the game on the line. Perhaps more critical, designate the handful of reliable players near the goal line and utilize their skills, especially in the passing game. No receiver had more than three touchdown catches this past season, a year after no receiver caught more than four. Somebody, or maybe more than one somebody, must be established as touchdown-makers.

So expect to hear the idea of “finishing” once again, implemented on a broad, across-the-board basis in 2017. But using a more refined lens, the Gators must improve dramatically in their ability to “finish” offensively inside the 10-yard line. There is nothing more critical if taking the next step is to be achieved in Year Three under McElwain.