Spread Offense Dying?

[rock454]

While I agree that it probably isn't going to die, being strictly a spread team can only get you so far. I was actually wonering last week if RRod was actually stupid enough to keep using his spread this week and let Toledo have a chance or if he would just suck it up and get the easy win with defense and just pushing Toledo down the field... glad to see he didn't surprise me...

 

[Jake]

The "spread offense" is just a glorified version of the single wing. Like all offenses, it comes down to talent and execution, and that includes play calling by the coaches. Defenses will always adjust, and only the best coaches will make their scheme work over the long haul.

What concerns me is OSU has tried multiple offenses with limited success over JT's tenure. He's a fine man, and his defense and special teams are solid every year, but his offenses have underachieved in light of the talent on the roster. We've won a lot of games, but I still feel like we aren't getting the most of our talent offensively, and hope we can improve on that in the future.

 

[Nutriaitch]

Spread looked pretty healthy last night.

 

[ScriptOhio]

It isn't dying. Some people just don't understand it. They just need to read DickRod's new book:

 

[sandgk]

It isn't dying. Some people just don't understand it. They just need to read DickRod's new book:

Best post of the day.

 

[Sportsbuck28]

What it will no longer do and, really, no longer does is serve as an equalizer. Kids have now played against it since middle school, coaches have coached against it for years, and half of college football runs it..

Doesn't serve as an equalizer any longer? Check out the majority of the upsets from the past year+, the team that upsets the other will most likely have a spread offense.

The spread as well as any other system, requires the right personel to click and work. Look at Auburn and Michigan, they obviously don't have the right personel.

And on another note I don't think you can say the spread in general is dying when 12 of the Top 25 teams in the country run it. With all of the different variations of it (Florida, WVU, Texas Tech, etc. with differences) I don't think it will truly be stopped or die out.

 

[sandgk]

What it will no longer do and, really, no longer does is serve as an equalizer. Kids have now played against it since middle school, coaches have coached against it for years, and half of college football runs it.

Bring on the A-11!!

New movement!!

(In three years we may see A-11 in AA!! which would make it AAAAAAAAAAA.)

 

[daveeb]

The spread is a gimmick. It's a parlor trick. Like most parlor tricks, it only works if the opposing team doesn't hit the hardest, doesn't start the fastest, and is full of people who aren't smart enough to avoid mistakes. Case and point: Why Pitt beat WVU last year. Yes, it was a huge upset. But, Pitt hit the hardest, Pitt prevented WVU from starting fast, and Pitt was smart enough to avoid mistakes (Coincidentally, the whole basis of the 'Backyard Brawl' is the fact that Pitt thinks WVU is full of kids that aren't smart enough to get into Pitt, and WVU hates Pitt for thinking that).

Diversity is the key. High diversity, actually. Teams need to be able to line up in the shotgun, in the pistol, and in the I-Form. And, they need to be able to do each one rather effectively and with a diverse level of playcalls to the extent that teams don't know what is coming. Guys, if Jay Paterno can figure that out, we all can. Come on, he's the guy who started Anthony Frickin' Morielli over Daryll Clark last year.

 

[Dryden]

When has a spread team won the NC? It is great for springing a mid level team into the top 10. But the same element of unpredictability that makes it work makes a team upset prone.

Oklahoma in 2000? That was Mike Leach's offense that he installed the year before ('99). Josh Heupel finished 2nd in the Heisman voting.

Quentin Griffin was the team's leading rusher and only averaged 65 yards per game.

 

[NFBuck]

Oklahoma in 2000? That was Mike Leach's offense that he installed the year before ('99). Josh Heupel finished 2nd in the Heisman voting.

Quentin Griffin was the team's leading rusher and only averaged 65 yards per game.

...and therein lies the problem of the "spread" label. It has so many variations, it's kind of just a catch all now. The version of the spread WVU ran is much, much different than the TTU or Hawaii version from last year.

 

[billmac91]

Oklahoma in 2000? That was Mike Leach's offense that he installed the year before ('99). Josh Heupel finished 2nd in the Heisman voting.

Quentin Griffin was the team's leading rusher and only averaged 65 yards per game.

I'd consider Texas' championship offense a spread...it was a read option, spread offense. They utilized 3 wideouts, a nasty TE in Thomas, and then Selvin Young/Jamal Charles.

UF also ran a spread with Urban Meyer.

LSU incorporated a lot of spread looks although they smashed when they had too....but LSU used lots of 4 wide looks.

 

[jwinslow]

When has a spread team won the NC?

:moo:

14. Carefully cloak all of my posts in a level of sarcasm such that when I say something really stupid nobody can tell if I am being serious or not (this includes purposely skipping numbers in numbered lists).

 

[shetuck]

:moo:

:bull:

 

[Buckskin86]

NFL shies away from spread offense because it puts QB at too much risk.
NFL ? Spread offense not en vogue because it usually puts the team's highest paid player at too much risk.
By Omar Kelly | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
February 1, 2009

The NFL is usually leery of shotgun quarterbacks coming out of spread offenses, which explains why Florida's Tim Tebow, a Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion, was projected as a possible third-round pick before deciding to return to UF for his senior season.

"Tebow is a thrower, not a passer," said one AFC scout, who also has concerns about Percy Harvin's route-running skills. "We need to see [Tebow] make read progressions."

It doesn't help that few quarterbacks from spread offenses have had success as pro starters. Alex Smith, who played under Meyer at Utah, was the No. 1 pick of the 2005 draft. His stalled 49ers career and horrendous touchdown-to-interception ratio (19-31) ? makes a strong argument against drafting spread passers.

"If the quarterback is in the gun all the time, it's a struggle," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "There are some positives to it, but a lot of negatives. ? But with Florida's recent success you're seeing a little bit more of it."

However, it's not just spread quarterbacks being hurt come evaluation time.

Offensive tackles are often in a two-point stance instead of having a hand in the ground.

Tight ends are typically flexed out as receivers, and as a result are usually undersized and have raw blocking skills.

NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said he's had to search hard for game film of Missouri's Chase Coffman, one of the top tight ends of the 2009 draft class, working as a blocker.

Receiver routes in the spread are typically zero to 11 yards downfield, but the most critical passes in the NFL are intermediate routes that run 11 to 20 yards.

To combat the influence of the spread, NFL scouts say defenses are becoming smaller because of the need to be quicker. As a result, college linebackers are increasingly becoming the size of NFL safeties, and college safeties the size of NFL cornerbacks.

"It's hard for the NFL to get a read on every position. But what I tell my buddies in the NFL is 'Get use to it fellas because that spread's not going away,'" Mayock said. "You are going to have to learn how to evaluate these kids."

NFL shies away from spread offense because it puts QB at too much risk. -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

 

[smithlabs]

There are differences between spread offenses. RR's offense was very innovative a few years back but he isn't flexable or adaptive. If he could adapt he wouldn't start 3-9 at every school he goes to. He would tailor his offense to the kids (e.g. Mallet) who he has. The problem with RR's spread is its inability to adapt. I believe that several coaches out there have already "solved" this offense (e.g. South Florida). I also believe the way he left West Virginia will not encourage his friends protect his trade secrets. Also, Dickybody is in the big league now with really smart people who spend a lot of time trying to beat him. The spread might not be dead as a whole but sooner or later Dickwad's spread will be if he can't adapt. I guess the question is do you trust a man who drove a 5* quarterback and lineman off the team, went 3-9 and lost to Toledo.