DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Why can't the spread option work in the NFL?

Spread Option....for that matter you may see the A11 offense in ten years. No one has tried it yet in the NFL but will at some point.

http://a11offense.com/

I think it goes without being said...I love the option If this wasn't part of college football, I probably wouldn't even watch college due to how much I loathe the BCS.

I will be interested to see if a player like Tebow gets drafted/how high he gets drafted and how a team could scheme to use his play making abilities. Time will tell if the option makes it's way more mainstream into the NFL, but I think Tebow could make it happen.

On a side note, that Toledo Rockets comment was a low blow. =/

Tebow is set even if he doesn't get the NFL....though he will probably get a shot and end up a tight end.

The kid will be Governor of Florida by the age of 45.....he is a sharp kid with the right mind.

Seriously. The kid has it right.

Quote:

---

http://a11offense.com/

---

What the hell was that?!

From his link:




The A-11 Offense (All Eleven Players Potentially Eligible) is an innovative new offense that blends aspects of almost every type of offense in the history of football such as the West Coast, Spread Option, Run and Shoot, Shotgun Zone Fly, Wing-T, Single Wing, Notre Dame Box, Triple Option and Veer just to name a few. Teams can use the A-11 as a “package” to supplement their own offense & feature up to eleven players as potential threats, and even two quarterbacks in the shotgun!

HOW IT WORKS:

The A-11 features up to all eleven players wearing an eligible receiver jersey number, either 1-49 or 80- 99, with two quarterbacks in the shotgun formation at 7 yards, and with nobody under center - thereby meeting the criteria for a scrimmage kick formation. In “base” sets, the A-11 Offense has a center, and a tight end on each side, and three wide receivers to the right, and left respectively. By spreading the potentially eligible receivers across the entire field, it forces the defense to account for every possible receiver on each play. Of course, on any given play, only six of those players can go downfield to catch a pass, and the five “covered” players remain ineligible to catch a downfield pass on that particular play.

All it is simply is football's progression of getting athletes in space. Basketball on the football field.

The kid will be Governor of Florida by the age of 45.....he is a sharp kid with the right mind.

1. When did he sign you as his agent?

2. Why do I think you'd have a hard time voting for him if he went to FSU.....

"Like I said...start projecting QBs more in the mold of a running back type, then they don't get killed anymore than does a rb."

Thank you I rest my case...just exactly what is the Career expectency of a RB in the NFL.

JMHPoint. And when you throw the ball you will have a little less protection in the shoulder pads and chest. No need to wait 10 years to know what I know already.

Of course you know it all....carry on...like I said...10 years will tell the tale....until, you only think you know.

j/c

did it burn anyone else up the way it did me....that Miami was getting all the credit for using that 'flash' offense...and that we were in the category of 'copycats'?

I mean, we've done that over the years that we've had Cribbs. We didn't do it as much as Miami, but we certainly did learn it from them.

MNF copycat's itself by continually hiring a new mouth with no knowledge to replace the last one. after they get rid of kornheiser maybe they'll get carrot top. or bill mahr.

somebody make a pukey graemlin lol.

Bill Maher on Monday Night Football. I'm trying to think of something worse and I'm stumped.

instead of the same idiot every monday, they could rotate celebrity guests.

week 1: chuck norris
week 2: bill clinton
week 3: lil john
week 4: dr phil.......you get the picture.

this way i could at least look forward to a fresh reason to be putting my face in my hands. who knows, every once in a while it might work out.



edit: to be on topic, i would think if you draft a guy that has always run that kind of offense,(v. young, a. smith etc) looking at the % of those guys who transition to being great traditional qbs you'd be better off having a blast running that O, drafting another guy quickly and hoping for the best.

i'm sick of seeing these kids get ruined, and in turn ruining coaches, trying to learn something totally different. there are SO many, you can draft em all day long. the traditional ones are much more rare.

Are Don Meredith and Frank Gifford still not alive,..., even Keith Jackson would be better.

Gators' spread offense catching on in the NFL
By Chris Harry | Sentinel staff writer
June 25, 2009

GAINESVILLE - Urban Meyer took a steno pad from the reporter sitting on his office couch and began scribbling away. With two diagrams, the University of Florida coach explained the concepts behind his base offensive formations: the spread and the single wing.

"I'm kind of giving you everything we do here," he said.

Hardly everything, but a brief lesson cracked open a window into Meyer's fascinating world of X's and O's. It's a place that's become a sought-after destination among his peers these days, but that's no revelation given Meyer's astonishing run of championships since arriving in Gainesville.

Some of the folks requesting offseason audiences, however, might come as a surprise.

"Right now, we've been contacted by a minimum of three NFL teams who want to implement a spread element," Meyer said last month. "They're going to do it."

Meyer, of course, wouldn't say which teams, but the general interest in the Gators' playbook has an ironic rub.

In April, one of the hot story lines heading into the NFL draft was how difficult it's become for pro scouts and personnel types to project players from a college spread scheme — with its wider linemen splits, flanked tight ends, bubble-screens and near-exclusive shotgun alignment — to more conventional NFL sets.

Apparently, one of the ways to make that transition smoother is to spread the spread to the NFL.

"It's already here," said Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski, head coach at Boston College the last two seasons. "A lot of teams have it."

Not that many have used it.

Maybe more need to, given what the New England Patriots — be it with maestro Tom Brady or super-sub Matt Cassel — have done with the spread passing game since Bill Belichick began making annual offseason treks to Gainesville (and Meyer to Foxboro, Mass.) the last three years.

And it's probably safe to say more will use it, considering all the Sunday cameos of the so-called "Wildcat" formation — with the same base power off-tackle play Tim Tebow runs so magnificently — made around the league last season, especially with the Miami Dolphins.

"Everyone knows how I feel about Bill Belichick," Meyer said. "How is it that Tom Brady and this guy [Cassel] who never even started a game in college can make it work? Because Bill Belichick adapts. ... And the Miami Dolphins were 0-and-whatever [in '07] and they adapted to what they had. All of a sudden, the running back was taking snaps and they were winning games."

White puts Miami ahead of game

Look for the Dolphins to expand that facet of their offense this season after drafting West Virginia quarterback Pat White, a holy terror in the spread option for the Mountaineers. Tailback Ronnie Brown may have taken the bulk of Wildcat snaps at OTAs and minicamp, while White has struggled. But it's early.

"I think as we get on with this, he'll have some good days," Dolphins Coach Tony Sparano said.

Better than good. Don't be surprised if the Wildcat becomes the "Wild-Pat" once White, who unlike Brown or Ricky Williams brings a legitimate threat to throw the football, gets comfortable back there.

"Now you'd have real double jeopardy," Buccaneers defensive coordinator Jim Bates said.

The Bucs play the Dolphins in 2009. The Patriots, too. It's no coincidence that Bates has several days blocked off in the coming weeks to hole up with his staff and break down the league's latest trend.

Bates is no different than any other defensive coordinator in the NFL. It's no secret that rookies Percy Harvin in Minnesota and Knowshon Moreno in Denver, plus second-year man Felix Jones in Dallas and veteran pro bowler Larry Johnson, have made like Brown during offseason workouts.

Better be ready.

Last year's seminal spread moment came in Week 3 when Brown accounted for five touchdowns (four rushing, one passing) working from the shotgun in the Dolphins' 38-13 blowout road victory against New England — the very team that shattered NFL passing and scoring records operating from a base spread the year before.

That was just the beginning.

"The NFL has always been ahead of the college game, but what's happened now is that so many [college] teams are running some version of the spread, and doing it so well, that it's catching the NFL's attention," ESPN college football analyst Todd Blackledge said. "And these talented players the NFL is getting are so accustomed to it, you now have NFL people thinking that one of the ways to get the most out of them is doing what they're most comfortable with."

Meyer estimated that three-quarters of the high school tape he sees shows offenses lining up in the spread. Last season, nearly half the teams in the Bowl Championship Series conferences (31 of 65) worked from spread-based offenses.

Next up: the next level.

Getting down to the basics

The spread's basic passing theory has been in the NFL a long time. Five receivers out in pass routes have to be accounted for by five defenders. That sixth defender (either a linebacker or defensive back) either goes after the quarterback or acts as a safety valve. Assuming the latter, the quarterback is looking at five one-on-one matchups. Basic stuff.

"People have always said — way before Urban Meyer — that one of the ways to protect your quarterback is to run spread offense as much as you can," said former Fox color analyst Brian Baldinger, now with the NFL Network. "That goes back to Bill Walsh."

The principles of the spread running game go back a lot further than that, a hundred years or so. When the quarterback is a constant threat to run, the defense loses its numbers advantage.

UF's offense would not be anywhere as effective without the power running game rooted in the single-wing, a formation that dates to Pop Warner and the early 1900s. The cyclical nature of football has brought the single-wing back into coaches' collective consciences, but in combination with a spread element that creates space and tries to force matchup nightmares for a defense.

"You load up one side of the field and see how the defense reacts," CBS color analyst and pro football Hall of Famer Dan Fouts said. "You're looking for mismatches."

The spread formation, by mere definition, gives offenses a head start by horizontally stretching the defense across the field. That creates more space for defenders to cover. That principle — whether the master's name was Brown, Gillman, Walsh, Coryell or Gibbs — has been used to open up the passing game for decades.

The spread wave set to break over the NFL will feature a read running game (yes, option football) using a tailback, like the Atlanta Falcons ran on occasion with Michael Vick, combined with the power that an extra lead blocker (the Aaron Hernandez role for the Gators) provides the quarterback, who is alone in the backfield and taking the snap from the single-wing formation.

That's where the Pat Whites come in.

Or, one day, the Tim Tebows.

Rethinking the quarterback

Front offices, for years, have invested high draft picks for kick returners because of their ability to impact a game with a sudden change in field position. What then would be the value of a player like White, who may only take a half-dozen snaps in a game, but whose skills can keep a defense so off-balance and get 4 or 5 yards per run? Not to mention the additional threat as a passer.

Think Devin Hester Lite on offense.

"It'd be difficult to ask a guy like that to play every down," Blackledge said. "But here and there, in certain situations — red zone, goal line, short yardage — yeah, you're talking about something defenses better be prepared for."

That's why Meyer thinks White could be a game-changer in the pros; not only a different sort of weapon at quarterback, but one in a very different place relative to quarterbacks and the salary cap.

"Everybody's concern is the guy is making $27.8 million," Meyer said, referring to a typical franchise NFL quarterback. "Are you really willing to get him hit like that?"

Meyer hopped off his couch and stood in the middle of his office, assuming the bent throwing position a quarterback works from in the pocket. It's in that position, he reminded, that quarterbacks like Brady and Carson Palmer have suffered devastating, season-ending injuries the last few years, as defenders rolled into a lead leg that was planted to throw the ball.

"It's the only time he's ever locked," Meyer said.

Meyer's teams throw from the pocket, too, but the versatility of the spread's option makes for double trouble.

Former Tampa Bay Coach Jon Gruden has wondered who'd win a collision between the 240-pound he-man Tebow and the Bucs 240-pound middle linebacker Barrett Ruud, but few have dared — and may ever — put a franchise quarterback in that sort of harm's way every snap.

But what about a designated spread-option quarterback?

"That's where I think a guy like Pat White could change the [NFL] game a little bit," Meyer said.

Even a guy like Vick, as elusive as any player in league history, got knocked around enough that the Falcons, who led the league in rushing, pulled back on their use of spread. And the Tennessee Titans' Vince Young, a spread star and national champion at Texas, not only has failed to improve on his 2006 Rookie of the Year season, he's regressed, especially with his passing.

"I don't think you can serve two gods in this game," Baldinger said of the NFL. "I don't think you can be a great running quarterback and a great throwing quarterback."

But don't be surprised if some NFL team, starting with the Dolphins, tries to have one of each. If league rosters are expanded with the next collective-bargaining agreement (as expected), a designated spread quarterback could be as common as a long-snapper.

"We draft guys into this league that play in the spread offense," Bucs Coach Raheem Morris said. "I don't know why the offense can't get drafted, too."

Neither does Meyer. That's why his office phone is ringing.

"If you know me, you know I think any offense can work if you put the right personnel back there," Meyer said. "Offenses are overrated. People are not."

The word is spreading.

Chris Harry can be reached at charry@orlandosentinel.com.

Answer: Or part of it. It depends on people catching the ball (BE & Stall-worth-less- than-before-now); it relies on ability to make quick reads; routes run to proper depth, and an OC allowed and encouraged to throw upfield regularly. It really gets in the penalties til we punt dropsy offense we had in place. Only surprise was the kneeldowns as far as i was concerned.

Excellent read Held.

Thanks! One of the better posts lately. Good stuff.

The spread will change the way college football is played (mainly on D) no doubt. However, just like all the "trick" offenses of the past eventually the bigger schools will start recruiting smaller, faster, and most importantly disciplined players, and the spread will die like the rest of the fad Os. Yeah Peen.........check back in 10 years, and the spread will be a thing of the past. I do think you guys will probably still run it with Myer, because like Nebraska or Oklahoma and the wishbone, you guys can recruit the kind of athletes that can make your O work.

However, the hangers on will start trying to find a new way to beat the big boys, and the spread will be a fun meaningless football trivia question...lol.


Oh and this crap never sniffs becoming a standard O in the NFL for many of the reasons eotab listed. The trick bullcrap can work in college, because the difference in talent is immense. The NFL is a different ballgame.

Trick offense??

All offense is trick offense when you get right down to it..

Passing the ball was considered a trick offense at one time.

We'll see.

The article posted by held seems to counter what you and Eo proclaim. Looks like more teams are heading in that direction, and when it works, they will use it more and more, and other teams will start making it a bigger part of their O, just as teams 60 years ago decided they better get a few pass plays in the playbook.

It isn't about tricking people, it is about spreading the field and creating match-up problems.

As the article indicated, you start running out of the qb position, you now equalize the numbers advantage the D currently has.

Add in what i said earlier and the article says...colleges are only getting spread players these days because that is what HS players play...and now that is what colleges are playing. In a few years the pros aren't going to have any other players to select.....shoot...OSU is going spread if you need further proof.

It really isn't hard to understand.

"Of course you know it all....carry on."

You know - you guys have to get over the fact that I'm not insulting you nor blowing my horn when I post. I'm just having a football conversation. Instead of commenting on the "FOOTBALL" point that I was establishing your decision was to feed on your concept that I'm claiming some sort of victory because I know everything. Which was not the case. Go read my post over again and quit the bs stuff. No where was I stating I know more, everything. What I do know is if you devise an Offensive scheme in the NFL that your QB will get hit...he ain't going to last. Just cause you wish to put a mystery upon your Gator coach (excuse me for not bowing down to the spread) and his offense does not mean we can speculate a result of running the Spread. The QB will get killed - one of the reasons why we don't run a Wishbone either.

My apologies again for using a word like "KNOW" I'll try and be more careful

Held...no doubt all the NFL teams are looking to get some sort of Wildcat, Veer, Flash, Gator spread offense into their playbooks. They also want defenses to spend a day game planning for it which would leave one less day for preparation on the basic Offense.

One thing I have seen over the years and that is once a NEW offense is devised and put it there might be short term success. But with some very brilliant X's n O's defensive coaches and tremendous athletes - Defenses always catch up with the Offensive Scheme.

Also in the article I notice this from Meyer:

"Everybody's concern is the guy is making $27.8 million," Meyer said, referring to a typical franchise NFL quarterback. "Are you really willing to get him hit like that?"
Meyer hopped off his couch and stood in the middle of his office, assuming the bent throwing position a quarterback works from in the pocket. It's in that position, he reminded, that quarterbacks like Brady and Carson Palmer have suffered devastating, season-ending injuries the last few years, as defenders rolled into a lead leg that was planted to throw the ball.
"It's the only time he's ever locked," Meyer said.

1. As a college coach he will only have his player for 3-4 years then he moves on...what does he know of the long term effects and longevity in his offense. Sure we all know that our bodies at 18-22 can take a beating and come back...And just what about our bodies when we hit 30???

2. The premise that he is suggesting look at the pocket passer and his injuries as the plant and throw will have the front leg stiff. Well we have seen many a none plant legs rolled up on and cause a knee injury too.

What Meyer fails to see is that in the NFL and the QB in the pocket they have virtually made it as comfortable as possible regarding vulnerability. Every rule we have implemented is to protect the QB - WHEN IN THE POCKET!!!.

In the NFL once that QB leaves the pocket...he is now a RB and is fair game to a lot more punishment and teams will take advantage of the opportunity to hit that QB!!

3. There is no team in college that has the Speed and strength of 11 plus back ups and role players of the Worst NFL Defense. Closing time, Verocity of the hits disguises made by the defenses in coverage. All the while what Meyer suggests is that his QB (even though he states they do throw from the pocket also) will fare better on the run...What he doesn't state is that in the NFL this also helps the Defenses eventually as it also cuts down on the Horizontal spread as the QB is committing to half the field. Unless he stops and plants that leg as he throws and there is no rule protecting the QB out there on a defender going into the legs.

There is no doubt in my mind there will be an initial success with any new offense...but at some point the Defenses will catch up with it in the X's n O's and once a defensive plan is devised...all will see it on film and implement it and build on it in their own defensive schemes.

Sure Fouts is touting the throw throw throw dream of any QB...betcha Kosar too - Walsh, eehhhh I don't think so I'm sure they all can find a blurb stated by Walsh to accomodate their beliefs...if so then Why didn't Walsh do so.

I've seen the Run n Shoot come into the NFL and fail...Let Urban Meyers leave the Gators and come into the NFL with his offense...lets see when was the last time that happened...oh wow, Ex-Gator coach Spurrier and his Throw Offense we all saw how well that went over.

JMHO - 10 years it will be in the garbage pile of extinct Offense...oh wait I forgot that is where Meyer picked it up from. 100 years ago it was all the rage.

Wow...you Rip Van Winkle or something

You are pulling up comments made in Oct and getting bent out of shape.

We can both sleep on it for 10 years and revisit the topic then because for now we just simply disagree....or did old Rip sleep 20 years??

Somethings are ageless...lol

hey I didn't remember the post and scrolled up to my last one to see what I had said to not repeat myself too much...read your post. No idea it was from Oct. and btw, never did I get bent out of shape...but thanks for your apology

Funny thing is I felt like I just wrote that a week ago. Anyways if you wish to opine on what I did state in opinion feel free. Hope the summer so far has been good to you and yours.

enjoy

Quote:

---

Tebow is set even if he doesn't get the NFL....though he will probably get a shot and end up a tight end.

The kid will be Governor of Florida by the age of 45.....he is a sharp kid with the right mind.

---

If the kid is that bright, he'll stay the hell away from politics.

Both camps are right in this one ... well kinda ... If I had to pick a side I;d go with tabber ... cause no way does an O even remotely close to Urban Liars come to fruitation in the NFL .. NO WAY ... tabbers right .. the QB wouldn't last through week 8 if they were lucky enough to get that far ..

remember sumptin in Urban Liars O the QB is a MAJOR MAJOR PART of the running game .. I bet Tebow has led the team in all rushing categories over the last 2 years ..... and thats not an O that is ever going to be even close to utilized in the NFL .. and when U take away the QB's rushing option from the form of the spread that the Liar runs with Tebow (or with Leak or Smith at Utah) .. well u can't do it ..

I mean look at the example that they give .. the Pats .. how many times a game does Brady run ... I bet he averages less than a carry a game over his career .. but now were ging to spread the field so when the opportuity presents itself we can utiliaze his running abilities .. *LOL* ,,, ya ... OK .

some of the spread philosophies (witch date back to the run and shoot and air Correyel) are incorporated into the Pats passing game .. THATS IT .. sorry Held but no way are u going to see this spreading and being utilized as other than a gimmick in the NFL ... it will be used like the wildcat or a variation n the wildcat (Miami appears ready to take the next step with P. White) .. but no way is it more than a gimmick ...

when the fish see a team they can gain mismatches all game long u may see them use it as there base O for 50% or more of a game once or twice a year ... but other than that it will garmer less than 10% of there snaps a game ..

and my guess is when they get a REAL NFL QB the % of plays per game it is used goes down ..

a form of the spread will be incorporated into teams passing games ... and it will be used as a gimmick O once in awhilein games for teams that are QB defecient ... but NO WAY IS IT THE O OF THE FUTURE ....

the QB's just can not take the pounding at this level ... and there is a bunch of other factors that go into it .. like the CALIBER OF PLAY and the accuracy requirments for a QB ...

so like i said ... oth campes have some truth to what there saying here .. but the spread will have a limited use in the NFL .. watch what happens to Tebow in the NFL ... a team will draft him and try and run a form of the spread .. and he will get killed and prove to be a very inaccurate QB ....

and peenie .. before u get all defensive .. I like the kid .. hes got a good head on his shoulder and does a great job in college ... his skill set will just not transer into the nfl .. he is a PEFECT QB for the college spread ... not so much for any type of nfl O ..

I don't believe it will ever be the base offense for all 32 NFL teams. But I do think there will be a team in the next five years that does run it and I could see up to 1/3rd of NFL teams running it as their base.

Why?

1. It does spread the field horizontally.
2. It does negate the 10 on 11 advantage.
3. There are a glut of QBs in college and even more in HS that can run it very effectively.

and....drumroll.....

4. It is my contention that there are fewer than 16 NFL teams that have effective pocket passing QBs. And that number will continue to fall because of the offenses installed by colleges and HS.

It will be a necessity that some teams go to the spread option and teams will be able to carry 4 very good SO QBs.

Quote:

---

It will be a necessity that some teams go to the spread option and teams will be able to carry 4 very good SO QBs.

---

if that were to happen and the browns was one of those teams, the debates on this board would be epic...

1st i'll cover your whys .. then we'll go to the why nots ..

Quote:

---

1. It does spread the field horizontally.

---

so did the run and shoot ... as does the West Coast O .. so what is so special about this O compared to how it spreads the field horizanally ....

horizonal does mean sideline to sideline .. correct ... if not I'll get back to u after I;m corrected ..

gotta run .. be back later for the rest of the why's .. and then the why nots ...

ah hell .. one more ...

Quote:

---

2. It does negate the 10 on 11 advantage.

---

really??? .. theres been a host of QB's that have done that over the last 20 years ... and only one was a succesful NFL QB while they ran a majority of the time ... ...

so how are these guys any different??

what makes them so different than guys like Vick and Young and a host of other "atheletic" QB's .... I can tell U in a nano second what the "spread" QB's ahve in common with them in a negative sense ... but u go ahead and tell me WHY THERE DIFFERENT IN A GOOD WAY ..

ok .. be back later ...

j/c

I get a kick out of all these "special" offenses or defenses......the west coast, the spread option, the run and shoot - the 46 defense, the cover 2, the cover 3. All these fancy names - new names - the latest and greatest.

Defense comes down to being in the right place at the right time and tackling. No more, no less. Yes, a scheme can help - but you need the players as well.

Offense comes down to blocking correctly and passing accuracy - no more, no less. (well, and obviously, having the players that can do it).

Any "scheme" can be effective with the right technique and players - just as any scheme can be terrible.

wasn't talking about those two .... they never even entered my mind .... Fran was a great QB who SCRAMBLED ... he didn't run a ton ...

Flutie was not a good NFL QB .. love the guy .. but his NFL career basically consisted of a cup of coffee and he did nuttin note worthy .....

and both these guys .. were way to small to be SPREAD OFFENSE QB'S ... good luck running them 10 - 15 times a game over a 16 game schedule ..

Quote:

---

3. There are a glut of QBs in college and even more in HS that can run it very effectively.

---

U need to define run it affectively .. U really do ... I mean the poster child for the spread 3 years ago was Alex Smith ... are u saying if he went to an NFL team and they ran a spread O he'd be all that and a bag of chips ....

putting him in a spread O in the NFL would not take him from SCRAP HEAP to an efficient/affective NFL QB ...

U need to take into account the level of play at the 2 levels ... 9throwing HS in is pretty funny ... *LOL* .. ..) ..

at the end of the day ... MOST MAJOR COLLEGE PROGRAMS DON'T RUN A SPREAD .. go ahead .. take a look around .. go to the MAJOR CONFRENENCES and tell me what u see ..

one of the best "spread" QB's in college was V. Young ( U can call it what u want .. i believe they caled it a veer ... but it was a spread O when it was all said and done) ... go take al look at what type of O there running now ... they have a QB that can THROW THE BALL ... there not doing the 11 vs 11 thing anymore ... WHY IS THAT?? ...

so please do me two things ...

1. DEFINE AFFECTIVE ...

2. take a look at the major college programs and colleges and see just how many are actually running the spread ...

Quote:

---

4. It is my contention that there are fewer than 16 NFL teams that have effective pocket passing QBs.

---

I'm going to get a little nit picky here .. even though i do agree with your basic premise ....

Stilers, Bungles, (could include the rats here but i am not even close to sold on Flacco so i won't) .. Pats, Chargers, Chiefs, Titans (Collins), Colts, Texans, Giants, Eagles, Cowboys, Packers, Vikings (Favre will be there), Bears, Saints, Falcons, Rams, Cardinals and Seahawks ... thats 19 .. so even if u take 3 away .. were still at 16 ... and U can add the Browns to that list toot sweet ... ..

but i actually agree with U .... there is a void at the QB position in the NFL .. problem is.. U just ASSume cause some of these guys can do it HS and College (and i believe U highly over rate the # of guys that can do it AFFECTIVELY in college ..) they could do it inthe NFL ...

well it just ain't so .. its very easy to recruit for a spread O in college .. good luck DRAFTING for it int he NFL ... and its just not the QB's ... its the WR's (what 5 WR's would we put on the field if we went to the spread .. *LOL*) ..

and what about the RB ... U have to basicaly find a RB with a FB mentality .. they have to be willing to be a minor part of the O .... they would need to be good at picking up blitzes and being a decoy in both the running and passing games ...

and then theres the OLman ... different ass skill and mind set ..

and then the WR's .. good luck finding and drafting guys like Harvin and then KEEPING THEM HEALTHY ..

Naa .. sorry bro . the TRUE spread is like the wishbone ... great for HS and college .. but never going to catch on in the NFL ..

PS. .. I didn't even get into the QB and the fact that U need accurate QB's to throw the ball in the NFL .. and many of the spread guys ... just aren't that accurate . there accurate enough in college .. but in the NFL they won't have guys running wide open all over the field ... no matter how horizanally U spread the field ...

Why does everybody think you need new crap in football. Keep it simple, Run the ball, stop the run, win the war in the trenches, and you win more than you lose.

"and peenie .. before u get all defensive .. I like the kid .."

Just wanted to go on record...I think Tebow will be one of the all time Great QBs in the NFL. I'm curious where he will go in the draft. Of course the History of Meyer QBs in the NFL will not favor him...but the kid is like no other Meyer ever had.

I see a more athletic Ben Roth...I know what has he done so far but win 2 SBs.

JMHO

I'll take your comments one at a time. Sorry if this causes board bloat.

Quote:

---

1. It does spread the field horizontally.

---

so did the run and shoot ... as does the West Coast O .. so what is so special about this O compared to how it spreads the field horizanally ....

horizonal does mean sideline to sideline .. correct ... if not I'll get back to u after I;m corrected ..

---

The run and shoot is a good example here that you gave. The spread option has 5 players in space bringing opposing defenses out of the "box". Basically if you're an opposing defense you have to bring in DBs and replace them with either LBs (usually) or DL (sometimes). You're getting them out of their base defense and making them defend sideline to sideline because you have 5 spaced players down field.

The west coast is a bad example. It was predicated on 3 step and 5 step QB timing routes and it rarely had more than a few players running routes. It was a way to efficiently pass the ball quickly in passing plays that mimicked marching down the field with the running game.

A team can still defend the west coast with their base defense. You're moving to short timing routes which can be horizontal and more throws to the RB out of the backfield but you're not necessitating teams to defend differently.

I guess a better way of putting it is that the spread O is stretching the field horizontally while keeping major downfield responsibility. Does that make sense?