LE SPREAD AND THE PRO GAME
by Orson on Feb 22, 2008 11:10 AM EST
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PrintSeeing the spread game eventually filter into the pro game didn't surprise: despite the fact they lost in the Super Bowl to the Giants, the Patriots enjoyed freefire success working out of spread sets all year long, a tweak by OC Matt Cassel Josh McDaniels that had the Patriots quick-and-gone passing game looking a lot like they were videotaping Florida and LSU practices. (It's not Tom Brady's fault that the Giants looked like they had eight defensive linemen on every play; it's just that Osi Umemyiora's scat play gave him superhuman powers, and you can't fight that...at least not without washing your hands vigorously afterwards.)
And with the mention of Osi Umenyiora's sexual proclivities...Marmite looks so much tastier now, doesn't it?
Football Outsiders, being the geek crack dealers they are, include this tidbit of tidbits in their draft prep review:
...Most interesting were his comments about what the increase of the spread offense in college football has done to player evaluation. It was McCloughans belief that drive-blocking has been de-emphasized, and pass protection over-emphasized. While this may mirror certain trends in the pro game, McCloughan said that its almost a relief to scout a more traditional offense like USCs.
He also said that increasing numbers of three- and four-wide sets are changing the tight end position youll see more guys who were previously thought to be too short at 6-foot-2 or 6-3 being evaluated as tight ends/hybrid receivers as opposed to H-backs. The obvious question was: How will new 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who has traditionally thrown less to tight ends then most, work with Vernon Davis? The answer seemed to be: Dont be surprised to see him spread out wide more often. This is a case where the college game may be affecting the professional trend over time.
There's a chicken/egg question here: are you going to see spread sets more often in the pros because of its effectiveness (see: Pats' 07), or because that's the recipe the goods coming up the pipeline work best in? (My, that's a mixed metaphor: cuisine, petrochemical delivery systems.) The scenario itself seems odd: the spread came about as a result of trying to create mismatches and spread the field to create both running and passing lanes. Sounds nice enough, in theory.
Now one nice thing about doing that is that someone on the field in college cannot cover their space effectively. By giving them more space and more of a penalty for making an error--slip a tackle, and the ballcarrier could be clear from hell to breakfast behind you--you're maximizing your chances of advancing the ball. In theory, the advantage is the same in the pros, but a few things happen at the pro level that prove to be murderous complications for the spread.
1. Pressure. The level of athleticism on the defensive side of the ball in the pros represents a different species of human beings. Julius Peppers is on defense; this alone should get the point across. If you blitz in the pros against a spread formation, the read and delivery have to be done in nano seconds. Put a Leftwich back there, and it's wolves shredding flesh all day long. Get pressure with only four, and we're talking "Eli Manning, Super Bowl Champion."
2. Coverage. All pro DBs can tackle. All of them. They can't all cover, DeAngelo Hall hi!, but they can all tackle and beat blocks, more often than not. This means a lot of the three and five yard curls are incompletions, and the jailbreak runs after the catch are greatly limited. One effect of the West Coast offense was to turn DBs into tacklers as sure-handed as linebackers, and with the Walsh School running as the conventional wisdom of the NFL, the effect remains.
As for the return of the H-back, that's less significant, and another lead taken from the college game. Hugeass receivers: that's what tight ends become in the spread, for the most part. Look at Missouri for what TEs will be in the evolving spread: dynamic receivers, and big blockers when need be, but essentially just large moving objects in space like everyone else...albeit ones the size of moose running full-speed down the field. Have fun tackling Vernon Davis in space! It'll feel like cotton candy sparkles and ponies!
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No offense Orson . . . Matt Cassel is the #2 QB for the Pats. Their offensive coordinator is Josh McDaniels.
by That 5.0 Guy on Feb 22, 2008 11:12 AM EST reply actions
Your confusion is understandable – I think they are the same age.
by maskedavenger on Feb 22, 2008 11:20 AM EST reply actions
And neither one gets credit for existing behind the glorious image of Tom Brady.
by That 5.0 Guy on Feb 22, 2008 11:21 AM EST reply actions
All pro DB’s can tackle?
Do you remember a certain Mr. Deion Sanders?
by oc phil on Feb 22, 2008 11:26 AM EST reply actions
“looking a lot like they were videotaping Florida and LSU practices. " — I was going to call you out but apparently its true Urban Meyer is in cahoots with Belichick:
http://www.fanblogs.com/florida/007473.php
It would be pretty bad ass if Tom Brady retired early to fuck super models and Tim Tebow took over the reigns in a couple years for the Pats.
by Brian on Feb 22, 2008 11:30 AM EST reply actions
My dad and I were having a similar conversation about this the other day.
We were wondering if running backs and guys of the like who are very successful in the spread are really given a good look in the pros because of the vastly different offenses they have to run in.
He being older than I said it’s the same thing that we saw w/ the wishbone, veer, and option etc. sets in the past
I think this will have a similar effect. One team learns to utilize it and other teams pick it up. Eventually defenses learn to stop it ( well… some … hint hint OSU) and a new offense comes around that makes DCs have to rework their offenses.
by ThreenOut on Feb 22, 2008 11:35 AM EST reply actions
One of my co-workers is really close friends with Osi- went to the Super Bowl and Pro Bowl with him. I’ve thought about asking him about the whole poop thing, but I think it may be better to bite my tongue on this one.
by MiseanAuFan on Feb 22, 2008 12:18 PM EST reply actions
There are far too many offensive coordinators in the NFL who insist on running their system even if they don’t have the personnel for it to make me think that the players available will never again dictate the type of offense an NFL team uses. To be fair, that’s not just limited to offense. Look at the sheer vanity (or is that stupidity) of Wade Philip’s last year in Atlanta. A 3-4? With those guys?
Spread is the new fad and even in the NFL it’s finding success. But it’s finding success in teams that are incredibly talented. Bill Walsh could’ve probably used the wishbone and gotten a lot of success. When he did it with the “West Coast Offense”* though, just about every other team in the NFL decided to adopt it in some way. Funny the teams that sucked before sucked after. The spread will be the same way. Teams that have the personnel for it will do well while Miami’s OC will use it and not be able to figure out why it’s just not working.
- According to the great Mike Ditka, the “West Coast Offense” doesn’t really exist and is just a fancy way to call plays. I don’t agree with his reasoning but in a show of solidarity I’ll take that stance and therefore put “West Coast Offense” in parenthesis like it’s just a made up term.
by Dante on Feb 22, 2008 12:54 PM EST reply actions
So, in an extreme oversimplification by moi, can’t you basically use the same argument as to why the wishbone and option I would not work in the NFL?
At a very early age, I asked my father why they didn’t run some variation of the option offense in the NFL, and he looked at me as if I had just told him that I believed wrestling was fake…
No, seriously, he told me that Rodney Williams or Chris Morocco, or in more national terms Jamelle Holloway or Charles Thompson, would be decapitated by the 2nd Quarter.
by Coop on Feb 22, 2008 12:56 PM EST reply actions
Seems to me that what the Pats did this year was closer to the Run ‘n Shoot than the college spread offense. It was hardly the first system to utilize short passes out of four wide sets, though it was better run than any such system I’ve ever seen. The most useful aspect of the spread offense is the QB being a threat in the running game. It forces linemen to take that into account and generally leads to more time to look for targets. That will never be the case in the NFL.
by Biggus Rickus on Feb 22, 2008 1:13 PM EST reply actions
The Lions should totally go back to the Silver Stretch — lord knows they’ve drafted enough wide receivers for it.
by Yinka Double Dare on Feb 22, 2008 1:24 PM EST reply actions
The real birth of the spread took place in HS football. It was primitive and the college game refined it. But, HS coaches have little talent sometimes and have to out scheme teams. So they spread out their option-style offenses and put their best athlete at QB. This created a rough draft for the college level spread that’s out there today. Thank ingenious HS coaching for that.
by Keegan on Feb 22, 2008 2:10 PM EST reply actions
rasheen mathis can’t tackle
by Lumpkin rhymes with Blumpkin on Feb 22, 2008 2:29 PM EST reply actions
WE all saw the post from I believe SMQ about the formations that LSU used against OSU in the champ game… offenses arent evolutionary, theyre cyclical… that said, I cant wait to see who the first NFL coach to pull out the option is
by beckett929 on Feb 22, 2008 2:31 PM EST reply actions
“WE all saw the post from I believe SMQ about the formations that LSU used against OSU in the champ game offenses arent evolutionary, theyre cyclical that said, I cant wait to see who the first NFL coach to pull out the option is”
Didn’t the Jets try (and fail spectacularly) at running the option a few times this year against the Patriots, with Brad Smith at QB for those plays?
by Yinka Double Dare on Feb 22, 2008 5:16 PM EST reply actions
WE all saw the post from I believe SMQ about the formations that LSU used against OSU in the champ game offenses arent evolutionary, theyre cyclical that said, I cant wait to see who the first NFL coach to pull out the option is
I might be smoking crack, but didn’t Dallas try this with Quincy Carter? I seem to remember NFC DCs having a collective “What the Fuck?” moment when that happened.
by This Is Your Captain Speaking on Feb 24, 2008 3:52 PM EST reply actions
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