1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Bored With The Spread O

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Boom_70, Dec 31, 2007.

  1. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    Watching a lot of football this past week I've decided that there is a lot of teams that should not be running the spread O. Either they don't have the overall team speed or a QB that can can throw the ball all over the field. For the teams that run it well its fun to watch ( see Florida, WVU)

    All these offenses look like clones of each other - QB takes the snap , reads DE and either hands to back or runs it . No imagination.
     
  2. GB-Hack

    GB-Hack Active Member

    I can definitely see where you're coming from here. There's a match-up of two teams that run it with South Florida and Oregon playing in the Sun Bowl this afternoon.

    I think part of it is that teams like WVU and Florida/Urban Meyer's former teams have had success with the system, so it's become the trendy offense to run, especially for teams with athletes.

    In the end, you'd think that teams will figure out how to defend it, and offenses will move in another direction.
     
  3. ondeadline

    ondeadline Well-Known Member

    For a second, I thought this was a dirty thread. :)
     
  4. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    Oregon O was built around Dennis Dixon. His backups can't run it.

    This is year that it has hit critical mass. Defenses have not caught up yet.
     
  5. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    No - 21 always keeps things interesting. I'll never get bored in that area.
     
  6. Chef

    Chef Active Member

    Dump the Spread.

    Go with the Run-N-Shoot.

    5 and 6 wide out sets. Give me something that is fun to watch.

    3 yards in a cloud of dust= Chef asleep by the 8:00 mark in the first quarter.
     
  7. statrat

    statrat Member

    Bring back the Double Wing!
     
  8. Flying Headbutt

    Flying Headbutt Moderator Staff Member

    Watching Air Force right now is a lot of fun. The option attacks they and Navy run will never get old to me. And when coaches throw me a wishbone once in a while, well, I get all tingly inside.
     
  9. zagoshe

    zagoshe Well-Known Member

    How is that any different than any other offense? Good players and exciting players will make every offense exciting to watch, even so-called traditional "pro-set, I-form" offenses we are told are becoming out dated

    Hawaii runs a run-and-shoot and it is fun to watch because they have a great quarterback. If they had a crappy QB, it would be awful to watch and the games would take six hours because of all the incomplete passes.

    WVU runs a spread with a fast QB and set of tailbacks and it is fun because every play could go the distance.

    Navy hardly throws but it is fun to watch because it is so effective and that is mostly because they have a very smart QB who is excellent at running it.

    So in other words, it isn't about the schemes -- schemes come and go -- it is about the players.

    I'm quite sure Pat White would be fun to watch in just about every offense and the same can be said for a guy like Tim Tebow or a Darren McFadden.
     
  10. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    KU switched to the spread offense, and I'm OK with that, because the Jayhawks have gone from 6-6 and sitting at home during bowl season to 11-1 and playing the Orange Bowl. The spread offense had a lot to do with that.

    The Jayhawks might never get premiere skill position players -- this year they started a 5-10 QB and a RB who was a former walk-on who didn't have much of a career before this senior redshirt season. But they can get good enough players to run it, which helps control the ball, control the clock and dictate game plans. I'm not sure KU is playing a BCS bowl without the spread offense.

    Mizzou can probably make the same argument. The success they've had with Chase Daniel has elevated that program to a place it hasn't been since 1960.

    Re: spread offenses being clones of each other, I'm not so sure about that. Does anyone run the spread quite like Pat White? The Mountaineers run the ball like crazy. Florida goes for balance with a quarterback who doubles as a fullback. KU goes for gimmicks with formations that I never could have imagined. Mizzou's spread featured two tight ends, not so much receivers. There are differences in how the spread offense is run, no matter where you look.
     
  11. Kaylee

    Kaylee Member

    Boom, I could not agree more. If I had to pick one thing to explain my interest in football being on life support, I'd offer up the spread.

    It's all a matter of taste I suppose, but I enjoy contact and power over finesse and speed. Plus, one of the things I used to like about the college game was that so many teams had their own signature styles of offensive football. Growing up, I would watch Nebraska's triple option, Florida's fun-and-gun and Kansas' unique Throw An Interception scheme.

    I feel that the spread has made the game homogeneous, even all the way down to the prep level now. While I do think it's fun to watch the spread if you have a dual-threat QB like Juice Williams or the like, more often it's just a parade of sameness.

    I know the game is cyclical, and defenses will ultimately catch up. Until then, it's unfortunate that so few coaches have the requisite frijoles to try something different. Someone please tell me how Arkansas, for example, would not have been formidable running the Wishbone this season.
     
  12. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    It's different because there are teams running the spread that do not have the right personal to run it. It's also an offense that can be too dependant on one person that if hurt kills the team ( see Dennis Dixon) .

    I love to watch teams like Florida run it because they run so many multi sets.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page