BobbyC81 Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 So, is it an NFL Rule that NFL teams must run a "pro-style offense"? With all of these QBs putting up gaudy numbers in a college spread offense, why do the NFL teams try to put a square peg in a round hole and attempt to convert the kid to their "pro style offense"? What's stopping them from running a spread offense like Gailey did in KC with Thigpen?? Alex Smith was taken with the #1 pick in 2005 by the Niners after an impressive statistical career at Utah in a spread offense. Their attempts to get him to play in the "pro-style offense" failed and he seemed a bust. It wasn't til this past season when his 4th offensive coordinator in 4 years (which obviously didn't help) put him in a spread offense in which he developed a rapport with Michael Crabtree, another product of a spread offense. The Niners pass offense improved significantly. Sure, Smith still didn't play to a Pro Bowl level but at least he was much more productive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthICE Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 So, is it an NFL Rule that NFL teams must run a "pro-style offense"? With all of these QBs putting up gaudy numbers in a college spread offense, why do the NFL teams try to put a square peg in a round hole and attempt to convert the kid to their "pro style offense"? What's stopping them from running a spread offense like Gailey did in KC with Thigpen?? Alex Smith was taken with the #1 pick in 2005 by the Niners after an impressive statistical career at Utah in a spread offense. Their attempts to get him to play in the "pro-style offense" failed and he seemed a bust. It wasn't til this past season when his 4th offensive coordinator in 4 years (which obviously didn't help) put him in a spread offense in which he developed a rapport with Michael Crabtree, another product of a spread offense. The Niners pass offense improved significantly. Sure, Smith still didn't play to a Pro Bowl level but at least he was much more productive. More teams are going spread. This old addage of run and stop the run is now over with. Its pass and stop the pass or you are gonna lose ball games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philo Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 More teams are going spread. This old addage of run and stop the run is now over with. Its pass and stop the pass or you are gonna lose ball games. +1 agree. As the game changes, so will strategy, including using the spread more and more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 Gailey runs spread, Tebow runs spread. All you need to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 Big Ben's attorney stated in his defense, that his client was spending the offseason studying the "college spread" offense. His visit to Georgia was for the purposes of professional improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Cat Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 Haven't the Pats* been running a spread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thoner7 Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 I have wondered this for years. If its so successful in college it should work to some degree in the NFL. DBs are better but so are the WRs. The windows will be smaller but hte QBs more accurate. Its all a bunch of BS I tell you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPicc2114 Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 Jim Kelly invented the spread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. ChumChums Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 Well, NFL teams have always ran the spread, but never as a base-offense. Even when Chan was OC/HC, he actually just incorporated several spread formations into the offense. And Chan doesn't run the spread normally. He tailors his offense to the strengths of its personnel. That's what he's known for. The reason it hasn't been introduced as a base offense in the NFL is because defenders are too fast in the NFL, and would typically blow up most plays in a base spread offense. Not quite like college, where everyone is open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonramz Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 Actually the pats, saints, and colts run offenses that have lots of college spread elements to them. The broncos are also running some spread as well with mcdaniels at the helm. And yes with Tyler thigpen gailey ran lots of spread with pistol concepts n KC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 So, is it an NFL Rule that NFL teams must run a "pro-style offense"? With all of these QBs putting up gaudy numbers in a college spread offense, why do the NFL teams try to put a square peg in a round hole and attempt to convert the kid to their "pro style offense"? What's stopping them from running a spread offense like Gailey did in KC with Thigpen?? Alex Smith was taken with the #1 pick in 2005 by the Niners after an impressive statistical career at Utah in a spread offense. Their attempts to get him to play in the "pro-style offense" failed and he seemed a bust. It wasn't til this past season when his 4th offensive coordinator in 4 years (which obviously didn't help) put him in a spread offense in which he developed a rapport with Michael Crabtree, another product of a spread offense. The Niners pass offense improved significantly. Sure, Smith still didn't play to a Pro Bowl level but at least he was much more productive. i think part of it, is the spread relies on simple progressions and physical mismatches winning them. at the nfl level, you can find ways to isolate mismatches for plays but its hard for entire drives, and games at a time. perhaps tom brady to randy moss being the exception we witnessed in 18-1* you see very few teams relying on a single scheme all the time. the saints colts and patriots all use elements, but they use a lot of other skills to. qbs coming out of a spread often dont do the "higher level thinking" to run the other elements that as well. its easier to transition a pro style qb to run some spread plays, then a spread qb to learn footwork, reading a defense, etc... just my 2 cents.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynical Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 More teams are going spread. This old addage of run and stop the run is now over with. Its pass and stop the pass or you are gonna lose ball games. Think they have been saying something similar now for the past 20+ years. Maybe even before that (Air Coryell comes to mind). The original West Coast offense was partially based on the concept of using the short passing game in place of the running game. Then came the Run 'n Shoot offense, that was supposed to redefine the game into a passing one instead of a running one. How's that worked out? The old adage still applies. Run and stop the run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 Think they have been saying something similar now for the past 20+ years.Maybe even before that (Air Coryell comes to mind). The original West Coast offense was partially based on the concept of using the short passing game in place of the running game. Then came the Run 'n Shoot offense, that was supposed to redefine the game into a passing one instead of a running one. How's that worked out? The old adage still applies. Run and stop the run. but... but... a few teams did well without that... dont pay attention to the vikings, jets, ravens, etc... in the playoffs. yet alone the saints being middle of the pack in 2008 before committing to the run this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 More teams are going spread. This old addage of run and stop the run is now over with. Its pass and stop the pass or you are gonna lose ball games. Agreed, but big plays are the key. That's what's necessary to score points and win in the NFL these days. That said, its a hell of a lot easier to generate 20+ yard gains with the passing game than the run. Unfortunately, I'm not sure the Bills get it even now. Its no great coincidence that they've been losing while also fielding arguably the worst passing attack in the NFL since 2003. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockinon Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 There are a lot of spread formations, but it is not always intended to be a pass. The pistol offense for instance is really meant to be more of an advantage for running plays. People assume that spreading receivers out automatically means a pass play, but when defenses see a spread, they have to respect the pass and can't put as many men in the box to rush the passer. This can be used to the advantage of a running play. Now it is true that the percentage of passing plays in today's NFL is increasing, but to say that run and stop the run is no longer relevant is just plain dumb, just like saying pass and stop the pass is not relevant. The game is all about finding mismatches. They can be found in both the running and passing offenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 Agreed, but big plays are the key. That's what's necessary to score points and win in the NFL these days. That said, its a hell of a lot easier to generate 20+ yard gains with the passing game than the run. Unfortunately, I'm not sure the Bills get it even now. Its no great coincidence that they've been losing while also fielding arguably the worst passing attack in the NFL since 2003. i seem to remember the hit or miss 80 jp bonbs not being effective either. its a lot easier to prevent 20+ yard gains when you keep the ball in your hands with a running game and some ball control passing. 4 yards and a cloud of dust isnt effective every play, and neither is all or none big plays. balance, balance, balance. easier said then done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockinon Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 Agreed, but big plays are the key. That's what's necessary to score points and win in the NFL these days. That said, its a hell of a lot easier to generate 20+ yard gains with the passing game than the run. Unfortunately, I'm not sure the Bills get it even now. Its no great coincidence that they've been losing while also fielding arguably the worst passing attack in the NFL since 2003. True that passing plays generate bigger yards, but also less likely to succeed. You can say what you want about running plays, the number of times you actually produce positive yards/play is greater with running plays. You also eat up more clock time. True that having one of the worst passing attacks is one of our offenses biggest faults, but that does not mean you abandon the run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 True that passing plays generate bigger yards, but also less likely to succeed. You can say what you want about running plays, the number of times you actually produce positive yards/play is greater with running plays. You also eat up more clock time. True that having one of the worst passing attacks is one of our offenses biggest faults, but that does not mean you abandon the run. I'm not arguing that they should abandon the run. Its an important piece of the offense, but if you can't throw the ball when you need to and struggle to average even a measly 15 points per game, the odds of winning, particularly on a year-to-year basis, are not so good. The Bills have proven this conclusively over the last decade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 Without getting into too much detail, the main reason you don't see more spread offenses more often in the NFL is that it requires superior QB and OL play. It is super vulnerable at the edges and will get blown up more often than not by good defensive schemes. Unless of course you have a great QB and a good OL. That's the gist of it. GO BILLS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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