macaroni Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Eventhough I've been a football fan for 50 years I'm a "casual" fan so sometimes I just can't figure out the terms we use, and the "truths" we all believe. My question for those more astute than me is exactly what the heck is the "spread offense" as compared to the "pro style offense" and why does it (the spread) not translate to the NFL??? To my way of thinking the basic game is pretty much blocking, running, throwing, catching, & tackling and if a player does these things well (no matter what "system") they should translate well into another "system". Granted a player may need to work on techniques of the specific system .... but if he is a good QB, Line man, reciever, etc he should be able to play in any system. What am I missing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agardin Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 You are pretty much right on IMO, there is a difference from the QBs perspective coming out of college from a spread offense or an offense where the QB doesn't go under centre. Footwork might have to be worked on but the biggest difference is in play action. Play action requires a QB to turn his back to the line and then turn back around to make a throw. Apparently, it isn't something that some QBs can do without a lot of practice, you have to see the play without looking right at it. Think of Montana, he could play with a blind fold on and still hit a streaking Rice down the field. Other than that, accuracy, arm strength, blocking, tackling, high motor and general football sense should translate. NFL execs fall in love with metrics, so and so is this tall, this big and this fast but if they can't do the above they will essentially never be a good pro. I guess the other knock on the spread is that really good college QBs and other players that run it tend to be on dominating teams, where their OL is way better thus giving time to the WR ( who are also better ) time to get open and the QB plays pitch and catch to wide open guys and when they do run they have a RB that is also superior. A player on one of those teams might not be able to play in the more balanced and competitive NFL where everyone is a great player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billmatic Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 A pro set consists of 2 WR's usually lined up on opposite sides, a TE on the line, a RB and a FB. Spread offense uses more WR's and is usually run out of the shotgun. typically 4 WR's. the idea with spread is they use a lot of seam and vertical routes to create holes. also with that many speed positions it "Spreads" out the defense in order to create gaps in coverages. Spread is run in the NFL quite a bit but if your in college and your are in a spread offense you could benefit from scheme alone rather than skill set. Generally speaking though, you need to have a good QB and WR's to run a spread in the NFL. Tom Brady is a good example, Peyton Manning as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Lightning Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 My understanding of the spread offense is based on the college game and some CFL teams. Shotgun snaps and sort of a wishbone feel to it as the QB looks to run or shuttle the ball first even though there are multiple recieves on some sets. I've always understood it to spread the defense and to create lanes for running and use the run to set up the pass. The QB's in that offense better be plenty mobile and be able to throw on the run. Anyway, I'm no expert and will gladly learn from the rest of the board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Eventhough I've been a football fan for 50 years I'm a "casual" fan so sometimes I just can't figure out the terms we use, and the "truths" we all believe. My question for those more astute than me is exactly what the heck is the "spread offense" as compared to the "pro style offense" and why does it (the spread) not translate to the NFL??? To my way of thinking the basic game is pretty much blocking, running, throwing, catching, & tackling and if a player does these things well (no matter what "system") they should translate well into another "system". Granted a player may need to work on techniques of the specific system .... but if he is a good QB, Line man, reciever, etc he should be able to play in any system. What am I missing? Look at Spurrier's run in Washington. QB is open to too many hits because the defense takes away the short routes the spread is built on (not saying they don't also go down the field, but lots of short timing routes, WR screens etc.). No TE to help chip a defender, no RB to pick up blitzes much of the time, defenses sending more people than can be blocked. Did Washington have the perfect personnel to run a spread? Probably not, but teams aren't willing to put their QB in that position because of the investment. Guy gets hurt in college you bring in the next guy who was recruited to play the spread. Guy gets hurt in the NFL and Trent Edwards suddenly becomes your starter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VABills Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 A lot of it is being able to get an effective run game in. It's tougher to run and you can't run power from a spread set. In the pro's other than Indy, you have to be able to take a snap from center, drop 3-5-7 steps all while reading the play and progressions and then set and make throw. In a spread set the QB takes a shotgun snap and just has to watch the play progress. Qb's can learn to go back under center but that drop back and read along with handling a proper running game is a huge change at the pro levels. Handing off isn't as simple as just handing the ball to the running back, there are ways to do it, ways to hide it, and a lot of timing in order to ensure the back has the ball at the right time and location. Adding in fakes, play action, etc... makes it roughly 50-60% of the offense the QB must learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreReed83 Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spread_offense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Point of View Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 A Spread offense is where the cops crush your face on the hood of their car, then yell SPREAD EM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DreReed83 Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 A Spread offense is where the cops crush your face on the hood of their car, then yell SPREAD EM! That was ALMOST funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tennesseeboy Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 A pro set consists of 2 WR's usually lined up on opposite sides, a TE on the line, a RB and a FB. Spread offense uses more WR's and is usually run out of the shotgun. typically 4 WR's. the idea with spread is they use a lot of seam and vertical routes to create holes. also with that many speed positions it "Spreads" out the defense in order to create gaps in coverages. Spread is run in the NFL quite a bit but if your in college and your are in a spread offense you could benefit from scheme alone rather than skill set. Generally speaking though, you need to have a good QB and WR's to run a spread in the NFL. Tom Brady is a good example, Peyton Manning as well. Sounds like we could run a spread if only we had four wide receivers..if only we had a quarterback...if only we had an offensive line. I think we run a "spread eagle" offense where the quarterback is spread-eagled about two seconds after the snap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
section122 Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Spread offenses also are more succesful in college because it relies more on having better athletes than your competition. The field is spread which gives your athletes more room to maneuver. It doesn't translate to the pros because everyone (even the bills) have athletes everywhere. That's the simplest description I can give hope it helped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billmatic Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 Sounds like we could run a spread if only we had four wide receivers..if only we had a quarterback...if only we had an offensive line. I think we run a "spread eagle" offense where the quarterback is spread-eagled about two seconds after the snap. Haha, Trent was running the spread eagle offense a lot last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Point of View Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 That was ALMOST funny. What? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dayman Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 "Spread" means nothing...there a million kinds of spread offenses and it's ALL over the NFL. What most think of that doesn't translate to the nfl is the "spread option" (see: University of FLorida)....QB runs a lot (must be a real threat..must take hits)...creates lots of one on ones (nfl players tackle better)...typically takes more time in backfield to develop (something nfl won't let happen).... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 "Spread offense" is just a generalization of a number of different offensive schemes with the commonality that the defense is spread laterally by the offensive formation. Nearly everyone uses spread concepts. Some spread systems, such as the spread option (which is what Alex Smith ran at Utah and Tim Tebow ran at Florida), may not translate to the NFL level well because the QB in the spread option is a QB/RB hybrid and they aren't necessarily taught to run an offense out of multiple sets. Take the younger Mike Vick as an example of a gifted athlete that struggled to beat NFL defenses purely by his athleticism. I haven't seen him with the Eagles this year, but apparently he is finally starting to learn to be a catalyst on offense as a pro QB instead of a freak athlete trying to do everything single-handedly. For the Bills, drafting an Alex Smith or Mike Vick in the top 5 and having to wait for years to see if that guy can ever learn to become an NFL QB is less than ideal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrid Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 last 2 posts were dead-on Spread is a formation, Spread-option is a scheme, simply put Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonramz Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 last 2 posts were dead-on Spread is a formation, Spread-option is a scheme, simply put this is correct and if you really want to go in-depth go to smartfootball.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Long Beach Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 (edited) Spread offenses also are more succesful in college because it relies more on having better athletes than your competition. The field is spread which gives your athletes more room to maneuver. It doesn't translate to the pros because everyone (even the bills) have athletes everywhere. That's the simplest description I can give hope it helped. Yup. It thrives on creating mismatches before the play is even run. This makes it easier for the QB to run the offense because the field is so spread out there is less options for the defense to change coverages/disguise intentions etc. In college ball, how many teams are going to run 4 deep in cover dbs/lbs? Spread formations are used in the pros all the time, but they are just part of a package not a whole system because it leaves the QB too exposed to potential injuries over the long haul. Especially with the much bigger/faster/stronger pro players. Because it can put up huge points in HS & College ball, there are a number of schools that run a whole offensive system based on spreading out the defense. Because it's typically run out of the shotgun and has less formation variations it can be difficult to project how a QB will be able to run all of the different formations he'll have to run as a pro QB. Statistic-wise they'll have stunning numbers, but they may not have the skill set to make the transition to pro an easy one (or at all). Edited October 19, 2010 by Mark Long Beach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dayman Posted October 19, 2010 Share Posted October 19, 2010 I mean...like I said above and others have said as well "spread" means nothing anyway but to say "spread offense relys on having better athletes" isn't right. What most people in this thread are thinking of as "spread" schemes were designed and born out of systems that had LESSER athletes...the pre-snap motion and option scheme in the backfield were designed to neutralize the better athletes on defense and create mismatches where LBs are one fast guys and CBs are all the sudden making choices about who they want to cover as opposed to knowing their assignment... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macaroni Posted October 19, 2010 Author Share Posted October 19, 2010 Thanks everybody! I think my problem was confusing the "spread offense" with running the "spread option". I kept seeing NFL teams running what I thought was the spread offense ... then reading this or that player shouldn't be drafted because his college team runs the spread (thinking offense) when they were saying option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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