GunnerBill Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 I feel like there are 2 side by side discussions going on here: 1) Can a spread offense work in the nfl? Yes, teams run the basic principals with success It can - to an extent. A lot of teams run an offense with some spread principles, but very few (if any) run a true college spread offense. It can be a part of NFL offenses - it cannot be a full NFL offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P51 Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 IMO its the spread concept utilized in college that currently rules the NFL offensively, its gotta be close to 70% or more of the offensive formations I have seen in the playoffs were run out of spread formations, with QB's in the shotgun. Its been quickly progressing this way league wide over the last 5-10 years. Brady, Rodgers, Roethlisberger, Palmer, and top level QB's are running primarily spread passing attacks, that spread the defense out and let the QB pick the match up they like best. This has clearly been helped along by the rule changes. College "Spread Read/Option" and "Air Raid" style offenses wont work individually at the NFL level the QB's take to much of a beating or the defense has the athletes to stop it, but conceptually pieces of them have been and are being used today in the NFL. The Patriots* are masters offensively of using college style spread concepts and letting Brady pick defenses apart with his quick decision making and receivers route running ability (ie Edelman/Amendola/Welker via the Air Raid). They and most everyone in the NFL infuses these "college" based concepts with more traditional NFL pro style concepts. Pure or true college offenses individually are not the future of the league, but they are certainly a part of the history, especially a big part of the recent history and current NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Wagon Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 IMO its the spread concept utilized in college that currently rules the NFL offensively, its gotta be close to 70% or more of the offensive formations I have seen in the playoffs were run out of spread formations, with QB's in the shotgun. Its been quickly progressing this way league wide over the last 5-10 years. Brady, Rodgers, Roethlisberger, Palmer, and top level QB's are running primarily spread passing attacks, that spread the defense out and let the QB pick the match up they like best. This has clearly been helped along by the rule changes. College "Spread Read/Option" and "Air Raid" style offenses wont work individually at the NFL level the QB's take to much of a beating or the defense has the athletes to stop it, but conceptually pieces of them have been and are being used today in the NFL. The Patriots* are masters offensively of using college style spread concepts and letting Brady pick defenses apart with his quick decision making and receivers route running ability (ie Edelman/Amendola/Welker via the Air Raid). They and most everyone in the NFL infuses these "college" based concepts with more traditional NFL pro style concepts. Pure or true college offenses individually are not the future of the league, but they are certainly a part of the history, especially a big part of the recent history and current NFL. This is pretty much what I was going to say. It seems there's a disconnect between what people consider a "college" offense. The "Oregon Spread" is basically an evolution of the old Nebraska wishbone, the QB has just a few set reads in both offenses and athletic defensive lineman can usually wreck havoc on it (a big reason why Oregon has struggled in big games). NFL teams aren't going to purely run that system, though variations have been effective when run by guys like Cam / RG3 / Kaep. But those guys are at the tip of the athleticism scale. The "Purdue Spread" isn't that far off the K-Gun and the Oilers run and shoot. That's absolutely here and here to stay. Teams already make heavy use of "college" principals like the bubble screen and get the ball to their guys in space. Watch a guy like Demaryius Thomas, Denver almost uses him as a running back on a lot of the routes he runs. Due to the rules in place and the athletes defenses are able to field, the days of a pure old school "ground and pound" NFL offense are nearly dead. Teams like Seattle still use a lot of it, but they succeed because Wilson can make so many things happen with the ball and they really took off this year when they abandoned a lot of the old principles the used with Lynch. NFL offenses aren't moving away from the QB taking a snap under center and running straight ahead with a fullback because college isn't producing QBs with that skill set. They are doing it because it's really hard to run the ball that way anymore. Defensive linemen are bigger/stronger/faster than ever before, offenses need an element of surprise and multiple options more than ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BackInDaDay Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 (edited) look, the only argument against running any offense where the QB is used in the running game, is the injury risk. but attacking with 11 with 11 is always a better idea - especially when each of your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd string QBs can be productive in a passing attack that uses their mobility to put defenders in jeopardy, and gives them simplified run/pass keys. i believe the NFL will eventually see that a new paradigm - one that reduces the risk of investing in young QBs who may not be able to execute traditional offenses from the pocket reduces the risk of sacrificing entire seasons because theres a lack of backup QBs who can effectively execute traditional offenses from the pocket - when called upon reduces the very large financial compensation needed to keep QBs who have shown that they can execute traditional offenses from the pocket they've already modified the rules to increase offensive production from each offensive skill position. i suspect this is needed to maintain the fantasy football industry, but it may be as innocent as wanting a more "entertaining" game.. personally, i think the games are starting to resemble 7on7 drills, but i guess the people have spoken. so i don't think it will be too long before teams realize the benefit of adapting their offenses - and defenses too (more 8-3 defenders.. look it up)* - and start fleshing out their QB depth chart with plug n play athletes * - by the way, i think this is a glimpse into what Rex was trying to accomplish Edited January 19, 2016 by BackInDaDay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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