the spread is spreading

[bananathumb]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-...0,2027172.story

 

 

 

Excellent article on the spread offense used by Florida Gators and how it is working its way into the NFL. Dolphins and Pats already on top of this, of course, but with our WRs, maybe we should be doing a little creative thinking.

 

Not sure if the link would work, so I copied the article here.

 

 

 

By Chris Harry | Sentinel staff writer

June 25, 2009

 

GAINESVILLE - Urban Meyer took a steno pad from the reporter sitting on his office couch and began scribbling away. With two diagrams, the University of Florida coach explained the concepts behind his base offensive formations: the spread and the single wing.

 

"I'm kind of giving you everything we do here," he said.

 

Hardly everything, but a brief lesson cracked open a window into Meyer's fascinating world of X's and O's. It's a place that's become a sought-after destination among his peers these days, but that's no revelation given Meyer's astonishing run of championships since arriving in Gainesville.

 

Some of the folks requesting offseason audiences, however, might come as a surprise.

 

"Right now, we've been contacted by a minimum of three NFL teams who want to implement a spread element," Meyer said last month. "They're going to do it."

 

Meyer, of course, wouldn't say which teams, but the general interest in the Gators' playbook has an ironic rub.

 

In April, one of the hot story lines heading into the NFL draft was how difficult it's become for pro scouts and personnel types to project players from a college spread scheme — with its wider linemen splits, flanked tight ends, bubble-screens and near-exclusive shotgun alignment — to more conventional NFL sets.

 

Apparently, one of the ways to make that transition smoother is to spread the spread to the NFL.

 

"It's already here," said Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski, head coach at Boston College the last two seasons. "A lot of teams have it."

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If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.

[The Senator]

We've got so many receiving targets that I think the Bills would be unstoppable, assuming Trent Edwards can think fast and make accurate throws. I'm not sure Turk Schonert is a fan of the spread offense, and Dick Jauron is hardly an innovator. We would need a different HC/OC - maybe someone like...

 

Mike Leach

[crazyDingo]

We already have a spread offense. We spread mayonnaise on white bread and wash it down with warm milk.

[Fingon]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orl-...0,2027172.story

 

 

 

Excellent article on the spread offense used by Florida Gators and how it is working its way into the NFL. Dolphins and Pats already on top of this, of course, but with our WRs, maybe we should be doing a little creative thinking.

 

Not sure if the link would work, so I copied the article here.

 

 

 

 

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If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.

Uh, no. The Gators use the spread option. That offense is NOT working its way into the NFL.

[Hossage]

Nothing new under the sun.

[Sisyphean Bills]

Bring back Gary Crowton, Dick. It worked well the last time.

[DazedandConfused]

Does anyone know what typifies the Gators's version of a spread offense?

 

I have always liked the NFL versions I have seen run not simply because they were dynamic passing attacks, but actually because given the right type of talents at RB I think the spread is actually a more productive running attack than the traditional student body left or lead blocking smashmouth FB which is traditional NFL fare.

 

With the substantial investment in WR talent this team has made it seems like a no-brainer to me that our base O should be a 3 WR set.

 

Evans has proven that his speed forces opposing DCs to consider dting him with over the top coverage with orders not to let Evans get by them and underneath coverage which prevents him from simply cutting off his route from the backpedaling DB and make a simple catch for first down yardage.

 

A few teams who felt they had great coverage CBs have tried to single Evans with some success against the Bills without a consistent take it to the house threat anywhere else in the O they felt they could take the risk. However, a few games like Evans' best where he racked up over 250 yds receiving in one game revealed the perils of this approach. Besides the Bills only got marginal production from their #2. Neither Fairchild nor Schoenert had shown little ability use the receiving talents of their RB (Even the much hated McGahee showed how poorly the Bills used him as he uped his catches from the mid 20s as a Nill to 43 for the Ravens). Evans could be focused on with little penalty to pay and he still occaisionally had breakout games due to his raw speed and talent.

 

Add in TO who even in decline accomplished far more than the Bills previous #2. The standard coverage for TO was also tho dt him over and under because TOs proven RAC ability demanded he be covered tightly underneath but if he got behind the DBs then good night TO.

 

Now if it was me in charge (which thank gosh it isn't since even bigger disasters would have befallen us). I would spread things out even further by using Parrish in the slot (where he has been an incredible gamer with freakish speed shown by the stopwatch and great broken field moves demonstrated in his punt returns). Pairing Evans and TO (if TO simply has the normal slow decline with age and no rapid plummet) in itself may force opponents into the nickel in order to sorta dt both. Add Parrish into the mix and force the opposing DC to put his fastest guy on either Evans or Parrish (the other gets a slower guy) and also to put their best cover guy on either TO or Evans (the other guy gets their second tier coverage) and it actually pretty much forces the other team into a dime or the zone because of our soread.

 

Now it gets really fun because the dime or zone lets Lynch who rarely gets bought down by the first hit (a good thing since the Bills OL was great at pass pro but never established itself in the run game) gets to avoid the gang tackling that comes with the opponent putting 9 guys in the box (a side effect of the power game we used to try to run ineffectively with the biggest OL by weight in the league.

 

Add in the no-huddle to put additional pressure on the D (which should help our too-young OL alot as opponents will not get the time and substitutions they want to run a lot of stunts and tricky rushes on our likely 2 rookie guards, new Bill C, and an RT and LT who started at other positions last year.

 

I like the pieces of what I see. I simply hope Schoenert is up to the task of attacking with it (a trait he has not demonstrated in the past, but the TO acquisition makes this so obvious he has to try). Heck, even though I think Parrish was undertutilized in the slot last year, my guess is that his heart is bigger than his small body. No prob though as McKelvin in a PR threat that might sit Parrish anyway on PR though he is one of the best in the NFL. Likewise if Parrish does not survive to start 16 in the slot, Reed demonstrated in his rookie year with Moulds and PP demanding twin dts that he can pick apart a zone.

 

I can't wait!