The Spread Cometh?
I've been thinking recently about the debate started by Kyle King over at Dawg Sports. The debate goes like this: on one side of the argument is College Football Resource who states its hypothesis thusly:
"Auburn's hiring of Al Borges beget LSU's hiring of Gary Crowton, both former Pac-10 offensive coordinators. Florida won a title with a coach it hired because of his reputation as an offensive mastermind. Auburn continues to win the Iron Bowl. Alabama's gotten antsy and hired a competent coach who in turn hired a hotshot young offensive coordinator (Major Applewhite). Tennessee ditched its ineffective offensive coordinator for the more aggressive David Cutcliffe. Arkansas flirted with Gus Malzahn as its offensive coordinator. There's a dramatic shift going on within the conference at the moment, actioned mostly on the offensive side of the ball.
We can argue about how effective Borges has been post-2004, whether Cutcliffe really fits into all of this, how much Florida's offense had to do with the championship and all these other issues again, but that's not really what interests me so much as the trend behind it all. There's an offensive shift going on that has the power to reshuffle the deck completely."
One the other hand is Kyle King who argues that despite the offensive coaching talent in the SEC, running and defense are the true coin of the realm. While I agree with Kyle that defense and the running game will always win SEC football games, I also believe that CFR is on to something, just not as complete a paradigm shift as CFR might propose.
LSU under Gary Crowton will look a lot like LSU has looked in past years with Jimbo Fisher at the helm (Les Miles, an avid run man, won't let Crowton throw it every down.). Nor will Al Borges, Steve Spurrier, or David Cutcliff suddenly change schemes. I think we know what we are getting in those guys and it's more of the same. Mike Bobo and Major Applewhite are potentially gifted coordinators, but both work for head coaches who prefer balance. The major offensive wrinkle of the next five years in the SEC will be Urban Meyer's spread offense. The spread is the next big adjustment to SEC football.
I can hear you now: you idiot, the spread hasn't worked in the SEC, Urban has already adjusted away from the spread, even Mike Shula can stop the spread, etc. I actually agree that the spread has not worked efficiently as a true spread offense at Florida. It's true that UF has won with a great defense and a heady, patient, consistent offense. They have not been the spectacular juggernaut promised by the spread's potential. Many blame Chris Leak alone, but I think it wasn't just his fault. UF hasn't had a great back since Urban has been there and their receivers, while good, were not the speedy, flashy playmakers Urban needs. Despite the publicity of the passing game, the run is the basis of the spread, especially the QB run. With Chris Leak at the helm, Urban was handcuffed. He won't be with Tebow. Add a competent back to the mix, and defending the spread running game gets more and more complex.
"Run it, Timbo."
This year, all the pieces are there for Urban's christening of a new offensive machine, running on the spread offense. He has Timmy Tebow, a plow horse runner who can also throw. With Percy Harvin, the Gator's have a touchdown threat whenever he touches the ball. Harvin, Jarred Fayson, and Andre Caldwell give Tebow a solid group of quick receivers to hit on short routes and screens. And, depending on Chris Rainey living up to his hype, they have a back that can consistently make plays. All the ingredients are present for the Gators to start scoring the way Utah did in 2004.
With that being said, I offer a few fine points on what I think will stop the spread.
LSU under Gary Crowton will look a lot like LSU has looked in past years with Jimbo Fisher at the helm (Les Miles, an avid run man, won't let Crowton throw it every down.). Nor will Al Borges, Steve Spurrier, or David Cutcliff suddenly change schemes. I think we know what we are getting in those guys and it's more of the same. Mike Bobo and Major Applewhite are potentially gifted coordinators, but both work for head coaches who prefer balance. The major offensive wrinkle of the next five years in the SEC will be Urban Meyer's spread offense. The spread is the next big adjustment to SEC football.
I can hear you now: you idiot, the spread hasn't worked in the SEC, Urban has already adjusted away from the spread, even Mike Shula can stop the spread, etc. I actually agree that the spread has not worked efficiently as a true spread offense at Florida. It's true that UF has won with a great defense and a heady, patient, consistent offense. They have not been the spectacular juggernaut promised by the spread's potential. Many blame Chris Leak alone, but I think it wasn't just his fault. UF hasn't had a great back since Urban has been there and their receivers, while good, were not the speedy, flashy playmakers Urban needs. Despite the publicity of the passing game, the run is the basis of the spread, especially the QB run. With Chris Leak at the helm, Urban was handcuffed. He won't be with Tebow. Add a competent back to the mix, and defending the spread running game gets more and more complex.
"Run it, Timbo."With that being said, I offer a few fine points on what I think will stop the spread.
- Rangy, fast outside linebackers. The spread running game is essentially a group of option draws, most veering off tackle. The other main staple of the spread is short passes in the 5-15 yard range. I think that group of plays put immense pressure on outside linebackers, who in a four wide set, must both guard in coverage and support a draw. This means the outside linebackers have to be quick, both physically and mentally. The OLBs must have the speed to cover, but also the speed to recover defensive space in the case of a broken play QB scramble or a delayed draw. Not only must the linebacker be fast, but also rangy. The spread is all about space. The more the defensive player can consume and occupy space, the less room the offensive can exploit and isolate. The linebacker doesn't need to be gigantic, but must play long, like a basketball player.
- Tackles that defend the run first. Again, this is about space. Run stoppers tend to be big and bulky, without the quickness of a pass rusher. They are there to consume space and blocks so that the linebackers can roam around. If DTs can take away the inside draws and sneaks, it shrinks the field for the OLBs and safeties.
- Tackling. The spread is designed to isolate a single match up through space and speed: one defensive player, usually your safety, against an offensive playmaker, like Harvin or Tebow. Urban bets that if that match up happens, he will win because the playmaker will be a better athlete. Thus, if that match up happens, the defense must tackle every time. Missed tackles against other offenses are bad, but misses against the spread will turn into touchdowns.
- Disguise run support. The base of the spread is not the pass, it is the run. Shutting down a well run option attack is difficult enough, but it become more fearful when a deep pass is a real threat. If a defense attempts to drop into coverage, the spread QB will run. Thus, the defense must make the QB think it is dropping coverage when it is actually attacking the run.
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