Is the Spread offense losing it's shine?

[redeye]

If you have the atheletes, you can run any scheme and be successful. Oregon is still running the spread. TCU runs the spread. That is possibly 2 out of the  4 playoff teams.

The 247 average composite rank for Oregon's last 5 classes is 16th.  For TCU, it's 38th.  I guess it depends on what you mean by having the athletes?

Oregon and TCU benefit from playing in easier conferences.  That may give them an opportunity to play one great game against a SEC team and win, but I seriously doubt they could run the gauntlet of an SEC schedule and still look like the shining examples you seem to think they are.  We may pretend that the 4 playoff teams are the best 4 teams in the nation, but that's not reality.

[urkillnmesmalls]

At one time, the wishbone was considered unstoppable.

...until the '78 Orange Bowl.   :razorback:

[urkillnmesmalls]

The 247 composite rank for Oregon's last 5 classes is 16th.  For TCU, it's 38th.  I guess it depends on what you mean by having the athletes?

Oregon and TCU benefit from playing in easier conferences.  That may give them an opportunity to play one great game against a SEC team and win, but I seriously doubt they could run the gauntlet of an SEC schedule and still look like the shining examples you seem to think they are.  We may pretend that the 4 playoff teams are the best 4 teams in the nation, but that's not reality.

I've always thought that the HUNH and spread offenses need a few key playmakers.  If you have those, and some capable back ups, then it seems to work pretty well when the offense is hitting on all cylinders.  But...all it takes is a bad day by a QB, a key injury (Treadwell at Ole Miss for example), and suddenly, it all falls apart. 

It's why Oregon gets all the publicity about how great they are, and then they get beat by someone that no one saw coming...like Arizona. 

I like it that we're sticking to a more traditional attack, but that doesn't mean that Malzahn won't get an ace WR or three, a great TB like Chubb at UGA, and be right back in the driver's seat in a year or two.   

[rogers-hog]

I'm not sure what you're asking?  If you're asking how an offense can help it's defense, the answer is by giving the defense a chance to rest and recuperate.  Under Petrino, for example, our defense might spend 8 minutes on the field and then go back out there after our offense scored within a couple of minutes.

I don't know the specifics with the HUNH, but I do find Auburn interesting.  They're not known for having great defenses stats wise, but their defense has long had a remarkable ability to play better in the 4th quarter when the game is on the line.  The stats are likely a result of running a no-huddle offense and I'm sure that also hurts the defensive level of play, while playing better in the 4th may be a result of having great defensive players, which they do have.  But all the talk of Auburn stealing signs is very interesting for this reason.

Plus, when your offense struggles to get on the field, they often get out of sync.  If you're running the HUNH and your offense only has a few possessions, then you have to make each of them count to win the game.  Also, 80-yard TD's are exciting, but it's easier to just gain 10 yards and make your opponents defense spend more time defending.

To add just a little our old offense like the hunh requires exact timing between qb and rec/rb and defenses are not going to be able to go full bore against them in practice and mess that up. I think we heard and witnessed many examples of this during the free willy days although many, myself included refused to believe it. 

[carolinahogger]

it would be hilarious if nuttbag was right about highschool all along.

Well, I would say that ship has sailed.  "High School" has been to the BCSCG as a head coach and Nutt can't find a job.

[hogsanity]

Is it possible that the key to stopping the spread was not some new defense, but simply playing solid base defense like the Hogs appeared to do Sat? Solid up front. good tackling, and playing 2 deep safeties.

[gawntrail]

Is it possible that the key to stopping the spread was not some new defense, but simply playing solid base defense like the Hogs appeared to do Sat? Solid up front. good tackling, and playing 2 deep safeties.

It was said earlier...

Team speed.

a fast defense can make up for read/assignment mistakes........ and solid base D.

[The_Iceman]

I think the key is any offense can be effective as long as it is balanced. Ole Miss had no running game. When our passing game isn't making the throws, our running game isn't as effective.

[upperdeck_hawg]

The 247 average composite rank for Oregon's last 5 classes is 16th.  For TCU, it's 38th.  I guess it depends on what you mean by having the athletes?

Oregon and TCU benefit from playing in easier conferences.  That may give them an opportunity to play one great game against a SEC team and win, but I seriously doubt they could run the gauntlet of an SEC schedule and still look like the shining examples you seem to think they are.  We may pretend that the 4 playoff teams are the best 4 teams in the nation, but that's not reality.

Miss State pretty much runs the same system that Urban Meyer ran at Florida. They are doing pretty decent in the SEC. Like I said, if you have the atheletes in the right place, any system can be succesful. Also, Oklahoma's spread did pretty well against Bama last year. A&M's and Auburns spread has also given Bama trouble recently.

[Razorbacker79]

I grew up watching the wishbone and it seemed like everyone ran it, but the only team I remember winning with it was Oklahoma.  I know Oklahoma wasn't the only team to win with it, but it seemed like coaches figured out how to defend against it.  Oklahoma continued winning with it because they had the talent to do it.  Meanwhile, all the other great teams of the era were winning with something else.

This is why I wasn't crazy about Hatfield as our coach.  Our offense varied little from everyone else at the time and we didn't have Oklahoma's talent.  It's also the reason why I like Bielema's offense, since few SEC teams run anything like it nowadays.

I grew up watching the wishbone and also played it in high school.  I'd say about 80% of the high schools ran the wishbone veer when I played in the mid seventies and nearly all of the SWC, Big Eight and I think the SEC did the same for several years.  Nebraska held on to it on up into the nineties, altho they ran it out of the I in the latter days.  Not sure I agree with or even understand what you're saying, but I would venture that Oklahoma had success with the wishbone more because they knew how to defend against it as well as run it.  Switzer was from that Crossett bunch that included Sporty Carpenter at Henderson, that were experts in running the wishbone and defending against it.

As for the OP's question, as others have offered, depends on how you define the spread.  I agree with those who have said the spread is more of a formation and just another weapon in the arsenal (even BP denied he ran a spread offense, saying instead that it was a Pro Style offense that utilized the spread as well as other tactics) but the term has been used very loosely for a while now and come to mean any aggressive pass oriented offense that might utilize the spread.  The HUNH I think is on its way out.  I don't see aggressive passing going away completely anytime soon, but I think we'll see adjustments to the  balance of run and pass like the hogs are running.

My question is how much longer will the read option trend upward?  The pros were heading that way, but I think it will go away as a base offense pretty soon.  Too many quarterbacks getting hurt in a 16 game season.  Besides, it's just a modified veer designed for modern defensive formations (in the wishbone days, most people ran a five man front) and that never made it in the pros.

In any event I think that Bret Ball is going to take off.  What I'm hearing called "line of scrimmage" ball.  Look at the Dallas Cowboys now.--Jerry finally started paying attention to his offensive line and strong running game and now the offense is looking more like the Jimmy Johnson era--some of that because he saw what Coach B was doing.