The Spread Offense

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Rosemountian

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Is a good offense. Any person that says they don't want someone to be a coach based on the fact they run the spread alone loses any credibility they had with me. If you don't think the spread can be successful you must not have been watching Boise State run it in the Mountains or Oregon run it in the rainy Pacific Northwest.


I am not saying hire a spread coach. I am saying hire the best coach. And if the best coach is a spread coach, he will be successful. Not hiring someone who is better because he runs the spread is idiotic.


This has been my rant to Gopherhole.
 

I just hope the new coaching staff is flexible enough to realize that the scheme should fit the talent. If you have a particular scheme you want to run, have the wisdom to phase that scheme in over a couple of years and recruiting classes.

No more ripping away, over the course of one offseason, all the productive knowledge that the players have attained their 2 or 3 years at the U.
 

MrGopher said:
I just hope the new coaching staff is flexible enough to realize that the scheme should fit the talent. If you have a particular scheme you want to run, have the wisdom to phase that scheme in over a couple of years and recruiting classes.

No more ripping away, over the course of one offseason, all the productive knowledge that the players have attained their 2 or 3 years at the U.
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This is very true. The coach who is hired should have a new offense next year, and run it over the entire course of their tenure. I really don't care if it is spread or triple option or single wing, so long as it scores more points than the other team on occasion.
 


GopherFan75 said:
There is no such thing as "the" spread. There are many types of spread offenses. Saying "the" spread is a good offense is a very uneducated statement.
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Wrong. The spread is a concept. And it can present is self in many styles of the spread offense. I was not specifying whether a run heavy spread or a run and shoot or a pass heavy spread or a pistol offense is good. I am saying, as a concept, the spread offense is a good idea and could work anywhere if the right people were implementing it.
 


MrGopher said:
I just hope the new coaching staff is flexible enough to realize that the scheme should fit the talent. If you have a particular scheme you want to run, have the wisdom to phase that scheme in over a couple of years and recruiting classes.

No more ripping away, over the course of one offseason, all the productive knowledge that the players have attained their 2 or 3 years at the U.
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You really can't do that. The type of recruits who fit the spread are going to favor schools who are running it now over those who say they might maybe possibly get there in a couple of years ... provided they can get 'spread' kids this year .... or maybe not.

With that said, I'll agree the incoherence of the Gophers "offensive identity" during Brewster's tenure was a huge problem.
 

I just want them to have a somewhat tangible plan on how to proceed and stick with that. I want them to hire a guy who knows who he is as a coach and what he wants him team to be.

I don't like the spread, but if that's what they hire, I hope he sticks with the plan.
 

Rosemountian said:
Is a good offense. Any person that says they don't want someone to be a coach based on the fact they run the spread alone loses any credibility they had with me. If you don't think the spread can be successful you must not have been watching Boise State run it in the Mountains or Oregon run it in the rainy Pacific Northwest.


I am not saying hire a spread coach. I am saying hire the best coach. And if the best coach is a spread coach, he will be successful. Not hiring someone who is better because he runs the spread is idiotic.


This has been my rant to Gopherhole.
Click to expand...

All offenses, under the right conditions, with the right personnel are good offenses, including the spread. That said, to field a spread team you need a different type of recruiting base & different weather. Wisconsin, Iowa & Penn St have perfected cold weather, Midwest football. It took Brew 3+ years to figure it out, but even he got it eventually.
 

Fullback will be a need next season. Not much of a need for that position in the spread.
 



Costa Rican Gopher said:
All offenses, under the right conditions, with the right personnel are good offenses, including the spread. That said, to field a spread team you need a different type of recruiting base & different weather. Wisconsin, Iowa & Penn St have perfected cold weather, Midwest football. It took Brew 3+ years to figure it out, but even he got it eventually.
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+1
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
All offenses, under the right conditions, with the right personnel are good offenses, including the spread. That said, to field a spread team you need a different type of recruiting base & different weather. Wisconsin, Iowa & Penn St have perfected cold weather, Midwest football. It took Brew 3+ years to figure it out, but even he got it eventually.
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How did Purdue and Northwestern win Big Ten titles more recently than Wisconsin?
How did Illinois Make a BCS bowl more recently than Wisconsin?
Why did Ohio State and Penn State switch to variations of the spread in the mid-2000s?

Is it really that much colder in Minneapolis the last week of November compared to West Lafayette, Chicago, State College, and Columbus?
This is college football. The weather is the most overrated element of college football. It is not like they are playing games in the cold of January. The New England Patriots essentially ran the spread the past few years in Boston, and the pro season goes till Feb. Boise State runs their own version of the spread, they play in the mountains in November. Did you catch the Montana vs App State game in the blizzard last year? Both teams running up the score in a blizzard.

Do not fear the weather.
Coaching ability is more important than offensive style when selecting a coach. When the weather becomes a bigger factor than the quality of the coach in your hiring process, it is a sign you shouldn't be doing the hiring.
 

Any offense can work.

I only hope the new coach isn't a spread guy because it isn't a style of football I enjoy watching.
 

Sour1729 said:
+1
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I think the FB position is a relatively easy one to find a player. I'm not saying that he would be as good as Hoese, but I really hope that our personel next season doesn't determine our different schemes.
 



Costa Rican Gopher said:
All offenses, under the right conditions, with the right personnel are good offenses, including the spread. That said, to field a spread team you need a different type of recruiting base & different weather. Wisconsin, Iowa & Penn St have perfected cold weather, Midwest football. It took Brew 3+ years to figure it out, but even he got it eventually.
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Yes, Brew finally figured out cold weather Midwest football and it's been just wonderful. Unfortunately, he forgot that he was coaching a team built to run spread offense. Aside from that, this recruiting base stuff is pure folly and in my opinion has done a lot to keep our coaches from spending more time analyzing players in our home region. There are outstanding skill players well-suited for spread offense all over the Upper Midwest. Not saying I wouldn't take the sure-fire star from down south, but you absolutely do not NEED to seek out what is left over in places like Florida and Texas after the very best players commit to big-time programs in order to run good spread offense.
 


I'm not a big fan of the spread. If everyone is doing it, then we are competing with every other school for the same athletes. If we run some other offense, we can recruit athletes with a different set of skills, and not have to compete with the whole country for them. The spread has decreased the demand for fullbacks, so if we don't run the spread, it should be easier to recruit them.
 

WRONG!!! on the spread

Rosemountian said:
Is a good offense. Any person that says they don't want someone to be a coach based on the fact they run the spread alone loses any credibility they had with me. If you don't think the spread can be successful you must not have been watching Boise State run it in the Mountains or Oregon run it in the rainy Pacific Northwest.


I am not saying hire a spread coach. I am saying hire the best coach. And if the best coach is a spread coach, he will be successful. Not hiring someone who is better because he runs the spread is idiotic.


This has been my rant to Gopherhole.
Click to expand...

At least in the BT. Winning the Big 10 is all about being able to run the ball, and being able to stop the run. Always has been, always will be. Look at the teams that are contenders for the Rose Bowl year in and year out. tOSU, Iowa, Wisky, and until recently,PSU&SCum. Glen Mason even figured out the first part of being able to run the ball. The 2nd part of stopping the run, not so much. Dantonio @ MSU also seems to have a blueprint in place.

True, you have to have a scheme that fits your talent. That was one of Brewster's mistakes. He kept changing schemes, and never had the right personnel in place. As others have pointed out, that's why Calhoun runs an option offense at the USAFA. You can't fit a 300lb lineman into an F-16, and he's not going to try and recruit some bone thug gangsta who runs a 4.4 40 (insert Kevin Whaley comment here).

I do agree with your statement of "Hire the best coach". But make sure he understands the complexion of Big Ten football. That's one of my concerns of going after an NFL guy. Ideally, we find someone with experience coaching in the BT, but that shouldn't limit our search. Case in point is Rodriguez at meechigan. He looks to be on the way out, especially if he craps the bed vs. tOSU next month. He's screwed up on both sides of the ball on the run thang. He also lost sight of the 2nd axiom of coaching job security in the BT. Beat your rivals!
 

Weber said it well yesterday when discussing why WI has had more recent success than the U. He talked about having a formula, implementing the plan, and basically, just reloading the program with players that fit the formula. Given Minnesota's / Upper Midwest's recruiting base, we are the best off with a run-heavy, pro-style offense, allowing us to cycle through big, tough offensive lineman year after year. Sure, we will (or better) bring in talented, skill position players, but that will vary more from year-to-year. We are better off building off the the region's recruiting strength.
 

GoldenRose said:
Weber said it well yesterday when discussing why WI has had more recent success than the U. He talked about having a formula, implementing the plan, and basically, just reloading the program with players that fit the formula. Given Minnesota's / Upper Midwest's recruiting base, we are the best off with a run-heavy, pro-style offense, allowing us to cycle through big, tough offensive lineman year after year. Sure, we will (or better) bring in talented, skill position players, but that will vary more from year-to-year. We are better off building off the the region's recruiting strength.
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Absolutely agree with you. Implementing the spread here would be a death omen.
 

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