Originally Posted by milkman (Post 8841407)

Just started it, but they've completely redefined what the spread is.

Spread offenses have been around for far longer than just the last 22-23 years, and it was an offense initially designed in the 60s to spread the defense out to create wider gaps in the defense to run the ball through.

As the passing game has evolved, the spread evolved with it.

Originally Posted by MagicHef (Post 8842026)

I understand that Oklahoma is doing something new, but I'm not sure I follow the GB example. Rodgers read that Briggs was covering Finley, so he threw to the open man, Grant. How is that so new? Isn't the entire idea of passing predicated on reading how defenders react to routes?

Tebow was doing similar stuff with the run game last season, too. I don't expect that to take the league by storm.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 8842196)

I would say a screen pass as an 'outlet' is a fairly novel concept. Ordinarily you'd run your short routes as primary options with your RB leaking out as a last-ditch dump off if the short routes don't work.

Here it appears to have been blocked as a screen, but really intended as a short pass with a screen as a fall-back.

I agree that it's nowhere near as fascinating as the Oklahoma State example, but there are definitely some wrinkles in there that are interesting to read about.

I can only take "Cassel sucks" and "Bowe's back, bitches!" for so long. At some point I wouldn't mind some actual substantive football discussion.

Originally Posted by MagicHef (Post 8842336)

I wonder how teams will eventually counter Oklahoma's offense. Jamming every receiver? Less pass rush to be able to read offensive cues? More pass rush to try to disrupt the offense?

I do think the value of the OL and pass rushers in general goes down with every offensive innovation like this, though. The top offenses don't have their QBs standing back there for any length of time at all.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut (Post 8844099)

They're already trying with disguised blitzes, stunts, etc... And as more tape gets out there, you'd have to think that D-Coordinators will start to pick up on who the 'trigger man' in the defense is and start doing more things to change that up. If the defense knows that Rodgers is going to key on the LOLB from a certain set, then they can start to decoy with the LOLB on occasion to throw him off. It's what Belichick did with Manning when he was up in his dome.

Ultimately I also wonder if we won't see more wide-9 sets with standup ends or even more 2-4-5 packages where you have 2 down lineman and 2 standup backers that switch off based on a read of their own. Ultimately it would just come down to going faster and more varied than the QB can read/react.

And as you get more 2-4-5 sets, you'd have more power running games and the cycle continues...

I really do hope the NFL rules committee does something to give some hope back to defenses. We're starting to shade a little more towards that arcade football that Herm warned us all about.

Originally Posted by JohnnyV13 (Post 8844837)

Green Bay's play is different because of play design. Typically, you didn't pair screens with downfield passes, because offenses wanted to use different blocking techniques with these different play types.

Used to be the first read you'd make is "run or pass" block.

Now, they're pairing runs and passes with similar blocking schemes to give qB's more options.

I think we're going to see more defenses using hybrid defenders to mess up the Key player reads. Basically, you get guys like Justin Houston who can both rush the passer and get back in coverage. You line him up in one of those two true DL sets with his hand down on the edge, and have him cover an unexpected area.

That article makes me wish I had coachesr film of KC's game against GB to see what Crennel did against Rodgers. I wonder if KC's defensive improvements late last season could have been Crennel figuring out how to handle these kind of options.

Remember how we used to hate Greg Robison's "spinner" package with 2 DL? Crennel employed that a lot late last season, but it was actually more effective. He also attacked the passer much more agressively late in the season.

Part of that might have been Justin Houston's emergence. Remember how at the beginning of the year we were all wondering why houton only played in pass coverage instead going with his strengths as a pass rusher? I think the idea was to get houston to focus on the coverage aspects of his game.

With defenses increasingly geared to stop the pass with hybrid defenders, the Chiefs might be perfectly aligned to exploit those adjustments with a smash-mouth run game.Teams might be so concerned to stop the Drew Brees/Aaron Rodgers of the world they don't field enough big uglies to stand up to power running attacks in the last 20 minutes of games.