Quote:
Originally Posted by O.city
I’ve always kind of wondered why in short yardage guys wanna bring more guys in there and go with a big back that can’t make people miss
Spread them out and give it to a guy that makes people miss or breaks tackles. Charles was always a good short yardage back imo
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Slow evolution, IMO.
In ye olden days you could try to spread out and opposing defense just didn't care much. They were still gonna play run first and dare you to beat them. And QBs just weren't as precise, timing offenses weren't as dialed in and mistakes down there were common so coaches were still loathe to throw the ball.
With the rise of the short passing game as an extension of the running game, more and more teams are willing to do exactly what you're suggesting. Now that the pass is a real threat, the opposing D has to actually adjust to it and you can actually get that space inside by spreading the D out for a handoff.
It just took a more reliable sort of passing game to convince coaches that throwing it was an acceptable risk. Once they did defenses responded accordingly and now offenses are slowly adjusting back by doing exactly what you're suggesting.