NFL Says No to Spread Offenses

[Frosty]

http://www.pe.com/sports/football/st...e.474bfbb.html

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. - Anytime Brian Robiskie mentioned a college team that ran the spread offense during his recruiting process, he'd get a lukewarm, sometimes dismissive response from his father.

Terry Robiskie, who has spent 27 years in the NFL coaching receivers and coordinating offenses, eventually broke it down for his son. He told him spread offenses are "pretty and often productive," but stressed that playing in one would likely stunt his development as a receiver and ultimately hurt his chances of succeeding in the NFL.

Brian listened, and even though the Urban Meyer-led Florida Gators were high on his list, he picked Ohio State, where he had 1,866 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns during his college career. Four years later, he's viewed as one of the more polished receivers in the 2009 draft class.

"This is America, so we love to see the ball fly all over the place. But if you are going to make a living in the National Football League, you can't do it in the spread or shotgun formation, throwing the ball for 60 plays a game," Terry Robiskie said. "In the NFL, if you repeatedly leave those two tackles open, they are going to get beat. You can say it's a quick offense, and the ball is going to come out quick. That's accurate. But just as the ball comes out, that $80 million quarterback is going to get hit in his mouth and hit often. That's just the history of this game.

"On this level there are too many Jason Taylors and Bruce Smiths in this world, and they will be better than your best tackle."

While Robiskie clearly isn't a fan of the spread, he's far from alone when it comes to NFL coaches, executives and scouts. Many admit the gimmicky offensive scheme is making it increasingly difficult to evaluate college prospects.

The NFL is usually leery of shotgun quarterbacks coming out of spread offenses, which explains why Florida's Tim Tebow, a Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion, was projected by some as a possible third-round pick before deciding to return to UF for his senior season.

"Tebow is a thrower, not a passer," one AFC scout said. "We need to see (Tebow) make read progressions."

It doesn't help that few quarterbacks from spread offenses have had success as pro starters. Alex Smith, who played under Meyer at Utah, was the No. 1 pick of the 2005 draft. His stalled 49ers career and horrendous touchdown-to-interception ratio (19-31) makes a strong argument against drafting spread passers.

"If the quarterback is in the 'gun' all the time, it's a struggle," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "There are some positives to it, but a lot of negatives. ... But with Florida's recent success you're seeing a little bit more of it."

However, it's not just spread quarterbacks being hurt come evaluation time.

Offensive tackles in the spread are often in a two-point stance instead of having a hand on the ground.

Tight ends are typically flexed out as receivers, and as a result are usually undersized and have raw blocking skills.

NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said he's had to search hard for game film of Missouri's Chase Coffman, one of the top tight ends of the 2009 draft class, working as a blocker.

Receiver routes in the spread are typically 0 to 11 yards downfield, but the most crucial passes in the NFL are intermediate routes that run 11 to 20 yards.

To combat the influence of the spread, NFL scouts say defenses are becoming smaller because of the need to be quicker. As a result, college linebackers are increasingly becoming the size of NFL safeties, and college safeties the size of NFL cornerbacks.

"It's hard for the NFL to get a read on every position. But what I tell my buddies in the NFL is, 'Get used to it fellas because that spread's not going away,' " Mayock said. "You are going to have to learn how to evaluate these kids."

Influences of the spread have worked their way to the NFL. For the past two years, the Patriots ran passing elements of the spread, and in 2007 it produced one of the best statistical seasons in league history.

Last season, the Chiefs abandoned their pro-set style, replacing it with the spread when Tyler Thigpen took over at quarterback.

Could more of the spread be spreading to football's big leagues?

"It's part of the cycle right now, but it will cycle the other way. That's all football does," said Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, who believes the spread is simply an option-read variation of the old run-and-shoot offense. "Teams ran the run-and-shoot for years and years. The Houston Oilers and the Atlanta Falcons had a similar passing concept for a while and then it cycled out. Now this option-read series is cycling its way through college football.

"It goes in cycles. Nothing's new, and nothing lasts forever."