Why The Spread Is Killing Football

The Spread Offense

Apologies for not blogging over the holiday. But its difficult to post at the in-laws. I will have a couple of post over the next few days, so keep on reading and I appreciate all comments.

The Spread Offense is killing football as I know. The whole object is to spread the defense out and use the the whole field to your advantage. Defense's have to be in nickel or dime situations and your depth at the defensive back position is suppose to be put to the test. The guy who gets credit for this is Rich Rodriguez who used it at Tulane, Clemson and West Virginia. The reason why I say its killing football is simple. Teams who use this can't seem to run the ball consistently or get the tough yards when needed.

Pass Happy

Teams used to use the running game to set-up the pass. Now everyone is so pass happy they don't even get the running game going. Its not only a college problem, you see it in the pros as well. Take a look at the Patriots and Colts. Brady and Manning easily throw the ball 30-40 times a game. But neither of these teams rank very high in the league when it comes to running the football. Defense's can sit back and jam their receiver's because they know what's coming. All the fuss about Belichik's decision to go for it on 4th and 2 could have been moot if they would have ran the ball. The Patriots aren't built to run the ball consistently. I have previously stated that Florida and Texas don't have great running games. Tebow and McCoy are the their teams best option at running the football. I agree that the ball should be in your best players hands to make plays. But what about having balance in your offense. The knock against the West Coast offense was that is was the short passes and all you had to do was crowd the line. However, Bill Walsh and the 49ers teams that ran the true version of the offense always had a great run/pass balance. Roger Craig, Ricky Watters, Tom Rathman and William Floyd would agree. You want to keep a team off balance. The Spread doesn't add an element of surprise.

Tough Yards

4th and 2 and you throw the ball to a back out of the backfield!?!? Or how about Kansas in a rivalry game on their own 2 and they call a qb draw that results in a safety and them losing the game to Mizzou. If KU could have or would have used a rb to get out of the end zone, they probably would have won the game.These situations are examples of how using the spread cripples coaches into making dumb decisions. You need to be able to get the tough yards, hard yards. Franco Harris, John Riggins, Earl Campbell, Eric Dickerson, even Marhall Faulk could get the those tough yards when the game is on the line. When the Colts finally beat the Pats a few years, Peyton Manning audible out of a pass into a run and handed it off to Addai on a third and short, and it propel them to the win. It proved the toughness not only of the Colts but of Manning as well. Being able to break the defense will by getting that yard of two that can end a game is devastating to the psyche of a defense.

Its cool to light up the scoreboard but you also have to go back to the roots of the game and play some smash mouth football once in a while.

You Are What You Thought You Were

Notre Dame is America's college football team. Notre Dame is another one of those teams that college football needs to be good. They have an easy path to play in the BCS game every year. They even have their own network. The problem is the last five years the Irish have not been nearly as dominant as the Irish and their fans thought it would be. Now it looks like the Charlie Weis era is coming to an end.

When Weis was hired he said at his first press conference " You are a 6-5 team, and you are what you are. If you hired me to be a .500 coach then you hired the wrong guy." Weis is a .500 coach and Notre Dame is who they are. A school that thought it was so superior that it could lure the offensive genius of the New England Patriots to their school and restore the Golden Domer's to the top of the college football world. What they did was dump Tyrone Willingham before his contract was up. That was wrong and now the school is suffering from that.

Weis, along with Eric Mangini, Romeo Crennel, Josh McDaniels and Bill Belichik have all benefited from one player. Tom Brady. He has made and makes all these guys better coaches. Brady is the one who makes adjustments on play calls and throws the ball around the field. Weis was given so much credit as being the architect of the Patriots offense that Notre Dame people overlooked that he had one of the greatest qb's in history. Your play-calling looks a lot better when you have a super stud running your offense. Charlie Weis just couldn't coach up his stellar recruiting class.

To be a college football head coach, you are the face of the school, especially in South Bend. Being smug to the press and not being around in the community can definitely hurt you. Charlie didn't like all the responsibilities that come along with being the head guy. The NFL is a business and franchise's are run like such. You can isolate yourself completely with your players and in the complex. College football requires you to mingle with high school coaches, recruits and even alumni events. There are reports that Weis didn't like doing those things. You have to go to the chicken dinners and ice cream socials even if they seem cheesy.

Its one thing to be a great coordinator, its another thing to be a head coach. Even though head coaches have their specialities, you still have to know how to manage people and make sure you have the right people in place. Weis's offense have been pretty good but his defense's have been awful. They can't stop the run or the pass. As the head coach you can't be so concerned with one side of the ball. Some guys are just great coordinator's and not head coaches. Charlie probably should go back to the NFL and help some of the terrible offenses there.

Charlie Weis is who we thought he was. A great coordinator who didn't bring America's college football team back. Hopefully Notre Dame does the right thing and not let him off the hook.

The Rivarly That Was

Michigan-Ohio St.


Today is the 106th meeting between Ohio St. and Michigan and I barely remebered. This game always got the country set for the Thanksgiving holiday, but with these two teams struggling some what most of the nation won't be paying attention. The only drama is to see if Michigan can become bowl eligible with a win. The Buckeyes are already going to the Rose Bowl, but there will be no National Championship game in Columbus this year. How far have these two teams fallen in the past three years. Ohio State has won the last six up to this point and most of the games have not been fun to watch.




Ohio State




Ohio State have been thrashed, destroyed and man-handled by top 10 teams. USC, Texas, Florida, LSU to name a few have had their way with them. Coach sweater vest offense is so conservative that most feel that he plays not to lose. With as much talent as the Buckeyes send to the NFL, winning the Big Ten is just not good enough for Buckeye nation. Tressel recruits to win the Big ten, not to win BCS titles. His team can not compete with the other big time programs because of their lack of speed and quickness at all of their positions, not just the skill position.




Michigan



Michigan has been struggling for the last three years. The appeal of the Wolverines talent level has completely dropped off from where it used to be. Rich-Rod is only in year two of a six year deal. Rodriguez has a history of rebuilding programs but I don't know if the Ann Arbor faithful can wait. People in this area are used to competing for championships. Lloyd Carr got a pass because he did produce one national championship. Michigan is one of the schools that college football needs to be good. When Wolverines are competitive and winning, it brings national attention not only to the conference but to the rivalry.













I miss the days of Woody, Bo, Coop, and Lloyd. Where have you gone Troy Smith, Joey Galloway, David Boston? This game misses the flair of Woodson, Howard and Shawn Springs. Everybody paid attention when Ted Ginn, Rickey Dudley and Maurice Clarett were playing. If I am missing this game and its must-see attraction, I can only imagine what the fans of these two teams must be feeling.

Same Old Answer

I am a Grizzlies season ticket holder. I have been for the last 3 years. People in Memphis go to the games to see other star's from the league and to be entertained. The die-hard fans of the Grizzlies long for the days of Shane Battier and Hubie Brown. This city just wants a pro-franchise to support that wins. One of the jokes around town is the University of Memphis is the only sports franchise in town. With that said, I knew the signing of Allen Iverson would be a disaster not only for him but for this team. The Answer has had problems every where he has been. Allen signing here only tarnishes his already soiled and star-crossed legacy.

When the Grizz were mentioned in the running for Iverson over the early fall, I was shocked. In watching this team over the last few years it is very apparent what they have and need. An aging, selfish, former all-star proved not to be the solution. The Grizz can score with anybody there biggest problem is lack of defense and lack of an experienced point guard play. Iverson could only take away from the young nucleus. Iverson needs,wants and demands the ball. His feeling was clear from day one. Why should he be sitting on the bench playing behind Conley, and Mayo? Those kids grew up watching him play and he can still light it up with the best of them. His selfishness was shining through.

Allen needs to come to grips that his skills have diminished, especially on the defensive end. What made Allen great was his explosiveness and quickness. At 34, he has lost a lot of his quickness especially at the defensive end. In Detroit, he was consider a liability on that end of the floor. He can no longer defend point guards and let alone the bigger two-guards. The speed in which he used to get speed is no longer there.

What we see here is a superstar having a tough time coming to grips that he is on the downside of his career. These guys have a tough time stepping away from the spotlight and realizing their mortality when their playing days are over. Jerry Rice, Bruce Smith, Emmit Smith and even the great Michael Jordan just couldn't exit gracefully. I'm not saying that the Answer should retire but what he should do is come to grips with where he is at in his career and be willing to accept that role.

Interesting enough the woeful Knicks are not going to sign him. When team as bad as the Knicks pass up on you, there as some serious problems. The Knicks could use someone to fill up the seats in the Garden but why mess up an already toxic losing situation by adding the headache that is Allen Iverson. Nuggets coach George Karl said he would consider bringing him back if one of his guards got hurt. That doesn't make any sense because Denver has serious championship aspirations and Allen has made it clear that winning is not important to him. Reuniting him with Carmelo would only hurt the Nuggets.

So if Allen wants to play, I have the Answer for him. he should go to and should have gone to Charlotte with Larry Brown. Why the Bobcats? Its another young team but they lack scoring. Brown is the one guy that got through to Iverson. Allen had his only MVP season with Larry Brown and the 76ers. Also, Michael Jordan is there and is probably the only one who can help Allen make the transition to aging superstar easier.

Allen if you are listening, for the first time in your life, do the classy thing and go out gracefully. You are one of the best little men ever to play the game. Be willing to come off the bench and help a young team make it to the playoffs or go to a contender and help win yourself. When a coach and management ask you if you are willing to sacrifice yourself for the good of the team, give wisdom to younger players, be selfless when it comes to sharing the basketball. Give a different answer, not the same one you have given your whole career.

The Team No One Wants To Play

Scared Of Them

We ended the weekend with the same 6 unbeaten teams in college football. Florida, Bama, Texas, TCU, Boise St., and Cincy. I've chronicled each of these teams in details in the pass. The most balanced team of the bunch is TCU. They are fast, disciplined and very solid in all aspects of the game. There is one team out there that doesn't get mentioned a lot and is the most difficult to prepare for. This team offense is tough, they are stout on defense and if your team faced them in a BCS bowl they will have their hands full.

Georgia Yellow Jacket is the team no one wants to play.

The Yellow Jackets run the best offense in cfb, the Triple-option. Why do I think it is the best offense? Teams barely run it and it toughs to prepare for in a short amount of time. You need a stud d-linemen, linebacker and safety to be able to shut down the option on a consistent basis. Growing up I hated Nebraska football and they ran this offense to perfection. Watching them gash your defense while your screaming at the TV is a helpless feeling. That is the same way Ga Tech does it. Josh Nesbit is the qb, Jonathan Dwyer and Anthony Allen are the other running backs. What makes this team even more difficult is they have the duplicate of Calvin Johnson at the wide receiver position. So when you load up the box and sell out to stop the run, Demaryius Thomas is bigger, stronger and faster than your db's. That is why is tough to prepare for these guys week in and week out. Paul Johnson brought this offense over from Navy and this kids are running it to perfection. What I love about this offense is that they know how to pick up the short yard, which is what you need in a tough game.
The Ramblin' Wreck are a dangerous 1 loss team. They have their rivalry game before the ACC championship game. All the other BCS contender better beware of this team if they are playing them in the Orange Bowl.

What the Heaven Happened?

Iowa Beaten

You had to know that Iowa was going to lose, but not to Northwestern. Northwestern hadn't beaten a Top Ten since 2004. Iowa had played tough close games all seasons but once they lost their leader Ricky Stanzi in the 2nd quarter, the game was over, BCS title hopes gone and unbeaten season gone. I think Iowa fans knew how important Stanzi (pictured left) was to their team but I'm not sure the rest of the country knew. Ricky is the unquestioned leader of the team and losing him to that ankle injury just sucked the life out of the Hawkeyes. Norhtwesten played a great game and beat the 4th ranked team at home. Another David has been eliminated from title contention.



Oregon destroyed at Stanford






You just don't roll into Palo Alto and think you can just beat up on the Cardinal. Stanford demoralized the Ducks Rose Bowl hopes with a 51-42 win. The Ducks had to still be thinking about the thumping they put on USC because they completely overlooked Stanford. Toby Gerhart ran for 223 yards and 3 TD's in the win. Gerhart, an underrated Heisman candidate, just willed his team to a win. A funny note is that Stanford's starting quarterbacks last name is Luck. The Cardinal will need a little more of that as well if they want to make it to the Rose Bowl.

Navy Ends the Irish BCS Hopes

Navy has beaten Notre Dame in back to back seasons. With the loss, Notre Dmae has no chance of going to a BCS game. This is the type of loss that could cost Weis his job. Alumnus of the university have been looking for ways to get rid of him. There is a certain formula I subscribe to when looking at coaches on the hot seat. 1. Never lose to rivals in consecutive years. Weis has been dominated by USC since he has been coaching the Irish. 2. Win games against weaker opponents. Weis has lost to Navy in consecutive years. When you have a soft schedule, make sure you win big. Notre Dame lost to a bad Michigan team, just escaped Purdue, Michigan State and Washington. If I am Charlie Weis, I call Belichik to see if I can rejoin his staff in New England. Golden Domers are now getting ready to call Urban Meyer to see if he can restore the roar back to America's football school.

Its not TV, Its the Raiders

The Sopranos was a great show. Aside from the gratious violence, swear words and nudity, it was very well written and highly entertaining. It gave some insight to what happens in the mafia. By watching the Sopranos, you can also understand what it is like in the Raiders organization. You have the head of the family, Al Davis, who has been around since the inception of football. He has henchmen who try to control what and who comes in and out of the Raiders. This organization is in so much turmoil with a great fan base because their godfather refuses to let go and hire competent football people.

To make matters worse, Tom Cable the coach, not only was accused of beating up one of his assistant coaches, (who was reportedly the spy who reported to Al) he has a history of domestic violence. Three women have accused Cable of striking them and he admits to striking his former wife. The coach besides the quarterback is the face of the franchise. To have him going out everyday and coach young men with his history is absurd. I am all for people getting second chances but fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Davis and the league should have done a more extensive background check because now this a public relations nightmare. Al Davis and the raiders are now trying to cooperate with the league and hopes the league will discipline Cable so that he can fire him without paying him. If you have followed the Raiders, then you know they have a history of not paying coaches. Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Lane Kiffin to name a few. What amazes me is how they want to take the easy way out and not fire him because he can't coach but fire him because he has brought embarrassment to the organization. The Raiders have been embarrassing since 2002. Randy Moss went there and people thought he was lost in the Bermuda Triangle until he went to the Patriots. Warren Sapp, pro bowler, love for the game was sucked out him once he entered the Black Hole.This team is so dysfunctional that their starting qb, Jamarcus Russell (pictured below) doesn't think he is one of the problems. He has thrown only 2 touchdown passes all season, while throwing 9 interceptions. He had a game where he completed 7 passes. There are kids in Pee Wee football that complete more than 7 passes in a game. Their first round pick at wide receiver has 5 catches this year, while the 49ers first round receiver who started the 6 games later caught 5 passes in his first game. That just proves how messed up this team is.

I'm not and have never been a Raider fan. I do understand the history of the game and all of the innovations Al Davis has brought. This was once a proud franchise, now it is a complete joke. For this franchise to get back to where it used to be its going to take a complete gutting of staff members and players. This is one show that definitely needs to be canceled because the viewers and critcs are just not happy.

Good Guy Of The Week

Michael Redd doesn't get a lot of publicity playing for the Milwaukee Bucks and he should. Redd is a proven scorer in the league and one of the most respected players as well. He was a member of the Redeem Team who won the gold medal in China. His job was to shoot the three and he did it well. You probably wonder why I made him a good guy of the week. Even though Redd is an all-star, gold medalist, he hasn't let the NBA lifestyle change the way he was brought up. He was raised in a Christian home with both of his parents being pastor's. He saved himself for his wife and in this day and age that is to be comended. especially playing professional baskeball with the a lot of women throwin' themselves at him. He also made a promise to his parents that if he made it big in the NBA, he would buy them a church in Columbus, Ohio. He signed his max-deal in 2005 and donated his money to the church. His parents were able to move their church that was started in a basement to a building. Redd stays true to his roots by sharing Christ with other players around the league and even holds Bible studies with his teammates. This is the kind of guy you just root for.

NBA is FAN-Tastic

I've missed that old slogan...

I will try to update once a week some of the things I've noticed about the NBA.



Cleveland will regret trading for Shaq: Basketball has changed in the past 10-12 years. No longer does the game feature dominant low-post scorers. Gone are the days of Ewing, Robinson, Olajuwon, and Kareem. The Cleveland Cavaliers missed that memo that was sent out. The Cavs were exposed last year by the Magic with their undersized guards and forwards. LeBron can't guard all the Rashard Lewis's and Turkolo's of the world. The move to acquire Shaq was to combat Dwight Howard. Howard wasn't raining 3's over Delonte West and Mo Williams. They hope that Lebron can score 40 and they can win a championship will not work. The Shaq of 10 years ago would be a perfect fit because at least he could run with LeBron. This Shaq is going to clog up the lane just like he did in Phoenix. The other problem they have is Shaq can't guard the new wave of power forwards (more on that in a moment). He can't keep up with the Garnett's, Wallace's or Dirk's in a pick and roll situation. He is a liability on the defensive end. Cleveland will make the playoffs but a championship is not coming any time soon.

You can't guard me!!!: As I mentioned before, the power forward and center position has changed. Today's players don't play with their back to the basket. You barely see players understand how to post up their defenders. What has replaced that is the athletic 4 or 5 guy, who can spot and hit the 3 or shoot over the top of their defenders. With that said, the most unstoppable player in the league (with apologies to Kobe, Lebron and D-Wade) is Dirk Nowitki. No one can check the 7-footer. You put a guard on he shoots over him, put a big man on him he drives past him. He can light it up from the outside and terrorize you on the inside. One of Dirk's drawbacks is he doesn't bang enough or get a lot of boards. But he skill-set can not be taught. Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Rashard Lewis all fit this type of mold, but Dirk is far away more talented than these guys.

Ron Artest will explode: I like Ron Artest. Artest is one of those players that everyone wants on their team. He can defend, rebound, score and pass the ball. Ron-ron's only problem is he can be very wacky at times. The brawl in the Palace, the constant on-going feud with Kobe when he was a Rocket. That's why I know its only a matter of time before he goes off again with the Lakers. Laker fans will say that Phil Jackson controlled Dennis Rodman. Rodman fell in line behind Michael and Scottie. I just can't see Artest falling behind Kobe. He is saying all the right things because he wants a championship but when they hit a rough patch, Ron will probably hit somebody or something.









As if Cleveland fans had enough to worry about: This is not a bag on Ohio blog but living in Cleveland or being a fan of Cleveland has to be rough. The Indians are a farm team to the rest of baseball, the Browns are in complete disarray and LeBron did not sign an extension this summer. With the way the Knicks and Nets are stinking it up and trying to position themselves to get LeBron, I just can't see him going there. Why waste his time where its cold all the time when he could go to a warm weather climate, like L.A. and no I don't mean the Lakers, how about the Clippers? Crazy, I don't think. The Clip show has a top ten point guard, Baron Davis when healthy. Young two guards in Eric Gordon and Al Thornton. A slashing forward in Blake Griffin and solid center in Marcus Camby. They will have enough money to lure him and he could share the same arena as Kobe and be just as big of a draw. Just a thought.



I am attaching a link to a video of my pick for MVP. He is from the class of 2003. The only one of those guys to win a NCAA title. I believe its his time to shine. Hopefully he keeps his head on straight and stays out of trouble. His team will be competing for a top spot in their conference which will help his chances. Enjoy the clip!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlrbJ6oG7OM

CFB Wrap up

Another crazy weekend in college football. Before I move forward, one of the readers pointed out that Big Ten is also seeing some of the same issues that the SEC has in bad calls favoring higher ranked teams. After watching the Indiana-Iowa game, I completely agree. This is not only a SEC-Big Ten problem, its all of college football. A lot of the replay officials as well as the refs on the fields are makeing bad calls or misinterpetting the rule book. In this game, Indiana had 2 touchdowns called back which could have changed the game. The IU receiver had one foot down and controlled the ball as he fell out of bounds and the back judge was standing right there and made the correct call. The replay judge overturned it. The Hoosier have been victimized by officials a lot this year. Look, IU does not have a football tradition, however, the game should be called the right way. Just because the school hasn't really been good that does mean they deserve to be treated like a 1-AA school.











IOWA

Iowa seriously reminds me of Ohio State in 2002. I'm not saying they are going to win the National Championsihip, but they are rolling. Every week people picked Ohio State to lose in 2002 and the same is happening to the Hawkeyes. Last week, Michigan State had the game won, but somehow, Iowa got a td with :03 seconds left and won. This week was no different against Indiana. In the third quarter, Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi threw not one, or two but 4 interceptions!!! 4 picks in a quarter usually spells doom for a team, but not those plucky Hawkeyes. They just outscored the Hoosiers 35-3 in the second half, 28 of those points came in the 4th quarter. This team relishes being down. They stick to their game plan, like the 02 Buckeyes and nothing seems to phase them. Their biggest challenge will be in a couple of weeks when they go to the Horseshoe and face Ohio State. Iowa can't win at Ohio State, right? I'm picking against them hoping they win so that the BCS gets screwed up.









USC

Pete Carroll still has to be bugged by Mark Sanchez leaving school early. Not that Sanchez would have made the difference yesterday, but they probably wouldn't have lost in Washington and the loss yesterday would have kept them in contention for BCS title game. After that thrashing that Oregon put on them yesterday, there is no way the Trojans can get into the title game. This has to make most of the pundits really sad. Everyone was thinking of ways of how USC was going to get to title game. SC has placed a lot of pro's in the NFL, but if you look at the last 10 years USC should have had a few more title appearances and more titles. Getting manhandled by the Ducks is no excuse for a team that has about eight or nine pro prospects on the defensive side of the ball. Oregon was relentless and deserve a lot of credit for bouncing back considering how the season started on the smurf turf in Boise.

Florida

Florida beat up on Georgia and is still number 1 in the BCS. Tebow looked healthy and their offense wasn't predictable. Florida will be in the SEC championship game but LSU with a win over Alabama would control their own destiny. Saturday's SEC showdown could have huge national championship implications. Can you imagine a championship game without an SEC school? It could happen if LSU beats Alabama and wins in the rematch against Florida. Texas and Iowa would have to stay undefeated as well. Here is what I really wanted to talk about. What's the deal with Georgia wearing the black helmets? Mark Richt was trying to inspire his players and strike fear into the Gators hearts. Why would a helmet do that? If your players can't get up for a rivalry game then they shouldn't be playing in that game. It's like when Notre Dame runs out in the green jersey's. Don't get me wrong, I like the helmet's, it just bugs me when the schools try to make a big deal out of them.