If the QB's were there to make this work you might be right, but they're not. College isn't turning out great pocket passers any more in the volume they did in the Peyton Manning era. Now they're turning out spread option QB's. Bridgewater is a game manager. He's not going to become the next hot thing. 20 TD passes in over 670 drop backs for him so far. Carr has more of a chance at this point, we'll see how that goes. Mariota is going to be moving a lot just like RG III did. We'll see if he can survive. As a comparison, in the 5 game span that got the Redskins to the playoffs in 2012 RGIII had 12 TD passes and 2 picks. He completed 68.1% of his passes in that span and averaged 9.8 yards a pass. Then he got hit and the knee started to come apart and things went downhill from there. Mariota has already had his early knee problem, just like RG III did in 2012. Let's see if he survives the season.
yeah i wish they only turned out top notch pocket qbs like mark sanchez and matt simms. college football is where its at. navy and air force do well because they have solid game plans in a solid offense and put defenses in amazingly difficult positions. the bigger problem is the lack of defense which creates guys who cant do the things and learn the things they need to learn.
Lol still can't admit you're wrong about Teddy. And 3 weeks ago you called Carr a JOURNEYMAN. He's going to journey to multiple Pro Bowls when his career is done. And you hated Mariota. Even if he never runs again the dude is going to be a legit star pocket passer. Arm talent, brains and height. He's going to be 5x the QB Matt Ryan is. _
I agree with this. Once the NFL allowed QB's to be treated like runners on the read-option, RG3, Kaep, and others became much less useful.
They should make the rules for college football the same as the NFL. That will do better to prepare the players, IMO.
people in the northeast who dont watch high school or college football and think only the nfl matters would like it. its a damn shame how little folks up here in the northeast care about football. there is so much good football at everyones fingertips but they will only watch the nfl.
Still not sure why the entire NCAA would change its rules so that regional fan bases who don't care about college football MIGHT start watching it. _
Here is the incentive. The NFL is much more popular and makes way more money. I know drones out there like high scoring games in college, and people think it makes the game more attractive, but the whole purpose of NCAA football is to prepare athletes for the PROs. Without having similar rules, there would be an easier adjustment period for rookies in the NFL. If it weren't so watered down they might have more fans instead of just kids being loyal to their respective colleges.
1) The whole purpose of NCAA football is most certainly NOT to prepare athletes for the pros. 2) College football is extremely popular and doesn't have a problem with needing more fans. They have a hell of a lot of fans beyond just alumni/students 3) Maybe the NFL should consider adapting to the way football is played in high school and college instead of forcing them to play by their rules. You wouldn't have an issue with people adjusting to the game if you didn't play the game the same way you played it in the 1980s with kids bred for 2010s football. -- Geno Smith plays modern day spread offense designed in the 2000s at the highest level of high school football. He goes onto play modern day spread offense designed in the 2000s at the highest level of college football. He gets drafted by the NYJ and runs a Marty Morningweg "West Coast" offense that was designed by the late Bill Walsh in the early 1980s, under a "ground and pound" HC philosophy that was originally designed by Vince Lombardi for football in the 1960s... and yet the college and HS coaches are the problem? we need to force them to play outdated football?
NFL isn't trying to [force] their way onto the new incoming QBs, mind you. If - only if - Spread Option is a viable alternative, NFL will take that offense. I really don't think Spread Option has a place in the NFL; the defense is way too good for that gimmick they call offense. Watch what happened to RG3 for instance; he had a flash early on, but then fizzled and now he's relegated to a backup. NFL is doing the best they can to ensure the competitiveness - and the QB is the unfortunate byproduct.
the spread offense is already being used in the NFL in different variations. It doesn't necessarily mean a running, spread QB. (although I think that will become successful in the NFL too eventually) NE runs it to a degree, SEA runs it to a degree, PHI, even PIT has abandoned their traditional philosophies and are using a lot of the plays/ tendencies of spread offenses in the college game. A lot of the teams don't though and teams that hang onto old school offenses and are strictly adverse to spread offense schemes have been and will continue to have trouble with QBs. (our Jets have made strides this year- much more encouraging)
The problem is the NFL not adjusting to the QBS coming from college, not the colleges. I'm not buying this excuse. The NFL already had a 50+ miss rate on QBS before spread offenses became prevalent in the college game;it seems as if NFL evaluators are looking for excuses to keep their jobs when they inevitably miss on their first round picks at Quarterback . Regardless, Bridgewater (although he has had his struggles ), is solid, Carr is very good and improving, Jameis and Mariota look as if they'll be very good or functional starters at the very least, and Bortles has become a functional starter in year two. Out of the last two classes, they'll at least be three young solid, top 15 Quarterbacks (not including Mariota or Winston yet). I don't see a QB drought at all
It looks like either you ain't got a slightest clue as to what's going on, or you don't want to acknowledge the problem at all. 1. The problem is not that NFL is just hell bent on not using the elements of spread option shit at all to begin with. 2. At college level, QBs are not required to [read] coverages, fronts, identify mike, etc. 3. College football isn't as much a clash of mental acumen as it is the clash of [physical fortitude.] The powerhouse offenses [wear out] the defense with no-huddle offense and make them run until they are gassed. Of course you should keep in mind that weaker schools will have to put lesser competition on the pitch, making this even more of a lopsided event every weeek. At the NFL, these things even out rather COMPLETELY. So QBs that can't read the defense are literally FUCKED. Is that a problem in college football? Ask Petty. He will tell you what was his favorite front and coverage, out of which he made his life hitting big plays one after another.
The problem with the spread option variant is the speed and play recognition skills of NFL linebackers. They're too damn good for it to really be that effective. Combine that with the fact that teams will see their quarterbacks get continually punished if they aren't a Cam Newton freak of nature. NFL linebackers are seldom 215 pounds like can be seen in the college game. Athletic defensive ends and outside linebackers also blow up the play pretty easily by using their athleticism to cover both the quarterback and the running back. The play is also generally not really designed to have a lot of success vs. 3-4 defenses which is seen a lot more often in the NFL than in college football. Too many guys on the front, especially if the defensive ends started to play wide. As stated in this thread, college quarterbacks in a lot of systems aren't required to read the defense, because they take the playclock down look over to the sideline and let the coach make the read for them.
You make some good points, but I have to disagree with you here. The purpose of college is precisely to prepare people for their future careers. Football is no exception. I get that the NCAA itself probably doesn't think of it that way, they only care about making tons of money without paying the athletes that bring it in a dime. That is a different issue for a different conversation, anyway. I didn't say it was a problem, but more money is more money. The NFL doesn't need more fans either, but that doesn't stop Goodell doing whatever he can to increase interest and viewership. Why should the NFL conform to anybody else? They are the pinnacle of football worldwide. If anything it should be the opposite, although high school is quite different, they are kids and you have to treat them as such. Geno didn't play in an NFL style offense in college, he took the vast majority of his snaps out of shotgun, that was the one big knock on him coming to the pros. My beef is more with the college football rules than the philosophy of the coach. It's not outdated if it is used today in the NFL. Just saying. I'm not trying to argue that there are coaching philosophy problems . I just think the RULES of NCAA football itself should be uniform to the NFL since NFL is the highest possible level, and every athlete goes into college with that goal in mind. It would better prepare athletes to play a game with the same rules, that was pretty much my only point. It's like teaching somebody in college how to calculate finances for a company, and then working in the real world using a different number system. To me, it only makes sense to have uniform rules. I'm certainly not demanding them to change it, nor do I think it's even a big deal, I just think it makes sense and might help. I don't think spread option should be banned.
good post, but I still disagree with you on a lot haha. to use your analogy above : to me its more like teaching somebody in college all the cool cutting edge cloud software and newest tools to calculate finances for a company.... and then sending them into the real world where companies are still using an old school formulaic excel spreadsheet or company database that pre-written by one of their best employees 10 years ago with a bunch of additions scrambled in to keep it working in today's environment making it an absolute beast to work in, but they keep it because that's what made them successful before....Which we all know NEVER happens
Have you asked an Oregon or Baylor fan this question? As an Oregon fan, I could tell you my answer.... If you outlaw the spread offense system, you are basically killing the Ducks football program. The only reason we get ANY signifcant recruits at offensive skill positions is because we have a system that promotes the running back and wide receivers. If it was just a system where the athlete was prepared for pro ball, they'd just go to USC, Ohio State, or Alabama. At least we have fancy uniforms and Nike money to full the gap a little.... but now you want to Saban and Meyer an EXTRA edge. Why don't you just end scholarship limits while your at it.... Oregon wasn't even able to put together a decent program until THAT happened....
