What is the Spread Offense?
The spread offense is a rapidly growing offensive scheme all around various football leagues, specifically in college football.
Adapted by several elite programs, including, but not limited to, schools such as Florida, Oregon, Texas Tech, and so forth, the spread offense has taken over college football and is becoming almost impossible to stop along the way.
A spread offense usually consists of the quarterback coming from the shotgun formation, with four or five-wide-receiver sets, if it's being ran correctly. The objective of the spread offense is to spread the length of the football field horizontally and to distribute the ball to the wide receivers via the flats or by way of a screen pass.
Several teams in the National Football League have already adapted and used the spread to full effect, most notably last season's New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers.
New England had, historically, what might have been the best offense of all-time, or at least the best of this millennium. The attack featured Tom Brady, who broke several records at his position at quarterback, and record-breaking wide receiver Randy Moss, who set a new single-season record for touchdown catches.
However, with the exception of the "Wildcat Formation", (A formation in which the running back primarily lines up at quarterback) we haven't seen the basic principles of the spread designed for running the football.
At least we've yet to see it.
The Spread in College
With upcoming draft classes showcasing quarterbacks fully capable of running AND throwing the football, we should see the league taking notice to this and adapting to their capabilities.
Of these "dual-threat" quarterbacks that are currently in college, we've got guys such as Florida's Tim Tebow, West Virginia's Pat White, Appalachian State's Armanti Edwards, Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor, and Illinois' Juice Williams, to name a few.
All of the players mentioned above are able to run the ball effectively and throw the ball with efficiency. Of the players I've mentioned above, they've all combined to throw for 91 touchdowns and only 26 interceptions (Juice Williams had 15 interceptions), which isn't bad considering the fact that these guys are projected as run-first type quarterbacks.
Not to mention, we've yet to begin on those in college football that are already garnering National Football League spread-style experience with the pass-first spread formations, like Graham Harrell of Texas Tech, Sam Bradford of Oklahoma, Chase Daniel of Missouri, and David Johnson of Tulsa.
Again, these four had a combined passing touchdown number of 141 already this season, and that's with one less player mentioned than the five listed above that run first, pass second in their respective spreads. However, these players are NOT as consistent as the run-first players, as they have 33 interceptions on the season.
But there's probably some reasoning behind that, correct? Absolutely. The pass-first spread quarterbacks have had a total of 1,480 combined passing attempts on the year, while the run-first spread quarters have had a total of 1,102 (plus they had an extra player listed).
That makes the pass-first spread quarterbacks bound to struggle a little bit, don't you think?
Draft Selections on Spread Quarterbacks
In the 2008 NFL Draft, two dominant spread-running quarterbacks were selected, those being Oregon's Dennis Dixon with the 156th pick in the draft by the Steelers, and Hawaii's Colt Brennan with the 186th pick in the draft by the Redskins. Paul Smith, Tulsa's quarterback, which ran the spread, went undrafted.
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about 1 month ago
Navy does not run the spread.
from about 1 month ago
Don't they run a form of the spread offense?
from about 1 month ago
See Joe's comment.
They run the option out of a lot of tight formations (rather than spread formations). Their QB also lines up under center rather than in the shotgun.
If you have NCAA football video game, play with Navy and you'll see how their offense works. It is a great offense, but a lot more one dimensional than Florida's spread. Navy does not have a lot of effective passing plays. They mostly run the ball.
about 1 month ago
Quote below from 10-16-08 AP article: "Triple trouble? Navy's offense a worry to Pitt"
"Taking advantage of excellent field position created by repeated Pitt kicking game problems, the Midshipmen ran their triple-option offense as if they were taping an instructional video on a system that is rarely seen in college football these days"
The triple option and the Spread are different offenses, though the triple-o is usually included among the schemes within the Spread... Florida has a triple-o package within its Spread.
about 1 month ago
"If not, someone better find a home for all these quarterbacks."
Helloooooo, CFL!
about 1 month ago
"As for the spread-option offense, no. It hasn't been run effectively and won't until people figure out the concept."
Not sure if you've been watching Florida this year, but Urban Meyer has got the (triple) option/spread package down to a freakin' science right now. I think the reason he has been so successful with it this year is because he finally has all of the necessary tools: A smart, big, run-first QB with a great arm; a very quick (and big) offensive line; and backs/receivers with incredible quickness - Harvin, James, Demps, Rainey...
Downfield blocking is also key to being successful with this option/spread package, and Florida has some of the best DF blocking I have seen in college football.... it's why their quick RB's are so dangerous up the middle!
Great article though, very insightful. 5 stars.
from about 1 month ago
Again, I think we need to be careful not to interchange and equate the terms "spread option" and "triple option". The "triple option" can be run as one of many other play packages or formations within the "spread option" offense.
A quick look at Meyer's Utah Spread Option playbook will demonstrate this very quickly ( a pictures worth 1000 words). Below is a link to a slick powerpoint presentation of what is essentially the BG/Utah Spread Option playbook (the poster says it comes from breakdowns of game video, but it looks a lot like the Utah playbooks for sale on eBay)... contains about 100 pages that you can scroll thru quickly.
BTW David, the Gators hang another 50+ points on another quality opponent... :)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/3115856/Urban-Meyer-Offense
about 1 month ago
BYU has been running the spread since Lavell Edwards took them to a natl. championship in the 80's.
about 1 month ago
Great article.
The Falcons ran the wildcat formation twice today to no avail. But it's a start. Matt Ryan is shaping up to be a good quarterback, and he has the talent that Tebow has in that he has a great arm and he can run. I'd like to see the spread open up in the NFL. Great job on analyzing this. 5*, POTD.
about 1 month ago
The spread offense has been around a long time. This is not a "new" or "growing" formation in the NFL. Most teams that have five wide receivers in the NFL have used a spread formation and have been for years. I am not a fan of college football and maybe this is new in college football but it has always been around the NFL.
from about 1 month ago
Jarrod you are so right its not even funny. The spread is not new in either college or the NFL, it has been around in one form or another for decades. I am currently writing a sociology paper on football and American culture and am holding a book call "how to run the spread offense in football" publish in 1936! And it is written by the then TCU coach.
Its been around, now the spread Jarrod they are referring too is the urban meyer empty backfield with a RB/QB, and instead of true WRs and RBs, they offense is more based around athletes
from about 1 month ago
not my most grammatically sound posting ever
about 1 month ago
The spread has been around for ages. The reason why Dennis Dixon hasn't played because he can't throw from the pocket. In fact there were talks when he was drafting of him moving to wide receiver or running back. Troy Smith is another spread quarterback but he hasn't done anything for the Ravens and the only time he's been successfull is on trick plays. Joe Flacco beat Smith out.
The spread if it was used predominantly on an NFL team would not work. Again it's a fact that the pro game is a whole lot faster then the college game. Decisions need to be made quicker when throwing the football or the option of the qb tossing it to the running back or the qb keeping it. It also leaves the team in danger if the qb takes a big hit. Then the team becomes one dimensional.
Michael Vick never ran the spread offense in Atlanta. He was a mobile quarterback meaning that he gave defense fits because of his speed. If a team geared up for the run Vick had the arm strength to hit the deep ball and that's what made him so good.
Colt Brennan will be lucky to ever see playing time in Washington same with Dennis Dixon. Hence the reason the Steelers signed Byron Leftwich.
Vince Young is another story because he has the arm strength too. The Titans didn't use the spread offense either. It's just when a play breaks down more mobile quarterbacks have the ability to make plays with their legs.
There was a reason why Dennis Dixon fell so far in the draft and it had nothing to do with his durability. Yes, he had the knee injury but it wasn't becuase of the knee injury that scared teams off. It was his arm strength and his ability to make throws from the pocket. There's no doubt that Dixon is mobile and could escape the pocket and run with his legs, the question was how well he performed in the pocket? The answer is he's an ok pocket passer and that's it.
There's a huge reason why Matt Ryan was the first quarterback selected in the draft and that is because he fit the pro system better. The reason is because he could make throws from the pocket that none of the qb's you mentioned that were drafted or went undrafted could make the throws that Ryan could.
You're not going to see the spread run in the NFL. It's not plausible. Scouts will be looking for qb's who have mobility but the will also look at the qb's arm strength. That is one of the reasons why you'll see Terrelle Pryor, Graham Harrell, Tim Tebow, Pat White, Juice Williams, and Armanti Edwards fall in the draft is because their arm strength will be tested.
If a quarterback can't make a long throw in the NFL there in trouble. The defense will be looking for it and they won't miss the tackles like in college. The long runs by qb's wouldn't happen if the base offense was the spread because NFL players are also more disciplined then college players.
So, the spread isn't coming to the NFL and it definitely will not become a main offense for any team.
from about 1 month ago
Steven you are completely wrong.
The New England Patriots ran a shotgun-spread passing attack last year with much success. The Packers had some spread looks with Favre last year, too.
from about 1 month ago
in reference to your flacco comment, he didn't actually win the job. Smith was slatted to start for the Ravens and actually fell very ill, dropping over 20 lbs and Flacco beat out Kyle B for the back-up job
from about 1 month ago
Believe it or not, tackling has gotten worse over the years in the NFL. Do some research on it, an article appeared in one of the recent Sports Illustrated magazines I believe about this issue. While I agree that defenders won't overpursue runners, that doesn't help bring them down.
Look how spread-type running backs have succeeded in the NFL, mainly Jonathon Stewart of Carolina. If you watched the Lions highlights, you saw that Stewart was able to make guys miss and break tackles, and running the spread wouldn't be different.
Could a QB do it? Probably.
about 1 month ago
the spread is a form of the run and shoot how did that work out back in the 80's
about 1 month ago
The run and shoot was so good that Jim Kelly is in the HOF! Yes they ran some pro style sets, but as he said on Thursday night a great deal of the formation were similar to the spread.
The problem with the run and shoot is the NFL was simple, teams were drafting the wrong athletes for the system. QBs like a Tebow could never stand the contact you would get in a pro game.
Also, you have to have a GREAT defense to win. Teams score so quick that the defense gets right back on the field. That's why college teams like Florida can dominate. Florida's defense shuts people down and the offense jumps right back on you. Next thing you know its 21-0, game over.Thats why Hawaii got spanked last year. They had a good, but not great defense.
June Jones proved the offense can work. Urban Meyer proved you can win with it. No doubt you can go 9-7 in the NFL with it. But it takes a special team, Patriots, to win with it.
about 1 month ago
"The Spread has been around for a long time." True enough. The piano has been around for a long time, too. That doesn't mean just anybody can sit down and do a good job playing it.
Meyer brought the Spread Option to the level of an art form at Bowling Green and Utah. Since the Ole Miss game, we are seeing shades of excellence in the Spread at Florida. Sorry to upset any Gator rivals, but we are just now seeing the tip of the Spread iceberg at Florida.
Can the spread work in the NFL? I think so, but it will take a huge commitment from an owner... probably an owner with "nothing to lose"... a long losing record, plus the financial ability to make the trades necessary to pull a complicated set of deals together. "Half-stepping" the Spread will not work (see Auburn's attempt this season).
about 1 month ago
just reading this its very clear your 14. Not in a negative way but in thinking that Vick is the "founder" of scrambling QBs. Your not old enough to remember Steve Young, refusing to stay in the pocket and running for yards. Or John Elway. Or McNabb at the start of his career. Or Couch running the option. Running QBs are not a new idea, in fact it was the original intention for the position.
The spread idea works in the football, look at the whole westcoast offense, the Colts offense under Manning or the 90s Rams offense.
But a spread option will suffer the same fate as the traditional option attack, linebackers and safeties are just too fast. Having speed in the NFL means nothing, everyone is fast. The straight line college receivers disappear into the NFL because an NFL defense can match their speed 3 corners deep. And the reason we say this is because we've seen it over and over, Steve Young being forced to retire early because of concussions, McNabb's constant injuries, and Couch's famous NFL flop. As for Vick he had one outstanding season, and then teams schemed for him and we've never seen an effective Vick since.
from about 1 month ago
Your right. I'd heard of scrambing quarterbacks like Elway, like Kenny Stabler, like McNabb and so forth... but didn't ever get to watch them. It's a shame, so then I can't give true viewpoints on stuff like that. I said Vick was the founder of scrambling because like you mentioned he's the one I grew into my teen years watching, and I also think that because with Atlanta he was more of a run-first guy. People remembered him for running, not passing.
I feel that if a coach gets the proper pieces aligned where they need to go, the spread could be a success. If you have pro-lineman blocking like Florida's or Texas Tech's, your going to move the ball with college-like numbers. It's all about how you manage the offense, not the skill of players in my opinion.
from about 1 month ago
i like your response, its very mature and i think shows that despite being young you do have a good understanding of football, and i like you dropping stabler.
In terms of RBs going from college spread to pro offenses, it really isn't about the type of offense, it can maximize a RBs speed and make some guys maybe appear better than they are. Reggie Bush is a monster in space, and USC gave him as much space as possible and WOW. When it comes to RBs i don't care what offense he was in, i want to know 3 things in this order:
1. Is he quick (not fast), can he kick in burst to the hole and gain positive yards
2. Is he big/strong/slippery enough to break tackles, you have to have YAC in the NFL
3. Does he have speed, can he break a big run if he gets in space
4. Is he a north/south runner and not too much of a jitterbug
any RB that has those 3 things will be successful to some degree in the NFL, and i would almost take a spread RB because in those offenses they are exposed to less contact.
WRs are tricky because the biggest differences between college defenses and NFL defenses are the speed, the physicality and efficiency of execution. NFL defenses don't make mistakes often and when they do they result in 20 yard runs or 30 yard passes, not 60 yard TDs. WRs are forced to use route running abilities to get themselves open, it they can't do so they must become a slot man and rely on the Xs and Os getting them open. If a WR has speed and route running to get open, there is still of problem that the defense will knock them completely off their route and abuse them physically. Case in point, who things Percy Harvin would really be able to run a route against Al Harris? Harris is fast enough to cover Harvin for the 2.5 seconds of pocket time the QB will have. To make the QB's life harder Harvin isn't strong enough to over come the legendary Al Harris press coverage.
Not sure how i got on this but i just rolled with it...
from about 1 month ago
Very good points. I think one thing about the spread offense type-backs is they are more finesse instead of power. You don't usually find guys like Brandon Jacobs in a college spread-offense, (besides Florida's Emmanuel Moody, but he transferred from the West Coast running USC Trojans) and although that isn't a bad thing, we've seen positive play from some power running backs through the past few seasons.
I think the spread will work out if the Quarterback in charge has the following capabilities:
A. Throwing Ability
A 1.) Throwing Accuracy
A 2.) Awareness
It's no secret that the National Football League is a pass-first type league, so in order to keep the defense balanced and not pressuring to stop the scramble or the option, you've got to have an above average quarterback throwing passes.
B. Ability to Take Hits
B 1.) Elusiveness
B 2.) Field Vision
Like mentioned throughout the comment section of this article, these quarterbacks have to be able to take hits, other wise they'll be injured and possibly lose their entire career in the process. With this comes elusiveness, which many have, but the bigger point is field vision. You can't run to one side of the field, reverse, and then pick up a first down in the NFL. Defenses are WAY to fast for that, except in a couple rare instances.
For the spread offense to succeed, the quarterback must know when to hit the hole, when to pitch the football, when to watch what receiver and where the defense is at all times. Field vision and awareness are the two most critical factors in the spread offense. Since it's such a complex system to run, it's obviously somewhat difficult to defend - at least more difficult than what some critics are giving it throughout these comments.
Your absolutely correct in terms of the "NFL teams don't make much mistakes". The spread offense is a difficult system to succeed with, and with NFL defenses coming at you and dropping back with more complex schemes, it will be harder to dissect.
But with that comes enhanced blocking, enhanced weapons around the field, enhanced coaching decisions (like audibles at the line of scrimmage, weak points, etc.) and so forth to make sure this offense could work. I say at least give it a shot. Fans want to see this in my opinion....
As for your Percy Harvin reference, he's been adding a lot of muscle, and if DeSean Jackson can succeed, I could see Harvin succeeding just as much if he stays away from injury. I could also see him used at the running back position.
about 1 month ago
NFL defensive players are BIGGER, FASTER, STRONGER, and SMARTER than college players. This is why you see so many HUGE hits every Sunday. This is why injuries are so much more severe and frequent in the NFL. This is why there are rules that say defensive players are to never, ever, ever, ever, ever touch a QB. QBs are the prized possession of the franchise and the NFL.
Now imagine, instead of a 250-lb 5.1-speed lb hitting your quarterback every play, you have a 275-lb 4.4-speed hitting your quarterback every play. Case and point...
You did your homework well on this article. Very detailed. Good job showing your beliefs. The only problem is that in the NFL run-first QBs spend their entire careers on the operating table.
from about 1 month ago
Good point. I think some Quarterbacks could be a success, as long as their running backs are doing good (like Jonathon Stewart), and they have downfield blocking and a solid offensive line. A lot of these spread guys can make tacklers miss, and if they can do that and stay from the sideline, we could see an influx of the spread in the NFL. If not, some organizations will implode due to the picks and signings they've wasted trying to set up this offense.
It's a gamble, basically.
about 1 month ago
If you're trying to base an argument on the fact that Jonathan Stewart broke tackles against the Detroit Lions then your argument needs a lot of work. Stewart would succeed in any system because of his size and strength. At Oregon the spread was only put in last year because of the mobility of Dennis Dixon. Last time I checked the Panthers weren't a spread offense either.
from about 1 month ago
I'm arguing the fact that Jonathon Stewart is a success in the NFL, and ran the spread in college. Never said Carolina did run the spread, just saying that Stewart is one of those that formerly ran the spread and is succeeding in the National Football League. You could counter with Rashard Mendenhall from Illinois, but Steve Slaton of the Houston Texans is also succeeding.
It's a gamble to run the spread. With the spread running backs succeeding for the most parts, I'm basically interested to see what spread Quarterbacks are capable of doing.
about 1 month ago
This offense has been tried in various forms in the NFL over the years. It only works on occasion and cannot be sustained for entire games. The Bills used the run and shoot, but they had Hall of Fame talent to employ. Same with the Patriots. You can't bring a college QB into the NFL and stick him out there in this offense..
about 1 month ago
I think people are looking at this wrong. The issue isn't that the spread option is superior to a great traditional pocket passing system with the ideal personnel. The issue is that the pure pocket passing system that has been in vogue for so long is not effective anymore BECAUSE defenses are so good, talented, athletic and well prepared.
In the past you could dominate using a traditional pocket passing system because offensive players had the edge. But with the athletic parity now defenses have the edge. And for this reason pocket passers are getting beaten down. Look at Brady in the Superbowl. He had as good an offensive line as you can get, and as talented an offense as you can get, yet they still couldn't protect Brady. Same thing this season. Brady was injured in the pocket. And he isn't the only one. Pocket passers are getting injured just as much if not more than running QBs.
Having a Qb built like Tebow isn't a luxury.. in this day and age it is a necessity. And it isn't that NFL teams need to go to a spread option or a wildcat formation. The reality is offenses have to get more unpredictable. If you run anything too much defenses are going to beat it and take your QB out, whether it is the spread or a pocket passing system.. The problem is that the NFL is too stagnant. They are too afraid of change. Maybe they need to get smarter players that can run more complex offenses? Maybe they need coaches that are more cerebral rather than the old school mentality? Something needs to change though. The offenses haven't changed with the times enough to match the improvements on defense.
I am also a firm believer that teams have been recruiting the wrong kinds of running QB. They are going too much to guys that are finesse runners. Guys like Vick and Young aren't built like prototypical runningbacks. They aren't durable enough and don't throw well enough. This is why I see Tebow as the prototypical QB for the new era of football.
Bottom line is that pocket passers are a gimmick that no longer works as well. You can't just run a pocket passing system consistently anymore. You have to mix things up. And guys who are strictly great pocket passers aren't versatile enough to do this effectively. This is another era where Tebow shines. He is as versatile as it gets. He can run power and finesse AND he is a tremendous passer for a running QB.
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