How one spread offense coach adapted the spread

orangeandbrown · Post by **orangeandbrown** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:35 pm

http://www.fanblogs.com/florida/006039.php

Note the bold type below:

It was easy to wonder, "Who are these Florida Gators?" while watching the Florida - Georgia game this weekend. From the "Sandtrooper" uniforms to the pro-set offenses, there wasn't a lot that looked like the Urban Meyer - Chris Leak show that we've seen all season long.

Meyer used the time and the bye week to tinker with his offense to get ready for Georgia. He went to the more traditional pro-set offense and added a fullback and a traditional tight end and put in quicker pass plays for quarterback Chris Leak, who completed only 11 of 30 passes against LSU but went 15 of 20 against Georgia. UF had given up 24 sacks in the first seven games, but Leak was sacked only once by one of the top defenses in the nation -- a Bulldogs defense that entered with 21 sacks.

...

''We're certainly going to keep some spread element,'' Meyer said. ``There were several plays that weren't run [against Georgia], but we had to win the game.

''The thing I've figured out in this conference is you've got to do what you've got to do to win these games,'' said Meyer, who has said all season it will take time to get the spread offense working. But he changed his philosophy just in time.

''We're still committed [to the spread],'' he said. ``But [during the bye week] we evaluated the SEC. It's new to me. Scoring two or three touchdowns a game, I'm not comfortable with that. But I am comfortable with winning, and if that means being more conservative . . . ''

...

Meyer admitted Sunday that defenses are catching up to the spread around the country, making adjustments.

''There's no question about it,'' he said. "But more than the offense, it's the personnel. There's no secret offense. It's the people who are running it."

And more from GatorSports.com:

UF probably will keep this basic offensive look for the rest of the season, but Meyer said that doesn't mean the Gators have given up on the spread elements such as the shovel passes, reverses and the triple option. "No, we'll see those," Meyer said. "It depends on how the defense is playing us. When you're playing teams with as much speed as LSU and Georgia, running laterally doesn't make a lot of sense unless you're matching their speed. "We're certainly going to keep some spread elements. It depends on who we're playing. There were a lot of plays that were not run in that game (Saturday)."

You gotta give Meyer credit for admitting that his silver bullet wasn't working against the SEC teams and moving to an offense that will matchup better against the defenses in the league. There's room in the SEC for some elements of the spread, but I give Meyer a lot of credit for shaking up his system in order to win.

For all the discussion this off-season about the offensive schemes winning out over talent, it's interesting to hear from Meyer pointing out that it's the guys on the field that make all the difference.

Dayons_Den · Post by **Dayons_Den** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:44 pm

I would also say the spread is designed to get a big lead and make the other team play catch up (at least our spread). And it does not work when the other team gets a lead, very hard for a spread to play catch up when losing.

hammb · Post by **hammb** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:51 pm

Sometimes I wish Urban had never coached here at BG, so we can comment on him.

Personally, I think the guy is one of the top 2-3 coaches in college football, and things like this are why. How many coaches will try to implement a major change such as that in the middle of a season? Of those that will try how many would actually be able to make it work?

Unfortunately if you say anything nice about Urban in these forums you get ridiculed for wanting him back and that we should look forward. Or worse yet we hear how Brandon is really the better coach since he won Bowls and Urban didn't.

Thanks for posting this info, it's fun to read. This, is how a real coach makes adjustments...

Jacobs4Heisman · Post by **Jacobs4Heisman** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:53 pm

I'm done defending anybody on this team or coaching staff.

Urban is a great coach, just not very honest.

Bleeding Orange · Post by **Bleeding Orange** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:55 pm

hammb wrote:Sometimes I wish Urban had never coached here at BG, so we can comment on him.

Personally, I think the guy is one of the top 2-3 coaches in college football, and things like this are why. How many coaches will try to implement a major change such as that in the middle of a season? Of those that will try how many would actually be able to make it work?

Unfortunately if you say anything nice about Urban in these forums you get ridiculed for wanting him back and that we should look forward. Or worse yet we hear how Brandon is really the better coach since he won Bowls and Urban didn't.

Thanks for posting this info, it's fun to read. This, is how a real coach makes adjustments...

After the past couple of weeks, I don't think you'll find many genuinely defending Sub-Urban (Brandon) like before.

jpfalcon09 · Post by **jpfalcon09** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 4:59 pm

Send 3 drop 8 in zone, that's how you stop the spread. Over a course of time things get stale and become solved, and I think the spread offense is on it's last leg.

Flipper · Post by **Flipper** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 5:13 pm

The spread is dead? Uh-oh....maybe it can join the west coast offense on the scrap heap (and take Steve Mariucci with you).

Urbie's a bit of a bs'er, but he's a hell of a coach. It will be interesting to see how his act wears over 5-10 seasons (if he ever stays in one place that long)