A couple of spread thoughts

Maybe we’ve already arrived in a post-spread era.  What I mean by that is that the freshness has worn off.  Defenses are beginning to adapt; conservative coaches like Tuberville have embraced what is clearly becoming a mature strategy.

So I get what Gary Danielson is trying to say here.

“I know that the (Tim) Tebow spread works,” Danielson said. “I’m still not sure any other spread will work in this conference. They cannot have John Brantley getting hit 12 15 times per game. He’s too valuable. It will be a different spread. We will see how it unfolds.”

…

“It was tough for (Tebow) to take the punishment of this conference,” Danielson said. “This conference is more and more simulating the NFL, with sophistiated (sic) defenses to put hits on people.”

That echoes something said by a guy who makes a career out of film study for NFL Films, talking about evolving offensive strategies in the NFL:

What major schematic trend do you see teams doing offensively?

“The game has evolved into a chess match between spread concepts on offense and pressure concepts on defense, which is why it is so important to come up with pressure concepts that rely on fewer defenders rushing, not more defenders rushing. The poster-child for that is Rex Ryan and the New York Jets. The whole idea is to rush as few as possible while still getting someone free to the quarterback.

“I think because of the emphasis on pressure with fewer people and a lot of times smaller people, the trend will be on lighter and quicker offensive linemen who can adjust to the movement.”

What do I take from this?  Two things:

1. Defenses are beginning to see that there are two sides to the spread philosophy of opening up the field to get isolation for playmakers; there are playmakers in the defensive front seven, too.  With enough speed, getting those guys open can be deadly to an offense.
2. I can see why someone running a spread offense would counter this trend with greater mobility on the offensive line, but I also think that going small on defense to counter spread attacks plays into the hands of teams that run traditional (if it’s still worth using that word in this context) power offensive schemes, like Georgia.

As an intriguing aside, read this about Tebow from the Danielson piece…

Florida will likely tweak the spread to incorporate two quarterbacks, perhaps a mirror of the 2006 national title season with Chris Leak and Tebow. But there’s no guarantee Florida can command the same power running game it had with Tebow’s bruising style…

and this about Tebow from the film guru:

… in college he did not throw with timing or anticipation because the offense that he was in did not require it. In the NFL, there are certain throws in certain situations that necessitate that the ball is delivered before his receiver makes his break. He wasn’t asked to do that at Florida. Thirdly, pocket movement in the NFL is far more important than running. Pocket movement is the ability to move within the confines of an area about the size of a boxing ring while at the same time maintaining your downfield focus so you can deliver the football. Tebow did not exhibit that trait in college, probably because he was a runner…

Tebow’s great value was in giving Meyer a power runner and a passer in his offensive scheme in one package.  So with people acknowledging that’s no longer the case, it’s worth asking how much are they going to have to change the Florida offense this season?

Mad Dawgs and Georgia fans

Good Lord, they’ve scheduled both the South Carolina and Arkansas games for noon starts.  In mid-September.

ATHENS — University of Georgia football games with South Carolina, Arkansas and Florida this fall will be televised as part of the Southeastern Conference television package announced Thursday.

Georgia’s game at South Carolina on Sept. 11 will kick off at 12:00 noon on either ESPN or ESPN2. The Sept. 18 game with Arkansas in Athens is also scheduled for a 12:00 noon kickoff also on either ESPN or ESPN 2. The annual Georgia-Florida game in Jacksonville on Oct. 30 will be televised by CBS with kickoff at 3:30 p.m.

There’s no hotter place I’ve been to than a day game in  Columbia.

The fine art of hot seat calibration

Mark Bradley lets us in on a secret today – Mark Richt isn’t on a hot seat, but he could be fitted with a nice looking model if his program doesn’t perform well this season.

This is presented as some sort of significant insight, I suppose.

Put it this way: Evans and Adams aren’t paying a first-time defensive coordinator $750,000 just to make this program competitive. They’re paying big money because they want to win big.

Gosh, I had no clue.

Bradley has a point that whatever dismissals Evans and Adams made this week about the media’s hot seat speculation don’t mean much, but that simply begs the question of whether the speculation is valid in the first place.

About which his AJ-C colleague had the following to say, also this morning:

… I’ve tried to be politically correct on this issue and realize there are passions at work here. So let me just put it in language that is a little more to the point: If you think that Richt, who has won 90 games in nine years in the toughest college football environment in the world, is on some kind of hot seat then you are living in an alternative universe that is completely divorced from reality.

Yes, Georgia had a disappointing season in 2009. Changes were made. Very soon it will be time to play another season. Then Richt will evaluate the program again and Richt will be evaluated again. Period. End of discussion.

Not if you’re trolling for blog hits.

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UPDATE: I give Bradley credit for one thing.  He’s not afraid to double down on teh stoopid.

… Paul Johnson could lose the next 12 and get drubbed by Georgia 51-7 and punch Dan Radakovich in the face and it wouldn’t much matter. Because Georgia Tech fans love the man. They love him more than they loved George O’Leary, which is saying something. They love him because he’s not only a really good coach but because he carries himself exactly the way Tech people believe a Tech person should.

Which is?

… He acts the way every Tech fan wants to act — aggressive, self-assured, disdaining of critics, in awe of no one. If you were drawing up the ideal Georgia Tech football coach in one of the laboratories at the North Avenue Trade School, he’d be it.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell where ass kissing ends and parody begins.

Thursday morning buffet

Reggie Bush may not care what gets served this morning, but I know you guys do.

• If Boise State jumps ship for the Mountain West, it will certainly make the conference more competitive on the field, but not so much at the gate.  “Unlike the Big Ten, with its thriving cable network, the MWC isn’t likely to see a huge bump in interest for its channel, the Mtn., or its overall broadcast package by adding Boise, the nation’s 112th-largest television market.”
• If there’s one sure thing in the college football blogosphere, it’s that it’s easy to push Heisman Pundit’s button about the South.
• Georgia’s secondary may have gotten some assistance for the Colorado game.
• Dave Curtis, you’ve got to be kidding with your #1 pick.
• Barrett Sallee, of all people, dismisses the Richt-on-a-hot-seat meme.
• Dennis Dodd, in writing that Southern Cal would avoid any serious penalties from the NCAA, actually put this forth as his reason:  “Someone as smart as Lane Kiffin wouldn’t willingly take a job on a sinking ship.” Hmm… that must explain why Oakland is such a well run franchise.
• Texas Tech acknowledges it’s only paid Mike Leach a portion of the outside income called for in his contract, because “His mistreatment of an injured student-athlete was a breach of his contract and ultimately resulted in Mike Leach’s termination. When he breached his contract, he no longer was entitled to further compensation.” In other words, this really is all about the money.  (h/t The Wiz of Odds)

Lexicon bleg

For some reason, there’s just something about the phrase “cowbell compromise” that resonates with me.  Maybe it’s the alliteration.

It certainly sounds better than “less cowbell”, for obvious reasons.

Anyway, I need a definition to go with it.  Help a brotha out here, folks.

The best reason ever not to wear a mullet.

Georgia has offered Florida offensive tackle Zach DeBell.   I hope – no, I really hope – he takes it, because a kid who’s already absorbed one of life’s key lessons (if life imitates art, anyway)…

“I’ve seen probably every zombie movie ever made,” he said. “That’s why I have short hair. If you have long hair or a mullet they’ll grab it from behind.”

… seems destined for greatness.  Or at least a great interview or two.

I wonder what he thinks about jorts.