Auburn’s coach wants you to know that his objection to the proposed rule change about linemen blocking downfield is more than just about him. He’s doing it for the children high school coaches everywhere.
“That’s part of the creativity of the game,” Malzahn said. “I’m not into anything that takes the creativity out of the game. You know, you see a lot of coaches around the country, specifically high school coaches that are coaching in college, that’s very important to them.”
Isn’t that how life is sometimes? One minute, you’re pulling down $4 million a year and the next the Man has a boot on your throat.
Speaking of the Man, here’s the NFL knocking his system.
The divide between offensive philosophies in the NFL and college football is still very wide, especially when it comes to the quarterback position.
Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians was very critical of no-huddle offenses during last month’s NFL Combine.
“So many times, you’re evaluating a quarterback who has never called a play in the huddle, never used a snap count. They hold up a card on the sideline, he kicks his foot and throws the ball,” Arians said. “That ain’t playing quarterback. There’s no leadership involved there. There might be leadership on the bench, but when you get them and they have to use verbiage and they have to spit the verbiage out and change the snap count, they are light years behind.”
Gus strenuously objects to that.
As the innovator of the Hurry-Up, No-Huddle philosophy, which utilizes play cards and signals from the sidelines and an incredibly simple verbiage, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn stood by his system.
“I think every coach has their own opinion,” Malzahn said. “Obviously I like what we do, I agree with what we do. That’s where the game is going, regardless of anybody’s opinion. But we feel strongly with what we do.”
Obviously. And when quotes like Arians’ get thrown back in his face on the recruiting trail – it’s the SEC, so you know they will inevitably – what’s the rebuttal, especially when you see the pros looking at moving Nick Marshall to defensive back? Why, it’ll be to place the fault on the NFL.
“I know he can be a quarterback at the next level,” Malzahn said. “It needs to be the right system. You’re talking about a guy who’s probably one of the best zone-read quarterbacks in the history of college football.”
If only some owner would just go ahead, bite the bullet and hire a high school coach…
Get The Picture 
Mommas don’t let your babies grow up to be WarPlainsTigers QB’s.
LikeLike
I don’t see the big deal. Nick Marshall wouldn’t be playing on Sundays if he stayed at Georgia, either. It’s not like auburn is going to stop getting good QBs for theirr system.
LikeLike
Hunh? The Georgia staff thought Marshall had the makings of an All-SEC defensive back.
LikeLike
In fact the scouts said his future lay in the NFL as a CB, he has good size and speed. If he had worked his craft for 3-4 years in the SEC, he would be a 3rd or 4th round pick.
LikeLike
Given our DB performance under Grantham, I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with you on that.
LikeLike
Playing QB on Sundays, that is.
LikeLike
The issue is that the AU Coach wants the kids to think they can play QB at the next level. Fine if the kids go for it. Mason did, and now is way behind the learning curve for being a DB.
LikeLike
The issue I see with most of these “offense A is better for NFL success than offense B” type arguments that it’s really, REALLY hard to be an NFL QB.
1) It’s the position where they substitute the least (is there any second stringer that sees the field less than a second string QB?)
2) The serviceable ones tend to have really long careers relative to other positions.
For this reason, it’s borderline impossible for ANY college offense to prepare a QB for success in the NFL. It really takes a freak of nature to be a starting QB, and those freaks are better off playing in whatever system allows them to shine the most, regardless of style. For Cam Newton, that was in a spread offense. For Matt Stafford, that was in a “pro style” offense.
For all the grief we give Meyer, Malzahn and the like for their “gimmicky don’t translate to the next level” offense, we should at least acknowledge that each has the same number of former QBs in the NFL as Richt: One.
LikeLike
FWIW, Richt currently has two: Stafford and Murray.
LikeLike
If we’re going to include Murray in Richt’s total, we have to include Tebow in Meyer’s. Tebow got a guaranteed $8M for playing QB in the NFL per wikipedia. Not bad if you ask me. Murray hasn’t even seen the field yet.
LikeLike
If you’re going to include all quarterbacks drafted, then you have to add Greene and Shockley to the list, don’t you?
LikeLike
I never said anything about including all quarterbacks drafted. You’re the one who thought it was appropriate to include someone who hasn’t even stepped on the field yet. Per their NFL.com bios, neither Greene nor Shockley accumulated any stats either 😉
LikeLike
You started with: “each has the same number of former QBs in the NFL as Richt: One.”
That was wrong. Instead of calling it a day, you decided to double down by including someone who was drafted but is no longer on an NFL roster. I made the mistake of assuming you wanted to compare apples to apples. Instead, I guess you’re settling for just listing those who you feel make your argument for you.
My bad.
LikeLike
Perhaps I should’ve specified “successful in the NFL” instead of assuming it was obvious. I didn’t foresee this level of semantics, but let me restate my position: Both Malzahn and Meyer have had at least as many QBs go on to have success in the NFL as Richt has: One.
LikeLike
Your position regarding Tebow is ridiculous, No one considers Tim Tebow a “successful NFL QB”. And to pretend like his professional accomplishments are on the level of Stafford or Newton is even more asinine. It’s OK to admit when you’re wrong.
LikeLike
Such a harsh tone playmakers.
The former Meyer QB I’m referring to is Alex Smith, a pro bowling QB. Nobody is comparing Tebow’s NFL professional success to Stafford’s or Newton’s.
I did, however, compare Tebow’s professional accomplishments to every other Georgia QB not named Matt Stafford thus far, and there’s really no comparison.
LikeLike
that should read “every other Georgia QB under Richt besides Stafford,” just so nobody brings up Frank Tarkenton (and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if someone did so seriously) 🙂
LikeLike
Welcome to his world.
LikeLike
jesus, I try as hard as possible to be polite and respectful and asshats still show up in full force.
LikeLike
Perhaps I’m missing something here, but the only name calling I’ve seen in this comment thread is yours.
Have I missed your point again?
LikeLike
So 165, after Mason either gets drafted in the next NFL draft or signs a free agency contract (one of which definitely will happen) basically every QB who played at Georgia under CMR except Joe Cox will have made it to the NFL for some period of time. Soooo, you’re saying that Corch’s record in developing QBs is better than CMR’s? Is that what you are saying? ‘Cause that is a bunch of hooey.
LikeLike
I’m saying that Corch has had TWO quarterbacks go on to earn legitimate money in the NFL (Tebow earned $8M guaranteed in case you missed that), while Richt’s had one. That’s all that I’m saying. We can argue semantics all we want, but 2>1.
LikeLike
Oh, so that’s what “we should at least acknowledge that each has the same number of former QBs in the NFL as Richt: One.” means.
I can see why you’re frustrated nobody understood your argument.
LikeLike
Really Bluto? The jack ass said “Welcome to his world.” You know as well as I do that it was meant to be a personal insult. Up until that point I was pretty respectful, even when you started playing semantics
LikeLike
You changed your argument. That’s not semantics.
Equating “welcome to his world” with asshat is semantics, though.
LikeLike
not to mention the tone of playmakers post was pretty shitty as well.
If you have a problem with me commenting here, just say so. I get it, I have unpopular opinions that some around here don’t like. It amazes me how often people are willing to overlook the jerk comments people make toward me when they call me out for being rude in response, though.
LikeLike
When have I ever indicated that I have a problem with you commenting?
I just expect anyone who makes an argument that I don’t agree with to back it up. If you have a problem with that, I don’t know what to tell you.
LikeLike
I see a big difference between criticizing someone’s argument, even to the point of heavy sarcasm, and personal insults. YMMV, of course.
LikeLike
““each has the same number of former QBs in the NFL as Richt: One.””
If you want to include a kid that’s never played a snap in the league as “being in the NFL” that’s fine, I will admit I was mistaken. You’ve gotta admit that you’re lawyering me on a technicality here, though.
LikeLike
Murray’s “more in the NFL” than Tebow is.
I simply read what you wrote. If you meant what you interpreted as opposed to that, why bring Tebow into the discussion in the first place? For that matter, since the post was about Malzahn, why bring Meyer into the discussion at all? If you’re broadening the scope of your comparison, why not mention all the other quarterbacks playing in the NFL who come out of pro style college schemes?
LikeLike
“I see a big difference between criticizing someone’s argument”
Except he didn’t criticize my argument. Did you even read what he wrote?
“No one considers Tim Tebow a “successful NFL QB”. And to pretend like his professional accomplishments are on the level of Stafford or Newton is even more asinine”
Show me where I said anything even remotely close to that.
LikeLike
“It amazes me how often people are willing to overlook the jerk comments people make toward me when they call me out for being rude in response, though.”
Wait until Frank Tarkenton welcomes you to his world
LikeLike
I mentioned Meyer because you recently wrote a blog post specifically about his quote regarding developing players to play in the NFL. It seemed pretty relevant.
If you want to discuss the college offensive system each current NFL QB played in, I’d be interested, but I doubt there’s anyone here that has that information available. Pretty impractical to include it in my discussion then, no?
LikeLike
My post wasn’t anything except (1) Gus is going to get hammered on the recruiting trail with Arians’ sentiment; (2) he knows that and (3) that’s why he’s arguing that Marshall not playing QB in the NFL won’t be his fault.
Other than that, I couldn’t care less about the NFL, Tim Tebow’s pro career or the tangent you’ve gone down in the comments thread.
If you really think that Malzahn isn’t disadvantaged here, maybe you ought to make a similar pitch for Paul Johnson’s quarterbacks.
LikeLike
Well, Stafford > Cam > Smith. So there. And I’ll trust the NFL scouts who say UGA’s current system prepares QBs very well for the next level over your opinion.
LikeLike
Meyer’s QBs as a whole (Smith AND Tebow) have had more success in the NFL than Richt’s. I’ll trust actual results over your opinion 😉
LikeLike
More success? Stafford has more passing yards, TDs, and a higher QB rating in 5 less seasons. On teams with significantly less talent than the teams Smith played on. And the Tebow comparison is ludicrous.
LikeLike
Tebow did better than all other UGA Richt QB’s not named Stafford combined, so no it’s not ludicrous.
LikeLike
I feel like you are leading up to a “Tebow was a QB on a team that won a playoff game” as your barometer of success, which is asinine, of course. There is no comparison between the NFL careers of Stafford and Tebow. ZERO. Zilch. To cite a fluke run of a team who’s primary focus was running the ball and playing good defense as an example of Tebow being more successful is really stupid.
LikeLike
“There is no comparison between the NFL careers of Stafford and Tebow”
Dude, I specifically said everyone except for Stafford. I don’t mean to be rude, but why is that so hard for you to understand?
“I feel like you are leading up to a “Tebow was a QB on a team that won a playoff game” as your barometer of success”
No, as I’ve stated at least two separate times today, Tebow earned $8M in the NFL while no other UGA QB under Richt except Stafford ever even accumulated stats (per the NFL’s own website). Quite a big difference.
LikeLike
Two hours later and you can’t even come back and admit that you were wrong? 😉
LikeLike
“If you want to discuss the college offensive system each current NFL QB played in, I’d be interested, but I doubt there’s anyone here that has that information available. Pretty impractical to include it in my discussion then, no?”
Not sure why I couldn’t reply below, but anywhoo…
I count 6 out of 32 QBs who started the NFL season last season as having come from a spread style offense. (Cam, Kaepernick, RGIII, Smith, Tannehill, and Geno Smith.)
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000388688/article/quarterback-index-ranking-the-starters-132
LikeLike
1) “Spread” is subjective to a degree
2) The “spread” as we know it today didn’t exist 10-15 years ago. That pretty much guarantees the number to be low, given the age of a lot of the QBs on the list
LikeLike
The longer $Cam stays in the NFL, the worse it’s going to get for the Gus Bus. Newton still doesn’t know how to play the position in the NFL, and e gets hurt too often. Maybe Richt was right – neither of those guys fit his system as a QB.
LikeLike
I’d think the longer Newton stays in the NFL the better it looks.
LikeLike
Agree. Like him or not, Cam is a special talent that has been able to (somewhat) overcome his deficiencies. I’m sure Malzahn will try to sell Cam’s relative success when recruiting other QB’s, but guys like him don’t come around all that often.
LikeLike
Newton is a dang good QB, unlike Tebow, he had all the tools to be successful in the NFL. Most importantly he’s proven he has the ability to unlearn and learn. His 1st season he was spoon feed an NFL playbook and won games with his legs. He has gotten better every year and I hate that the Falcons have to play him twice a year.
LikeLike
Carolina wins because of running the football and defense, not Cam.
LikeLike
I can see your point. I know some in the Carolinas think he’s a liability. For #1 overall money, not sure he’s lived up to his billing.
LikeLike
Fair enough, but #1 overall draft pick is hard for anyone to live up to. He’s definitely a serviceable quarterback.
LikeLike
The best and perhaps most infamous example of this is when Cam Newton appeared on Jon Gruden’s QB camp a few years ago. As you’ll recall, Gruden asked Newton to call a play, yet instead of a more typical “X wide split banana Y 2 cross….” things, instead Cam simply said, “46.” Gruden, almost with contempt, looked at him with his mouth wide open and couldn’t believe what was taking place.
Malzahn certainly has every right to harbor his own opinion on the matter, but I’m certain the other 31 HC’s in the NFL would agree with Arians, as would the other coaches, GM’s and the like.
LikeLike
46….that’s the short pass on the goal line, right?
LikeLike
Perhaps. Either that, or its that one play where Cam drops back, and decides either to throw it or tuck and run. Either way, its really complicated and far beyond my pay grade to even attempt to explain.
LikeLike
I think Cam Newton would figure prominently in Auburn’s rebuttal.
I think we’re missing the bigger point on this as it would apply to the recruiting trail, though. I’d tell a recruit that if Gus Malzahn is going to look you in the eye and tell you that he believes that Nick Marshall could play quarterback in the NFL, he is clearly a liar and if he’ll lie to you about that, he’ll lie to you about your future playing time or anything else. Nick Marshall played well in the Malzahn system, but even in that system there were some gaping flaws. If you were to sprinkle even half a brain into a pair of Georgia defensive backs on the Plains in 2013, Marshall’s Auburn career would already be largely forgotten. Great arm. Brilliant athlete. Average at best ability to read defenses and play the position. He’d never work as a pro style quarterback. If Gus wants to take over as the coach in Tampa when they fire Lovie after the season, go for it. But I don’t think Marshall could handle attacking an NFL defense.
LikeLike
Kristi says shut up
LikeLike
Is this the one with traffic problems in N.J. or the one with daughter discipline problems on the TV Church program?
LikeLike
Kristi actually says God meant for Nick Marshall to be a quarterback, he has spoken to her about this…
LikeLike
Not only that, He also told her what to order at the Waffle House®
LikeLike
The number 1(Rivals,com) ranked QB in the 2016 class is committed to UGA. Wonder why?
LikeLike
To Gus, “creativity” in offense means breaking the rule of downfield linemen. Just like defensive creativity is stifled by not allowing players to tackle by the facemask.
And I suspect that the other NFL coaches agree with Arians. Chip Kelly may be an exception.
LikeLike
In other words, Gus needs to cheat to have a decent chance.
LikeLike
To be fair, Auburn taught Gus that, not the other way around.
LikeLike
Heisman QB’s in order:
(Winston & Mariotta yet to be drafted)
Manziel – jury still out. To be fair, has a chance if his head gets right.
RG III – Bust to all but Daniel Snyder
Newton – Freakish talent, positive future.
Bradford – constantly injured
Tebow – (snicker)
Troy Smith – bust
Leinart – bust
No surprise the NFL may be frustrated with their farm system not delivering kids ready to play.
LikeLike
NFL coaches have a vested interest in poo-pooing coaches like Malzahn or Chip Kelly, because heaven forbid that someone came along to expose the hollowness of the “because that’s how we’ve always done it” argument.
Arians got pretty close to the point, and then swerved off and completely missed it. What’s different here is that Malzahn and Kelly moved the decision making from the QB to the booth. I don’t see what’s so dumb about that. The folks in the booth have years more experience and pattern recognition than the QB, and get to make decisions without a linebacker glaring at them from 10 feet away.
LikeLike
On the college level, there’s nothing dumb at all about it. It’s not like many kids are schooled in pro style attacks in high school. And simplification allows for more repetition in practice.
LikeLike
He strenuously objects? Oh, then maybe I should take some time to reconsider.
LikeLike
The Pros pay a lot of money for QB’s and they don’t like to see that money sitting on the bench. All Gus needs at QB is a gifted athlete. Hopefully he can pass some but his real talent must be option decision making and running the ball. You could take the QB from GT and put him at Auburn and he would fit right in. Do any of us think the QB from Tech is going to be a QB in the pros? The thing that Cam has is freaky size and speed. He can also pass the ball. RGIII was great in college and I like him but he is a China Doll. His final Pro career wrap up will read “injury plagued career”. Even Kelly the Great has problems with his system at the Pro level. His number one problem is he is not attacking a Div I defense. The boys on D have some skills too you know. As the other teams play him more, especially in his division, they will be able to defend him.
LikeLike
Good post. But I think an athletic QB who can tuck and run it can be successful in the nfl. Kaepernick and Newton are proving it, and I think we’ll continue to see more athleticism at QB in the nfl.
But UGA isn’t in the nfl. Option QBs are doing just fine in cfb. I wouldn’t have minded if we had utilized the athleticism of Shockley and AM more effectively, instead of forcing them to be prototypical dropback statuesque QBs.
LikeLike
LikeLike
Damn, I love that play and player! Aaron Murray just put on a football camp is Savannah, you should’ve seen the smiles on those young faces!
LikeLike
Great play!!
LikeLike