The NFL's Offensive Line Crisis

andrew

andrew

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The college spread offense, a frequent object of scorn among NFL evaluators, plays a major role. Most offensive linemen play in systems reliant on screens, quick passes and misdirection, which means they enter the NFL accustomed to rarely hitting beyond their initial block, or having had to thwart a pass rusher's secondary moves.

"The tempo is so fast in college now that the techniques just aren't taught like they used to be," Schwartz said. "Now, it's about guys trying to get back to the line of scrimmage and not finish. The spread offenses are nothing like the offenses you run in the NFL, so guys come in just not as prepared."
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Many blaming it on college offenses. Maybe the NFL will have to create some sort of developmental league? Perhaps one year of developmental league after getting drafted?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...offensive-line-crisis/?utm_term=.4fa49239d765
 
I hope potential copypasta SEC & ACC spread offense (dwags, Clemson, UNC, Bama, etc) OL recruits read this.
 
He mentions that guys aren't used to getting off of their "initial block" at the LOS. Seems our guys would be very well prepared to do that with the way our schemes work and how we get to the second level consistently.
 
gtrower said:
Sounds like people crying and pointing fingers when somebody should figure out how to use it to their advantage.
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Based on this past Sunday I'd say a lot of the defenses are using it to their advantage.
 
Dirty Jacket said:
Maybe the NFL will have to adapt rather than vice versa.
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What's the reason that the spread has not been more widely adopted in the NFL? Are there rules impediments? Union policies? What?

Maybe it's because NFL managers and coaches get paid so much, but are so disposable, that they have every incentive to follow the herd and not be innovative vis-a-vis game planning.

It's like the old saying about IBM — 'no body ever got fired for buying IBM'. No NFL coach ever got fired for sticking with the standard 'pro set' offense. Bore-ing.
 
NFL screwed themselves with the restrictions on practice time. Can't teach blocking if you can't hit pads.
 
18in32 said:
What's the reason that the spread has not been more widely adopted in the NFL? Are there rules impediments? Union policies? What?

Maybe it's because NFL managers and coaches get paid so much, but are so disposable, that they have every incentive to follow the herd and not be innovative vis-a-vis game planning.

It's like the old saying about IBM — 'no body ever got fired for buying IBM'. No NFL coach ever got fired for sticking with the standard 'pro set' offense. Bore-ing.
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It's the illegal downfield rule. 1 yard in the NFL vs 3 yards in college. Makes RPO, read option, and play action stuff a lot easier for a defense to read, and most college spread teams are like 90% that stuff.
 
18in32 said:
What's the reason that the spread has not been more widely adopted in the NFL? Are there rules impediments? Union policies? What?

Maybe it's because NFL managers and coaches get paid so much, but are so disposable, that they have every incentive to follow the herd and not be innovative vis-a-vis game planning.

It's like the old saying about IBM — 'no body ever got fired for buying IBM'. No NFL coach ever got fired for sticking with the standard 'pro set' offense. Bore-ing.
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The spread is plenty adopted by the NFL, but the term "spread" is really broad and covers a lot of offensive sets. Spread passing games are very prevalent, and I think the Pats are a great example of how to use it. The Bears ran spread in 2 minute against the Falcons last weekend. It is necessary at the NFL level to have this type of offense because the run game is not nearly as successful in the pros as college. You also see spread in wildcat and that's been around forever. There are speed-based constraints that make it difficult to adopt up tempo spread in the NFL (Chip Kelly), but the style of play is prevalent. My limited understanding is that when it comes to drafts today, teams are looking for linemen and QBs that have played in multiple sets as most teams run multiples today (Carson Wentz for example). I think teams are hesitant to pull the trigger on gimmicky, up tempo linemen because those players don't face the complicated defenses you see in the NFL.
 
18in32 said:
What's the reason that the spread has not been more widely adopted in the NFL? Are there rules impediments? Union policies? What?

Maybe it's because NFL managers and coaches get paid so much, but are so disposable, that they have every incentive to follow the herd and not be innovative vis-a-vis game planning.

It's like the old saying about IBM — 'no body ever got fired for buying IBM'. No NFL coach ever got fired for sticking with the standard 'pro set' offense. Bore-ing.
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Because the spread sux. The only thing it does consistently is move the ball between the 20s and wear your defense out.

I'm transitioning a spread team to more traditional approach this season and have to deal with this question every week. I can whine about it more if wanted.
 
Well, the Post author cried about the Giants' offensive line because it fit his narrative but forgot to mention that the Dallas offensive line was superb. Maybe he'll notice when his Redskins play the Cowboys.
 
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