Compare and Contrast Michigan and Florida's Spread Offenses

Submitted by Jeffro on
I'm interested in how closely related these two offenses are, if at all. Hopefully Michigan can contend for a title sooner rather then later.

turbo cool

January 14th, 2009 at 6:30 PM ^

but seriously, imagine if the 2 had switched teams for the season. i bet we'd have won a good 2-3 more games while florida would've lost at least 3-5 games (like my estimations?). yeah, their OL was better than ours, but i really don't see their WR group that much better than ours and their RB's aren't better than ours. now, they do have Harvin who is just wr/rb hybrid but regardless, just look at the QB's on both teams and what would've happened if tebow was on michigan and sheridan/threet were the starters for florida.

formerlyanonymous

January 14th, 2009 at 6:37 PM ^

Here's a good place to start (Smart Football). Florida Gators/Urban Meyer Offense Discusses run game, including the QB power and option variations (something Meyer uses much more often). It also discusses defending his system briefly. Urban Meyer Zone Read at Utah Many of the same concepts as RR's system (as he talked with RR often). Chris notes several times that this was a RR play Smart Notes This breifly discusses flaws in RR's system, particularly the passing game. The guy has mentioned a few times that he may or may not do research on RR's pass scheme in the future, but its yet to happen thus far. Those are just one seemingly intelligent person's thoughts on Florida mainly.

willywill9

January 14th, 2009 at 7:38 PM ^

On RR's flaws- The passing topic is something I think a lot of people are interested in. Lots of people complained previously about how predictable the old Regime's play calling was and how often we ran the ball. RR also has been criticized for running the ball overwhelmingly as well. So people ask, "What's really changed other than having QBs sharing some of the running load?" I also have heard many (BITTER) WVU fans comment to me "Hey...Tired of those bubble screens yet?" or "You'll see passes... bubble screen passes" Don't get me wrong, I'm not too concerned. I believe RR when he says his offense is more versatile than people think. And as the "smart notes" link suggests, his past at Tulane is often overlooked. I firmly believe that if he has (or can recruit) the right player who can run and pass, he'll take advantage of the opportunity. His track record of winning is proven. In Rod We Trust

BleedingBlue

January 14th, 2009 at 7:48 PM ^

Did you know Pat White was a 2 star recruit?!? seriously though - he is a little bit noodle armed. I honestly think that with Forcier's henne/Mccoy-hybrid-robot arm and the quality of wr's we have and on the way, we are going to see some downfield passing on a regular basis.

Jim Harbaugh S…

January 14th, 2009 at 6:45 PM ^

Florida - ESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE CEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Speed. Michigan - Big ten slow. But in all seriousness - It is hard to tell from this years Michigan team, because of the lack of a good Spread QB. As mentioned by Formerly Anon: I think a main difference is that Meyer realizes more heavily on the QB option.

formerlyanonymous

January 15th, 2009 at 1:57 PM ^

Meyer's recent offense also is because of its use of Percy Harvin in counter and quick motion before the snap (and as stated previously, the option). When I think of the Florida offense, I tend to think about WRs moving around right before the snap quite often. I can't say I remember too much presnap movement by our offense this year, or at least not as nearly as much as Florida. Part of that is a testament to Percy Harvin. The guy was a threat on jet sweeps, counters, options, triple options, and zone read plays just as much as he was a down field receiving threat. It's hard to really compare the two offenses when so much is dependent on the Jimmys and Joes. Talent like Tebow and Harvin is hard to come by, and Meyer obviously plays to their strengths as much as Rodriguez plays to our personnel. I doubt you will be seeing too much option out of Rodriguez any time soon. It hasn't been a major part of his offense in a while. I'm not saying it won't be seen occasionally, just that it will be used sparingly.

Ernis

January 14th, 2009 at 7:45 PM ^

One is an army of holy warriors led by the infallible vicar of God himself. The other is a mountain of power that has never been defeated by the vicar of God or his pathetic army. obvs

JRC

January 14th, 2009 at 8:15 PM ^

Rodriguez adapted his offense this year. At West Virginia they were running 70% of the time, and this year, 54%. With a good QB (whether it's improved Threet or Forcier) the passing game will open up. We won't be recruiting receivers to "just block" as many people think. T-Rob = Future Darius Renauld