Spread to Pro Style Offense

It can be argued that Michigan State has had more success on offense after the switch. Your last paragraph is the final word on all offenses.

You have to admit that under the circumstances, this is a loaded question. From a scheme standpoint, it has to be easier to teach a more basic offense with less reliance on the QB and RBs to make reads to make a play successful.

Seems to me a pro-style offense with spread-style players would be a LOT more successful than a spread-style offense with pro-style players. We've seen how the transition goes in one direction, and I tend to believe that if we were to go back, or even do some kind of hybrid offense, we wouldn't see the likes of Threet trying to run an option read.

You know what they say: Once you go spread, you never go back.

But, boy it certainly ain't been easy here.

I was actually thinking the exact same thing recently. I believe Illinois next QB (the kid with the 'Bama bangs) is more of a pro style QB. I was thinking that it would be quite a sign of the times if the schools that first went to the spread in order to equalize their lack of talent suddenly turned back to the pro style. If that happened, then I think we would need a "Moneyball" style diary about how the popularity of the spread made it easier for "bad" schools to recruit pro style players.

The NFL has its own version of the spread; it's called the "two-minute offense." And it's no accident that it is a lot more successful at scoring than the base offenses are.

With Jeremy Gallon in the fold, we could run the A-11 and put up 30. Tate - Brady Gallon/Odoms - Welker Roy Roundtree - Roy Roundtree Gallon - Every great NFL player that ever lived With all those comparisons being 100% true (and they are, look it up) we are already on pace to run a pro-style offense that mimics the New England Football Patriots.

I think part of the question depends on what type of "spread" offense you are running. If you run something like Joe Tiller ran at Purdue, or the Patriots run in the NFL, then moving toward a more "pro-style" offense shouldn't be a very hard transition. In both of those offenses, the QB main responsibility is passing the ball. He doesn't have to worry about option reads anything like that. It will be interesting to see what schools like Illinois and Florida do next year to accommodate their more "pro-style" quarterbacks (pocket passers - artillery shell launchers). I think an interesting example is Penn State, where Paterno has attempted to change his offense in recent years based on the talent he has. I also would like to consider guys like Colt McCoy, who could easily run a spread offense or a pro style offense. I guess some other guys that come to mind might have been Steve Young, Dennis Dixon (but gosh, before he got injured, how exciting was he), Troy Smith, Donovan McNabb ... etc. If you have them at QB, I think the transition either way might be a bit easier. As for the two minute offense - typically those are more successful as a function of the defensive strategy, particularly at the end of a game where they might be willing to give up yardage that keeps the clock moving.

isn't due to the offensive change as much as it is to much better defenses in Spartyville.

could have had more immediate success if he would have gone to a more standard four wide type of spread with Threet while sprinking in some read option principles with wild cat formations and the such. However, I think he knew the actual transition to his offense was going to be a nightmare and just wanted to get the show on the road. The RR conversion was more than just changing offenses, however, his mission(impossible) was really to change Michigan's entire mentality toward football. As to spread to pro-style, MSU is really the only one that comes to mind. Florida State kind of converted their offense to really the first version of the modern day spread with Charlie Ward and then went back to more a pro-style. Tressel uses some principles from both depending on personnel.