Nick13
Seasoned Veteran
If the season continues the way it has thus far there is likely to be a new head coach in Miami next season, which likely means some turnover on the staff.
I would love to see Mike Leach as our offensive coordinator, especially with the weapons we have on offense. Leach is an offensive genius and if anyone could find ways to use what we have, it's him. I think that our offensive personnel is perfectly designed for the spread offense.
Let's take a look:
QB:
Chad Henne- The spread is a QB friendly system and there are a lot of quick reads and short throws. It's a great way to make a mediocre QB look amazing (Colt Brennan? Graham Harrell?)
RB:
Bush-Best suited catching passes on screens and running draw plays when the defense is spread out and that is exactly how the spread offense utilizes it's RB. You could move Reggie all over the formation and find ways to get him the ball effectively, even using bubble and middle screens.
Slaton- Same as above, and with both in the game would allow for a lot of deception and could create some mismatches. (You could very easily go from a three WR set, meaning the defense is most likely in it's nickel, to a 5 WR set by splitting Bush and Slaton out, or having them go in motion, meaning that you either have a LB trying to cover them in space, or a safety moving up leaving the deep ball exposed).
Thomas-The downside to the spread in the NFL is that in this league you will ALWAYS need to pound the rock at some point and it's an issue many college spread teams run into (Picking up yards on 3rd or 4th and short, goal line situations, running out the clock). Now, I don't suggest that we take a RB who has had 2 pretty good games thus far and relegate him to a short yardage specialist, but having the ability to sprinkle in some strong running formations will help make the spread even more effective. This keeps the defense constantly having to change personnel and again, will likely create mismatches. The spread offense operates contrary to conventional wisdom in that it uses the pass to set up the run. An offense will pass often, forcing the defense to put more defensive backs on the field, and/or pull their safeties out of the box, if you can then exploit that with a tough runner who wants to power between the tackles, chunk yardage shouldn't be hard to come by.
WR:
Marshall-He is a number one receiver, but he operates in the mold of a possession receiver than a true deep threat, although he does have the ability to go get the ball on a long throw. In my opinion, he is most useful running intermediate distance routes (10-20 yards) across the middle of the field, giving him opportunities to use his large frame and run after the catch. The University of Arizona, who runs a spread based on Texas Tech's offense, has a receiver in a similar mold to Marshall, Juron Criner (though, Criner is a bit bigger than Marshall, at 6'4'' 215), and they allow him to use his body effectively to overpower DB's and fight for yardage in the middle of the field.
Bess-Bess is made for the spread. He played in a version of it at Hawai'i and tore it up. Slot receivers are the true 'engine' of the spread offense as they are often looked to on 3rd downs and to pick up short yardage on early downs in lieu of a running game. This suits Bess' game very well.
Hartline-Hartline is a bit of a jack of all trades type receiver in my opinion, he doesn't really fit into one mold, he's speed enough to beat guys, but also has enough strength to overpower them. Another guy that can be moved around to give different looks.
TE:
Hey the spread doesn't really use one....so it's no longer a need! In all seriousness, there are very effective ways of using a TE in a spread offense, but you need a prototype style TE to do it well (see Rob Gronkowski). TE's are often split out slightly from the line and are used as blockers on screens and other deception plays, or as seam busters to exploit zone coverage. (Zone is often used against a spread as a way to keep gains short because the passing tree has so many routes under 10 yards and also because zone coverage is typically more effective when trying to sit on screen and draw plays and not get sucked in), therefore, the TE is used as the zone killer, running routes that typically fall between the LB's and Safety's in coverage. I don't think Fasano has the ideal skill set, but Clay might have some ability in this role, although they've used him more as a FB, his athleticism lends itself well to this position.
If anyone make the college style spread work in the NFL, it's Mike Leach, the dude is an evil genius.
Anyhow, discuss. I just wanted to throw something out there other than the usual: 'we suck' 'fire this dude' 'this guy is a scrub' 'Marc Colombo killed my mom because he can't even block a bullet' 'What is Bill Cowher doing at this very moment?' 'Ireland and Bill Parcells hatched an evil plan to destroy our franchise' 'I love Chad Henne' 'I hate Chad Henne' 'I am Chad Henne' 'You're not Chad Henne, and you suck' 'Chad Henne is the antichrist' ''Stephen Ross has announced that Carrot Top is our latest celebrity owner and the team will perpetually wear the orange jerseys to honor him' 'I miss Dan Marino' 'why is there a helmet on the dolphin?' 'Omar Kelly is border line retarded' 'our uniforms make us look weak, if they are scarier we'll win more games' 'attendance sucks' 'suck for Luck' 'We're not as bad you think we are....wait how bad do you think we are?' 'Matt Ryan...sigh'
you get the picture....
I would love to see Mike Leach as our offensive coordinator, especially with the weapons we have on offense. Leach is an offensive genius and if anyone could find ways to use what we have, it's him. I think that our offensive personnel is perfectly designed for the spread offense.
Let's take a look:
QB:
Chad Henne- The spread is a QB friendly system and there are a lot of quick reads and short throws. It's a great way to make a mediocre QB look amazing (Colt Brennan? Graham Harrell?)
RB:
Bush-Best suited catching passes on screens and running draw plays when the defense is spread out and that is exactly how the spread offense utilizes it's RB. You could move Reggie all over the formation and find ways to get him the ball effectively, even using bubble and middle screens.
Slaton- Same as above, and with both in the game would allow for a lot of deception and could create some mismatches. (You could very easily go from a three WR set, meaning the defense is most likely in it's nickel, to a 5 WR set by splitting Bush and Slaton out, or having them go in motion, meaning that you either have a LB trying to cover them in space, or a safety moving up leaving the deep ball exposed).
Thomas-The downside to the spread in the NFL is that in this league you will ALWAYS need to pound the rock at some point and it's an issue many college spread teams run into (Picking up yards on 3rd or 4th and short, goal line situations, running out the clock). Now, I don't suggest that we take a RB who has had 2 pretty good games thus far and relegate him to a short yardage specialist, but having the ability to sprinkle in some strong running formations will help make the spread even more effective. This keeps the defense constantly having to change personnel and again, will likely create mismatches. The spread offense operates contrary to conventional wisdom in that it uses the pass to set up the run. An offense will pass often, forcing the defense to put more defensive backs on the field, and/or pull their safeties out of the box, if you can then exploit that with a tough runner who wants to power between the tackles, chunk yardage shouldn't be hard to come by.
WR:
Marshall-He is a number one receiver, but he operates in the mold of a possession receiver than a true deep threat, although he does have the ability to go get the ball on a long throw. In my opinion, he is most useful running intermediate distance routes (10-20 yards) across the middle of the field, giving him opportunities to use his large frame and run after the catch. The University of Arizona, who runs a spread based on Texas Tech's offense, has a receiver in a similar mold to Marshall, Juron Criner (though, Criner is a bit bigger than Marshall, at 6'4'' 215), and they allow him to use his body effectively to overpower DB's and fight for yardage in the middle of the field.
Bess-Bess is made for the spread. He played in a version of it at Hawai'i and tore it up. Slot receivers are the true 'engine' of the spread offense as they are often looked to on 3rd downs and to pick up short yardage on early downs in lieu of a running game. This suits Bess' game very well.
Hartline-Hartline is a bit of a jack of all trades type receiver in my opinion, he doesn't really fit into one mold, he's speed enough to beat guys, but also has enough strength to overpower them. Another guy that can be moved around to give different looks.
TE:
Hey the spread doesn't really use one....so it's no longer a need! In all seriousness, there are very effective ways of using a TE in a spread offense, but you need a prototype style TE to do it well (see Rob Gronkowski). TE's are often split out slightly from the line and are used as blockers on screens and other deception plays, or as seam busters to exploit zone coverage. (Zone is often used against a spread as a way to keep gains short because the passing tree has so many routes under 10 yards and also because zone coverage is typically more effective when trying to sit on screen and draw plays and not get sucked in), therefore, the TE is used as the zone killer, running routes that typically fall between the LB's and Safety's in coverage. I don't think Fasano has the ideal skill set, but Clay might have some ability in this role, although they've used him more as a FB, his athleticism lends itself well to this position.
If anyone make the college style spread work in the NFL, it's Mike Leach, the dude is an evil genius.
Anyhow, discuss. I just wanted to throw something out there other than the usual: 'we suck' 'fire this dude' 'this guy is a scrub' 'Marc Colombo killed my mom because he can't even block a bullet' 'What is Bill Cowher doing at this very moment?' 'Ireland and Bill Parcells hatched an evil plan to destroy our franchise' 'I love Chad Henne' 'I hate Chad Henne' 'I am Chad Henne' 'You're not Chad Henne, and you suck' 'Chad Henne is the antichrist' ''Stephen Ross has announced that Carrot Top is our latest celebrity owner and the team will perpetually wear the orange jerseys to honor him' 'I miss Dan Marino' 'why is there a helmet on the dolphin?' 'Omar Kelly is border line retarded' 'our uniforms make us look weak, if they are scarier we'll win more games' 'attendance sucks' 'suck for Luck' 'We're not as bad you think we are....wait how bad do you think we are?' 'Matt Ryan...sigh'
you get the picture....
