Spreading the Wealth

People have alternatively decried and celebrated the increasing use of the spread offense in the college game, and there can be little doubt that this use has had a powerful impact on the pro game. A much bandied about stat has been that NE used the shotgun on more than half its plays last year and every team employed a shotgun three WR set. This is all fine and good, but aside from pulling offense away from the center (to the left I suppose), what has been the effect of the spread in college on the pro game.

I believe that what we have seen, more than anything else, is a revolution in the RB position. A back who would have been considered by every measure a speed back only 5 years ago, AD, is now planted firmly in the soil of the power game. More tellingly though, is the increasing presence of guys who would have been tracked as DBs in college, or from RB to DB in the college to pro transition. Jonathan Stewart, Steve Slaton, Chris Johnson have far more in common with Pacman than last wave of great backs from Bettis to Eddie George. Now an argument can certainly be made that backs like Marshall Faulk and Barry Sanders argue against this as a new trend, yet these guys are known far more for shiftiness than breakaway speed. Even the top guys, with bigger builds, in this past draft, McFadden and F.Jones, thrived not in pound it out style but rather as turn the corner guys in college.

In terms of strategy I think this trend will have the effect of eliminating the FB from the game, with the blocking back being aided by offensive deception teams will employ running threats as blockers out of one back sets, and spread offenses and check downs as the hedge against stacking the line in short yardage situations.

Not much of this is entirely new thinking, but the trend is important to identify, and my prediction is that this year will be the year that speed out of the backfield becomes a major talking point.