The next two teams to look at are Cal and Florida. This is especially interesting for me because the two head coaches, Jeff Tedford and Urban Meyer, respectively, are considered to be among the best in teaching and developing offensive principles.
Cal has an interesting season ahead of itself. The decision has been made that Kevin Riley, a sophomore, will be starting over the incumbent starter, Nate Longshore. Longshore has been oft-injured and hence, he has never quite lived up to the expectations that were placed upon him. Riley, on the the other hand, has had the most coveted position on the team when it comes to popularity with the fans - the backup QB.
Will Riley do well against legitimate teams with athletes on defense? Every defense he faces this season will not be of the caliber of Air Force's defense. Quite frankly, playing the Air Force football team would make a lot of teams and players appear much better than they really are. With that being said, Riley has had another off-season to work with the coaching staff and mature. He also has a talented set of wide receivers, but they are young, raw. It will take time, but cream will rise to the top.
Tedford has finally conceded control of his offensive play-calling this season to Frank Cignetti. I do not know much of this fellow, but the more Tedford can delegate, the more he can focus on the overall team direction. The lack of focus in this area and subsequent action was the reason for last season's disappointing performance.
The defense will attempt to utilize its surplus of linebackers and shield its depth on the defensive line by switching to a 3-4 defense. Essentially, the 3-4 uses 3 defensive lineman. The middle of the 3 is usually a very large human being who occupy a lot of space and offensive blockers. The 2 fellows on either side of this large human attempt to maintain "gap" responsibilities so as not to allow running lanes to form and keep the linebackers free of oncoming blockers. This defense is predicated on the ability of the outside linebackers being able to generate a pass rush [to hurry the quarterback into prematurely throwing the ball] and some coverage abilities. The two middle linebackers must maintain a solid middle of the defense.
The 3-4 is highly effective in defensing conventional offenses but is nightmare against the spread offense. I expect Cal to have some difficulty when a team is able to "spread" Cal's defense by placing linebackers in unfavorable match-ups against quicker wide receivers. The other fallout is that the running the ball through the middle of the defense is much, much easier once the defense is spread.
However, the 3-4 will allow Cal to generate more pass rush against conventional offenses (ie. USC). The lack of a real pass rush has been an issue for Cal whether it is through the innate talents of the defensive line or applying a blitz [sending a player to attack the quarterback or ball-handler but who is normally not assigned to "kill" the quarterback/ball-handler]. There will be some very deliciously evil schemes that will hopefully be employed to generate this sort of pressure on the passer.
I think Cal fans have a lot to look forward to. One thing I did not touch on were the running backs, but that is because they will be fine. There is talent back there and all of it will be on display. A strong running game is any quarterback's second best friend, after a good offensive line. Some friends are saying 2009 will be a year for Cal to make a run at the Pac 10 and possibly the national title, but I feel this can be that year with a great deal of progress. Arizona St. is not that good or at least by its initial ranking. USC will only go as far as Mark Sanchez can take them, and he is off to a rough start already. USC has not had a group of players take over the leadership mantle like they did earlier in the decade. Until then, they will be very good, but beatable.
If Cal can put things together, they should be at least the Pac 10 conference champion runner up. If they can put it together early. The big "If".
Florida - Urban Meyer has answered his critics soundly. Many argued that the spread could not be used against the SEC's athletic and quick defenses, yet, Meyer has a national championship. With that being said, I think Gator fans would love to be able to have a legitimate running threat in the backfield other than their quarterback, Tim Tebow, or their all-purpose player, Percy Harvin.
If Florida can develop and employ a legitimate running back, that offense will be really, really amazing to watch. The talent is there, someone just has to step up and take it. Chris Rainey, Emmanuel Moody, and Kestahn Moore, one of you will have to be the man. With Percy Harvin, Carl Moore, Riley Cooper, and Louis Murphy, the Gator wide-outs give Tebow large, fluid athletes to throw the ball to.
On defense, the Gators are known for a quick, athletic, attacking defense. Charlie Strong is still the defensive coordinator, I believe, and so, expect a very good SEC style defense. Look for Carlos Dunlap, the 6'6", 290-lbs, sophomore defensive end to wreak havoc on every offensive line he faces. The man is a beast. If you permit, he is a MEAST!
I believe Florida is a legitimate national championship contender. I think their game against Georgia will determine the complexion for the race to the national championship. And don't think that Florida has forgotten about Mark Richt and Georgia's antics from last season's game - there will be retribution.
The next post will be a change of pace; instead of writing about individual teams, I would like to focus on what exactly this "spread offense" is, who developed it, how it came about it, and what it indicates for the future of the innovation of the sport.
Will Riley do well against legitimate teams with athletes on defense? Every defense he faces this season will not be of the caliber of Air Force's defense. Quite frankly, playing the Air Force football team would make a lot of teams and players appear much better than they really are. With that being said, Riley has had another off-season to work with the coaching staff and mature. He also has a talented set of wide receivers, but they are young, raw. It will take time, but cream will rise to the top.
Tedford has finally conceded control of his offensive play-calling this season to Frank Cignetti. I do not know much of this fellow, but the more Tedford can delegate, the more he can focus on the overall team direction. The lack of focus in this area and subsequent action was the reason for last season's disappointing performance.
The defense will attempt to utilize its surplus of linebackers and shield its depth on the defensive line by switching to a 3-4 defense. Essentially, the 3-4 uses 3 defensive lineman. The middle of the 3 is usually a very large human being who occupy a lot of space and offensive blockers. The 2 fellows on either side of this large human attempt to maintain "gap" responsibilities so as not to allow running lanes to form and keep the linebackers free of oncoming blockers. This defense is predicated on the ability of the outside linebackers being able to generate a pass rush [to hurry the quarterback into prematurely throwing the ball] and some coverage abilities. The two middle linebackers must maintain a solid middle of the defense.
The 3-4 is highly effective in defensing conventional offenses but is nightmare against the spread offense. I expect Cal to have some difficulty when a team is able to "spread" Cal's defense by placing linebackers in unfavorable match-ups against quicker wide receivers. The other fallout is that the running the ball through the middle of the defense is much, much easier once the defense is spread.
However, the 3-4 will allow Cal to generate more pass rush against conventional offenses (ie. USC). The lack of a real pass rush has been an issue for Cal whether it is through the innate talents of the defensive line or applying a blitz [sending a player to attack the quarterback or ball-handler but who is normally not assigned to "kill" the quarterback/ball-handler]. There will be some very deliciously evil schemes that will hopefully be employed to generate this sort of pressure on the passer.
I think Cal fans have a lot to look forward to. One thing I did not touch on were the running backs, but that is because they will be fine. There is talent back there and all of it will be on display. A strong running game is any quarterback's second best friend, after a good offensive line. Some friends are saying 2009 will be a year for Cal to make a run at the Pac 10 and possibly the national title, but I feel this can be that year with a great deal of progress. Arizona St. is not that good or at least by its initial ranking. USC will only go as far as Mark Sanchez can take them, and he is off to a rough start already. USC has not had a group of players take over the leadership mantle like they did earlier in the decade. Until then, they will be very good, but beatable.
If Cal can put things together, they should be at least the Pac 10 conference champion runner up. If they can put it together early. The big "If".
Florida - Urban Meyer has answered his critics soundly. Many argued that the spread could not be used against the SEC's athletic and quick defenses, yet, Meyer has a national championship. With that being said, I think Gator fans would love to be able to have a legitimate running threat in the backfield other than their quarterback, Tim Tebow, or their all-purpose player, Percy Harvin.
If Florida can develop and employ a legitimate running back, that offense will be really, really amazing to watch. The talent is there, someone just has to step up and take it. Chris Rainey, Emmanuel Moody, and Kestahn Moore, one of you will have to be the man. With Percy Harvin, Carl Moore, Riley Cooper, and Louis Murphy, the Gator wide-outs give Tebow large, fluid athletes to throw the ball to.
On defense, the Gators are known for a quick, athletic, attacking defense. Charlie Strong is still the defensive coordinator, I believe, and so, expect a very good SEC style defense. Look for Carlos Dunlap, the 6'6", 290-lbs, sophomore defensive end to wreak havoc on every offensive line he faces. The man is a beast. If you permit, he is a MEAST!
I believe Florida is a legitimate national championship contender. I think their game against Georgia will determine the complexion for the race to the national championship. And don't think that Florida has forgotten about Mark Richt and Georgia's antics from last season's game - there will be retribution.
The next post will be a change of pace; instead of writing about individual teams, I would like to focus on what exactly this "spread offense" is, who developed it, how it came about it, and what it indicates for the future of the innovation of the sport.
4 comments:
I agree that Riley still has a lot to prove. BUT he showed his playmaking ability during the OSU game and then he showed that he could lead the team in the bowl game. He did take the field with the team down 3 TDs.
Also, how can you talk about cal football and not mention Jahvid Best?! You'll be hearing a lot of him!
[I made a typo; hence, the previous deleted comment from me]
I guess I was focusing more on "?" marks for Cal this upcoming season. I don't think Best is a "?" mark this season, other than being an every down back. But yeah, he is a "MEAST" as well.
As for Riley, I still think the jury is out as 3TDs against the Air Force secondary is to be expected for a talent that is Riley's caliber. But, yes, I think he will do well. This is a good move on Cal's part. Longshore was too shell-shocked by the end of last season.
How about the defensive coordinator Bob Gregory, Mr. "Bend-don't-break"? He coordinated the incredible bending for the first half of last season followed by the incredible breakage.
Is he not a "?"
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