View Single Post
  #80 (permalink)  
Old 05-02-2008, 04:09 PM
TheIronColonel's Avatar
TheIronColonel TheIronColonel is offline
All-American
 

Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 385
Points: 117.59
Bank: 0.00
Total Points: 117.59
TheIronColonel is all-Big Ten
TheIronColonel is all-Big TenTheIronColonel is all-Big TenTheIronColonel is all-Big TenTheIronColonel is all-Big TenTheIronColonel is all-Big TenTheIronColonel is all-Big TenTheIronColonel is all-Big TenTheIronColonel is all-Big TenTheIronColonel is all-Big TenTheIronColonel is all-Big TenTheIronColonel is all-Big TenTheIronColonel is all-Big TenTheIronColonel is all-Big TenTheIronColonel is all-Big TenTheIronColonel is all-Big TenTheIronColonel is all-Big Ten
I'd say it was some combination of the spread and (in '06) too much hype and (in '07) too much pressure to perform. We really don't get to see the spread much in the Big Ten; a lack of experience against it and, as was mentioned before, a defensive scheme designed to protect against the big play at the cost of allowing the short game. I personally think that the spread is magnificent against soft zone, because there are fewer defenders up near the line of scrimmage. By the time the quarterback has to make a read (in pass or run) the play has developed somewhat and everything is upfield, to some degree. Zone read offenses should gobble it up because they can get defenders in space with little support where (theoretically) shifty athletes can make plays for the offense. In the passing game, lining up 4 or 5 wide and allowing flankers to carry the zone back a bit to open up underneath routes worked very well for Florida in '06, IIRC.

It's well trod ground, but in '06 there was too much hype and an (apparent) lack of respect for Florida. They spent too much time having too much smoke blown up their asses about how great they were (admittedly, they were) and how Florida had no chance (they did). In '07, there was a huge amount of pressure due to last year's debacle. I think that those two things, coupled with personnel churn and the choice of defensive scheme vs the spread, were the root causes.
Reply With Quote
 
Page generated in 0.10918 seconds with 9 queries