Stop the Spread

What defenses are doing to attack the latest craze in offense - the spread
by: Darryl Richards
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Kansas State defensive coordinator Phil Bennett has been a popular man this off-season.

Not a week goes by without another coordinator calling for some advice on defending an offense that was hard to tackle last season. It is an offense responsible for Oklahoma winning the national title, Oregon State completing its best season in school history, Purdue going to the Rose Bowl, and both Northwestern and South Carolina rising from the depths.

It's the spread offense and the debate on how to, at least, slow it down has coordinators sharing information like a hot stock tip.

"I've had at least 20 staffs call to come down and visit with me," said Bennett, who couldn't handle the requests because of family obligations. "I've shared a lot of ideas over the phone because that's the way the business is. Football is a game of evolution and you have to be able to adjust."

Back in the late 80s and early 90s, the Run-and-Shoot was the hot offense and became a precursor to the spread. But the Run-and-Shoot died when defensive coordinators found ways to overwhelm the blocking schemes and pound quarterbacks mercilessly. The Run-and-Shoot did not use a tight end while the spread offense can make great use of a tight end.

The spread became more popular in recent years as more teams started putting eight or even nine players close to the line of scrimmage to slow down the run. The theory is simple. Get skill position players matched up in single coverage in the open field. A missed tackle or a blown assignment and a short pass can become a big gain because defenders are so spread out.

Now defenses are looking for new ways to counter the popular offense.

"I started thinking about it the minute the season was over," said Nebraska defensive coordinator Craig Bohl whose team will attempt to avenge last season's 31-14 loss to Oklahoma on Oct. 27.

Bennett and Bohl are sought out because they played the Sooners last season. Kansas State played Oklahoma twice, and had its moments in a 27-24 loss in the Big 12 Championship game. Kansas State forced three interceptions in the game.

In the span of two games, Bennett learned a lot. Primarily, you have to mix up your looks and not give the quarterback time to get a good read on your defense and change the plays. The first time the teams met, the Wildcats tried to blitz Oklahoma into submission and knocked Heupel down a bunch. Ultimately, Heupel was able to make some reads and find receivers who had superior matchups.

The second time around, Bennett mixed up the look and played more zone.

That may mean a different role for the middle linebacker who often is neutralized by the offense. The premium is finding players capable of running from sideline to sideline to help in coverage. Bennett said using three linebackers might be foolhardy unless they can all run.

"Everybody is looking at a 3-man or 2-man rush and those are options," Bennett said. "I'm of the belief that if they give you something different you have to be able match up. You don't want a linebacker who runs a 4.7 going up against a 4.3 receiver. If they get the matchup they want, you're in trouble."

Oklahoma offensive coordinator Mark Mangino said the Sooners saw a lot more zone in the second half of the season. Oklahoma State offered the most bizarre look, often putting just two players on the line and dropping nine into coverage. The Sooners barely survived an upset bid, defeating Oklahoma State 12-7.

The concept behind defending the spread with a zone, is to force an offense to grind it out and play the odds that there will be a dropped pass, a poor pass, or a miscommunication. But if the team is talented and patient, the odds are very good the zone won't be successful.

"We felt like we could attack it," Mangino said. "Our offense is actually better against zone than man. Our passing routes and our schemes are more suited to receivers sitting in holes and calling for the ball."

Still, showing a different look has its advantages. Especially when the quarterback is inexperienced. Heupel's advantage at Oklahoma was his experience and intelligence. This allowed him to make checks at the line. An inexperienced quarterback may look to the sideline for help and by the time he receives it, the look can change again.

New West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez said a team may need two quarters to adapt to a real funky look. Of course that depends on how different it is. When Rodriguez was the offensive coordinator at Tulane in 1998, Houston lined up five defensive backs across the field and inverted one of the safeties. It took Rodriguez at least a quarter to make an adjustment.

Rodriguez said he saw more zone blitzes in the ACC when he was the offensive coordinator at Clemson and not just on third downs.

"I've been doing the spread offense for 10 years and just as you think you've seen it all somebody comes up with something different," Rodriguez said. "A lot of teams change their base. When you prepare for a team, you have to be ready to see everything."

Former Kentucky coach Hal Mumme said his teams often struggled with Joe Lee Dunn's schemes at Mississippi State because the Bulldogs were able to mix up looks with just three down linemen. Mississippi State would insert three inside linebackers and two safeties in the flat and then go three deep in coverage.

The safeties were the wild cards in the defense and would switch up between blitzing and dropping back in coverage. A bad read could result in a sack or a turnover.

"If you fall asleep on a look, then you can be in big trouble," Mumme said.

Defending the spread is a pre-requisite for teams in the Pac-10 where one-back offenses reign. New UCLA defensive coordinator Phil Snow, who previously coached at Arizona State, knows the team with the most success against the scheme, has the best chance for winning in the league. He just doesn't expect the statistics to look very good.

"I don't think anybody in the Pac-10 will lead the nation in defense," Snow said. "There are too many good offenses that can run and throw. It's a tough offense to defend especially when a team gets 80 snaps."

Washington defensive coordinator Tim Hundley had the most success against the spread, winning the conference and handing Oregon State its only loss. The Huskies ended the season with a victory over Purdue in the Rose Bowl.

Hundley's answer to most of the problems caused by the spread defense, is team speed and a depth at defensive back. A safety who can cheat up to play the run or blitz but is fast enough to drop back in coverage is a big plus. A versatile set of athletes allows teams to mix up looks between zones and man-to-man.

"I think you have to be able to add a guy to the box with a disguise," Hundley said. "You have to able to get some movement before the snap because you can't allow the secondary to do it all by themselves."

While the passing game receives a lot of attention in the spread, teams have had success running the ball against overextended defenses. Northwestern running back Damien Anderson was second in the nation in rushing last season. Oregon was able to rush for 231 yards against Washington in a 23-16 victory.

And remember one of the biggest plays in the Orange Bowl was Oklahoma running back Quentin Griffin scoring in the fourth quarter on a draw play up the middle.

Some coaches such as Kentucky defensive coordinator John Goodner and Memphis coach Tommy West are strong believers in shutting down the run and taking their chances on the passing game. The theory is if you have enough players on the line to stifle the run, those same players should be able to force a bad throw or two.

"You're not going to sack the quarterback a bunch," West said. "A lot of times, he's in a shotgun and he's not going to hold the ball a long time. It changes your mindset defensively because the offense is built on a rhythm. Hurries and hits are as big as sacks in the offense."

Ultimately, Shakespeare may have the best advice to coordinators.

"This above all: to thine own self be true."

Mumme says defensive coordinators go through range of philosophies when it comes to attacking the spread. The first is to just play a base defense and believe that is good enough. When that doesn't work, the coordinators start blitzing. If a team gives up too many big plays, then conservatism sets in, and coaches go to zone.

Nebraska played to its strengths and had mixed results against the spread. Oklahoma scored 31 unanswered points against the Cornhuskers midway in the season. But Nebraska improved and held Texas Tech's spread offense to three points and overwhelmed Northwestern in last year's Alamo Bowl.

"You're going to have some highs and lows against it," Bohl said. "But you have to know you strengths and play to it. I think as we saw the offense more, we realized what we could do against it. Hopefully, we'll get better against it."

After all, a conference title may depend on it.

While known as a passing offense, the spread can and does make great use of the running game.

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