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Big 12 defenses adapting to spread offenses

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  • JOHN MARSHALL - AP Sports Writer
  • Originally published July 23, 2008 at 11:52 a.m., updated July 23, 2008 at 11:52 a.m.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The spread offense has been a boon to the Big 12, helping teams like Missouri and Kansas transition from also-rans to national title contenders.

But for all the talk about the success offenses have with the spread, what about the defenses that have to stop it? That, uh, hasn’t been so great.

“The spread offense is a pain to stop,” Colorado safety Ryan Walters said Tuesday, the second of the Big 12’s media days. “There’s so many options, especially you see in today’s game. You’ve got to be smart players to stop the spread offense.”

The difficulty of stopping the spread is its complexity.

And since no two teams run the offense exactly the same, coaches have to shift the type of defense they run, almost on a weekly basis.

“You have to be very multiple and be able to effectively deal with everything you’re going to see on a week-to-week basis,” Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said. “You can’t just line up and have one base defense and expect to stop everything you’re going to see over the course of 12, 13 games.”

The spread is relatively new to the Big 12 and defenses are still struggling to figure out how to stop it.

The general consensus so far is that slowing the spread requires pressure on the quarterback, forcing dump-off passes underneath instead of long throws downfield, and sure tackling when the offensive players do get the ball.

But with all the chaos that comes with the spread and the talented quarterbacks who know how to run it, theory and reality don’t always collide.

GUNDY’S GAME

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy earned a bit of unwanted fame with his “I’m a man!” rant that made him a YouTube sensation. It didn’t take him long to reference it in his media session on Tuesday.

“I’ve been a popular guy over the last year,” he said.

Gundy earned his fame with a tirade following a win over Texas Tech last season. He took exception with a column in The Daily Oklahoman and berated the author for criticizing a college athlete, yelling out “I’m a man! I’m 40!” during the post-game news conference.

So what was the first question after his opening remarks on Tuesday? You guessed it.

“You’d have to ask the players how it’s affected the team,” Gundy said. “I don’ think they put as much into it as maybe what the media does. I think in society today that those are the things that people thrive on, unfortunately, in my opinion. I don’t care much for off-the-field issues and it’s not something that I contemplated.”



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