I've always thought of the spread in general as just a wishbone with shotgun that went a little further vertically with an extra WR. I remember watching Auburn run it in the 80's with Bo and Little Train. It was a thing of beauty. Even watching GT or Navy run the triple option now is fun to watch. When it fails though, it's ugly. As good as GT looks now running it, I think they would hit a brick wall with OU, Bama or LSU's front 7.
Auburn freshman backup quarterback Kiehl Frazier may get more playing time in the Wildcat formation.Written byJay G. Tate ยท AUBURN -- Kiehl Frazier arrived on campus three months ago as the future of Auburn's offense. He's quickly becoming part of the current solution.Frazier, a freshman, earned a season-high four snaps against Florida Atlantic last weekend, averaging 10 yards with his three carries and missing with an ambitious throw to wideout Emory Blake.He ran with surprising conviction between the tackles and his emerging reputation alone could be enough to boost the Tigers' middling ground attack.Will Frazier soon be in position to seize the job from junior Barrett Trotter?"Whatever Coach (Gus) Malzahn thinks," Frazier said. "He's going to go in with the guy he has the most trust in and that has been Barrett so far."Trotter waited three seasons for his chance at the starting job and his knowledge of Malzahn's intricate offense is unparalleled. Still, the quarterback has missed some important passing opportunities because of poor reads and/or inaccurate throws.He has struggled to burn defenses with deep balls, which is an important element of Malzahn's philosophy.Perhaps most important, Trotter isn't a running threat. Surgery on both knees has robbed the Birmingham native of his once-impressive acceleration.Defenses allocated ample resources toward defending Cam Newton as a rusher last season. His presence made jet sweeps and power runs an overwhelming advantage because opponents were concerned about guarding every possible ball carrier.Those plays are no longer working consistently.Defenses aren't scared of Trotter as a rushing threat, which makes life more difficult for tailbacks Onterio McCalebb and Mike Dyer.If a rushing threat emerged at quarterback, though, defenses again would be forced to consider every possible option out of the backfield.Heading into Saturday's game at No. 10 South Carolina, Frazier could be that man.To this point, he has worked exclusively out of the Wildcat formation.Frazier, even with his relative inexperience, only goes through a few simple reads.A front-size or back-side defensive end is the key each time.If he crashes to the in-motion tailback, Frazier is supposed to run.If the end crashes to Frazier, the ball is pitched to the tailback.He made good decisions against Florida Atlantic and finished as Auburn's second-leading rusher with 30 yards."I was a little bit surprised," wideout Emory Blake said. "In practice, he doesn't really get hit because he's the quarterback, and I really hadn't had a chance to see him run yet. He ran plays well when he got out there."Frazier's ability to handle simple plays may help him land a more important job in short order. Coach Gene Chizik on Tuesday insinuated that Frazier has been considered for work beyond the Wildcat formation."That's not out of the question," Chizik said. "Right now, it has been a concerted effort to keep in the spot with the Wildcat threat. We see it in practice every day. He's getting more confident. That's why his role has expanded some."Frazier said he works with the first-team offense occasionally during practice, but it's only to sharpen his command of certain packages. He didn't identify those packages.Malzahn took a new step with Frazier last weekend by letting him throw out of the Wildcat formation. He was given two passing options and was instructed to scramble if neither receiver was open.He improvised.A pair of defenders had Blake covered and Frazier forced a throw anyway.The pass was incomplete.Statistically, it was nothing more than a footnote.Yet it's clearer than ever that Frazier is valued highly by the coaching staff. They're ready to put at least token trust in him, which is notable considering he's still behind sophomore Clint Moseley on the depth chart.Frazier said he appreciates his time on the field."It definitely makes me a lot more comfortable, just like all us freshmen," he said. "As the season goes on, I think that we'll be making more and more plays."
I've pretty much thought the same thing as well. The traditional wishbone loaded up the backfield with three backs for the possibility of a double or triple option, and was primarily a rushing offense. Oklahoma owned that shit in the 70's. I think they still have NCAA rushing records from their use of the wishbone from that era? Since then there have been a multitude of variations on the wishbone, including the spread offense which can be considered a bastard child of the wishbone.It's all pretty muddy terminology now, especially with coaches like Malzahn mixing things up.
The Wing T - now that's a system.
No, this is a system.
Looks like she might have undergone some sort of surgical process.
Yep. Here eyebrows do look a little high.
She spins me right round baby right round
The Spread isn't a system damnit!! It's a method.The Wing T - now that's a system.
Well, whatever the nature of Malzahn's system, it appears to be broken at the moment:
71 Replies
6312 Views