Les Snead: NFL clubs must adapt to college quarterbacks

[RamBill]

Les Snead: NFL clubs must adapt to college quarterbacks
By Chase Goodbread
College Football 24/7 writer

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...-nfl-clubs-must-adapt-to-college-quarterbacks

Seattle Seahawks assistant coach Tom Cable wasted no time lamenting the lack of preparedness for the NFL that he saw among offensive players in college football following this year's NFL draft. But for St. Louis Rams general manager Les Snead, the onus is on the NFL to adjust to what the college game is producing, at least at the quarterback position.

"It's doomsday if we don't adapt and evolve," Snead said, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The widening void between college passers and the demands on NFL quarterbacks comes from the proliferation of the spread offense in college, and the hurry-up, no-huddle style that often comes with it. College quarterbacks in spread offenses don't have to learn or relay as much terminology, nor do they have to read defenses quite the same way as they do in the NFL. Adjusting to the pro game is nothing new, and quarterbacks have struggled to do so long before the advent of the spread attack.

But now more than ever, it's become a problem. Just ask former Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty, who is learning the NFL ropes as a rookie with the New York Jets.

"Honestly, I wish I'd done a little bit more as far as being proactive to get into a pro style [offense]," Petty said. "It was things I have never seen before."

Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton offered this frustration assertion: "You have to teach these kids the absolute basics."

SMU coach Chad Morris reportedly summarized the trend this way:

Mike Kuchar @MikekKuchar
SMU HFC Chad Morris: "Football used to be a trickle down process from pros to hs, but now it's going the other way."@xandolabs

Of course, the college game isn't totally devoid of pro-style passers. Former Florida State star Jameis Winston operated a more traditional offense, and that was one reason he was considered a slightly better prospect than Oregon's Marcus Mariota this year. Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter isn't having to teach Winston how to handle a huddle or how to read a defense, at least not at the rudimentary level that some young quarterbacks require.

In the last two years, Zach Mettenberger of LSU, AJ McCarron of Alabama, Aaron Murray of Georgia and Sean Mannion of Oregon State have all been chosen in the NFL draft after operating pro-style offenses.

But the spread quarterback is getting drafted, too, and as Snead suggested, NFL offenses will be forced to change as a result.

 

[-X-]

Nonsense. Just as the NCAA doesn't have to cater to the NFL in terms of preparing their kids for the next level, the NFL doesn't have to cater to the NCAA and completely change the way the game is played simply to accommodate QBs coming into the league. The best QBs will learn how to play in a pro style offense, and the rest will fall by the wayside. it's up to offensive coordinators to simplify some things, and position coaches to re-train mechanics.

 

[ram007]

The game would suck

 

[Alaskan Ram]

Peyton Manning, 3-13 first season in 1998. Tom Landry 5 losing seasons coaching out of the gate. Its an instant gratification, no patience world, and an exec's head will get chopped if results aren't delivered "now".
Sometimes there's not even time for the previous interventions to flow through the system and become realized, the company starts making another change. Over correcting. Not a shocking statement at all from Les. Par for the course. C'mon man. There's keepin it real, and there's sellin' out. Only one path produces a winner.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I am surprised that Snead would say such a thing. Spread offenses are not all that successful in the NFL and changing your offense to fit a spread-raised QB would not necessarily equal success against NFL defenses. It would most likely be quite the opposite. Simplifying the offense will only make the Ds job easier IMO.

 

[-X-]

and changing your offense to fit a spread-raised QB would not necessarily equal success against NFL defenses. It would most likely be quite the opposite.

This is true.

Jimmy Johnson, while at THE U, implemented his version of the 4-3 specifically to combat the wishbone offense. Instead of telling defensive linemen to 2-gap and watching them get punked by the option all the time, he switched entirely to a penetrating 1-gap system.

 

[Merlin]

I keep going back to a quote by Chip Kelly about how the staff's job is to keep things as simple as possible for players, so from that perspective I do agree and think some staffs don't do a good job of simplification.

All that said, however, the problem is the beast that is the NFL defense. That alone dictates the bar is raised at the pro level with the guy who touches the ball every play. Blitzes from all over, harder hits and wear and tear on ball carriers, disguised coverages, complex packages, all that stuff is here to stay.

So IMO the NFL needs to do a better job partnering with the NCAA. Fact is that the NCAA is the NFL's minor league, and as such they should be influencing the game at that level. There are many ways to do that, and at some point the NFL is going to realize they can do better.

 

[LACHAMP46]

So, why didn't we draft a running/spread QB then? Hundley...Petty...

 

[LesBaker]

@LACHAMP46 you shut up!!

I will say this as directly as possible.

There will NEVER be a QB that comes out of college that can't really read defenses that will be successful in the NFL. It's the #1 trait a guy under center has to have at that level. Without that ability DC's will wipe that QB out.

 

[LACHAMP46]

@LACHAMP46 you shut up!!

I will say this as directly as possible.

There will NEVER be a QB that comes out of college that can't really read defenses that will be successful in the NFL. It's the #1 trait a guy under center has to have at that level. Without that ability DC's will wipe that QB out.

LOL....Hey, this is what Les is attributed as saying:

But for St. Louis Rams general manager Les Snead, the onus is on the NFL to adjust to what the college game is producing, at least at the quarterback position.

"It's doomsday if we don't adapt and evolve," Snead said, according to the Wall Street Journal.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-the-nfl-has-a-quarterback-crisis-1441819454

It says in the headline, "
Coaches see more QB prospects entering the league without the skill sets to excel".
And the first paragraph:

Since the dawn of the NFL, head coaches and general managers have been calling top college quarterback prospects into conference rooms to pepper them with rudimentary questions: how to attack a certain defense, for instance, or what to do when a play breaks down. The answers were sometimes dull and sometimes brilliant, but there were always answers.

This year, according to separate interviews with dozens of NFL coaches and executives, something disturbing happened in these pre-draft quiz sessions. When asked the same basic questions, many quarterback prospects responded with something NFL insiders said they have never seen before: blank stares.

Now, I feel ya Les...besides measurables, I find the ability to process information quickly, what's happening and what do I do with the ball the most single identifiable trait that equates to NFL success. But if they don't have these basic skills, what are you gonna do? Play Austin Davis/Clemmens/Hill's? Or adapt...I think playbooks & scheme is getting a lil outta control...sort like, in the superbowl, the Pats did a great thing to a very good Seattle defense....Instead of complex route combinations, well they did run them, but they basically dumped the ball off...Basically eliminating their advantage of team speed in the process and kept them off balance all game. Was it a complex, pro-style system? Or Brady, in the shotgun, getting rid of the ball quickly...Much like a college offense does week after week...And from which a lot of these new QB's are produced? Hmm, Les?
Edit: The Only thing they state as a solutions..and I'll paste it here is:

Cleveland’s Farmer has one idea: What if you could design an offense to minimize the passing deficiencies of modern quarterback prospects?.....or.....NFL officials agree that the new wave of quarterbacks will need more time than previous generations, but some fret that today’s roster limits and time constraints may prevent them from getting the time they need to learn or develop. “It might become like major league baseball now, where you take a guy that you think will be able to play in three, four, five years,” said Pettine.

Hence HUNDLEY or Petty....Hell, Mannion is gonna take 3+ years IMHO.

PS, I need to win big tonight, who ya bettin with?

 

[LesBaker]

PS, I need to win big tonight, who ya bettin with?

The team you DIDN'T pick hahahahahahahaha

 

[Ken]

The NFL needs a real developmental league

 

[LACHAMP46]

The NFL needs a real developmental league

They do....Pac-12, SEC, ACC, B1G, Big 12,...who'd I leave out? Anyone? Arena league??????

 

[Ken]

would warner and delhomme have had nfl careers without nfl europe? probably not. they need a developmental league more now than they did back then imo. Or expand practice squads and ps eligibility to have more time to develop more prospects. if college ball is not preparing players for the pros those are alternatives. the nfl can afford it

 

[RaminExile]

Nonsense. Just as the NCAA doesn't have to cater to the NFL in terms of preparing their kids for the next level, the NFL doesn't have to cater to the NCAA and completely change the way the game is played simply to accommodate QBs coming into the league. The best QBs will learn how to play in a pro style offense, and the rest will fall by the wayside. it's up to offensive coordinators to simplify some things, and position coaches to re-train mechanics.

You dont worry there just simply won't be enough good ones to go round? Already it seems impossible to find 32 guys who can do it competently. I think what will happen is we'll simply see a return to the running game. If you don't have a QB get a running back instead and build an offense around him.

I do agree with Ken though - a developmental league is a must...There is simply too much pressure on teams to play QB's as developmental guys. Everyone is on a hotseat and must win now so you can't give guys who need the reps the reps they need to develop! Brad Johnson and Kurt Warner are two Quarterbacks who weren't all that at the start and who got the important development they needed in Europe - then went on to win Superbowls. That just can't happen anymore.

 

[Mackeyser]

The problem is that it's a passing league and the league is stuck playing musical chairs with the talent.

There are currently, maybe 25 true starting caliber QBs in the NFL and the college game isn't supplying the NFL with enough talent to replace the losses it sustains to retirement/injury.

Can teams just become Defensive/Run oriented? Yes.

Can they do that and win? No. There are NO examples of a team winning without at least a competent game managing QB. Want to disparage Trent Dilfer? Okay...but understand that even he was light years ahead of where most of the college QBs are.

So, it IS very much a crisis for the NFL.

Teams that want to win NEED a QB. What other reason justifies paying 1/53rd of the roster nearly 20% of the money? Why else do teams pay very mediocre backup QBs several million per year? Why? Because the alternative is to have a QB that is barely more knowledgeable about the pro QB position than the RB standing next to him. The alternative is to simply lose and hope to develop a QB while losing.

That's just not a great option.

BUT!!! If I'm a 5 star HS QB and I want a shot at the NFL...well, with this info, do I go for college glory OR...do I specifically look for college programs that feature pro-style offenses?

For me? If I believe in myself that I can be a pro, I go with the pro style offense because increasingly, teams aren't going to want to have to roll the dice that a guy that lit up a spread in college can read defenses or can go through progressions or take a snap or manage a huddle or even call a play.

 

[jrry32]

I am surprised that Snead would say such a thing. Spread offenses are not all that successful in the NFL and changing your offense to fit a spread-raised QB would not necessarily equal success against NFL defenses. It would most likely be quite the opposite. Simplifying the offense will only make the Ds job easier IMO.

That's not entirely true. The Colts under Peyton Manning ran one of the least complex/dense offenses in the NFL. It doesn't make the defense's job easier but it does make the offense's job harder. The less complex your playbook, the more success hinges on execution.

That's why the Colts could run it so successfully. Manning was such a perfectionist and such an elite QB mentally that it was easier for them to run a more simple offense that he could dictate from the LOS and the rest of the guys could perfect in terms of execution.

So I guess what you're saying is true to an extent...but I hesitate to agree with it. Because a complex offense can also make the defense's job easier if it makes it harder for your offense to execute and your players to get the system down.

There are pros and cons to both approaches and neither is necessarily right or wrong.

However, one point I can agree totally with you on is that simplifying the offense for the QB will make the defense's job easier. You can simplify the offense in terms of number of packages and plays but you can't make the QB's job easier without sacrificing really important things.

And when you sacrifice those things, it makes it much more difficult to improvise on the field...which is important for the success of any offense.

 

[jrry32]

The problem is that it's a passing league and the league is stuck playing musical chairs with the talent.

There are currently, maybe 25 true starting caliber QBs in the NFL and the college game isn't supplying the NFL with enough talent to replace the losses it sustains to retirement/injury.

Can teams just become Defensive/Run oriented? Yes.

Can they do that and win? No. There are NO examples of a team winning without at least a competent game managing QB. Want to disparage Trent Dilfer? Okay...but understand that even he was light years ahead of where most of the college QBs are.

So, it IS very much a crisis for the NFL.

Teams that want to win NEED a QB. What other reason justifies paying 1/53rd of the roster nearly 20% of the money? Why else do teams pay very mediocre backup QBs several million per year? Why? Because the alternative is to have a QB that is barely more knowledgeable about the pro QB position than the RB standing next to him. The alternative is to simply lose and hope to develop a QB while losing.

That's just not a great option.

BUT!!! If I'm a 5 star HS QB and I want a shot at the NFL...well, with this info, do I go for college glory OR...do I specifically look for college programs that feature pro-style offenses?

For me? If I believe in myself that I can be a pro, I go with the pro style offense because increasingly, teams aren't going to want to have to roll the dice that a guy that lit up a spread in college can read defenses or can go through progressions or take a snap or manage a huddle or even call a play.

Ya know, I don't agree with that Mack. I think there are 32 starting caliber QBs in the NFL...especially if a team is willing to get creative and actually tailor their system to the talent they have.

To answer your question, though, if I am a 5 star HS QB, I'm going to play at a program like UF, FSU, LSU, UGA, USC, UCLA, etc. These are all teams that run systems with pro style elements to them.

 

[Mackeyser]

I think after a few weeks, we'll know who's right. Better if you are for the sport, but I don't think so. We'll see...

 

[shaunpinney]

hmm, interesting, I don't agree with Snead on this one, and I don't think that the NFL should cater for the college system, or are we all going to have the same offensive training manual and it becomes the best athletes win then?

Its up to the OC and HC how they select and use the QB they draft, you draft for the benefit of your team and to the strength of that particular player. You wouldn't draft Payton Manning and turn him into a running QB, the same as you wouldn't draft Russell Wilson and contain his running, thats the sign of a poor HC/OC IMO.

Thats the beauty of the game, you get different qualities and attributes with all players/OCs/HC, sometimes the best athlete, just doesn't work with your 'unit' of players, but an OK player can fit perfectly into your team and raise the whole gameplay to an elite level.

With regards to the developmental league, isn't that what the college system is supposed to be?