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We seemed to run the offense better back in the late 80's & early 90's...........

Houston in the 90's had a ton of talent.

Ware, Klingler, Manny Hazard at WR, Chuck Weatherspoon at H-back who took shovel passes and draws to keep defense honest and bowled people over.

They stretched the field more. We seem to run short and angular passes.

couch 'em wrote:RnS was developed in the era of running football. If everyone plays spread, and defenses are designed to stop spread, by running around throwing arent you really going toe-to-toe?

This is right on the money if you ask me...and I know you didn't. In its infancy this offense was revolutionary (i.e. different) and defenses were not designed or prepared to stop it. Not the case anymore...whether you call it spread, run n shoot, whatever.

I have to laugh at the comments about the spread, RnS etc. In about 1955 a coach friend of mine gave me a book by a coach named Dutch Meyer on the spread formation. Today most all teams run some form of spread and it is still effective after all these years. Not much has really changed IMO and the concept just keeps evolving.

couch 'em wrote:

redpony wrote:I have to laugh at the comments about the spread, RnS etc. In about 1955 a coach friend of mine gave me a book by a coach named Dutch Meyer on the spread formation. Today most all teams run some form of spread and it is still effective after all these years. Not much has really changed IMO and the concept just keeps evolving.

http://www.directsnapfootball.com/?p=614

Cool...thanks for posting.

Reed- I also read his other books. Strange that the cover of my book had no illustrations on the front (IIRC) but I suspect it was on of the first printings. Dutch M. was a great coach and very innovative.

The so called spread formation has been around for a long time in various forms. I played at Thomas Jefferson, San Antonio, in the early fifties and our coach, Jewel Wallace, who had played at TCU under Dutch Meyer utilized the spread sometime. I have the playbook to prove. Spreading out the formation against defenses like the seven diamond, six two two one and the five four could work pretty well because those defenses were set tup to stop the run in the single wing and split tee.

Like wise the R&S back in the late 80s, early 90s could work against defenses primarily set up to stop the run in the the triple option offenses like the wish bone, veer and belly series. Today defenses feature more speed guys to stop the pass happy offenses today. Most spreads today though feature options run by the QB and RB as well as passing. The zone read is an example. When the QB has the option to run with the ball, it gives the defense one more man to account for. Our R&S does not feature a run by the QB on purpose so poor old Zach Line is the only runner the defense has to account for. In addition our O line seldom if ever gets down in a three point stance so they are realativly ineffective in run blocking. Check the good teams in the country and the O line is often in a three point stance and they also often have a tight end or H back for additional blockers.

The pure R&S, IMO, with five wideouts, no tight end, no lineman with a hand on the ground and no threat with a running QB is outmoded today.

ReedFrawg wrote:

couch 'em wrote:RnS was developed in the era of running football. If everyone plays spread, and defenses are designed to stop spread, by running around throwing arent you really going toe-to-toe?

This is right on the money if you ask me...and I know you didn't. In its infancy this offense was revolutionary (i.e. different) and defenses were not designed or prepared to stop it. Not the case anymore...whether you call it spread, run n shoot, whatever.

Yes, it "opened up the game" a bit but no one has won a major championship with it from what I can recall (Houston - Cougs and Oilers, perhaps Bills, etc). It certainly made the game entertaining and the numbers monstrous.

And by "toe to toe" I meant just running it right at people and seeing who could stop who - man on man, smash mouth. I don't see the pure RnS as the same thing as "the spread".