Spread O vs. 3-4/3-3-5 Defenses?

[bamatex82]

"Personel differences aside", I do not think the spread is what beat us in either of those two games this year...

I deliberately put that statement in bold to lead the conversation away from any specific reasons that the personnel may have had on the results. I wanted to focus on the merits of the different schemes. The numbers for each season begs for a comparison.

It is purely an academic question - do we have the right scheme to consistently beat the spread even if we improve the talent? I'm not an X's and O's kind of person, but I really like it when others are and can explain it. Thanks Jess!

One observation on my part is that it seems like when talking about defenses that the conversation leaves out the impact the offense on the D's performance. If you score too quick, your defense is out there too long and gets tired by the end of the game. It seems to me that not only has CNS not bought into reacting to extreme to what D he is uses against the spread, but he wants on offense that controls the ball. The spread O has a tendency to wear out its own D if they do not pace themselves.

 

[Bamabuzzard]

A lack of a pass rush killed us this year more than anything. Even against spread teams NOBODY could run the ball against us. Yet we struggled against the pass.

If you can stop the run and have players that can pass rush you can stop ANY OFFENSE. Even the "unstoppable" spread option. Utah couldn't run against us nor could Florida. Yet they had all the time in the world to sit in the pocket and throw.

 

[JessN]

Personally, I'm not sold on the 3-3-5 as being so wonderful against the spread. Coach Joe Kines does not seem to be currently enjoying much success at TAMU against those Big-12 spread offenses.

Kines' first year at Alabama was awful. His second year was acceptable, and his third year was one of the best statistical defenses in the history of this school. The 2006 defense lost a lot of talent from the year before and its effectiveness waned along with it (hence my comments about the problem with Kines being his ability to convince DLs and LBs of the benefits of his defense during recruiting, or lack thereof). If Texas A&M keeps him for a couple of years his defenses down there will do well.

 

[BEATtutorsee]

A lack of a pass rush killed us this year more than anything. Even against spread teams NOBODY could run the ball against us. Yet we struggled against the pass.

If you can stop the run and have players that can pass rush you can stop ANY OFFENSE. Even the "unstoppable" spread option. Utah couldn't run against us nor could Florida. Yet they had all the time in the world to sit in the pocket and throw.

Yep. The lack of an effective pass rush was the main reason why we weren't a truly dominating defense this year. We'll get it here pretty soon however, especially with the way CNS recruits!