We should rotate our QB's. Each one gets a snap and then hands off the reins to the next. That way they can all showcase their talent to the NFL scouts equally.
Also, none of our best players should play more than 10 snaps a game so that they can make it to draft day without significant injury.
Just win football games. Man, this is a dumb notion for a thread. Mariota isn't upset that the spread offense hurt his draft stock.
Nobody said anything about focusing on losing. Of course we want to win. But my point was there is indeed a very strong bias in NFL circles against spread offense QB's.
I'll give you some local examples. ESPN's local beat writer for the Titans, Paul Kuharsky. The Tennessean's sports writers all tend to stuck on this old school, pro-style offense schtick. They campaigned consistently for Mettenberger to get another chance (he went 0-6 last year as a statue in the pocket), and go for a trade of the No.2 pick in the 1st Rd.
If you follow the draft, that is all year, for months...."he's a spread offense QB and his experience doesn't translate to the NFL very well....he'll have to sit for 2-3yrs and develop." Mariota was the lone exception...and part of that was because Oregon actually does mix in some pro-style concepts into their offense.
Mariota has to read the defense and shift his protections, set his receivers, and post snap, he cycles through his progressions. And the WR's run NFL route trees. Titan's HC, Whisenhunt said he was surprised to find this out, only after holding a private workout with Mariota at his Pro Day.
That means there is a real and negative stigma in the NFL towards QB's who come out of zone read offenses.
You blow it off as a stupid topic....well, it wasn't stupid to Bryce Petty or Brett Hundley. They fell 2-3rds largely because of this negative perception.
If Bryce Petty had some experience in an offense that translated well into the NFL, he would have been a mid to late 1st Rd pick rather than a 4th Rd pick. HUGE difference in salary.
It's not a dumb topic to him, right now. It matters.
I'm sure it matters to any an HS QB who follows the draft closely. They saw the bias. My contention is not a complete switch, but only to mix in some elements that can be used, from time to time...such as taking the snap under center in some short yardage/goal line situations.
Perhaps mix up the tempo, when we want to control the clock...especially when we play teams that have explosive offenses. We want our offense to eat up a lot of clock. So, why not slow it down and use the huddle at various points? The Patriots variate between the huddle and an up tempo scheme. David Cutcliffe ran both out of the huddle and a no-huddle, depending on the tempo he wanted to run.
Why not mix in a few plays from the I formation, and have our RB's running downhill, between the tackles. Maybe use a LB like Bryant or Bynum to come in as an FB/H-Back in those sets...just to throw the defense off from time to time? Coach Debo would know how to mix it up a little.