Ducks Attack Message Board Forum

After reading the article up on scout about Prater the number 1 receiver prospect according to scout. I once again noticed a theme. The spread will not prepare me for the NFL. This is obviously a myth perpetuated by the big schools that run pro-style offenses (USC, Tennessee). In looking at the NFL Draft board I was looking at the top 3 WR's prospects. I didn't bother looking farther down the list but who cares.

Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech - spread offense

Jeremy Maclin, Missouri - spread offense

Percy Harvin, Florida - spread offense

The pro scouts seem pretty set on pulling guys from pro-style offenses....

With the combine and all the other athletic measurement tests, pros tend to draft on potential. This whole talk of how great pro-style offenses are for preparing players for the NFL is a joke.I can't think of an NFL coach that has said a WR had a tough time adjusting from a spread, I mean don't get me wrong blocking, catching, and running routes is not universal in any offense. Not to mention all the college formations that have been showing up in the pro's. The Wild-Hog, the Patriots offense looks a lot like the spread.

If I was a prospect I would look at the strength and conditioning program first if I was trying to get in the pros.

The only place were I can see the spread hampering a guys draft status is at Oline and maybe QB. Largely because the athletes we recruit for those positions are different than what the NFL wants.

Boom wrote:The only place were I can see the spread hampering a guys draft status is at Oline and maybe QB. Largely because the athletes we recruit for those positions are different than what the NFL wants.

Oregon o-line have been getting drafted(with two possible draft picks in this years draft. i think that is because a lot of NFL teams use zone blocking schemes(broncos used too). Big name WR coming out of high school worry about not getting all the numbers/stats that they would if there are only 2-3 WR on the field compared to 4-5 at a time.
the three guys u mentioned. weren't that highly rated coming out of high school what does that say.

I've been saying this for awhile, we may always have a hard time getting those top WRs but frankly, it doesn't bother me at all. I want guys who will just do their job. This offense right now is at it's best when we are running the ball. WRs are not the focal point of this offense. A great WR or two wouldn't hurt but is not a necessity.

I would love to grab a top 5 WR every year but I think it's more important to go after & get that top 5 RB or QB. To me WRs are almost expendable. They get the most attention while doing the least amount of work. As long as we have WRs who get out there, block their man, catch the ball & run precise routes, this offense will be great. It is much more important to have top flight RBs & QBs, IMO.

And as much as we've struggled to get highly rated WRs here our recieving core is looking as good as it ever has. Maehl, Harper, Holland, DJ Davis, Cantu, Embry, Pflugrad, Tuinei, Gaines, Jackson, Nick Cole, & Braxton Lane looks pretty dang good to me.

But if you have noticed in the past few years guys, QB's in the NFL that have not been fast on their feet get hammered. The D-Line are not just a bunch of fat guys anymore. They are in-shape & fast. How many times did Roethlisberger go down & almost not get up? Being a pocket passer in the NFL is simply not enough any more.

Why do you think Gruden is so interested? The NFL is transitioning & he is very smart by getting to know everything he can about the spread. Anybody who buys into the "spread won't prepare me for the NFL" is obviously not paying close enough attention TO the NFL.

Just a note...All three of those guys were high rated prospects out of highschool...And Percy Harvin was the number one ranked prospect overall coming out of highschool

dthomas=ddixon wrote:I've been saying this for awhile, we may always have a hard time getting those top WRs but frankly, it doesn't bother me at all. I want guys who will just do their job. This offense right now is at it's best when we are running the ball. WRs are not the focal point of this offense. A great WR or two wouldn't hurt but is not a necessity.

I would love to grab a top 5 WR every year but I think it's more important to go after & get that top 5 RB or QB. To me WRs are almost expendable. They get the most attention while doing the least amount of work. As long as we have WRs who get out there, block their man, catch the ball & run precise routes, this offense will be great. It is much more important to have top flight RBs & QBs, IMO.

And as much as we've struggled to get highly rated WRs here our recieving core is looking as good as it ever has. Maehl, Harper, Holland, DJ Davis, Cantu, Embry, Pflugrad, Tuinei, Gaines, Jackson, Nick Cole, & Braxton Lane looks pretty dang good to me.

I agree that our current receiving core is good and we will be fine with what we have.

Having said that, better receivers, who can get open, catch the ball, and stretch the field open up a lot more opportunities in the running game by pushing the defense a little further from the LOS and keeping the safeties out of the box.

And it could be said that we are a running team because of the lack of production from our receivers, rather than our receivers not being productive due to us being a running team.

Oracle wrote:

dthomas=ddixon wrote:I've been saying this for awhile, we may always have a hard time getting those top WRs but frankly, it doesn't bother me at all. I want guys who will just do their job. This offense right now is at it's best when we are running the ball. WRs are not the focal point of this offense. A great WR or two wouldn't hurt but is not a necessity.

I would love to grab a top 5 WR every year but I think it's more important to go after & get that top 5 RB or QB. To me WRs are almost expendable. They get the most attention while doing the least amount of work. As long as we have WRs who get out there, block their man, catch the ball & run precise routes, this offense will be great. It is much more important to have top flight RBs & QBs, IMO.

And as much as we've struggled to get highly rated WRs here our recieving core is looking as good as it ever has. Maehl, Harper, Holland, DJ Davis, Cantu, Embry, Pflugrad, Tuinei, Gaines, Jackson, Nick Cole, & Braxton Lane looks pretty dang good to me.

I agree that our current receiving core is good and we will be fine with what we have.

Having said that, better receivers, who can get open, catch the ball, and stretch the field open up a lot more opportunities in the running game by pushing the defense a little further from the LOS and keeping the safeties out of the box.

And it could be said that we are a running team because of the lack of production from our receivers, rather than our receivers not being productive due to us being a running team.

Yeah, good points. With Chip Kelly the running game is the way it is because of the type of team we have. If we had a gunslinger at QB & a bunch of top tier WRs, I have no doubt we would be throwing the ball all over the place. Kelly definitely designs his system around the players not the players around his system like Crowton. You saw how well Crowton's system worked as opposed to Kelly's.

Like I said though, I would rather have a great QB or RB than a great WR. A WR can only do so much & with there being 3-4 on the field at the same time I don't think one guy at reciever can make as big of a difference as a QB or RB. That's why I would make recruiting QBs & RBs a priority over the WR position.

If you look at the first seaon under CK (Dixon's last), the passing numbers changed as the number of capable recievers fell... At the end of the season, the running game was forced to carry the team, rather than a balanced offense. Paysinger, Colvin (and the list goes on ad nauseum) on down the line. As the number of dependable, productive receivers decreased, so did Oregon's stats, forcing Chip to adjust things on the fly.

Good Lord, what would have things looked like had all those guys stayed healthy? Dixon was on pace for 3000 yards passing whe he went down, as it was.

Recivers should be drooling when they look at the Duck's potential.

I didn't read the article in question. But, I think a clarification needs to be made here. "The spread" is just running 3-5 receivers and the QB taking the snap from the shotgun position. NFL teams do this a lot too.

Even if he was talking about spread-option offenses, I don't think it makes sense. For a receiver, the spread-option doesn't call for much if anything different. The differences are in what the QB, RB and line do.

Anyway, I'm not too worried about it. Things are changing. It's only a matter of time before the spread option hits the NFL and players are wanting to be on "that" team.

I guess one could argue that NFL WR's aren't expected to block downfield like they are in the spread-option offense. That's the only difference at the WR position in my opinion. Regardless, it's clear that pro-set offensive coaches in CFB are trying to spread missinformation to win recruits away from potentialy dangerous programs like Oregon.

Until we have a WR put up big time numbers and get drafted in the first round we are always going to have to fight this perception.

Of the players you listed 2 are in a primary passing spread not a running spread offense as we are.

Lets hope over the next couple years one of our WRs can put up 1200 yards recieving and get drafted high. On paper it looks like we have alot of talent at the WR spots and hopefully a couple of the guys put up some big numbers.

Kelly has always said he plays to the talent on hand, and his past history supports that.

JWill had the opportunity to become that special WR, last season... Obviously, things did not work out.

When that 1st special player does step up, watch out! The floodgates will open.

Chris Harper and Jamere Holland are gonna take a run at it,too, as well as Gaines, IMO.

The potential of this bunch is nuts.

If CK can make a couple of good receivers look great, what kind of magic can he do with a superstar?