BruinsNation Sits Down With Coach Rick Neuheisel: Part 1 - Bruins Nation
An impressive interview from the UCLA bloggers at Bruins Nation. Interesting note from Neuheisel on Vince Young and the spread offense in the NFL. Very much worth a read.
7 months ago
Peter Bean
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Awesome
Great step forward for SB Nation’s legitimization, as well as some interesting insight to the quickly-changing world of CFB.
by TXinDC on Apr 8, 2009 11:56 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I agree
how did Bruins Nation manage to get a sit-down with the head coach and could this be used as ammunition in the quest to get the Texas SID to acknowledge BON?
by GhostofBigRoy on Apr 8, 2009 12:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Thanks PB
Brief but enjoyable & eye-opening interview w/ a nemesis for us in the 90’s during his tour at Colorado. (Of course, he didn’t always beat us so much as did a certain defensive end w/ a penchant for drive-extending, blatantly late hits and/or cheap shots).
I find his comment re VY is hard to stomach, sounds more like Norm Chow’s opinion or a context shift of sorts. I am intrigued that this guy would go w/ the pro set in this day/age of college football. My jaw dropped on that one.
by HalfmileHorn on Apr 8, 2009 1:12 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
The word is that the pro style of offense
Is Muschamp’s preference, as well. So it could make an appearance in Austin in the not-too-distant future.
by GhostofBigRoy on Apr 8, 2009 1:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Question
this is not asked flippantly because I really do not know.
From the article linked above,
That being said, the other thing that kids are interested in today is the chance to go to play on Sundays. You are not seeing spread offenses played on Sundays. Vince Young would have been the perfect guy to go and do it, but even Vince Young didn’t want to do it.
The word gets thrown at many offenses that don’t necessarily look the same, but my sense was that the next big crop of QBs were going to get a chance in the NFL in large part because they achieved College fame in spread offenses. I always thought Vince Young got a lot of mileage out of the spread. My question: Does Vince Young get drafted above or below 3rd if he ran a pro style offense in College?
Are College quarterbacks better off in pro style offenses? Does that necessarily increase their draft stock?
by Skin Patrol on Apr 9, 2009 10:58 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Terrelle Pryor chose Ohio State over Michigan
in part because he didn’t want to become a victim of the very conventional wisdom that Neuheisel mentions.
As for Vince Young, parts of the offense were relatively pro-style in 2004 (I formation plays and such) before it moved completely to a spread offense the last half of the season. So it wasn’t like Vince didn’t have experience in the type of offense that they play in the NFL. Not sure if that totally answers the question, but I think Vince’s big problem in the NFL is probably partly not working hard enough or studying enough film and partly because his throwing motion isn’t ideal and makes certain passes difficult. I’m sure there’s more to it than that, but those are my impressions.
by GhostofBigRoy on Apr 9, 2009 1:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I know it is highly speculative
but this is what we do.
Do you think Vince Young would have been drafted higher or lower than 3rd had Texas run a pro style offense?
More simply, do you think his draft stock was positively affected, negatively affected, or unaffected by Texas using the spread offense for many of the snaps Vince Young took?
The guiding philosophy behind these questions is that I doubt whether it makes sense to design an offense around getting recruits, rather I think you should design an offense around getting points, and recruits will follow. If Pro Style offenses are better for QBs because it prepares them for the next step more effectively, does that necessarily mean pro style offenses are better for CFB teams?
I look around the CFB landscape and there are a lot of very talented quarterbacks in spread offenses putting up incredible numbers. I believe many of these quarterbacks will play in the NFL. And I believe one reason they will play in the NFL is because they have enjoyed a level of success in CFB they might not have had in a pro style offense.
by Skin Patrol on Apr 9, 2009 1:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think probably the same,
the complaints about the spread not preparing quarterbacks I think has ramped up since Vince was drafted.
by GhostofBigRoy on Apr 9, 2009 2:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
response
do you think his draft stock was positively affected, negatively affected, or unaffected by Texas using the spread offense for many of the snaps Vince Young took?
I think the response to this question is simple: Vince’s stock was wholly positively affected by being in a spread offense. The Horns’ offensive scheme highlighted Vince’s strengths (athleticism, vision, scrambling ability) and made him more appealing to those in the NFL looking for “playmakers.” There’s the outside possibility that Vince in a pro style scheme would’ve had him positioned at #1 overall, but that takes in the assumption that Vince would’ve been as successful running a pro style rather than the spread. That seems unlikely, since the pro style offense he currently runs seems to highlight his major weakness, accuracy.
A fairer question would be whether you believe Vince’s time running the spread in college has adversely affected his ability to adapt to a pro-style offense. Had Vince run a pro-style offense in college, he may have been more successful in the pros.
Are College quarterbacks better off in pro style offenses? Does that necessarily increase their draft stock?
As to this question, I don’t think there’s enough data points (yet) to support an answer. Looking at past draft results, Vince is the exception rather than the rule. It appears that the only other “spread” QBs to be given as much of a shot as Vince would be Alex Smith (admittedly, a colossal failure) and Mike Vick. This is definitely unsustainable in the near future, and Sam Bradford will be the most interesting example, as unlike VY and Smith, Bradford is the “prototypical” NFL QB, yet he plays in a spread offense.
by jc25 on Apr 9, 2009 2:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Thanks for the kind words, BON.
Would love to see you guys score an interview with your HC, too.
After all, if the enemy of my enemy is my friend, then any folks that can walk into the freaking Rose Bowl and crush the hearts of Trojans into strawberry jam on national TV are practically family to us Bruins.
M
"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008
by Meriones on Apr 9, 2009 12:07 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs






















