College Football Report - Time to spread the love of the spread offense:

Alright NFL, it’s time to quit being so stubborn. I’m tired of it. I’m tired of watching Marshawn Lynch have more carries than yards in an NFL game. I’m tired of Jay Cutler being thrown around by defensive lines and linebackers like a Sarah Palin punch line. I’m tired of 40 percent completion percentages. Don’t give me it’s the defenses, because it’s not. It’s the offenses and their lack of ability to do anything but predictable in the NFL. I’ve got an ailment for both of our sicknesses however: It’s called the spread offense.

It’s sometimes hard to find, but no longer are teams starting to hide from the hated system of the pros. The spread has popped up everywhere in the NFL. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Kyle Orton, they’ve all had variations of the spread implemented into their systems. To say it’s worked is like stating that Fox News is biased. The numbers have proved the offense works. It’s the same offense that helped ex-Chiefs quarterback Tyler Thigpen pass for over 2,600 yards and 18 touchdowns, basically over the last 10 games of the 2008 season. Yes, Thigpen.

Three of the biggest names at the quarterback position in the 2010 NFL Draft – Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy – all came from college spread systems. A before unheard of when drafting a quarterback high in the draft. We’ve already seen the success Bradford is having with the Rams, as is McCoy with the Browns.

My hatred towards NFL offenses comes without question. I’ve always been a Lions fan. I know firsthand at how bad and boring an offense really can be. I’ve seen the three yard throws on third and nine my entire life. Thanks to college football, however, I may finally be cured of the disease I’ve been watching every Sunday, and hopefully finally find Mike Marz out of a job.

College football teams have taken the same likening to the spread offense that the NFL has to fining James Harrison. More than 50 FBS programs run a form of the spread offense. Of the top 25 teams ranked within the current BCS poll, 16 programs run a form of the spread. Seven of the top 10 programs.

Thanks to college football, the NFL may have no other choice but to switch. Players this season like Auburn’s Cameron Newton, Ohio State’s Terrell Pryor, Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick, Nebraska’s Taylor Martinez (right) and Baylor’s Robert Griffin, give new hope in implementing the spread into the NFL. Even Michigan’s Denard Robinson may find a spot on an NFL roster one day as a quarterback. Once a thought that would never even had crossed the minds of NFL personnel.

It’s not just the quarterback’s legs that have been impressive this season, though. All of the fore mentioned quarterbacks have completion percentages over 60 percent and quarterback ratings higher than 152. What’s even better, is that all but Kaepernick are underclassmen who have time to hone their skills even more.

The spread offense isn’t only more entertaining, and helps player’s put up big numbers, the spread helps offenses overall become better. It helps quarterbacks identify the blitz better because it s-p-r-e-a-d-s defenses out, giving quarterbacks a better view of who is, and who isn’t, looking to bash in their skull. It helps running backs find lanes. It helps wideouts find open passing holes. It helps tight ends find mismatches.

Look at a few players, outside of the quarterback position, that have been household names this year in college football. Running backs LaMichael James and Kendall Hunter. Wideouts Justin Blackmon, Ryan Broyles and Alshon Jeffery. All come from a different variation of the spread offense. All are future high draft choices in the NFL.

NFL teams are starting to figure out they have no choice but to switch to what’s available. College football has begun to determine what the NFL can do. The future of college quarterbacks is in the spread. Take a look at the high school class of 2011 quarterbacks. Five of the top 10 players are dual-threat or spread style players – headlined by Ohio State commit Braxton Miller and Auburn commit Kiehl Frazier.

There were times in the NFL when people never believed the single back set would work. I’m too young, and probably so are you, but there was a time. There was a time when nobody believed the west coast system would work. Critics said defenses were too fast for both.

There was a time when people said the wildcat offense, first introduced at Arkansas, wouldn’t work. Now the Eagles, Dolphins, Raiders, Browns, Chiefs and Jets all feature wildcat packages in their play calling. The Dolphins nearly ran half of their rushing plays from the formation during the 2009 season.

Try to give me a good reason why the spread wouldn’t benefit a player like Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans. With Kenny Britt and Randy Moss lined up out wide and Nate Washington in the slot. Chris Johnson split to the side in the shotgun. Young would have flashbacks to his days of running and dominating the same system while at the University of Texas.

Whatever team drafts Cameron Newton within the next two years should do themselves a favor and ask for a package deal including Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn (left).

I’m not trying to turn the NFL into an offense happy league where defenses die. If everyone’s pro set offense or west coast systems are struggling so mightily, then it’s time for a change, and if NFL defenses are too fast for the spread to work in the league, then it’s time to shut up and prove it.