Why does the NFL not run the

[Dan Thompson]

spread offense.

I was reading about the Combine, and they where saying it was
hard for the NFL coachs to determine how well a spread offense
QB could fit into the NFL game plan.

[SoonerDood]

Most of them do now. Look at the teams in this years Super Bowl, and the Patriots the year before. I know it's not the same as the "spread" in college, but every NFL team lined up in a shotgun-3 or 4wr formation at some point last season.

[ouleaf]

I think NFL guys who are anti-spread are of the belief that NFL game speed is so much greater than the college level. That DE/OLB's are so quick off the edge, that a QB who is consistently back in shotgun formation will get destroyed over the course of a season.

I agree with this somewhat. I feel you have to run at least a certain percentage of plays from under center, b/c if you do leave a QB back there in shotgun for most of your snaps then he will take a pretty good beating unless he can consistently escape pressure with his feet and make throws on the run.

Unfortunately, history has shown us that when you do have a guy that has that escapability factor, they are often lacking in the passing accuracy department. So it is a case where you kind of have to pick your poison. Which do you prefer in a QB, accuracy or play-making ability. It is pretty rare to find a guy who truly has both.

The accurate guys have seemed like the safer bet, and hence the reason we don't see the spread as much at the NFL level.

[Leroy Lizard]

The fact that the spread was developed in college football is probably the biggest reason. The NFL is just very conservative.

[oudivesherpa]

The Houston Oilers tried a variation of the spread--the run and shoot.
The oilers mostly shot---themselves in the foot.

[ashley]

They don't like it out of the gun because everyone knows where the QB is. No real waggle or boot. This is especially dangerous for non mobile quarterbacks.
this is not to say it doesen' have it's place especially on the quick throws and long yardage. The more mobile the quarterback, sometime the better.

[8timechamps]

The biggest reason is that defenses in the NFL are far better than those in college.

You will not see a team go to a "base" spread offense in the NFL, however, you do see some elements of it. Some teams run a spread offense hybrid that incorporates the flex bone. Some use a variation that everyone knows as the "Wildcat".

The level of play in the NFL dictates that you have to run (for the most part) a fundamentally sound offense that includes a strong running game component to be competitive.

Unlike college football, a team cannot win on the pass alone...too many good defenses that will expose teams with little or no running game (think OU v. TT in college terms).

The old argument that there is too much speed in the NFL doesn't hold true anymore. This is why everyone used to say you couldn’t run the wishbone in pros.