Ty and Dan talk with Chris Brown from SmartFootball.com about up-tempo offensive trends, the evolution of the Air Raid offense, Auburn’s switch to a 4-2-5 defense, the graduation of the read option to the pro game, the turnaround of Matt McGloin, and much more. (In short, just listen because this was really good.)
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Show Summary
Today on The Solid Verbal, Ty and Dan welcome the original knowledge-bomb dropper, Chris Brown from Smart Football.
Brown starts off with a few general trends he noticed from the previous college football season, such as an increase in the prevalence of the zone-read and the overall increase in the pace of the game.
Brown talks about the reigning Heisman Trophy winner in Johnny Football and how he’s different from Tim Tebow and Cam Newton, how he’s progressing as a quarterback, and the challenges Kevin Sumlin faces coaching him.
Next, Brown hits on the big changes fans have seen from Mike Leach’s original air raid offense implemented by his coaching disciples around the country. While Leach’s offense is the air raid in it’s purest form, he points to others who are incorporating more running plays into the system and how there are even coaches like Sonny Dykes who mix in power formations.
The Texas defense/piñata is brought up and Brown examines whether last year’s issues where more personnel or scheme based.
Brown breaks down a few new hires, from Ellis Johnson and Gus Malzahn at Auburn, to Butch Jones at Tennessee, to new Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich. He also touches on what voodoo Penn State coach Bill O’Brien put on Matt McGloin to make him the best pocket passer in the Big Ten.
Brown talks about the read option in the NFL, its long-term viability in the league and how it’s another wrinkle carried over to the pros that college football fans have been watching for over a decade.
Naturally, the interview ends with a hypothetical from Dan: Which coach would you have a drink with, which would you have dinner with and which would you take on a road trip?
Basically the “Kill, Marry, F***” of college football.
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