Monday, December 12, 2005

SF Chronicle: Beating the spread not easy for Bears

Bruce Adams, Chronicle Staff Writer

This time, Cal defensive coordinator Bob Gregory is on familiar ground, all the wiser from last year's Holiday Bowl loss. Gregory is preparing his players for the Dec. 22 Las Vegas Bowl and BYU, a team that runs the same spread offense that Texas Tech used last year in defeating Cal 45-31. "There are things we can do better," Gregory said. "Hopefully, we will." Primarily, Gregory hopes his defenders won't give up the big plays that characterized last year's loss as the Red Raiders passed for a whopping 520 yards. It is an offense that spreads out the field, with as many as five players running pass routes in the hopes of creating mismatches in the open field. The Bears have already faced it once this year, faring much better in a 41-13 win at New Mexico State. "We're proven at it," Gregory said.  The Bears also faced similar formations in the 35-20 win over Illinois and the 27-20 Pac-10 loss at Oregon, although those teams run the Utah spread option, a different scheme that relies on misdirection and an option-based running game rather than mismatches in the passing game.   New Mexico State coach Hal Mumme and Texas Tech coach Mike Leach perfected the spread offense when they coached together at Iowa Wesleyan, Valdosta State and Kentucky, with Leach serving as Mumme's offensive coordinator at each stop.  Mumme has said the offense is an extension of the old BYU pass-oriented offense under former coach Lavelle Edwards.  And now it's come full circle, returning to BYU in its hybrid form under first-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall and his offensive coordinator, Robert Anae, fresh from a four-year stint as offensive line coach at Texas Tech.  Cougars quarterback John Beck is averaging 305.2 passing yards a game. He has six receivers with more than 200 receiving yards, led by Jonny Harline with 780 yards and four touchdowns and Todd Watkins, 585 yards and eight touchdowns.

And unlike Texas Tech, which generally dismisses the run, the Cougars are more balanced, with a 1,000-yard rusher in Curtis Brown. The Cougars average 463.9 yards a game in total offense. "It's not going to be a deal where they have 100 total yards," Gregory said. "Because of the nature of what they do, they're going to move the ball." The Cougars have been doing just that all year -- averaging 33.5 points a game. They even gained 392 total yards on offense in a 49-23 loss to Notre Dame.  "Really, if you can keep a (spread) team to three touchdowns, you're doing pretty well," Gregory said.  The Cougars usually have their quarterback in the shotgun and can line up in a run-friendly two-back formation. They go without a huddle and can get off 80 plays in a game. Splits along the offensive line are often wider than normal. And while five players can be flooding the secondary on pass routes, those potential receivers might be running backs or tight ends and not necessarily just wideouts.

"We've got to recognize who's in the game on their side of the ball," Gregory said, noting a particular threat may draw double coverage. "But we can't abandon other parts of the field," he added. To further complicate the defense's job, it can be difficult to pressure the passer. Gregory said Beck lines up 5 yards deep, takes three more steps back and is often 8 yards behind the line when he sets up to pass.  "Nobody sacks these guys a ton," he said.  The Bears will try to disrupt Beck's timing and try to keep his blockers off balance.  "You've got to do your job," Gregory said. "Guys have got to stay on top of the deep routes. What you don't want to do is give up the home-run bomb."

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