Here's an idea: this Spread Offense thing isn't so simple.

As Michigan is learning, the spread is a high-risk high-reward system. You have to practice it a lot and you have to have the right players to make it work.

I can’t think of a convincing reason as to why it wouldn’t be true, so yeah I’ll buy it. Costa certainly has the talent and the tools to do everything asked of him in this offense: he’s got an accurate arm, he’s very intelligent, and he has running ability, which might be the biggest attribute in his favor. And if anything, he’d find a rhythm quicker than Masoli did due to the fact that he has a better knowledge of the playbook and the intricacies of the offense.

That in the fourth quarter Chip Kelly switches from Les Miles to Jim Tressel. We gamble and push and try a bit of everything for three quarters and then we pound it up the middle for the last 15 minutes. I wonder if he’ll put a fullback on the roster just for the fourth quarter next year. :)

I agree that the spread is tricky and it takes time to get rolling. Dixon’s senior season started with some messy games and mistakes on both sides of the ball but when they got it dialed in, it was a force. I think this year could be similar if we keep Masoli healthy.

Now if we can just give the Huskies a nice beating we get a special treat on Halloween. I can only imagine what Chip will cook up for that one.

Is that the rest of the engine, both on offense and on defense, is now starting to fire smoothly, so Costa had a little more help there and didn’t have to press as hard. A lot of parts weren’t working very well at BSU and Purdue, and thus made Masoli’s job harder. The line doesn’t protect you, you miss both the pass read and the run read more often. The receivers drop a ball, you second guess the next throw. The defense is getting beat, you maybe press too hard.

That said, I likes the Costa, I agree, given time he’d be just fine to great, who knows.

And we would most likely lose to USC, but after 3 or so games under his belt…Costa would have the offense on a roll

1. How do you explain the good performance of Roper during the Sun Bowl with no real games under his belt?

2. As mentioned above, I think it doesn’t take into account offensive live growth.

3. I think score and situation of game play a big role in this production. Oregon was down to BSU, and needed to open up the playbook (with an inexperienced line), Oregon got a 14-3 lead against UCLA when Costa returned in the 2nd half, and didn’t need to do too much except manage the rest of the game and not make turnovers.

Costa’s arm did not impress me at all. His speed and elusiveness are non-existent. I think he makes better decisions than Masoli more often (but with only one real game to compare, I’m not too sure that is that big a plus).

Masoli is stronger, faster, more mobile and in my opinion throws a better ball.

Now everyone is going to tell me why I’m wrong…

BTW, Rec for coming up with a cool way of talking about:

Masoli versus Costa

without posting…“hey Masoli or Costa what do you think?”

Costa managed to get a number of 1st-half 1st downs and drove the ball a bit against a better defense than Masoli did vs. BSU. Granted, the offensive line was executing better for Costa, but I also think that BSU did a great job of shutting down the execution. The playcalling vs. BSU did nothing to isolate BSU’s defensive attack.

I felt that the playbook vs. UCLA was rather limited as for what Costa should know. I suppose it is how UCLA was defending the Oregon offense. I don’t remember seeing a single bubble screen. It was open on a number of occasions that I can remember. I don’t recall seeing it vs. BSU either. That said, the playcalling was adjusted to negate UCLA, and Costa managed a fine game.

I think my answer to the poll would be in two parts:
1. Yes, the spread isn’t so simple.
2. The spread will vary each week based on matchups.

I think that Masoli and Costa are fully capable of running the spread to the maximum output. In a perfect world, everyone has to execute the way they know they can and the plays have to be called AND executed according to the situation. Masoli vs. BSU was set to fail based on playcalling and execution.

So I deflect some of the flaming, I’ll start with this: Costa managed the game very well and performed admirably for his first start on the road. And I have no doubt he would get better given more time with the offense. But I don’t think he has the potential to take the offense where Dixon or Masoli have taken it (and in Masoli’s case, hopefully will take it again).

The biggest thing is that his throwing motion is terrible. Costa is 6-1 – not short, but certainly not tall for a QB. He clearly has some decent arm strength, although like Matt Daddy, I haven’t seen a true bullet. And he did underthrow his one real deep target last weekend. But he throws using a three quarters delivery. That delivery caused a couple of knocked down passes and the interception. If he throws over the top, Ayers probably gets a hand on it, but either tips it or bats it down instead of catching it. The motion seems comfortable to him, obviously, but I think his struggles were caused in large part by not being able to get the ball over the line of scrimmage. And that’s just NOT something you can fix in a couple games.

Then there’s the running aspect. He didn’t look nearly as tentative running the ball as he did his first few outings this year, but he still didn’t look fast. Nor did he look like he had cut back ability. And there was one play where he was trying to escape pressure, seemed to have evaded it, but made an emergency dump off anyway because he didn’t trust himself to get away. Masoli would have had no problems getting out of that pressure. Also, given that the zone read option is a significant part of the playbook and has worked well for the team, Costa just would not be as effective for this offense.

I think Costa’s a great backup, and he certainly won’t lose you the game, which is the baseline of what you ask from your backup. But I don’t think he will ever make us forget the juggernaut that was Masoli the last three games of ’08. And I hate to say it, but I think Masoli gives us a good shot at USC while I think Costa might get eaten alive.

Taken as an offense for a particular game, out of a spread-out formation, against a particular opponent with a particular QB, say Costa at fucla, I’d say it was pretty simple. Do what you can do fairly well, don’t reveal too much of what you can do well, get ahead, and then make them beat you at our game. Our game is Kelly’s game. Play smart, don’t worry about stats, just get W’s. Get everybody involved. Give every Duck player a chance to succeed.
  Let’s quit this stuff of saying “so and so didn’t do enuf of this or that.” I know, for example, that Costa has a rifle for an arm becuz I’ve watched him. I mentioned last week, twice on ATQ, in practice, the rocket that he threw on the out pattern. Can he throw dinks and touch balls? Hell yes. Give Kelly credit. Give Azzinaro credit. Greatwood. Ucla’s big tackle was toast at the end of that game. He’d caused some havoc early but not late. Think about it. It was a great win in many different ways, some of which I’ve mentioned above.