The Broncos are embracing what I’ve called “total football” and “the Lake Travis option” and may start referring to as “suburban ball.” The idea is to stock up your offense and defense with versatile hybrids that may not excel in a cookie-cutter, “division of labor” inspired schemes and roles but who can play multiple roles in your defense well. The result is a shifting scheme that can disguise weaknesses and attack you in unexpected ways while making the game a post-snap battle where the opponent is at a disadvantage because they can’t cycle through the OODA loop.
Suburban programs, particularly in Texas, are cranking out players that can handle this style thanks to the expansion of resources devoted to the sport and its overall popularity. Additionally, these players are often available to programs like Boise St because they lack the elite measurables and athleticism to dominate one-on-one matchups in camps that inform recruiting rankings.
I’m not sure if we’ll ever see the Broncos in the playoffs but their style is still at the cutting edge of the game and they’re sure entertaining to watch.
This is interesting to me because I would think that the top tier schools would be most likely to get these types of versatile players. Ideally, wouldn’t these be the most desirable players.
I always that teams like alabama should be able to get players where they could stay in one personnel group all drive but be able to show any kind of formation they want because of the type of recruits they could get.
The most popular model for blue blood programs is to get the best athletes and then coach them up to execute a role well enough to create a dominating cumulative effect.
Alabama is unique in that they often develop fairly versatile players and seem to aim to get kids either with the capacity to become good all-around players or that are already more or less there.
Going for suburban ball means putting a ton of 4.8 guys on the field on both sides of the ball.