Greg McElroy Says that Offense is Less Wordy

Jun 7, 2012; Florham Park, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Greg McElroy (14) throws a pass during the New York Jets organized team activities at the Atlantic Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE

Greg McElroy is going into his second season as third string quarterback with the New York Jets. Not only is it his second year, it is Greg’s second offensive coordinator he has worked with. He talked about the differences between Sparano and Schottenheimer’s offense in his Q and A with Jenny Vrentas:

You can get in and out of the huddle faster. I think a big part of what Coach Sparano is wanting to do is increase tempo and run more plays, so maybe by having less words, then it really helps as far as getting out of the huddle. Last year, we might tag eight different routes, there’s six or seven different guys on things in the play call, where it would just get a little wordy at times. It’s just a lot easier getting in and out of the huddle and everybody knowing what to do. … We have just as many plays if not more, but as far as the amount of words that are said in the huddle, it is significantly less.

Greg added an interesting note about how the quarterbacks must go about learning the Sparano system:

You see it inside out, and that’s the only way to do it. From the front back, and inside out, that’s the best way to do it. Last year there were more concrete rules, as far as maybe a certain protection, that’s what we do; a certain defense, this is the way we want to protect it; a blitz look, this is the way we want to protect it. This year it can be anything at all different times. We can change the line call, we can change a “Mike” point, we can change the route. It’s a lot of freedom from the quarterback’s perspective, and it has been really helpful.

McElroy is a very intelligent young man, so his perspective makes for a very interesting read.

As far as his observations are concerned, it’s encouraging that the QBs have to know the system inside and out. No offense to most other players, but the QBs are typically the smartest guys on the squad, so them giving the direction and knowing the offense the best clearly makes sense.

Whether it is simpler or not, I still say that nobody was complaining when they were winning, but if they find it easier, that works for me.