(James Snook-US PRESSWIRE)

Mike Leach

As football has made strides to make the game more safe, a bevy of new rules have been implemented to help accomplish this goal. Many of the new changes have favored the offensive side of the ball and have also caused an explosion of new schemes, both in the NFL and in college football.

Most notably, versions of the spread offense, which is generally a no-huddle, shotgun formation that can use up to a five-receiver set, have become the new trend. It is popular because when the offense is more spread out, it limits how defenses can line up, and weaknesses can easily be exploited.

The Oregon Ducks under Chip Kelly run a spread attack version and have mastered a speed element that has been innovative and has helped make them one of the premier teams in the country.

Mike Leach, who is settling into his first season at Washington State, has coached against the Ducks this season and is impressed with their offense.

“I think it’s good. First of all, they have a lot of quick guys, and then the other thing is they are not real complicated,” Leach told the 110 Sports Podcast. “Everybody knows their role and they are going to execute their role as fast as they can.

“They keep putting pressure on you and they have some skilled guys that eventually they plan to uncork them for a long run. That’s the thing — trying to keep a net around those guys.”

Leach has also been known as an offensive genius. He employs an “Air Raid” offense and says his game plan has similar tendencies to that of Oregon.

“It’s similar from the standpoint that they want to attack, utilize the space and they also want to get the ball in a lot of different people’s hands,” he said.

There has also been a belief that throwing the ball is more difficult when the weather turns cold in parts of the country with rain or snow, but this strategy has shown to be successful in all climates.

Whereas some trends in football come and go, it appears that the idea of a spread offense is not only here to stay, it might be outdated to run anything else.

“It’s sprouted up all around the NFL and all over the country,” Leach said. “When you think about it, what I have done offensively has been the same for 20 years and I really haven’t changed much, but now a lot of people are doing things similar to what we have done over the years.”

Arizona native Matt Minkus is the host of the 110 Sports Podcast, a show that pays homage to one of the most repeated cliches in sports: “Giving 110 percent.” Excerpts of new shows will be available at LindysSports.com every week.