Yes, Diversity can mean that you have more weapons.
There is always a great discussion of which is better- college or professional football. Yes, there is usually a divide between those that love Sunday or Saturday editions of the great game, but today we'll look at one of the major reasons that college football is just that much better. And that reason is one that is thrown around by educators seemingly nonstop these days: DIVERSITY.
Whether it is a positive or a negative, college football does have a class system. The schools very rarely physically 'relocate' for better corporate support (except for Wake Forest, which in 1941 moved from Wake Forest to Winston-Salem after almost 110 years), the talent pools are not equally distributed across the county, and history/tradition/facilities DO matter.
Compare this with the NFL, where franchises follow the money, a cap system tries to keep competitive balance (much like Communism in the 1970s-it doesn't mean 'good for everyone' it just means everyone gets the same watered-down product), and let's face it-- facilities really don't matter as much as everyone would believe (case in point, the 49ers STILL play at Whatever Corporate Name Has Been Attached to Candlestick Park--and people have been complaining about that place since it opened in 1971--yet they fielded 5 Super Bowl Champs in their time there. The Detroit Lions have played in 3 stadiums since 1972-- Tiger Stadium, the Pontiac SilverDome and Ford Field--the last two of which were far better situations than Candlestick could ever be--and all they have to show for it is one playoff win).
So let's go back and talk of some DIVERSITY--but limit it to just one aspect of the game: OFFENSE.
Football is a simple game of running, blocking, passing, catching, tackling. However, coaches scheme how to use their talent the best to give them a chance to win. Most of the time, innovation comes from the simple fact that one team has an established advantage over the other. Your quarterback needs a little more time? Landry makes the shotgun famous with the Cowboys. Your offensive line can't move the ball? Walsh invents the West Coast Offense to control the clock with short passes. Still, since the salary cap age came into play, innovation is quickly slowing. Most teams run a variant of the pro-set or West Coast, with only a limited few (read Indianapolis) mimicking the offenses you see in the college ranks.
In college, however, Navy can sport a winning record despite lesser talent using the wishbone triple option. West Virginia busts upon the national scene with the zone read upset of Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Steve Spurrier blows the doors off the competition with the Fun N Gun at Florida (but watches it fail in the pros). USC's pro set creates a defacto NFL franchise in Los Angeles. Texas Tech coach Mike Leach seemingly puts in the guy from the Seven Eleven and makes him a record setting QB. Spreads, Veers, Options, Pro-Sets, Pistols, Shotguns, Run and Shoots, No Huddles, Wildcats, Ninjas. You get them all. Certain players become legends in systems that highlight their talents, yet flop in the die-cast NFL (see Crouch, Eric or Ware, Andre).
College coaches know that gamebreakers can help you--but only for a limited time and then they must be replaced. Try as they might, Mack Brown couldn't sign Vince Young to an 8 year contract in Austin. So he has to work with more talent--trying to develop under-heralded QB Colt McCoy. In Green Bay, Brett Farve starts his 17th season in the league (and 16th with the Pack). Farve goes down, the team is pretty much written off for the season. When Oklahoma's starting quarterback, Rhett Bomar, was kicked off the team before pre-season practices, OU won the conference championship with a converted wide receiver under center.
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