Arkansas Head Coach Bret Bielema: No-Huddle Offenses Aren’t Safe

Bret Bielema left Wisconsin for Arkansas, and he brought with him an attitude and the ability to agitate SEC coaches like none other.

After taking a shot at Alabama head coach Nick Saban, Bielema and the Crimson Tide may have found the one thing that they have in common.

They both dislike the no-huddle offense.  According to CBSSports.com, Bielema thinks no huddle offenses aren’t safe, and would like rules put in place to help the defense.

AL.com reported Monday that Bielema, a member of the NCAA’s Playing Rules Oversight Panel, proposed a rules change that would create “a 15-second substitution period” after each first down to allow defenses to substitute. At the recent SEC spring meetings, Bielema framed it as a player-safety issue — just as Saban did when asking for similar rules changes last October.
“Not to get on the coattails of some of the other coaches, there is a lot of truth that the way offensive philosophies are driven now, there’s times where you can’t get a defensive substitution in for 8, 10, 12 play drives,” Bielema said, per AL.com. “That has an effect on safety of that student-athlete, especially the bigger defensive linemen, that is really real.”

Unfortunately, Bielema’s premise won’t hold up in court, or in a meeting with the rules committee.  Studies have shown that the most injury plagued teams from 2011-12 were teams that ran pro style, or west coast style offenses.

Teams that run an uptempo style or no huddle offense, are normally the more in shape teams. and suffered less injuries.

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