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Welp, I'll give it a go Freak.
I'll try to stay away from the misperceptions involved with the generic and undefined terms like "Spread", Inside Zone Read, Outside Zone Read, No Huddle, etc..
The history of how those terms have evolved over time would be a very large book.
What you think you see and what actually happens can be quite different.
Neal, lined up 3-5 yards behind and to one side of the QB suggests an inside zone read play. Much has to happen to make it so, however.
First, any "READ" play suggests that a defender will be UNBLOCKED, this unblocked defender would be READ to determine who gets the ball.
Second the term "ZONE", refers to the blocking scheme of the offensive line, TE/HB/Sniffer and for most inside zone plays, it would be hard to tell the difference between what the offensive line looks like on, say, an ISO or a power. Teams use this to their advantage all the time. So does Tennessee.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9iStinVYkw[/youtube]
Go to the 3 minute mark in the above video.
Based on the RB's alignment, it looks like a run play to the left, probably inside. The AU safety agrees, especially once our TE goes from being split out to "in the box," and the SS (#9) comes down into the box, pre snap.
Once the ball is snapped, let's look for the unblocked defender, usually (not always) the EMLOS(end man on line of scrimmage). As you can see, everyone is blocked so this is not a READ play, though the alignment and the exchange/mesh certainly look like it.
Further, our TE. He goes across the formation and the AU LB (#43?) reads him as a key and goes with him, probably looking for a counter, he runs himself out of the play but nearly gets back to make the tackle.
The safety for Auburn did everything right except make the tackle. Great run by Neal on what was essentially a dive play that he bounces outside....made to look like something else.
It looked like a read, maybe it should have been a read, I think Dobbs walks in...but it was a straight give.
In terms of the discussion Freak and oregonvol are having...
I don't see us being slow on our "reads", maybe a better term would be slower on the exchange.
When I look at the mesh of Oregon for instance, it does seem very "smooth" compared to ours. We seem to have a point in the exchange that looks like both guys are grabbing, pulling, at times... I dunno...There's quite a bit of footwork involved in making it seem effortless, while also being deceptive...maybe we just don't have it down, maybe we coach it a certain way for a reason, but I can see why oregonvol feels the way he does.
However, imo, most of the time, we're not taking longer than anyone else to make the decision, because I'd guess at least 80% of the time, probably more like 90% of the time, we know where we are going presnap.
The very next play at 3:45 on the video is a Marlin Lane run and it seems like a read play as AU DE #55 is unblocked, stays home, in other words, he's got Dobbs, Dobbs gives. The mesh is quick and if they had the read "on", then Dobbs made it quickly and correctly and it seems on par with what AU did all day, in terms of quickness.
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