

Read Option


  1. erod

    erod Well-Known Member

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    The read option is one of the many reasons I don't watch much college football.

    If it takes over the NFL, I'm out. It looks like the WAC, and I don't want to watch San Diego State vs BYU. I'm sure the Madden kids love it.

    149 points scored in two games yesterday. That isn't good football.
  2. AsthmaField

    AsthmaField Outta bounds

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    Certainly isn't good defense.
  3. Shunpike

    Shunpike Active Member

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    Amen to this.

    But read option is not the only reason. 3 of the 4 QB's yesterday were traditional. So read option is not to blame. The new rules protecting offensive players is killing the game. Somehow there has to be a balance.
  4. skinsscalper

    skinsscalper Well-Known Member

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    That's subjective actually. It depends on whether or not you like defense or offense. And the Denver game is one of the best games I've seen all year. It had everything. Great offensive plays, game changing defensive plays and a special teams show case.
  5. Vinnie2u

    Vinnie2u Well-Known Member

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    It's going to be around for a long time for these two reasons. College ball is pumping out read option qb's. 2nd the wildcat did not have this much success. And this is a copycat league.
  6. erod

    erod Well-Known Member

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    It's such a 5th grade offense. It's like coach pitch in little league baseball
  7. Kangaroo

    Kangaroo Active Member

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    Most of Kaepernick runs came on pass plays while GB was in man coverage leaving a big lanes that he exploited. There where a few design runs and the thing I noticed with him he avoid a lot of extra hits got what yardage he could and slid or ran out of bounds.

    much like Cam last year did a lot of the same thing then his second year he struggles as team in his division made changes to counter him.

    I think one of the reasons for the move to 4-3 by Dallas is teams using these read options with the young QB until they can teach them NFL passing game.QB do not last long in the NFL doing that every year and as age catches up with them they start to slow down.
  8. MichaelWinicki

    MichaelWinicki "You want some?" Staff Member

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    Keep in mind the read-option offense looks much better than it actually is when the defense isn't disciplined in their gap assignments.

    GB's debacle vs the Niners last night was greatly helped by the two OLBers for GB not being disciplined. It wasn't even a case of them being moved out of their gaps– they simply ignored their assigned gaps all together and wandered where-ever they wanted to wander and left huge running lanes for the SF QB to run through.

    Two side notes, I hope the ruing over cutting Erik Walden ends– he was flat out horrible last night.
  9. Primetime42

    Primetime42 Well-Known Member

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    This. If the defense remains disciplined, it's a lot easier to stop.
  10. Tmar

    Tmar New Member

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    As some have said, next year is the biggest key in my opinion. If guys like Robert Gimmick III are able to dominate again after so many hours of game tape and practices devoted to stopping them then look out NFL defenses. But if it starts to be not as effective as this year,then it might fade out pretty quickly. Don't forget that there are some really smart defensive coaches out there, one of them has to be able to find a system that works against it I would think.
  11. MichaelWinicki

    MichaelWinicki "You want some?" Staff Member

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    See I don't think it's as much a case of being "smart" as a defensive coordinator (although being smart helps! :)) but having your guys disciplined in their gap assignments.

    It seems that many defenses are not concerned about maintaining gap assignements. They simply don't worry about the QB running the ball so they'll abandon their gaps within a split-second of the snap.

    Practicing against/for an "RG3" for a week isn't going to help (much) if for the other 14 or 15 games you could give a toss about gap assignments and attack willy-nilly.

    Gap assignments are something that has to be drilled into the players day after day, week after week.

    Look at last night's game... Mathews and Walden. How many games have they had this year? How many practices? And they looked completely lost when it came to gap discipline.

    When more defenses really adhere to gap-assignment discipline as a prime focus you'll start to see these types of QB's fall by the way side, because the read-option offense will not be as successful and more gap discipline is going to result in more QB's being hit and hit often.

    If there was one type of offense the old flex-defense would be applicable against it is the read-option because the flex was all about gap control.

    The other thing defenses will need to be careful about is running defensive line stunts. Taking a lineman and having him stunt with another is leaving a gap open and that's bad news.

    I will say I think Kiffin's 4-3 is potentially going to be better vs the read-option as opposed to Ryan's 3-4 just because Ryan's defense seemed predicated on creating confusion and I think that's a real problem (as we've seen) with players not knowing their assignments. And if a player blows an assignment that's probably going to leave a gap to be exploited. I don't think Kiffin's 4-3 is predicated on tom-foolery to beat the offense, but is much more speed oriented.
  12. Plankton

    Plankton Well-Known Member

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    Once teams realize that the best way to thwart the read option is to punish the QB each time they run it, regardless of whether the QB has the ball or not, the scheme will be a changeup and nothing more. Eliminating the QB is the key to stopping the play, and stopping teams from running it.
  13. xwalker

    xwalker Well-Known Member

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    Some info to think about:

    Alex Smith started 16 games for the 49ers in 2011.
    The 49ers record in 2011 was 13-3.
    Alex Smith is a mid-level NFL QB at best
    Alex Smith does not run the read-option.

    In 2011 the 49ers were 8th in rushing yards.
    In 2012 the 49ers were 4th in rushing yards.

    The 49ers have a dominant run-blocking Offensive Line.
    The 49ers have 3 first-round drafts picks on the OLine.
    The 49ers blocking TEs have been Leonard Davis (6-6, 355) and Demarcus Dobbs (6-6, 282).
    The 49ers collect Running Backs.

    49ers roster info here:
  14. Yuma Cactus

    Yuma Cactus Active Member

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    GB edge players were awful against the R/O last night as were the Cowboy edge players against R2D2. Once DE's/OLB's learn to run straight at and hit the QB on every play it will fade fast.
    As others have said QB's use their "tool" differently and thus minor injuries can be more significant. Also they wear much smaller pads, especially on their shoulders, to facilitate throwing.
  15. SkinsHokieFan

    SkinsHokieFan Well-Known Member

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    The question is why didn't DC's bother adjusting at all during the season?

    If you simply have DE's try and kill the QB, you are going to have Alfred Morris games.

    But RG3 adjusted after the Cinci game where Cinci decided just to hit him. You'll notice that later in the season once he gave the ball to the RB he would simply run a half circle backwards and throw his hands up to say "hey I don't have the ball"

    After that he didn't take hits in the read option. His injuries were on scrambles out of pass plays
  16. Nexx

    Nexx Well-Known Member

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    if i was a D coordinator, i would just tell the players to just kill the QB, no reading whether he is running or pitching, first person on the contain just kill the QB. hes a running back at that point no roughing the QB involved, just keep hitting him. id like to see how long the OC's will keep calling it when their franchise it getting nailed every time they call the read option.
  17. ScipioCowboy

    ScipioCowboy More than meets the eye. Zone Supporter

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    I honestly don't think it's a necessarily matter of playing kill the quarterback. I think it's simply a matter of defensive linemen maintaining their gaps and quick linebackers who can play zone -- the exact opposite of what the Packers were doing.
  18. Yuma Cactus

    Yuma Cactus Active Member

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    QB's who can run are a huge advantage i.e. R2D2, RW, CK & Cam. The R/O will go by the wayside. Defenses will work on it and that will be that.
  19. Hoods

    Hoods Well-Known Member

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    SEA and WAS out. Just SF left.

    IAMKING Benched

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    By the time Manziel get to the NFL the read option will be in the 5 minutes of game bucket with the wild cat

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