Why Stopping the Read-Option Isn't as Easy as You Think

[MTK]

Good read by Matt Bowen.

Gee... I thought all defenses had to do was hit the QB?

NFL 2013: Why Stopping the Read-Option Isn't as Easy as You Think | Bleacher Report

[RedskinRat]

This is also a perfect answer to anyone (usually an angry spouse) who questions why Football is so interesting. Multi-dimentional Chess with muscles.

[htownskinfan]

This might be a stupid question,I dont read a lot of the warpath in the offseason,but how much does our defense practice against the read-option?

[MTK]

Probably every day I'm guessing ^

[htownskinfan]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Probably every day I'm guessing ^

Since we only face 1 team this yr that ran it last yr I would think we would concentrate more on traditional type offenses,but since we run the read option it would only make sense our defense would have to practice against it

[Evilgrin]

People underrate execution also, some guys are just better.

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Good read by Matt Bowen.

Gee... I thought all defenses had to do was hit the QB?

NFL 2013: Why Stopping the Read-Option Isn't as Easy as You Think | Bleacher Report

No they're all just gonna "scrape" and that will fix it.

[Ruhskins]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Good read by Matt Bowen.

Gee... I thought all defenses had to do was hit the QB?

NFL 2013: Why Stopping the Read-Option Isn't as Easy as You Think | Bleacher Report

Good read by Bowen. Alway like his articles at the National Football Post.

[Lotus]

Excellent read Matty. Thanks for that.

There was a Warpath argument in the offseason about the read option disappearing. This article describes some reasons why 30Gut and I argued that the read option is here to stay in some form or another.

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by Evilgrin

People underrate execution also, some guys are just better.

That's what it comes down to. You can stress discipline forever but when an offense rolls off 4-6 yards gains out of the read option a couple times for first downs those safeties start having to double check their reads. If you have the personnel to take advantage of that tiny split second then its over. What made our offense work last year was the running game and Griffin's decision making. Morris' ability to make plays out of the read option and Bob's ability to get us into the right situation was it. The reads don't matter once the ball is snapped and Griff chooses to either let Morris do his thing, attack a voided run lane himself or pass off a bad read by the safety. To me the only way you beat it is to make the QB make bad decisions. Otherwise you cannot stop it. Disguise coverages, mix it up and hope the QB isn't good enough at reads to process and attack.

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by Lotus

Excellent read Matty. Thanks for that.

There was a Warpath argument in the offseason about the read option disappearing. This article describes some reasons why 30Gut and I argued that the read option is here to stay in some form or another.

I agree. It's why the whole PW argument is irrelevant. The question about PW is whether he has the passing skill to threaten a defense(RGIII does) and the decision making abilities to get the team into the right situations post-snap. If we had some bizarro version of Griff who had all the physical ability but none of the mental ability we'd be screwed. It wouldn't work.

[MTK]

The read option is almost another form of play action when you think about it.

Like the read option, play action is difficult to defend when you have a strong running game and near flawless execution of the fake.

All you have to do is make defenders hesitate for a second, and it opens things up.

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

The read option is almost another form of play action when you think about it.

Like the read option, play action is difficult to defend when you have a strong running game and near flawless execution of the fake.

All you have to do is make defenders hesitate for a second, and it opens things up.

One of the "prettiest" things about Griffin's game is his exchange with RB's. The TV camera can be right on it, and still sometimes no one really knows where the ball ended up. I don't think his ACL took that ability away.

[Monkeydad]

Here's how I addressed this last season...thought I had a good point so I dug it back up.

Originally Posted by Monkeydad

If we abandon it, we're not utilizing Griffin's talent to its fullest potential.

Until the league catches up and learns how to stop it, keep going pedal to the metal.

I do not believe the league's defenses CAN stop it. It's not a scheme that they have to figure out like Hideo Nomo's quirky wind-up or the Dolphin's Wildcat experiment...you can't really learn something that presents itself as completely unpredictable. Griffin's fake handoffs are like Houdini's tricks. He's so good at hiding the ball so well that no one knows where it is that you can't learn how to defend it. It will always freeze defenders and send them in the wrong directions. It's not something they can adjust to, they have to either hesitate until they know for sure who has the ball, or they have to gamble one way or the other. Maybe a new defensive alignment can be developed to try to cover the field better, but the offense is based on causing the defense to guess and react.

I don't see this being a fading trend. It works. We have changed the way the pro game is played.

Originally Posted by Monkeydad

Yes, because a gimmick gives you the #1 rushing offense in the NFL AND one of the highest-rated passers in the league, in his rookie year.

Get used to it, we're a powerhouse on offense and will be for years. This isn't a gimmick that defenses can figure out...RGIII's incredible ball skills on fake hand-offs and the option plays isn't something you figure out, it's something you just have to hope you guess the right way on as a defender. There's nothing complex to decipher, this offense just forces the defense to react and take a blind guess about where the ball is and is going.

http://www.thewarpath.net/redskins-l...tml#post998867

[Monkeydad]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

One of the "prettiest" things about Griffin's game is his exchange with RB's. The TV camera can be right on it, and still sometimes no one really knows where the ball ended up. I don't think his ACL took that ability away.

Exactly. He has the best fake hand-offs I've ever seen. Often, he fools me, the commentators, the camera and of course the defense.

Not every team can have the success that we do with this scheme, because only we have Robert Griffin III running it. His can execute like no one else, he's faster and most impressively, he also has the skills and accuracy to be one of the best passers in the NFL even if he had to stand still in the pocket. This is where Kaepernick, Newton, Wilson and even Vick will fail to be as successful as Griffin. He's the whole package. The others can do everything, but only he can do everything at an elite level.