Composition I
Professor Dilbeck
Answering a question
The Read-Option
The NFL has gone
through many changes in its day. From things like rule changes, uniform
changes, equipment requirements, to new offenses such as the wild-cat or the
spread, to new defenses like the 3-4 or 46. Some of these last like the spread
offense and some are just fads like the wild-cat and soon fade as they are not
a viable option for an offense. However the read-option which has newly emerged
in the NFL over the last couple season seems like it’s here to stay. The
read-option utilizes great athletes who can also throw the ball to make a
deadly combo. The read-option racks up points and yards and because of the
read-options defenses are going to have to change the way they work in order to
stop it. It is a new offense so for now it is hard to stop. Ways that NFL
defenses can stop the read-option are blitzing more, using a spy, and getting
takeaways.
The read-option is
based off of one play. The quarterback receives the snap and either hand the
ball off to the running back or keeps it himself and runs it. Seems like a
simple concept and should be simply defended. The problem is that one player on
the defense is allowed in the back field unblocked on purpose and based on how
he attacks the quarterback or halfback the quarterback will read it and either
hand it off or keep it. Football is played 11 on 11 but in a recent article
Greg Bedard writes “because the read-option intentionally leaves one
player unblocked—that edge linebacker or defensive end—it's actually 11 offensive
players against 10 defenders” (Sports Illustrated). This shows the difficulty
of defending the read-option when you’re essentially playing with one less man
on defense. One way to try and neutral the effect is by sending another guy. By
doing this you will have two guys in the backfield and one for the quarterback
and one for the halfback. As long as the defenders get there fast enough they
should be able to tackle both and regardless of who has the ball stop the
read-option. However this does take another player out of the secondary and
thus causing less men to be back in case of a play-action fake. This just shows
another plus side of the read-option. However by sending another man you can
also still sack the quarterback before he is able to make the throw.
Another way to stop the
read-option is by using a spy. A spy is when you have one of your line-backers
sit behind the line and follow the quarterback wherever he goes so if he tries
to run the linebacker will be waiting for him. However some of these men
running the read-option are such exceptional athletes it makes it hard for a linebacker
to defend them. In an ESPN article an ex-NFL defensive coordinator was asked
about Colin Kaepernick he said “Quarterbacks like him don’t come along very
often. His combination of size, speed, and arm strength separates him from the
others…” (ESPN 24). Kaepernick is one of the men running the read-option at an
exceptional level. The ex-NFL coordinator shows you what he thinks of the
players running the read-option and how they will be hard to defend. If someone
uses a spy on Kaepernick they will need to make sure that the spy is fast and strong
if the spy going to be able to keep up with him. If they do have a good spy
however, it is a great way to neutralize the threat of the read-option or at
the very least slow it down.
The final way to stop
the read-option is by getting takeaways. Takeaways have always been a huge part
of football. They create a momentum shift and stop the opposing team while also
giving your team the ball. To create more turnovers the defense is going to
have to do couple of things. One being practicing stripping the ball and two
hitting the quarterback during the exchange to the running back to try and jar
the ball loose. When speaking about trying to stop the read-option and hitting
the QB during the exchange Bedard says “If the quarterback keeps the ball, he
gets crushed; if he hands it off, a fast-closing defender will often arrive
just after the exchange…” (Sports Illustrated) this fast-closing defender will
hopefully jar the ball loose from the running back. If this plan works worst
case scenario you drop the player for a loss. If you practice proper stripping
of the ball your player will hopefully knock the ball loose and be able to
recover it for a turnover. This turnover
will likely give your offense great field position or simply neutralize the
threat of the read-option.
Now you could make the
argument that the read-option will soon die down and that there is no need to
worry about changing your defense. That the old way still works with an example
like Peyton Manning who cannot run to save his life but still carves up defenses.
This is a great counter argument. However Peyton Manning who is a great player,
did lose to a quarterback this year in fact by a player who runs the
read-option, Andrew Luck. You could say that Peyton doesn’t play defense so why
is it his fault? Well if the old way is better why was Andrew Luck able to
score more points than Peyton Manning? One reason Is that when the Broncos
practice against Peyton they are used to a immobile QB and Andrew Luck who is
mobile was able to run all over them because the defense wasn’t sure how to
defend it. If they would have changed their defense for the read-option maybe
the outcome would have been different.
There are a lot of
different defenses run in the NFL. There are plenty offenses as well. The
read-option is the new one to be run. It gets a lot of yards and scores a lot
of points. This is seemingly the premier offense in today’s age. Point totals
are getting high with this offense since defenses are still not sure how to
stop it. They clearly need to change the way they defend against the
read-option. By doing things like blitzing more, using a spy, and getting
takeaways the defenses will be able to stop the read-option.
Works Cited
BEDARD, GREG A. "You Have Options." Sports Illustrated 119.9 (2013): 38. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Nov. 2013.
Nicholson, Joe. Bolinger, Zach. "PICK A QB, NOT JUST ANY QB." ESPN 14 Oct. 2013: 24. Print.
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