To Read Option, or Not

[REDSKINS4ever]

Originally Posted by SouperMeister

I may be in the minority on this, but I do not believe Shanny should abandon the read option. By the middle of the season, Griffin was so good at reading defensive ends, that when he opted to keep the ball, he always seemed to get 10+ yards untouched before either sliding or scampering out of bounds. Fact of the matter, his concussion against Atlanta and his initial LCL injury against Baltimore came when a passing play broke down, and he tried to get too much out of his legs instead of throwing the ball away or sliding earlier. It's on Griffin to get better at protecting himself in those situations.

What became clear to me is that a healthy Griffin running read option out of the pistol paralyzes even the most dominant defensive ends, forcing them to read then react. I strongly believe that if we run a normal pocket passing attack, Griffin will take more hits from the likes of JPP, Umenyiora, Trent Cole, and Demarcus Ware.

It's still a huge risk to his overall health. The reason Griffin was injured last year was because he dove sideways with his legs in the air which enabled Haloti Ngata to slam into his leg and cause the initial stages of that knee injury. All RG3 has to do is either slide, get out of bounds, or dive forward. He can't be diving sideways.

[HailGreen28]

So basically, it's really not about the read option. It's about RG trying to protect himself better against getting hit when he runs. Against world-class athletes, trying to make a decision in a split second, easier said than done. Griffin made plenty of would-be rushers in the backfield, especially the Giants, look like they were stuck in mud. He ran right by other defenders when getting huge chunks of yardage downfield, like the big run on Minnesota. But sometimes he's going to get hit hard, even blindsided. It's the promise and curse of having a running QB instead of a statue. Not that QBs don't get mauled in the pocket too, if they hold on to the ball too long. (Jason Campbell, Ben Rothlisberger, etc.)