To Read Option, or Not

[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.

[CRedskinsRule]

MD hit one part of exactly right, Griffin's fakes are amazing, both he and Morris have said they really don't know who will get it until the last split second. That will freeze the defender each time. What you did see in the SB was the Ravens taking a shot at CK nearly each time, but I think that was on CK, he held his fake too long letting the defender get near him. Griffin's decision making and execution is a huge part of making it work at the NFL level.

[BigHairedAristocrat]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

MD hit one part of exactly right, Griffin's fakes are amazing, both he and Morris have said they really don't know who will get it until the last split second. That will freeze the defender each time. What you did see in the SB was the Ravens taking a shot at CK nearly each time, but I think that was on CK, he held his fake too long letting the defender get near him. Griffin's decision making and execution is a huge part of making it work at the NFL level.

Exactly. The only way defenses can stop it is if Griffin has some sort of "tell" that defenses learn to pick up on to know what he's going to do with the ball.

[Skinzman]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

MD hit one part of exactly right, Griffin's fakes are amazing, both he and Morris have said they really don't know who will get it until the last split second. That will freeze the defender each time. What you did see in the SB was the Ravens taking a shot at CK nearly each time, but I think that was on CK, he held his fake too long letting the defender get near him. Griffin's decision making and execution is a huge part of making it work at the NFL level.

I agree with the bolded statement, but what most people seem to forget about when it comes to the read option. It is used in college to replace someone who doesnt throw well but is athletic. The people saying it will be stopped tend to refer to that some colleges are already shutting it down.

The problem is that you dont draft a QB in the NFL who you dont believe can throw. Stack the defense to stop the read option, and RG3 will go over the top. Keep showing that look and OC's are smart enough to show the read option look but bring in a blocker last second to seal off the the people looking for the read option and pass over the top of it.

The read option is not the offense. It is a play within the entire whole. That makes it something that you cant deploy 11 players on defense to stop, you still have to respect the fact that RG3, Kaep, and Wilson can all throw the ball. That respect is not always there in college when it comes to the read option, and rightly so.

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by Skinzman

I agree with the bolded statement, but what most people seem to forget about when it comes to the read option. It is used in college to replace someone who doesnt throw well but is athletic. The people saying it will be stopped tend to refer to that some colleges are already shutting it down.

The problem is that you dont draft a QB in the NFL who you dont believe can throw. Stack the defense to stop the read option, and RG3 will go over the top. Keep showing that look and OC's are smart enough to show the read option look but bring in a blocker last second to seal off the the people looking for the read option and pass over the top of it.

The read option is not the offense. It is a play within the entire whole. That makes it something that you cant deploy 11 players on defense to stop, you still have to respect the fact that RG3, Kaep, and Wilson can all throw the ball. That respect is not always there in college when it comes to the read option, and rightly so.

Very good points

[FRPLG]

We're not getting rid of it and defenses aren't going to "figure it out" enough to eliminate it. What we won't be able to do probably is take it and utilize it for 80-100% of a particular game plan like we did once in a while last year. It will have to be a component of a more diverse game plan like it was for us most of the time last year.

In the end all the other punk teams can run it and have it neutralized but they don't have who we have to run it. THAT makes a huge difference.

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by Skins4L

Rg does have amazing fakes and that can still be utilized. Thing is the hit that did him in.. If you go back and look he was on his way down. Tough getting to the ground when you move like he does he looks like hes gonna twist his ankle the few times I saw him slide quickly because it's not like he didn't ever slide I saw him.

he isn't Jason Campbell bad at sliding, his problem is more related to his competitive nature, on the Ngata play he could have cut outside and go out of bounds, but we would have had a longer 4th down. His competitive instinct took him inside to get a few more yards and Ngata got him at a bad angle. It has nothing to do with the zone read plays, or even pocket passing. Every bad hit came from Griffin not wanting to give up when he saw a sliver of opportunity, he will be successful if he can reset his internal gauge for success from college speed openings to pro speed openings, and only game experience will prove that one way or the other.

[Skins4L]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

Every bad hit came from Griffin not wanting to give up when he saw a sliver of opportunity, he will be successful if he can reset his internal gauge for success from college speed openings to pro speed openings, and only game experience will prove that one way or the other.

for sure.

[ethat001]

Honestly if we keep mixing it up, the defenses will continue to have no idea what's going on. We started to shred Seattle's defense early when RG3 had 1.5 legs, and only when he was hopping on one leg did they slow us down. Seattle had a full season of tape on us. If Kyle keeps dialing up new innovative schemes, not fully relying on one predictable set, I think we're fine. I'm fine with the read option.

As has been said the problem is RG3 himself, not our scheme. RG3's a smart guy, but I'm not sure he can ever completely dial down that competitive instinct. In the biggest of stages with high stakes => I'd wager he scrambles inside vs. stepping out 9 times out of 10. Hope he can change this.

Still excited about the years to come.

[Monksdown]

I agree with the previous post(s) in regards to the read/option being a tool into bag, not the entire bag. My concern is that the healing period extends well into training camp and reduces the time spent on developing the other tools in the bag.

[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.)

[GridIron26]

What is the ironic of this, Griffin's injuries tend to happen when he is scrambling to avoid sack. And when Griffin runs out from option plays, he never got hurt. Sure he did got hit hard sometimes but not the ones that cause injury.

[REDSKINS4ever]

NFL head coaches are already speaking to college defensive coordinators on how to stop the read option. I don't know how much longer the Shanahans plan to use it, but I think they should use it but not as much as last year and begin having RG3 operate out of a more traditional west coast offense more.

[The Goat]

Originally Posted by REDSKINS4ever

NFL head coaches are already speaking to college defensive coordinators on how to stop the read option. I don't know how much longer the Shanahans plan to use it, but I think they should use it but not as much as last year and begin having RG3 operate out of a more traditional west coast offense more.

This is my bottom line per hope/expectation. Trouble is: hard to get too "traditional" when your pass-protection looks like Swiss cheese, which ours did far too often last season. After the reg season I saw a stat RG took the highest percent of hits in the pocket among all QBs. And it's not all from the right side. Missed blocking assignments on the left, particularly involving our TEs and especially with curious presence of one Niles Paul on offense, led to several massive hits on RG. I remember commentators mention concussion on at least a few occasions.