The spread option exploded onto the scene of college and NFL football this season after a few years of fits and starts. With the rise of Johnny Football from Texas A&M in the NCAA, and the emergence of Colin Kaepernick for the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL, the spread option, or read option as it is sometimes called, has become one of the most difficult offensive plays to defend against.
The Green Bay Packers have reportedly begun researching how to run and defend against the read option, according to ESPN. The Packers were eliminated from the playoffs by the 49ers, whose quarterback Colin Kaepernick set NFL playoff records for rushing. The 45-31 final score could have cost Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers his job, but the coaching staff decided to keep him and send him to Texas A&M to learn more about the offensive scheme.
While the read option did not originate at Texas A&M, they have developed it into one of the most potent offensive forces in college football. Behind the leadership of Johnny "Football" Manziel, the Texas A&M Aggies lost just two games early in the 2012-2013 season. They upset the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide, and ran all over the Oklahoma Sooners in the Cotton Bowl. Manziel set NCAA and SEC records, while winning the Heisman Trophy.
Johnny Football wasn't the first to run the spread option, but is arguably the best at it. Tim Tebow was famous for it at Florida, while Cam Newton has been running and throwing for the Carolina Panthers since entering the NFL.
With this year's NFL Draft class, two more rookies came into the league that can run the option, with devastating results. The Seattle Seahawks scored 150 points over three regular season games and won a playoff game with Russell Wilson running the offense, and the Washington Redskins made it to the playoffs after a 3-6 start to the season behind rookie phenom Robert Griffin III, before Griffin went out with a torn ACL after suffering a knee strain.
The Green Bay Packers have reportedly begun researching how to run and defend against the read option, according to ESPN. The Packers were eliminated from the playoffs by the 49ers, whose quarterback Colin Kaepernick set NFL playoff records for rushing. The 45-31 final score could have cost Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers his job, but the coaching staff decided to keep him and send him to Texas A&M to learn more about the offensive scheme.
While the read option did not originate at Texas A&M, they have developed it into one of the most potent offensive forces in college football. Behind the leadership of Johnny "Football" Manziel, the Texas A&M Aggies lost just two games early in the 2012-2013 season. They upset the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide, and ran all over the Oklahoma Sooners in the Cotton Bowl. Manziel set NCAA and SEC records, while winning the Heisman Trophy.
Johnny Football wasn't the first to run the spread option, but is arguably the best at it. Tim Tebow was famous for it at Florida, while Cam Newton has been running and throwing for the Carolina Panthers since entering the NFL.
With this year's NFL Draft class, two more rookies came into the league that can run the option, with devastating results. The Seattle Seahawks scored 150 points over three regular season games and won a playoff game with Russell Wilson running the offense, and the Washington Redskins made it to the playoffs after a 3-6 start to the season behind rookie phenom Robert Griffin III, before Griffin went out with a torn ACL after suffering a knee strain.
After replacing Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick was the most successful quarterback to run the spread option in the NFL this season, leading the San Francisco 49ers to the brink of a Super Bowl victory. The success he and the other read option quarterbacks experienced has led defensive coordinators to research how to stop it.
This is what is motivating the Green Bay Packers to learn from the best down in College Station, TX. Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin has both coached and had to defend against the spread option, while Manziel is one of the quickest, smartest, most adaptable quarterbacks anyone can remember.
After being labeled a gimmick offense when Tebow ran it at Florida, the NFL is starting wake up to the fact that the spread option can have devastating consequences for a defense that is unable to defend against it. Tebow and Newton are the quarterbacks most known for running this offense, and while they have struggled a bit in the league, newer players who are familiar with it are having more success as it has become more acceptable to offensive coordinators.
Does this mean that the spread option will remain in the NFL, continuously terrorizing defenses and defenvise coordinators? Probably not. Teams will begin to get familiar with the scheme and how offenses design around it. And franchises may not want to risk their start quarterbacks running around the field, taking hits from all directions.
However, for now, the spread option is the next big thing in the NFL, and every coaching staff will spend the offseason learning more about it: if their quarterback can run it, how it fits into their system, and -- most importantly -- how to defend against it when those young, fast, adaptable quarterbacks take to the field against them. The Green Bay Packers are not the first, and won't be the last, team we hear about this offseason looking into the spread option offense.
No comments:
Post a Comment