The Read-Option: Fad or Fixture?

Several people have asked me since last season what my take is on the emergence of the read-option offense in the NFL, especially with the rise to stardom of dual-threat quarterbacks such as RGIII, Colin Kaepernick, and Russell Wilson.  As most pro football fans know, the read-option (also interchangeably known as the zone-read) has been a college football staple for years.  It is a very simple offense to run for a college quarterback, even considering the triple-option of a pass.  Instead of having to read a progression of receivers downfield while standing tall in a collapsing pocket, the quarterback usually has to read the behavior of one defender (usually a defensive end or the middle linebacker).  Based on what that defender chooses to do (either attack the quarterback or the pitch man), the quarterback simply does the opposite.  It's an offense that can be run at a fast tempo, since multiple plays don't usually need to be called in a huddle, and this can wear down a defense.  If run properly, it forces defenders to commit to a certain action before the offense decides what to do with the ball, and can lead to large chunks of yardage. 

The offense of course also has its obvious drawbacks, the most important of which is the fact that the quarterback is going to take a hit.  He doesn't have the protection of a pocket since he is on the move, and since he has to wait for defenders to commit before he makes a decision, he has to hold onto the ball longer than he would like, even if he pitches it or throws downfield.  Another important drawback is the necessity to pitch the ball backwards, always a very dangerous proposition in a game where ball security is paramount.  Since the quarterback is more than likely the highest paid position on the field, teams usually don't want to risk that investment by subjecting him to any more punishment than is absolutely necessary.  Therefore, option offenses are everywhere in college, but for years, the closest thing you'd ever see to it in the NFL is the occasional "flip 90" play where the running back receives an option-style pitch while running to the boundary. 

College option quarterbacks never made it in the NFL because the NFL is very much a risk-reward type business.  There was simply too much risk involved in playing somebody, no matter how athletic, whose skill set was not adapted to the pro-style game of pocket passing.  Enter the three dudes I listed at the start of this piece.  All exceptional athletes coming out of college (even though RGIII was the only one to earn a 1st round draft nod), immediately their pro abilities were questioned due to the style of offense they ran.  Since option offenses where eschewed in pro football, nobody was sure if any of them would really shine.  Other than RGIII, neither were starters at first.  Wilson was in a battle with Matt Flynn in Seattle, and Kaepernick was behind Alex Smith on the 49er depth chart until the latter suffered a concussion. 

Then they got their opportunities.  All three coaches were familiar with the style these guys knew (Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll being former highly successful college coaches and Mike Shanahan winning two Super Bowls using several variations on zone running schemes), and all knew what the NFL thought of the option.  So instead of forcing these guys (as rookies) to adapt to a style they had never run before in college, they adapted THEIR offenses to meet their skill sets.  The results were obvious.  All three teams made the playoffs, two won their divisions (Seattle and San Francisco being in the same division), two won playoff games (Seattle and Washington played each other), and San Francisco got to the Super Bowl thanks to Kaepernick torching Green Bay for 181 yards rushing, the most ever by a quarterback in a playoff game.  As a result, teams like Green Bay spent most of their entire offseason learning how to defend it, which begs the question: is it here to stay?

Tommie Frazier ran the option nearly
perfectly at Nebraska in the 90s. 
His career ended due to blood clots
(Mitch Light-Athlons Sports)

In short, my answer to that question is yes.  I feel like the option is here to stay in the NFL, and I wonder why it took this long.  RGIII, Kaepernick, and Wilson are not the first athletic option quarterbacks.  Remember Tommie Frazier from Nebraska?  Unfortunately, his pro career ended before it started because of health concerns.  In any event, the big fear had always been the quarterback taking the hit, but with more athletic quarterbacks (and smarter), that risk is not nearly as big as it was say 20 years ago.  RGIII's knee injury serves as a reminder of what CAN happen, but that injury initially occurred on a busted drop-back pass play, not an option run.  What I do believe you will see is the three teams who used it extensively last year scale it back somewhat, but they have to absolutely keep it in their playbook to keep teams honest.  Case in point: look at what the 49ers did to Green Bay AGAIN last Sunday? 

As I said, Green Bay slaved over learning how to stop the read-option since the 49ers torched them with it in the playoff game.  Since their first two games this year were against San Fran AND Washington, they wanted to be prepared, but what did that do?  It took away valuable practice time which could have been used to defend against more conventional passing attacks...like what the 49ers employed on Sunday.  Kaepernick threw for over 400 yards and 4 touchdowns...mostly standing as a pocket passer.  The 49ers called maybe 2 option plays the entire game, and Kaepernick rushed for *only* 22 yards.  Green Bay wanted to stop that option run, and they succeeded, but they still gave up 34 points and lost.  It just goes to show how effective the read option can be just having it in the playbook.  It is here to stay, and you watch.  Now you have teams besides the Redskins, 49ers, and Seahawks who have athletic quarterbacks with ball skills (Tampa, New York Jets, whoever decides to take the plunge on Tim Tebow, just to name a couple).  Other teams might not do what those three teams did last year, but they would be smart to incorporate some of its elements into their basic offensive packages.  This is not the wildcat, which always was a pure gimmick since the chance of a running back throwing the ball was slim to none (it beat the Patriots one time...and then what?).  The guy who is SUPPOSED to throw the ball always will.  Get ready, NFL.  You're finally catching up to college.