Post by Coach Campbell on Jul 28, 2014 9:49:41 GMT
Football's read option is old as the hills
Art of deception has been the name of the game for a long time
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
Go back to near the beginning of football, when a college coach named Glenn "Pop" Warner drew up the single-wing formation for, among others, a promising, future Olympic gold medal athlete named Jim Thorpe.
The idea behind the single wing was not only to create deception in the backfield, but to double-team block the defensive end and defensive tackle so the tailback — who is what we otherwise call a quarterback — could exploit the gap between them.
Go back to 1982, when Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs essentially removed the fullback from his offense, leaving John Riggins as his lone running back and starting a backfield formation that remains common today.
Denver Broncos
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Find analysis, notes and buzz on First-and-Orange Broncos blog.
"The story goes that it helped us match up with the Giants," said Charley Casserly, who was the Redskins' assistant general manager at the time. "It gave us two tight ends against their 3-4."
Now go back to when Broncos coach John Fox fathered the "wildcat," the offense the Miami Dolphins stole two years later to enormous success.
It was late in the 2006 season, and Fox, coaching the Carolina Panthers, had lost quarterback Jake Delhomme to injury. Backup Chris Weinke played poorly in back-to-back home losses to the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers, but the 6-8 Panthers were still in playoff contention.
Fox came up with the idea of putting backup tailback DeAngelo Williams in the shallow shotgun quarterback position and letting him run. The Panthers beat the Atlanta Falcons, even though Weinke finished the game 4-of-7 for 32 yards. Williams had 82 yards rushing, primarily out of what later came to be known as the wildcat formation.
"We were going to have to run the ball, and when your guy at the quarterback position can be the runner, it puts stress on the defense," Fox said.
How's that?
"Basically, if the quarterback never runs, the defense has 11 and you've only got 10," Fox said. "Nobody covers the quarterback. So most of your defenses are set up 11 on 10."
Simple math has been the common denominator in the evolution of NFL offenses since Yale coach Walter Camp tweaked the rugby rules in the 1890s.
"You're changing the math," said Broncos cornerback Andre Goodman, who was playing for the 2008 Dolphins and witnessed how a new offense, in this case the wildcat, can change a team's fortunes. "I think any offensive or defensive coach, their whole agenda is to change the math. You've got numbers in your favor, then you've got the advantage. Math is behind any change."
Fox figured, why not?
With Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow struggling in his adjustment to becoming a pro- style pocket passer — both in his rookie season of 2010 and his first two starts against Miami and Detroit this season — Fox gathered his coaches and came up with a new plan.
Let's let Tebow run the read option out of a variation of the spread formation — the offense he ran to unprecedented success at the University of Florida.
For a defensive-rooted coach who has heard criticism over the years for his conservative offensive approach, Fox sure is open-minded, if not imaginative. Either that or smart enough to steal a good idea when he sees it.
Fox first saw an NFL team employ the read option in 2006, when the Falcons used it with the erratic-passing, sensational-running Michael Vick.
"Go back and look at how prolific that offense was," said Broncos safety Brian Dawkins, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles against Vick and the read option in the 2006 finale. "And how much of a headache it was for defensive coordinators. How are you going to play this read option? OK, who's going to play the dive? Who's got Warrick Dunn? Michael Vick keeping the ball? And if he keeps it, which side? It was tough to keep up. It was a headache."
The first time the Falcons broke out the read option that year was against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and they rushed for 306 yards against famed and flummoxed defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. The spread option worked all year. Vick became the only quarterback in history to rush for 1,000 yards, and the Falcons led the NFL in rushing with 183.7 yards per game — a decisive 22.6 yards more than runner-up San Diego.
Besides Vick in his last season with the Falcons, the Tennessee Titans had Vince Young run the read option on third downs in his break-in NFL seasons of 2006-07. Young ran the read option while leading the University of Texas to a national championship. So did Tebow at Florida.
Wildcat has worked
The read option does three things for an offense: it utilizes a quarterback's running ability, it provides deception for the tailback and it opens up the passing game.
Last week against an Oakland Raiders defense that Thursday manhandled Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers, Tebow rushed for 118 yards, and tailback Willis McGahee rushed for 163 yards including touchdown runs of 60 and 24 yards. Tebow connected on touchdown passes of 27 yards to Eric Decker and 26 yards to Eddie Royal.
The twist to the story: One of Tebow's problems from the pocket is his inability to quickly read defensive coverages. Yet, when it comes to the "read" portion of the read option, Tebow has proved to be a quarterback Einstein.
Next up for Tebow and the read option are the Kansas City Chiefs, whom the Broncos play today at Arrowhead Stadium.
"Oakland did not know how to defend it," Casserly said of the read option. "I think from now on they'll slow this thing down fast. But it's something Tebow can do. He can run the ball and that's a positive. It'll spread the team out, and that'll open up some things in the passing game. So it makes sense to do it."
So why will the read option slow down when defenses prepare for it? Opponents prepare for the Green Bay Packers every week and nobody is stopping Aaron Rodgers. Goodman was with a Dolphins team that finished 1-15 in 2007 and was 0-2 to start the 2008 season when they faced the mighty New England Patriots. Miami tailback Ronnie Brown scored four touchdowns off the direct snap and threw for another score as the Dolphins won and finished an improbable 11-5.
"The wildcat got us to the playoffs in '08," Goodman said. "We ran off nine out of 10 and made the playoffs. The timing is about the same as what we're doing with this offense. Hopefully, we have that same luck."
From shotgun to shotgun
The evolution, and repeat, of NFL offenses:
1895: After Walter Camp tweaks rugby's rules, the first American football game is played in Latrobe, Pa.
1906: Glenn "Pop" Warner invents the single-wing formation that is used into the mid-1930s.
1946: Cleveland coach Paul Brown comes up with pass-blocking scheme that forces the pass rush outside and forms a "pocket" for the quarterback.
1955: Sid Gillman, coach of the Los Angeles Rams, has QB Norm Van Brocklin throwing the ball deep downfield. The vertical passing game is later taught to his assistant coaches Al Davis, Don Coryell, Chuck Noll, George Allen, Bill Walsh and Dick Vermeil.
1960s: Vince Lombardi introduces "zone" blocking techniques with the famed Green Bay sweep.
1975: Dallas coach Tom Landry uses the shotgun for passing with quarterback Roger Staubach. In 1960, San Francisco 49ers coach Red Hickey had used the shotgun for running.
1977: The NFL makes significant rules changes that 1, allows offensive linemen to extend their arms and open their hands while pass blocking, and 2, defensive backs could not make contact with a receiver more than 5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
1982: Walsh's 49ers win their first of five Super Bowls in a 12-year span with the West Coast offense.
1983: Joe Gibbs' Washington Redskins win the Super Bowl with a one-back system. Previously, teams almost exclusively used both a fullback and halfback.
1999-2010: Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning runs the offense from the line of scrimmage.
2006: The Atlanta Falcons and quarterback Michael Vick copy the West Virginia read-option spread offense. The Broncos' Tim Tebow runs it to beat the Oakland Raiders last week.
2008: Copying the "wildcat" offense that Carolina coach John Fox ran in the final two games of 2006, the Dolphins improve from 1-15 to 11-5 and reach the playoffs.
2007: Using a variation of the shotgun spread offense, Tom Brady leads New England to a 16-0 regular season. Brady and Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers continue to use the spread to aid their passing games today.
Art of deception has been the name of the game for a long time
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
Go back to near the beginning of football, when a college coach named Glenn "Pop" Warner drew up the single-wing formation for, among others, a promising, future Olympic gold medal athlete named Jim Thorpe.
The idea behind the single wing was not only to create deception in the backfield, but to double-team block the defensive end and defensive tackle so the tailback — who is what we otherwise call a quarterback — could exploit the gap between them.
Go back to 1982, when Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs essentially removed the fullback from his offense, leaving John Riggins as his lone running back and starting a backfield formation that remains common today.
Denver Broncos
View Denver Broncos photos.
Find analysis, notes and buzz on First-and-Orange Broncos blog.
"The story goes that it helped us match up with the Giants," said Charley Casserly, who was the Redskins' assistant general manager at the time. "It gave us two tight ends against their 3-4."
Now go back to when Broncos coach John Fox fathered the "wildcat," the offense the Miami Dolphins stole two years later to enormous success.
It was late in the 2006 season, and Fox, coaching the Carolina Panthers, had lost quarterback Jake Delhomme to injury. Backup Chris Weinke played poorly in back-to-back home losses to the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers, but the 6-8 Panthers were still in playoff contention.
Fox came up with the idea of putting backup tailback DeAngelo Williams in the shallow shotgun quarterback position and letting him run. The Panthers beat the Atlanta Falcons, even though Weinke finished the game 4-of-7 for 32 yards. Williams had 82 yards rushing, primarily out of what later came to be known as the wildcat formation.
"We were going to have to run the ball, and when your guy at the quarterback position can be the runner, it puts stress on the defense," Fox said.
How's that?
"Basically, if the quarterback never runs, the defense has 11 and you've only got 10," Fox said. "Nobody covers the quarterback. So most of your defenses are set up 11 on 10."
Simple math has been the common denominator in the evolution of NFL offenses since Yale coach Walter Camp tweaked the rugby rules in the 1890s.
"You're changing the math," said Broncos cornerback Andre Goodman, who was playing for the 2008 Dolphins and witnessed how a new offense, in this case the wildcat, can change a team's fortunes. "I think any offensive or defensive coach, their whole agenda is to change the math. You've got numbers in your favor, then you've got the advantage. Math is behind any change."
Fox figured, why not?
With Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow struggling in his adjustment to becoming a pro- style pocket passer — both in his rookie season of 2010 and his first two starts against Miami and Detroit this season — Fox gathered his coaches and came up with a new plan.
Let's let Tebow run the read option out of a variation of the spread formation — the offense he ran to unprecedented success at the University of Florida.
For a defensive-rooted coach who has heard criticism over the years for his conservative offensive approach, Fox sure is open-minded, if not imaginative. Either that or smart enough to steal a good idea when he sees it.
Fox first saw an NFL team employ the read option in 2006, when the Falcons used it with the erratic-passing, sensational-running Michael Vick.
"Go back and look at how prolific that offense was," said Broncos safety Brian Dawkins, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles against Vick and the read option in the 2006 finale. "And how much of a headache it was for defensive coordinators. How are you going to play this read option? OK, who's going to play the dive? Who's got Warrick Dunn? Michael Vick keeping the ball? And if he keeps it, which side? It was tough to keep up. It was a headache."
The first time the Falcons broke out the read option that year was against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and they rushed for 306 yards against famed and flummoxed defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. The spread option worked all year. Vick became the only quarterback in history to rush for 1,000 yards, and the Falcons led the NFL in rushing with 183.7 yards per game — a decisive 22.6 yards more than runner-up San Diego.
Besides Vick in his last season with the Falcons, the Tennessee Titans had Vince Young run the read option on third downs in his break-in NFL seasons of 2006-07. Young ran the read option while leading the University of Texas to a national championship. So did Tebow at Florida.
Wildcat has worked
The read option does three things for an offense: it utilizes a quarterback's running ability, it provides deception for the tailback and it opens up the passing game.
Last week against an Oakland Raiders defense that Thursday manhandled Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers, Tebow rushed for 118 yards, and tailback Willis McGahee rushed for 163 yards including touchdown runs of 60 and 24 yards. Tebow connected on touchdown passes of 27 yards to Eric Decker and 26 yards to Eddie Royal.
The twist to the story: One of Tebow's problems from the pocket is his inability to quickly read defensive coverages. Yet, when it comes to the "read" portion of the read option, Tebow has proved to be a quarterback Einstein.
Next up for Tebow and the read option are the Kansas City Chiefs, whom the Broncos play today at Arrowhead Stadium.
"Oakland did not know how to defend it," Casserly said of the read option. "I think from now on they'll slow this thing down fast. But it's something Tebow can do. He can run the ball and that's a positive. It'll spread the team out, and that'll open up some things in the passing game. So it makes sense to do it."
So why will the read option slow down when defenses prepare for it? Opponents prepare for the Green Bay Packers every week and nobody is stopping Aaron Rodgers. Goodman was with a Dolphins team that finished 1-15 in 2007 and was 0-2 to start the 2008 season when they faced the mighty New England Patriots. Miami tailback Ronnie Brown scored four touchdowns off the direct snap and threw for another score as the Dolphins won and finished an improbable 11-5.
"The wildcat got us to the playoffs in '08," Goodman said. "We ran off nine out of 10 and made the playoffs. The timing is about the same as what we're doing with this offense. Hopefully, we have that same luck."
From shotgun to shotgun
The evolution, and repeat, of NFL offenses:
1895: After Walter Camp tweaks rugby's rules, the first American football game is played in Latrobe, Pa.
1906: Glenn "Pop" Warner invents the single-wing formation that is used into the mid-1930s.
1946: Cleveland coach Paul Brown comes up with pass-blocking scheme that forces the pass rush outside and forms a "pocket" for the quarterback.
1955: Sid Gillman, coach of the Los Angeles Rams, has QB Norm Van Brocklin throwing the ball deep downfield. The vertical passing game is later taught to his assistant coaches Al Davis, Don Coryell, Chuck Noll, George Allen, Bill Walsh and Dick Vermeil.
1960s: Vince Lombardi introduces "zone" blocking techniques with the famed Green Bay sweep.
1975: Dallas coach Tom Landry uses the shotgun for passing with quarterback Roger Staubach. In 1960, San Francisco 49ers coach Red Hickey had used the shotgun for running.
1977: The NFL makes significant rules changes that 1, allows offensive linemen to extend their arms and open their hands while pass blocking, and 2, defensive backs could not make contact with a receiver more than 5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
1982: Walsh's 49ers win their first of five Super Bowls in a 12-year span with the West Coast offense.
1983: Joe Gibbs' Washington Redskins win the Super Bowl with a one-back system. Previously, teams almost exclusively used both a fullback and halfback.
1999-2010: Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning runs the offense from the line of scrimmage.
2006: The Atlanta Falcons and quarterback Michael Vick copy the West Virginia read-option spread offense. The Broncos' Tim Tebow runs it to beat the Oakland Raiders last week.
2008: Copying the "wildcat" offense that Carolina coach John Fox ran in the final two games of 2006, the Dolphins improve from 1-15 to 11-5 and reach the playoffs.
2007: Using a variation of the shotgun spread offense, Tom Brady leads New England to a 16-0 regular season. Brady and Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers continue to use the spread to aid their passing games today.