Read Option - can it be sustained?

[Vetamur]

Pretty sure we cant win tomorrow no matter what. Tomorrow is Saturday.

Their D line is talented, but they allow 4.2 yards per rush. And its not about pure talent..if they decide to have the DE crash down every time to stop Lynch, then their will be opportunities. I suspect they will put a safety in the box as well which could also give opportunities if they are overly concerned with stopping Lynch.

My fear is that teams with really good ends and outside LB's make it next to impossible for us to run the RO.......and KC has that with Houston and Hali. Guys that creep down, seal off the edges and beat up our TE's........which will be especially easy without Miller.

Possibly..I suppose we wont know til Sunday. But if their ends stay absolutely at home to cover the RO then we should be able to over match them with runs to Lynch. Im also not entirely convinced Houston is great against the run. He has 12 sacks (!) already, a stunning number.. but he never has even average number of tackles for his position outside of the sacks. He averages about 3 tackles a game..

Who are the teams that shut down our RO?

Rams, SF, Arizona, and up until this year Carolina. What do all those teams have in common? Very good front sevens.........and KC has a good front seven. Rangy fast athletic LB's and DE's that can pack the box and cover ground.

I just don't like this matchup for the RO, IMO Russell's going to have to throw the ball REALLY well this weekend for us to win, cause KC's schemes are going to be 100% pack the box and stop the RO and Lynch.

Very true.. but what else do those teams have in common? They all play and practice regularly against the RO. The Chiefs play mostly statues -- Manning, Rivers.

Again, its not about talent. Its discipline. You can be very fast, but if you start crashing the line you arent going to recover to get back outside. If you stay at home, then its a matter of our OL beating their men one on one. And again, they give up 4.2 yards per carry versus the run anyway.. so run defense is far from their strong point.

 

[Vetamur]

Oh.. just re checked..I was using old data. The Chiefs give up 4.7 ..nearly 5 yards per carry.

 

[Cartire]

I feel we will barely use the RO, because after last weeks game, thats all KC will be looking for. They are going to be spying RW so much that we will just keep letting lynch go up the middle. And there should be plenty of guys in 1 on 1 match ups as they stack the box in anticipation.

KC is watching the Giants game gameplanning to contain Wilson and the RO. So let them. And lets just play power run the whole time while they keep a guy away to contain wilson.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

Sustaining the RO requires a rare QB/RB synergy like we haven't seen since Hass/Shaun. RW/Lynch have that synergy.

It also requires some undisciplined and gullible DE's like the Giants featured. If a team can stay home and keep contain, however, the read option will usually end up about as effective as it does annually against the Rams: not at all. That's when our offense has all its holes revealed.

It'll be interesting to see which category KC's defensive line falls into Sunday.

 

[Largent80]

Well, they have 350 yards worth of tape to figure it out. I would NOT want to be KC D coordinator.

 

[RunTheBall]

Sustaining the RO requires a rare QB/RB synergy like we haven't seen since Hass/Shaun. RW/Lynch have that synergy.

It also requires some undisciplined and gullible DE's like the Giants featured. If a team can stay home and keep contain, however, the read option will usually end up about as effective as it does annually against the Rams: not at all. That's when our offense has all its holes revealed.

It'll be interesting to see which category KC's defensive line falls into Sunday.

171 Yards Rushing, 5.9 YPC. Not at all effective.

 

[AgentDib]

I agree that any offense with a healthy Lynch and RW can make hay with the read option. Leaving a LB to spy on Wilson is a win for the rest of the offense that can be exploited.

I don't think Norwood is a silver bullet for us this season. His catch radius is a lot smaller than you would think going only off of height (short arms, poor vertical) and he has really been billed as a smart quick slot receiver. What we are missing is a big, strong possession receiver who can be thrown at in traffic and will either come away with the ball or make sure it ends up incomplete. The sort of receiver that will make RW look better even if the location is slightly off or the coverage was different then expected.

 

[capncrunch]

If we can complete a couple passes from the RO, KC is hosed. Amazing that they haven't given up a rushing TD but allow over 100 per game on the ground.

Teams have made the mistake of trying to pass for td's, and they defend the pass well.

Yes. Work some more passes in to the RO. I remember a nice one to Lockette early in the season. I also like that flip out to Michael. It's cool to see us using his speed. Hell, using him at all. I like our chances against KC. I don't see them stopping the RO, even if they have that plannned. I don't think we'll see as many keepers from Russ this game though.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

Sustaining the RO requires a rare QB/RB synergy like we haven't seen since Hass/Shaun. RW/Lynch have that synergy.

It also requires some undisciplined and gullible DE's like the Giants featured. If a team can stay home and keep contain, however, the read option will usually end up about as effective as it does annually against the Rams: not at all. That's when our offense has all its holes revealed.

It'll be interesting to see which category KC's defensive line falls into Sunday.

171 Yards Rushing, 5.9 YPC. Not at all effective.

Are you certain that every one of those 171 yards rushing came on the read option? I'm pretty sure that's a fallacy.

The Rams traditionally do a good job spying Russell Wilson and containing his edge runs. Their defensive ends are wise to that, and well coached. His third-quarter TD run was nice, but generally an exception against that team.

 

[RunTheBall]

Sustaining the RO requires a rare QB/RB synergy like we haven't seen since Hass/Shaun. RW/Lynch have that synergy.

It also requires some undisciplined and gullible DE's like the Giants featured. If a team can stay home and keep contain, however, the read option will usually end up about as effective as it does annually against the Rams: not at all. That's when our offense has all its holes revealed.

It'll be interesting to see which category KC's defensive line falls into Sunday.

171 Yards Rushing, 5.9 YPC. Not at all effective.

Are you certain that every one of those 171 yards rushing came on the read option? I'm pretty sure that's a fallacy.

The Rams traditionally do a good job spying Russell Wilson and containing his edge runs. Their defensive ends are wise to that, and well coached. His third-quarter TD run was nice, but generally an exception against that team.

LOL I never said that, wow it's pointless arguing with you. You were wrong but try to put words in my mouth. We were great running the ball against the Rams (read option or not) but for some reason you can't admit that.

 

[pehawk]

Rams are paper tigers vs runs inside the tackles. When the Hawks play them even at reasonable strength at OL, they impose their will. Donald will begin to make that point INCORRECT soon though.

 

[AROS]

I was watching Inside the NFL the other day and I love watching Boomer and Phil Simms twitch and go haywire talking about the read option as if it's not real NFL football. Kurt Warner-itis. The old pocket passers from yesteryear want to continue to keep the modern day NFL QB in antiquated boxes. I'm not saying the read option is the end all, or that it is even particularly sustainable long term, but the NFL is shifting into a new era, and part of that is a quarterback who doesn't just have to be a pure pocket passer to be considered an elite QB.

Russell Wilson, like any other QB, is a product of the coaching and scheme he plays in. I have no doubt if Russell ends up playing for a coach or coaches who are driven by a more pocket passing offense one day, he will make that work too. He's simply not asked or expected to be in this offense. Play action, run to set up the pass, read option...run, run, and more runs...Why do I get the feeling the mediots think Russell can't be a great pocket passer?

Current slump aside, I think Russell excels in anything you ask of him. Of course, as with any QB, he needs a strong OL and playmakers around him to maximize his full potential. Same goes for guys named Brady and Manning.

Like someone said earlier, you keep the read option going as long as the defenses can't stop it.

 

[capncrunch]

I was watching Inside the NFL the other day and I love watching Boomer and Phil Simms twitch and go haywire talking about the read option as if it's not real NFL football. Kurt Warner-itis. The old pocket passers from yesteryear want to continue to keep the modern day NFL QB in antiquated boxes. I'm not saying the read option is the end all, or that it is even particularly sustainable long term, but the NFL is shifting into a new era, and part of that is a quarterback who doesn't just have to be a pure pocket passer to be considered an elite QB.

Russell Wilson, like any other QB, is a product of the coaching and scheme he plays in. I have no doubt if Russell ends up playing for a coach or coaches who are driven by a more pocket passing offense one day, he will make that work too. He's simply not asked or expected to be in this offense. Play action, run to set up the pass, read option...run, run, and more runs...Why do I get the feeling the mediots think Russell can't be a great pocket passer?

Current slump aside, I think Russell excels in anything you ask of him. Of course, as with any QB, he needs a strong OL and playmakers around him to maximize his full potential. Same goes for guys named Brady and Manning.

Like someone said earlier, you keep the read option going as long as the defenses can't stop it.

Yes. That makes sense to me. They probably didn't think they would run it so much against the Giants, but it would have been crazy to stop the way the game was going.

 

[Lords of Scythia]

Pretty sure we cant win tomorrow no matter what. Tomorrow is Saturday.

Their D line is talented, but they allow 4.2 yards per rush. And its not about pure talent..if they decide to have the DE crash down every time to stop Lynch, then their will be opportunities. I suspect they will put a safety in the box as well which could also give opportunities if they are overly concerned with stopping Lynch.

My fear is that teams with really good ends and outside LB's make it next to impossible for us to run the RO.......and KC has that with Houston and Hali. Guys that creep down, seal off the edges and beat up our TE's........which will be especially easy without Miller.

Theoretically that opens the middle for Lynch.

 

[Lords of Scythia]

I wish this offense was good enough not to break the read option out until the opposition was looking gassed. Russ and the RO has been lethal late in games.

It's beneficial at all times of the game.

Sure it works late when the defense is susceptible and tired, but it also works good early in games because it sets other things up.

How many times has Russell ran the RO, then pulled the ball back, dropped back and made a big throw? That works because we've run the RO 3-4 times throughout the game so the defense is keyed at stopping it.

He can throw the ball at any time. That's what the option is. He throws if he's got something open downfield that's better than what he;ll get running.

 

[Lazyfingers]

I think this article details all of the Seahawks rushing looks (read option included) and illustrates why the read option is absolutely sustainable and deadly.
http://www.fieldgulls.com/football-brea ... chiefs-nfl

 

[Grahamhawker]

I think this article details all of the Seahawks rushing looks (read option included) and illustrates why the read option is absolutely sustainable and deadly.
http://www.fieldgulls.com/football-brea ... chiefs-nfl

Interesting write up there.

With a qb like Wilson, who is great at avoiding too many hits it makes it more sustainable, imo. The typical knock is that the qb can't sustain. RW can. It is a great tool for a team built like the Hawks. It's very difficult to defend every aspect very well. If the d sits on one thing, something else can be exploited.