Can You Read?

Last week we talked about the triple option and the stress it put on the defense.  The triple option is not the only form of option football being used today.  The read option has gained popularity in recent years as well.

As we discussed in a previous post, the rise of the passing game and spread offense has had a profound change on football.  We have seen more and more teams move away from run first or triple option offenses to spread or Air Raid schemes. With the creation of the spread offense you would assume that the run game and in particular the option would be a thing of the past.  But that has not been the case.  In the early 2000’s several coaches began to incorporate the option into the spread. This became known as the zone read option. The most famous zone read coaches are Rich Rodriguez and Urban Meyer.  They used a zone read scheme to led both West Virginia and Florida to national prominence in the 2000’s.  Urban Meyer even won a National Championship at Florida using this offense.  The purpose of the read option is summed up well by Rodriguez, “When the quarterback hands the ball off after taking the snap under center, he’s not really a run threat and you are basically playing 10 on 11.  Get into the shotgun, and you can see the defense and hand the ball off.  You’re actually playing 11 on 11.  You can get positive yards and make them play 11 on 11.”1  This is the philosophy of the spread and read option offense, make the defense account for the QB as a threat on every play.

The read option has developed over the years and has been incorporated into football on all levels.  The foundation for the read option is very simple and resembles the triple option: make the defense decide who to cover in the running game.  The read option begins with a zone block by the offensive line, instead of blocking a man the line blocks in one direction.  The QB then reads the playside defensive end, just like in the triple option.  If the end comes up field the QB gives the ball to the running back.  If the DE crashes down on the back the QB keeps the ball.  It looks something like this:

http://tinyurl.com/j4o67uj

Just like with the triple option the read forces the defense to make a choice and if a team has an athletic QB, think TIm Tebow or VInce Young, the read option becomes deadly.  Many teams will even pass out of the read option based on how the other defenders react to the QB.  If you would like a comprehensive breakdown of the read option this article on the Oregon Ducks is a great place to start.2  The breakdown of the read option by Vince Young is also helpful.

The read offense is just the next evolution in option football.  Twenty years later it has taken over college and high school football.  But defensive coaches are figuring out how to defend the play.  So now the big question is, what will offensive coordinators do next?

References

Created out of a mistake, zone read offenses still hard to stop more than 20 years later | Fox News. (2014). Retrieved March 20, 2016, from http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2014/09/25/created-out-mistake-zone-read-offenses-still-hard-to-stop-more-than-20-years.html

Oregon Spread Offense Tutorial #1: The Inside Zone Read. (2011). Retrieved March 20, 2016, from http://fishduck.com/the-chip-kelly-oregon-spread-offense-analysis/understanding-the-oregon-offense/first-fish-tutorial-the-inside-zone-read/