Read-option quarterbacks are fair game on fakes, NFL says

[erod]

Anyway lol....as much fun as this always is (been doing this with Cowboys fans since the mid-70s, only in person back then), I am taking leave of the interwebz like I did last season. Found that following the Skins was far more enjoyable when I experienced it much like I did before the age of message boards and internet experts galore ...If you didn't notice (and no reason for you to have done so), even last season when the Skins were shellacking the Cowboys by sweeping them and winning the NFC East, I never posted on here during the season. That'll most likely be me again this year, regardless of how things go (cue the applause and champagne corks popping all over CZ lol).

Good luck against the Giants (moiderize 'em!!) and hopefully there will be very few injuries for the Cowboys this year. Games are always better when both teams are close to full strength. And the season is always better when the Skins and 'Boys are battling for the division while the Giants and Eagles are battling for a higher draft slot.

You mean when Dallas was missing six defensive starters and Ware had one arm.

Going to be a hard fall for you guys this season. I've got you third behind a woeful Giants team.

 

[DCBoysfan]

This thread has been interesting to say the least, but the point still remains that any QB who faints as if he still has the ball will be hit plain and simple, the question is how often are coaches going to put the QB in more harms way that they already face on a football field.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

You can score 14 points on one drive? You can gain 104 yards on one drive?

Hmm...you learn something new everyday.

Griffin had 1 good drive in that stretch which was the first drive.

The 2nd drive the Commanders got the ball at midfield and eventually they score on a big, 4 yard pass.

The very *next* time he got the Skins got the ball, Griffin was sacked and fumbled the ball.

Color me unimpressed.

 

[Aikmaniac]

Good debate here but it's obvious that the stances taken would be reversed if RGIII was a Cowboy. Comical to watch actually.

Why not admit that the read-option was successful last year and that defenses will have schemes in place to defend it this season? If I was a Skins fan, I would be concerned about RGIII's long term health and I believe that has been conveyed in this thread so far from those Washington fans participating.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Good debate here but it's obvious that the stances taken would be reversed if RGIII was a Cowboy. Comical to watch actually.

Why not admit that the read-option was successful last year and that defenses will have schemes in place to defend it this season? If I was a Skins fan, I would be concerned about RGIII's long term health and I believe that has been conveyed in this thread so far from those Washington fans participating.

I think the fans here have acknowledged that it was successful last year and the teams will have schemes in place to defend it this year.

As one poster pointed out, San Francisco feared the Packers 'targeting' Kaepernick and went to the league about the ruling. The league ruled in favor of the Packers. While I think the R/O will be stopped schematically, I think the logical points here are:

1. The Niners certainly fear the QB being targeted by defenders otherwise they would not have gone to the league about it.
2. The league ruled against the Niners.
3. Teams now have a pretty clean shot at the QB in the R/O all things considered.

As usual, it was the Commanders fans (most of them anyway) that came in here trying to convince us and themselves that everything was okay and that no team would possibly dare target RG3. And that's where the 'we'll have 10 on 10 and Alfred Morris will gain 2,500 yards this season' nonsense came into play.

It's a bit unfair to characterize the Cowboys fans as acting the same way if the roles were reversed because I don't recall us every having a good, but injury prone QB. I guess you could point to Aikman in his latter years, but I know I was terrified of his future prospects as a football player. Other than that, we have a good sized portion of fans that immediately dismiss a player when they get injured more than once. Some players like Sean Lee or Ronald Leary almost get no chance to ever succeed in the NFL by some Cowboys fans because they are labeled as 'injury prone' from the get-go. And every time they get banged up, they are the first to point it out and spell doom-n-gloom.

As per usual, we just have to come to grips that Commanders fans are typically not the smartest bunch in the world and as one person put it 'they are the Cowboys psychotic ex-girlfriend.'






YR

 

[TellerMorrow34]

This doesn't appear to really change anything as I don't think it's a new rule. Maybe the league is making it clear to defenders who weren't clear if they had the ability to hit the QB in these cases? I don't know.

The R/O will go away when defenses catch up to it a bit and Qbs start taking way to many devastating hits. Then the coaches will abandon it in order to save their QBs from unneccassary hits running this.

 

[birdwells1]

Yes, as opposed to most times which are 11 on 10. It makes a big difference. Especially if the one player you're removing every play is Demarcus Ware.

Man, who's side are you on? I can' tell the difference between you and the skins fans in this thread and thats saying something coming from me because i've been called a realist.

 

[CowboyDiver]

The rule is the same as last year. I have no idea why people think this is a new rule. Griffin was killed against the Bengals but the Commanders adjusted after that.

As for the R/O itself, it is a very easy scheme to stop with a few outside blitzes which set the edge properly and force the QB back inside.

The problem is all of the other options it opens up in the passing game. A disciplined D maintaining leverage will stop this, but it may give a QB all day to throw the ball

The rule is the same but the interpretation given by the league clearly gives defenses the chance to hit Griffin, Kaepernick, etc.

I also think that teams will play the scheme differently, whereas one man's job is going to be simply to clean the QB's clock every time he runs it. The fact is that teams weren't sure who to commit to a year ago. It will be fine for the offense if they make some big plays because the first guy is taking the QB every time, but when that Qb has to be helped up after every play, they will be less likely to run it.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Man, who's side are you on? I can' tell the difference between you and the skins fans in this thread and thats saying something coming from me because i've been called a realist.

I'm a Cowboys fan, obviously. Does that mean I'm supposed to change my views on a schematic discussion?

The team I root for has nothing to do with whether I think this offense is "3rd grade" or can succeed in this league.

 

[reddyuta]

I would gladly surrender 200 yards to alfred morris if we can hit RG3 the entire game,he is not designed for punishment and one more hit on his knee may be the last snap of his career.

 

[Longboysfan]

This will put an end to this new gimmick.

You'd have to be stupid to put your 50-100 million dollar investment at risk that often. Certainly its a great wrinkle and can be used to keep a defense off balance from time to time - but to make it a focal point of your offense, is foolish.

Think about the Skins, they gave up the farm, basically mortgaged their entire future on RGIII, now he's on 1 good leg and his career is in jeopardy because they pushed the envelope.

If I struck gold on a QB like Kap or Wilson in the late rounds, then sure - I'd take a few more risks and use their skill set to my advantage. But when you draft a franchise QB and you treat him like he's Pat White, there is a fundamental flaw in your organizational perspective of long-term player value.

Which I failed to understand last year when RG no Knee was played late in the year.

They gave up much to get him and were gambling on playoffs for one year.

But with any of those QB's - If they have an arm use it to your best advantage. Not their feet.
You have a QB who can give you 8 to 10 great years. Why get him knocked out on a running play.

 

[Hoofbite]

I would gladly surrender 200 yards to alfred morris if we can hit RG3 the entire game,he is not designed for punishment and one more hit on his knee may be the last snap of his career.

This would make him different from everyone else in the league in what way?

 

[reddyuta]

This would make him different from everyone else in the league in what way?

isnt this his second ACL tear? another injury cant be good for his knee.

 

[Hoofbite]

isnt this his second ACL tear? another injury cant be good for his knee.

Probably not but it's not good for anyone's knee.

The resources they have at their disposal in terms of medicine are through the roof.

 

[Derinyar]

Anything that allows more hits to the QB is going to lessen the ability of the running QB to last long term. The problem isn't more hits, but the hits will probably end up knocking down the speed and ability to run, and then you have to answer the question is this QB capable of running a pocket offense without his legs as a major threat? In the past the majority of running QBs haven't been able to answer that question in the positive. Maybe this class is something entirely different, but I wouldn't bet on it ahead of time.

We're talking about QBs taking an extra 4-5 hits a game on running plays, except Griffin who's more like 6 extra running hits a game. They have similar or higher number of sacks per game to most QBs. So you really are looking at an extra quantity of hits. Aaron Rodgers is an exception as he just takes a beating, and I do question how many seasons like last year he can take before he breaks.

 

[birdwells1]

I'm a Cowboys fan, obviously. Does that mean I'm supposed to change my views on a schematic discussion?

The team I root for has nothing to do with whether I think this offense is "3rd grade" or can succeed in this league.

Yeah but it's the passion in which you argue that's surprising to me. I know why the skins fans are passionate because this rule clarification could really affect their season and RG3s future but you? I can't come up with a reason for your passion because this can only benefit the Cowboys.

 

[Reality]

They had the same rules in place last year. The Eagles complained about Vick not getting roughing the passer calls that other quarterbacks were and the NFL told them that if he acts like he's going to run, he's a runner even if he stops (fakes) and tries to throw the ball. That said, with the emergence of more read-option offenses popping up, I am glad the NFL re-stated it and clarified it even more.

Personally, I like that some teams are running read-option because it spices up the league a little from the same-old-thing, but I am also glad to see the NFL remove some of the protection that quarterbacks have when the quarterback takes on the role of quarterback and running back. If they did not do that, I could easily see teams running out two QB's in the backfield instead of a quarterback and running back eventually with both capable of throwing or running. In fact, that still might happen

/reality

 

[burmafrd]

They had the same rules in place last year. The Eagles complained about Vick not getting roughing the passer calls that other quarterbacks were and the NFL told them that if he acts like he's going to run, he's a runner even if he stops (fakes) and tries to throw the ball. That said, with the emergence of more read-option offenses popping up, I am glad the NFL re-stated it and clarified it even more.

Personally, I like that some teams are running read-option because it spices up the league a little from the same-old-thing, but I am also glad to see the NFL remove some of the protection that quarterbacks have when the quarterback takes on the role of quarterback and running back. If they did not do that, I could easily see teams running out two QB's in the backfield instead of a quarterback and running back eventually with both capable of throwing or running. In fact, that still might happen

/reality

there are not enough good QBs now so not many teams are going to be able to find 2.

 

[Reality]

there are not enough good QBs now so not many teams are going to be able to find 2.

I'm not saying that teams would have two starting quarterbacks on their team. There are a lot of read-option quarterbacks in college and while most of them would not even be decent starters in the NFL, a lot of them could run a few plays in an NFL offense where they either serve as the fake QB, run the ball or occasionally throw a pass. There are a lot of running backs and wide receivers who are not great passers that have pass completions on their career stats.

 

[Oh_Canada]

Then if I'm coaching up my guys against a guy like Vick or RGIII - I make it abundantly clear, that you hit them early and often. Give up the 8 yard run for an opportunity to absolutely blow up the opposing team's most valuable commodity.

Agreed. Without RGIII (whose passing worries me more than his running ability) Morris goes back to being the sixth rd pick he was before the draft.