In the split-second that the defender is frozen on an island, Smith tosses a shovel pass to Wilson, who follows the pulling guard into the second level for another first down. The same edge defender is unblocked, and he's forced to make a decision on whether to attack Smith or Hill. Notice the offensive linemen are running the same blocking scheme, except this time Albert Wilson is going to sneak in behind the pulling guard to make himself an option on the shovel pass to Smith. Once again the Chiefs are going to run a veer, but this time Smith is staying at quarterback. ( Click here if you are having trouble loading the image.) However, the first play that Andy Reid ran probably even caught Urban Meyer off-guard. If you pay attention to Ohio State's current offense or watch old Florida Gator games featuring Tebow and Percy Harvin, you'll see a lot of the same exact plays run by Kansas City. Kansas City ran a bevy of plays that looked eerily similar to what Alex Smith ran at the University of Utah under Urban Meyer in the early 2000s.
Walking into Foxborough and toppling the Patriots is no small task - it takes a level of ingenuity and trust to get the job done. The marriage of the option and the NFL wasn't a flash in the pan it has been relevant for almost 15 years, and with the influx of collegiate quarterbacks running spread-option attacks, it will remain a key part of offensive philosophy in the NFL.Īndy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs are the most recent example of a team taking the spotlight with a dazzling array of option attacks.
Tim Tebow, Cam Newton, and Kaepernick are more recent players who have had success in the playoffs running offenses with heavy use of the option.
Nfl veeer rating week 4 2017 pro#
Vince Young lit up defenses in 20 on his way to Pro Bowls in both of those seasons. Former New York Jets renaissance man Brad Smith had option packages to spell Chad Pennington. The option didn't die when Vick left Atlanta in 2007 to serve a two-year prison sentence. The Falcons finished third in run offense DVOA that season despite ranking 31st passing the ball. Vick ran for 902 yards on 7.5 yards per carry that season, with Dunn adding 1,106 yards and nine touchdowns. The first team to really rip through the NFL using read-options, run/pass options (RPOs), speed options, veers, etc., were the 2004 Atlanta Falcons, who had a three-headed monster of Michael Vick, Warrick Dunn, and T.J. For some reason, option plays are seen as primitive for the NFL even though they have been prominent in the league for almost 15 years. In the current media landscape of the NFL, the term "option" or "read-option" has become a bit diluted, especially in the recent coverage of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. One offensive evolution that has been mistaken as a fancy trend is the use of option plays in the NFL. While teams still use the Wildcat formation occasionally in the NFL, it has dwindled in frequency. This was mainly because you can't run an offense in the NFL with a non-quarterback as your primary ball-handler (despite what the Jacksonville Jaguars may think). The explosion of Ronnie Brown and the Wildcat formation in 2008 was more of a trend than a solidified, core piece of offensive philosophy.
At times, trends can be misconstrued as evolutions and vice versa. There is a difference between an offensive trend and an offensive evolution.