To Read Option, or Not

I may be in the minority on this, but I do not believe Shanny should abandon the read option. By the middle of the season, Griffin was so good at reading defensive ends, that when he opted to keep the ball, he always seemed to get 10+ yards untouched before either sliding or scampering out of bounds. Fact of the matter, his concussion against Atlanta and his initial LCL injury against Baltimore came when a passing play broke down, and he tried to get too much out of his legs instead of throwing the ball away or sliding earlier. It's on Griffin to get better at protecting himself in those situations.

What became clear to me is that a healthy Griffin running read option out of the pistol paralyzes even the most dominant defensive ends, forcing them to read then react. I strongly believe that if we run a normal pocket passing attack, Griffin will take more hits from the likes of JPP, Umenyiora, Trent Cole, and Demarcus Ware.

No disagreement from me. If he learns to slide and get out of bounds, Griffin can run the read all day long. Just like learning to take the sack when there is nowhere to go, however, Griffin needs to learn that sometimes, taking a loss or minimal gain on the R/O is the best play there is - no need to risk injury to win every play.

I agree. Keep it going. It was unstoppable. Like you said, his injuries didn't happen running the RO. Also, you've got to think we'll upgrade the O-line to help those pocket passing situations too. A lot of our schemes this year put lipstick on a pig so to speak with regard to the quality of our O-line. They did a fine job zone-blocking for the running game, but the truth is they leave a lot to be desired as far as straight up pass-pro.

Keep running it...although I wonder how long until NFL defenses can catch up? Still, kinda hard to defend it when you have a running-QB who can pass and not a QB like Tebow.

Keep running it...although I wonder how long until NFL defenses can catch up? Still, kinda hard to defend it when you have a running-QB who can pass and not a QB like Tebow.holla

I wouldn't scrap it , but wouldn't use it as often . upgrade the OL and we can line up and run downhill , not to mention better pass protection .

I think you can mix it in, but I think the natural evolution of the offense needs to continue to move away from it. You can still take advantage of his athleticism with the boots and play action off that.

It's been pointed out that a few of RG's injuries happened not on the read option but when he had to scramble. So the problem has more to do with what JoeRedskin mentioned, that he needs to develop finer instincts regarding when to slide or get out of bounds.

Two other things worth mentioning; first, we relied on the read option more after Davis went down. Assuming we re-sign him, the offense has one more weapon to use that lease a the importance of the option. Secondly, Shanny has mentioned nervous times that RG's potential goes far beyond what has heretofore been utilized in the offense, and (as Mattyk pointed out) the offense will continue to evolve with Griffin.

I think you can mix it in, but I think the natural evolution of the offense needs to continue to move away from it. You can still take advantage of his athleticism with the boots and play action off that.matty, when he comes back, he's going to be drew bledsoe

Not two weeks ago we (well I at least) were praising the brilliance of the read option and how it completely neutralized Ware and the Dallas Cowboys.

I say keep it as part of the repertoire. More teams I think will use more before the Redskins use it less in my opinion