How the margin option is changing college and professional football
The margin option exploded onto the NFL and college football scene this season after a few years of ups and downs. With the rise of Johnny Football from Texas A&M in the NCAA and the appearance of Colin Kaepernick for the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL, the spread option, or the read option as it is sometimes called, has become one of the the most difficult offensive plays. to defend.
The Green Bay Packers have reportedly begun researching how to run and defend against the reading option, according to ESPN. The Packers were eliminated from the playoffs by the 49ers, whose quarterback Colin Kaepernick set NFL playoff rushing records. The final score of 45-31 could have cost Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers his job, but the coaching staff decided to retain him and send him to Texas A&M to learn more about the offensive scheme.
While the reading option didn’t originate at Texas A&M, they made it one of the most potent offensive forces in college football. Behind the leadership of Johnny “Football” Manziel, the Texas A&M Aggies lost just two games early in the 2012-2013 season. They defeated the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide and topped the Oklahoma Sooners in the Cotton Bowl. Manziel set NCAA and SEC records while he won the Heisman Trophy.
Johnny Football wasn’t the first to run the margin option, but he’s arguably the best at it. Tim Tebow was famous for it in Florida, while Cam Newton has been running and throwing for the Carolina Panthers since he entered the NFL.
With this year’s NFL Draft class, two more rookies have come into the league who can run the option, with devastating results. The Seattle Seahawks scored 150 points in three regular-season games and won a playoff game with Russell Wilson running the offense, and the Washington Redskins made the playoffs after a 3-6 start to the season behind the rookie phenom. Robert Griffin III, before Griffin came out with a torn ACL after straining his knee.
After replacing Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick was the most successful quarterback to run the margin option in the NFL this season, leading the San Francisco 49ers to the brink of victory in the Super Bowl. The success he and the other reading option experienced as quarterbacks has prompted defensive coordinators to investigate how to stop him.
This is what motivates the Green Bay Packers to learn from the best in College Station, TX. Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin has coached and had to defend against the spread option, while Manziel is one of the fastest, smartest and most adaptable quarterbacks anyone can remember.
After being labeled a trick offense when Tebow executed it in Florida, the NFL is starting to wake up to the fact that the spread option can have devastating consequences for a defense that can’t defend against it. Tebow and Newton are the quarterbacks best known for running this offense, and while they’ve had a bit of trouble around the league, newer players who are familiar with it are having more success as it’s become more acceptable to players. offensive coordinators.
Does this mean the spread option will remain in the NFL, continually terrorizing defenses and defensive coordinators? Probably not. Teams will start to get familiar with the scheme and how to design offenses around it. And franchises may not want to risk their starting quarterbacks running down the field, taking hits from all directions.
For now, though, the distribution option is the next big thing in the NFL, and every coach will spend the offseason learning more about it: whether their quarterback can run it, how it fits into their system and, most importantly, , – how to defend themselves when those young, fast, adaptable quarterbacks take the field against them. The Green Bay Packers aren’t the first, and they won’t be the last, team we’ve heard this offseason is looking into a spread-option offense.
