That play has been deadly for us.

My guess is it will take some dang good LB's to stop it. Do any of you brainiacs know how best to defend this type of play? I am just curious what it would take.

Once a D has figured it out, I am sure Russ just goes to another type of offensive formation, be it under center, single or double back, empty backfield ect.

Hey Ludwig. Thanks for the heads up that the malware issue has been fixed. Thanks for that.

As far as this subject is concerned, I'd highly recommend you read the 5 Keys Preview thread that I've linked below ...

http://www.seahawks.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=59979

In particular, check out Key #3: "Place the Ship’s Fate … in the Hands of the Captain ..."

Go ahead and go on down to the interviews by Mike Bellotti and Trent Dilfer. I linked both of those interviews so you can listen to them for yourself. Great stuff by both guys.

*reads part about dang good LB's needed, checks this week's opposition*....

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"Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience." - Mark Twain.

It's been a great weapon. I suspect against the Niners it won't be quite as affective w/that quick defense. But, I hope they use it once in awhile, it's a huge weapon.

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60 percent of the time..........it works........every time

Duh`, thanks scanner and glad to inform on the malware issue. I planned to read your post about the 5 keys preview today, but as I was preparing to head out to work I was wondering to myself "I sure hope SF has trouble stopping our read option cuz that could be a "key to the game", so I thought I would post a question about it. Sorry for wasting some band width.LOL

Oregon has been reliant on the Read Option for years. It is different than our read option - Oregon tends to run more of a slow developing read where the QB waits a long time before handing off/taking off - but it's the same basic philosophy.

Like any kind of option, the key is for the linebackers to remain disciplined and play gaps. Playing the linebackers back a yard or two has had some success vs Oregon (eff you Stanford), but you're going to give up more incremental gains that way unless the DL blows the play up (again, eff you Stanford). That might be difficult for such an aggressive defense, but I don't really expect their LBs to be too phased by it. The DL can screw up the play by getting inside penetration, like most runs, but an overaggressive DL can leave the LBs in a tough spot if they get too far upfield.

Aldon Smith should be the key. He's fast enough to chase down the ball carrier from seemingly anywhere near the LOS, but he's probably the player most likely to make a mental mistake, which could open some big runs.

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Sarlacc, on comparing .NET to Soccer: And why not? It's a bunch of people running around in circles, feigning pain, and never scoring.

Good isht Kyle.

Yeah Cardinal!

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@ryanadamdavis

I think some good points about what does a LB do and this year's NFL success and other current NCAA teams using it are all food for thought. I heard (and agree with) some of the discussions on NFL Network this week about the K-Gun and Run & Shoot (and you might as well add the WCO) that begin new eras of offensive execution in this league. It takes the defenses some time to catch up, but they always catch up. In our case, we have a QB that can do more than one thing - he's not a running QB only, he is a passing QB and we have the flexibility on our OL to do both very well. It's a bit of a perfect storm really. Notice that our offensive stats increased when PC mentioned in an interview that they are looking at some of the stuff that RGIII has been doing - next game out we see Read-Option. This is been exciting for us - and the game really hinges on RW's ability to perform this style and SF's ability to defend it. I don't recall that we used any of these tactics in the first game by the way - we almost beat them with a straight-up offense. Now we clearly have an edge.

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I expect them to try and make sure the QB takes hits. Baltimore got flagged for it more than once, but against Washington they made sure Griffen took hits. San Frans defensive philosophy is to make sure they keep everything in front of them and punish, I don't see that changing for option plays.

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Bingo. The way I learned it was; to stop the option, you always hit the QB....as often and as hard as you legally can. (And sometimes, not so legally.)

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If you're walking on thin ice, you might as well dance.................................................Mom