Scottemojo":2lav3948 said:
Tomlin isn't wrong. There will probably never be a time when more than a handful of guys can run a good option/pistol look.
We faced it three times last year and our defense killed it. The template for stopping it is already out there.
Everything you said is factual, but I disagree slightly for a couple reasons. Maybe disagree is too strong a word. Maybe "augmenting the argument" would work better.
#1: Yes, Seattle did stop read option quarterbacks very well last year. However, they did so with a defense that features some very rare athlete types- their linebacker group top to bottom would be among the fastest group of linebackers in this draft. There are only a few linebackers every year that come out with the kind of speed we have. We also have a secondary that is very hard to replicate and is highly dependent on Carroll's incredible player development ability. So yes, if you build a #1 scoring defense with some hard to find parts, you can stop it. But that's not saying much for the rest of the NFL. And FWIW, I am not sure we contain a healthy RG3. When he's 100% he's very hard to stop as a passer but the injury just became too much for him.
#2: Even Seattle would probably have a very tough time stopping a QB like Russell Wilson out of the read option. Imagine if Tom Brady or Peyton Manning were capable of read option- imagine how much of a nightmare that would be to defend. Kaepernick/Newton/RG3 all have great arm talent and are good passers, but Wilson is a complete quarterback that becomes far more deadly with the read option wrinkle. Then you factor the weapons that Wilson has- I say good luck to opposing DCs.
I don't think the NFL will ever really solve read option. They will probably solve QBs that use read option like a crutch (Kaepernick), but I think RG3, Newton, and especially Wilson will threaten so much as passers that at the end of the day it will just be one more way of offenses opening up in the running game and adding space in the passing attack. You are completely right that these kinds of QBs are very rare, but the teams that have them- this is going to be a big advantage in the long haul because of how it adds an extra responsibility and burden to defenses while simultaneously adding an additional threat on offense.