Seymour":1yztzi0z said:
They have 35 million reasons to not run Russell.
No he's not hurt! :shock:
This is why the "zone read" or "read option" is officially a dumpster fire and should no longer be a staple of the offense. Opposing coordinators know that Russell has to limit his carries just because he is so critical to success and so very, very expensive. Hence, the isolated defensive end that is supposed to be confused by being forced to choose between the running back and Wilson in the "zone read" scheme is no longer confused. He is COACHED to exclusively pursue the running back and ignore Wilson. In the big picture, it is worth absorbing a couple of fifteen yards carries from Wilson to completely shut down the running back. I'm being generous here by saying Wilson will carry twice. Realistically, it is more likely zero to one carries per game. Why have your running game predicated upon Wilson being a running threat when he doesn't keep the ball?
We ride or die on Wilson being healthy. We saw what happened to RG III and what is currently happening to Cam Newton. The read option is putting Wilson in a similar position, but more important, is putting the run game at a huge disadvantage. Basically, if the running back cannot make the defensive end miss, it is a tackle for loss. It also increases the likelihood of offensive holding as the offensive lineman are required to sustain their blocks while the running back is occupied with eluding an unblocked defensive end in the backfield