If there's anything about us Packers fans, it's that we're too stubborn with the old way of playing football.
The read-option is NOT the Wildcat. The Wildcat was run by who again? The Dolphins with Ronnie Brown and which QB?
Teams are doing this with capable starters. Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III, and Colin Kaepernick are all capable QB's. Other than RG3, all these quarterbacks are pass-first guys. This is a real scheme, and it's going to present teams with problems for a long time.
You need evidence? Look no further than what we already saw. The Falcons and Packers are among the NFL's elite. The Packers couldn't stop it. The Falcons barely contained it. This shit is real.
Originally Posted by: blueleopard
Blue Leopard, great post. My sentiments exactly. The old way is not exactly the best way.
As for the other post argument that this will be stopped next year. Really? How?
The wildcat was stopped in the season it was implemented. The reason it was stopped was because it was a FLAWED strategy. Put the running back in the QB role and run from there. There's no real threat of pass. It's just a wrinkle in the run game. Ronnie Brown(a running back) or Tebow.
Tebow is not a dynamic runner, and was a halfback running in the QB position. He was a flea flicking QB at best and even though his package was run well in Denver, it made the team one dimensional.
At this point, the Packers are ALSO one dimensional because the only top flight part of the offense is Aaron's passing ability. The run game is not up to par, and Aaron is a good but not ELITE runner at the QB position. The packers need a dynamic running back to complement Aaron at this point to make the offense be multi-dimensional. Aaron's not going to get any faster.
There's no glaring flaw in the READ OPTION play as with the wildcat, if you have the 3 factors: A good passing game, a good running game, and a dynamic running QB.
It is so hard to defend the READ OPTION(not wildcat)part of an offense with a pass first QB with Dynamic running ability because the threat of a good running game, a good passing game, and a super fast QB is too much for a defense to account for. You can't cover ALL of it.
You have to give up something. The packers had to bank on Kaepernick beating them, and he did. They weren't going to lose by passing, or by Frank Gore's running.
This is not something that the NFL defenses will easily solve. This is also not something that will go away because the QBs will injure themselves by being too careless(like RG3).
Russell Wilson, Kaepernick KNOW HOW TO RUN and KNOW HOW TO AVOID CONTACT. They are going to surive and be around.
This is not a fad, or a one hit wonder. This style of quarterback is the evolution of football.
Terry Bradshaw on FOX said it, Tom Jackson on ESPN said it, and many NFL writers said it.
We are witnessing a new style and it's exciting.
Change is not that easy for everyone, I guess...