I don't think the read option, in terms of the QB riding a back into the hole and pulling it or giving it, has a place in the NFL, unless you have a dynamic QB.

Just want to clarify zilla, you're talking about the QB read option in terms of this correct? Putting the football into the gut of a RB at the mesh point, riding him with teh ball in the "basket" until the defender forces you to make the decision of keeping or pulling?

Or Jerome Bettis as your RB

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Heres a good video of the 9ers running the read option out of the shotgun. Sorry for the music.

Here's the thing, though. In a conventional offense, Smith holds on to the ball too long because he doesn't take risks. He's going to get popped in the pocket or when he scrambles off.

At least with a read option, Smith is the one dictating who runs the ball and he only keeps it for a run if he really likes what he sees. So the question is, is he any more at risk of injury versus a conventional offense? If the Chiefs run the read option smartly, sprinkle it in in the right places, are smart about running the right misdirections/bluffs, and incorporate a heavy dose of the run option, I don't see how Smith is any more of an injury risk than if he was asked to run a pocket offense.

The personnel the Chiefs currently have are damn near perfect for the system that Reid has run in the past and Smith brings in the experience of a very successful spread system QB under Urban Meyer in college. Couple that with the hiring of Chris Ault as a team consultant for the pistol and Brad Childress as the spread guy, you've got a very high level mix of guys who've been very successful in terms of their specific offenses.

Personally, I think you are going to see some pretty cool shit out of the Chiefs offensively this next season. This union of minds/coaches/players might actually end up being a paradigm shift in terms of NFL offensive conceptualizations, much in the same way as how Walsh's "West Coast" system was viewed. The potential is there anyway.

At the very minimum, it sure as shit isn't going to be Brian Daboll's play calling.

While that is true, we've been hearing about how Reid is prodding him to take more risks.

I'm just of the opinion that the read option won't be a long term success in the NFL due to the fact that unblocked defenders are going to start attacking the mesh point and not the specific player.

Well put. Time will tell.

That is exactly what Alex Smith ran under Urban Meyer at Utah, who's "Read Option Spread" has been the most successful college system over the past ten years.

You are so "black or white" "either or" it's painful.

I seriously doubt that Reid scraps his entire system and moves to a read option only system. However, it's obvious that he's going to implement some changes to his Edwards West Coast system. Signing Smith. Hiring Childress and Ault. Drafting Fisher, Davis, Kelce, Wilson. All speak to a melding of old and new in terms of a base Edwards West Coast offense with spread/pistol influences.

Yeah, if we want to run the read option 2 or 3 times per game, thats fine.

But I just dont' see it becoming a staple of any offense Reid runs here in KC.

I think the Chiefs run the Swedish Chef offense this season.

Dum dum duppy doo.

Thats alos with any of these other teams running the read option. I view it as a wildcat type fad in the NFL in that teams are/will figure out how to stop it.

What makes a Chiefs' read option different is the element of surprise. You can run the pistol with a non-read option and throw it in there maybe 1-2 times a quarter for the element of surprise. I could see the Chiefs running a lot of non-read pistol.

I don't agree with your second point a bout attacking the mesh point. The best defense is to stay at home. The pistol has become sophisticated enough that there are several ways to expose defenses that over pursue at the mesh point. The QB risk is what he does if he keeps the ball to run past the line of scrimmage. In fact, this is a place where I think the NFL is outdated. They think you can take out the QB in the backfield but that's not the way to beat this offense.

Alex Smith can sell this shit all day long. Ran the spread better than any QB Meyer has worked with since. Guy was 23-1 starting at Utah.

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With Reid's WC offense adding some pistol/spread wrinkles coupled with Charles and Bowe and that offensive line, backed by that defense? Smith is going to kick some serious ass this next year.

11-5 and AFC West Champions.

You are still thinking "either/or." It's most likely going to be a meld of systems, a combination of the various offensive schemes that results in a somewhat new offense that has it's base/overall concept in the West Coast style but incorporates the read option spread and pistol sets as well.

The Utah Pass has been around since the dawn of time in college football, but I'll bet you a dollar to a doughnut that people will be looking at as a completely new concept when the Chiefs chuck that sucker out three or four times a game this next season. Smith, Charles and Davis are going to ream sonsabitches with that.