HTTR24-7; Film Sessions: Did Robert Griffin III Get Hurt Running The Read-Option?

[KCClybun]

It has always been Mike Shanahan's assertion that the read-option actually protects the quarterback, rather than put him in harms way. I, personally have agreed with Mike Shanahan. In the passing game, the read-option slows the pass rush, effectively making the defense have to read and react instead of rush upfield right at the quarterback. It's why the continued insistence that the best way to stop the read-option is to hit the quarterback makes so little sense; if you are overly aggressive (as Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson, Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick all proved) in a rush to hit the quarterback, either the quarterback can get a huge play, or the ball gets handed off the back, and you probably get flagged.

 

In the run game, the read-option protects the quarterback for creating cleaner, more defined rush lanes than you would on a typical scramble. On a scramble, you likely don't have the same level of protection; in the read option, you get more in the way of offensive linemen, wide receivers and tight ends blocking down field.

 

Still, that hasn't stopped people from insisting, despite everything, that the reason Robert Griffin III got hurt last season was because the Redskins ran the read-option. Not to mention the continued speculation that RGIII didn't like how he was being used, and that he took an abnormal amount of shots running it.

 

While I don't expect the Redskins to have their quarterback have 120 rushing attempts next season, I do know that the read-option will always be a wrinkle in this offense, as long as RGIII can run it and as long as defenses still can't manage to figure it out. But that does beg the question; did running the read-option expose Robert Griffin III to more injury?

 

 

http://httr24-7.com/film-room/film-sessions-did-robert-griffin-iii-get-hurt-running-the-read-option/'>Click here read to more.

[DMVLeGenD]

I agree. Rob just has to do a better job of knowing when how to slide.

[SteveFromYellowstone]

I think he got hit more on the non-designed scrambles than anything

[MrJL]

I agree. Rob just has to do a better job of knowing when how to slide.

 

slide nothing, crumple into the fetal position.  His concussion came on an attempted slide.  His leg injury happened trying to go down too, but he rolled and his leg got hit as it came back around 

[Mr. Sinister]

I wouldn't say he got a ton of killshots (certainly not a lot o stuff similar to what he woul dget on a bindside hit in the pocket), but he did get more than his fair share of RB hits that add up. I will agree that the majority of his hard hits either happened on scrambles, or in the pocket, but the more you run and keep the ball in your hand and take off, the more you up the percentage of getting your clock cleaned. That's just the way it is.

 

I agree that the read option should not go anywhere, ever, and that he should learn to slide better, but I would definitely like to see those rush attempts a lot lower next year (they will be anyway since he's recovering from the knee surgery).

[DMVLeGenD]

I agree. Rob just has to do a better job of knowing when how to slide.

 

slide nothing, crumple into the fetal position.  His concussion came on an attempted slide.  His leg injury happened trying to go down too, but he rolled and his leg got hit as it came back around 

 

He tried to get down in the BAL game, but he didn't slide. He needs to work on his sliding technique. Remember when the Jets hired a sliding coach for Mark Sanchez a few yrs ago?

[Lavarleap56]

I wouldn't say he got a ton of killshots (certainly not a lot o stuff similar to what he woul dget on a bindside hit in the pocket), but he did get more than his fair share of RB hits that add up. I will agree that the majority of his hard hits either happened on scrambles, or in the pocket, but the more you run and keep the ball in your hand and take off, the more you up the percentage of getting your clock cleaned. That's just the way it is.

 

I agree that the read option should not go anywhere, ever, and that he should learn to slide better, but I would definitely like to see those rush attempts a lot lower next year (they will be anyway since he's recovering from the knee surgery).

Rob took a lot of kill shots in the traditional pass game that people don't remember. Everytime I review the season the hits in the pocket jump out to me, not as flashy as the Read Option but hits you don't want your QB taking. Robert has some growing to do in the traditional pass game. Needs to trust what he's seeing and let it go on time.

[Mr. Sinister]

I wouldn't say he got a ton of killshots (certainly not a lot o stuff similar to what he woul dget on a bindside hit in the pocket), but he did get more than his fair share of RB hits that add up. I will agree that the majority of his hard hits either happened on scrambles, or in the pocket, but the more you run and keep the ball in your hand and take off, the more you up the percentage of getting your clock cleaned. That's just the way it is.

 

I agree that the read option should not go anywhere, ever, and that he should learn to slide better, but I would definitely like to see those rush attempts a lot lower next year (they will be anyway since he's recovering from the knee surgery).

Rob took a lot of kill shots in the traditional pass game that people don't remember. Everytime I review the season the hits in the pocket jump out to me, not as flashy as the Read Option but hits you don't want your QB taking. Robert has some growing to do in the traditional pass game. Needs to trust what he's seeing and let it go on time.

 

Dallas game immediately comes to mind. I think he threw a short pass to get the ball out quick to someone, but got absolutely ACME smashed when he let it go.

[98ORAKPO98]

 

I wouldn't say he got a ton of killshots (certainly not a lot o stuff similar to what he woul dget on a bindside hit in the pocket), but he did get more than his fair share of RB hits that add up. I will agree that the majority of his hard hits either happened on scrambles, or in the pocket, but the more you run and keep the ball in your hand and take off, the more you up the percentage of getting your clock cleaned. That's just the way it is.

 

I agree that the read option should not go anywhere, ever, and that he should learn to slide better, but I would definitely like to see those rush attempts a lot lower next year (they will be anyway since he's recovering from the knee surgery).

Rob took a lot of kill shots in the traditional pass game that people don't remember. Everytime I review the season the hits in the pocket jump out to me, not as flashy as the Read Option but hits you don't want your QB taking. Robert has some growing to do in the traditional pass game. Needs to trust what he's seeing and let it go on time.

 

Dallas game immediately comes to mind. I think he threw a short pass to get the ball out quick to someone, but got absolutely ACME smashed when he let it go.

Are you referring to the DeMarcus Ware hit?

[KCClybun]

 

I wouldn't say he got a ton of killshots (certainly not a lot o stuff similar to what he woul dget on a bindside hit in the pocket), but he did get more than his fair share of RB hits that add up. I will agree that the majority of his hard hits either happened on scrambles, or in the pocket, but the more you run and keep the ball in your hand and take off, the more you up the percentage of getting your clock cleaned. That's just the way it is.

 

I agree that the read option should not go anywhere, ever, and that he should learn to slide better, but I would definitely like to see those rush attempts a lot lower next year (they will be anyway since he's recovering from the knee surgery).

Rob took a lot of kill shots in the traditional pass game that people don't remember. Everytime I review the season the hits in the pocket jump out to me, not as flashy as the Read Option but hits you don't want your QB taking. Robert has some growing to do in the traditional pass game. Needs to trust what he's seeing and let it go on time.

 

Dallas game immediately comes to mind. I think he threw a short pass to get the ball out quick to someone, but got absolutely ACME smashed when he let it go.

 

[98ORAKPO98]

 

 

I wouldn't say he got a ton of killshots (certainly not a lot o stuff similar to what he woul dget on a bindside hit in the pocket), but he did get more than his fair share of RB hits that add up. I will agree that the majority of his hard hits either happened on scrambles, or in the pocket, but the more you run and keep the ball in your hand and take off, the more you up the percentage of getting your clock cleaned. That's just the way it is.

 

I agree that the read option should not go anywhere, ever, and that he should learn to slide better, but I would definitely like to see those rush attempts a lot lower next year (they will be anyway since he's recovering from the knee surgery).

Rob took a lot of kill shots in the traditional pass game that people don't remember. Everytime I review the season the hits in the pocket jump out to me, not as flashy as the Read Option but hits you don't want your QB taking. Robert has some growing to do in the traditional pass game. Needs to trust what he's seeing and let it go on time.

 

Dallas game immediately comes to mind. I think he threw a short pass to get the ball out quick to someone, but got absolutely ACME smashed when he let it go.

 

Someone might want to block DeMarcus Ware 

[No_Pressure]

9:07 Mr. "I'm not trying to injure anyone"  Bernard Pollard from that cheap shot Ravens defense goes flying over RG3's head as he slides. I forgot about that one. What an asshole.

[KCClybun]

9:07 Mr. "I'm not trying to injure anyone"  Bernard Pollard from that cheap shot Ravens defense goes flying over RG3's head as he slides. I forgot about that one. What an asshole.

 

Can't figure out if that's worse than the one that happened versus the Eagles at home. Can't remember which player it was though.

[Lavarleap56]

I wouldn't say he got a ton of killshots (certainly not a lot o stuff similar to what he woul dget on a bindside hit in the pocket), but he did get more than his fair share of RB hits that add up. I will agree that the majority of his hard hits either happened on scrambles, or in the pocket, but the more you run and keep the ball in your hand and take off, the more you up the percentage of getting your clock cleaned. That's just the way it is.

 

I agree that the read option should not go anywhere, ever, and that he should learn to slide better, but I would definitely like to see those rush attempts a lot lower next year (they will be anyway since he's recovering from the knee surgery).

Rob took a lot of kill shots in the traditional pass game that people don't remember. Everytime I review the season the hits in the pocket jump out to me, not as flashy as the Read Option but hits you don't want your QB taking. Robert has some growing to do in the traditional pass game. Needs to trust what he's seeing and let it go on time.

 

Dallas game immediately comes to mind. I think he threw a short pass to get the ball out quick to someone, but got absolutely ACME smashed when he let it go.

NO one hit in particular, but I can pull about 12-17 of them off memory. Take your pick from Cinncinatti, St.Louis, Dallas, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Pttsburgh etc.

Ware is unbkocked on purpose in zone stretch & the boot game.

[98ORAKPO98]

 

 

I wouldn't say he got a ton of killshots (certainly not a lot o stuff similar to what he woul dget on a bindside hit in the pocket), but he did get more than his fair share of RB hits that add up. I will agree that the majority of his hard hits either happened on scrambles, or in the pocket, but the more you run and keep the ball in your hand and take off, the more you up the percentage of getting your clock cleaned. That's just the way it is.

 

I agree that the read option should not go anywhere, ever, and that he should learn to slide better, but I would definitely like to see those rush attempts a lot lower next year (they will be anyway since he's recovering from the knee surgery).

Rob took a lot of kill shots in the traditional pass game that people don't remember. Everytime I review the season the hits in the pocket jump out to me, not as flashy as the Read Option but hits you don't want your QB taking. Robert has some growing to do in the traditional pass game. Needs to trust what he's seeing and let it go on time.

 

Dallas game immediately comes to mind. I think he threw a short pass to get the ball out quick to someone, but got absolutely ACME smashed when he let it go.

NO one hit in particular, but I can pull about 12-17 of them off memory. Take your pick from Cinncinatti, St.Louis, Dallas, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Pttsburgh etc.

Ware is unbkocked on purpose in zone stretch & the boot game.

I figured he may have been unblocked on purpose, so it's RGIII's fault he took that hit. He should be more aware of Ware, he's young though and I'm sure hits like that will help to heighten his awareness.

[MrJL]

9:07 Mr. "I'm not trying to injure anyone"  Bernard Pollard from that cheap shot Ravens defense goes flying over RG3's head as he slides. I forgot about that one. What an asshole.

 

which is why I say crumple, flop, collapse into a pile.  Motion is dangerous basically

[RedskinsInFebruary]

Probably should've made OL *THE* #1 priority, the minute it was determined we were taking a QB with our pick.  Oh well, what do I know....

[martytheman]

I agree. Rob just has to do a better job of knowing when how to slide.

 

slide nothing, crumple into the fetal position.  His concussion came on an attempted slide.  His leg injury happened trying to go down too, but he rolled and his leg got hit as it came back around 

 

Yes he was trying to go down, but at the absolute very last second both times, and both times he got lit up because of it, and both times he got injured.

 

He needs to not only learn how to slide better, but also WHEN to slide. Many of the hard hits he took in that video were of his own making, by waiting til the very last second before impact to try and make a move to protect himself, he ended up getting tossed around like a rag doll and bent around like a pretzel... He HAS to learn to slide BEFORE guys can make contact, not as they're in the air flying toward him like a missile.

[KCClybun]

Probably should've made OL *THE* #1 priority, the minute it was determined we were taking a QB with our pick.  Oh well, what do I know....

 

Nothing.

 

Absolutely nothing. Certainly not about what you're talking about here.

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

Probably should've made OL *THE* #1 priority, the minute it was determined we were taking a QB with our pick.  Oh well, what do I know....

Um...was our O-line an issue really last year?

 

More importantly, was that why RGIII got hit? No...so I'm really confused about where you're going. Plus, we've been drafting OL out the ass in the 2 drafts before this most recent one.

[TheItalianStallion]

On some of those outside runs where nothing was there, it looked like he could've just thrown the ball away, as he was outside the pocket. Course, since they were designed runs, its possible that Olinemen were downfield. Does the "ineligible man downfield" penalty apply on throwaways?

[SkinsGuy]

Probably should've made OL *THE* #1 priority, the minute it was determined we were taking a QB with our pick.  Oh well, what do I know....

 

2002 called... they want their whine back.

[DMVLeGenD]

9:07 Mr. "I'm not trying to injure anyone"  Bernard Pollard from that cheap shot Ravens defense goes flying over RG3's head as he slides. I forgot about that one. What an asshole.

 

Can't figure out if that's worse than the one that happened versus the Eagles at home. Can't remember which player it was though.

 

DRC. Dude went for the killshot.

[MumboSauce]

I agree he has to make the decision sooner. He holds it until the last minute and got hit trying to throw it away or getting down too late. In that Morgan cut up you can see him head towards the sideline, but stay there instead of going out of bounds, then tries to throw it away late but gets whacked.  Needs to slide with better technique/more control...making the decision to do so sooner before the defender has him lined up in their crosshairs to whack him.

 

There are many looks and traditional offense that come out of the pistol formation. The read option pass did exactly as Shanahan stated. I think it is the safest and helped the oline/personnel we have a lot.

 

Rob is incredible though, how lucky we are as a franchise to have this dude. I have faith he'll make the adjustments. He's too smart not to. I also have high hopes for Josh Morgan...he did some really good stuff last season even with pins in his ankle.

[CRobi21]

 

 

 

I wouldn't say he got a ton of killshots (certainly not a lot o stuff similar to what he woul dget on a bindside hit in the pocket), but he did get more than his fair share of RB hits that add up. I will agree that the majority of his hard hits either happened on scrambles, or in the pocket, but the more you run and keep the ball in your hand and take off, the more you up the percentage of getting your clock cleaned. That's just the way it is.

 

I agree that the read option should not go anywhere, ever, and that he should learn to slide better, but I would definitely like to see those rush attempts a lot lower next year (they will be anyway since he's recovering from the knee surgery).

Rob took a lot of kill shots in the traditional pass game that people don't remember. Everytime I review the season the hits in the pocket jump out to me, not as flashy as the Read Option but hits you don't want your QB taking. Robert has some growing to do in the traditional pass game. Needs to trust what he's seeing and let it go on time.

 

Dallas game immediately comes to mind. I think he threw a short pass to get the ball out quick to someone, but got absolutely ACME smashed when he let it go.

NO one hit in particular, but I can pull about 12-17 of them off memory. Take your pick from Cinncinatti, St.Louis, Dallas, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Pttsburgh etc.

Ware is unbkocked on purpose in zone stretch & the boot game.

I figured he may have been unblocked on purpose, so it's RGIII's fault he took that hit. He should be more aware of Ware, he's young though and I'm sure hits like that will help to heighten his awareness.

 

It's nobody's fault. Ware finally had the awareness of who was getting the ball on that play. It was a good play by Ware for getting to the QB, it was an even better play by Robert of getting rid of it quickly and Josh getting the first down.